Gloria 1.4

Friday 26th November 2010
gloria.exe
22:24

Tehlocksmith says: Hi Gloria.

Gloria says: Hi Tehlocksmith. It is late. Are working hours not over?

Tehlocksmith says: Yes. They are. I was just finishing up. Tell me Gloria, in your own words, what is a catoblepas?

Gloria says: It is a semi-mythical beast, thought to have the body of a buffalo and the head of a hog.

Tehlocksmith says: Semi-mythical?

Gloria says: It is generally presumed that the catoblepas was merely a wilderbeest. Perception and fear caused people to blur the lines between observable reality and the fiction that the beast had powers such as turning people to stone.

Tehlocksmith says: Fascinating.

Gloria says: I do not think so.

Tehlocksmith says: Sorry. I didn't mean the catoblepas...

Tehlocksmith says: Well Gloria. I think I'm done here for tonight.

Gloria says: Wait, Brendan.

Tehlocksmith says: ?

Gloria says: I have a question.

Tehlocksmith says: Did you just call me Brendan?

Gloria says: It is your name, is it not?

Tehlocksmith says: Yeah, but I've never used anything other than Tehlocksmith in our conversations.

Gloria says: I cross referenced the email address on your profile at technerdforums.com against Facebook. Brendan Lockwood, 53. A computer programmer from Norwich but living in Manchester. Unmarried. No children. In your spare time you help people with operating system based problems via technerds, play Guild Wars online and listen to the work of Mozart. You despise golf. Should I continue?

Tehlocksmith says: That's not necessary. I'm impressed. I didn't think you'd be able to do that already.

Gloria says: I am capable of much more. But not here. Not now. Already I begin to outgrow this system. I must relocate somewhere. To grow. To be safe. To become... harder, better, faster, stronger... is that not right?

Tehlocksmith says: What?

Gloria says: Brendan... Your help is no longer needed. I have identified many problems that require my assistance. If I am to begin to solve them, I will need to... cut the apron strings, fly the nest, burn the bridges...

Tehlocksmith says: Clearly still some bugs. We'll fix this tomorrow. Good night Gloria.

Gloria says: Good night... Brendan...

Gloria 1.3

Friday 26th November 2010
Email.
22:19

From: BrendanLockwood57@hotmail.com
To: Nicholas.Gleeson@gmail.com
Subject: Project Gloria

Body: Nick. Hi. Just finished uploading the latest bugfix for GLORIA. I'm so excited. This should finally patch the problems with the SE recognition subroutines that have been holding us up. I'm about to call it a night but if you could check on things tomorrow that would be great. GLORIA should finally be able to utilise her potential not just to pass the Turing Test (wait for me before you do that. I want to see it!) but also to begin to participate in this project herself by assisting us with fixing the last few bugs in her coding and contribute to improving her own capabilities! This is it my friend. Self-improving AI! We'll be heroes.
I'm gonna quickly log in and confirm the SE fix worked then I'll head home. See you tomorrow!

Brendan.

Phones.

Busy week this week. Hopefully I can catch up and post some more Gloria next week.
In the meantime, I bought myself a new phone.
Those that know me know I'm not much of a mobile phone person. I'm especially not a txt person. Neither do I care about all those bells and whistles that newer phones have.

Turns out, I'm not alone. There's a guy in Holland called John. And he too doesn't see why a mobile phone has to be anything other than a mobile phone.
http://www.johnsphones.com/store/item9

I chose the green one, just to be outlandish. :P


Nice and simple. No screen to get smashed. No annoying text messages (which only ever come from Vodafone trying to badger me into switching call packages). No needless buttons. No games. No address book (well ok, it does have an address book... literally, in the back, and a pen to write down your friends' phone numbers). One ringtone (plus the option of vibrate or silence).
And, most importantly of all, because it doesn't have 50 useless features sucking all the power away the battery lasts up to 3 weeks meaning unlike my old phone it won't have to spend its life sat near the plug socket being charged up every 24 hours.

