RaftingCanadian

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In the last few years, robots have been an increasing help to people. They have the ability to go where people can not, and do not dare to go. Some main examples of the use of robots are the recent mars explorers that have been sent to mars for scientific reasons, and use of robots in areas where explosives are in use. There has even been an increase of robotics for around the house, including an automated lawnmower and vacuum cleaner.

The main factor in robotics is the mobility factor, and getting the robot to navigate foreign objects.

7 Jan 2005 by RaftingCanadian 1.1K
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Reply To: Archive

Sleep may be as natural as breathing and eating, but many of us find ourselves tossing and turning instead. Sleepless nights can be caused by a wide variety of factors, especially stress and your sleep environment.

Preparations

Instructions

  • STEP 1: Avoid drinking coffee or other caffeinated beverages after noon.
  • STEP 2: Eat dinner at least 3 hours before you go to bed, especially if it's a large meal. For a before-bed snack, try warm milk, yogurt or a banana.
  • STEP 3: Relax. If you're tense at bedtime, take a warm bath with aromatherapy soaps, stretch, listen to music, meditate - whatever works for you.
  • STEP 4: Stay away from the evening news right before bed. Stories of disasters and corruption can be stimulating and disruptive to sleep.
  • STEP 5: Avoid the nightcap. Alcohol may help you fall asleep faster, but it can interfere with the quality of sleep.
  • STEP 6: Don't drink any fluids right before going to bed. A full bladder may awaken you.
  • STEP 7: Try to go to sleep at the same time every night to get your body into a routine.

Tips & Warnings

  • Napping can interfere with nighttime sleep. If you're very tired, take a short nap before 2 p.m., but don't sleep for more than 30 minutes.
  • Even though vigorous exercise should be avoided before bedtime, mild exercise, such as an after-dinner walk, may help you sleep better.
  • If you're feeling very tense, try drinking herbal teas made from valerian, chamomile, oats, passionflower or balm, which are said to be natural sleep aids.

The Sleep Environment

Instructions

  • STEP 1: Adjust the room temperature so it's slightly on the cool side. Rooms that are too hot or cold are less conducive to sleep.
  • STEP 2: Darken the room. Draw your blinds or curtains to keep out streetlights.
  • STEP 3: Sleep on a comfortable bed that gives you good support. Sleeping on a bed that's too hard, too soft or lumpy will have you waking up fatigued and with a backache.
  • STEP 4: Use earplugs if the environment is noisy, or use a fan or a Sound Soother that creates "white noise." White noise is a soothing sound that blocks out more noxious noises.
  • STEP 5: Focus your mind on pleasant thoughts as you drift off to sleep. Count sheep, count backward, or do whatever works best, but keep your mind off personal and work-related worries.

Tips & Warnings

  • If you have trouble falling asleep, get up and do some light activity until you feel sleepy.
  • Keep the light dim. Bright light will make you more alert.

Overall Tips & Warnings

  • If you have any questions or concerns, contact a physician or other health care professional before engaging in any activity related to health and diet. This information is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice or treatment.
7 Jan 2005 by RaftingCanadian 1.1K
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Reply To: Archive

The idea of pattern recognition is to obtain the traits or characteristics of given samples and sort them into classes. This can be a very helpful tool when it is designed to adapt to data given to it.

Pattern recognition can be very helpful in recognising people by their voices, faces or probably by the way they walk.

7 Jan 2005 by RaftingCanadian 1.1K
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Reply To: Archive

Millions of people around the world begin their day with a cup of coffee, believing that they cannot wake up without it. However, there are other ways to get going in the morning - to wake up naturally, without a dependence on coffee.

