Posted on

Wolfram Alpha – The Answer Engine? Google Killer?

By: Billy Beerslugger

So what is the Wolfram|Alpha?  It is a computational knowledge engine.  Well what the fuck is that, you’re asking?  It’s complicated.  However, from what I gather it’s not unlike a  search engine such as Google.  Where it differs though is it’s use of natural language (in terms of a search query from you the user) to determine answers/results as opposed to keywords like Google.

Wolfram also will try to display a visualization if possible from what you are searching for.  From an article I read, “A better way to think of it is a DWIMM (“do what I might mean”), so if you type in something like “gdp France / Germany”, it calculates and returns a graph of the relative fraction of France’s annual GDP to Germany’s GDP, over the last 30 years or so.  If you just type in “gdp”, it looks up your local host and (in my case) displays the GDP of the USA over the last 30 years, plus various pieces of information about what gross domestic product is, from a mathematical formula perspective but not from a semantic one.  It does not have an ontology, so what it knows about, say, GDP, or population, or stock price, is no more nor less than the equations that involve that term.  One vulnerability that this engenders in Alpha is that errors in the data may go unnoticed for a long time; a positive way of saying this is that one could align Alpha’s terms to an ontology and knowledge base, and use it to catch some fraction of errors as outright implausible violations of basic knowledge (e.g., Miami’s population dropping by exactly a factor a ten during the month of October, 2006.)”

Now how does this effect the search engine landscape? I don’t know if it does.  Google seems to be able to handle a wider range of searches more accurately and Wolfram seems to handle a more finite amount of selected datum a lot better.  Google is not going anywhere any time soon.

I’m not going to pretend I know any more about Wolfram then the people who’s articles I’ve read on it and a Wikipedia post, but there’s a lot of Buzz about this coming from nerdery’s all over the world.

I signed up to be have early release access but I think they are looking for somone with a little more credentials then running a blog.  We’ll see though.

Could Wolfram Alpha be your default search engine in 5 years?  Could it have an IPO ala Google and fetch millions upon millions? Only time will tell.

Note:  Wolfram Alpha will launch sometime this month!

Posted on

Philly Bums – It’s a Jungle Out There

crackBy: Billy Beerslugger

I’ll admit while not living in Philly for almost the past year, I missed the bums a little bit.  Most Bums are harmless, they just want money to buy liquor or whatever their drug du jour is.  They are usually too strung out and tired from sleeping outside to pose a valid threat to your well being.  Very rarely you encounter a bum who actually wants food.  They may say they want food to get your money but if you actually try to get them something to eat instead of just giving them money the true intentions become evident.  However, I have encountered some homeless people who really did want food and at that point if I’m not pressed for time I’ll usually get them something small, coffee, a soft pretzel etc.  This has happened maybe 4 or 5 times in my travels.

I’ve heard the  “I need $2.00 to get on the bus/subway so I can get to XYZ place” story from Bum’s and crackheads about 10,000 times.  That’s the standard sob story because it does not deal with food, it deals with transportation.  Obviously you’re not going to give them a ride and at the very least if they get a subway/bus token off of you they’re going to turn right around and sell it for .30 cents less than what it’s worth.  It’s what they do, Hustle.  That’s not working on me, you got legs chief, use them.  It may take you a couple of hours but you’ll get there.

Some Bums will have a gimmick, do flips, tell jokes, juggle etc.  If whatever they are doing makes me laugh or or really blows my skirt up I usually will throw a guy a couple of quarters.  I’m fine as long as I don’t have to come in close proximity with them.  What I won’t do is let them pump my gas or carry anything for me for money.  Not happening.

Crackhead Bum’s is where things get a little sketchy.  These vagrants will approach you in a hurried manor, are persistent, will ask any and every person on the street for money and are generally a little unpredictable.  You gotta watch out for these people because they may have the inclination to get money for the drugs in any way possible given the right situation.  Or they might just be out of their head Cracked Out.  Talking to non existent people, making outrageous statements, speaking in an undecipherable language and looking up in the sky and pointing like they see some sort of flying unicorn.  Crackalackin’ I like to call it.

