#british gp 2005

[threecheers-forsweetrevenge]

Kimi Raikkonen. July 8, 2005. British GP. Getty images

[kwisatzworld]

Valentino Rossi

British GP - July 22, 2005

©️ Clive Mason

[schumigrace]

fernando alonso | 2nd place | Britain 2005 | podium no.16

[skitskatdacat63]

2005 British Grand Prix - Juan Pablo Montoya, Fernando Alonso + Kimi Räikkönen(my personal post-race highlights)

+ Bonus Jenson Button

[iceman7raikkonen]

[boxboxblog]

Women in Motorsports

Hello, this post is answering an ask about women in F1 and F1 related series. Great ask, let's go.

History:

So, unfortunately the history of women in motorsports is a combination of good and bad, but mostly bad. It's a story of limited opportunities, constant barriers, and many female racers being seen as the exception rather than the rule. F1 still to this day is a male-dominated sport, and even as recent as the 2010s many men in F1 deemed female racers to be a bad idea, or that women could not handle it. F1 legend Stirling Moss stated in 2013 or 2014 that "Women don't have mental strength for Formula 1 and would find it tiring" so this really is a culture in F1 that only in recent years has started to change.

But all throughout this history, women did fight for the right to race. Who were these women?

Maria Teresa de Filippis

The first woman to race in F1, she entered the sport in 1958. She competed in five Grand Prix's with Maserati and Behra-Porsche, and finished 10th in Spa. She possibly dealt with the worst of what the F1 world had to offer, as she was even banned from racing at some tracks, even being told at one point that "the only helmet a woman should wear is the one at the hairdresser's". While she only competed for a short time, she was a pioneer for women in motorsports.

Lella Lombardi

Lombardi is probably the most well known women in F1 history. She grew up racing, competing in karting at a young age and then rising up through other series, before being brought into F1 in 1974. She would race in F1 until 1976, and throughout her career would score points multiple times. Even when she left this series, she would still race for many years to come. While she is not the first woman in F1, she is perhaps the greatest trailblazer, as her performance and competitive spirit inspired many future female drivers and even garnered respect from many F1 legends.

Divina Galica

A famous British athlete (part of their olympic ski team) Galica also pursued a career in motorsports after performing well in a celebrity racing event. She competed in karting, then moved into F2 and F1. She raced in three Grand Prix's between 1976 and 1978, but unfortunately never qualified for the race.

Desiré Wilson

Known as one of the most accomplished female racers in the world, Wilson is the only woman to win an F1 race (as of right now), but this was in the non-championship series, Aurora AFX British F1 Series. Her only entry in the F1 championship series was the British GP, of which she did not qualify. Outside of F1, she had a thriving career, competing in Indycar events, winning the Monza 1000km, winning the Silverstone 6 Hours World Championship, winning the South African Formula Ford Championship, racing in Formula Pacific, the 24 Hrs at Le Mans, and more. A truly impressive racer and career.

Giovanna Amati

The most recent female F1 racer, Amati raced for Brabham in 1992. She had three entries, but did not qualify for a race. Outside of F1, she had a great career. She attended a motorsport academy from a young age, competing in her first series, Formula Abarth, in 1981. She then moved up to Formula 3 and Formula 3000 (scoring multiple win sin both series). She was able to secure a place in F1 after serving as the testing driver for Benetton, but her poor results meant she was fired quickly. After that, she went into other series like Monza 1000km, Sebring 12 hrs, the Ferrari Challenge, etc.

Development and Test Drivers:

Sarah Fisher: Indycar driver, tested for McLaren in 2002

Katherine Legge: Tested with Minardi in 2005

Susie Wolff: A Williams test and reserve driver in 2012, and the last woman to take part in a F1 race weekend as she drove in a FP in 2014. Currently the head of F1 Academy

María de Villota: Test driver for Marussia in 2012. Died from injuries in a crash.

Tatiana Calderón: An IndyCar driver who served as the development and test driver in 2017-218 for Sauber.

Jamie Chadwick: 2019 Williams signed her as a development driver until 2022.

Difficulties:

So, what are the difficulties or barriers that have held women back from competing. There are several, of course. In the early days it was general sexism and the belief that women could not handle racing that did it. The g-force of the car was deemed too aggressive, and even with technological advancements that have lowered g-force, this stereotype that women are too physically weak still lingers. The financial barrier is also a big one. Racing is extremely expensive, and securing a strong sponsorship is required to compete at the highest levels. But sponsors also tend to not go for female drivers as they view it more as a risk, because it is such a male-dominated sport. The general treatment female drivers have received over the years has also discouraged many from pursuing an F1 career. They are often treated to a lot more scrutiny and vitriol than there male counterparts, and on top of that are overly sexualized. I don't quite remember who, but one prominent F1 figure once stated that women should not compete because the second they put on a race suit, they are a sex object to be fantasized about. For young women this would be a massive deterrent to continuing their career. In general, the barriers women have dealt with are a mixture of all of these things put together. But what has the F1 world to try and alleviate these problems?

The W Series:

This series came about in 2019, and was a free-to-enter series for women intended to create a clear pathway and offer them more exposure. It was paused in 2022 after funding issues, and today is not in use. This did help launch the initiative to get more women into motorsports and gained the drivers who compete a lot more public attention.

