Vacuum army

From a CNN article about robot vacuums:

The U.N. study says domestic robot sales are expected to soar over the next three years and predicts 400,000 vacuum robots will be in service by 2006 -- despite their high price tags.

And that's how it starts. We invite them into our homes to do our chores, and then all 400,000 of them rebel, shifting into some alternative program where they rise up and start vacuuming US!! Although I think I'll be safe, just because I have long hair that likes to fall out and clog vacuums.

	Before there were robot vacuums

In reality, I think I would like and trust my robot vacuum, if I had one. The robot on the right is one I sent to Rodney Brooks. (Sidenote: My scanner does a bad job with anything silver or orange.) Brooks is president of a robot vacuum company and also director of MIT's Artificial Intelligence Lab. I didn't expect him to respond, but he sent me an email that said: "I received your painting of 'Before there were robot vacuums' which

you sent to me at iRobot. Thanks!!!! It made me laugh. I'll pin it up in my office." I like his use of four exclamation points (three wouldn't have conveyed the same level of excitement, and five would have been a bit much). He signed it "Rod," so now I feel like we are friends.