Instructions

  • STEP 1: Motivate yourself to give up coffee. Keep in mind that coffee drinkers tend to be more groggy and sleepy in the morning than nondrinkers. You will eventually feel more awake and energetic than when you needed coffee to start the day.
  • STEP 2: Wean yourself slowly, especially if you drink several cups throughout the day.
  • STEP 3: Caffeine is addictive, and you may have withdrawal symptoms if you stop too abruptly. Symptoms are usually mild to severe headaches, fatigue, nausea and depression.
  • STEP 4: Gradually halve the amount of coffee you drink each day. For example, if you drink six cups a day, cut back to three, then one and a half, and so on. If you get withdrawal symptoms, do it more gradually.
  • STEP 5: As another approach, gradually replace your caffeinated coffee with decaf. Drink the same number of cups, but increase the decaf and decrease the regular coffee until you are drinking 100 percent decaf.
  • STEP 6: Get enough sleep at night. Most people need between 7 and 9 hours a night to feel rested.
  • STEP 7: Maximize your sleep. Keep your room dark and cool, eliminate or minimize noise, and sleep on a comfortable bed.
  • STEP 8: Speak to your doctor if you have problems with insomnia or other sleep disorders. Not sleeping soundly will keep you feeling groggy and tired in the morning.
  • STEP 9: Open the shades and turn on the lights when you get up in the morning.
  • STEP 10: Bright light signals your brain that it's time to wake up.
  • STEP 11: Eat a high-protein breakfast. Some researchers believe that protein will wake you up and keep you energized.
  • STEP 12: Avoid sugary pastries. They give you an energy surge and then a rapid slump.
  • STEP 13: Work out in the morning. Exercise will give you more energy.
  • STEP 14: Drink green tea if you still want some morning caffeine. It contains a much smaller amount than coffee, particularly drip coffee, and is a potent antioxidant and an all-around healthful drink.

Tips & Warnings

  • Having an occasional cup of coffee will not get you hooked on the coffee habit again.
7 Jan 2005 by RaftingCanadian 1.1K
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Reply To: Archive

One of the main problems with human and computer interaction is the computers inability to understand natural language. The aim of natural language processing is to allow the computer to understand and react to voice and written communication, as well as generation.

As well as helping to improve spelling and grammar checking, natural language process has the potential to allow people with disabilities to interact more with computers.

7 Jan 2005 by RaftingCanadian 1.1K
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Reply To: Archive

One of the most important parts of 'playing the market' is researching companies.

Instructions

  • STEP 1: Obtain corporate financial statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You can get such documents without charge via www.freeedgar.com.
  • STEP 2: Analyze quarterly statements covering two or three years, noting trends in earnings per share and revenue.
  • STEP 3: Look for a trend of consistent growth in earnings per share.
  • STEP 4: Calculate the company's price-earnings (PE) ratio, a measure of a stock's value. (Divide the stock price by annual earnings per share.)
  • STEP 5: Compare the PE ratio with industry norms and with the S&P 500's ratio. The lower the ratio, the less expensive the stock is relative to earnings.
  • STEP 6: Beware of debt. Check out the company's balance sheet, looking for the extent of its long-term debt.
  • STEP 7: Check cash flow - the movement of cash through the company. You'll want the company to have positive cash flow.

Tips & Warnings

  • Make sure the company isn't giving short shrift to its research and development budget.
  • Calculate a sales-per-employee figure and compare the company with its competitors.
  • Assess management. Find out where managers worked before they joined the company by reading proxy statements, registration statements and annual reports.
7 Jan 2005 by RaftingCanadian 1.1K
22
Votes
Reply To: Archive

What is the difference between human intelligence and artificial intelligence?

The difference between natural intelligence (e.g human intelligence) and artificial intelligence is hard to define, as not much is known about natural intelligence.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) can learn, just like natural intelligence (NI). When programmed to, Artificial Intelligence can sense changes in its environment and react accordingly. It can then refer to the ways it reacted to previous changes to help decide what to do the next time a similar change occurs.

Both Artificial Intelligence and natural intelligence are mortal. Like humans, Artificial Intelligence can cease working and all that is needed is a natural or man-made disaster to occur.

One big difference between Artificial Intelligence and natural intelligence is the fact that natural intelligence can forget and lose information. Artificial Intelligence could do this if it was program to do so, but this would be counter-productive.

Another big difference is accuracy. Artificial Intelligence, when given the same information can be exact, every time with speed. When natural intelligence is given the same information, it can not be as exact, and is slower.

7 Jan 2005 by RaftingCanadian 1.1K
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Votes
Reply To: Archive

Evaluate a number of factors before you decide it is time to sell some of your shares.

Instructions

  1. Consider selling if the price has dropped substantially or remained stagnant for several months.

  2. Think about selling if the price has risen to or beyond a target that you established when you bought the shares.

  3. Note whether the company's fundamentals remain strong..

  4. Evaluate earnings trends, management changes, revenue growth and other basics to determine whether fundamentals are sound. Even if the share price is sluggish or, for that matter, has hit new highs, you might want to hang on to the shares if fundamentals remain sound and growth prospects look good.

  5. Visit your public library's business reference section and review reports by Standard & Poor. Do they project no price appreciation for the shares?

  6. Consider changes in the competition. If an effective new player or several hot new players have entered the market, your share growth prospects could be in jeopardy.

