While you can find a treehouse to rent using Airbnb, they also have a mockup of one for their employees to chill in.

Last week’s Wall Street Journal had a story, The Perk Bubble Is Growing as Tech Booms Again, on how technology companies compete for employees by offering more and more extravagant perks.

“Here in the capital of the latest tech boom, engineers and product developers work late into the night creating the next big thing. But they take office culture just as seriously, fueling behavior that is reaching a level of froth not seen in a decade.

Some Web start-ups are partying like it’s 1999. Airbnb’s housewarming later this month is to include a visit by rapper and occasional tech investor M.C. Hammer. The party room at reviews site Yelp Inc. has three beer kegs with built-in iPads to offer information about what’s on tap. Last month, start-ups Peanut Labs Inc. and AdParlor Inc. sponsored the sold-out “Pirates of Silicon Valley Cruise,” a $600-per-person seafaring party.

While you can find a treehouse to rent using Airbnb, they also have a mockup of one for their employees to chill in.

Last week’s Wall Street Journal had a story, The Perk Bubble Is Growing as Tech Booms Again, on how technology companies compete for employees by offering more and more extravagant perks.

“Here in the capital of the latest tech boom, engineers and product developers work late into the night creating the next big thing. But they take office culture just as seriously, fueling behavior that is reaching a level of froth not seen in a decade.

Some Web start-ups are partying like it’s 1999. Airbnb’s housewarming later this month is to include a visit by rapper and occasional tech investor M.C. Hammer. The party room at reviews site Yelp Inc. has three beer kegs with built-in iPads to offer information about what’s on tap. Last month, start-ups Peanut Labs Inc. and AdParlor Inc. sponsored the sold-out “Pirates of Silicon Valley Cruise,” a $600-per-person seafaring party.

Ph.D. Dissertation Defense

Finding a Temporal Frame Comparison Function
for the Metacognitive Loop

Dean Earl Wright III

9:00am Wednesday 26 July 17 August 2011, ITE325 UMBC

The field of Artificial Intelligence has seen steady advances in cognitive systems. However, many of these systems perform poorly when faced with situations outside of their training. And as the real world is dynamic, this brittleness is a major problem in the field today. Adding metacognition to such systems can improve their operation in the face of perturbations found in dynamic environments. The Metacognitive Loop (MCL) works with a host system, monitoring its sensors and expectations. When a failure is indicated, MCL advises the host system on corrective actions.

Differing amounts of metacognition can be made available to the host system. At the lowest level no assistance is given. Above that are rule-based systems with hard-coded responses to stimulations. Next are evaluative systems that weigh multiple inputs using neural network or other techniques. At each level, the metacognition system can provide useful assistance in more situations.

The next level of metacognition adds a temporal dimension. A metacognitive system that has no concept of time has to either treat each new problem as (1) a symptom of previously encountered problems or (2) a completely new problem. Both of these extremes lead to providing poor advice to the host system. Thus, the temporal level of metacognition needs a more discriminating test to compare the current situation encountered by the host system with previous problems.

Several algorithms were developed to find the one that would provide the best performance for a simulated Mars Rover that faced with a dynamic environment with multiple perturbations. Several methods were found that allow MCL to provide good advice most of the time and allow the Mars Rover to successfully complete complex tasks.

Committee:

• Dr. Tim Oates (chair)
• Dr. Marie desJardins
• Dr. Tim Finin
• Dr. Anupam Joshi
• Dr. Don Perlis (UMCP)

All articles published in Cambridge Journals in 2009 and 2010 are free to access for 6 weeks, from 15th July until 30th August 2011.

No registration is required. Simply go to http://journals.cambridge.org

For more information, see http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displaySpecialPage?pageId=2964

Courtesy of Visual News

Are you burned? Here’s some vital SPF facts.

Somalia experiences worst drought in its history and hunger is on the rise.

The Dalai Lama’s Kalachakra takes place in D.C. this week.

Ouch! Football player models for equal rights despite a history of sexual assault.

Kansas fights for an end to pro-life and pro-choice violence.

How is Philadelphia saving money?

Can Al Sharpton remedy the oil crisis? He’s already got one shareholder shaking in his boots.

Did you know debt ceiling legislation started in 1917? Here’s a little history for you.

Courtesy of NPR

Americans are rightly worried Mexico’s bloody drug war will spill over into border states.

But on Mexico’s southern border, the escalating conflict has spilled over into Guatemala, silencing a great voice for peace and hope in Latin America.

Last Saturday, Argentine artist and activist Facundo Cabral, was killed in a car on the way to an airport in Guatemala.

It is strongly believed that Cabral may not have been the intended target of a hit. Instead it was the driver, a Nicaraguan businessman.

Like Mexico, Guatemala is plagued with gangs and guns. Even the rich and famous are not safe.

Cabral was not only a singer and songwriter, but a voice of Latin America in the 1970s amidst political tensions and dictatorships. He was a novelist and honored an international messenger of peace by UNESCO in 1996.

One of his most famous songs, which was recorded about forty years ago, “No soy de aquí ni allá” (”I am not from here, nor there”), has been translated into many languages.

The radio show Multi-American, has spoken about the song’s appeal to the cultural identity for the growing numbers of Americans with Latino background.

While the perpetrators have been apprehended, the attack has not only shocked the Latin music community, but left many artists wary of traveling to Guatemala.

The cancerous drug war continues to spread with a cure no where in sight.

