Thursday, November 08, 2007
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Monday, October 01, 2007
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Face-Morphing Robot
I have no idea what this could be used for. But I do know that caricaturists around the globe will be out of a job.
(article sent in my RoboTrac3y)
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Kurt
Nikki Passath
Mittels vier Injektionsnadeln und chinesischer Tinte zeichnet diese Maschine, ein
dauerhaftes Symbol auf die Oberfläche des menschlichen Körpers.
Ähnlich einer Prothese wird Kurt an den Körper montiert und fixiert,und dadurch
technischer Bestandteil des Körpers. Gewisse Hautschichten werden durchstossen,die
natürliche Schutzschicht des Körpers wird durchbrochen,es entsteht
eine Wunde, in die die Maschine Farbe hineinträufelt. Die Farbe als Teil der Maschine
wird nun zum Teil des menschlichen Körpers,mit freiem Auge sichtbar.
Durch diesen Eingriff entsteht im Bewusstsein des Gezeichneten eine enge Verbindung
mit der Maschine,die ebenso dauerhaft wie die Zeichnung selbst ist.
Robot translation:
By means of four injektionsnadeln and Chinese ink draws this machine,
a permanent symbol on the surface of the human body. Similarly a
prosthesis "Kurt" is installed and fixed to the body, and thus technical
constituent of the body. Certain Hautschichten is broken through to break through, the natural protective layer of the body, it develops a wound, into the machine
colour instilled. The colour as part of the machine becomes now partially the human body, visible with free eye. From this intervention a close connection with the machine in the consciousness of the drawing, which is just as permanent as the
drawing, results.
Submitted by evil minion robot RTrac3y
Monday, September 10, 2007
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Holy Rolly!!
Looks like Sony isn't about to just cede the portable audio player market to Apple without a fight - word has it that the giant electronics company is currently working on a new class of Walkman known as "Rolly". It features an easily-gripped egg shape design and comes with an integrated speaker and a 'choreography' system which most probably involves changing lights or music in tandem with movement. This leak did not contain a release date, so stay tuned for more information. Does the Rolly's form factor sound as though sales will take off in the long run? I think most people prefer their electronics to come in a sleek design without causing too obvious a bulge in their pants pocket.Rolly Show
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Monday, August 27, 2007
Friday, August 10, 2007
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Thursday, August 02, 2007
I've Fallen And I Can't Get Up!
Can somebody get this robot a drink of motor oil please?
Submitted by RTrac3y
Submitted by RTrac3y
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Monday, July 09, 2007
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Taggers Your Prayers Have Been Answered
GraffitiWriter can be controlled remotely and programmed to ‘write text’ (which is code for spray paint your propaganda everywhere). In other words, you can replace your old remote control car (the one with the spray paint can duct taped to the back), because GraffitiWriter is already set up to accomodate your vandalism needs.
GraffitiWriter is a tele-operated field programable robot which employs a custom built array of spray cans to write linear text messages on the ground at a rate of 15 kilometers per hour. The printing process is similar to that of a dot matrix printer. GraffitiWriter can be deployed in any highly controlled space or public event from a remote location. - GraffitiWriter Website
video
Thanks to robot hunter RTrac3y for the link!
Monday, June 25, 2007
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Pleo
Pleo is quite an interesting soon to be commercialy available robot pet. Pleo, a Ugobe Life Form is the authentic recreation of the long extinct Camarasaurus, a dinosaur from the Jurassic period. Pleo is a 'designer species'. He incorporates all the basic traits of autonomous life. He is specifically engineered and enhanced to mimic life and relate to his owner on a personal level.
Pleo is equipped with senses for sight, sound, and touch. He learns as he explores his environment. He will exhibit genuine reactions to sensory stimuli. Every Pleo begins life with certain tendencies but, interaction with his environment has subtle effects on his behavior. Every Pleo eventually exhibits a unique personality.
Pleo is capable of expression. He can feel joy and sorrow, anger and annoyance. When Pleo is tired, he will become drowsy and go to sleepóeven dream. Two or more Pleos will recognize one another. Be careful though. They can transmit colds to each other. Achoo! Pleo even sneezes!
