1920’s, Japan. Maiko (Apprentice Geisha), who is probably from the Ponto-cho hanamachi (geisha district) of Kyoto given the Chidori (Plover) motif on her kimono. Text and image via Blue Ruin 1 of Flickr
Last year I trained a neural net to generate new names for kittens, by giving it a list of over 8,000 existing cat names to imitate. Starting from scratch, with zero knowledge of English or any context for the words and letter combinations it was trying out, it tried to predict what letters might be found in cat names, and in which order. Its names ranged from the strange to the completely nonsensical to the highly unfortunate (Retchion, Hurler, and Trickles were some of its suggestions). Without knowledge of English beyond its list of cat names, it didn’t know what letter combinations to avoid.
So I decided to revisit the cat-naming problem, this time using a neural net that had a lot more context. GPT-2, trained by OpenAI on a huge chunk of the internet, knows which words and letter combinations tend to be used together on the English-language internet. It also has (mostly) figured out which words and letter combinations to avoid, at least in some contexts (though it does tend to suddenly switch contexts, and then, yikes).
When I trained GPT-2 on the list of cat names using Max Woolf’s colab notebook, it still retained a lot of what it had learned from the rest of the internet. Gone were the strange names like “Tilly-Mapper” and “Balllucidoux” - it had a bunch of real words it could use instead. Here are some of the names it came up with - and the Morris Animal Refuge (who you may remember from that time they used neural net names for their guinea pigs) has given some of these names to some highly adoptable kittens.
First, neural net can do fancy:
Taffeta
Pompompur
Monocle
Tom Glitter
Notion
Tinnitus
Cheesemonger
M. Tinklesby Linklater Soap
It can also do the opposite of fancy:
Scat Cat Butthole
Gangrene
Moisture
Grotesque
Petard
Oilbag
Buttwig
The Cream
Meatbag
Dr Fart
Fudge Putty
Scumbag
Constipation
BUTT
And it can also do names ranging from tough to downright sinister:
Miss Vulgar
Lillith The Vamp
Elle Fury
Deadbolt
Romeo of Darkness
Starmaker
Fist
Warning Signs
Bibles Smoked
The Firestarter
Higher Rune
Scarlet Be Thy Coat
Kill All Humans
Bones Of The Master
Mr. Sinister
Evil Whispers
Spawn
Serendipitous Kill
Stranglehold
(Starmaker and Sparky Buttons are from a litter that had upper respiratory infections that damaged their eyes, but even though their world is kinda cloudy, they love to play and cuddle.)
I’m a particular fan of the Very Weird cat names:
Honeystring
Dr Leg
Tom Noodle
Pinball Scene
Peanutbutterjiggles
You’re Telling A Lie
Beep Boop
Thoughts
Bobble Bun
Atmosphere
You Name It
Whiskeridoo
Sparky Buttons
Seemingly
This Guy
Various Authors
Chicken Whiskey
Fish Especially
Thelonious Monsieur
Ringo Shuffles
Sweet Cakes
EXTAs (Eye Stalks)
Checker Spin Donut Quin
Two Patz Grandpa
He Glad
Funky Moe
Fluttering Feelers
Accepted A Tribute
Chewie Bean
PLEASE
Gregory Chimney
Notable PRODUCT LEGEND Weird Science Platinum
Not Suitable For Character the Enforcer
Did I mention these cats are adoptable? If you live near Philadelphia, you live near these kitties!
“Ridiculously easy buttermilk biscuits!” You click the link. It’s a novella about finding inner peace in suburbia. You never knew you were disturbed till now.
“Ridiculously easy green beans!” You click the link, there are twelve ingredients. None of them are green beans.
“Ridiculously easy salted pistachio caramel latte coffee cake in three easy steps!” You click the link. There are twelve steps.
“Ridiculously easy marshmallow fondant!“ You click the link. It’s another novella about suburbia, this time about the dangers of feeding chemicals to your children. You wonder when you acquired these children and worry about their eyes. They are too bright, too happy, too shining…
“Ridiculously easy evaporated milk custard!*” *Must own own cow.
