https://gregladen.com/blog/2008/03/13/robots-poised-to-take-over-tra/ Sat, 15 Mar 2008 04:54:16 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.6 https://gregladen.com/blog/2008/03/13/robots-poised-to-take-over-tra/#comment-5163 Sat, 15 Mar 2008 04:54:16 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2008/03/13/robots-poised-to-take-over-tra/#comment-5163 If this machine won’t give you an in-depth political commentary for at least the full duration of any trip you might make in it, it won’t have a hope in hell of doubling as a taxi.If it can’t take advantage of the back doubles to take you off a heavily-trafficked route to get you somewhere quick, then it won’t approach the expertise of a London black cab driver, who has to spend up to 3 years learning this before he gets his operating license.I am not talking about a black London cab driver, which most of the free-wheeling, unregulated taxis are. The difference between a black London cabbie and a London black cabbie is that the former has about the same opinions about Jamaican politics, doesn’t have a clue where he’s going, and is usually a little more sunburned.If they can program this machine to learn all ‘The Knowledge’ then the political opinions add-in should be a doddle. How much input would you need to produce a political opinion a little bit to the right of GWB?If it’s going to work at all in Lebanon, Thailand, or Egypt, it will have to have a speech program that will tell you every other driver is a donkey, or a diseased son of a whore, and be able to distinguish the subtle difference.So they’ll have to colour code it as well.——————————–We would say shed-yool. You cross-pond fellows, thinking you might be skollars, might aspire to sked-yool. Only Austrians say shed-ool, but they also pronounce shillings as schillings.———————————–Curb is a vurb.Kerb is that bit of the pavement (sidewalk to you cross-ponders, who’ve been aspiring to keep your wives, mistresses and significant others, on the other side, away from the horse shit thrown up by black cabbies (or maybe Haitians) for over 150 years).It’s a subtle difference – your curb keeps you off the street. Our kerb keeps the street off us.regardsRichard

]]> https://gregladen.com/blog/2008/03/13/robots-poised-to-take-over-tra/#comment-5162 Fri, 14 Mar 2008 14:10:25 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2008/03/13/robots-poised-to-take-over-tra/#comment-5162 Well, you weren’t wrong. Kerb is pathetic. It all depends on what shool you went to. And on what shed-ool.

]]> https://gregladen.com/blog/2008/03/13/robots-poised-to-take-over-tra/#comment-5161 Fri, 14 Mar 2008 14:01:16 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2008/03/13/robots-poised-to-take-over-tra/#comment-5161 Note to self: Google before opening big dumb mouth.If you need me, I will be in the corner attempting to remove my foot from same.

]]> https://gregladen.com/blog/2008/03/13/robots-poised-to-take-over-tra/#comment-5160 Fri, 14 Mar 2008 11:55:55 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2008/03/13/robots-poised-to-take-over-tra/#comment-5160 “kerb” is a correct spelling for “curb”, actually, in the U.K.

]]> https://gregladen.com/blog/2008/03/13/robots-poised-to-take-over-tra/#comment-5159 Fri, 14 Mar 2008 11:50:19 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2008/03/13/robots-poised-to-take-over-tra/#comment-5159 (Just to make sure: pathetic of ICT, not Greg of course)

]]> https://gregladen.com/blog/2008/03/13/robots-poised-to-take-over-tra/#comment-5158 Fri, 14 Mar 2008 11:48:21 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2008/03/13/robots-poised-to-take-over-tra/#comment-5158 The kerb? The kerb?That is just so pathetic.

]]> https://gregladen.com/blog/2008/03/13/robots-poised-to-take-over-tra/#comment-5157 Thu, 13 Mar 2008 20:56:08 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2008/03/13/robots-poised-to-take-over-tra/#comment-5157 Two things I want to know about the RoboCab: 1) does it have a plastic effigy of Robert Picardo at the wheel, and will it brake for ducklings? (/blogwhoring)

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