The best advice I can give you to avoid these beggars is to wear headphones while walking in a Bum Zone.  Even if you don’t have an Ipod just get yourself a pair of headphones, stick the wire in your pocket and if a bum approaches you can blow them off with the old, “Can’t hear you” or “Hey how are you doing” while continuing on your way.  You may be able to get away with just pointing to the headphones, Bums understand if you can’t hear their begging or sob story you  are no good to them.

I’m kind of curious of a place I call Bum City.  It’s a grassy and tree laden area near Vine St. and 15th, right around the 676 exit/entrance.  Bums got tents over there and not just one.  It’s like a miniature town.  It’s great Real Estate too, easy walking distance to Center City, but not in an area where a whole lot of people walk and can get bothered by the bums. I’m guessing that’s why the Cops don’t really bother them there.  At least the previous 2-3 summer’s I’ve seen tents over there.

Being that it’s probably coveted Bum area I wonder if there are some sort of Bum territory wars for the right to reside there.  If you’re sleeping there at night you have to be pretty major in the Bum World.

One of the more outlandish Bum episodes I’ve witnessed was at Checkers on North Broad St.  A Bum had asked for money so my friend had given him the change from the burgers he had just purchased.  Maybe about .17 cents or so.  The Bum was so angry he threw the change at the car as we were driving away.  We stopped and yelled at him and had he not been a crackhead and just a regular guy on the street may have roughed him up a little, but you don’t want to get in a fight with a crackhead.  They’ve got nothing to lose and the chance of some crackhead blood getting on you is a risk you probably shouldn’t take.

Of course there’s good Bum stories too.  After parties at my Fraternity house in college, we had a team of 2 or 3 bums who would clean out the basement. They worked for beer and we never had a problem with them.  I think they took all the cans, crushed them and took them to the recycling center to get money that way too.  Always thinking of a way to make a buck these crazy crackheads!
las vegas cassino

Posted on

Samuel Adams Imperial White

btl_iwBy: Billy Beerslugger

The Samuel Adams Imperial White is basically the White Ale that’s available in the Spring only on Steroids and HGH.  It’s 10.3% alcohol by volume. Had 5 of them and Friday night and they are kind of hard to get down the gullet.

The 10.3% abv easily dwarfs Molson XXX’s 7.3% as the strongest beer I’ve profiled on here.  Kind of tastes like vodka a little.

From the website:

  • Color: Hazy Amber
  • Original Gravity: 24.6° P
  • ABV / ABW: 10.3% ABV / 7.9% ABW
  • BUs: 15
  • SRM: 14
  • Calories per 12 oz.: 328
  • Serving Temperature: 52° – 57°
  • Malt Type and Varieties: Two-row Harrington, Metcalfe and Malted Wheat
  • Hop Varieties: Hallertau Mittelfrueh
  • Yeast Strain: Top-Fermenting Ale yeast
  • First Brewed: 2009
  • Availability: Year Round

Apparently they tell you that you should sip it and enjoy it more like a wine, I happened to chug the first one on a dare before knowing the alcohol content.  It was formula for getting instantly wasted.  I was supposed to go to the bar but after finishing my 3rd Imperial White (plus pre-gaming with 5-6 Yuengling) I was told I starting slurring my words. Also at 328 calories a beer I probably gained a pound or 5.

I ‘m thinking about doing some kind of ranking system for the beer posts but I’m way too lazy for that right now.  Something I’ll keep up in the old noodle though.

Posted on

The 5 Worst College Social Scenes in the Philadelphia area.

collegepartyBy: F.X. Galvin

I have decided to set the stage for a five day installment next week for the five worst colleges to have a good time at in the Philadelphia area. I thought this to be a helpful tool for graduating seniors, students looking to transfer, and people who have already graduated from one of these institutions who need a good laugh on how bad a school sucks at life. This is a guide so boozehounds avoid lame colleges like a bad case of genital warts. It also gives to you the heads up, not visit any one your friends at one of these terrible schools. I wanted to give kids direction on which schools that are just a terrible time. . . Schools where you will be constantly harassed for getting shitfaced. Let’s face it, the real point of college for an 18 year old is to get wasted, hook up, maybe do drugs and as secondary priority to get an education. What better way to inspire the youth?