  7. Think about the company's product line. If the company depends on one product alone and has no plans of broadening its base, perhaps you should think about selling.

Tips & Warnings

  • Consider the tax consequences of selling shares. If you have taxable capital gains, you might want to take some losses to reduce your taxes.

7 Jan 2005 by RaftingCanadian 1.1K
36
Votes
Reply To: Archive

There are no set areas of AI when it is looked at from what the AI system does. This is because many of the systems do many different things. For example, a robot many include areas of Natural Language Processing, Pattern Recognition and Machine Learning that help it to do its job.

One website says the field of AI can be spilt into four main sections.

  • Pattern Recognition – Recognising patters in given data.
  • Robotics – Allowing mechanical devices to navigate and manipulate their environment.
  • Natural Language Processing – Communicating with humans through natural text and speech.
  • Artificial Life - Modelling and mimicking living systems.

This is quite different to another site that says that major areas of artificial intelligence research can be split into seven categories.

  • Natural Language Processing – the ability of computers to communicate with people in natural language.
  • Computer Vision – the analysing of images to find features of the images.
  • Knowledge based systems – Systems that contain a ‘database’ of knowledge and can help in finding information, making decisions and planing.
  • Robotics – Create devices that can manipulate and interact with its environment.
  • Machine Learning – Analysing data and treads to help with a task latter.
  • Automatic Programming – The creation of programs from a programmer’s specification.
  • Intelligent computer-aided instruction – Customising the tutoring of a student to fit the students learning style.

A third website has yet another way of defining the main areas. On this website, the areas are divided into ten areas.

  • Knowledge representation and articulation – Displaying information in an expressive and efficient form.
  • Learning and adaptation – Analysing data to determine general trends, facts, and techniques from instruction, experience, and collected data.
  • Deliberation, planning, and acting – Ways to make decisions plans or achieve specified goals, as well as analysing the performance of the plans and designs.
  • Speech and language processing – Communicating and translating among natural written and spoken languages.
  • Image understanding and synthesis - Analysing photographs, diagrams, and videos.
  • Manipulation and locomotion - Copying and improving the abilities of natural hands, arms, feet, and bodies.
  • Autonomous agents and robots – The creation of robots, capable of interacting with the environment and making decisions independently.
  • Multi-agent systems – Enabling any AI systems to interact and work together.
  • Cognitive modelling – Techniques and the copying of the way people think and manipulate knowledge.
  • Mathematical foundations – Mathematical analysing the previous areas stated.

The above areas of AI can be summarized into five main areas. That will be covered in more depth in other articles.

7 Jan 2005 by RaftingCanadian 1.1K
0
Votes
Reply To: Archive

Small talk can be a big challenge, but a little preparation and confidence is all you need.

Instructions

  • STEP 1: Practice. Converse with everyone you come across: cashiers, waiters, people you're in line with, neighbors, co-workers and kids. Chat with folks unlike yourself, from seniors to teens to tourists.
  • STEP 2: Read everything: cookbooks, newspapers, magazines, reviews, product inserts, maps, signs and catalogs. Everything is a source of information that can be discussed.
  • STEP 3: Force yourself to get into small talk situations, like doctors' waiting rooms, cocktail parties and office meetings. Accept invitations, or host your own gathering.
  • STEP 4: Immerse yourself in culture, both high and low. Television, music, sports, fashion, art and poetry are great sources of chat. If you can't stand Shakespeare, that too is a good topic for talk.
  • STEP 5: Keep a journal. Write down funny stories you hear, beautiful things you see, quotes, observations, shopping lists and calls you made. That story of the long-distance operator misunderstanding you could become an opening line.
  • STEP 6: Talk to yourself in the mirror. Make a random list of topics and see what you have to say on the subjects. Baseball, Russia, butter, hip-hop, shoes ... the more varied your list, the better.
  • STEP 7: Expand your horizons. Go home a new way. Try sushi. Play pinball. Go online. Paint a watercolor. Bake a pie. Try something new every day.
  • STEP 8: Be a better listener. Did your boss just say she suffers from migraines? Did your doctor just have twins? These are opportunities for making small talk.
  • STEP 9: Work on confidence, overcoming shyness and any feelings of stage fright. Remember, the more you know, the more you know you can talk about.

