thoughts on bots

i can't help but think of oh-so-cute jude law's loverbot 'gigolo joe' from spielberg's a.i., or darryl hannah from blade runner when i read about this (warning: not work safe) doll. definitely not legal in alabama. though the anatomical comlexity is amazing, the doll lacks any brain features your sony dog might have. sorry, stephanie realdoll 3583 will not recognize your face. somehow i don't think their target market is of the female persuasion. while aibo was killed long ago, i imagine stephanie is here to stay.

meanwhile, i am continually pleased with my new friend who faithfully cleans my filthy floors without hesitation or complaint. i have yet to name him/her. i almost called it isaac, but it talks in a female voice. maybe buffy ... not sure.

vroom vroom roomba

buffy in action from ktypnts on Vimeo.

a different kind of corkscrew

thinking i wouldn't be impressed watching former cart driver bryan herta get passed at laguna seca by alex zanardi in a technical turn called a corkscrew, i decided to see the movie. this was a story told to me by one of herta's childhood friends over lunch yesterday. folks, it's impressive.

zanardi later lost his legs in this horrific crash and now drives using a complex control cluster at the steering wheel.

all this in the context of something closer to home: we're getting our very own corkscrew. wonder if they'll let bikes on that part.

"The course under construction features a corkscrew turn modeled after the famous one at Laguna Seca and a tree-lined straightaway..."

link

the big boys get to race bikes at laguna seca during the circuit race at the sea otter classic. we're not likely to have national class racing here anytime soon (ever: remember the tour of texas and coors classic?), but at least the locals have another venue at which to play on tuesday nights.

"i like to take the couch on the highway"

it's been a long while since i visited this movie. figured it was time for a refresher. his drag race nyc is fun too. we've all seen it a million times, but it deserves a peek now and again. who can resist a good bike cam? his website ain't great, but people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

here's another version with proper engineering from a place where it's too cold in winter to do anything better.

a better place to be homeless

if you're going to be a homeless drug addict, maybe you should consider doing it in new york. the program offered by the national alliance to end homelessness has been doing it since 1992. they're undoing some of the damage from the reagan legacy.

"There are always going to be people," he replied. "They make it their own choice for staying out there."

the great communicator, my ass.

get in line for your barcode tattoo

hey, wait a minute. i used to work next door to these guys.

"Texans seeking to escape the next hurricane or state emergency by evacuation bus will first be submitted to criminal background checks, the state's emergency management director says. ... wristbands would be scanned by emergency management officials and the person's name would be added to a bus boarding log ... (that information) would be sent wirelessly to the University of Texas Center for Space Research data center."

teecheedaw

In the Snow: keeping you company from Zea on Vimeo.

men optional?

after recent events with psycho boy, which followed a string of failed ltr's, this idea hit me like a ton of bricks. i'm not the only one thinking about it. more women are discussing the 'choice mom' route.

haven't found good sources re: the legal implications of turkey basting with, for example, your best friend's sperm. what does that contract look like?

i found this the other day,

the acknowledgements from my awful thesis. the last sentence sums it up.

Special thanks to Dan Thomas and Doug Ryan from a past life at the Division of Biological Sciences. My years in the prep room are fond memories now. Thanks to my family for never giving up on me even when I fell short of my mark. Thanks to Janie and Charles Kay for being my second family, and for having a uniquely happy son named Russell.

this better not be where your retirement rests

microscope demo

i got to play with a $100k microscope, which we later bought. here are some nifty demo pics.

broken small things. scale: 8-pin header about 10mm across.