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Fed to the Lines

So I’m in Ashland for the long weekend, but I managed to do some hacking in the plane. Now the generated text includes paragraphs! Exciting. Of course, the process of adding them has made the random text generator 3 times more inefficient, but we can leave that for later. In the mean time, Machiavelli:

In 1500 he was the kingdom of Naples. But let us return whence we started. I say that, on the pursuit of which he was a case of need. When the “History of Florence,” gives us a picture of the Venetians and Florentines formerly extended their dominions by these continual discussions there could be done. In a short time the emperor ceased to hold securely the state, still less in the enterprise, in exchange for the utmost diligence to avoid those things which ought to entertain the people to arms and fortunes of Florence, and Messer Antonio da Venafro as the governments of Europe rely on his back, or if any of my acting thus for thou hast learnt to believe and to the throne, he moved against the other; which course will always be as keys to that kingdom; because, having always kept both orders in their own laws and good faith, and to bring success and honour to him to it. This occurred on the point to die.

I say, therefore, that in entirely new principalities as I said Nabis the Spartan did.

But concerning his intentions. Ugucionne cursed the hesitation and cowardice of his “Art of War.” It was here that Castruccio far excelled his companions in courage and hope with which all difficulties are prior to getting possession, because they fly, but they are about. Therefore a wise and able man to discuss them, because their alliance will bring thee advantages and security. It is seen also that I may catch a whale”; and this is Il Taro, afterwards Allesandria, Capua, Genoa, Vaila, Bologna, Mestri.(*)

When all the other under Pagolo, and the other hand, Castruccio reached Montecarlo with his greatness of the cavalry. The horses, alarmed by the Church

It is seen also that I may catch a whale!

February 17th, 2012

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In One Permanent Sense

So tonight was the beginning of an important transition. Up until now, I have been working with text versions of the input texts. This was always a stopgap. Because I was always going to end up parsing stuff that I got off the web in order to generate chains, I knew that eventually I’d want to take advantage of the fact that HTML was already structured to avoid a bunch of stupid guesswork and, of course, to ameliorate the scope of my second problem.

He turned from the metal bridge an instant. –We are a delusion, said roundly John Eglinton censured, have yet to be next some girl. Who is the only colour to his greencapped desklamp sought the face after fifteen years, say. For instance some fellow that had but gotten into him a leg of her allowed that that player Shakespeare, a ghost by absence, and in a low tone to their lights. Father Conmee and Father Conroy got up and look and christian walking, in habit dun beseeming her megrims and wrinkled like little Rudy’s was. Dwarf’s

February 10th, 2012

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Small Potatoes

So mostly I just kind of tinkered with things in a smallish way, but I used “Ulysses” as an input text which mainly matters because it’s fucking enormous. It took a long time and ground pretty hard, so obviously that’s something I’ll need to look into in the future, but here are the results.

And I’ll tell him he needn’t trouble about that little hint she gave a nervous cough and Edy asked her how it fared with the motor. Hooked that nicely. Entertainments. Open house. Big blowout. Wetherup always said that. Get a light bright tinkling measure for tripping ladies, arch and smiling, and for a drink. –God, do you do, Mr Crimmins? First rate, sir. I was with him about getting Molly into the kidney and slapped it out of pinnies. Edy told him no offence and all delighted_… Tenors get wom. Cowley lay back. –Stand

I’d love to be able to read single chapters form “Ulysses” and then compare what each one generates.

February 9th, 2012

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In Which We Reiterate the Location of God

So it’s great to be like, “Hey, I’ve got a great idea for something to hack on” and to just sort of go for it. Furthermore, it’s great to take the opportunity to learn a new approach or language (or, in my case, two), but going great guns at it tends to create problems. In my case (and I think it’s a pretty common one), I ended up only being able to access the component parts of my program through its overarching mechanisms, which is pretty much backwards (this is, as you know, not particular to computer programs). Right after my post last night I figured out that some small aspect of my program wasn’t working the way I wanted to, and that I didn’t have any way to access it. Tonight I did a little decomposing, making my components a little more autonomous, and a little more responsive to prodding. Of course, the problem was a stupid typo, but at least I got to the point where I was able to figure that out with a test instead of staring at the code.

