Eastercon

Just arrived in sunny Manchester, having discovered en route that I forgot to pack a jumper - two shirts should suffice, it isn't that cold. Journey was fairly painless - train from Euston, then tram from Manchester Picadilly and a short walk to the cheapo Ibis hotel; the actual con hotel is also on the same tram route, and since I have a Freedom Pass (old git's travel card) I can travel free from 9.30 AM until midnight*. Cheap room has no shower gel and reception price will probably be a bit of a rip-off, but I'm going into town anyway so I'll pick some up. It has a comfortable bed and free wifi, so should do me nicely.

Next stop food and a bit of shopping, then the Hilton where I shall check in with friends etc. and probably stay the rest of the afternoon/evening. Tomorrow the actual con.

* Unfortunately this turned out to be untrue, I misread the rules; The Freedom Pass covers buses, underground, trams and trains in the Transport for London area, buses only elsewhere. But I realised this early on and paid for all day tickets, including the first day, so I don't feel too bad about being a bit naughty on the first trip. Ended up costing me about £24 over the whole con, which is still a hell of a lot cheaper per day than staying at the main hotel.

Pssssssssssssssssst.... Want to buy a used steam engine?

A while back I picked up a Mamod traction engine fairly cheaply; I was thinking of it as a possible present for a grand nephew, but various nieces are really not very keen, so I've decided to sell it on. I put it on eBay timed to start at 7.30 tonight, ten minutes later there was already a bid so I think there's a reasonable chance I'll make a profit. It's here, along with some other tat, if anyone's interested.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/marcusrowland0/m.html

Little lost case

Just returned to my hotel then realised I've managed to lose the plastic cover/pouch I keep my iPad in. Last seen in the upstairs bar at the Hilton, I suspect it slipped onto the floor while I was using it and I didn't notice. It's a black pouch thingy made of stretchy plastic fabric, no great value but if someone spots it it's mine.

Microsoft's AI goes rogue

Gacked from gonzo21

http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2016/03/microsoft-terminates-its-tay-ai-chatbot-after-she-turns-into-a-nazi/

I suspect that this is on a par with ELIZA learning abusive language from users, e.g. Bad data rather than conscious malice on the part of the software itself, but it's an interesting problem.