Chris Carosa, Author at Chris Carosa

My Life With AI—Part II: The Search For The Holy Grail

By Chris Carosa on May 30, 2023

If you stumbled upon this without reading Part I first, you can read it here.

I always had a certain curiosity (there’s that word again) with the idea of artificial intelligence. You can’t blame science fiction for this. It was simply the challenge. Artificial intelligence represents the Holy Grail of mathematics. It’s not simply ramming a bunch of formulas through faster and faster processors. It’s going a step beyond. It’s giving the computer a basic set of instructions, then allowing it to begin programming itself by building on top of that foundation.

Naturally, I monitored the subject. This is one reason I knew about the Boston-based investment adviser BatteryMarch, although, technically, it wasn’t artificial intelligence; it was just another example of brute force processing. For the inside dope on AI, I didn’t rely on the Wall Street Journal or even the data processing trade press. No, I paid attention to Continue Reading “My Life With AI—Part II: The Search For The Holy Grail”

Posted in Memoir of a Real Life, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged AltaVista, artificial intelligence, BatteryMarch, C++, ChatGPT, expert system, Google, Hamburger Dreams, Holy Grail, knowledge base, Larry Page, Lisp, Modern Portfolio Theory, MPT, Prolog, securities analysis, Wall Street Computer Review

My Life With AI—Part I: Early Geekdom

By Chris Carosa on May 23, 2023

The lure of artificial intelligence (or “AI”) enticed me. But let’s not get ahead of the story.

For reasons that aren’t important right now, I spent my high school years channeling my inner Spock. Relying on logic to drive your life rather than the vicissitudes of emotion made things quite amazing. Today we’d call it going down rabbit holes. Back then, I merely explored wherever my curiosity took me.

“Hold on!” you’re saying, “isn’t ‘curiosity’ an emotion?”

Well, some psychologists might agree, (see Litman, “The Measurement of Curiosity As a Feeling of Deprivation,” Journal of Personality Assessment, 82(2), 147-157). Spock merely uses it as a statement of fact. In Episode 26 of Season 1, “Errand of Mercy,” in Star Trek—The Original Series, he says, “It is curious how often you humans manage to obtain that which you do not want.”

There is an intersection between Litman (who says curiosity is a “motivation”) and Spock’s use of the term. Think of what happens when you hear a strange noise on the other side Continue Reading “My Life With AI—Part I: Early Geekdom”

Posted in Memoir of a Real Life, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged artificial intelligence, BASIC, Basic Scientific Calculator, BatteryMarch, C++, calculator, COBOL, computer, curiousity, FORTRAN, Gates-Chili High School, HP-31E, Litman, logic, Moore's Law, RadioShack, Spock, Star Trek, TRS-80

Nobody’s Talking About Bud Light’s Real Mistake

By Chris Carosa on May 16, 2023

Budweiser accidentally stepped into a pile of putrid politics. This isn’t about politics, though. This is what nobody’s talking about. This is about Bud Light’s real mistake.

For those of you not familiar with the basic story, in a botched marketing campaign meant to demonstrate its “inclusiveness,” Bud Light managed to both exclude and alienate its core market. Since then, sales have dropped more than 20%. The latest figures show they continue to drop and that the ensuing boycott has now extended to other Anheuser-Busch products.

This is not a good look if you’re the head of marketing. And that’s where the real mistake comes from. It’s a mistake made by all too many companies, big and small.Continue Reading “Nobody’s Talking About Bud Light’s Real Mistake”

Posted in Business Tips, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged 3M, Alissa Heinerschheid, Anheuser-Busch, Babylonian tower, Bud Light, Budweiser Light, Coors Brewing Company, Coors Lite, Decline, growth, Harley-Davidson, Harley-Davidson Cake Decorating Kit, Harvard Business Review, Icarus, Jell-O, Market Development, Maturity, Miller Brewing Company, Miller Lite, New Coke, product extension, product life cycle, Scotch tape, Spuds MacKenzie, Theodore Levitt, Wharton Business School

Jerry Springer Was And Wasn’t Who You Think He Was

By Chris Carosa on May 9, 2023

This wasn’t the first time something like this happened, and I doubt it will be the last. Call it “The Quiet Man” approach. Hmm, that sounds like a pleasant topic for a future commentary.

This episode, however, begins in the quiet world of Manchester, New Hampshire in June of 2017.