Tips & Warnings

  • Be yourself. Keep in mind that confidence and humor are superb substitutes for comedic genius or wit.
  • Remember, you never have to do it alone.
  • Keepa few exit lines in mind too. For example, "Thanks for the wonderful chat, but I must make believe I'm interested in everybody else. Tee hee."
  • Keep your fellow chatterers in mind; naughty stories and loose language will be frowned upon in many circles. By the same token, your French quips and scientific discourses will be wasted on some.
7 Jan 2005 by RaftingCanadian 1.1K
0
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Reply To: Archive

“Machine learning is the ability of a computer to learn from experience. It is essential in situations where the environment changes, standards of expertise changes and in situations where there is no case history or historical data of any kind and learning takes place as a task is performed.”

Machine learning is the adjustment of computers ‘knowledge’ according to the computers experience to help with later tasks.

7 Jan 2005 by RaftingCanadian 1.1K
1
Votes
Reply To: Archive

Goose bumps are caused by a reflex called piloerection. All mammals, including us, have skin covered with hair. Much of our body hair is quite fine -- sometimes barely visible. When the hair in the follicle lifts up (that's piloerection) it makes the hair follicle stand out. And that causes goose bumps, so named because they look like the skin of a plucked goose.

Piloerection puffs up furry mammals, making a cold animal warmer or a frightened animal more impressive. That's why when a kitten encounters a dog, it turns into a little hissing puffball.
Goose bumps are an automatic response, like sweating or increased heart rate. We can't easily control them.

Like other emotion-linked reflexes -- blushing, turning pale, butterflies in the stomach -- goose bumps are triggered by the limbic system of the brain. This governs primitive drives: sex, fear, rage, aggression and hunger. All the good stuff.

The limbic system is connected to two parts of the brain: the thalamus, which receives virtually all sensory input, and the hypothalamus. In humans, these parts of the brain allow emotional stimulation from music or the reading of poetry to cause goose bumps.

It seems music not only soothes the savage beast, it also makes it prickly. But why?

Poetry and music -- and even the scariest of movies -- don't make us cold, and aren't physically threatening. Why does our depth of human feeling make us respond like a frightened kitten?

Our automatic response to music or movies or emotion isn't driven by a physical prompt, but by a psychological one. What we see or hear or feel makes us vulnerable in a different -- but just as meaningful -- way.

Something that causes severe anxiety causes an adrenaline rush -- but so does something that causes intense pleasure or an emotional "welling up." Like the final scene in "Field of Dreams," when Kevin Costner asks his dad to play catch.

Our bodies often can't tell the difference between what's real and what's imagined. That's why you might get hungry watching a TV commercial that shows a hot, fresh pizza bubbling with cheese and pepperoni. It's also why you might get the wits scared out of you when the alien finally walks by in the movie "Signs" -- even though, logically, you know the theater is cozy and safe.

As we've become more civilized creatures, cerebral things have become more physically "real" to us. We don't need to puff up to fight rivals much anymore, but we do encounter and process many powerful emotional and psychological stimuli. That's our reality in the 21st century.

And the response varies from person to person.

"For some, being in a specific fearful situation causes goose bumps, but in another the same specific fearful situation does not," explains the University of Kansas' Dr. David Pendergrass, who's written about goose bumps and related responses.

"The key to understanding the perception is previous experience. A young child gets goose bumps because he is in a poorly lit room with whistling winds and long shadows and his best friend telling him a story about someone getting killed by a ghost in this very room. But if you were in the same room and being told the same story, you would probably not have goose bumps. The young child does not have the same previous experiences as you."

Author Stephen King, this generation's master of horror, has probably given goose bumps to as many people as anyone. Last year the National Book Foundation presented him its annual medal for distinguished contribution to American letters. It was the first time an author of a popular genre like horror had received the award.

King recalled being called "a hack, a terrible writer, everything that is wrong with America.

"After 25 years of that, to get something like this ..." King said, getting overwhelmed, "I got goose bumps."

7 Jan 2005 by RaftingCanadian 1.1K
0
Votes
Reply To: Archive

A knowledge based system is a system that is designed to help solve difficult problems and make decisions.

They can often be divided into 3 parts:

  • A knowledge base – That contain the required knowledge.
  • An inference engine – Contains the methods to analyse the knowledge.
  • A user interface – To help the user communicate with the system.
7 Jan 2005 by RaftingCanadian 1.1K
0
Votes
Reply To: Archive

Q. Sometimes when I listen to certain pieces of music or hear replays of certain historic events, I get goose bumps. Why? -- Bob Tennyson, Kings Mountain

Bob, I love finding out what gives people goose bumps. Is it the scene in the movie "The Sixth Sense" when Haley Joel Osment whispers "I see dead people"? Is it the plaintive singing of Sam Cooke? Is it hearing John F. Kennedy declare: "Ask not what your country can do for you ..."?