Today, I will chronicle the schools that are not on this list and why. Next, week I will delve into why those five schools suck so much. In total, I have thought of 20 schools in the Philadelphia area. Here is the list of 15 that will not be on the list.

Obviously Temple and West Chester will not be on the list. Temple has frat houses all within walking distance of its beautiful North Philly campus. To get in trouble for boozing here, you have to be a public mess or throw a banger Jeremy Piven style. (which has happened, ask Billy Beerslugger). Also, Center City is a $5. cab ride away which provides a more than adequate nightlife. Really, what’s not to like? West Chester is known to be the party mecca in the Philly area. It is a state school with about 13,000 students. This place has everything from frat houses, straight party houses, and a town full of bars that run college specials on a regular basis. More panties drop at these two schools than a swinger orgy with unlimited coke and e-bombs.

Next La Salle, St, Joseph’s and Philadelphia University will not be on the list. La Salle is in a crazy neighborhood and also can have crazy parties. Like Temple, this place has other things to worry about, like felony level crimes so alcoholic students are not high on its priority list. St. Joe’s and Philly U will also not be on the list. Both schools on campus parties suck. However, both schools have great off campus parties. Both universities flood Manayunk, which gives students houses and bars to get wasted at without being bothered.

Arcadia, Cabrini, Neumann and Widener are safe from party embarrassment. The enrollment of these schools are 3,600, 3,100, 2,600 and 5,000 respectfully. (Widener’s total enrollment is higher but I excluded the population from satellite campuses.) All of the abovementioned schools are small but have decent parties one way or another. Outside of Widener house and frat parties theses schools give you a different look at getting sauced. The other three schools usually have the same result as big universities, just with a smaller size party. Students get wasted, then have unprotected sex leading to regret the next day. Great. . . if you are just visiting but may lead to embarrassment if you are a student there. Like high school, the whole student body will know that you banged a fat chick within 48 hours. (kinda sucks, trust me on that one, I went to undergrad at a school that size). Sometimes these parties are small but pack a big punch.

Now here is where it gets tough. I gave a pass to Immaculata and Rosemont. Rosemont is an all girls school. Really, how can rip it if that is what you want. Obviously no one really lives up there so no one would actually go there to have fun. Immaculata just went co-ed within the last decade. The school currently has under 1000 undergraduate students and ultimately should be given a chance. My prediction is that within another five years parties will be comparable to the drinking scene at Arcadia, Cabrini, and Neumann.

Also, regretfully I gave Penn, Drexel, University of the Sciences, and University of the Arts a pass. Some people may think I’m wrong here but I have reasons people. I actually have had a good time at a couple of Drexel parties. Also, guys if you are “normal,” (sorry for freaks who don’t categorize normal as normal and think they are normal and everyone else has issues, your not, face it), you have a solid chance of getting laid. Even though Drexel is annually on the ugliest campus in America list some of the girls are actually fuckable and they are tired of looking at trendy, artsy guys who look like French painters. Also, like some of the schools in the top five as well as Rosemont, no students really go to Penn, University of Sciences or Arts to get banged up. Believe or not these schools do have parties but you or no one you would associate with would ever attend. They get down in their own way. Picture the Asian party in “Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle.” Plus, they are all within the city and close to an above-average bar seen. I think I will receive some criticism for the last three schools over #5 on the list but fuck you, it is my list.

Well now you are trying to figure out what five schools are on this list. Just a couple of hints. Three schools are off the Main Line. One school is in Philadelphia but not Center City. The other school is in the suburbs, approximately 20 minutes from Center City. On Monday, I will feature #5.

Posted on

Swine Flu: Chemtrails? Bio-Weapon?

chemtrailsBy: Billy Beerslugger

So over the weekend or sometime late last week was the first time I heard about Swine Flu (technically influenza A virus subtype H1N1). I’ll admit I was joking about it, asking my buddy if one of the symptoms was excessive flatulence since I was very gassy after a heavy night of boozing.

