Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart (CAPTCHA) is a program that is commonly known to be used to verify that you are indeed human and not a robot while accessing a website.
“Click all the squares that contain traffic lights.”
The application has a bit of a backstory. From 2011, reCAPTCHA was used to digitize millions of New York Times articles that dated as far as 1851. Typing tests asked users to prove their humanity by recognizing obscured or warped text and correctly identifying a string combination of numbers and upper and lower case letters. Optical character recognition programs became more sophisticated, aided by humans answering these CAPTCHA tests. Visual tests followed, requiring that users identify certain objects within a picture split into several squares.
CAPTCHA tests were once as easy as one-click to check off a box. Today, CAPTCHA tests have become a little more rigorous—and a little bit more tedious.
Exactly what is CAPTCHA trying to do?
CAPTCHA tests are mostly used for security, but they’re also used to improve artificial intelligence. The program tests the same content on users around the world and aggregates responses to determine accuracy. This then helps train Google’s artificial intelligence, which is used to improve applications like Google Maps and Google Images.
“In 2014, Google pitted one of its machine learning algorithms against humans in solving the most distorted text CAPTCHAs: the computer got the test right 99.8 percent of the time, while the humans got a mere 33 percent.”
It’s no surprise that one of the inventors of CAPTCHA is passionate about education and technology. His inventions have not only taught robots and humans alike. Luis von Ahn is the co-founder of CAPTCHA as well as the popular language-learning application Duolingo. He is the recipient of the prestigious 2018 Lemelson-MIT prize, which awards those whose inventions have significantly improved society.
There is another invention that involves artificiality imitating reality to significantly improve society. Specifically, it has improved the lives of countless homeowners. It saves people the time, money, and hassle of mowing, watering, and treating their lawns.
Artificial turf is a miracle for those who want everything about a beautiful green lawn without any of the hangups of real lawn maintenance. It may not be real grass, but artificial turf is about as close to having a real lawn maintained by AI robot gardeners. That said, we’re unlikely to see robots doing our gardening any time soon.
Synthetic grass not only allows homeowners to be more carefree, but it is also more durable, meaning that it can withstand wear and tear and the elements. Moreover, your lawn will look picture-perfect year-round, which is nearly impossible in many parts of the country.
There is no shame in fixing a real problem with a synthetic solution. If it makes your life easier, then you deserve to replace your lawn with artificial grass. After all, all revolutionary inventions were borne out of an all-too-common situation that had to be improved.
Here in sunny, arid California, many of the more environmentally- and cost-sensitive among us are looking at alternatives to the traditional grass turf for our front and back yards. While some settle on more hardy plants that require less water to grow, like clovers or Bermuda grass, others have decided to go with a more modern, technologically driven solution.
Artificial turf has begun sprouting up in a greater number of lawns with each passing year. With a water requirement of 0 gallons per year and production methods growing more advanced and allowing for better looking and cheaper turf, the fake stuff is looking more and more like the preferred alternative for the typical homeowner.
The secret to getting your artificial turf to look as natural and aesthetically pleasing as possible is an impeccable installation that contours with your space and provides adequate drainage to make sure that the place doesn’t flood when it does rain. The right installers can mean the difference between a yard that resembles a shoddy pool of plastic-filled water and one that you can barely tell is synthetic turf.
Hence our spotlighted company today, NowMow Synthetic Turf Installers, a local southern California company that has performed some of the best looking domestic turf installations we’ve seen so far. The company provides excellent service, far above it’s competition, which has made many of their customers ardent supporters on their various social media channels:
We can’t say enough about NoMow Turf & their General Manager Sierra. We have a very large front yard that was about 20 yrs old & after many yrs of fighting weeds, grub worms, crows tearing up the grass & rabbits eating big patches we had had enough. We did our research & decided on this company. Sierra is great & so easy to work with & her quote was very reasonable. The crew worked their butts off as our yard is not only large but sloped too which presents a challenge. Through the years the slope had become uneven & the crew graded it & made it look awesome! They worked for 2 1/2 days non stop & the end result is awesome. Needless to say we highly recommend NoMow Turf….you won’t be disappointed!!!
(Kevin H., Yelp Review)
Very happy!!! I did my homework and made the final choice to go with NoMow. Sierra was great to work with. Easy to talk to on the phone. Even easier in person. She came over, took measurements, answered all questions, explained everything in full detail. The guys came over and worked very hard, efficient, and no fooling around. They did a great job! Thank you NoMow!!!
(Lucia C., Yelp Review)
I had an accident with some expanding foam that resulted in me planning on having to replace a small part of my turf and green. I asked NoMow for a quote for replacement and owner Patrick offered some advice to get after it with a power washer before deciding to replace. After a week and change of washing, I’ve got it back to great condition. Thank you Patrick for the advice. I’d recommend NoMow for any of your artificial turf needs.
(Zack B., Yelp Review)
If you are looking for an ecologically friendly alternative to a natural turf lawn, get NowMow Turf to do the installation. Their service is exquisite, and the lawn you’ll be left with will be almost indistinguishable from the real thing.
Matt Christensen woke up after a long night in his home office. He stumbled into the kitchen for his morning coffee ritual. 30 grams of Estonian medium roast, hand-ground. Unbleached, biodegradable coffee filters steamed for one minute. Sixteen ounces of boiled water, no cooler than 195 F and no hotter than 205 F. Frothed almond milk and a touch of cinnamon.
“Oreo” was Matt’s canine best friend. He was a well-natured dog who had been with him through many life changes: moving twice across the country, career changes, and a divorce. Oreo loved Matt unconditionally. He would greet him at door with a wagging tail and smile every time Matt came home. Whenever Matt seemed to feel anxious, Oreo would jump up onto his lap and cuddle with him.
Matt had the tendency to take his curiosities to extremes. He was a former marine biologist turned cartographer, with a fascination for all of nature’s creations. He had been up all night in studying the cellular biology of grass. The day before, he noticed that Oreo was walking in a strange way on the lawn. He seemed to be in uncomfortable and wouldn’t place each paw down as he walked. Matt was puzzled. Per his curious and quirky self, he got down on all fours to mimic his four-legged friend.
“Ouch!” he said. The grass was prickly! “How can this be?” he thought. He had spent all summer caring for the lawn to try to grow it into a luscious playground for Oreo.
The next morning, Matt sat down at his desk with his freshly brewed cup of coffee. Through his research, Matt realized that the city he had just moved to was notorious for prickly, yellow grass, rather than the soft, green grass he had been trying to grow for his lawn. The issue seemed to be the moisture levels and the type of clay of the soil underneath. He needed to figure out how to replace the grass in his backyard without a ground excavation. After researching his options for brand new turf, he stumbled upon artificial grass. It seemed like the best choice: easy installation, low maintenance, and aesthetically pleasing.
Now he had to find the best artificial lawn installation company in Orange County. After reading reviews on Yelp, he found NoMow Turf Grass, a service specializing in synthetic grass and pet turf. It turns out that many pet-owners opt for artificial lawns because their animals have been destroying the natural grass. Moreover, it turns out that pets can go to the bathroom on the turf, as long as it is maintained with deodorizer and regular washing.
NoMow Turf has a specialty pet turf line that looks and feels so real that most animals are unable to tell the difference. It is made for pets of all sizes and is guaranteed to withstand the roughest of wear and tear.
If you are interested in a better land for man’s best friend, give NoMow Turf, Inc. a call!
NoMow Turf, Inc. – Synthetic Lawns & Putting Greens 26674 Vista Terrace, Lake Forest, CA 92630, United States