The F1 Academy:

Launched in 2023, the F1 Academy is a series in the F4 category that is designed to provide support for female drivers, as well as higher access to sponsorships opportunities. Many modern drivers say that the biggest difficulty women in modern motorsports face is the lack of sponsorship opportunities, so the academy attempts to alleviate that. The Academy has their own races, but also trains the drivers on technical skills, media training, and physical conditioning. While this program is sometimes seen as controversial, mostly because people feel that it is condescending to put women in a separate category, this is mostly because people do not realize the purpose it. The goal is to help these young female drivers gain attention from sponsors so they can go on to afford to compete in the general categories, like F3, F2, and eventually F1. It is not intended as anything but a jumping off point and training center. Sponsors do not tend to go for young female racers because of the F1 gender bias, so the academy attempts to get rid of this, not replace the lower level series, and help the drivers gain more public attention.

The Future:

So, due to this growing momentum in recent years around women in motorsports, the question comes around; when will be see a woman in F1? I wish I had a good answer to this question. Most people believe that we could see a female F1 driver within the next decade, while others think it may take longer than that. As for how the academy helps, we haven't see the results quite yet. The drivers for the F1 Academy certainly have received much more attention that they would have due to the series, but they are still in the first generation so there are not clear results. The good news is that big name teams like Ferrari are starting to support young female drivers through their junior programs, and so perhaps we will see a female F1 driver sooner than we think. It still is a bit of an uphill battle, but I am optimistic about the future.

Alright, I hope I answered any questions about this topic. As a woman and a motorsport enthusiast, this a topic is very near and dear to my heart. Thank you again for the fantastic ask.

Cheers,

-B

[mydaddywiki]

Liam Fox

Physique: Average Build Height: 5’ 8" (1.73 m)

Sir Liam Fox (born 22 September 1961) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for International Trade from 2016 to 2019 and Secretary of State for Defence from 2010 to 2011. A member of the Conservative Party, he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for North Somerset, formerly Woodspring, since 1992.

Fox studied medicine at the University of Glasgow and worked as a GP and civilian army medical GP before being elected as an MP. After holding several ministerial roles under John Major, Fox served as Constitutional Affairs Spokesman from 1998 to 1999, Shadow Health Secretary from 1999 to 2003, Chair of the Conservative Party from 2003 to 2005, Shadow Foreign Secretary in 2005 and Shadow Defence Secretary from 2005 to 2010.

Lets see… Fox had some scandals in his career. When he was the Shadow Cabinet minister, he was found to have the largest over-claim on expenses and, as a result, was forced to repay the most money. When he was Defence Secretary, a position from which he resigned from over allegations that he had given a close friend, lobbyist Adam Werritty, inappropriate access to the Ministry of Defence and allowed him to join official trips overseas.

He’s married to Dr. Jesme Baird, but there have been gay rumors over his relationship, both personal and political, with Mr Werritty. The much younger guy Fox spends a lot of time with, goes out drinking with, takes trips share hotel rooms with. I don’t want to judge a book by its cover, but I’m thinking there’s something to those gay rumors. I don’t know much else about him except that I want to fuck him. And sometime that’s enough.

[lil-shiro]

Who exactly is Oliver Oakes, newly appointed Alpine TP, and what could this mean?

[TW: Nakita Mazepin mention]

Oliver Oakes is a relatively well known name in formula motorsports, primarily as the team principal and director of Hitech GP, (F4/F3/F2 etc. British racing team).

Additionally he is the second youngest team principal ever, at the age of 36 (born in 1988).

But before that he was actually a racing driver himself, and is the 2005 World Karting champion. He was even once a part of the Red Bull Junior Team. He raced in a few single seater series before moving onto a managerial position.

Oliver Oakes [L] and Marcus Ericsson [R], 2008 - British Formula 3 International Series

Team Oakes Racing, a karting team and karting management service, was formed in 2011. They managed notable drivers such as Callum Ilott, Marcus Armstrong, Nikita Mazepin, and Clement Novalak.

In 2015, Hitech Racing became Hitech GP as we know today after founder, David Hayle partnered up with Oakes. Many drivers have driven for Hitech such as George Russell, but there's too many to name.

It was under Oakes' management that built Hitech's strong connections with Uralkali as a sponsor and partial ownership by Dmitry Mazepin (which is no longer the case as of 2022) by signing Nikita Mazepin as a driver.

(L) George with Oakes in 2016 / (R) Oakes with Mazepin in 2020

Presently, their notable talent includes, Paul Aron who in is currently 3rd in the F2 standings in his rookie year with 7 podiums. And Luke Browning, who is running 2nd in F3.

Oakes with Paul Aron, Estonian F2 driver (x)

If you didn't know, Paul Aron was part of the Mercedes F1 Junior Team and parted ways (he was dropped) with them at the end of 2023. He looks to be doing pretty well in F2, so who knows if with Oakes as a newly appointed TP, this could be an opportunity for Paul in the future (maybe a potential buy out).

[indiangp]

Watching 2005 British gp and the fucking lights at the start malfunctioned lmaoo 😭

[igettalk]

Concerns has been raised due to the rapidly movement of the Earth's magnetic North Pole towards Russia in a swift manner with scientists noticing its swift movement over recent decades. The magnetic North Pole was formerly moving at the speed of 15 km/h between 1990 and 2005. This shift was tracked by professionals across the globe with the claim that it has important implications for GPS and even protect radiation. While it is no news that the fixed geographical North Pole remains constant, the magnetic North Pole is gradually changing and this swift movement towards Siberia has generated a lot of concerns. British scientists have continued to document the Earth's magnetic North Pole shift over the past few centuries and have recorded about 2,250 kilometers from Canada toward Russia. While the shift is not stopping soon, scientists has revealed that it might probably affect compasses and other navigation tools in 16 years to come. The soft movement of this pole may cause challenges to GPS, and radiation protection that depends on the World Magnetic Model for exact readings. The swift movement has raised concerns for provision of updated technologies and building of systems to that will prevent the likely danger on both environment and technology. Read the full article

[maxemilianverstappen]

What are your fave photos of Kimi?

