Shiny silver robots

	punk-rock robot girl	robot with a robot puppet

Ugly futuristic jewelry

In 2004, Nokia plans to release this oversized electronic necklace. The technology aspects make me want to like it (you can upload digital photos to its little screen), but I just can't get past the fact that it resembles a stethoscope. It's so big it seems to look bad on everyone -- and this is in the company's promotional photos, which have the added benefit of nice lighting and a professional photographer. Imagine how dumb it would look in real life! From the FAQ:

Nokia Medallion I is designed for fashion-oriented, design-driven people who are interested in complementing their outfit with a new kind of fashion accessory.

Ah, so maybe that's the problem. I am more of a fashion-driven, design-oriented person. So it's not for me at all.

Robot paintings for people I don't know

Here are the two robots I made for total strangers. If nothing else, these were a chance to practice outlining stuff in ink using a brush. I looked at PostcardX again to write down the addresses and realized just about everyone using the site is a pre-teen or teenage girl. So now I feel a little funny for joining, but what the heck. I have known for a long time that mentally I stopped aging at around 13, so on some (hopefully un-creepy) level, I fit right in.

	am i robot dancing?	my antenna freaks me out

Soundtrack for robots: I listened to Add N to X: Avant Hard tonight while I painted. It was just right. I should work on finding more music that has little electronic sounds without too many lyrics.

Art for strangers

Today I am going to paint a few little robots for total strangers who put their mailing addresses on PostcardX.net. The site was created so random people can send each other stuff in the mail. I like the idea, I think. It's like having a temporary penpal, without any commitment. I added a listing, but didn't include my last name, because I'm curious to see if signing up for this gets me on any mailing lists. I don't like mailing lists. Most of the time I love futuristic technology, but when I open my mailbox, I like to see stuff created by real people, not machines.



[UPDATE: I have been thinking more about that site, and now I'm not sure it's such a great idea. I like the idea of painting little robots and sending them to people I like, but through PostcardX, I might accidentally send one to somebody annoying! Or someone who spends their life supporting causes I despise! I think I will send one or two to people who specifically mentioned liking robots. But mostly, I like sending bits of art to people I care about, or people who are working on cool projects. Sending them to total strangers takes a lot of the fun out of it. ]

two robots for friends
The cat was for Lisa because the guy in her deli said if he had his cats spayed then there would be no more kittens in the world. And I was thinking that if he were right, people in the future would have to have robot cats instead. (The circle on the cat is a speaker so users can hear its mechanical purring.) The grocery-carrying robot was for Emily because she lives on the 6th floor of a building that doesn't have an elevator. I lived there one summer, so I know that a robot like this is good to have around.

Battle bots

Even when I don't have time to read the news, my Google alert keeps me up to date on cool robot stories. This week I read about some scary war robots and a friendly environmental robot. That recycling robot and I would totally get along, don't you think? Except that sometimes I don't have enough patience for children.

A few more robots
(I made them on different days but they have similar robot teeth.)

	i have 7 legs	i will help you store your stuff

When good snacks go bad

From this Wired News article on genetically modified foods:

The Pew study found that although up to 75 percent of processed foods in grocery stores contain genetically altered foods, only 24 percent of Americans believe they have eaten them and 58 percent say they have not.

The article talks about how the FDA just takes the biotech companies' word that the new foods are safe for people to eat. I love technology, but not when it's in my food. If you think you haven't eaten anything biotech-licious lately, check out Greenpeace's True Food Shopping List for a list of brand name products with genetically engineered ingredients. (Unless you buy them at the health food store, your favorite potato chips and candy are probably on it.)

I'm used to magazines that are $12 a year.

I just stumbled across the website for a technical journal called Industrial Robot. I liked the name, so I figured I'd check out the site. It seemed strange that none of the articles were available online until I realized it costs $5539.00 for a one-year subscription. Six issues. If I added up all the money I've spent on magazines in my entire life, I still would not have enough to buy one issue. I am sad that I can't read Industrial Robot. I think robots should be free.

Future me

The Future Me website lets you write an email to yourself and have it delivered on a specific date in the future. I like the idea a lot and am trying to decide what I'd like to tell myself, and when. (Although in a way, I think this would be much more useful if my future self could write an email offering advice to the me of today.) You can choose if you want to keep your email private or share it with the public anonymously.

Future style

This BBC News article discusses how electronics will be integrated into our clothing in the future. And there's a neat slideshow that has photos of some really cool stuff. (Don't be put off by that gadget-covered guy at the top of the page -- I think he's demonstrating the current state of wearable computing, which includes big goggles and lots of wires.)

Computer geek or killer?

This quiz shows you a photo and asks you to guess if the person pictured invented a programming language or killed a bunch of people. I only got half of them right, so apparently I should be very careful when judging people by their photos.



(Yes, this week, I'm apparently going with a serial killer theme. It was unintentional.)

Exo-skeletons for everyone!

I keep seeing stories lately about this Japanese company that's developing robot exo-skeletons for the elderly. Do you think maybe similar technology could be used with small children? I came up with a little prototype that I'd like my niece to have. It would keep her safe while also giving her super-strength (but she would have to come out sometimes for hugs).



On a semi-related note, a few weeks ago, a friend loaned me a copy of Johnny the Homicidal Maniac by Jhonen Vasquez. It's a graphic novel about a guy who kills everyone who annoys him, but somehow it's also really funny and creative and clever and I did not want it to end. My favorite parts involved this little boy named Squee who has the misfortune of being Johnny's neighbor, so I was very happy to find out Squee has a book of his own. I ordered it online a minute ago, because they didn't have it in Barnes and Noble (and while Amazon may be a freakishly large corporate empire, they also have low prices and free shipping). If you're wondering how this relates to the baby exo-skeleton, well, I think Squee would probably feel a lot safer if he had one.

Helpful robots to have around the house

	hose-bot	floor washer

Jake 2.0

This entry might fit in better on the site where I write about silly pop culture stuff, but I feel like putting it here. I am very excited about a new show that starts this coming week on UPN. It's called Jake 2.0 and it stars Christopher Gorham, who used to be on the show Popular. The premise is that his character works at the National Security Agency, and after some sort of accident he gains super human powers, including the telepathic ability to communicate with computers. It's like Spider-Man meets Tron! Action, technology, and a cute geek-boy... what more does any show need? As an added bonus, one of the executive producers is David Greenwalt, who used to work on Buffy, my favorite TV show of all time. So anyway, if you know anyone with a Nielsen box, please tell them to watch Jake 2.0 on Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET. I really want this show to be a hit.

But I want it now!

Time magazine's "What's Next?" feature includes a little list of futuristic predictions that still haven't quite come true. I can do without videophones (my hair is always messy) and jetpacks (I don't even have enough coordination for rollerblades), but a food pill would make my life a lot easier. And how cool would it be to take a vacation on the moon?