Goose bumps are caused by a reflex called piloerection. All mammals, including us, have skin covered with hair. Much of our body hair is quite fine -- sometimes barely visible. When the hair in the follicle lifts up (that's piloerection) it makes the hair follicle stand out. And that causes goose bumps, so named because they look like the skin of a plucked goose.

Piloerection puffs up furry mammals, making a cold animal warmer ora frightened animal more impressive. That's why when a kitten encounters a dog, it turns into a little hissing puffball.

Goose bumps are an automatic response, like sweating or increased heart rate. We can't easily control them.

Like other emotion-linked reflexes -- blushing, turning pale, butterflies in the stomach -- goose bumps are triggered by the limbic system of the brain. This governs primitive drives: sex, fear, rage, aggression and hunger. All the good stuff.

The limbic system is connected to two parts of the brain: the thalamus, which receives virtually all sensory input, and the hypothalamus. In humans, these parts of the brain allow emotional stimulation from music or the reading of poetry to cause goose bumps.

It seems music not only soothes the savage breast, it also makes it prickly.

But why?

Poetry and music -- and even the scariest of movies -- don't make us cold, and aren't physically threatening. Why does our depth of human feeling make us respond like a frightened kitten?

Our automatic response to music or movies or emotion isn't driven by a physical prompt, but by a psychological one. What we see or hear or feel makes us vulnerable in a different -- but just as meaningful -- way.

Something that causes severe anxiety causes an adrenaline rush -- but so does something that causes intense pleasure or an emotional "welling up." Like the final scene in "Field of Dreams," when Kevin Costner asks his dad to play catch.

Our bodies often can't tell the difference between what's real and what's imagined. That's why you might get hungry watching a TV commercial that shows a hot, fresh pizza bubbling with cheese and pepperoni. It's also why you might get the wits scared out of you when the alien finally walks by in the movie "Signs" -- even though, logically, you know the theater is cozy and safe.

As we've become more civilized creatures, cerebral things have become more physically "real" to us. We don't need to puff up to fight rivals much anymore, but we do encounter and process many powerful emotional and psychological stimuli. That's our reality in the 21st century.

And the response varies from person to person.

"For some, being in a specific fearful situation causes goose bumps, but in another the same specific fearful situation does not," explains the University of Kansas' Dr. David Pendergrass, who's written about goose bumps and related responses.

"The key to understanding the perception is previous experience. A young child gets goose bumps because he is in a poorly lit room with whistling winds and long shadows and his best friend telling him a story about someone getting killed by a ghost in this very room. But if you were in the same room and being told the same story, you would probably not have goose bumps. The young child does not have the same previous experiences as you."

Author Stephen King, this generation's master of horror, has probably given goose bumps to as many people as anyone. Last year the National Book Foundation presented him its annual medal for distinguished contribution to American letters. It was the first time an author of a popular genre like horror had received the award.

King recalled being called "a hack, a terrible writer, everything that is wrong with America.

"After 25 years of that, to get something like this ..." King said, getting overwhelmed, "I got goose bumps."

Sometimes it's not awe, but awww.

7 Jan 2005 by RaftingCanadian 1.1K
0
Votes
Reply To: Archive

The Turing Test

A.M. Turing published "Computing Machinery and Intelligence" (1950). -

The paper also introduces the Turing test. This is where one out of two participants is replaced by a computer and observer tries to work out which is the computer. If the computer can not be picked, then for all intent and purposes, it is intelligent.

Prolog

Prolog was designed in 1973 by Alain Colmerauer to implement the idea in the 1970’s of programming in logic. It uses symbolic manipulation to create a flexible yet powerful programming frame work. It allows the uses of facts and rules.

parent(bill,sam).
parent(sam,tom).
grandparent(X,Z) :- parent(X,Y),parent(Y,Z).
? – grandparent(X,tom)

Prolog can workout from the above example that bill is the grandparent of tom.

Deep Blue

In 1997 the chess playing super computer ‘Deep Blue’ was put online. After 2 other attempts, Garry Kasparov (The current world chess master) was beaten by Deep Blue. Deep blue operated at One Trillion operations per second.

In total, IBM spent millions of dollars and five years building the world's most powerful chess playing computer. On their website they say that they did this “merely as a benchmarking process” and that they are “taking some of the lessons [they] learned from building this system and applying it to other complex and difficult problems that require a tremendous amount of computational power”.

7 Jan 2005 by RaftingCanadian 1.1K
0
Votes
Reply To: Dating and Relationships

Body language is the meaning behind the words or the “unspoken” language. Surprisingly, studies show that only up to an estimated 10 percent of our communication is verbal.

