Saturday, December 26, 2015

Aweekstweets December 11-26 2015: the weeks three and four of advent (plus a day)

Finished my year-end #InfoWorld column: "2020 Vision: My Predictive Perspective on the Rest of this Decade in the Analytics Industry"

The only place I've ever been on December 26 where they locally call this "Boxing Day" was Bermuda in 1998 with wife+kids. Florida it ain't

Day after Christmas wasn't as crowded as I'd expected at Wal-Mart returns counter. Perhaps the parcel pickup people are picking up the slack

Christmas Day is usually a welcome relief from the tension buildup of the holiday season. You can unwind from incessant caroling & dig quiet

Curious which if any religious tradition has ever improved life expectancy, reduced poverty, or eliminated infectious diseases on Earth.

Are the nations of the Mideast still the top myrrh-exporting countries? Is there a myrrh cartel? What are the geopolitics of myrrh?

RT @kexpplaylist #kexp Christmas Day by Detroit Junior from Blue Yule JK--1961. Nice honking rocknroll sockhop holiday groove.

RT @kexpplaylist #kexp Santa Claus Is A Black Man by AKIM & The Teddy Vann Production Company JK--1973. 1973? Kwanzaa ref in 1973?

RT @kexpplaylist #kexp All I Want For Christmas Is For You To Stop Being Such a Psycho by Bread and Butter JK--2015. Lovely sentiment.

RT @kexpplaylist #kexp Angels We Have Heard on High by Dina Martina from The Dina Martina Holiday Album JK--1999. G-L-O-R-I-A.

Warmest Christmas greetings! It is indeed the warmest Christmas I’ve ever experienced north of Florida. Pushing 70.

My #Dataversity year-ahead predictions column will be posted on Jan 4. I'm writing my #InfoWorld look-ahead from a slightly different angle

RT @kexpplaylist #kexp Holy Low by Nadia Reid from Listen To Formation, Look For The Signs JK--2015. New Zealand artist. Nice forlorn sound.

Totally blown away by the Brian Wilson biopic “Love & Mercy.” Exceptionally well-told account of his struggles with mental illness.

"Campaign Against Sex Robots" (http://ow.ly/WgNSv ) JK--Story seems like belongs on April Fools Day. Seduces U 2 click. That the point?

"How to Exploit All Sensors of Your Mobile Phone as an IoT Device" (http://ow.ly/WgLNb ) JK--Your smartphone is a sensory organ.

"Meet the Extropians" (http://ow.ly/WgKaK ) JK--Wired magazine, Oct 1 1994. Only article I remember from their hardcopy beginnings.

I like Facebook's display of my friends' new-post counts. Why not a mouse-over display of the gists of those posts? Prefer not to clickthru

I've managed to make it thru most of the holiday season without hearing Mariah Carey "All I Want 4 Christmas Is U." Avoiding all-Xmas radio

UK calls them “bank holidays.” That’s a good thing. Gives financial institutions quality time to spend with their loved ones.

I’m a bit unnerved by the thought of drones delivering Xmas presents. Will a heartless Santa use this tech to dump Rudolph & his chums?

Enjoying John Lydon's memoir "Anger Is An Energy." He's a more intelligent, sensitive person than you'd think. Raised in dire poverty.

Tricia, who works us hard on the isometric rings, is an awesome PiYo instructor. Tones you inside & out. Till your muscles ring.

Twitter tells me "your Tweets earned 12,737 impressions over the last 24 hours." I'll give that a Shania shrug: that don't impress me much.

I'm a bit tired of sci-fi devotees citing when their fave authors "predicted future." And how many predicted time travel & alien encounters?

I don’t want to cause trouble or anything, but I long ago noticed “Santa” is an anagram of “Satan.” I assumed everybody’s cool with that.

Settling in for the longest night of the year. Power’s on, the tree is illuminated, and I have plenty of comfort: wine, wi-fi, and wifey.

Winter has arrived, and that can only mean one thing: every day is brighter than the one before.

