Humans vs. Machines

Like million other Jeopardy fans, I too watched the show last week. It was a special edition of this popular quiz show in which a super computer, Watson, challenged two top Jeopardy champions, Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter. A joint effort of twenty five learned engineers over a four-year period made Watson, named after IBM’s founder Thomas J. Watson, a reality.

To me, a foreigner in the land of computer science, it’s awesome to see what smart people can do. Through maybe millions of motherboards, chips, and many other peripheral parts, they transplanted human intelligence into a cold steel box. In this case, they groomed Watson with boundless of detailed information. In addition to his deft ability to listen, to speak and to choose clue categories, it appeared he could also push the buzzer quicker than any others. I remembered hearing that having a fast thumb is a must for the contestants of this fast-paced quiz contest. So it is not a big surprise for many of us to see Watson became the latest champion of the favorite American quiz show. After all it is a brain child of twenty five very smart persons.

Putting aside the extraordinary entertainment and advertising value of this brains versus brains contest, the task of Watson’s creators does not end here. Now I am counting on them and their competitors to come up with new generations of computer systems that are friendly to both the users and their environment. - Ayee

Gold-plated Health Cares

A couple of months ago, on a sunny morning I tripped over an uneven sidewalk and required emergency cares. Contrary to all the horrible stories I heard on unsatisfactory yet costly health cares, the timely treatment I received from a local hospital was nothing but professional. And I am sure that four subsequent visits to a specialist and many x-rays during the month after the initial emergency care had also helped me recover quickly from this minor injury.

Certainly I have no qualms on the competent cares I had received at that hospital. I am also grateful for having a reliable medical plan to fall back on when I need it. But I do remember a previous emergency room visit about three decades ago. During a night I spent at the hospital ward and following six or seven weeks I hobbled on one good leg, I did not remember that I had the cares from that many medical professionals.

But on that day during the six hours I was at the hospital, I was provided with cares from at least ten hospital staffs that included a most apologetic doctor. Each of the staff members performed their specialized assignment on me. The care team of the day included receptionists, nurses, nurse-aides, and technicians. They admitted me, x-rated me, wheeled me, and prepared me for intravenous drips. In addition before I was discharged, a group of four led by the aforementioned physician set a clay cast over the broken bones while I was sedated.

When I was on the gurney waiting for treatment, many thoughts, mostly depressing ones, came upon me. One of them was why healthy care costs had risen so much over the years. At this time our health insurance premium is still affordable. But it may reach to a point when we no longer can afford to be sick.

On that eventful day I had certainly wondered and was somewhat convinced that fine division of labor and specialization in care are not the best prescriptions to rein in the exorbitant amount of money we, both the government and the patients, must spend on health related services. - Ayee

To Susie and Her Many Kennel Mates: May You All Rest in Peace!

Nearly one year after the 2010 winter Olympics, an animal cruelty case is now under police investigation in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada.

A gruesome story of the killing of healthy sled dogs surfaced recently in this picturesque ski resort. It happened in April of last year not long after the Olympic crowd had left the town. A sled-dog ride operator decided to cull the dogs they did not want to keep. If not for an insurance claim filed by the individual who did the slaughtering, no one will ever know that 100 lively dogs were put through agonizing pain and fear before their grisly death.

While the outcome of the government investigation of the matter is anyone’s guess, no justice can undo the fact that this is a preventable tragedy. Even though these working dogs are no pets, they deserve as much caring and kind consideration as their human counterparts when retiring from their work place. Therefore, it is so unthinkable that someone would take upon himself to expedite the "firing" of his many workmates in such a horrible manner.

This distasteful story has certainly reflected the dog’s owner, the operator of the sled dog ride business, badly. It also prompts many of us to ask these questions.

Why there was no one steps up before this wanton act was about to happen? Where was the vet who refused to help before the inhumane cull? And where were the animal protection agencies who suppose to speak for the ones who cannot speak for themselves?

It appears to me most of the animal cruelty cases came to public knowledge after the fact. By that time the horses have already left the barn. - Ayee

A Feisty Flying Ace

The other day on my way home, I saw a Snoopy like dog rocketing around on a quiet residential street. Since I saw no one was guiding this furry flying machine, I worried the little pooch might have slipped out of the house without his best friend’s knowledge. So I was thinking about alerting the dog pound of this wayward dog.