Firstly, this very dramatic shot... I love the black and white and the designs on his helmet and how that single visible eye of his is full of emotion. For me, this is an iconic photo and I have a similar one taken from a different angle on my camera roll, but it is in colour and I like this BW one more.

Simi, of course... This wasn't the first photo I saw of them that hooked me to their bromance. But look at the unintentional sensuality of this one. They both look breathless for each other and I am the gleeful cameraman watching them 😂

Then this one... He looks like a movie star here. The wind in his hair, the shoulders, the way he is sitting on the Ferrari he had just totalled... This looks just like a race poster from the 70's. Too bad I couldn't find it in better resolution.

Here is one I am putting up for purely aesthetical reasons... If he was on the grid today looking like this, he'd give everyone a run for their money. And he was in his prime as a driver, too... Chal who? Max which? Hey!

This one is here, because it sums up his attitude against life and Lotus!Kimi, ofc. God, I wish I had half of his level headedness.

Finns and their coffee! Rally!Kimi under the snow... This photo has such a dreamy quality that it always makes me stare at it for a little more than usual. What a soft guy! Angelic 😇

I like this photo a lot. We don't know much detail on their relationship, but once Kimi said he never had idols, but among the Ferrari drivers, he felt himself closer to Michael. He also considers Michael as his hardest rival and says he immensely enjoyed racing against him. I am sure it must have felt nostalgic to race against Mick, too.

Another iconic photo. Ron celebrates Kimi after he won Japanese GP 2005 in the final lap, having started the race from P17. In other photos from different angles it's so clear that Kimi smiles hugely, too. And it always warms my heart.

This beautiful car is Alfa Romeo Alfetta 158. Kimi drove this in British GP, in 2019. And would you look at this photo... It is like a still from a racing movie. He fits into the spirit of this car's history to a fault. And I am thankful Darren Heat caught and immortalized this frame.

And lastly, I want to choose this one. It is from Turkish GP 2005. He is the first winner on my home race. I watched this race live and I still remember my excitement, remember how I prayed the whole race for that Merc engine to keep intact and not burn. I was so happy after the race that the euphoria of it possibly lasted me for a month.

[sageglobalresponse]

How Kemi Badenoch, 42, Grew Up ‘With No Running Water’ In Nigeria To Become Top Contender For British Prime Minister

Tory leadership hopeful Kemi Badenoch has gone from race outsider to a serious contender with the backing of Michael Gove and a promise to be the ‘fresh face’ the party needs after chaos of Boris Johnson’s premiership.

The MP for Saffron Walden, 42, who grew up in the UK, US and Nigeria, is known as a culture warrior with anti-’woke’ views on issues including trans rights that make her a hit among right-leaning members of the party.

The former equalities minister threw her hat into the ring with a plan for a smaller state and a government ‘focused on the essentials’ and won the support of Mr Gove, who said the party needs a leader with ‘Kemi’s focus, intellect and no-bulls*** drive’.

It marks a massive boost in profile for Ms Badenoch, a mother-of-three former banker who has only been an MP for five years and remains unknown to most of the population.

She admits her pro-Brexit views put her at odds with her husband Hamish, a Deutsche Bank banker and former Tory Councillor. The couple have three children – two sons and a daughter, who they keep out of the public eye.

Ms Badenoch was born in Wimbledon, south-west London after her Nigerian parents came to the UK so her mother, a professor of physiology, could receive medical treatment.

She grew up in Lagos where her father worked as a GP, although they spent time in the US while her mother was lecturing.

‘I come from a middle-class background but I grew up in a very poor place,’ she once said in an interview. ‘Being middle class in Nigeria still meant having no running water or electricity, sometimes taking your own chair to school.’

Ms Badenoch was born in south-west London after her Nigerian parents came to the UK so her mother, a professor of physiology, could receive medical treatment. Pictured, Kemi Badenoch (second from left) with (l-r) her brother, Fola, Kemi, her sister Lola and mother, Feyi

At 16, Ms Badenoch returned to London to realise her ‘dream’ of completing her studies in the UK and enrolled in a part-time A-Level course in Morden.

At the time Nigeria was in the midst of political chaos that impacted the economy. The family experienced poverty and Ms Badenoch’s father ‘scraped together’ enough money for a plane ticket and £100 for his daughter to start her new life.

To support herself, Ms Badenoch, who lived with a family friend, secured a part-time job at McDonald’s and picked up ad-hoc work elsewhere.

‘Most of the students were from ethnic minorities and the expectations for us were low,’ she recalled in an interview with the Independent. ‘The poverty of low expectations must change. Schools and teachers matter.’

The future politician enrolled at the University of Sussex where she studied Computer Systems Engineering, graduating in 2003.

This led to a job as a software engineer at Logica, followed by by a role as system analyst at Royal Bank of Scotland. She was later appointed as an associate director at private bank Coutts.

In 2009 she began a part-time law degree at Birbeck College and has also worked at the Spectator magazine.

Ms Badenoch joined the Conservative party in 2005, aged 25, and says there were two ‘lightbulb moments’ that persuaded her to stand as an MP.

The first was when she heard a speaker at the Hay Festival ‘claiming that ethnic minorities all suffer from institutional racism’.

She told the Independent: ‘The left and the liberal elite think they have a monopoly on the caring issues, whether it is diversity or refugees.