Drafted latest #Dataversity blog: "Top Trends to Watch in Cognitive Analytics in 2016"

RT @kexpplaylist #kexp Romance by Wild Flag from Live at KEXP Vol 7 JK--2011. That "Portlandia" actress moonlights as a musician. Who knew?

Seems like every 60s popsinger covered "Little Green Apples." Most made me pucker a sourface. But I like Tom Jones': http://ow.ly/WbVoY 

Never understood Ant Bee on "Andy Griffith Show." For starters, she neither resembled ant nor bee...or even a splice of those insects' DNA

Thinking of writing a blog that tries way too hard to analyze crap nobody cares about. Thinking of calling it "Belaboring the Oblivious."

"Why Cognitive Intelligence Will Play Pivotal Role in Tech 2016" (http://ow.ly/WaVqR ) JK--By which it means machine-driven cogn intel

"Big data gets its first official standard at ITU" (http://ow.ly/WaUDq ) JK--OK, but does it add any value to anything anybody's doing?

"The Big Value of Weather Data in the Big Data Economy" (http://ow.ly/WaTEX ) JK--Bernard Marr on #IBM acquisition of TWC digital assets

"Why 2015 Was a Breakthrough Year in Artificial Intelligence" (http://ow.ly/WaSTl ) JK--Interesting trend stats to bolster that claim.

Latest machine learning bloggery reminds that the tech is neither a secret sauce nor a silver bullet. Neither Julia Child nor Lone Ranger

"New AI Program Recognizes Characters From Just One Example" (http://ow.ly/WaRCF ) JK--MIT algo uses Bayesian stat-learning framework

"Analytics without actions - why bother?" (http://ow.ly/WaQPz ) JK--But you may need guidance on when to let the status quo carry on.

"Smart Sensors Are th “Tip of the Spear” for Industrial IoT" (http://ow.ly/WaPyX ) JK--Piece focuses on energy exploitation applications

"7 trends for AI in 2016: 'Like 2015 on steroids'" (http://ow.ly/WaP95 ) JK--Innov techs, but some things unchanged--eg steroid metaphor

RT @kexpplaylist #kexp Montana by Frank Zappa from Over-Nite Sensation JK--1973. Curious whether his estate sold off his dental-floss biz

My favorite moments in "Mad Men" were always when Don Draper BS'd his way convincingly thru an ad-sales pitch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5y4b-DEkIps …

RT @kexpplaylist #kexp Northern Highway by Martin Courtney from Many Moons JK--2015. Good slice of folk rock. Reminds me of Teenage Fanclub

"The Changing Map of Israel 3000 BCE to 2015 CE" (http://ow.ly/WaGyx ) JK--Huh? This is a changing map of the world, not one tiny realm

"Machine Learning'll Lead When Comes To Algorithmic Rent-seeking" (http://ow.ly/WaFVL ) JK--Then help yr landlord algorithmiclly evict U

I luv spam such as "NASA scientist discovers anti-wrinkle cream." That's way more important than protecting their skin from cosmic radiation

Catch me et al speaking at IEEE "Rock Stars of Big Data," Austin TX, May 24

Morning email finds some stranger praising my blogs & then asking me to plug some conference they're not asking me to speak at. Get real.

Justin Trudeau's been Canada's PM for all of 6 weeks. Been far more US press coverage of him than his predecessor's sum total over 9 years.

Winter solstice. It's always good that the new year begins on a positive trend: the gradual waxing of day.

RT @kexpplaylist #kexp Eggnog by Luna from In The Spirit JK--1992. Promotional record. Sweet brief instrumental by Dean Wareham & crew.

RT @kexpplaylist #kexp Christmas At Th Airport by Nick Lowe from Quality St JK--2013. "Don't save me any turkey. I found a burger in a bin"

“Men’s Fitness” magazine. It’s all about superficials. They focus on growing your pecs rather than lung capacity. Oxygen-starved lunkheads

What’s the future of #datascience look like? @KirkDBorne explains in our Field Guide: http://bit.ly/1NcJUIy 
 jameskobielus Retweeted

I complied yesterday with yoga teachers request that we sing along with the song she was playing. I’m a reasonably good karaoke Mellencamp

Sitting here in Barnes & Noble marveling at the fact that people still buy physical literary products--eg “books”


“I know this isnt politically correct but” has become the standard phrase for attempting to justify any sentiment that is patently offensive

RT @kexpplaylist #kexp Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Is In) by White Denim from single JK--Good First Edition cover.

