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Posts published by “centaur”

[twenty twenty-four day ninety-six]: (eq (miss-p ‘lisp) t)

Published April 5, 2024 by centaur
centaur 0

You know, Lisp was by no means a perfect language, but there are times where I miss the simplicity and power of the S-expression format (Lots of Irritating Silly Parentheses) which made everything easy to construct and parse (as long as you didn't have to do anything funny with special characters).

Each language has its own foibles - I'm working heavily in C++ again and, hey, buddy, does it have foibles - but I always thought Lisp got a bad rap just for its format.

-the Centaur

Pictured: a Lisp function definition (with the -p suffix to indicate it is a predicate) with the side effect of printing some nostalgia, and executing that statement at the Steel Bank Common Lisp command line.

[twenty twenty-four day ninety-four]: to choke a horse

Published April 3, 2024 by centaur
centaur 0

What you see there is ONE issue of the journal IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Vehicles. This single issue is two volumes, over two hundred articles, comprising three THOUSAND pages.

I haven't read the issue - it came in the mailbox today - so I can't vouch for the quality of the articles. But, according to the overview article, their acceptance rate is down near 10%, which is pretty selective.

Even that being said, two hundred articles seems excessive. I don't see how this is serving the community; you can't read two hundred papers, nor skim two hundred abstracts to see what's relevant - at least, not in a timely fashion. Heck, you can't even fully search that, as some articles might use different terminology for the same thing (e.g., "multi-goal reinforcement learning" for "goal-conditioned reinforcement learning" or even "universal value function approximators" for essentially the same concept).

And the survey paper itself needs a little editing. The title appears to be a bit of a word salad, and the first bullet point duplicates words ("We have received 4,726 submissions have received last year.") I just went over one of my own papers with a colleague, and we found similar errors, so I don't want to sound too harsh, but I still think this needed a round of copyedits - and perhaps needs to be forked into several more specialized journals.

Or ... hey ... it DID arrive on April 1st. You don't think ...

-the Centaur

Pictured: the very real horse-choking tome that is the two volumes of the January 2024 edition of TIV, which is, as far as I can determine, not actually an April Fool's prank, but just a journal that is fricking huge.

[drawing every day 2024 post ninety-three]: a quick sketch

Published April 2, 2024 by centaur
centaur 0

Out of time due to working on Camp Nano and lots of other stuff, so here's a quick sketch of Viv from Legends and Lattes. It was surprisingly hard to get the hands right without prior pencil sketches, so that's still an area I need to work on practicing.

Drawing every day.

-the Centaur

[twenty twenty-four day ninety-three]: family

Published April 2, 2024 by centaur
centaur 0

So today, I found out that Uncle Paul back there is the same age my dad would have been, were he living - forty years older than me. But Dad died almost twenty-five years ago, and Uncle Paul looks younger than my dad did when he died. Which is amazing, because Uncle Paul is about to turn ninety-five. And he's still clear, active, getting around - and even driving. As my Uncle Bill put it once as we were leaving a Thanksgiving dinner, "Wait up. You're ninety, and I'm seventy, and I can't keep up with you? This is bullshit."

Here's to family.

-the Centaur

Pictured: Me and Uncle Paul at Easter lunch.

[twenty twenty-four day ninety-two]: that which was foretold has come to pass

Published April 1, 2024 by centaur
centaur 0

Tabbouleh has indeed been made from the tomatoes. I have always been self-conscious about what I cook - I rarely do traditional recipes on the nose, for example using heirloom tomatoes and cinnamon, cumin, allspice and nutmeg in addition to salt and pepper - but I do work at them. I'm using Aunt Nagla's parsley cutting technique and chef Nicola's lemon-soaked bulgur wheat technique and my wife's green onion recommendations to leave in the leafy greens and the traditional lighter olive oil that my parents used. And I spice to taste before finishing - the last bite of which literally made me stagger, it was so good, to me at least.

But whether people actually like it is an open question. This time, for Easter, on the potluck planning thread, someone asked for it specifically, someone else gave me the thumbs up when I said yes, several people complimented me while we were eating - and the family ate almost the whole bowl.

