LASER HARP!

Immediately after I began to search for interesting Arduino projects, I found a great looking site called Hacknmod.com and this amazing example of how the only limit to the Arduino is your imagination. This guy built a laser harp! Honestly, this could be the one coolest things you see today.

Simply amazing! I am now officially determined to create my own laser harp and produce epic trance music. Look out Philip Glass, here I come!

- JM

The Arduino

Through my continuing study of C++ I have developed a keen curiosity with machine code and lower lever assembly language. A friend of mine recommended a curious little contraption called the Arduino. I must admit, the first time I saw a picture of this, one word came to my head. Smart.

Essentially, the Arduino is an open-source single board micro controller that allows easy interaction with low-level programming. It allows developers and hobbyists to explore and produce a wide range of functions. It is also a wonderful learning tool for individuals such as myself who wish to grasp a better understanding of low-level programming architecture. If you're interested in saving up for one of these, the good news is that you will not have to save for long. The Arduino Uno REV 3 goes for a mere $34.99 at Radioshack. The cost and versatility of this product has made it a success in the tech community.

I will be sure to share some of my learning experiences with this tool once I acquire one in the near future. Thanks for reading!

The Art of Artificial Intelligence

There is a common fear that the rise of artificial intelligence will lead to human enslavement. Fear is a funny thing. Fear can keep us out of harm's way, though fear can also block us from achieving our full potential. In the words of Paul Atredies, "I must not fear. Fear is the mind killer."

Perhaps what some of us fear is competition. Humans have had the upper hand for quite some time, though it is only a matter of time before a new challenger comes forward. I enjoy challenges. Those of you who enjoy competition, either through sports or intellectual activities, know the rewards of pushing oneself to the edge. There are some researchers who are doing just that with artificial intelligence. Cleverbot.com is a prime example.

Cleverbot is an application which prompts a conversation between a user and the artificial intelligence within the program. It was first developed in 1988 by Rollo Carpenter. The interactive web application was launched in 1997, and millions of conversations have occurred since. Imagine what a conversation between two Cleverbot applications would be like? A few people at Cornell's Creative Machines lab did, and the result was quite astonishing.

It will be interesting to see what happens when these programs are given bodies. Perhaps it will not be long before your morning latte is prepared and served by a Cleverbot equipped with enough wit to deal with even the worst morning person.

- JM

Programming

Recently I watched the film Pirates of Silicon Valley. The film was a dramatization of how Steve Jobs and Bill Gates started and eventually became major players in the microcomputer industry. To say the least the film was incredibly inspiring. I have since decided to commit myself to learning how to program.

One might ask where to start on such a journey. In my younger years I had a VIC-20 and played around with some BASIC programming, though more so just copying code from a book than designing and writing my own programs. Still, like anything in life, it was a positive learning experience. C++ is often recommended by experienced programmers as a good starting point. I have decided to learn this language.

That being said, I have found this gem of a site. Here you will find very useful and comprehensive tutorials. Everything you need to know is laid out in reasonable increments. My personal goal is to complete all the chapters over the course of 3 months of casual study in my free time. With these tutorials I have had no problem wrapping my head around the basic fundamentals of the language.

If you're also interested in taking your first step into the world of programming, I highly recommend this site!

Learn C++

- JM

SOPA

It would seem I have chosen a bad time to start blogging as it looks like dark days are ahead for the internet. The American government has just cranked up the fight against information sharing by introducing the SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act). The good news is that the Obama Administration has taken a stance against this act, though with elections approaching it is still difficult to predict the long-term outcome of these events.

Information is such an interesting thing. I would go as far as to say that information is like magic. Magic should be for everyone. At least that is how I see it.

- JM

Snowball effect

Many of you might agree that the hardest part of doing something is actually doing it. So here I am, starting... and it is hard! When you consider just how many blogs are out there it is easy to feel like a drop of water in a bucket. I have decided to take the Zen approach. The ocean is made of many drops of water. Zen.

I'm not a Buddhist. I'm not really anything more than a person, like you, who sees a world worth experiencing. I like to share my experiences with others, as I enjoy when others share their experiences with me. I also like it when people try to shape the world around them into something better, though better is a perspective. What some might consider better, others might consider significantly worse. Suddenly we have hit a philosophic brick wall.

Nature vs. nurture. Where does our sense of better and worse come from? I'm not exactly sure, but I have come to develop my own over time, as you have surely done the same. I think it is better not to kill. I think it is better not to hate. I think it is worse to be suffering. I think it is worse to be alone. That sums about sums it up for me.

All that being said, this is about as philosophical as I would like to get. This is more of an introduction to you, the reader, as to who I am. The aim of this blog is simply to connect, share, and learn from the other drops out there.

- JM