John Blankenship

Journalist at Lootpress

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Articles

Robotics: How to Get Started - Part 8: Using Behaviors to Build Applications

2 months ago | servomagazine.com | John Blankenship

In the previous article of this series, we discussed how to build simple reusable behaviors. This time, we’ll explore how such modules can be used to build exciting applications. Last time, it was asserted that reusable behaviors make it possible to build new applications much faster and easier. Now it’s time to demonstrate just how true that is. There are many possible applications we could use, but let’s look at one in detail to demonstrate some of the pertinent points of this type of project.
AI, Chatbots, and More

2 months ago | servomagazine.com | John Blankenship

ELIZA is an early natural language processing computer program developed from 1964 to 1967 at MIT by Joseph Weizenbaum. Created to explore communication between humans and machines, ELIZA simulated conversation by using a pattern matching and substitution methodology that gave users an illusion of understanding on the part of the program, but there was really no clear understanding going on. The ELIZA program itself was (originally) written in MAD-SLIP (SLIP stands for Symmetric LIst Processor).
OP ED: Jim Canaday: Already trusted, already proven

Apr 24, 2024 | lootpress.com | John Blankenship

A sheriff must maintain composure in stressful situations. They must be brave, honest, trustworthy, and fair. A sheriff must possess the skills to deal with any situation, whether it is by using force or by negotiation. He should also have further valuable expertise, like being able to use firearms and other weapons, as well as being physically fit. Sheriffs must communicate effectively with people and resolve conflicts without violence.
Morning gobble time

Apr 23, 2024 | lootpress.com | John Blankenship

During the spring breeding season, gobblers greet dawn’s first light with their calls. The sounds have more than one purpose, according to turkey experts who make a study of the wily, dark plumed, bearded birds of the forest. Wildlife biologists and veteran turkey hunters note that the primary purpose of gobbling is to attract subordinate males as well as hens.
A lesson about worms and whiskey

Apr 22, 2024 | lootpress.com | John Blankenship

A father was trying to teach his young son the evils of alcohol. He put one worm in a glass of water and another worm in a glass of whiskey. The worm in the water lived, while the one in the whiskey curled up and died. “All right, son,” asked the father, “what does that show you?”“Well, Dad, it shows that if you drink alcohol, you will not have worms.”—Strange WordsWhen I was a boy, I developed a love for words and the way folks used them.
Heartless idiot gets something to crow about

Apr 18, 2024 | lootpress.com | John Blankenship

We got a letter recently from a reader who claims to be a bird of a different feather. Let’s start at the beginning. A few years back (I forget how many, but that’s not important) we committed the “unpardonable sin” of print journalism—we wrote an insensitive column unbecoming for a male of the 21st century.
Canaan Valley Resort

Apr 17, 2024 | lootpress.com | John Blankenship

When you’re in the mountains of West Virginia, it is difficult not to think of memories like those pictured on old-fashioned postcards and calendars. Snowy mountains, roaring fires and picturesque cabins tucked away in the woods with family and friends. The Mountain State indisputably is home to the Mid-Atlantic’s best snow sports.
Bizarre items to remember

Apr 16, 2024 | lootpress.com | John Blankenship

If you don’t think the world is an odd, weird place, you might want to consider some bizarre items reported in the national newspapers recently:A jail inmate in Columbus, Ga., arranged for his mother to smuggle in marijuana and rolling papers in a large-print Bible. A Florida man sentenced to probation for using a tiny video camera in his shoes to peek up women’s skirts was caught using his “sneaker Cam” on women at his probation office.
Clarity and conciseness helps you write better

Apr 15, 2024 | lootpress.com | John Blankenship

Writing can, at times, be an almost mystical experience. Like other professional feature writers and columnists, I write as a way to review experiences and find out what I think. For me, writing is more or less a process of discovery. The reader, meanwhile, is my shadow friend whose attention I am trying to keep. It is true, I also write for money. Samuel Johnson once wrote that only a fool or blockhead writes for reasons other than for money. I wouldn’t go quite that far.
Clarification is in order of the day, night

Apr 14, 2024 | lootpress.com | John Blankenship

Weird things you perhaps would never know. Butterflies taste with their feet. A duck’s quack doesn’t echo, and no one knows why. In 10 minutes, a hurricane releases more energy than all the world’s nuclear weapons combined. On average, 100 people choke on ballpoint pens every year. Elephants are the only animals that can’t jump. Only one person in two billion will live to be 116 yearsor older. It’s possible to lead a cow upstairs…but not downstairs. Women blink nearly twice as much as men.