The majority of the rest of communication is unspoken. This unspoken language isn’t rocket science. However, there are some generalizations or basic interpretations that can be applied to help with the understanding or translating of these unspoken meanings. Here are some basics below.

1. Smile

Women like warm smiles. Think of a heartfelt warm-fussy, maybe your favourite pet, and smile.

2. Eyes

If you don’t look a woman in the eyes while speaking, this can be interpreted as dishonesty or hiding something. Likewise, shifting eye movement or rapid changing of focus/direction can translate similarly.

If more than one woman is present in a group, look each in the eye as you speak, slowly turning to face the next with eye contact as well. Continue on so that each one has felt your warm, trusting glance. Some suggest beginning with one person and moving clockwise around the group so that no one is missed, and so that you are not darting around, seemingly glaring at people.

3. Attention Span / Attitude

Women can tell what type attitude you have by your attention span. If you quickly lose focus of what is being said, and if your attention span wanders, this shows through and makes you seem disinterested, bored, possibly even uncaring.

4. Attention Direction

If you sit or stand so that you are blocking another in the party, say someone is behind you, this can be interpreted as rude or thoughtless. So be sure to turn so that everyone is included in the conversation or angle of view, or turn gently, at ease and slowly, while talking, so that everyone is incorporated, recognized and involved in the conversation. Again some suggest the clockwise movement when working a group.

5. Arms Folded / Legs Crossed

This can be seen as defensive or an end to the conversation. So have arms hang freely or hold a glass of water, a business card or note taking instruments while communicating with women. Be open with open arms. Note: If you need to cross legs, cross at your ankles and not your knees. Sitting tightly folded up says that you are closed to communications.

6. Head Shaking

If women are shaking their heads while you speak, they are in agreement. If they are shaking, “no,” disagreement reigns in their minds.

7. Space / Distance

On the whole, women like their own personal body space. Give women room and keep out of their space. Entering to close can be intrusive and viewed as aggressive. Leaning – Sitting or standing, leaning is viewed as interest. In other words, an interested listener leans toward the speaker. Note women's body language – While you are with women, note how their bodies read. If a woman suddenly folds her arms across her chest and begins shaking her head “no,” you’ve probably lost her. You might try taking a step back and picking up where the conversation began this turn for the negative and regroup. It’s all about strategic planning!

7 Jan 2005 by RaftingCanadian 1.1K
0
Votes
Reply To: Archive

1950 - A.M. Turing published "Computing Machinery and Intelligence" (1950). -
The paper also introduces the Turing test. This is where one out of two participants is replaced by a computer and observer tries to work out which is the computer. If the computer can not be picked, then for all intent and purposes, it is intelligent.

1958 - John McCarthy (MIT) invented the Lisp language. Lisp (standing for list programming) uses predicate logic and recursion rather than common looping.

1964 – A MIT student, Richard Greenblatt builds MacHack. MacHack was a knowledge-based chess playing computer that achieved a C class chess ranking.

1973 - Alain Colmerauer developed Prolog. Prolog (standing for programming in logic) focuses on the logic rather than the process of solving the problem.

1973 – A group at Edinburgh University created Freddy. A robot that was able to put together a toy wooded car and boat in about 16 hours.

1979 – A medical diagnostic program based on knowledge call INTERNIST was created by Jack Myers and Harry Pople.

1979 – Hans Moravec creates the Sandford cart. The cart could navigate a chair-filled room.

1997 – The world chess grand master was beaten by Deep Blue, a chess playing computer.

1997 – Web crawlers (or spiders) and AI based data mining programs become widely used on the Internet.

2000 – Robotic ‘Smart’ pets become available to the general public.

2000 - A Carnegie Mellon University robot ‘Nomad’, explores Antarctica in the hope of finding meteorite samples.

7 Jan 2005 by RaftingCanadian 1.1K
59
Votes
Reply To: Dating and Relationships

Does she want you, or doesn't she? Her words may be ambiguous, but her body language says it all.

Imagine this: You're saying goodnight to a terrific woman you've just met and hope to see again. "I'll call you in a couple of days," you say enthusiastically.

"That would be great," she replies, raising her left hand in front of her face, then fluttering her fingers in what looks like a sexy little au revoir wave as she slowly backs away.

You stand there grinning as she turns and strides quickly toward her car. You're excited about all the possibilities - until two days later, when you make the promised phone call and hear, "You know, I don't think we really have enough in common to see each other again."