‘Of course we have a moral obligation to help refugees but what is important – and more difficult to do – is to look at what works when they come; can they find work? Do they integrate? Do they take on British values?’

The second came during the Make Poverty History movement in 2005 when she was struck by the arrogance of ‘white men thinking they can save Africa’.

‘This was the last straw for me. What has helped and is helping African countries is free trade and enterprise, not more aid and more virtue signalling,’ she continued.

She grew up in Lagos where her father worked as a GP, although they spent time in the US while her mother was lecturing. Pictured, Kemi, aged seven, with her grandfather in Nigeria.

After unsuccessfully running for the seat of Dulwich and West Norwood in the 2010 election – a contest won by late Labour MP Tessa Jowell – Ms Badenoch was selected as the Conservative candidate for Saffron Walden, a safe seat for her party, in the 2017 election.

She won and delivered her maiden speech in Parliament just a few weeks later. In it, she described herself as the ‘British dream,’ the African ‘immigrant who came to the UK aged 16 and who became a parliamentarian’ in one generation.

She also described the vote for Brexit as ‘the greatest ever vote of confidence in the project of the United Kingdom’ and hailed

Ms Badenoch has had a rapid ascent through the ranks of the Conservative party, including a post as equalities minister. She resigned from government last week.

After first announcing her candidacy in The Times, Ms Badenoch officially launched her campaign in a speech at the Policy Exchange think tank on Tuesday.

In a wide-ranging speech, Ms Badenoch attempted to add economic heft to her anti-woke foundations, with a slapdown of her rivals over their un-costed tax cut offers.

But she also lashed out at British businesses that focus more on social change instead of making money, as she laid out her free market credentials.

She said: ‘The ability to defend the free market as the fairest way of helping people prosper has been undermined. It has been undermined by a willingness to embrace protectionism because of special interests.

‘It’s been undermined by retreating in the face of the Ben and Jerry’s tendency.

‘They will say a business’s main priority is social justice, not productivity and profit.

And it’s been undermined by the actions of crony capitalists colluding with big bureaucracy to rig the system in favour of incumbents against entrepreneurs.’

The MP for Saffron Walden has the declared support of 15 colleagues, including recent Cabinet minister Michael Gove, who was at her campaign launch.

Standing in front of a union flag-patterned backdrop bearing the slogan ‘Kemi for Prime Minister’, she said: ‘In the debate we’ve been having about the future of our party and our country, there have been lots of promises to cut taxes.

‘I am committed to reducing corporate and personal taxes, but I will not enter into a tax bidding war over: ‘’My tax cuts are bigger than yours’’.’

‘For too long, politicians have been saying you can have it all – you can have your cake and eat it,’ she added.

‘But I’m here to tell you that that isn’t true – it never has been.

‘There are always tough choices in life and in politics: no free lunches, no tax cuts without limits on Government spending, no stronger defence without a slimmer state.

‘Unlike others, I’m not going to promise you things without a plan to deliver them.’

Ms Badenoch and her husband Hamish pictured with one of their daughters. The couple have kept their three children – two daughters and a son – out of the public eye.

Ms Badenoch said she would tackle the economic crisis by cutting spending on international aid, university student subsidies, and ‘superfluous support staff’ including well-being officers and diversity ‘tick-box exercises’.

She said: ‘While the priority of the £300 billion the Government spends on procurement should be value for money, in truth this is being undermined by tick-box exercises in sustainability, diversity and equality.

‘These are good things but they need to be done properly.

‘Why are we spending millions on people’s jobs which literally didn’t exist a decade ago, like staff well-being coordinators in the public sector?’

She added that she would ‘get the police to focus on neighbourhood crime’ rather than ‘waste time and resources worrying about hurt feelings online’.

The Essex MP is competing with prominent Cabinet faces including Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss, but she said her lack of experience is a ‘huge advantage’ because she does not come with ‘the baggage of so many of the decisions that have been made’ in recent years.

‘People want a fresh face, and they can’t have somebody who has been in Cabinet a very long time,’ she added.

Ms Badenoch said she has ‘a lot of respect’ for Mr Sunak and Ms Truss, but she is ‘not worried’ about running against them.

She said her Government would be guided by the ‘Conservative principles’ of a ‘limited government doing less, but better’ and a ‘strong nation state’.

Culled from Dailymail

[iceman7raikkonen]

[race-week]

The History of the Mercedes F1 Team

I was inspired by the videos Sky showed during testing of the histories of Aston Martin and Alpine during testing so I thought I would do Mercedes, as this team has one of the weirder histories in F1, bear in mind I have just used the results from the train from Tyrell down to the present-day Mercedes team - so the two championships the original Mercedes team have aren’t included

Constructors Championships: 9 

(1971, 2009, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020)

Drivers Championships: 11 

(1969, 1971, 1973, 2009,  2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020) Jackie Stewart (3), Jenson Button (1), Lewis Hamilton (7), Nico Rosberg (1)

 Race victories: 148

Pole positions: 147

Fastest laps: 109

Tyrell Racing (1968 - 1998)

First entry: 1968 South African Grand Prix Races entered: 465 entries (463 starts) Constructors Championships: 1 (1971) Drivers Championships: 3 (1969, 1971, 1973) - Jackie Stewart Race victories: 33 Pole positions: 19 Fastest laps: 27 Final entry: 1998 Japanese Grand Prix

Eventually, in 1998 and in the face of dwindling form and ill health, Ken Tyrell sold his team to British American Tobacco, the team becoming British American Racing.