Pleo is a one-week old infant Camarasaurus from the Jurassic period. Camarasaurus were born and raised in giant fern forests. They evolved camouflage that allowed them to blend with their environment of ferns, moss and ruff, the detritus that littered the forest floor. The first Pleo created is a Fernback. His markings help him to survive by hiding among the giant fern fronds in his habitat.
Pleo is an authentic Life Form. Treat him gently like any other living thing. Your Pleo will let you know how he feels at any moment. That's because he is capable of actual emotions including joy, aggression, sorrow, and fear. He can also yawn, sigh, sniff, sniffle, snore, cough, hiccup, and sneeze.
Pleo wants to explore his environment. He will be cautious when he walks to the edge of a table. He may cry when he is frightened. Pleo will stretch when he first wakes up. He may stomp his foot for food when hungry.
The Pleo is expected to be available for purchase this fall with a price of about $200.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Gay Robot
By Kimberly Nordyke
May 25, 2007
It looks as if Comedy Central and Sony Pictures Television might be powering up "Gay Robot" again but this time as an animated project, sources said. The project -- from SPT and Adam Sandler and Jack Giarraputo's production company, Happy Madison -- was first ordered to pilot in 2005 as a scripted, live-action adaptation of a character featured on Sandler's comedy album "Shhh ... Don't Tell." The title character (voiced by Nick Swardson, reprising his role from the album) is a robot who discovers after an unfortunate incident involving a wine cooler and his circuit boards that he is gay. After "Robot" didn't get picked up by the network, SPT made the pilot and clips from it available on such sites as MySpace (where Gay Robot has his own page), BitTorrent and Sony-owned Grouper. The project began generating a great deal of buzz online; Gay Robot even has more than 32,000 MySpace friends. Sources said the network and studio now are looking at redeveloping "Robot" as an animated project, but both parties declined comment. The original pilot, in which Gay Robot and his fraternity buddies try to find him a date for the homecoming dance, was written by Swardson and Tom Gianas, who both executive produced with Sandler, Giarraputo and Doug Robinson. (Kimberly Nordyke and Nellie Andreeva)
Via The Hollywood Reporter
Edit: Found the pilot episode (pt 1 of 8) on YouTube-
Chevy Autobots
With Transformers the movie looming on the horizon, it's not surprising that Chevrolet is trying to get into the action.
Personally I liked the Mini version better.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Nanobots
Nanobots are our friends...unless you make them angry. You wouldn't like them when they're angry.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Nemomatic Update
One of my favorite robot themed artists!
A visit to Nemo Gould's Studio
Go here to see more cool stuff! Nemomatic.com
Friday, May 18, 2007
Keepon
Designed and built by Hideki Kozima, Keepon is a small creature-like robot developed to perform emotional and attentional interaction with children. It has four degrees of freedom, a soft rubber skin, two cameras in its eyes, and a microphone in its nose.
Monday, May 14, 2007
Nerdbot 1.0
Check out this cool t-shirt design from ChopShop.com
That is what I looked like in the 70s...hey, I look like that now!!!
Yes I want to buy a Nerdbot 1.0 t-shirt
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Paper Robot Craft
Holy crud! I always liked paper sculpture and origami as a kid. To take an ordinary piece of paper and turn it into a three dimensional object was magic to me. When Star Wars came out, I couldn't wait for the toys so I just made my own Tie Fighters and X-wings. I even made a Star Destroyer. I attempted a Millenium Falcon but it almost killed me. I was in seventh grade at the time mind you. So this link blows me away with all of the intricate models people have engineered and perfected all on their own. With the computers and color printers I guess anything is possible. It sure beats a 1970s marker.
Paper Robots!
Paper everything else!
Friday, March 30, 2007
My Dad's Eulogy by Mary Claire Scanlon
My Dad passed away on March 16th and this is the eulogy given by my wife at his funeral. See you on the other side Dad.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Hi. You might be wondering, “ what is this tall white woman doing giving the eulogy for Ulpiano Ranjo?” The short answer is, I’m married to his son, Jeff. The longer answer is, dad asked me to.
It was a privilege for me to call him dad, and I’m honored that he asked me to speak today.
