Keith Brown - bykeithbrown

Keith Brown

Is LaMDA Sentient?

Artificial Intelligence

Is LaMDA Sentient?

I've read through the whole interview with Google's Artificial Intelligence, the one that got that engineer sacked. I'm not convinced either way. However, that humans are creating things they don't fully understand should be terrifying to everyone. Read it yourself: https://cajundiscordian.medium.com/is-lamda-sentient-an-interview-ea64d916d917

Your Moment of Zen

Your Moment of Zen

Watch this cyclist effortlessly moves through stopped car traffic. It's beautiful.

'Two Wheels Good' Looks Interesting

'Two Wheels Good' Looks Interesting

I like books. I like bikes. I like books about bikes. Two Wheels Good: The History and Mystery of the Bicycle is going to be my next read. I've put a hold on it at my local library, but apparently there are two people ahead of me. I may have

ISU Raises Competition Age to 17

ISU Raises Competition Age to 17

They could have gone to 18, in my opinion, but raising the age for elite competition from 15 years old is a good thing for the sport and for the competitors. Also, let's ban Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir from entering my living room through my television while we're at

We Need More Headlines Like This Every Day

We Need More Headlines Like This Every Day

Every once in a while, the corporate news does its job of comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable . Today is one of those days. This is the first news story I saw this morning: At least 12 dead in another weekend of mass shootings across AmericaAttacks in Philadelphia and

LISTED: Just a Freaking Table

Unwanted Furniture

LISTED: Just a Freaking Table

Facebook is a dick and won't let me embed the listing, so I had to reprint it.

Not All News Out of the U.S. Postal Service is Bad

Not All News Out of the U.S. Postal Service is Bad

The U.S. Postal Service is testing out electric cargo bikes to deliver mail, and apparently it's going quite well. There's hope for this agency, even under the direction of a fascist Trumpster bent on destroying the agency from the inside. According to Christopher Jackson, the director of city delivery

I almost had it with humanity this morning

I almost had it with humanity this morning

This morning, I tried to buy a $46 ticket to see Kraftwerk, a band that occupies an intergral part of my musical development. In the final step before purchase, the site told me it was going to charge my card more than $70. $70?!

Formerly Unloved Round Table

Unwanted Furniture Featured

Formerly Unloved Round Table

My latest dumpster find transformation.

Random Thoughts

Today's links

A great piece from NBC News advocating for the listing of salary ranges on job postings. If I see the words "competitive salary" again, I swear I'll slap your forehead.

Review: The Northman

Review: The Northman

Tedious. Screamy. The end.

Super Cool Desk

Unwanted Furniture

Super Cool Desk

This piece has undergone several changes before landing on this simple and attractive look.

The Divorced Dad Special

Unwanted Furniture

The Divorced Dad Special

A tiny little table, but solid as rocks, that a nice guy bought for his family. I hope they're beating the hell out of it.

Random Thoughts (May, 16, 2021)

Random Thoughts Featured

Random Thoughts (May, 16, 2021)

Thoughts and links that I jot down sometimes during the day.

Know your rights, or lack thereof

Know your rights, or lack thereof

Now that it's once again temperate here in the Northeast U.S., many of us are taking to two wheels again hoping to shed some of that lazy winter bloat. But do you know if you legally have the right to take that whole lane, regardless of auto traffic? Odds

No Car Grocery Run

No Car Grocery Run

Just dipping my toe into using my bicycle as my main mode of around-town transportation, I went to the grocery store today, without my car. It was a whole lot easier than I thought it would be.

Yes, of course I'm crying

Yes, of course I'm crying

I'm not made of wood. If you're not misty by mid-story, you're basically a serial killer. Rollins College Valedictorian Elizabeth Bonker has non-verbal autism. Her condition has stoppered her ability to talk since she was 15 months old. "God gave you a voice. Use it," Bonker told her fellow graduates

Cutest Little Jerk

Cutest Little Jerk

She rolls over like this every time I catch her clawing at that chair, because she’s a jerk.

The Supreme Court has never been your friend

The Supreme Court has never been your friend

A lengthy and excellent Vox piece argues that the recent leaked draft decision overturning Roe v. Wade is the latest in a historically long line of conservative decisions by an inherently conservative institution that has always been hostile to working people and marginalized groups of all stripes.

Abortion Self-Care

Abortion Self-Care

Politico published a leaked a Supreme Court draft document that overturns Roe vs. Wade, confirming suspicions and fears of millions. Whether this will actually be the final draft -- it seems like it will -- there is a Plan C, mail-order abortion pills for those who need them.

Weather Underground member Kathy Boudin dies, 78

Weather Underground member Kathy Boudin dies, 78

The Columbia University Center for Justice, which Boudin helped found, announced [https://centerforjustice.columbia.edu/news/kathy-boudin-great-life-and-great-loss] the former '70s radical died of cancer on May 1, 2022. She was 78. Boudin's partner, David Gilbert, and her son, Chesa Boudin, were by her side, the center said. Chesa Boudin is

Happy May Day!

While the rest of the world celebrated International Workers' Day, we here in the U.S. are saddled with a neutered Labor Day in September. A group of comrades in Portland [https://katu.com/news/local/may-day-rallies-in-portland-support-starbucks-amazon-workers-on-international-workers-day] were able to rally in support of workers at Amazon and Starbucks as

Time after time

Previous Favorites Featured

Time after time

You’re not supposed to root against your kids. As a parent, you want your children to succeed, to meet challenges, hurdle obstacles, and vanquish adversity. You’re not supposed to want them to fail.

ON THE SCENE: High School Football Snack Shack Duty

Previous Favorites Featured

ON THE SCENE: High School Football Snack Shack Duty

Originally Posted on May 24, 2020 [https://bykeithbrown.com/2020/05/24/on-the-scene-high-school-football-snack-shack-duty/] . One thing is quite clear upon entering the football stadium at Wall High School for the first playoff game: This is no night to be outside watching football. It is cold. Wintry cold. Bone-chilling cold. The air

Scrapped china cabinet to side table

Unwanted Furniture

Scrapped china cabinet to side table

I found a china cabinet smashed to bits nex to a dumpster. The bottom half was still intact and usable, but it had no top. I made a top to fit, set it in and refinished the rest of it. Now it's a nice side table.