British American Racing and BAR Lucky Strike Honda (1999 - 2005)

First entry: 1999 Australian Grand Prix Races entered: 118 (117 starts) Engines: Supertec, Honda Constructors Championships: 0 (best finish; 2nd 2004) Drivers Championships: 0 Race victories: 0 Podiums:15 Points: 227 Pole positions: 2 Fastest laps: 0 Final entry: 2005 Chinese Grand Prix

At the end of 2005, Honda obtained 100% ownership of BAR from British American Tobacco, completing their ambition to become a full F1 manufacturer team. In addition, Jenson Button's Williams contract was bought out for US$30 million, and Button signed a multi-year contract with Honda.

Honda Racing F1 Team (2006 - 2008)

First entry: 2006 Bahrain Grand Prix Races entered: 43 Engines: Honda Constructors Championships: 0 Drivers Championships: 0 Race victories: 1 Podiums: 4 Points: 106 Pole positions: 1 Fastest laps: 0 Final entry: 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix

Honda suddenly exited the sport at the end of the 2008 season, unwilling to continue the Brackley-based team's $300 million budget and staff of 700 during the global economic crisis.

The team continued to work on the Honda RA109 for the 2009 season while Honda attempted to sell the racing team.

Ross Brawn bought the team for £1 in order to keep the team in the sport   

Brawn GP Formula One Team (2009)

First entry: 2009 Australian Grand Prix Races entered: 17 Engines: Mercedes Constructors Championships: 1 (2009) Drivers Championships: 1 (2009) - Jenson Button Race victories: 8 Podiums: 15 Points: 172 Pole positions: 5 Fastest laps: 4 Final entry: 2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

On 16 November 2009 it was officially announced that Daimler AG in partnership with Aabar Investments had purchased a 75.1% stake in Brawn GP (Daimler AG: 45.1%; Aabar: 30%).

It was rumoured that the partnership paid £110m for the 75.1%. The team would be rebranded as Mercedes GP for 2010. The remaining 24.9% stake is Ross Brawn's in partnership with Nick Fry. The team used the Brawn GP base in Brackley for its operations and Brawn stayed on as team principal until the end of the 2013 season.

 Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula 1 Team (2010 - Present)

First entry: 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix Last entry: 2020 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Races entered: 227 Engines: Mercedes Constructors Championships: 7 (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020) Drivers Championships: 7 (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020) - Lewis Hamilton (6) Nico Rosberg (1) Race victories: 106 Podiums: 219 Points: 5685 Pole positions: 120 Fastest laps: 78

[crazycollinmitchell]

Artificial Intelligence: A Brief History

Ancient Greek mythology included intelligent robots and artificial entities for the first time. The creation of syllogism and its application of deductive reasoning by Aristotle was a watershed point in humanity's search to comprehend its own intelligence. Despite its long and deep roots, artificial intelligence as we know it today has only been around for a century. The following is a quick rundown of some of the most significant AI events.

1940s * "A Logical Calculus of Ideas Immanent in Nervous Activity," by Warren McCullough and Walter Pitts, is published in 1943. The first mathematical model for developing a neural network was proposed in this publication. (1949) Donald Hebb offers the hypothesis that brain pathways are formed by experiences and that connections between neurons become stronger the more they are used in his book The Organization of Behavior: A Neuropsychological Theory. In AI, Hebbian learning remains an essential model.

1950s Alan Turing publishes "Computing Machinery and Intelligence" in 1950, suggesting the Turing Test, a method for detecting whether or not a machine is intelligent. Marvin Minsky and Dean Edmonds, Harvard undergraduates, create SNARC, the first neural network computer, in 1950. Claude Shannon publishes "Programming a Computer for Playing Chess" in 1950.

*

The "Three Laws of Robotics" are published by Isaac Asimov in 1950.

*

Arthur Samuel creates a checkers self-learning software in 1952.

(1954) In the Georgetown-IBM machine translation experiment, 60 carefully selected Russian sentences are mechanically translated into English.

At the "Dartmouth Summer Research Project on Artificial Intelligence" in 1956, the term "artificial intelligence" is developed. The conference, which established the scope and goals of AI and was led by John McCarthy, is largely regarded as the genesis of artificial intelligence as we know it today.

*

Allen Newell and Herbert Simon exhibit the first reasoning program, Logic Theorist (LT), in 1956.

John McCarthy creates Lisp, an AI programming language, and publishes his article "Programs with Common Sense" in 1958. The paper proposed the Advice Taker, a complete AI system capable of learning from experience in the same way as humans do.

* In 1959, Allen Newell, Herbert Simon, and J.C. Shaw created the General Problem Solver (GPS), a computer program that mimics human problem-solving.

*

Herbert Gelernter created the Geometry Theorem Prover program in 1959.

*

While working at IBM in 1959, Arthur Samuel coined the phrase "machine learning."

The MIT Artificial Intelligence Project was started by John McCarthy and Marvin Minsky in 1959.

1960s

*

John McCarthy establishes the Stanford AI Lab in 1963.

* 1966) The Automatic Language Processing Advisory Committee (ALPAC) report by the U.S. government details the lack of progress in machine translations research, a major Cold War initiative with the promise of automatic and instantaneous translation of Russian. The ALPAC report leads to the cancellation of all government-funded MT projects.

* (1969) The first successful expert systems are developed in DENDRAL, a XX program, and MYCIN, designed to diagnose blood infections, are created at Stanford.

1970s

* (1972) The logic programming language PROLOG is created.

