Author: Rick Thues

Rainbow

Episode #619 December 12, 2020 A rainbow is a symbol of beauty, hope, optimism, pride, completeness and promise. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1bFr2SWP1I The rainbow displays the visible spectrum of light. All the beautiful colors we see and love are shown in the reflection, refraction and dispersion of light from the sun. Sunlight enters water droplets at a 42° angle, is refracted (bent) toward the back of the drop and reflected back toward the sun where it is again bent as it exits the drop. Because different colors bend at slightly different angles a circular band of colors is projected toward the viewer of...

Contents or Index

Episode 618 December 5, 2020 There are two ways to facilitate search: Table of Contents and Index.   https://youtu.be/l_DhFA77xr4 A Table of Contents can be found in the beginning of many text books, manuals and catalogues. It lists chapters of major themes. Sometimes there are tabs in the Contents that lead to the Chapter in the book. Sometimes there are subtopics listed under each chapter for finer detail. The Table of Contents is organized hierarchically, like an English outline. In the back of some books, an Index is an alphabetical list of keywords that point to pages where that word is found....

CAPTCHA

Episode #617 November 28, 2020   Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart (CAPTCHA) checks to see if you are human. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_E0tcilfKZQ CAPTCHA is a kind of reverse Turing test.  The Turing test used two humans and a computer. One of the humans asked questions of the computer and the other human. If the questioner could not tell whether an answer came from the computer or the human more than 50% of the time, the computer was said to have artificial intelligence. The CAPTCHA test is a computer checking to see if the user is a...

Common Hardware

Episode #616 November 21, 2020 My garage is stocked with tools, fuels, wood, sheet stock, fabric, paint, solvents, electronics, plumbing, gardening and hardware. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWmkdJkQpLY Hardware is the glue that holds a project together. In fact, i think that glue is a kind of hardware and i use it all the time. Rubber bands are the most versatile of the hardwares, but they can also be used as a tool. i use rubber bands as a clamping tool to hold parts together until i can get a proper clamp or fastener in place. As hardware they bind a roll of fabric,...

How to use my bLog

Episode #615 November 14, 2020 This bLog (webLog) is located at any one of my domains: www.theimentor.com www.imentor.us www.imentor.biz www.imentor.it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmaMArokfpo The name of the bLog is iMentor® Hints and Rants. It is a weekly bLog that i have written for 12 years. This is episode #615. The topics of the bLog were heavily focused on Apple tech hints at first. Over the years the bLog has evolved into my musings on the human condition To read the bLog, open an Internet browser and navigate to one of my domains. Alternately, you can find the bLog with a Google search...

Sentient

Episode #614 September 7, 2020 Are inanimate objects sentient? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5TqIdff_DQ They do not seem to be aware. They do not observe, perceive, sense, recognize or understand. They are not attentive, informed or alert. Inanimates cannot feel or react. Or can they? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xos2MnVxe-c A non living thing will never respond to scolding. It simply cannot care. Yet, we scold our objects. Have you ever pounded the mouse on your desk? Did it help? The mouse cannot feel pain, so it won’t respond to you damaging it. The mouse can feel only certain MouseEvents: Mouseover, mousedown, mouseup, mouseclick, dblclick, mousewheel and mousemove....