Kon - Version 1.0.6 Alpha

With as many updates to Kon in the past few weeks I'm starting to think I should have renamed this blog to "Kon Updates." Seriously. Well, I can't help that I've been motivated to try and keep improving Kon.

Anyway, the alpha version of 1.0.6 source is now available in the /src-alpha/ folder. As a reminder, there will be no executable provided with alpha (or "in-testing" ) source and it may not be completely finished.

This version has had a lot of changes. So much, in fact, that I decided to finally start a change log. At this exact moment in time this is what I've done for version 1.0.6.

- Changed "brain.kon" to "kon.brain" in order to keep consistency later on (with new brain additions).
- AIML dll was updated by myself in order to try and improve memory management. The new dll MUST be used in order for this version of Kon to work correctly (it is included in the zip and in both src folders).
- Improved and fixed the PING/PONG so that it finally sends the correct information back
- Improved most of the IRC code. The ReceiveData() method now uses a combination of IF/ELSE and SWITCH statements to determine what the server messages are showing up (for example "PING" or "PRIVMSG", etc).
- Added multiple methods to handle various messages (QUIT method, PRIVMSG method, etc)
- Added a reconnect() method. ** It is in testing stages right now and may not work completely right.
- Added try/catch to the logger method to try and prevent certain errors
- Changed the way the log file works slightly to try and prevent exceptions and to just improve it
- submitting the user and nick are now in the authorize() method
- Fixed an exception that kept being thrown when quitting
- Removed the "full path" stuff from the main function when generating and reading the config file. This will hopefully stop a bug that keeps appearing.


Also, although unmentioned above, I believe this version of Kon uses less memory overall compared to previous versions. This is one of the reasons I had to go in and edit the AIML dll source. Mind you, toggling the AIML brain will cause a huge increase of RAM allocated for Kon (upwards to 60MB). Unloading it will not see an immediate decrease, but give it 5 minutes or so and you'll notice it will drop significantly. I have seen Kon use less than 1MB of RAM after ideling for awhile. Around 2MB is average for standard use without AIML.

Anyway, hopefully there will be more to come.

Kon - Version 1.0.5 Release

A few weeks ago I released the alpha version source for Kon version 1.0.5. Today I finished up everything that I wanted to accomplish for this version and released it.

Most of my goals for this version are done. I have separated Kon's brain from the AIML brain. I've also set up some checks so that it won't load the AIML unless the user wants to actually use the AIML. This frees up some memory (as it won't load all of the AIML files until they're needed). Unfortunately, when the user turns the AIML on for the first time it does take a little longer to load since the bot will have to then load all the files into memory. Due to how many AIML files the bot is using, it takes around 40 seconds on my machine (speed may vary).

GoogleBrain is disabled to start by default. This is because it's not quite as good as I had hoped. Sometimes it works beautifully, other times it leaves you scratching your head trying to decipher exactly what it was the bot pulled up. I'll try to improve it in the future.

The next version, however, I'm going to focus on setting it up so the bot owner can set up a list of users that can access the various bot commands (like !quit or toggling brains) via the config file.

More SHC News

Well everyone, there's more news related to Sears Holdings Corp, its managers, its stores, or other. These are articles that I doubt you'll hear on CNN or find being broadcasted within the stores.

► 8 Companies that May Disappear in 2008
Sears is mentioned in this article (obviously). It mentions that the whole "temp CEO" thing sounds a bit like a prelude to an auction.

► Saving Sears Doesn't Look Easy Anymore
This is a great article that talks about what Eddie Lampert had in mind when he first decided to merge K-Mart and Sears (well, his front anyway) and now how it's a sinking ship. This is also a good quote from a side that we rarely hear about, the vendors. "Shoppers and workers are not the only ones complaining. Vendors who sell to Mr. Lampert say his relentless cost-cutting has steadily eroded their business at both Kmart and Sears, giving them little incentive to offer the chains their best new products. A result: a vicious circle of poor sales and second-rate merchandise."

