The Weekend Mailbag

The Podcast

Julie writes:

You need to put Kate on the payroll.

Bah…she works for free.  Don’t give her any ideas.

Toby writes:

How far away are we really from a viable AI?  I often think that the government has one squirreled away somewhere that secretly runs our defense grid. 

“Would you like to play a game?” 

Nice Wargames reference, there, Toby.  I tend to buy into the idea that a certain level of neural complexity is necessary for consciousness to be stable.  When we achieve a computer with the appropriate level of neural pathways (or whatever their silicon analog may be), then we should start to look for AI.  The real question, of course, is exactly where that threshhold is.

Bobo The Underage Drinking Dwarf writes:

Humanity is such a slippery concept, no?  I especially found enjoyable the notion that the robot might be more human than the chick.

Well…the robot was an android (thus the name”Andy”).  That’s sort of the whole point of the story, that a machine could feel something like love or attachment and understand it’s true meaning more than a “simple” human.  (Public Service Announcement:  The author of this site does not condone underage drinking in dwarves, nor is the posting of this comment an implicit approval of underage drinking.  It is furthermore the opinion of this author that no one should toss dwarves, either.  “Tossing the dwarf” should not to be misconstrued as a euphemism for…never mind.)

Anne Coulter/Islamic Fifth Column

Judy writes:

Just posting something from Anne Coulter makes me lose all respect for you.  How is it that you can be so educated and yet so woefully ignornat [sic]?  This makes it difficult for me to read/listen to your stories.

As I mentioned in the my post (and no one seemed to get), I don’t generally like Ms. Coulter, although I felt she had some very good things to say.  In this case, her reactionary stance is completely and totally justified in my humble opinion.  (And at least I’m educated enough to not misspell “ignorant.”)

Abdullah writes:

You are the poster child of the arrogance that makes our country so detestable in the eyes of those in the Middle East.  That’s right, Pete.  I said “our” country, because I am just as much of an American as you are.  I am a practicing Muslim, but I value individual freedom for both myself and for my wife and family.  If my wife willingly chooses modesty to be obedient to what she believes, who are you to criticize?  I don’t force her to do this…she does this because she knows it means a lot to me to observe the traditions of our people.  If she decided to convert to Judaism or Christianity, my love for her would remain true even though I would be obligated to seperate from her. 

Does anyone else wonder if this guy just made my point for me?  In very few free-thinking cultures would a woman be forced to make that choice to save face for her husband.  It’s really hard for me to feel pity here.  You may be a citizen, but would you take arms against your “people”?  The reason why you have the freedom to “let” your wife “choose” to be modest is because people like me are dying half-way across the globe. 

SgtWebb writes:

Thank you Peter for saying what needs to be said.  No one understands the threat we face until theyv’e [sic] spent time in the sandbox.  Most of the people are relieved we’re there to help them out.  They hate the ones who make life difficult and they fear the future if our soldiers are pulled out.  One woman begged a rifleman in my unit to take her son home with him so that he wouldn’t have to grow up under the Sharia, which is sort of a combination between the ten commandments and a civil code.  Make no mistake these people are worse than the ones our grandfathers fought in WW2.  It sets my teeth on edge to know that we’re defending the rights of people to ignore the biggest threat to our future but that’s what we signed up to do.

I’m always happy to hear from a member of our Armed Services.  Our thoughts, hopes, and prayers are with you.

BSG Season 4

Samuel T. Anders writes:

I’m a cylon!  WOOOOO!  Seriously, four seasons sounds about right.  If Kara knows the way to Earth, then how much more can they really extend it?

Didn’t you write in last week?  Do you have some kind of man-crush on Sam Anders?

K-man writes:

Do they even need a whole season?  I don’t want any more filler episodes like the dumb one with Helo and the diseased people…The Woman King or something like that.  I want well written action and lots of Lee Adama and Starbuck *******.  (Expletive removed by admin.)

There’s always going to be a certain amount of filler so that the show can recoup budgets from big set pieces.  I would expect 3-5 episodes like that in a 22 episode season. It’s sort of a fact of life.

Thanks for a great week, boys and girls!