January 2015 – David Bradley

Predictive text: Darwin’s computers

Charles Darwin’s IBM computers

There are lots of quotes around attributed to the great and the good throughout the years, but often these are anything but direct quotes and in some cases turn out to have far more intriguing origins.

For example, the quote often attributed to Thomas John Watson, Sr. (1874—1956) who was chairman and CEO of International Business Machines (IBM) in 1943 had him as saying:

“I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.”

There are no recorded speeches nor documents that providence evidence for this as a quote from Watson. Indeed, the earliest mention of it was on the Usenet in 1986, although that may well have come from an article in the San Diego Evening Tribune by Neil Morgan, who wrote: “Forrest Shumway, chairman of The Signal Cos., doesn’t make predictions. His role model is Tom Watson, then IBM chairman, who said in 1958: ‘I think there is a world market for about five computers.’

It seems that Sir Charles Darwin (grandson of the naturalist) who was head of the UK’s computer research centre, the NPL (National Physical Laboratory) is probably the true father of the thought of this particular predictive text when he said in 1946:

“it is very possible that … one machine would suffice to solve all the problems that are demanded of it from the whole country”

But, The Yale Book of Quotations may have the truth about this particular misquote. Watson did indeed mention a market for only 5 computers, at IBM’s annual stockholders’ meeting in 1953, but he was referring specifically to the IBM 701 Electronic Data Processing Machine which had been touted to 20 potential clients but Watson reported that they only expected to get orders for five (they actually sold 18).

More on the myth on Wiki and on the Freakonomics site.

Bait and Switch – a song

Don’t worry, you’re not going to be Rickrolled, despite the song title ;-)

Words and music, vocals and instrumentation, Dave Bradley

Bait and switch

There was a key under-the-mat,
but you changed all the locks
There was a note deep in your pocket,
but no stamp for the box

I saw a light up in your room,
but your heart was like stone
And though you strayed out of the gloom,
there was nobody home

There was a seed inside the pot,
but no water for the bloom
There was food there on the table,
but no taste in the room

You wore a smile and a little more,
but you cried on the inside
And though you veil all that you feel,
there’s no place left to hide

When you turn about face
I can’t stay in that place
Switch and bait me
I know that you’re cunning

When I find the right pace
It’s the end of the race
Bait and switch
is the game that you’re running

Message in a Bottle – The Police (Cover song)

One of my favourite riffs from one of my favourite guitar players, the rarely revered Andy Summers, he has a long, long history dating back to the psychedelia of the 1960s (Soft Machine and many others, much of it LSD fuelled according to his autobiography). Summers is best known for his time with The Police of course, alongside Sting (who hails from my hometown near Newcastle and was given his nickname by my sister’s friend’s Dad!) and drummer Stewart Copeland.

Anyway, this is me doubling vocals (one at the original song pitch, falsetto in the background and the melody again an octave down on the verses). Played the Telecaster parts, and bass guitar but used a downloaded MIDI drumtrack to keep better time than any drummer, even Copeland (Sting joke from Ghost in the Machine era Montserrat recordings).

Posting here as preview sample while licencing on Loudr FM goes through for posting cover to iTunes etc.

The original song was in the UK charts in 1979. It was based on that video I mentioned actually composed in Dm not C#m and I reckon they notched it down a semitone in the studio to give Sting’s high voice a little more headroom…for me I’d need to notch it down another couple of semitones to get the full high without screeching.

Bottle on the beach photo CC licence via Flickr adapted c/o Jenni C