► 1,000 O'Hare flights canceled due to brutal snowstorm
In Chicago the Westfield Hawthorn Mall closed at 2 p.m., making it the first time the mall has closed early in five years due to weather. "The decision is unusual, but necessary to ensure the safety of customers, retailers and staff, Kneeland-Woods said. " Why am I linking this? Because "one of the anchor stores, Sears will remain open" (emphasis mine). Yes, Chicago is being beaten by a brutal snowstorm, a mall that never closes has completely shut down .... except for the Sears store. Sure shows you what Sears thinks of its employees and their safety, huh?

► Sears' turnaround plan short on details, long on odds
"The desperate challenge facing Lampert is to turn around a storied 115-year-old department store chain suffering from a steep decline in sales and profits. But true to Lampert's secretive style, it's anybody's guess--not just on Wall Street, but also from the top to the bottom of the hierarchy at Sears' Hoffman Estates headquarters--how to fill in the details." In other words, no one knows what's going on except for the puppet master and he's not saying anything. This article also points out one more thing: "Lampert seems to want each of the new divisions to operate as separate profit centers. But that strategy creates the potential for confusion, because the separate units won't always work together. Conflicts of interest might arise." (emphasis mine)

► Sears filing outlines payout to ousted CEO
"Aylwin Lewis, forced out this week from the top job at Sears Holdings Corp., will continue to receive his $1 million salary through March 2010, Sears disclosed in a regulatory filing late Wednesday." Hush money? It seems very clear to me that Aylwin did not step down willingly. He was fired but they spun the news to make it seem like he was gracefully stepping down and taking responsibility. Hmm.

► Hanover Twp. Sears warehouse lays off 90
The layoffs have begun. "The Sears warehouse and shipping center in Hanover Township cut nearly 20 percent of its workforce Monday in the face of lean retail sales." I doubt you'll ever hear about this from anywhere else but here.

► Sears Canada and The Salvation Army Blanket the Country
FINALLY something positive! But it's from Sears Canada. From what I understand Eddie only owns about 70% of Sears Canada and the rest are still in the hands of the Canadian people (despite Eddie's efforts to buy all of it and make it a private company). Still, even though it's not completely our Sears, it was a good thing that they did.


That's all for this news update. There will be more to come (oh yes, there will be).

As an added bonus, I thought I'd go ahead and link everyone to a documentary called "The Corporation" (link). It's a three hour documentary that takes the corporation as a person (since corporations are, essentially, virtual people under the law) and analyzes the psyche and mental state. What kind of person would a corporation make? You'll have to watch and find out. (Note: broadband definitely required. dial-up would take the rest of your life to buffer it).

This documentary will open your eyes and will shock you. I HIGHLY recommend it.

Last Chance to Leave a Message On this Number

On the 14th of May I signed up for a free voice mail service and received a phone number so that people could call and leave me messages. I then decided to create a very quick HTML page and post links to the messages so people could listen.

Unfortunately this service is about to come to an end. On February 19th, the phone number will no longer be active. So if you want to leave me a message, this may be your last chance to do so. As always, the number is:

(+1) 850-387-4401

Kon - Version 1.0.5 alpha

Phew. It's been an interesting past couple of days in the world of Kon. As you can see from the title, an alpha version of Version 1.0.5 is now up on the website. This version is in the process of changing the file structure around as well as introducing a brand new mode: Google Brain.

First let's talk about the file structure. In version 0.0.4 AIML and Kon's "monkey-see, monkey-do" brain are all in one file. I've decided that I needed to separate the two. I'm also trying to clean up IRC.cs and try to reduce memory necessary to run the bot. In the current version once AIML has been started it doesn't actually shut off, even if you use the command. With this version-in-works, the object should be destroyed manually when you toggle it. I've also gone and changed how the filters work and created their own source file for them. It makes it easier to keep track of and update.