I am a little worried about getting it right. But I’m sure if I don’t get it right, he’ll let me know. Anyone who knew dad knows he had strong opinions about how to do things. You could say he was a perfectionist. He might say he was taking pride in his work. He was good at what he did because he cared so much about getting it right.
All of us benefited from that, whether it was perfectly cut grapefruit at breakfast, the most perfectly steam-cleaned rug ever or a car that he fixed for his kids.
But let’s start at the beginning, because I’m sure that’s where he’d like me to start.
He was born in 1924, almost 83 years ago, in Il locos Norte to Clemente, the town police chief and Barbara Cariaga, a homemaker. He was the youngest, and most beloved boy, pampered in many ways. His family owned land and still hid Spanish doubloons in its rice silo, from the days of the Spanish occupation.
His father, Clemente was an accomplished horseman and gave dad his first horse when he was a young boy. He loved that horse and wanted a beautiful saddle for it. So he traded the horse for the saddle. Then he had a saddle but no horse. He got the horse back eventually, with the help of his dad, but that was just the beginning of his lifelong love affair with horses.
World War II broke out – and his whole world changed. The Japanese invaded the Philippines, and raided villages. Dad was rounded up with other men from his town into a prison camp, but escaped into the jungle. There he became a guerilla fighter, called a bolo-man – named after the type of sword he fought with, since he didn’t have a rifle. Being a guerilla fighter was dangerous, in more ways than one. He was constantly on the run, and living hand to mouth. He caught malaria and had a near death experience in the jungle.
Then the Americans decided to join the war and to fight part of it in the Philippines. And the Americans were recruiting. They wanted dad’s guerilla intelligence and he wanted steady pay, good weapons, and to help them defeat Japan. So he signed up. Then he realized that signing up meant he’d have to get on a big warship and sail away from his family and loved ones. So somewhere between signing up and showing up, he went AWOL. On his first official day in the navy, he was hiding in the jungle.
One of his uncles found him and talked him back into the idea of leaving the guerillas and fighting under the American flag. Military records were recorded by hand in those days, so when he came back, he simply pretended he’d never enlisted before and gave the navy a new birthday – dated three years after his real birthday.
Immediately, his commanding officers noticed that there was something special about “Ranjo” as he was called. He stood out because he was small, but also because he was tough – mentally and physically. Other men on ship learned quickly not to mess with him. But he also stood out because he was such a hard worker – and determined to do his job right. Commanders took notice and requested him as a personal mess steward.
They also rewarded him with special recognition. One of the things he was most proud was a medal and certificate he received from the pentagon for serving the secretary of defense. His commanding officers also rewarded him with kindness.
After he married mom, he was stationed in Washington D.C. for eight months. His admiral saw how lovesick he was and asked “Ranjo, what’s wrong?” Dad explained that the immigration process was very slow and he didn’t know when he’d see mom again because in those days it would have taken at least 6 months more –and a lot of money - to process paperwork to get her out of the Philippines. The admiral sent a special aide to the Philippines and within a week mom was in the United States with dad, beginning a marriage that lasted 54 years and resulted in 7 children, 16 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren…so far!
Later, when he was getting ready to retire, his bosses at the pentagon asked him where he’d like to live after retirement. “San Diego,” he said, and he was transferred back to San Diego for his last assignment after 24 years in the navy.
By then he had a large but still young family to support. So he started another career as a janitor for the county. I’m sure that no one has ever waxed a floor so well. He took pride in his work. And after 16 years at that job, he retired again. He spent part of his retirement fishing with his son Larry and going back to the Philippines to see his friends and family there, especially his son Locricio.
Of course, he never retired from “his hobby” as he called it – horses. From the time he was very young, he’d dreamed of being a jockey and even when he was still in the navy he worked a side job riding horses for a horse trainer in Maryland. That’s probably where he discovered the joys of the track, where he could put all of his knowledge of horses into a bet.
For the rest of his life, he went to “school.” He had a whole system for studying and evaluating horses, which he followed rigorously. He had little patience for my school of betting, which was to pick the prettiest horse or the funniest name and bet on that. But whenever I tired of losing – usually about the 5th race -he was happy to give me pointers so that I could leave the track with a little money in my pocket.