No, wait. It actually begins before this beginning. Early in April, I met Suzette Standring at the New York Press Association Spring Conference at the Gideon Putnam Hotel in Saratoga Springs, New York. She is an award-winning author and a syndicated columnist. Suzette was at the NYPA conference to present on how to write better columns.

In case you haven’t noticed, this weekly sojourn is what we in the journalism business call a “column.” It’s not necessarily a traditional column (which Continue Reading “Jerry Springer Was And Wasn’t Who You Think He Was”

Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Bonnie Jean Feldkamp, Buffalo, Clarence Page, Gideon Putnam Hotel, Jerry Springer, Jesse Jackson, Mork and Mindy, National Society of Newspaper Columnists, New York Press Association, Nick Clooney, Nightly New Report, NSNC, NYPA, Oliver North, Oprah, PBS, Phil Donahue, Ricki Lake, Sherrod Brown, Suzette Standring

Tucker Carlson Signals Old-Style Broadcast TV Business Model Faces No Tomorrow

By Chris Carosa on May 2, 2023

Here’s what nobody’s talking about in the entire Tucker Carlson SNAFU. It’s not about Tucker Carlson. It’s not about Fox. It’s about the changing of the guard.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that the dominance of network TV has dwindled over the last two generations. With the advent of easy-to-access cable TV over the last forty years, viewers have weened themselves from the network nipple.

This change in behavior hasn’t necessarily occurred deliberately. The very act of presenting so many options paralyzes viewers into non-decision. This is a common reaction to what behavioral psychologists call “choice overload.” But don’t give them credit. Alvin Toffler first introduced the concept in his 1970 book Future Shock. He called it “overchoice.”

Of course, if you want to be a stickler, choice overload is merely a derivative of Continue Reading “Tucker Carlson Signals Old-Style Broadcast TV Business Model Faces No Tomorrow”

Posted in Business Tips, Media, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged ABC, Aesop's Fables, Alvin Toffler, Amazon Prime, analysis paralysis, book publishing, broadcast, cable TV, CBS, Certified Book Marketing Professional, Certified Book Publishing Professional, choice overload, Fox, Fox News, Future Shock, Hollywood, Hulu, Joe Rogan, Mr. Beast, NBC, Netflix, network TV, overchoice, podcast, The Fox and the Cat, Tucker Carlson, Tucker Carlson Tonight, Twitter

Ode To An Iconic Public Servant

By Chris Carosa on April 25, 2023

Jeanne

I don’t remember the first time I met Jeanne Loberg, but I remember how I felt. She immediately struck me as the new kid on the block. What did that make me? The newer kid on the block.

This may sound ironic, but her knowledge and wisdom overshadowed all that “new kid” stuff. She was “new” because she hadn’t lived in Mendon her whole life. I was new because I had just moved into town. And because I wasn’t yet thirty years old. Despite my obvious youth and inexperience, she took it upon herself Continue Reading “Ode To An Iconic Public Servant”

Posted in Memoir of a Real Life, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Bill Fletcher, Carl Foss, cell tower, Chris Holliday, Chuck Meisenzahl, Empire State Pipeline, Environmental Conservation Board, Jack Leckie, Jeanne Loberg, Jeanne Loberg Park, Lehigh Valley Trail, Lucy Parsons, Mendon, Mendon Foundation, Mendon Planning Board, Mendon Station Park, Mendon Town Board, New York State Public Service Commission, Paul Kehoe, RG&E, Rochester Junction Park, Rochester Telephone, Route 64, Thruway, Zoning Board

The Back Roads Of Morocco Greater Western New York

By Chris Carosa on April 18, 2023

Imagine The Awe That Filled Sullivan’s Soldiers As They First Set Eyes Upon The Fertile Flats Of The Genesee River Valley

I had forgotten the beauty that is Greater Western New York. But for a tragic Thruway accident, I would not have been reminded.

I left early for Jamestown last week. But not too early. I couldn’t leave until I finished my weekly State of Greater Western New York Show. If you like trains, check it out at https://stateof.greaterwesternnewyork.com/ under Travel and Leisure. It’s an interview with Otto Vondrak, President of the Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum in Rush.

After quickly packing up the car, I left shortly before 1pm. Before departing, I plugged my destination into my route finder. Since I was going to Jamestown to pick her up, Betsy wasn’t in the car to complain about my insistence on doing this, even though I know exactly how to get to her father’s house. If she was there, I would have told her what I have told her many times before, “Google Maps tells us if we need to reroute because of an accident.”