"Copter flying over Bad Axe believd 2 B from Homeland Security" (http://ow.ly/W812F ) JK--Anywhere called "Bad Axe" is asking 4 trouble

Battleme "Shake Shake" (http://ow.ly/W80IR ) JK--2015. Latest #KEXP Song of the Day podcast. Love this charging rocker.

Put up the outdoor Xmas lights this afternoon. Hard not to regard this as a neighborhood competition. But we pale.

A wild red fox darted in front of our car yesterday. He narrowly avoided annihilation on the killing field we call Franconia Road.

Putin admires Trump. I assume that the American’s portrait sits on his desk next to his other hero: Stalin.

All my postal mail today is junk, and all of that is privacy statements. Thanks for encroaching on my private wastebasket.

Public restrooms should have smart sensors that squirt indelible red dye on people who use stall but attempt to leave without washing hands.

Yoga teacher saw us wobbling, assumed we have same weak side, asked "is every1 here righthanded today?" I said I'm a leftie, but just today

Read everything I was meaning to read today at work. Analyzed everything worth analyzing. Commented on everything in my pushy email manner

Wife just gave me chocolate truffle. Doesn't look or taste like a mushroom. Hope this bonbon wasn't sniffed out in the forest by French pigs

I actually am going to work scattered days over the next 2 weeks, interspersed with time off. Great period to work relatively uninterrupted.

Substitute yoga teacher gave us massages. She asked if there's anything we didnt want her 2 do 2 us. I said "dont bill us for your services"

Flattery? Me 5-3-13 (http://ow.ly/W5N97 ). This guy 8-21-15 (http://ow.ly/W5Nib ). Uses my exact same terms 2 frame value dimensions

Data science professionals: Register for #Datapalooza Seattle, Feb 9-11: http://ibm.co/1QvdnVt  #rockyourdata
 jameskobielus Retweeted

Showcase your best Spark apps at Spark.tc. Start here: http://www.spark.tc/ 
 jameskobielus Retweeted

"Is Work-Life Balance a Myth?" (http://ow.ly/W5qeH ) JK--Yep. I'm still working on life-life balance.

RT @kexpplaylist The World Ender by Lord Huron from Strange Trails JK--2015. #KEXP 10th most-played LP of year. Near top o my personal faves

"5 Data Science Leaders Share Predictions for 2016 & Beyond" (http://ow.ly/W5a0F ) JK--Includes #IBM Paul Zikopoulos @BigData_paulz

If I ever take an interest in th birthdays of everybody I ever once received an email from or sent one too, Windows Live Mail comes in handy

"How to Quit Smoking in Your Sleep" (http://ow.ly/W4BEN ) JK--But if you're truly able to smoke in your sleep, that's quite a talent.
Q&A with new #IBMdatahero, @bobehayes covering his #bigdata learning curve & predictions: http://ibm.co/1P9nOui 

My workouts are very much like my work. Strenuous exertion shifting constantly from one pattern to the next. Budgeting my limited energy.

Working effectively inside IBM involves keeping a mental map of the place in your head at all times. Try wrapping your head around that!

