Sunday, June 26, 2005

Simpsons flashback

this still cracks me up...

quote of Kent Brockman, tv anchor, from the episode "Deep Space Homer":

Ladies and gentlemen, er, we've just lost the picture, but, uh, what we've seen speaks for itself. The Corvair spacecraft has been taken over — "conquered", if you will — by a master race of giant space ants. It's difficult to tell from this vantage point whether they will consume the captive earth men or merely enslave them. One thing is for certain, there is no stopping them; the ants will soon be here. And I, for one, welcome our new insect overlords. I'd like to remind them that as a trusted TV personality, I can be helpful in rounding up others to toil in their underground sugar caves.

Robot Lobsters and more...

Machines mimic life at Chicago's 'NextFest'

excerpt from the article...

Genuine life was represented by a cloned Bengal cat and its "parent."

One man asked if a clone of the cloned cat could be possible, or if the clone could be bred. Told the answer was yes on both counts, he told a friend: "You're next, dude."

the article is here.

Would you clone your lover, best friend, wife, or husband? Even if you could, what about the experiences that can't be replicated that create a person's world view?

Tuesday, June 21, 2005

Japanese robots on the moon

Japan dreams of robot moon base in 2025

17 june 2005, 15:59 - Japan wants to help build a lunar base and populate it with advanced versions of today's humanoid robots by around 2025, according to the head of the nation's space agency.

check it out here.
thanks to david matostakis for the heads up.

Thursday, June 16, 2005

robot skin

So while Kansas seeks to turn back the clock, other parts of America are moving on. This is an article on the development of robot skin that senses objects. Check out the video with the ballerina and the robot...arm...here.

Tuesday, June 07, 2005

Japan unveils "robot suit" that enhances human power

from yahoo news...

TOKYO (AFP) - Japan has taken a step into the science-fiction world with the release of a "robot suit" that can help workers lift heavy loads or assist people with disabilities climb stairs.

"Humans may be able to mutate into supermen in the near future," said Yoshiyuki Sankai, professor and engineer at Tsukuba University who led the project.

The 15-kilogram (33-pound) battery-powered suit, code-named HAL-5, detects muscle movements through electrical-signal flows on the skin surface and then amplifies them.

It can also move on its own accord, enabling it to help elderly or handicapped people walk, developers said.

The prototype suit will be displayed at the World Exposition that is currently taking place in Aichi prefecture, central Japan.

Japan has seen a growing market for technology geared toward the elderly, who are making up an increasing chunk of the population as fewer younger Japanese choose to start families.

A government report last week showed that pensioners made up a record 19.5 percent of the country's population in 2004 and that the ratio will grow rapidly, surpassing 35 percent in 2050.

...can masamune shirow's landmates be far behind?

Saturday, June 04, 2005

conscientious objections

Apparently, in some states, people want laws to be passed that would allow a pharmacist the right to refuse birth control on the grounds that it would violate his pro-life beliefs.

Who would monitor the pharmacist to make sure the right isn't abused? If the pharmacist has the right to discriminate in selling birth control pills, does that give the pharmacy the right to discriminate in who it hires as a pharmacist? Wouldn't it be fair to give the pharmacy the right to not hire a person who wouldn't sell birth control, if the pharmacy wants to make the pills available?

Another aspect is allowing emergency medical technicians the right to not administer aid if the patient/victim doesn't live by their "morals" and "values". So basically if you are in a car accident and you have a Kerry 04 sticker on your car, if the EMT is a republican, you're fucked. Now, they can't implicitly say republicans have the right not help those liberal, muslim, latte-drinking homos so the language is vague. But does anyone really want a law like this? Conversely, if you're a elitist-coastal-latte sipping-liberal-EMT, you could legally let a republican-far-rightwing-neocon choke to death.
I think it's a crazy law, possibly not meant to be passed but to curry favor with the "value voters".

Creativity

After a conversation with Bill Hart, it occured to me to post about pursuing creative endeavors, as much for myself (I forget this as well) as others.

First, yes, you are crazy. You actually want to pursue something besides watching t.v. and playing video games, uh-oh, buddy, who do you think you are?!! You think you're better than me, you think you're special!? Yes, people will mixed reactions when you tell them you're actually pursuing something you love. Stay focused and do not allow negativity to stop you.

Second, it's not always fun to do what you love. Sometimes, it's frustrating, it sucks, and you'll hate your work. Having bad days is part of the process. The important part is consistently working in order to learn more and become better at what you want to do. When something good happens, it makes it all the more worth it.

If everyone waited for the stars to align, for the right set of circumstances to happen, for everything to be "perfect" in order to work on something, very little would be done, the quality would suffer in the long run, and you'll eventually quit. Set time aside, even if it's thirty minutes a day, in order to keep that creative muscle exercised. If you don't "feel" like doing it, do it anyway! Write, draw, carve, play about how it feels not to want to do it if that's what it takes.

Work hard, but also work smart. Learn about your craft from other people, classes, books, etc. Warm up your mind first. I do several sketches before starting the final piece.

Take breaks. Allow some breaks for your mind to rest and you'll come back with a refreshed perspective.

Learn to take a compliment. You have no idea how other people interpret your work. Someone will love a piece you've made that you absolutely hate. You don't have to right to ruin another person's experience so just say "thank you".

Have a life. The work draws on your life experiences, so go rob a bank, sell drugs at a rave, and have sex with the Bush twins...(this is a joke, bush shock-troops, don't kick down my door)

Have fun, stay loose, and keep at it.