COMIC BOOK REVIEW: FANTASTIC FOUR #569

Now, on one hand, the outcome of the current Fantastic Four storyline "Doom's Master", had a couple of predictable conclusions.
1. The person believed dead in the title turned out to still be alive.
2. The big event (the wedding of Ben Grimm, aka The Thing) that the subplot had been building towards in the last few issues didn't happen after all.

I am not surprised by these results, for this was Mark Millar's last issue as writer and the one thing he could not do was shake up the series' status quo for too long.
However, there were a couple of surprises along the way.
1. How the presumed deceased actually survived.
2. Why the big event in the subplot never happened.

Yet while overall this issue was an enjoyable read, I do have one major quibble:
WHERE WAS FRANKLIN RICHARDS?
If Millar wanted to focus on Valeria and develop the character during his tenure, no problem. But Franklin was absent without leave (or story explanation) for most of the last two issues, and nobody either within the story or on the editorial side of the page seemed to have noticed! Despite everything going on, don't you think the parents (Reed Richards, aka Mr. Fantastic and his wife Sue, aka the Invisible Woman) would have noticed the absence of their oldest child?
Hopefully the new creative team that takes over with issue 570 will be more alert about their cast.

The above is just my opinion folks.
Would you like to see more comic book reviews? Just leave a comment either way.

WATSON: DO WE NEED YOU?

An Editorial

Recently, the IBM corporation announced that it is working on refining the next generation of voice recognition software.
WATSON, the computer currently using the new program, is tentatively scheduled to receive a major field test when it competes on the quiz show Jeopardy! sometime during the Spring of 2010, akin to when the IBM computer "Big Blue" participated in chess competitions.
Now I am all for developing technology to the next level, but this news leaves me scratching my head in wonder.
While "Big Blue" was able to logically process all the variables in something as complex as a chess game, it must be noted that its knowledge of chess was based upon practically every professionally played game on record being inputted into its memory banks along with detailed reports of all the Grand Masters of the game for analysis of any given move from any perspective at any moment.
The program for the new computer will have a similar objective. WATSON (named after the location of the IBM research center) is being developed to know and recognize any possible nuance of human speech, from slang to dialect and every variable in between, and respond accordingly.
Now I can foresee all kinds of practical applications for voice recognition software (such as helping the blind) even without getting into the realms of science-fiction programs like the Star Trek franchise.
But to compete on Jeopardy?
It has been said that a computer is only as good as the people behind its programming and the person at the keyboard.
WATSON is certain to have numerous data bases on file, which might give it an unfair advantage against other contestants.
But provided the voice recognition software works as expected, will it be as fast on the signaling button compared to the other (human) players, let alone able to supply the correct question within the allotted time?
While a specific date has not been finalized, the computer is scheduled to compete against former College and Tournament of Champions winners. There are even (unconfirmed at this time) reports that all-time Jeopardy! champion Ken Jennings might compete against WATSON as well.

Whatever the outcome, it will definitely be interesting to watch.

For more information, visit www.research.ibm.com

WHAT STAMPS ARE YOU WATCHING?

Soon the United States Post Office will be issuing a set of 20 stamps honoring what has been called "The Golden Age of Television".
Priced at the current mailing rate of 44 cents, the series will be commemorating the following shows:

*The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (The Nelsons)
*Alfred Hitchcock Presents
*The Dinah Shore Show
*Dragnet
*The Ed Sullivan Show
*George Burns and Gracie Allen
*The Honeymooners
*Hopalong Cassidy (western hero)
*The Howdy Doody Show
*I Love Lucy
*Kulka, Fran, and Ollie
*Lassie
*The Lone Ranger (and Tonto)
*Perry Mason
*The Phil Silvers Show (aka: Sgt. Bilko and/or You'll Never Get Rich)
*The Red Skelton Show
*The Texaco Star Theater (with host "Uncle" Milton Berle)
*The Tonight Show (with originating host Steve Allen)
*The Twilight Zone (with creator Rod Serling), and
*You Bet Your Life (with host Groucho Marx)

The 20 stamps are to be issued in black and white to mimic the original broadcast medium.

For more information on this or any other postal service or product, just go to http://www.usps.com/

THE SUNDAY FUNNIES: AUGUST 16, 2009

Hello Everybody! Ms. Waxy Dragon here.
Now although I am just a five year old baby dragon (unless you believe those tales about me being just one of many avatars of an avid Internet user), like any child, I am always curious about the world around me.
And I wonder about things, such as:

Why does Goofy stand erect while Pluto remains on all fours? They're both dogs!

If Wile E. Coyote had enough money to buy all that Acme stuff, why didn't he just buy dinner?

Did you ever notice that when you blow in a dog's face, they gets mad at you, but when you take him on a car ride, they always stick their head out the window?

Does pushing the elevator button more than once make it arrive faster?

Does the name Pavlov ring a bell?

