Humid day on the mountain, but at least it is sunny. Some northern parts of the county were placed under a tornado warning last night, which quite dangerous since it means the radar has detected either strong circulation within a storm, or has in fact detected a tornado. In either case, you probably don't want a tornado warning issued to your area.
I've been reading some robot novels I found in the Ursinus donation tent last year by some aspiring authors who wrote some stories based on Isaac Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics. I was a bit disappointed when I realized the stories weren't by Asimov, but after giving the first book a few chapters to warm-up I've been absolutely hooked. The stories are great, dealing with some big issues that arise as a result of the robotic laws.
A lot of minor things strike me about the situations that emerge as a result of these laws, but one most particularly is the type of behavior the robots exhibit while following these laws; in dealing with humans, the robots are incredibly polite. Consider the First Law, which states (and I'm not quoting directly) that a robot may not harm a human, or by neglect allow a human to come to harm. As a result, robots end up being protective, considerate, and gentle in the stories about them (the ones I have read anyway). In the last story, even, a robot even "died" in order to save the life of a human, which while perfectly compatibile with the three laws is nevertheless an interesting act for a robot to perform.
In short, perhaps people could learn something from the robots of these stories. They protect people and work diligently to do no harm to them. They harbor no ill-feelings toward people, and perform their work logically and with little complaint. They serve those around them, and even perform heroic deeds from time to time. They lack creativity, but they have a penchant for order and quality to service. There is something to be said for polite, well-meaning behavior from a machine. Pay attention now :)
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