* 1973) The British government releases the "Lighthill Report," which details AI research failures and results in significant funding cuts for AI initiatives. (1974-1980) Dissatisfaction with AI progress leads to significant DARPA reductions in research grants. Artificial intelligence funding is drying up, and research is stagnating, according to the ALPAC study and the previous year's "Lighthill Report." The "First AI Winter" occurs during this time.

1980s

R1 (also known as XCON), the first successful commercial expert system, is developed by Digital Equipment Corporations in 1980. R1, which is designed to configure orders for new computer systems, kicks off a decade-long investment boom in expert systems, essentially ending the first "AI Winter."

*

The ambitious Fifth Generation Computer Systems project is launched by Japan's Ministry of International Trade and Industry in 1982. The purpose of FGCS is to create a platform for AI development and supercomputer-like performance.

1983) In response to Japan's FGCS, the US government develops the Strategic Computing Initiative, which will fund advanced computing and artificial intelligence research through DARPA. (1985) Companies invest over a billion dollars a year on expert systems, and an entire sector called the Lisp machine market emerges to support them. Symbolics and Lisp Machines Inc. are two companies that make customized computers that run on the AI programming language Lisp.

1987-1993) As computing technology advanced, cheaper alternatives arose, and the Lisp machine market crashed in 1987, kicking off the "Second AI Winter." Expert systems became too expensive to operate and update during this time, and they finally fell out of favor.

1990s

During the Gulf War in 1991, US forces used DART, an automated logistical planning and scheduling program.

(1992) Japan cancels the FGCS project in 1992, alleging failing to reach the grandiose targets set a decade before.

DARPA terminated the Strategic Computing Initiative in 1993, after spending over $1 billion and falling short of expectations. (1997) World chess champion Gary Kasparov is defeated by IBM's Deep Blue in the 2000s

*

(2005) The DARPA Grand Challenge is won by STANLEY, a self-driving automobile.

2005: The United States military began to invest in self-driving robots such as Boston Dynamics' "Big Dog" and iRobot's "PackBot."

*

(2008) Google develops advancements in speech recognition and makes the feature available via its iPhone app.

2010-2014

*

On Jeopardy!, IBM's Watson beats out the competition.

(2011) Apple's iOS operating system introduces Siri, an AI-powered virtual assistant.

* In 2012, Andrew Ng, the inventor of the Google Brain Deep Learning project, fed 10 million YouTube videos as a training set to a neural network using deep learning methods. The neural network learns to recognize a cat without being informed what a cat is, ushering in a new era of deep learning funding and neural networks. (2014) Google's self-driving car passes a state driving test for the first time. From 2015 through 2021, Amazon's Alexa, a virtual home, will be available.

*

(2016) World champion Go player Lee Sedol is defeated by Google DeepMind's AlphaGo. The ancient Chinese game's complexity was seen as a significant barrier to overcome in AI.

* (2016) Hanson Robotics develops Sophia, a humanoid robot capable of facial recognition, verbal conversation, and facial expression, as the world's first "robot citizen."

*

(2018) Google releases BERT, a natural language processing engine that lowers hurdles to machine learning applications' translation and interpretation.

*

(2018) Waymo announces the Waymo One service, which allows consumers in the Phoenix metro region to order a pick-up from one of the company's self-driving cars.

* (2020) Baidu makes its LinearFold AI algorithm available to scientific and medical teams working on a vaccine during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic's early phases. The system can anticipate the virus's RNA sequence in just 27 seconds, which is 120 times faster than prior methods.

[tallstales]

Day 11 Haunted Places in New England (13 Days of Halloween)

New England is home to some of America’s oldest colonies and so it only seems natural that it is home to some old spirits. Let’s take a tour state by state of 13 of the most popular haunted locations in New England.

Maine

The Wood Lighthouse - Saco Bay, Maine

In 1808 a lighthouse was built in Saco Bay, Maine at the request of President Thomas Jefferson. That lighthouse, though full of history is not the infamous haunt that stands today. After falling to disrepair, it was replaced by a stone and granite tower that still stands today. it is in this newer structure that a violent tragedy would take place.

Based on reports, in 1896 a tenant renting the lighthouse or possibly squatting there, was approached by the landlord regarding the subject of paying rent. An argument took place which resulted in the shooting and death of the landlord. After realizing what he had done or possibly panicking over the consequences of his actions, the tenant went into the lighthouse with his gun and killed himself.

Keepers who have lived in the Wood Island Lighthouse since say that unexplained shadows frequently appear as well as unusual moaning sounds. Other reports say that sometimes locked doors fly open and gunshots are heard. The light was also know to turn on and off by itself. It became such a problem in fact, that in 1972 to save the lighthouse keepers from dealing with the possibly haunted light, it was replaced with an automated light.

Goose River Bridge - Rockport Harbor, Maine

A spirit with spirits can be found on The Goose River Bridge on Pascal Avenue near picturesque Rockport Harbor. The Goose River Bridge is allegedly haunted by William Richardson, a town resident who lived there around the time of the Revolutionary War. There are at least two stories about Richardson’s death that circulate to this day amongst the locals. The first is that British sympathizers murdered Richardson in 1783 because they were enraged by his drunken celebration of the American victory. The second is that he got so drunk celebrating the American victory that he fell from the Goose River Bridge to his death. Either way, if you catch a whiff of ale in the air by the bridge and happen to see this celebrating apparition, legend has it that he’ll offer you a drink from his pitcher. I wonder what the tab would be for 200 years worth of ale.