Now though, it’s not really a laughing matter.  The World Health Organization is saying that a pandemic is imminent.

A pandemic for those of you keeping score is described as an epidemic of infectious disease that spreads through populations across a large region; for instance a continent, or even worldwide.

Swine Flu is endemic of Pigs and rarely infects humans.  It is of high probability that this virus must have mutated to be able to infect humans or been engineered that way.

I understand how it got from Mexico to Texas, that’s easy.  What I’m saying or at last what is fishy to me is how it spread so fast from Mexico to New York and now to Chicago.  I don’t think it has anything to do with flying on airplanes because most of the people reported to have acquired Swine Flu have been kids.  Spain reported the first case of Swine Flu in Europe and the person had not even been to Mexico.

So besides person to person contact, how are these virii being spread.  If the person from Spain who was not in Mexico has it, how did it get there?  How did it get from Mexico to New York with no infections in states in between?

I’ve been manning the Conspiracy theory channels and one possible cause is Chemtrails.  The chemtrail conspiracy theory suggests that some contrails (condensed water vapor trails from plane engine exhaust)  are actually chemicals or biological agents deliberately sprayed at high altitudes for a purpose undisclosed to the general public.  Some say Chemtrails are used to control Weather Patterns some say they may be used to combat global warming.

Some argue that we are being conditioned to accept these trails in the skies as normal by inserting them into movies and advertisements.

However, who is to say they are not being used to deliver the Swino Virus?  It’s possible but is it probable?  What if some sort of terrorist group is perpetrating this Swino Virus as a Bio-weapon, the government is covering it up and Jack Bauer is the only one who is keeping us safe?

I don’t have any proof but if this is true you heard it here first on Beerslugger!

This Youtube series really caught my eye on Chemtrails.  A little long (27 parts) and somewhat dry, boring but worth at least seeing some of what people are reporting on.

At least some local news stations are reporting on it.

Posted on

The Girlfriend Experience

By: Billy Beerslugger

Steven Soderbergh is an Academy Award Winning director of such films as Sex Lies and Videotape, Traffic, Erin Brockovich & The Oceans 11 franchise.  His latest film, The Girlfriend Experience is a film about a $2,000 an hour call who juggles a boyfriend and the demands of her profession.

The film stars Porn Actress Sasha Grey in the lead.  As far as I can tell this is the first major mainstream release of  a movie with a Porn Star as the lead, or at least a Porn Star who still works in Porn.  I don’t know if you think it’s significant but I think it definitely reflects a change in the way the mainstream now more readily accepts people in the adult industry.

While the movie does have a Porn Star as the lead it is said to have very little nudity and no sex.

In case your a porn junkie like me here’s some links to Sasha Grey’s work.

Posted on

Cracktacular

crackBy: Billy Beerslugger

So I’m reading some stuff today and come across that the president is pushing for more lenient crack cocaine laws.  Now yea I’ll agree that the law is a little scewed, putting crack cocaine offenders away longer for less amounts, I get that.

What I do not get is why we are lessening Crack Cocaine sentences and not lengthening Cocaine sentences.  Seems logical to me.  Yes I do have sympathy for the “Treatment Movement”, where instead of throwing people in jail, putting them into rehab.  I do think that some people come out of prison worse than they were before they went in.

Some statistics I’ve seen suggest a better rate of non-repeat offending after rehab as opposed to jail.  But statistics can be misleading and subjective in terms of the people doing the survey as well as the people chosen for the sample.

Federal law currently has a system in place which 5 grams of crack gets the same minimum sentence as 500 grams of coke, according to the article in the link above.  So there does need to be some reform, but I’m not sure lessening sentences is the way to go.

I understand the penal system is overcrowded.  I understand it is a lot of money to have someone in jail for 5 years.  Is that the answer though to the Crack Cocaine problem, reduced sentences, more crackheads on the street?  It’s bad enough that the people selling the stuff and the people in the neighborhoods they own will not narc anyone out, now you’re just making it more of an incentive to not talk to the police.