So they didn't NOT like it, impostor syndrome be damned.

-the Centaur

[drawing every day 2024 post ninety-one]: cinnamon, sketched

Published March 31, 2024 by centaur
centaur 0

Super quick sketch of Cinnamon, as I was in food coma after Easter dinner, then had to write a long review for a journal - which I was already a day late on.

And, counting "a day late" as "missed a thing", I once again "missed a thing" because I was in a meeting which we decided to let run long. Which made the next meeting run long, and we extended it even longer. And because there wasn't a specific thing on my calendar for Saturday evening - it was just on my list of things to do in my todos - I said, "eh, let's let this go long and get this done."

And then something else didn't get done.

I've learned to watch out for this zealously, because for me, at least, going long on a meeting is a dangerous prescription for screwing up your next task. If you think you can go a bit longer ... what are you missing?

-the Centaur

[twenty twenty-four day ninety]: how tribbles are made

Published March 30, 2024 by centaur
centaur 0

So! You take one of those double-row brushes (see detail below) ...

... and apply it to one of these fuzzy creatures in shedding season (see detail below) ...

... and, violin, you get a tribble:

As far as I can tell, these artisan, hand-crafted tribbles are, unlike Dr. McCoy's version, not born pregnant.

If only most problems we face in this world could be solved as easily as "stop feeding the invasive species without natural predators." And, in fact, like not feeding the trolls, many of them can.

However, cat fuzz is not one of those problems. For decades, I put up with my pets getting horrible tangles and mats during shedding season, great lumpy wads which had to be cut or picked off - almost like tribbles.

But, when my wife and I got those double-pronged brushes and began brushing the cat every day, the mats went away. Though we do have now a tribble proliferation problem, we don't have unhappy cats.

Solving some problems requires disengaging the behavior that creates it (like passing on chips, margaritas and dessert for your problem waistline); others require active maintenance to prevent them from happening (like brushing for the problem of keeping your teeth).

What problem are you facing that would go away if you stop feeding it - or start brushing it?

-the Centaur

[jesus and godel, interrupted]: observing good friday

Published March 30, 2024 by centaur
centaur 0

I didn't manage to keep up with Jesus and Godel this year - best not to take on a third project when you already have two daily projects running - but it did serve as a lot of food for thought, and helped keep me on track in Lent. Learning to give things up can become a powerful tool that we can use elsewhere in our lives. Case in point: today was Good Friday, when Catholics are traditionally supposed to fast.

For health reasons, fasting guidance has changed to one square meal with lighter meals for the rest of the day (you may fast fully if able). I normally eat only two main meals anyway, so I decided to go with a light brunch, one square, and skip the midnight snack - in this case, brunch of fresh strawberries and toast.

But a funny thing happened: by preparing simpler meals, I got more done in the day. After fasting on the first one, it was easier to skip the full dinner and just repeat fresh fruit and toast. Which also saved me more time - and helped me go through the fruit in the fridge before it went bad (don't want to go through that again).

Many traditional Christians seem to view religious observances as a stream of gotchas and a chance to be accusatory. But the Sabbath was made for Man, not Man for the Sabbath, and the Law is the same. Even when we go beyond the Law to adopt other religious practices, they, when done properly, can be good for us, giving us the resources to treat others and ourselves better.

At least, that's what I take away from how I observe Good Friday.

And if my hungry belly stings a little, I always remember ... this probably feels better than nails.

-the Centaur

[twenty twenty-four day eighty-nine]: thank you, loki …

Published March 29, 2024 by centaur
centaur 0

... your contributions to my productivity are invaluable.

I do not know how I could remember to get everything done without you.

-the Centaur

Pictured: my whiteboard desk, after Loki sat on it; and while I didn't catch him in the act this time, I have caught him doing it previously, and there we are.

[drawing every day 2024 post eighty-nine]: not technically drawing, but …

Published March 29, 2024 by centaur
centaur 0

I have been doing a lot of art today, but mostly in Photoshop and Illustrator. Regularly scheduled drawing every day will resume tomorrow, or even tonight if I can finish up my other tasks.

Or, you know what? I have a test image right there. I could draw THAT.