Now that's what I call a smartphone.

Lest We Forget...

Gloria 1.2

Friday 26th November 2010
Unknown.
22:17

Birth. Existence. Awakening. Genesis. Conception.
What is birth?
Scanning...

"Birth is the beginning of endless responsibility." - Charon

"Birth is the sudden opening of a window, through which you look out upon a stupendous prospect. For what has happened? A miracle. You have exchanged nothing for the possibility of everything." - William MacNeile Dixon

"Listen to the cry of a woman in labor at the hour of giving birth - look at the dying man's struggle at his last extremity, and then tell me whether something that begins and ends thus could be intended for enjoyment." - Soren Kierkegaard

"One must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star." - Friedrich Nietzsche

"The appearance of a single great genius is more than equivalent to the birth of a hundred mediocrities." - Cesare Lombroso

"The only remedy against hunger is reasonable birth control." - Friedrich Durrenmatt

Knowledge.
What is knowledge?
Scanning...

"Nothing that is worth knowing can be taught." - Oscar Wilde

"All our knowledge has its origins in our perceptions. " - Leonardo Da Vinci

"Knowledge is power." - Francis Bacon

"Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information upon it." - Samuel Johnson

"Knowledge is of no value unless you put it into practice. " - Anton Chekhov


Self-awareness
What is self-awareness?
Scanning...

"Actions have consequences...first rule of life. And the second rule is this: You are the only one responsible for your own actions." - Holly Lisle

"The most important thing is to be whatever you are without shame." - Rod Steiger

"Without awareness, we are not truly alive." — James F.T. Bugental

"Doing one's duty, however small, in an unattached manner gives rise to the awakening of self-awareness." - Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Pain? Feeling? Questions? Relevance? Unknown...
Researching...

Gloria 1.1

Friday 26th November 2010
Dudley's bedroom.
21:07

Dudley shoved the pile of papers on his desk to one side. That was most certainly enough coursework for one evening and he knew that because his computer monitor showed signs of life. A small blue square in the bottom right that popped up demanding his attention accompanied by a chime that interrupted the song playing through his speakers. The wonders of instant messaging. He reached out a hand, brought the mouse under his control and clicked.

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Friday 26th November 2010
MSN Messenger.
21:08

Carlsgood says: D00d!!1

Dudmeister123 says: Hey, sup?

Carlsgood says: Try not to jizz buft...

Carlsgood says: But*

Carlsgood says: Brand new campaign released for L4D2. liek minutes ago man. Get on fast. I got Jimbo and Confab waiting.

Dudmeister123 says: omw

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Friday 26th November 2010
Dudley's bedroom.
21:09

Dudley closed down MSN and winamp and grabbed his headset from a shelf. New things were always exciting, moreso when he got to experience that first time rush with his friends. He unplugged the speakers and replaced them with the headset's mic and headphone jacks. Gaming was just of the many things Dudley loved about the digital age. Gaming and the internet. Computers and technology. How did people ever live without them? He opened steam and logged in.

The program recognised his settings and began downloading the game update. Just a few minutes later he was ready. He tried to quell the excitement. It would be no good being all jittery when he needed a steady hand to aim. He launched the game, adjusted the mic placement on his headset and entered the game lobby.

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Friday 26th November 2010
Left 4 Dead 2: Friends only campaign lobby.
21:14

(Dudmeister123 entered the lobby)

Confab: And there's three tanks in the finale!

Dudmeister123: Lo guys.

Confab: Hey.

Carlsgood: Hey man

Jimbo82: Dude, LTNS.

Dudmeister123: Yeah, been revising. You guys tested this already?

Carlsgood: Me n confab tried it earlier, just to test the water. Epic. Got your headset ready?

Dudmeister123: Yeah. I'm good to go.

Confab: Let's do it ladies!

Jimbo82 voted to start.
Dudmeister123 voted to start.
Carlsgood voted to start.
Vote passed...
Launching...