This was one of those times.

Continue Reading “The Back Roads Of ~~Morocco~~ Greater Western New York”

Posted in The Compleat Carosa Commentaries, Western New York State of Mind Tagged Allegany County, Ashford Junction, back roads of Morocco, Bakerstand, Beaver Meadows Creek, Buffalo, Casablanca, Cattaraugus County, Chautauqua County, Devereaux Branch, Don't Tread On Me, Gasden flag, Genesee Flats, Genesee River Valley, Geneseo, Great Valley Creek, Greater Western New York, Jamestown, Livingston County, Machais, Monroe County, Patton, Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum, Rochester & Pittsburgh Railroad, Rush, Sahara, Sears Steel Belted Radial tires, Sullivan Campaign, Volkswagen, Wadsworth Homestead, World Cup Rally, Wyoming County

Thoughts On Trains, Natural Gas, And The Interstate Highway System

By Chris Carosa on April 11, 2023

It was a lonely vigil.

And by “vigil” I mean Easter Vigil on Saturday night.

And by “lonely” I mean I was by myself, all alone in a church I never went to before. Betsy was staying with her recovering father and Peter was not feeling well.

Only I wasn’t alone. Parishioners packed St. James (aptly named because it’s in the City of Continue Reading “Thoughts On Trains, Natural Gas, And The Interstate Highway System”

Posted in The Compleat Carosa Commentaries, Western New York State of Mind Tagged 1956, 1960s, Car and Driver, church, Class One, Easter, Eisenhower Interstate System, electric, Fredonia, hydro, Jamestown, John D. Rockefeller, Kathy Hochul, Lehigh Valley Railroad, Mass, Mendon, national defense, National Fuel Gas, national security, New York State, nuclear, power, public safety, rail, Railserve, renewable, Schuyler County, solar, St. James, Standard Oil, Vigil, Western New York, William Hart, wind

‘A Republic, If You Can Keep It’

By Chris Carosa on April 4, 2023

Remember the day. Remember the time.

Thursday, March 30^th. 5:03pm.

At least that was the date and time for me. I had just come out of the quarterly board meeting of the New York Press Association. Ironically, during that meeting, we had no idea of any breaking news. It’s likely the news didn’t break until we adjourned.

Perhaps, given the participants, the timing of the release was out of respect.

Not likely.

If you haven’t guessed by now, the event I’m referring to is the first time there was ever Continue Reading “‘A Republic, If You Can Keep It’”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries Tagged Al Franken, Andrew Cuomo, anti-Trumper, Asa Hutchinson, banana republic, Ben Franklin, Democrat, Donald Trump, Duke lacrosse, Elizabeth Willing Powel, Hillary Clinton, indictment, Manhattan District Attorney, Mike Nifong, Nancy Pelosi, never-Trumper, politics, Rasmusson Poll, Republic, Republican, Rick DeSantis, Robby Mook, Rubicon, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Yahoo News/YouGov

There’s A Reason For That Spring In Your Step

By Chris Carosa on March 28, 2023

Can you feel that? I can. But I can’t describe it.

It’s somewhere between a tinge of excitement and elated joy. It’s anticipatory and present at the same time. It’s a satisfied grin, a certain bounce in my step.

Or, should I say, a certain “spring” in my step.

That’s it! It’s spring.

Disregard the fact the weather still thinks it’s winter. It’s not the precipitation that matters, Continue Reading “There’s A Reason For That Spring In Your Step”

Posted in Gray Matter Musings, Memoir of a Real Life, The Compleat Carosa Commentaries

My Life With AI—Part II: The Search For The Holy Grail

My Life With AI—Part I: Early Geekdom

Nobody’s Talking About Bud Light’s Real Mistake

Jerry Springer Was And Wasn’t Who You Think He Was

Tucker Carlson Signals Old-Style Broadcast TV Business Model Faces No Tomorrow

Ode To An Iconic Public Servant

The Back Roads Of Morocco Greater Western New York

Imagine The Awe That Filled Sullivan’s Soldiers As They First Set Eyes Upon The Fertile Flats Of The Genesee River Valley

Thoughts On Trains, Natural Gas, And The Interstate Highway System

‘A Republic, If You Can Keep It’

There’s A Reason For That Spring In Your Step

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Imagine The Awe That Filled Sullivan’s Soldiers As They First Set Eyes Upon The Fertile Flats Of The Genesee River Valley

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