Now for the majority of my headaches for the past 48 hours: Google Brain. I had an idea to improve Kon's AI: use a search engine to get a reply. The basic concept is that search engine results are not static and will change in time. Plus changing search terms may give you different results. Version 1.0.5 now introduces a mode that is designed to go out, search for the conversation term, then pull out some text to return. I should state right up front that THIS IS NOT PERFECT. In fact, sometimes it fails miserably. A lot of the time it ends up making Kon sound like a walking advertisement or a can of spam. However, in those rare moments that it works correctly it's beautiful.

You may be wondering why the version is 1.0.5 vs 0.0.4 of the last update. The reason being, I felt that this update (when it's 100% finished) is such a gigantic leap ahead that it deserves to be bumped up to an actual release version.

I've uploaded what I have under a /src-alpha/ folder. Download, compile and use these files at your own risk. They're still being worked on and probably aren't the most stable. I'll make another blog post in the future when I feel 1.0.5 is really done and is pretty stable.

So until then, here's some quotes from Kon running Google Brain.

<iyouboushi> kon: why is the rum gone?
<kon> to make a signal for the british
<iyouboushi> kon: a miserable little pile of secrets!
<kon> dracula to go back to ytmnd.
<iyouboushi> kon: the answer to life, the universe and everything
<kon> = 42. im not quite sure how
<iyouboushi> kon: multi-pong reply
<kon> omg liek thsi si,, liek, teh kewl8zt cmoic eva!!!111 rotfmao u haev 2 reed cuz it si teh whiet pnog palyzer onos!!!!1111 giren chuuch on

** Reminder: these results are probably atypical. Yes, Kon did display these on the first try but keep in mind it's searching Google for the result. You CAN get the same results if you repeat it enough, but it's equally likely that you'd get gibberish or an advertisement.

The chairman, Eddie Lampert, is planning to split Sears up into multiple units. Everyone should check out this article. If the article isn't loading for you, read on (I'll c/p it).


Flagging Sears Plans Shakeup
In Latest Bid at Turnaround
By GARY MCWILLIAMS and JOANN S. LUBLIN
January 19, 2008; Page A1

In a fresh effort to halt a long decline, Sears Holdings Corp. Chairman Edward S. Lampert plans to reorganize the 121-year-old retailer into several businesses with broad authority to shape their own future.

Mr. Lampert, a hedge-fund executive who acquired the retailer in 2005 through a merger with Kmart Corp., now sees a holding-company structure as the best way to breathe new life into Sears's slow-moving culture, said people familiar with the situation.

The change was outlined to senior executives Thursday after Sears, with $50 billion in annual revenue, warned that its fiscal fourth-quarter profit would fall as much as 57% below the year-earlier level. Sears shares have lost half their value over the past year despite new marketing and advertising moves at Sears and Kmart.

A Sears spokesman confirmed the moves late Friday, saying the new structure will provide operating businesses with "greater control, authority and autonomy." Mr. Lampert wasn't available to comment, he added.

The restructuring is a high-wire act for Mr. Lampert, whose ESL funds own nearly 48% of Sears shares, according to securities filings, a big reason ESL was down more than 20% last year. Since acquiring Sears, he has been active in hiring decisions, strategy and merchandising despite his dislike of the spotlight.

It also represents the latest effort to turn around a pioneering department store chain, founded in 1886, that for much of the last decade has seemed lost in the past, unable to stop customer losses to more focused rivals. Sears's once-dominant place supplying refrigerators and washing machines to American homes has been chipped away by Lowe's Cos. and Best Buy Co. Its clothing business has suffered at the hands of Kohl's Corp. and J.C. Penney Co. Its identity as the nation's broadest one-stop shop was usurped years ago by Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

The contemplated restructuring would create separate units to manage Sears's real-estate holdings and run brands such as Kenmore, Diehard and Craftsman. It isn't clear how the units would be divided or which unit would run the stores themselves.