To me it’s kind of like telling a kid “If you do XYZ you’re going to be grounded for 2 weeks instead of 5”.  Well now the kid is going to think about the situation a little more.  Maybe he should steal the case of beer from his dad, 2 weeks of being grounded isn’t that bad.

No the current laws are not fair, but boost up sentences on Cocaine and not lessen sentences on Crack.

But I could be wrong….

Posted on

Samuel Dalembert: It’s time to go chief!

Sports With Bob McFlurry

I’ll admit I was excited when I first saw Sam Dalembert’s athleticism on the court early in his career.  He reminded me of Theo Ratliff a little bit they way he went after blocks.  I thought this guy could be really good, he’s raw, give him a couple of years to mature and develop and he could be a force in the middle for the Sixers.

Flash forward to 2009, I can’t stand when Dalembert is on the court.  I’m not sure why he’s starting other than the fact that he’s making 10.5 million dollars this year.  He has two years remaining on his contract which tops out at 12 million in 2010/2011.  Dude is making double digit million dollars a year to go out on a basketball court and suck (thanks Billy King).

Yes he blocks some shots, yes he does some rebounding, yes he’s one of the better defending centers in the Eastern Conference but he’s an offensive liability, refuses to learn from mistakes or what teammates tell him to do and is constantly in foul trouble.

This is a guy who got summarily dismissed from Team Canada’s Olympic Basketball team.  I couldn’t find another guy on Team Canada’s roster who I had even heard of and they booted Dalembert, one of the two NBA players who expressed interest in playing for them.

The coach of that team was quoted to say this about the Dalembert dismissal, : “Everybody who’s here now wants to be here and wants to be a part of this team. If that’s not your agenda you’re not here.”.  There really wasnt any further explanation from the coach but I’m thinking Dalembert’s head was just not in the game much like about 90% of the games he plays for the Sixers.

This season he continued to lose minutes to Theo Ratliff, Reggie Evans and rookie Marreese Speights averaging 24mpg.  It seems Sammy wants to be to involved in the offense when it’s clearly not his strong suit. Every time I see him take a 15 foot jumper I cringe. The guy should be averaging 15 boards, 8-10 trash points on accident and 3 blocks a game.  That’s what he needs to do, rebound, block shots and defend.

It’s time for this experiment to end.  We need a real center.  Unfortunately this is not Team Canada and we cannot just fire him, we’re stuck with him for two more years and his salary and play will make it hard to move him.  Can we give him 10 million to go away?

Sam Dalembert Regular Season Stats:

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2001–02 Philadelphia 34 0 5.2 .440 .000 .389 2.0 .1 .2 .4 1.5
2003–04 Philadelphia 82 53 26.8 .541 .000 .644 7.6 .3 .5 2.3 8.0
2004–05 Philadelphia 72 60 24.8 .524 .000 .601 7.5 .5 .6 1.7 8.2
2005–06 Philadelphia 66 52 26.7 .531 .000 .705 8.2 .4 .5 2.4 7.3
2006–07 Philadelphia 82 82 30.9 .541 .000 .746 8.9 .8 .6 1.9 10.7
2007–08 Philadelphia 82 82 33.2 .513 .000 .707 10.4 .5 .5 2.3 10.5
2008–09 Philadelphia 82 82 24.8 .498 .000 .734 8.5 .2 .4 1.8 6.4
Career 500 411 26.4 .524 .000 .688 8.1 .4 .5 1.9 8.1
Posted on

Budweiser: The Great (Un)American Lager.

By: Billy Beerslugger

I watched a shit ton of sports this weekend.  Flyers playoffs, Phillies games, NFL Draft, Sixers Playoffs.  My Sports viewing was interrupted by a lot of commercials but the Budweiser commercials really stuck with me.

First of all I’m not a fan of Budweiser, I’m on the toilet for most of the day after drinking that stuff.  In my opinion it really doesn’t taste good either.

Budweiser has always had pretty good PR/Advertising .  The Was’ Up guys, The Frogs & Lizards and Clydesdale Horse and Real American Heroes commercials and radio spots you are probably familiar with.