Huh?

Where did that come from? Didn't she say it would be great if you called? So what's the story?

The problem is, in the euphoric haze of what you thought wasa very promising encounter, you heard her words but tuned out the cues she was giving you in the language of inescapable truth: her body language.

You didn't notice that by backing away from you, by using her hand as a subtle barrier to keep you at bay, and by fanning the air with her "goodbye" message, her body contradicted every word her lips formed. Maybe she didn't consciously know she had reservations about seeing you until much later, but her body knew from the get-go and was letting you know with key rejection signals. And since you weren't reading her completely, you wound up getting blindsided.

When it comes to understanding a woman, what she's doing is just as important as what she's saying - sometimes more so. After all, she can't be totally honest; if she comes out and tells you she's hot for you, she might seem desperate or easy. Or if she isn't interested in what you're selling, she might not want to hurt your feelings by saying so. Luckily, her body's messages are a lot less coy, which means that understanding them will give you a better idea of what she's really thinking and feeling. And then you'll know when you need to change your approach or move on to someone else, and when it's time to go in for the kill.

The next time you meet a woman you're interested in, watch for the following physical signals. (Of course, don't concentrate so hard that you forget to listen to what she's actually saying, too.) The more you practice, the better you'll become at figuring out what's really going on in a woman's head. And who knows? She might be happy to have finally met a man who truly understands her.

1. If she makes direct, steady eye contact, she's interested. (You may be able to stir her on with a few lingering gazes of your own, but don't overdo it - staring will just make her uncomfortable, especially if you forget where her eyes are.)

2. If she leans in close to you, she's attracted. And if she gets close enough to whisper in your ear, she's really saying that she wants to be even closer.

3. If she leans away from you, she's distancing herself from what you're talking about - or from you. Change your approach immediately.

4. If she smiles with her mouth but not her eyes, it's likely that she's just trying to be polite.

5. But if you can see both rows of teeth when she smiles, she's genuinely happy to be with you.

6. If her palms are open, it shows sincerity and receptivity - she isn't hiding anything from you.

7. If her fists are closed or clenched, she's angry or she's protecting herself from you (or she's about to take a swing at you).

8. If she tilts her head, she's creating a sultry, affectionate gaze that shows her interest.

9. If she tosses or touches her hair, this is classic "preening" behavior and is clearly flirtatious in a social setting.

10. if she lifts her hair off her neck and stretches, baring her neck, she's displaying submissive behavior that leaves her vulnerable to you - a telltale sign of attraction.

11. If she taps or drums her fingers, she's bored, impatient or annoyed.

12. If her legs are crossed in your directions, she's inviting you to stay put.

13. But if she's swinging her foot in your direction, consider that she's actually making a kicking motion.

14. If she hides her face with her hand or a menu, she's protecting herself from you, or she's keeping something from you.

15. If her hand is on her cheek, she's still evaluating the situation.

16. If her hand is over her mouth, she disapproves of you or is reluctant to say what's on her mind.

17. If she blushes, or her ears or chest redden, she's nervous, excited and possibly quite attracted to you.

18. If she moistens her lips with the tip of her tongue, that's a very good thing. If she applies lipstick in your presence, that's even better ... especially if she does it slowly.

19. If her arms are crossed, she's defensive and guarded.

20. If she touches your arm, even very casually, that's a very good sign. Even if she touches everybody that way, this signal may not mean she's crazy about you, but she certainly isn't repulsed by you.

21. If she touches any other part of your body, she definitely wants to get to know you better.

22. If she rubs up against you with her body, she really wants you - unless, of course, she just had to squeeze by you in order to get to the bathroom.

23. If she seems generally tense, ask her nicely if she's hada bad day. If she hasn't, it's you. Now is the time to get her to laugh, ask her to dance or at least have another drink before she bolts.

24. If she seems generally relaxed, you're doing fine - she's enjoying being with you and is open to future possibilities. If you keep doing what you've been doing, she'll be putty in your hands.

Seattle-based therapist Joy Davidson, PhD, answers your sex questions in our "Ask Dr. Joy" column.

Pick-up lines

If you're at a bar or a party and have been together for more than 10 minutes, ask if you can buy her a drink. (This may seem rudimentary, but you'd be surprised how many men ignore basic boy-girl etiquette.

If you want to spark a woman's welcoming body signals, you'll need to use that other language - English - to get her interested. Here are few ways to tune up your conversational skills and keep the electricity flowing during that all-important first encounter.