The structure would allow Mr. Lampert to spin off or close business units more easily, said a person knowledgeable about his thinking. "He warmed to the idea of a spin-off strategy," this person said. The company also is willing to be flexible about how each unit will be set up, based on the skills of its operating executive. One practical effect of that could be to reduce costs.

Mr. Lampert has argued retailing shouldn't be so inefficient, making big purchase decisions as much as a year in advance and without concrete information on customer needs. "He's trying to find a different way to manage the company where he can be involved in a more effective manner. The previous structure wasn't working," said an executive with knowledge of the restructuring.

Walter Loeb, a retail consultant, said the plan flies in the face of most retailers' strategy of designing a cohesive image for their business. "He's looking to turn it around by using a different approach," said Mr. Loeb. "I think it's risky."

Sears's turnaround efforts have been hurt by a revolving door of senior executives at its Sears and Kmart retail units. John C. Walden, Sears's chief customer officer, who was hired away from Best Buy less than a year ago, resigned this week, a Sears spokesman confirmed. Mr. Walden couldn't be reached for comment.

Details on how many businesses would be created and who would oversee the units were unclear. Aylwin B. Lewis, the company's 53-year-old chief executive, has been involved in developing the new organization but his position after the revamping isn't clear. Some retail experts have suggested that the company abandon its Kmart brand and convert the stores to Sears.

Mr. Lampert, a 45-year-old billionaire hedge-fund manager who is often compared to famed investor Warren Buffett, wants Sears to have a structure similar to Mr. Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. conglomerate. Mr. Buffett typically gives chief executives of his business units broad latitude. The Berkshire holding company has only a small staff.

Sears's dramatic profit decline comes amid rising customer complaints about its stores and service. Susan R. Russell, a Maine-based consultant to nonprofits and longtime Sears customer, says recent instances of poor service have sent her shopping elsewhere. Sears initially refused to honor a warranty for an oven that was delivered damaged, and another time it required hours on the phone and two service visits to replace a dishwasher rack covered by a warranty. "They value people's time at zero. That's outrageous," Ms. Russell said.

Mr. Lampert has been thinking about splitting up the company for some time, say people familiar with the change. He has been interviewing seasoned retail executives for positions atop the holding company, and for what might be as many as three dozen independent business units. The heads of the new business units are expected to include some existing Sears executives as well as outsiders.

As general partner of the Greenwich, Conn.-based ESL Investments hedge fund, Mr. Lampert has been careful not to be seen as running the company. He left Sears's Hoffman Estates, Ill., headquarters Wednesday, a day before the revamping was outlined by executive vice presidents Dev Mukherjee and Corwin Yulinsky.

Messrs. Mukherjee and Yulinsky described the plan to executives Thursday morning, saying it would allow the company to unlock the value of its real estate, proprietary brands, and online units by managing each as separate entities. The executive over Kenmore, for instance, could strike sales or licensing deals with other retailers, said a person who attended the meeting.

According to the Sears spokesman, each operating unit will have a "designated leader and an advisory group comprised of senior Sears Holdings executives to provide direction and oversee the business unit's performance."

The restructuring is an indication that Mr. Lampert won't be making big new investments in the business. The plan is for unit presidents to craft their own budgets and set spending priorities. With the U.S. economy heading downward into what some see as a recession, this year could be troublesome because Sears's cash cushion has declined. The company spent some $2.9 billion this fiscal year on share repurchases, some at as high as $150 apiece, compared with Friday's closing price of $89.43. Sears forecast cash and equivalents as of Feb. 2 of about $1 billion, down from about $4 billion a year ago.

Kon - Version 0.0.4

I've finally become unlazy enough to update Kon. In this update I've set up the code to generate and read a configuration file. From now on you can change the server, nicks, port and channel the bot will use within that config. It's in XML format, but I've made it pretty easy to read and understand.