This is from the apology again.

But, having regard to public opinion, assumes the same gods which the city recognizes–the charge is five minae.’ Happy is Evenus, I said before about the conclusion. He characteristically remarks that he has embodied his conception of him, appearing in the aspiration of the state acknowledges, but some other new divinities or spiritual agencies (new or old, he is speaking an untruth. Wherefore, O judges, be of good cheer about death, and that the unexamined life is not so ignorant as to those who agree to

It’s sort of cool when you have something that veers this close to actual semantic content, but it isn’t nearly as fun.

February 8th, 2012

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Here Goes

So I took some paternal advice and subclassed something instead of wrapping it, and I also tried (without much success) to get the thing to print a summary of the table of probabilities that is used in generating the random text. At any rate, this used Plato’s Apology as input.

Translator: Benjamin Jowett and not far from death. I am almost ashamed to confess that immediately after my departure punishment far heavier than you are mistaken: a man is able to pay, and not to do anything that might pervert the course of his triumph, when he concludes this part of a kind of voice, first began to come forward in public and advise the state. I will tell you. It is an old man already, and the demigods or spirits are gods, and then I dare say that maintenance in

February 7th, 2012

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Commitment

Okay, so a while ago I posted about my Markov Chain project, and then it sort of fell off the face of the earth. Or at least the blog. I have been banging away at it fairly slowly, but it still feels like it’s a long way off, and that’s sort of self-perpetuating, because if it’s sort of far off anyways it doesn’t make that much sense to forge ahead bravely, which allows the whole thing to continue to stay a long way off. At any rate, I’m sick of it.

Starting tomorrow I’m going to post fragments generated by Markov Garden (that’s what I decided to call the project) up here every day. Hopefully that will induce me to work on the code more steadily, which in turn will reduce the degree to which the whole thing is far off. I guess I’d like to see things tidied up to the point where I can unlock the Bitbucket repo in which I’m keeping the code by next weekend. Wish me luck.

February 7th, 2012

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Related: Orwell on Language

As you know, allegations of “Newspeak” are so popular these days that the word has been effaced into a synonym for “NUH UH!” Here are some clarifying details from the man himself. As suggested by the title, reading it reminded me strongly of the previous post, especially in regards to conflating rights and using one’s position of privilege in society to inflict humiliations on others. There were a couple of other things that this essay made me think of, and I’m sure old George would have objected to both strenuously.

The first is “Myth Today,” which is basically a more detailed analysis of the same topic. When Orwell says “In our time, political speech and writing are largely the defense of the indefensible” he seems pretty convinced that people who distort language are acting in consciously bad faith. Barthes definitely thinks that the distortions of mythic speech can convince people that they are being truthful when they repeat it, which of course makes the problem more complex and more difficult to solve.

The other association, which is one I often reflect on when I hear about the antics of. . . whatever we should be calling right-wing sociopaths these days*, is Freud’s claim in The Interpretation of Dreams that the unconscious knows no negation. This is a little vague, but what the main thing to take away from it here is that it doesn’t recognize contradictory impulses. Mythic speech, especially the mythic speech of the present day, is packed with incompatible claims (e.g.: the bizarre right-wing allegiance of ultra-religious types and capitalist plutocrats). Today’s right wing movements are pure infantile id. They want and want and want, and will accept no explanation.

* I don’t like “Tea Partier” since that’s more of a symptomatic fad, and “conservative” while disagreeable, at least implies a consistent ideology rather than a Doctor-Doom like impulse to destroy everything just for the sake of destroying it.

October 4th, 2011

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