Tag Archives: Alphabet

TantrumBot AlphaBots ~ Artificial Emotional Intelligence

TantrumBot

I’m not sure if a tantrum is an emotion, precisely, but it’s definitely an emotional outburst.

I’m happy to say that my life has been pretty much tantrum-free lately, but I certainly remember them vividly from the days when my twins were toddlers. I was pretty lucky even then, really. The boys weren’t excessively frequent fit-throwers, and usually they were kind enough to take turns, but once in a while they’d gang up on me with a tandem tantrum, & that was pretty miserable! But you know, I always felt their fits were at least as hard on them. After all, kids have it rough– they’re always being told what to do, with very little say in the matter, & that would make me cranky too! Besides, their outbursts were mainly triggered by exhaustion, hunger or over-stimulation, so I tried to minimize all as much as possible, & it helped.  Still, those days were wearying, & my heart goes out to those of you who are still living in the tantrum era!

SurpriseBot AlphaBots ~ Artificial Emotional Intelligence

SurpriseBot

Surprise! I did an AlphaBot this week after all!

We had a surprise flood situation this weekend that put me behind in everything— only the basement was affected, but with both sons home there was a lot of stuff stored down there. Luckily nothing truly precious was destroyed, but it still took many, many hours of clean-up. And it happened on my birthday, too, hmph!! The nerve!! This bot pretty much captures my mien upon discovering the situation.

RestlessnessBot AlphaBots ~ Artificial Emotional Intelligence

RestlessnessBot

Oh how I identify with this wiggly bot! It’s strange that someone with a severe case of the fidgets would choose a career that requires hours on end of near-immobility, but making art is just as irresistible as movement, so my two obsessions fight it out every day. Usually I start with the art & when I can’t sit still another minute, I get up & hoop-dance madly for a while. Then back to the desk or drawing table until the wiggles take over again.

I’m very tempted to animate this little guy, but that would mean sitting here a lot longer, & I really need to go hoop!

 

PuzzlementBot AlphaBots ~ Artificial Emotional Intelligence

PuzzlementBot

I’ve been trying to learn to code lately, so I’ve been experiencing plenty of puzzlement! However, I thoroughly enjoy the Lynda.com tutorials, in part because it tickles me to hear serious-sounding British dudes saying “curly braces” repeatedly.

Still, I do sometimes wish I could remove my head & give it a good tune-up from time to time. For one thing there is loads of useless information in there that I wish I could dump out to make room for more!

p.s. For some puzzling reason my site was down all day but now it has spontaneously reappeared! Apologies to anyone who was inconvenienced by the lacuna.

 

OverwhelmednessBot AlphaBots ~ Artificial Emotional Intelligence

OverwhelmednessBotSometimes it’s all too much!!!

And before you say anything about the undeniably awkward title, there is NO really good noun form for “overwhelm”! I had a choice between a rarely-heard & semi-archaic word (“overwhelmedness”) & a cleaner, more current, but non-standard one (“overwhelm” as noun). I rather liked someone’s suggestion of “overwhelmment” but that wasn’t in the OED either. So I went with the superannuated version, because that’s how I roll! I mean, I use a dip pen every day. What did you expect? ;-) It would have been easier if I’d chosen adjectives to begin with, but too late now!

NostalgiaBot AlphaBots ~ Artificial Emotional Intelligence

NostalgiaBot

Sometimes these bots come along at just the right time. It happens that my parents are selling the home where my siblings & I grew up. It’s the right thing to do, but still a bittersweet moment. We had a family “house-cooling” last weekend where we all indulged in a good bit of nostalgia, along with some champagne, a few tears & plenty of laughter.

Do you think the electronic beings of today look back at vacuum tubes with fond nostalgia?

I must say crafting this one in Illustrator was quite the maddening experience. Although I felt it was the perfect program for all the mechanical precision, it kept selecting the wrong paths of the zillion & three I had to create for the circuitry. I was locking everything else down, so I don’t quite understand why. Any wisdom from the AI wizards out there?

On the bright side, I discovered Envelope Mesh. Man that was handy for tweaking the perspective!

p.s. Please forgive my electronic ignorance, all you folks out there who know how circuits really work. (You know who you are!) I’m sure this configuration is ridiculous & impossible. I claim artistic license!

LoveBot AlphaBots ~ Artificial Emotional Intelligence

LoveBot

I have a quotation by Deena Metzger painted on my studio wall: “There is time only to work slowly. There is no time not to love.” It helps me keep my focus when I’m freaking out about a deadline or something. Whenever I get frantic & try to rush things, I end up making mistakes that set me back even more. And when my children were small & constantly interrupting, seeing that quotation helped me remember what was really important.

My patience was tested today (with gradient mesh, what a surprise!) & I’m still not happy with the results, but I’m trying to remember that this project is all about exploring a new program, & the only way to make progress is to keep learning from my mistakes!

 

KindnessBot AlphaBots ~ Artificial Emotional Intelligence

KindnessBot

I was late starting this week’s AlphaBot due to some last-minute tax snafus. Just as I was about to begin I found out about the Boston Marathon explosions. So the whole time I was doing this I was thinking of those who ran into the disaster area to help the wounded. I’m sure most of you have heard or read this quote from Fred Rogers:

“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’ To this day, especially in times of ‘disaster’, I remember my mother’s words and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers – so many caring people in this world.”
– Mr. Rogers

 

JealousyBot AlphaBots ~ Artificial Emotional Intelligence

GuiltBot

I have greenish eyes so I’ve always felt a little insulted by the phrase “green-eyed monster.” How did jealousy acquire that moniker, I wonder? Ah well, I gave into the cliché for this week’s AlphaBot anyway! Now I’m part of the problem, I guess.

I’m not very happy with the results either, but I ran out of time to tweak. I’m jealous (or more precisely, envious) of people who have plenty of time for everything they want to do. Luckily I don’t know a single one of them!