“Ridiculously easy shortcake in 12 steps!” You click the link. There are no steps.
“Ridiculously easy, easy to make, easy in three minutes, easy!” It doesn’t tell you what you’re making but you’re pretty certain it shouldn’t be hissing.
“Ridiculously easy,” the article reads, “easy, it’s so easy, easy” you hear laughing. Your face hurts why does your face hurt?
“It’s so easy,” you tell you friends, your smile is not your own. You can feel your teeth growing, “so easy, you’ll hardly feel a thing!”
one of the hardest things to learn as a depressed former Gifted Kid™ is that half-assed is better than nothing. take the 50%, 40%, even 20% job. scrubbing your face is better than not taking a shower at all. picking up your clothes is better than never cleaning. nibbling on some bread is better than starving.
DO THINGS HALFWAY. NOW YOU’RE 100% BETTER OFF THAN YOU WERE BEFORE.
I feel you, sloth! Always something very sloth-like about this in between holiday period! But at least they’re cute, and the perfect addition to a Project Bag or wherever you put your flair! Pink in the comments! : : : #shellican #enamelpins #projectbags #knittersofinstagram #crochetersofinstagram #knittersofig #crochetersofig #sloths #slothlovers #knitlovers #shellicanenamelpins https://www.instagram.com/p/Br8VQm4liH7/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1gmdiyfhbun7
What size of project do you typically work on? These Big Bags are awesome for all of my crafters who like to work on the BIG projects (blankets, really big sweaters...), or (let’s be realistic), like to kick all their other WIPs out of the smaller bags into the bigger bag. (Or is that just me? 🤭) AND get 30% off through December 30, 2018, with coupon code: BoxingWeekSale at AtelierNekozuki.com : : : #ateliernekozuki #geishafabric #BigBag #projectbag #boxingweeksale #sweaterbag #bigprojectbag #Japanesefabric #madeincanada #madeinAlberta #totebag #beachbag #babybag
Quality Control Inspector Remy has approved this message: get 30% off through December 30, 2018 on all items except sale! Use coupon code BoxingWeekSale! : : : #tinyoverlord1 #boxingweeksale #projectbags #catsofinstagram https://www.instagram.com/p/Br21HdDFD6z/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1n76sj8mm8fth
Well, better late than never! Merry Christmas from all of us at @ateliernekozuki to you and yours! : : : #merrychristmas #tinyoverlord1 #Christmastree #remycat #holidaywishes https://www.instagram.com/p/Br1nGoRlJuN/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=xhirh43xpukd
Happy Christmas Eve!! This year, instead of a #christmasevecaston, I’m doing a #christmasevecontinuation (that’s a thing, right?)! I picked up my Sarafan again, and have knit from where the progress keeper is!! I want to see if I can get at least the body done by New Year’s Eve! Are you casting on today, or working on WIPs? Yarn is Merino DK/Light Worsted by @ancientartsyarn in Iron Horse (grey) and Raspberry Gelato (Pink). Pattern is Sarafan by Nadya Stallings; progress keeper from @thecraftycolon; and the Bag is one of my small box bags, perfect for this vest! : : : #sarafanvest #handdyrdyarn #ancientartsyarn #smallboxbag #knittedvest #longvest #nadyastallings #mosaicknitting #Japanesefabrics #WIP #ChristmasWIP #WIPforme #selfishknitting #Christmastree #proejctbag #workinprogress #sweaterknitting https://www.instagram.com/p/BryCaxwl1VC/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=drzdgg33o6po
Happy pre-Christmas #caturday! I hope that as we wind up 2018 you can find moments of joy. I (and the quality control inspectors) want to thank you for a wonderful 2018, and hope the best for joy and growth in 2019! I will be a bit quiet over the next few days through our own prep and celebrations, but I’ll check in occasionally for sure! : : : #catsandchristmaslights #norwegianforestcat #catsandchristmas #christmaswishes #lovecats #tinyoverlord3 #christmaslights #holidays #holidaywishes https://www.instagram.com/p/Brs_g2aFRfC/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=tpzwglsqdwkj