20 Questions

Most of us played the game 20 questions when we were kids. It helped pass the time during a long automobile ride—this was before the era when we began amusing ourselves to death by putting televisions and DVD players in cars and SUVs. Yesterday, I came across a free online version of the game that uses Artificial Intelligence to figure out who (actors, sports figures, other notables) or what the player has in mind.

20Q asks a series of yes or no type questions, and often within twenty questions comes up with the correct answer. Sometimes, these answers seem to come out of nowhere. For instance, below are the sixteen questions I was asked before 20Q guessed correctly guessed that I was thinking of Hilary Clinton. My answers are included.

16. Were you born between 1900-1950? Yes.
15. Are you still on the air? Sometimes.
14. Have you won awards? Yes.
Are you the middle child? Unknown.
Are you the youngest child? Unknown.
13. Are you on a hit TV show? No.
12. Were you involved in a scandal? Yes.
11. Are you a news reporter? No.
10. Do you have long hair? No.
9. Are you young? No.
8. Are you over the age of 30? Yes.
Have you ever been on MTV? Unknown.
7. Have you made more than 10 albums? No.
6. Are you from Brazil? No.
5. Are you known for your live performances? Sometimes.
4. Do you have children? Yes.
3. Are you in movies? No.
2. Do you have blond hair? Sometimes.
1. Are you male? No.

Now it doesn’t always guess correctly. This is sometimes because the site bases its guesses partially on the answers supplied previously by other people. For instance, question 5 above, “Are you known for your live performances?” is a matter of opinion. In playing on the 20Q site, I often find that other people’s opinions and sometimes even matters of fact are at odds with the answers I supplied. I know this because if 20Q does not guess correctly it pursues the matter and shows where the information the player supplied differs from information already in its database.

If you have a few minutes, take a look at this intriguing site.

The Old Scout

I've written about Garrison Keillor in earlier entries here. Last evening I was reading his blog called the Old Scout and found a number of intriguing posts.

A strong sense of independence tempers Keillor's political liberalism. This is notable when he writes about education. But what I especially relate to are his posts about religion. One of these about his feelings while going to church at Easter time, I thought he wrote for me.

Take a look at the Old Scout and as Keillor always says on the Writer's Almanac, "Do good work and keep in touch."

Free Rice

I came across the Free Rice site on two different services that recommend websites, and it's certainly worth a visit. The deal is that the site will donate 20 grains of rice for every vocabulary word you get right. It's multiple choice. Now 20 grains of rice doesn't sound like much, but with all their visitors, Free Rice has donated 32,924,953,370 grains of rice so far. If you miss a word, they'll ask you again after a while.

Reaching Level 7 on Yahoo Answers

I have mentioned Yahoo Answers earlier in this blog. I've been active on the site on and off for almost two years, progressing though the various levels one can achieve. Today, I reached Level 7 --Yahoo Answers top category . So, big deal, you say. For anyone not impressed with this accomplishment, let me run through how one earns the points needed to reach this exalted status. The main ways are by answering questions (2 points each) and by having your answers selected as best answers (10 points each). One can also get points by voting for best answers on questions (1 point for each vote and only one vote per question). To get to level 7, one must amass 25,000 points. Up until recently, I never thought I reach Yahoo Answers highest level, but with a final push over the last two months, I made it. So, do I win a prize and get some other tangible reward for my efforts? The answer, unfortunately, is no. Why then would anyone bother making the effort? I'm not sure, but I do know that there is a certain addictive quality to the site. I should also admit that my point total is kind of paltry compared with those at the top of the leader board. The current leader, who goes by the name Judas Rabbi, has earned more than 419,000 points. To give a little more context, there are 1230 more people who have garnered more points that I have. It makes one feel kind of insignificant. On the other hand, according to YA's FAQs, "With more than 21 million unique users in the U.S. and 90 million worldwide, Yahoo! Answers is the largest knowledge-sharing community on the Web." I'll write more about YA later on, but now I have to get back there and see what questions have come in.

A Homerun to Savor--Again and Again

I’m a lifelong Dodger fan—before and after their move to Los Angeles. People like me cringe when they have to watch (yet again) a replay of Bobby Thompson’s homerun in the 1951 pennant game between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants. We also experienced ennui when Barry Bonds broke Hank Aaron’s homerun record some days ago.

What we never mind watching, however, is Kirk Gibson’s homer that ended the first game of the 1988 World Series between the L.A. Dodgers and the favored Oakland Athletics. As the fabled story goes, the Dodgers were behind 4 to 3 when they came to bat in the ninth inning. With one runner on base, Dodger manager Tommy Lasorda sent in Kirk Gibson as a pinch hitter. Gibson had been sitting out the game because of a knee injury. It was said that if Gibson had not hit a homerun, he would likely have been thrown out at first because he could hardly run. After taking two pitches, the slugger stepped out of the batter’s box briefly and then hit the next pitch into the right field stands to win the game. He did not the play again the rest of the series, but the Dodgers had momentum and beat the Athletics four games to one. Gibson went on to win the National League Most Valuable Player award for 1988.

If you missed the homerun, here it is again.