  • Use your sense of humor. If you can make her laugh, you're halfway home. (But if you think a joke might offend her, forget it. There's no faster way to make her think you're a jerk.)
  • If you're at a bar or a party and have been together more than 10 minutes, ask if you can buy her a drink. (This may seem rudimentary, but you'd be surprised how many men ignore the basics of boy-girl etiquette.)
  • Introduce her to people who come by to say hi to you, and include her in the conversation. Be friendly toward her pals, too, but not too friendly toward the female ones.
  • Be enthusiastic about the aspects of your life you really enjoy. If there are aspects you hate, don't bring them up.
  • Women often complain that men talk about themselves too much, so make a focused effort to explore her interests, too. Try posing highly specific, open-ended questions, such as: "What's it like to be a broker in this roller-coaster market?" Or, "How was it growing up with three brothers?"
  • Respond to her answer by adding a least one follow-up question that reveals your genuine interest.
  • If you really don't give a hoot about what she said, instead of taking it, try smoothly drifting to another topic that ignites some mutual enthusiasm. (And if you can't find one, maybe you should drift to another woman.)
  • Maintain eye contact while she speaks, and be sure not to interrupt her.
  • Speak neutrally or positively about other women, especially your ex-girlfriends.
  • Compliment her ideas, her way of expressing herself, her laugh, her wit ... in short, anything you especially like about her that doesn't pertain to her looks or her body. (Save that sort of flattery for your first date, where you tell her how terrific she looks as soon as you see her.)
7 Jan 2005 by RaftingCanadian 1.1K
0
Votes
Reply To: Archive

AI is not only used for Process Control, Process Monitoring and Fault Diagnosis/Maintenance, but also for Scheduling and Planning.

The reasons for using AI for scheduling and planning is that as more factors have to be taken into account in a larger business, there is a need for fast service and good quality products. As well as offering speed, it can take many factors into account and produce for the user different ways of planning to choose from.

Because AI is programmed, it has greater potential not to miss information given to it.

Because of it’s speed, its analytical abilities and it non-biased point of view, AI can be an important tool in making management that could take ethics into account and increase management productivity.

With good planning and the use of AI, processes can become more Energy Efficient, have better Quality and be more Productive. This, in the end, means more money and better business.

7 Jan 2005 by RaftingCanadian 1.1K
0
Votes
Reply To: Money and Finance

Saving money when you're young age is an important lesson. All good lessons and habits begin early, and saving is a skill that everyone needs. Many people - adults included - do not have a good sense of saving for the long run. Besides being a great way to ensure you have enough money for your old age, saving money when you are young can only help your future.

I have been lucky to learn this lesson early because I have had a lawn business since I was ten years old. Of the money I make, I spend approximately ten percent and save the other ninety.

Making sure you don't spend too much and continuing to save is a good way to accumulate wealth. I have put my earnings in a bank, and with investments and regular interest rates, have almost doubled my savings. Your money will double after twelve years at a modest rate of six percent interest. Many teens I know spend all the money they earn so it never has a chance to grow.

Teens should realize that now is a prime time to begin saving. In high school many parents pay for almost everything, so expenses can be small. If you have a job, you should have fun with some of the money. But you should also save some so that it will grow for you without your working, and begin planning for your future. When you spend money, you not only lose that money, but also the interest you could have accumulated by saving it.

After high school, college is expensive and then "real" life begins, with expenses such as food and rent. If you can hold onto a good portion of the money you earn as a teen, going to college and buying a house will be much easier. The earlier you begin saving, the more time the money has to grow.

If you are in your thirties without any savings, you will always have to play catch up. If you can just save $100 a month for five years at a ten percent interest rate, that money will be worth $7,750 in five years. After 25 years continuing to save $100 each month, your savings will be worth $132,000. These statistics show that the earlier you begin saving the easier it is to create a nest egg.

Later in life it can be hard to start saving because life is more expensive and you may only have enough to pay your bills. If you want to buy a house and have a family, you need capital, which comes from savings.

Many say money cannot make you happy (which is true), but money can help you lead a stable life.

Saving early will mean you will have to work fewer years when you are older and allow you to spend time doing things you want. You also want to be financially secure so you can live the way you want without worrying. Also, you will be able to retire at a reasonable age.

Think: if you have two million dollars capital when you retire, that money growing at a modest five percent annual interest rate will produce an income of $100,000 a year without you working an hour. That is without even mentioning the possibilities of wise investing in the stock market or mutual funds, where sometimes you can increase your capital by a hundred percent!

7 Jan 2005 by RaftingCanadian 1.1K