And, believe it or not, children are also observant too! For example:

Entropy isn't what it used to be.

A waist is a difficult thing to mind.

Anything free is worth what you pay for it.

Atheism is a non-prophet organization.

Editing is a rewording activity.

We should stamp out and eradicate superfluous redundancy.

There's no sense being pessimistic. It wouldn't work anyway.

Thanks for reading, and have a great week.
-wd.

THE WEEK IN REVIEW: AUGUST 9-15, 2009

*New information recently come to light in the investigation of the recent air collision over the Hudson River reveals that one air traffic control officer was too busy making a personal call, and thought they could do so because the supervisor was not even in the room at the time of the crash.
*Having served the prison sentence for his participation in dog fighting activities, football player Michael Vicks has now signed with the Philadelphia Eagles.
*Famed guitarist Les Paul passed away this week, as did Special Olympics founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver.
*This month marks the closest Mars will ever be to Earth, and is easily visible in the night sky as the moon.
*The Perseid meteor shower was this week.
*This week marks the 40th anniversary of the original Woodstock music festival, and I think we could all use a little more peace and tranquility in our lives. Don't you?

But the biggest news item this week is the on going debates across the country about Health Care reform, with misinformation springing up all over the place.
A lot of pundits fear how this could effect passage of the bill when Congress resumes its activities after Labor Day and put the measure to an official vote.
For the straight truth about just what IS in the Health Care reform act, please go to www.whitehouse.gov ; www.healthreform.gov ; or www.snopes.com for actual, ACCURATE information.

For more news at any time, just scroll down to the IN OTHER NEWS feature at the bottom of the screen.

THE PUZZLE CORNER: AUGUST 15, 2009

A new weekend brings new puzzles. Enjoy!

WORD PLAY
What is the longest word you can think of with just ONE vowel?

WHAT'S THAT SONG?
With political debates heating up across the country on the subject of health care reform, what song actually has the lyric:
Now this is the politic of lies...
And no, it is not about the insurance company lobbyists and Republicans against health care reform, although a lot of people do think that the two groups are one and the same.

The answers will appear next weekend.
And now the answers to last weekend's mysteries...

TRIVIA TIME
Without crossing over into the other hand's territory on a keyboard, with the left alone you can type STEWARDESSES and with the right LOLLIPOP.

COMMON BONDS
While a long and diverse list, all {Walt Disney; Bob Hope; Doctor Martin Luther King, Junior; Dwight David Eisenhower; Harry S. Truman; Jackie Robinson; and Bing Crosby} at some point in their lives were newspaper boys !

STERIODS SITUATION UPDATE

News with Editorial Commentary...

Recently, the names Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz have been released as two more Major League Baseball players who have allegedly (I say this for both legal reasons and the fact that the actual results have not been offucially released to the public yet) flunked a 2003 drug test conducted by MLB officials in conjunction with federal authorities, as is supposed to be listed in what is commonly referred to as The Mitchell Report.
Since then, for the most part Ramirez has exercised his right to remain silent (especially in light of having recently completed a 50 game suspension for testing positive for an anti-steroid side effects chemical), while Ortiz exercised his legal rights and questioned what he was supposed to have tested positive for.
Ortiz held a press conference on August 8th in conjunction with MLB Players' Union counsel Michael Weiner and together they revealed the following facts:
*Although 104 players were allegedly tested, the pre-test agreement was only for a maximum of 96.
*Based upon the quality of testing procedures in 2003, some legal substances could have created a false positive reading during the test.
*Every player who tested positive was given a second test seven days later to verify the results of the first test, to either verify or disprove the previous test results.
The press conference also raised the following questions:
*Who has been leaking confidential information from a sealed Congressional record? For The Mitchell Report has yet to be officially released.
*How many players were actually tested in 2003, and even if it was the full contingent of 96, who is saying 104, and why add 8 extra players?
*Are the leaked results from the first test or the second? And do the results of the two tests concur with each other?
*Just who is actually guilty of taking steroids and who was only taking something that created a false positive reading?
Some of the previously leaked names have admitted their guilt, and allegedly (this said for legal reasons and the fact there are no officially public accessible results from more recent tests) are clean now.
But I have a few questions of my own.
Who is right?
Who is wrong?
And who can you trust in the current situation for accurate information?
Only time will tell.
But I do stand by my previous statement on the subject, although obviously a bit amended in light of recent events:
If a player is found guilty of taking illegal performance enhancing drugs and said test results are verified as accurate, then that player should be stripped of ALL honors, awards, contract bonuses, etc.; earned during the verified time of use.
This should be applicable to any player in any sport!
There are (young) people in the world who look up to athletes as role models, and the action of taking illegal substances does not set a good example for the players of the future.

For further information about the Ortiz/Weiner press conference, you can go here:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090808/ap_on_sp_ba_ne/bbo_drug_list_3

or to your favorite (sports) news information source(s).