I snapped the pictures below on a trip to Traverse City, MI in 2005.  We flew by in the car, did a double take, and had to turn around and go back to make sure we really saw what we thought we saw!

(in)Frequently Asked Questions

Haven't been asked yet :-)

Welcome!

Welcome to unorganized machines, my home on the web for some personal software projects, a little bit of a travelogue, and a few articles on various interesting things.  My name is Nathan, and I work as a software engineer for a large manufacturer in New Jersey.  I am finally getting around to launching a site devoted to the things that captivate my interest, and the interests of a few people close to me.  Kind of a blog, kind of a news site, kind of a project incubator, check back frequently for information on all kinds of pursuits, from software development to horticulture to upcoming events in the New Jersey area.

Why "unorganized machines"?

From the Wikipedia page at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Turing%27s_Unorganized_Machines

"Alan Turing defined the class of unorganized machines as largely random in their initial construction, but capable of being trained to perform particular tasks."

Alan Turing wrote that people (as infants) start out as these "unorganized machines", a machine whose only function is to learn to perform other functions.  He described what two types of these machines could look like, and provided basic rules governing their operation.  From a seemingly random array of connections and a few simple rules, intelligence and higher order functions can arise.  If you want to know more, check out this work by Craig Webster.  To varying degrees we all retain some of this capability throughout our lives, as we continuously learn how to do new things or to do things we already understand in new ways.