He showed his love for his family by doing whatever we asked whenever we asked it. You could call dad at any time of the day and ask for help, and he would be there. Whenever a car broke down, he was there to fix it. He was great with his hands and could fix or build almost anything if he put his mind to it. And he was an amazing chef. Every breakfast, lunch, dinner and barbeque he made was filled with love. He knew what every child, every spouse and every grandchild liked to eat, and if you were at his house, he would make your favorite food specially for you. It was his way of showing his love. And he was happiest when we brought along friends, even if we brought them with no notice. Our friends were his friends. He loved us, so he loved them.
His massive stroke five years ago took many things from him. Up until he was 74, he did pull-ups every day. At 76, he was still riding his bike around the block. After his stroke, he couldn’t talk, move and was completely dependent. Mom took terrific care of him at home. I think he stayed here so long out of love for us all. Although he was sick, he was part of Christine and Rick’s weddings and saw his younger children complete their families.
Even when he was well, he was an emotional man. He would cry when he was happy and cry when he was sad. After he got sick and couldn’t talk, we’d know he could recognize us by his tears or his laughter. We knew he knew what was going on because he’d laugh at our jokes, follow us with his eyes and cry when we left. And he loved all the grand and great-grand babies – he loved the way they would kiss him and hug him, and when they were playing on the rug next to his bed, he would watch them with a smile.
Dad was small in stature, but large in so many other ways. He had a huge heart, passionate opinions, outsized generosity and the best smile. He cared so deeply for his family and friends. Your presence here today is a testament to the goodness of his life and the love he shared with all of us.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Hi. You might be wondering, “ what is this tall white woman doing giving the eulogy for Ulpiano Ranjo?” The short answer is, I’m married to his son, Jeff. The longer answer is, dad asked me to.
It was a privilege for me to call him dad, and I’m honored that he asked me to speak today.
I am a little worried about getting it right. But I’m sure if I don’t get it right, he’ll let me know. Anyone who knew dad knows he had strong opinions about how to do things. You could say he was a perfectionist. He might say he was taking pride in his work. He was good at what he did because he cared so much about getting it right.
All of us benefited from that, whether it was perfectly cut grapefruit at breakfast, the most perfectly steam-cleaned rug ever or a car that he fixed for his kids.
But let’s start at the beginning, because I’m sure that’s where he’d like me to start.
He was born in 1924, almost 83 years ago, in Il locos Norte to Clemente, the town police chief and Barbara Cariaga, a homemaker. He was the youngest, and most beloved boy, pampered in many ways. His family owned land and still hid Spanish doubloons in its rice silo, from the days of the Spanish occupation.
His father, Clemente was an accomplished horseman and gave dad his first horse when he was a young boy. He loved that horse and wanted a beautiful saddle for it. So he traded the horse for the saddle. Then he had a saddle but no horse. He got the horse back eventually, with the help of his dad, but that was just the beginning of his lifelong love affair with horses.
World War II broke out – and his whole world changed. The Japanese invaded the Philippines, and raided villages. Dad was rounded up with other men from his town into a prison camp, but escaped into the jungle. There he became a guerilla fighter, called a bolo-man – named after the type of sword he fought with, since he didn’t have a rifle. Being a guerilla fighter was dangerous, in more ways than one. He was constantly on the run, and living hand to mouth. He caught malaria and had a near death experience in the jungle.
Then the Americans decided to join the war and to fight part of it in the Philippines. And the Americans were recruiting. They wanted dad’s guerilla intelligence and he wanted steady pay, good weapons, and to help them defeat Japan. So he signed up. Then he realized that signing up meant he’d have to get on a big warship and sail away from his family and loved ones. So somewhere between signing up and showing up, he went AWOL. On his first official day in the navy, he was hiding in the jungle.
One of his uncles found him and talked him back into the idea of leaving the guerillas and fighting under the American flag. Military records were recorded by hand in those days, so when he came back, he simply pretended he’d never enlisted before and gave the navy a new birthday – dated three years after his real birthday.