I have two problems with Budweisers new tagline, “Budweiser: The Great American Lager”.

  1. Technically Budweiser is a pilsner.

  2. Anheuser-Busch is owned by Belgian Based Company InBev.

To elaborate, a pilsner is characterized as a “pale lager”.  So Budweiser is a lager but more specifically it is an “American-style pilsner“.  I’d feel a lot better if the had made their advertising campaign say, “The Great American Pilsner”.  It’s giving the beer drinking public the wrong impression about lager.  While lagers vary greatly in flavor, color and composition, I’d like to think of a lager as a little darker and a little heavier than Budweiser.

The more egregious oversight is saying Budweiser is the “Great American Lager” and the company that owns it is not even an American company.  That’s like if Coca Cola said it was America’s soda and it being owned by some company in Germany or Ford saying it’s America’s great truck but being owned by the Japanese.

Budweiser is brewed in the United States at least so I cannot go all “Buy American” on you even though it’s not owned by an American Company.  However, if you’re planning a cookout or at a bar go for the Real Great American lager, Yuengling.

Yuengling, based in Pottsville PA, is Americas oldest brewery established in 1829.  If you live in Eastern Pennsylvania you just call it Lager for short.  It is a wholly owned American company and is very close to being the largest American-owned brewer.

Posted on

Pirate Bay, The Pirate Party & The Court Case you don’t know about.

the_pirate_bay_logoBy: Billy Beerslugger

Bit Torrent is a peer to peer file sharing protocol.  Think of it as a way more accurate, efficient, and reliable Napster or LimeWire.  Bit Torrent traffic, by some estimates, makes up about 35% of all internet traffic.  It is by far the most popular protocol for large file sharing.

A Bit Torrent Client is essentially a program which manages downloads and uploads. There are many Bit Torrent Clients out there and apparently LimeWire supports to a limited extent Bit Torrents.  One of the more popular Bit Torrent Clients is uTorrent, very lightweight.

A Torrent (of the Genus and Species Bit) is really whatever you want it to be.  It can hold Mp3’s, movies, datasets, computer programs, Tv Shows… if it’s in a digital form you can probably put it in a Torrent.

A Bit Torrent Tracker is a web based interface which provides search functionality (much like Google) for Bit Torrents.

The Pirate Bay is a bit torrent tracker.  It is the most popular bit torrent tracker, ranked as the 106th most popular website by Alexa Internet and is the defendant (or at least the operaters are) of a major laswsuit.

On April 17, 2009 Peter Sunde, Fredrik Neij, Gottfrid Svartholm and Carl Lundström were found guilty of assistance to copyright infringement and sentenced to one year in prison and payment of a fine of app. 3,620,000 USD after a 9 day trial.  The defendants are appealing the verdict, seeking a re-trial and recent news has come out that the judge presiding over the case was a member of Pro-Copyright groups.  The Website is still in operation.

In a scenario similar to others regarding prosecuting file sharing sites/companies, membership to The Pirate Bay surged following the verdict.  The more media coverage of the site and what it does, the more it’s members continue to grow.

In Sweden, which is the headquarters of The Pirate Bay, supporters of the site have formed their own political party.  It is currently the 4th largest political party in terms of members in Sweden.  It’s ranks grew by about 20% in the hours following the verdict and increases by the minute.  The number of young members in the party put it at number one in that demographic.

The Pirate Bay and Bit Torrent in general have been the subject of much debate in the United States and Internationally.  Not only for the issue of copyright infringement but from throttling bit torrent traffic, packet sniffing and other ways Internet Service Providers have tried to limit access to Bit Torrents.

Whether or not you personally support the prosecution of The Pirate Bay, file sharing is not going away.  Movie Studios and Record Labels need to find a way to a way to distribute their content and sustain profit off of it.   Old ways of doing this like Cd’s and Dvd’s are not going to cut it in our computer/gadget centric society.  Optimally the solution they come up with does not impede upon how you use the Internet or Net Neutrality.