More little robot paintings

	disillusioned robot	starry-eyed robot

A camera in the dressing room is a good thing?

This Wired News article describes a futuristic changing room with "a computerized fashion consultant programmed to let the customer know what they really ought -- and perhaps more importantly ought not -- to wear." Do we really want a 3-D camera system in our dressing rooms? And even if you think that's a good idea, would you trust the computer's advice? The article mentions that they could be programmed to promote certain lines of clothing.



I am having flashbacks to the time I went shopping in H&M on my lunchbreak, tried on a hot pink vinyl mini-dress and got stuck in it. It was enough of a nightmare just trying to get the freaking zipper open. If I had to put up with a computerized assistant telling me I looked like crap and that I'd be better off in something less shiny, I probably would've lost it completely. (Side note: This was not even my worst dressing room experience. Once, at a Salvation Army, I was trying on this cute vintage dress, and the zipper got stuck. This is why you should always shop with a friend. In the end, I had to be rescued from the dress by an embarrassed security guard with a pair of pliers. Maybe in the future, I should avoid clothing that zips.)



This Cornell University website has some 3-D imaging ideas I like better. "Virtual Try-on," a program that could help people find clothes that fit when they're shopping online, sounds a lot more fun than the real thing. If the virtual me ever gets a stuck zipper, I'm giving up on clothes for good.

	Artistic representation of my dream vacuum

Cleaning up

These Roomba robot vacuum thingies are getting a lot of press coverage lately. I would like to have one, because my apartment would be infinitely cleaner if I weren't the one responsible for cleaning it. But if I ever get one, I will paint a face on the top. I'd want it to look happy about cleaning my floor.

Two more robots

	Robot revolution!	"My head is on crooked."

Robot news

My dad told me a while ago about Google's news alert feature, but I didn't try it out until yesterday. I set up an alert that sends me a message once a day with a list of the latest articles about robots. Today I got my first alert and I'm already impressed. I found an article from SunSpot.net (a Maryland health website I wouldn't exactly have stumbled across on my own) about how Johns Hopkins Hospital is using a robot doctor to check on patients. I wanted to know what it looked like, and Google helped me yet again -- you can see a photo here.

Night of the Planet

I just read this Time article about how people are throwing "Mars parties" this week to celebrate that Mars is passing so close to Earth. On Wednesday, the planet will supposedly be visible even from cities, but I'll believe that when I see it for myself. The idea of everyone partying outdoors to watch the sky reminds me of the 1984 movie Night of the Comet, where millions of people go outside to see a comet, and then they all get turned to orange dust because the comet comes too close. (I'm not ruining the movie. That all happens right at the beginning.) I did a quick search online and it doesn't seem to be out on DVD yet, but it's worth renting if you can find a copy.



Update, 8/25/03: Today Slashdot has a page about the Mars thing.

	Click to enlarge

Robot girl

That's a little robot girl I painted. Maybe she is a space robot like the ones described in this Space.com article. I like the idea of robots being sent to other planets to set stuff up before the humans arrive. I bet space-exploring robots would throw secret parties whenever they had a planet to themselves. They would probably work really hard all day, and then celebrate their temporary independence at night by listening to robot music and doing crazy robot dances. But eventually the prep work would be done and the settlers would land in fancy rocket ships, and the robots would have to go back to being just robots... until they were sent off to another distant planet to start all over.

I love electricity

That's all there is to it. I love air conditioning and electric lights. I love refrigerators and DVD players and computers and about a million other things that plug into a wall socket or a powerstrip. I don't love that I am reliant on some corporate entity for these things to function. I want my own personal solar panel so this never happens again.



The blackout made me realize that sometimes you have to work to stay alive. You have to go find food and water, and make sure you have access to a safe place to sleep. In the past few days I have walked and biked lots of miles, in search of some food or a cold beverage. I realized that I'm jealous of the newest Sony AIBO. This little dog-shaped robot knows when it is running low on power, and walks to its Energy Station to recharge. Once it's all powered up, it unplugs itself from the charger and starts acting like a normal robot again. This is what I want for myself.



I've been thinking a lot lately about the sci-fi promise of a meal-replacement pill that provides all the nutrients you need. I do like eating sometimes -- it can be fun if you're with friends -- but most of the time, I only eat because I have to. It would save so much time if I could just take a pill and stay healthy. The AIBO's self-charging mechanism seems an even better solution. I would love if I could just plug myself in while I sit in front of my computer (or maybe even while I'm asleep at night) and get powered up that way. I want someone to invent a cable modem that feeds me nutrients instead of data. I guess I have robot envy. They just seem to have it so easy.