Robot Overlord Watch

Forget the Asimo. This thing is creepy. After watching the video, picture it with a "phased plasma rifle in the 40-watt range" mounted to the top. Holy christ.

Well, with more than a little bit of reservation, I went with the family to see the new Transformers movie. I had lots of reason to have reservations about what the end product was going to be like: Michael Bay directed it. Anyone remember Armageddon? How about a little piece of cinematic flotsam called Pearl Harbor?

Even with the knowledge that the beloved memory of childhood heros could very well be tainted for good, I plunked my $30 down and took the family. Hey, I figured, at least Liam might like the shiny robots or something. Two hours and twenty minutes later, and Tina (who has absolutely no historical attachment to Cybertronians) turns to me and said "Wow, that was a really surprisingly good!". She couldn't have voiced it better. It was an incredibly fun popcorn film that I truly enjoyed from start to finish. Sure, it's not Citizen Kane, but it's got giant transforming robots, so we all knew that going into it. Michael Bay actual showed a real respect for the original cartoons. It's even got Peter Cullen, original voice of Optimus Prime doing OP's voice for the film. And what can be said about the SFX? Un-flippin-believable. The 'bots transform in such a believable and kinetic way you couldn't help but believe that robots really can do that. The plot was thin, but had enough to get from one kickass bot battle to the next. 3.5 out of 5 stars!

Oh, and to Chris: my guess is that you are glad you can sleep a whole person now.

the most important development to come out of all the TF hoopla of course, is the fact that the real life Optimus Prime has called out the real life Megatron for a no holds barred battle royale.

Looks like Google is working on artificial intelligence. They've probably got the minds and the talent in house to actually make it work:

Google working on AI... and they're closer than we think

Your next pet robot will probably be able to do more than terrorize your toddlers and cats. It should also, with a few modifications, be smart enough to pick up the living room and may perform another killer app that roboticists have long dreamt about: It is called, ''Fetch me a beer."

More...

First bionic woman can feel it when people shake her prosthetic hand from PhysOrg.com

It's the stuff of science fiction: a prosthetic arm that can be moved just by thinking about it and that can feel heat and the pressure of a handshake. It became a reality for US Marine Claudia Mitchell two years after she lost her arm to a motorcycle, researchers said last week.

[...]

The vehicles must have been insolent.
beelzebub

The robot that parks cars at the Garden Street Garage in Hoboken, New Jersey, trapped hundreds of its wards last week for several days. But it wasn't the technology car owners had to curse, it was the terms of a software license.

The garage is owned by the city; the software, by Robotic Parking of Clearwater, Florida.

In the course of a contract dispute, the city of Hoboken had police escort the Robotic employees from the premises just a few days before the contract between both parties was set to expire. What the city didn't understand or perhaps concern itself with, is that they sent the company packing with its manuals and the intellectual property rights to the software that made the giant robotic parking structure work...

Giant Robot Imprisons Parked Cars