Genesis 41:1-43 (NIV)

1 When two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream: He was standing by the Nile, 2 when out of the river there came up seven cows, sleek and fat, and they grazed among the reeds. 3 After them, seven other cows, ugly and gaunt, came up out of the Nile and stood beside those on the riverbank. 4 And the cows that were ugly and gaunt ate up the seven sleek, fat cows. Then Pharaoh woke up.

5 He fell asleep again and had a second dream: Seven heads of grain, healthy and good, were growing on a single stalk. 6 After them, seven other heads of grain sprouted—thin and scorched by the east wind. 7 The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven healthy, full heads. Then Pharaoh woke up; it had been a dream.

8 In the morning his mind was troubled, so he sent for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could interpret them for him.

9 Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, “Today I am reminded of my shortcomings. 10 Pharaoh was once angry with his servants, and he imprisoned me and the chief baker in the house of the captain of the guard. 11 Each of us had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own. 12 Now a young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams, and he interpreted them for us, giving each man the interpretation of his dream. 13 And things turned out exactly as he interpreted them to us: I was restored to my position, and the other man was impaled.”

14 So Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was quickly brought from the dungeon. When he had shaved and changed his clothes, he came before Pharaoh.

15 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.”

16 “I cannot do it,” Joseph replied to Pharaoh, “but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.”

17 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “In my dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile, 18 when out of the river there came up seven cows, fat and sleek, and they grazed among the reeds. 19 After them, seven other cows came up—scrawny and very ugly and lean. I had never seen such ugly cows in all the land of Egypt. 20 The lean, ugly cows ate up the seven fat cows that came up first. 21 But even after they ate them, no one could tell that they had done so; they looked just as ugly as before. Then I woke up.

22 “In my dream I saw seven heads of grain, full and good, growing on a single stalk. 23 After them, seven other heads sprouted—withered and thin and scorched by the east wind. 24 The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven good heads. I told this to the magicians, but none of them could explain it to me.”

25 Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one and the same. God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. 26 The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads of grain are seven years; it is one and the same dream. 27 The seven lean, ugly cows that came up afterward are seven years, and so are the seven worthless heads of grain scorched by the east wind: They are seven years of famine.

28 “It is just as I said to Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. 29 Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt, 30 but seven years of famine will follow them. Then all the abundance in Egypt will be forgotten, and the famine will ravage the land. 31 The abundance in the land will not be remembered, because the famine that follows it will be so severe. 32 The reason the dream was given to Pharaoh in two forms is that the matter has been firmly decided by God, and God will do it soon.

33 “And now let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and put him in charge of the land of Egypt. 34 Let Pharaoh appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. 35 They should collect all the food of these good years that are coming and store up the grain under the authority of Pharaoh, to be kept in the cities for food. 36 This food should be held in reserve for the country, to be used during the seven years of famine that will come upon Egypt, so that the country may not be ruined by the famine.”

37 The plan seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his officials. 38 So Pharaoh asked them, “Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God?”

39 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. 40 You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you.”

41 So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.” 42 Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his finger and put it on Joseph’s finger. He dressed him in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. 43 He had him ride in a chariot as his second-in-command, and people shouted before him, “Make way!” Thus he put him in charge of the whole land of Egypt.

Reflection:

Joseph becomes the “number 2 guy” in all of Egypt after Pharaoh himself. Joseph is the closest a person can be to being a king! He basically acts with all the power that the king has bestowed on him. Of course, little does Pharaoh know that Joseph is actually God’s #2 guy. Perhaps this is the right depiction of how those who are called can live as those who are the instruments of God’s blessing to our generation.

Response:

May we view ourselves as so much more than how the world defines us! We are God’s royal priesthood and more than conquerors through Him who loved us. The Lord has entrusted us with His mission in this generation and has given us His Spirit so we can do the work. Let’s spend some time praying and receiving again the calling that God has given us. Let’s align our hearts even more with His church and His Word.

One of our Dissertation House (DH) students started her own blog.  Margaret is a Chemistry student at UMBC and she is moving right along. Enjoy her posts, they will make you smile! http://adventuresofdissertationwriting.wordpress.com/ . Margaret wore her “6 Steps to Completing Your Dissertation” tee-shirt (distributed by AAAS at the American Chemical Society – ACS conference) to the DH last Friday. Humor is incorporated in the design of the shirt which describes the steps as drudgery, procrastination, panic, despair, drudgery, and printing.  Perhaps step 3 fits Margaret’s post for today, “Freak Out Moment #1.” We applaud Margaret on her blog and on her determination to work through the drudgery toward the great reward!

You can read comments from other DH students on our online challenge page. http://dissertationhouse.wordpress.com/blog-online-challenge/summer-2011-challenge/

One of our Dissertation House (DH) students started her own blog.  Margaret is a Chemistry student at UMBC and she is moving right along. Enjoy her posts, they will make you smile! http://adventuresofdissertationwriting.wordpress.com/ . Margaret wore her “6 Steps to Completing Your Dissertation” tee-shirt (distributed by AAAS at the American Chemical Society – ACS conference) to the DH last Friday. Humor is incorporated in the design of the shirt which describes the steps as drudgery, procrastination, panic, despair, drudgery, and printing.  Perhaps step 3 fits Margaret’s post for today, “Freak Out Moment #1.” We applaud Margaret on her blog and on her determination to work through the drudgery toward the great reward!

You can read comments from other DH students on our online challenge page. http://dissertationhouse.wordpress.com/blog-online-challenge/summer-2011-challenge/