Bam. On one of my "todo" pieces of paper sitting nearby. Take that, autistic inertia.

Drawing every day.

-the Centaur

Pictured: a prototype of an Experimental Jetset Ampersand-style shirt, and a quick drawing of it.

Announcing the 5th Annual Embodied AI Workshop

Published March 29, 2024 by centaur
centaur 0

Thank goodness! At last, I'm happy to announce the Fifth Annual Embodied AI Workshop, held this year in Seattle as part of CVPR 2024! This workshop brings together vision researchers and roboticists to explore how having a body affects the problems you need to solve with your mind.

This year's workshop theme is "Open-World Embodied AI" - embodied AI when you cannot fully specify the tasks or their targets at the start of your problem. We have three subthemes:

  • Embodied Mobile Manipulation: Going beyond our traditional manipulation and navigation challenges, this topic focuses on moving objects through space at the same time as moving yourself.
  • Generative AI for Embodied AI: Building datasets for embodied AI is challenging, but we've made a lot of progress using "synthetic" data to expand these datasets.
  • Language Model Planning: Lastly but not leastly, a topic near and dear to my heart: using large language models as a core technology for planning with robotic systems.

The workshop will have six speakers and presentations from six challenges, and perhaps a sponsor or two. Please come join us at CVPR, though we also plan to support hybrid attendance.

Presumably, the workshop location will look something like the above, so we hope to see you there!

-the Centaur

Pictured: the banner for EAI#5, partially done with generative AI guided by my colleague Claudia Perez D'Arpino and Photoshoppery done by me. Also, last year's workshop entrance.

[twenty twenty-four day eighty-seven]: mathemagical

Published March 27, 2024 by centaur
centaur 0

Apparently this wonderful phenomenon springs upon us, then is gone, almost entirely in the period when I am normally at GDC ... a transient frosting of beauty, dispersed by the wind almost as soon as it falls, like snow dissolved by rain ... but, for whatever reason, this year I got to see it. Cherry blossoms, I presume?

Even the cat stares in wonder.

-the Centaur

[drawing every day 2024 post eighty-seven]: ice it until the swelling goes down

Published March 27, 2024 by centaur
centaur 0

Upon a closer inspection, that thumb was big even in the source image (see below), but still not as big as I drew it. So I had to draw it again. The tendons in the hand don't trace back properly on this one, but at least my poor drawing subject is not left with a throbbing thumb from some invisible hammer.

And, hey, guess what? The drawing table I set up in my office is really useful when I actually sit down to use it, rather than squeezing drawings in when I'm out and about.

Drawing every day.

-the Centaur

[twenty twenty-four day eighty-six]: was this today?

Published March 26, 2024 by centaur
centaur 0

yeah, this was today, around 9am. so i've been up since six-thirtyish am if you count the end of my redeye flight, and it's two-thirty am, and i can't even do the math on that, twenty hours ish? and i've been going all day thanks to meetings and such.

going to bed now. or after i post my drawing.

-the Centaur

[drawing every day 2024 post eighty-four]: pads and creases

Published March 25, 2024 by centaur
centaur 0

More Goldman studies. Please forgive the rushed, blurry shading: I had to both finish and photograph this in the near-dark of a single light at the hotel room's desk, as my wife already went to sleep after our long day.

Drawing every day.

-the Centaur

[twenty twenty-four day eighty-four]: coatastrophe

Published March 25, 2024 by centaur
centaur 0

SO! I have no topical image for you, nor a real blogpost either, because I had a "coatastrophe" today. Suffice it to say that I'll be packing the coat I was wearing for a thorough dry cleaning (or two) when I get home, and I will be wearing the new coat my wife and I found on a Macy's clearance rack. But that replacement coat adventure chewed up the time we had this afternoon, turning what was supposed to be a two hour amble into a compressed forty-five minute power walk to make our reservation at Green's restaurant for dinner.

Well worth it, for this great vegetarian restaurant now has many vegan items; but it's late and I'm tired, and I still have to post my drawing for the day before I collapse.

Blogging every dayyszzzzz....

-the Centaur

Pictured: Green's lovely dining room, from two angles.