At first, I saw a white dog on the lawn of a street corner. Despite his small stature, he, with his back legs, was fervently scratching the grasses beneath him and brought rains of grasses and dirts onto the street behind him. But the way he held his head up gave me an impression that he was not on his own turf. He knew very well what he was doing would fetch him some unpleasant attentions. While his back quarter was busy digging, he held his head upright and looked out for any interlopers.

Then suddenly, he decided to move onto a greener pasture. He zigged and zagged onto another street corner a few houses down and started his destructive excavation again. But once he realized I was watching him, before he disappeared into a hedge in front of a house nearby he gave me a defiant look as if he was telling me "See if you can catch me!" - Ayee

Pennies from Heaven

There is a saying that a penny saved is a penny earned. But inflation has taken a big bite out of the value of our hard currencies. Even in a recessionary time like now, no one would pick stray coins on the street, particularly the pennies.

The other day, there were many reddish coins strewn all over a parking lot outside a coffee shop. Since I am a firm believer of the good luck these errant copper pieces can bring to the persons who keep them, I, a self-professed penny pincher, decided to put these orphans to some good use. So I bent down and got all of them from the wet ground. Except this time I did not put them into my pocket to add them to my lucky penny jar later. I decided to share my new found fortune with a stranger.

About this person, he might be a panhandler. But I would not say he looked scruffy or unkempt. Somehow he did seem to be by the coffee shop a lot. That day, he was at his usual place, a spot a couple feet from the entrance to the store. In the past whenever I walked by him there after I got my coffee from the shop, he always muttered a few words asking for some spare changes. It surprised me on that day, this individual did nothing to these shining coins either. Perhaps he was not as bad-off as I thought. But he did accept my heavenly offerings with good humor. Hopefully, this humble gesture of mine will bring many good tidings this individual needs so he can live a better life that he deserves. - Ayee

Peace on Earth

It’s a known fact that dogs and cats do not normally get along. Many cats got badly injured from their face-off with Fidos. There were also dogs who learned in a hard and painful way to leave certain Fifis alone. This is why sometimes we would say people fighting like dogs and cats. But what I heard recently of four cuddly furry ones has proved this saying hogwash. This two-dog and two-cat team get along peacefully. Matter of fact, one of the doggies, I speculate because of his pint size, not only thinks himself a kitty, acts like one too.

Lucy, a mid-size mongrel, is the oldest of the bunch. She should be credited for igniting the pet fever in her two-legged friends. One day many years ago, she followed a relative of her adoptive family home. And the rest is history. Evidently, this gentle pooch had brought immeasurable pleasure to a family that never had a single pet before. After Lucy’s arrival, her family added two cats and a small terrier named Cody to its household. Without much ado, this furry quartet has adapted to each other rather well and lived under one roof harmoniously thereafter.

Then days after this hairy group settled down nicely in their new home, empty cookie packages started to appear on the kitchen floor in the morning. The family thought of their two cookie-loving pooches the prime suspects of the crime. But the inviting morsels were high up on the counter top. And neither dog can jump that high a distance to reach the counter. Finally, the cookie bandit,rather bandits were nabbed. In the wee hours one night, Bonnie and Clyde in feline costume were seen on the counter stealthily pushing the package of cookies to the slobbering Cassidy and the Kid below. - Ayee

Money makes the world go around

It’s this time of the year again.

Recently, I experienced some kind of epiphany about giving to charities.

Since our economy is still in the doldrums, and the unemployment rates are at a record high level, creating new jobs is now on the top of politicians’ to do list. The bad job markets also put many of us in a more vulnerable position as far as our future employment is concerned. And likely we may not be as generous as we used to be to others. But do not despair. There is another way we can do to help many unfortunate neighbors. We can follow what the governments around the world had done. Individually, we can also improve the sacking economy by spending within our means.

We all know there is a profound multiplying effect from our spending on goods and services. As you can see that our constant support to various business prompts the business owners to hire more employees. More working people translates to more spending and more spending means more money in people’s pockets, etc., etc . . .

Money, the medium of exchange, indeed makes the world go around.
-Ayee