A5 - competitions need a problem with known answers. @kaggle is working on ways to focus community on any form of dataset/prob #DataSciChat
 jameskobielus Retweeted

A5: Kaggle & other open #DataScience communities are best at cracking challenges for which there's no obvious commercial payoff #DataSciChat

A5: Any challenge in which "expert wisdom" remains stumped is suited to crowdsourcing. Give self-taught mavericks a shot at it #DataSciChat

A4: Re #DataScience for Social Good, see also "Collaborations and correlations in the common cause" (http://ibm.co/1BX7LcD ) #DataSciChat

A4: #DataScience for Social Good is part of corporate good citizenship. See my blog http://bit.ly/1QPLxl0  #DataSciChat

A4: #DataScience for Social Good is part of corporate good citizenship. See my blog http://bit.ly/1QPLxl0 

A3: People gravitate to leading-edge challenges in their careers. Many data scientists see Social Good as such a challenge. #DataSciChat

A3; Data scientists enter and remain in the field of many reasons. Money not always one of them. Many want to change the world #DataSciChat

A2: Ensembled deep learning models enable more robust predictions on speech, face, & other media recognition tasks #DataSciChat

A2: Not "either/or." Ensemble models enhance replicblty of predictive rslts. Deep learning enables more powerful descriptive #DataSciChat

A1: Data science is science (via the scientific method). It's an effective way to identify systemic reasons for why things are. #datascichat
 jameskobielus Retweeted

A1: Data Science scales human capability, as other tools do. It will enable advances, people solve the problems in the end. #datascichat
 jameskobielus Retweeted

A1: Data scientists should focus on tangible outcomes they have decent chance of influencing. "Save the world" too grandiose #DataSciChat

A1: Data science delivers so-called "actionable intelligence." But it's powerless if the right decision makers don't act on it. #DataSciChat

A1: Yes, curing cancer & other grand challenges are valid goals for data scientists. But data science alone is insufficient #DataSciChat .

Can't wait to get started tweeting on Data Science & Social Good on #DataSciChat

"Reinvent Yourself+World" (http://ow.ly/W23kJ ) JK--Our leading Spark thinkers eg @HoldenKarau host 'office hours' at SoMa coffee shops

"Sil Val mastrminds join forces 2 keep robots frm killng us all" (http://ow.ly/W1xJ8 ) JK--By "working for us" U mean 4 non-evil people?

"Smart Cities the Biggest Drivers of Internet of Things" (http://ow.ly/W1wPs ) JK--Predicts smart homes will be biggest starting in 2017



In honor o Ludwig Van's 245th, Alex celebrates "gorgeousness & gorgeosity made flesh." A bit o' th ol' in-out in-out http://ow.ly/W0l7Y 

My mind is deliciously blank. Not sure if that will facilitate or frustrate my return to work tomorrow. I’m all written out.

Twitter seems to be having an All-Cliche Day. Haven’t seen a shred of thoughtful commentary this morning. People exhausted from the year.

In taking our houseguests touristing down Pennsylvania Ave today, we were all squeamishly confronted w/Trump's Federal Triangle development.

Trump's candidacy is educational for the American electorate. Help them gauge their own receptivity to an obvious self-styled dictator.

One of my houseguests from out of the country was delighted to visit Lincoln Memorial. He knew it primarily from "Forrest Gump."

Three Types of IoT Analytics: Approaches and Use Cases http://www.rtinsights.com/iot-analytics-use-cases-tdwi/# …

Still haven't put up our Xmas decorations. Not really ready till we've celebrated Beethoven's birthday & then Solstice. No big-ass hurry

"What Is Spacetime, Really?" (http://ow.ly/VPFmS ) JK--IMHO, it's flat & turbulent--i.e., flatulent. That explains the cosmic bubbles.

RT @kexpplaylist #kexp Palest Pearl by Pure Bathing Culture from Pray for Rain JK--2015. Another good 1 from this Portland electro-pop group

Houseguests. While the wife is taking their coats & setting out snacks, I’m distributing the Wi-Fi password. That’s teamwork!

Friends offering us use of their timeshare in Whistler BC. Damn right we’re taking them up on that! Alpine air becomes us.

Feels like Christmas season in Florida. Except for the small fact that I happen to be in Virginia right now.

WSJ articl refers to “those outside the Beltway.” We’re literally a quarter-mile outside it. Would moving 1 neighborhood over change my POV?


Social media. When commenting on th affairs of the day, it's essentially the "omigod squad." Everyone feels they must express constant alarm