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WITandWISDOM(tm) - October 13, 2003 ISSN 1538-8794 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: "Leaders don't create followers, they create more leaders." - Tom Peters Source: Quotes of the Day, mailto:rheamo@centurytel.net?subject=Subscribe_Quotes_of_the_Day ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: Twenty years ago a discouraged young doctor in one of our large cities was visited by his old father, who came up from a rural district to look after his boy. "Well, son," he said, "how are you getting along?" "I'm not getting along at all," was the disheartened answer. "I'm not doing a thing." The old man's countenance fell, but he spoke of courage and patience and perseverance. Later in the day he went with his son to the "Free Dispensary," where the young doctor had an unsalaried position, and where he spent an hour or more every day. The father sat by, a silent but intensely interested spectator, while twenty-five poor unfortunates received help. The doctor forgot his visitor, while he bent his skilled energies to this task; but hardly had the door closed on the last patient when the old man burst forth- "I thought you told me that you were not doing anything! Why, if I had helped twenty-five people in a month as you have in one morning, I would thank God that my life counted for something." "There isn't any money in it, tho," explained the son, somewhat abashed. "Money!" the old man shouted, still scornfully, "Money! What is money in comparison with being of use to your fellowmen? Never mind about money; you go right along at this work every day. I'll go back to the farm, and gladly earn money enough to support you as long as I live-yes, and sleep sound every night with the thought that I have helped you to help your fellowmen." From Exchange Source: Signs of the Times, Copyright (c) April 24, 1901, Pacific Press, http://www.signstimes.com Submitted by Dale Galusha ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: Chatter Bots The first chat bot, Eliza, was created in 1966 by Professor Joseph Weizenbaum of MIT, to study natural language communication between man and machine. Eliza parodies a therapist by answering questions with questions. Here's a conversation I had with Eliza: Me: Hi there. I've got a few questions to ask... Eliza: Please go on. Me: Well, I think I have a drinking problem. Eliza: But you are not sure you have a drinking problem? Me: I'm sure. All my shirts are stained in front. Eliza: Why do you say your shirts are stained in front? Me: The dry cleaning bills are really getting out of hand. Eliza: Would you like it if they were not getting out of hand? Although Eliza is 36 years old, you can still try it out at: http://www-ai.ijs.si/eliza/eliza.html For more modern Chat Bots visit: http://www.botspot.com/pages/chatbots.html Learn More about Bots BotSpot is the place to go if you want to find bots or learn more. They classify bots and intelligent agents by subject, with reviews and historical perspectives. Maybe you'll find a bot to automate some online activity that you do by hand today. http://www.botspot.com Source: Tourbus, http://www.tourbus.com ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: A farmer wins the ten million dollar lottery. Afterwards, he was interviewed by a newspaper reporter. He was asked what he is going to do with all that money. "Oh, I guess the first thing I'll do is go and pay a few bills" "And what about the rest?" the reporter asks. Farmer shrugs. "Well, I guess they'll just have to wait." Source: Chapnotes, http://www.chaplainsnotes.org/ ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: Essen, Germany (Ananova): Police in Germany had to help a driver find his car after it was swallowed by a hedge. A 55 year-old man told police he had left his Mercedes parked near a filling station in Essen. When he returned, the $58,000 automatic car was gone. He suspected it had been stolen, but police decided it was worth searching the area. They eventually found the car a short distance away, in a thick hedge. It's believed the car rolled down a stretch of road through a hedge, smashed down a fence and was only stopped by a tree behind it. The hedge was so thick that the car was swallowed completely and could not be seen from the street. Source: White Board News, http://www.joeha.com/whiteboard/ |