Vermont

Emily’ s Bridge - Stowe, Vermont

In Vermont there is another haunted bridge but one without a such a friendly spirit. If you travel through Stowe, Vermont it is likely that you will eventually pass over the Gold Brook Bridge. At least, that’s what your GPS will call it, but locals have renamed it something different. Emily’s Bridge has been nicknamed such after a tragedy befell the location. A girl named Emily had planned to meet her lover at the covered bridge, where they would then run away together to elope. According to the story, her beau man never showed, and a brokenhearted Emily commited suicide. The method has changed over time and story teller, some saying she hanged herself from the rafters of the bridge, others saying that she drove off the bridge in her carriage and others still saying that she flung herself from the bridge.

One thing that remains consistent are the experiences. Visitors have reported long scratch marks appearing on their vehicles, hearing footsteps and spotting a white apparition. Some pedestrians have even reported experiencing scratches along their skin. The most common thing among these witnesses? They apparitions and disembodied footsteps seem to be experienced by all types, but the scratches always seem to be inflicted upon men. Maybe Emily is still blaming her lover after all these years. Or maybe, her lover did show up on the bridge that day and Emily didn’t kill herself at all. We’ll likely never know.

University of Vermont - Burlington, Vermont

Established in 1791, the University of Vermont was the fifth university founded across New England. The school welcomes thousands of new students every year, but according to legend it seems like many of them never actually leave.

Over the years, many homes were bought and absorbed into the campus. One of these homes is now the Counseling Centre. Once owned by Captain John Nabb, the building still seems to house his spirit. Staff of the Counselling Centre say that he is still there and makes himself known by knocking over buckets and slamming doors and windows. The nearby Public Relations building is also said to be haunted by its former resident John E Booth who is said to make various banging noises all over the building. But it doesn’t end there. The most haunted house on the campus is said to be The Bittersweet House where many people have reported seeing full body apparitions. It is believed that one of the ghosts there is Margaret Smith who was widowed at a young age and spent the rest of her life as a recluse until she died in the house in 1961.

Not all of the ghosts at the University of Vermont are former residents, there is reported to be a far more tragic spirit in the Converse Residence Hall. A young med student called Henry is reported to have committed suicide in the building in 1920 and many say he is still there, manifesting himself in the form of poltergeist activity.

With all of these separately haunted buildings on campus, I would say this makes the university of Vermont the most haunted place to visit in Vermont and probably a paranormal investigators dream!

New Hampshire

The Mount Washington Hotel - Bretton Woods, New Hampshire

The Mount Washington Hotel was built by Joseph Stickney from 1900 to 1902 and for a time was the largest wood structure in New England. Sadly, Stickney wouldn’t get to spend much time in his hotel as he died a year after completion, but surprisingly he is not who is reported to haunt the place. Instead the hotel is allegedly haunted by his widow Carolyn.

Soon after the death of Carolyn in 1936, hotel staff began seeing strange things around the hotel. Reports were made of her descending the stairs for dinner, as well as lights inexplicably turning on and off all over the hotel. Photographs have also been taken by the staff with the shadowy figure of an elegant lady looking through the windows or standing behind them. Carolyn’s old room, number 314, is reported to be the most haunted room in the hotel. This isn’t at all surprising considering some of her furniture including her four-poster bed is still in use in the room.

The Chase House - Portsmouth, New Hampshire

The Chase House in Portsmouth, New Hampshire was built as a home for orphaned children. As you can probably guess, it has some spooky tales to tell regarding the ghosts of little orphans some may be more gruesome than you’d expect. The most reported ghost to haunt the premises isn;t the result of a tragic illness or accident but of a poor young girl who hanged herself in her bedroom. Her apparition is seen wandering the hall and in her old room and there have also been reports of disembodied screams from within the room. Doors in the building have also been known to lock or unlock on there own and the electricity allegedly turns on and off as well.

Massachusetts

Danvers State Hospital - Danvers, Massachusetts

The Danvers State Hospital opened in 1878 as the Danvers State insane Asylum. The impressive Gothic architecture shapes the building like a bat with expanded wings and makes for a sufficiently eerie exterior. Underground tunnels weave beneath the building to up the creep factor of the interior as well. But what’s really scary here is the history. Typical of asylums for the period, Danvers housed more patients than they should have causing poor treatment and overcrowding. Historians belief that Danvers may have been the birthplace of the prefrontal lobotomy. Unfortunately that’s not where the mistreatment of patients ends. There was a distinct lack of adequate care and treatment with those actually receiving any sort of treatment being subjected to brutal methods such as shock therapies, drugs and straitjackets from the staff as well as your more average human violence like beatings and rape from inmates and staff alike.

The hospital was closed in 1985 and was left completely abandoned. People interested in the paranormal would try to enter the building but with no success. As of 2005 you can now live on the property in renovated or completely new apartments and condos. That being said there are still graveyards for patients. if you walk down a hill you will come across many markers, most of them remain nameless. Hopefully the rent is cheap?

Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast - Fall River, Massachusetts

“Lizzie Borden took an ax and gave her mother forty whacks. When she saw what she had done, she gave her father forty-one.” So goes the catchy rhyme that anyone from New England is sure to have memorized. Whether or not Lizzie actually killed her parents is a matter that is still debated today, but you can stay in the very house where the couple met their gruesome fate. The Lizzie Borden house is now a bed and breakfast and museum and is also said to be very much haunted.

Guests lucky enough to snag a reservations at this constantly booked up B&B can sleep in John V. Morse room, where Lizzie’s mother was murdered. Downstairs visitors can see the couch where her father died. Overnight guests get an extensive tour that lasts about an hour and half of the house including the basement and a full of history and the murder case. To those who don’t want to sleep in the room where someone was ax murdered, the museum also offers a 50 minute tours visitors.