Immediately, his commanding officers noticed that there was something special about “Ranjo” as he was called. He stood out because he was small, but also because he was tough – mentally and physically. Other men on ship learned quickly not to mess with him. But he also stood out because he was such a hard worker – and determined to do his job right. Commanders took notice and requested him as a personal mess steward.
They also rewarded him with special recognition. One of the things he was most proud was a medal and certificate he received from the pentagon for serving the secretary of defense. His commanding officers also rewarded him with kindness.
After he married mom, he was stationed in Washington D.C. for eight months. His admiral saw how lovesick he was and asked “Ranjo, what’s wrong?” Dad explained that the immigration process was very slow and he didn’t know when he’d see mom again because in those days it would have taken at least 6 months more –and a lot of money - to process paperwork to get her out of the Philippines. The admiral sent a special aide to the Philippines and within a week mom was in the United States with dad, beginning a marriage that lasted 54 years and resulted in 7 children, 16 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren…so far!
Later, when he was getting ready to retire, his bosses at the pentagon asked him where he’d like to live after retirement. “San Diego,” he said, and he was transferred back to San Diego for his last assignment after 24 years in the navy.
By then he had a large but still young family to support. So he started another career as a janitor for the county. I’m sure that no one has ever waxed a floor so well. He took pride in his work. And after 16 years at that job, he retired again. He spent part of his retirement fishing with his son Larry and going back to the Philippines to see his friends and family there, especially his son Locricio.
Of course, he never retired from “his hobby” as he called it – horses. From the time he was very young, he’d dreamed of being a jockey and even when he was still in the navy he worked a side job riding horses for a horse trainer in Maryland. That’s probably where he discovered the joys of the track, where he could put all of his knowledge of horses into a bet.
For the rest of his life, he went to “school.” He had a whole system for studying and evaluating horses, which he followed rigorously. He had little patience for my school of betting, which was to pick the prettiest horse or the funniest name and bet on that. But whenever I tired of losing – usually about the 5th race -he was happy to give me pointers so that I could leave the track with a little money in my pocket.
He showed his love for his family by doing whatever we asked whenever we asked it. You could call dad at any time of the day and ask for help, and he would be there. Whenever a car broke down, he was there to fix it. He was great with his hands and could fix or build almost anything if he put his mind to it. And he was an amazing chef. Every breakfast, lunch, dinner and barbeque he made was filled with love. He knew what every child, every spouse and every grandchild liked to eat, and if you were at his house, he would make your favorite food specially for you. It was his way of showing his love. And he was happiest when we brought along friends, even if we brought them with no notice. Our friends were his friends. He loved us, so he loved them.
His massive stroke five years ago took many things from him. Up until he was 74, he did pull-ups every day. At 76, he was still riding his bike around the block. After his stroke, he couldn’t talk, move and was completely dependent. Mom took terrific care of him at home. I think he stayed here so long out of love for us all. Although he was sick, he was part of Christine and Rick’s weddings and saw his younger children complete their families.
Even when he was well, he was an emotional man. He would cry when he was happy and cry when he was sad. After he got sick and couldn’t talk, we’d know he could recognize us by his tears or his laughter. We knew he knew what was going on because he’d laugh at our jokes, follow us with his eyes and cry when we left. And he loved all the grand and great-grand babies – he loved the way they would kiss him and hug him, and when they were playing on the rug next to his bed, he would watch them with a smile.
Dad was small in stature, but large in so many other ways. He had a huge heart, passionate opinions, outsized generosity and the best smile. He cared so deeply for his family and friends. Your presence here today is a testament to the goodness of his life and the love he shared with all of us.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Friday, February 23, 2007
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Monday, January 29, 2007
Sunday, January 07, 2007
Duh! I'm STOOPID!!!!
I just have to send out a heartfelt SORRY to those of you who bothered to comment on my last posts. See when I originally set up this blog I clicked on the comment moderation button. But dummy me never bothered to CHECK the comment moderation section of the blog. I just thought that nobody cared to comment on my stuff. But you DO like me! You really DO like me! From now on shall turn off the comment moderation and let the comments fall where they may. And I also promise to answer any questions you have. On topic or not.
Because that's how I roll.
Because that's how I roll.
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