Robot seal

I want a robot seal that wiggles its flippers. This article has a better photo, and more info about robot therapy.



I need some robot therapy to lower my stress level -- I just read this Rolling Stone article that describes how badly George W. Bush is screwing up the environment. I mean, robot animals are cool, but I like real animals and nature a lot, too. I don't want to see them disappear.

Robot puppet!

That's a photo of the robot puppet I made for my puppeteer friend a while ago. The puppet's name is Fudgie, but some people call him "the retarded robot whale." Want to see a slideshow of Fudgie's trip to Sesame Street?

Shopping Smart

USA Today has an article about stores where customers can use a fingerprint to pay for their purchases. This sets off warning bells in my head about privacy concerns, but at the same time, it would be so convenient!



I hate dealing with the cashiers at the Pathmark by my house (once, one of them even made me cry -- no joke), so I mostly tend to buy food at the friendly delis around the corner. The last time I ventured to the giant grocery store, however, I found they had installed four self-checkout lanes. I mean, I'm sure it's not as fast as shopping with a thumbprint, but it's a major improvement. According to this NY Times article, I'm not the only one rejoicing about taking the minimum-wage employee out of the picture.



One more shopping thing: FreshDirect (an online grocery store that my Manhattan friends say totally rocks) is now closer than ever to delivering to my house. According to their website, they now deliver to parts of my zip code, just not the part I'm in.



The NY Times seems to be writing a lot of cool stuff about technology lately. Here's a story about the increasing influence of MoveOn.org.

Two domestic robots I painted a while back

	i am like a car wash for your dishes	when you are away, i can water myself

Technology in life and death

The NY Times Magazine section has some neat future-y articles this week. Read about what it's like when your house is smarter than you are, and learn how people are hacking their domestic robots so they do cool stuff.

And since the NY Times doesn't allow free access to stuff once it gets older, here is my favorite part of the article on how cell phones are changing our lives (it's the very last paragraph):

In Malaysia, she recently attended a "feast of the hungry ghosts," where Chinese Malays burn paper replicas of food. "They do it to ensure that their ancestors are well fed," Bell notes. But in recent years, they've also begun burning paper versions of mobile phones -- and even paper versions of prepaid phone cards, to make sure the phones will work beyond the grave. "They can't imagine their dead relatives existing without the latest models," Bell says. "And they wouldn't want their ancestors to be lonely." Even in death, no one wants to be cut off.

Just don't name her Google

I wrote a futuristic short story last year about this couple trying to pick a name for their baby, and considering lots of corporate brands. Apparently, it's becoming more common. If you had to be named after a brand name, what name would you pick? I think Maybelline is kind of fun (and people could call me "Maybe" as a nickname), but being named after a cosmetics company would probably make me feel shallow.

Hell yeah!

Send a message through the EFF site asking your representative to support the Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2003 (HR 2239), which would require software reviews and and voter-verifiable paper audit trails for all new electronic voting machines.