Those who have decided to stay the night have reported hearing a woman crying, heard unexplained noises and have even woken up with scratches all over their bodies. Also frequently reported are the apparitions of Lizzie herself as well as the murdered John and Abby wandering the home.

Hawthorne Hotel - Salem, Massachusetts

The Hawthorne Hotel in Salem, Massachusetts has been ranked as one of the top 10 haunted hotels in the United States. It was also recently investigated by The Atlantic Paranormal Society, better known as TAPS or The Ghost Hunters.

Since its opening 1925, the Hawthorne has collected numerous ghosts. Witnesses have reported hearing what sounds like a child crying incessantly when there are no children around. Guests in room 325 have felt the sensation of someone’s hand touching theirs when no one is there.

The ghostly figure of a woman is also known to wander the 6th floor hallway. Others claim to have seen the woman enter different rooms as well and more still report a feeling of unease on the entire 6th floor and a restless presence that appears to pace the room according to guests who have stayed in Suite 612 of the hotel. Other guests in 612 that have not seen the pacing spirit report to hear footsteps in the room as though someone is pacing back and forth.

A more comedic report, at least to me, is from a guest who claimed someone had managed to get into his room when he heard the sink running and the toilet flush in his bathroom. After being shown there was no way anyone could get into his bathroom the man was resigned to the notion it was a ghost, and he was ok with that notion. I don;t know if I would be ok with that notion but to each their own. It is Salem after all and though this building is relatively young, the history of the city cannot be overlooked.

Connecticut

The Sterling Opera House - Derby, Connecticut

Built in 1889, The Sterling Opera House in Derby, CT is said to be one of the most haunted places in New England. The hauntingly beautiful Opera House remained open until 1945 and served as host to a slew of famous performers such as Bob Hope and Harry Houdini. Today, all that are left to perform or attend are the spirits.

There have been a number of paranormal investigations in the opera house over the years and the evidence gathered during them has included children talking or singing, shadowy spectors, light anomalies and the sudden appearance of child-sized handprints. Although most of the activity seems to center around children, some say that the building is also haunted by the spirit of Charles Sterling who the building was named for.

Dudleytown - Cornwall, Connecticut

Unlike some of the other hotspots on our list, this haunting consumed an entire town! Dudleytown was a village that was once said to be under a terrible curse. The Village was founded in 1738 by The Dudley Family who is the one who were the victims of the apparent cursed. You would think the curse would have ended when all of the Dudleys died soon after settling in Dudleytown, but it is said that the curse went on to infect the rest of the village. After the last Dudley died, the population of the town began to rapidly decrease with death... and it wasn’t a plague or sickness.

No, the deaths were violent in nature. Accidents and suicides wreaked havoc as well as a higher than average number of cases of insanity. The village was completely abandoned in the 1800s and now all that remains are the foundations and some stone ruins. Though access is rarely granted to the remains of this village by its current owners, guests to the ruins report that many of the former residents are still there in the form of ghosts. Many say that when entering the village there is a strong sense of dread. Some have seen orbs of light and unexplained shadow figures in the area.

To add to the strangeness, all visitors seem to notice the same unsettling thing. Though this is an area of overgrown forest, there are no birds or animals to be seen or heard. I think that’s enough warning for me to stay out!

Rhode Island

We’ve already visited my home state of RI on our haunted location hunt this week but here are two bonus locations for our tour of New England!

The Breakers Mansion - Newport, Rhode Island

The Breakers is one of the most popular tourist attractions and wedding venues on Aquidneck Island, but it has a haunted history. This mansion was originally the summer home of Cornelius Vanderbilt II, who was a member of the wealthy Vanderbilt family. It is said that Vanderbilt’s wife, Alice, was known to roam throughout the building, even after her death in 1934. Her spirit has been seen on multiple levels of the house in fine dresses from the golden age. other witnesses have reported the feeling of being watched or followed by something they couldn’t see.

The family currently living there says that Alice is a near constant presence but they will not allow any ghost tours or investigators because they believe she has a right to her own home and they don’t want to disturb her.

Seaview Terrace - Newport, Rhode Island

Closing out our list is the Seaview Terrace in Newport, Rhode Island. Also known as the Carey Mansion, Seaview Terrace is located on Ruggles Avenue in Newport, RI. This historical landmark dating back to 1907 and was a filming location for the gothic horror TV show, Dark Shadows. But it doesn’t just look creepy, the mansion is said to be one of Rhode Island's most haunted locations. Many believe the hauntings that take place here are attributed to whiskey magnate Edson Bradley and his wife Julia. Witnesses have reported apparitions, strange sounds, temperature drops, disembodied footsteps and the sound of a broken organ playing on its own. These odd happenings earned the mansion its own episode of Ghost Hunters.

Though several ghosts are thought to remain in the mansion, the most prominent spirit said to haunt the property is the original owner’s wife Julia Bradley.

Julia loved her home and had no desire to leave it. When Edson wanted to move to from Washington DC to Newport, they had the entire mansion disassembled and rebuilt in Rhode Island, a process that took nearly two years to complete. Julia passed away only a few years later and it seems she still doesn’t want to leave. Her ghost is often seen playing her favorite Estey organ.

One year after Julia’s death, the mansion became an exclusive all-girl summer boarding school, renamed Burnham-by-the-Sea where incidences of smoke detectors going off for no reason, bottles flying off desks and radios turning on and off by themselves were often reported. Others have experienced various strange noises like phantom footsteps, disembodied voices, banging, and even shadows jiggling door handles.