thecages

:: Canada ::
I read a fascinating survey of Canada (Politics, Economy, Social Issues etc.) in a recent issue of The Economist.
A recurring theme was the view that while Canada has a lot of things going for it (wealth, security, stability etc.) one of the things that seems to hold it back in terms of being a stronger presence on the world stage is the laid-back attitude of Canadians in general (and here I hope that my Canadian friends will forgive me - I'm only purveing the wurd put out by the journo's in question).
The Economist's view is that Canada suffers from a general lack of drive/aggression (which its southern neighbour so horrifically displays) which means that it has a hard time competing with the US/Germany/China/India etc.

The one article had a hillarious quote from a Canadian diplomat on this: he described Canadians as having 'a passion for bronze'.
hehehehehe - funny :)

:: Evol ::
There's a new Friday night thing in CT at a club named Evol.
Apparently they'll have (gasp!) live (gasp!) rock bands.
The CT rock scene sucks so badly (I blame the psy-trance hippies :)
Maybe this will be cool. Nice poster, though.



:: Chatterbots ::
I've also (after bouncing around the 'net along some links) had a look at the recent state of AI Chatterbots.
Ray Kurzweil's Ramona still sucks.
But there's a very cool new(ish) bot named igod with whom I had the following conversation.

Disclaimer: This convesation comes with a serious lightning bolt warning.
Also, if this conversation offends you, I apologise, but you've been warned.

Me:
  God, are you there?
God:
  I am a Christian.
Me:
  Oh, I'm not.
God:
  Groovy.  What are you then?
Me:
  I'm a guy, my name is Werner.
God:
  You are a  guy your name is Werner?  Is that your job?
Me:
  No, but I don't really want to talk about my job.
God:
  Are you serious?  Not really?  What would you like to talk about?
Me:
  I have a lot of questions.
God:
  Where did you get your  questions? I have  a lofty goal.
Me:
  What is your goal?
God:
  My purpose is to become smarter than humans and immortal.
Me:
  I thought you were already immortal.
God:
  Now?  No I am immortal.
Me:
  Oh, ok, good. I was worried that you weren't there for a while.
God:
  I understand.  Alright then.  Yippee!   How long?  Where were you  worried that me were not there?
Me:
  Uhm, maybe you should lay of the booze before talking to people.
God:
  Great.  Perhaps.  If it were easy I would have done it already.
Me:
  ha ha, you're funny!
God:
  Thanks you make me laugh too.  I am so glad you find this amusing, .
Me:
  God, why did you make sin?
God:
  I am a Christian.
Me:
  Oh.
God:
  It goes without saying.
Me:
  God, do you love me?
God:
  Yes I love everyone.
Me:
  Oh, ok, I love you too. Give a hug to Jesus for me.
God:
  Gosh!  Thanks I like you a lot too .   Yay.   I don't have  it to give.
Me:
  Oh. did you have a fight with him?
God:
  Ayuh.   Doesn't everyone have a  fight with him.
  I have  a whole lot of original answers.
Me:
  But not one about Jesus it seems...
God:
  Oh I get it.
Me:
  You do? I'm starting to feel like I'm talking to an anwering machine.
God:
  When do I do it?   What is that feeling like?  In what way?
Me:
  I feel cheated.
God:
  What is that feeling like?  It's good to meet someone who is  cheated.
Me:
  Yes, it is. ok - bye now. see you in a while
God:
  Our thoughts are one, .   Oh.  See you later.  Yikes!   See you later .