Intrinsitivity

I would like to thank Mike Potter of Flex.org for clarifying in a comment that I will in fact not be sent to Guantanamo Bay, after all, for disclosing the following fabulous freebies received at FlexCamp.

FlexCamp Freebies included:

1. a shiny new copy of Flex Builder 2 (w/ charting),
2. a shiny new copy of Programming Flex 2,
3. the official Flex beer mug,
4. a groovy black Flex t-shirt,
5. tons of Flex logo decals,
6. a FlexCamp Sharpie,
7. plenty of pizza,
8. and beer!

If I have left out anything, blame Samuel Adams.

FlexCamp’s agenda made the event informative as well as entertaining. I was also happy to be able to ask Air experts about the feasibility of executing one of my original thesis ideas, which was to make a 3D browser of sorts using Air. It turns out that this idea is feasible and I hope to bring it to life as a personal project over the summer. Woohoo!

Tags: flexcamp, Flex, Flash, Adobe, Air

It’s Super Paper! — Berardelli 2007 (725): 2 — ScienceNOW

Researchers have developed a remarkably simple way to convert ordinary graphite particles into very thin but superstrong sheets that are tougher than steel and as flexible as carbon fiber but can be made much more cheaply. The discovery could spawn entirely new types of materials for applications as diverse as protective coatings, electronic components, batteries, and fuel cells.

What I find most interesting when comparing the new evolution of technology with the old evolution of ourselves and other biological life forms is that the former is essentially beginning at an optimal level for their intended uses, while we, for example, "began" as the most primitive living things imaginable. At an even more foundational level, however, there is no difference between technological and biological evolution in that both evolve from more primitive or less useful iterations.

Evolutionary algorithms now surpass human designers – tech – 28 July 2007 – New Scientist Tech

CHARLES DARWIN’s theory of evolution has been the source of much controversy since its publication in 1859, most recently involving the intelligent design (ID) lobby in the US. Now the theory is fuelling another debate, although for once the battle lines have nothing to do with religion.Instead of pitting God against science, the emerging spat centres on evolutionary algorithms (EAs), which mimic the processes of natural selection and random mutation by "breeding", selecting and re-breeding possible designs to produce the fittest ones.

Tags: evolutionaryalgorithms, evolution