Giles: I jump out of the circle, jump back in, and, and, shake my gourd. Buffy: Hey, I think I know this ritual. The ancient shamans were next called upon to do the Hokey-Pokey and to turn themselves around.

'Dirty Girls'


Natter 41: Why Do I Click on ita's Links?!  

Off-topic discussion. Wanna talk about corsets, duct tape, or physics? This is the place. Detailed discussion of any current-season TV must be whitefonted.


amych - Jan 04, 2006 11:40:12 am PST #7439 of 10002
Now let us crush something soft and watch it fountain blood. That is a girlish thing to want to do, yes?

how your Roomba overlord copes with fringe.

I was off doing actual work (stupid semester starting next week), and I saw the question and didn't have a chance to answer it before Jess reprogrammed me.

Rosie handles fringe fine on a normal (read: cheap) rug but not very well on the one that's thin and delicate enough that I should really hang it on a wall rather than walking all over it. In both cases, she does better than any other vacuum I've had, but I wouldn't leave her unattended with the flimsy rug.

(The same is basically true of all kinds of trailing floor stuff: it will drag heavy cords, or suck up a shoelace, but it's all easier to stop and unmunge than my old vacs, which would damage my things and break their belts and the like. Supervise it until you know its behavior around your stuff, and don't deliberately run it over the pets stuff you wouldn't normally vacuum.)

Also, in spite of my shameless anthropomorphism, Rosie the Roomba exemplifies the Fast, Cheap, and Out of Control style of AI rather than the HAL style.


Betsy HP - Jan 04, 2006 11:40:30 am PST #7440 of 10002
If I only had a brain...

How does the Scooba deal with corners? Because if it works, DAMN.


Jessica - Jan 04, 2006 11:43:27 am PST #7441 of 10002
And then Ortus came and said "It's Ortin' time" and they all Orted off into the sunset

and didn't have a chance to answer it before Jess reprogrammed me.

Huh. You weren't supposed to remember that...

Rosie the Roomba exemplifies the Fast, Cheap, and Out of Control style of AI rather than the HAL style.

That seals it. I completely need one.


§ ita § - Jan 04, 2006 11:43:48 am PST #7442 of 10002
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.

I wish I had a bigger kitchen, so I could justify, even slightly, a Scooba.

They're a little defensive on their product comparison page about Scoobas and Roombas being inherently separate devices, but what a killer app is the device that vacuums and mops!

Though they're a bit old-school-Dalekky with the stairs limitation.

Luckily, I have none of those.


P.M. Marc - Jan 04, 2006 11:44:12 am PST #7443 of 10002
So come, my friends, be not afraid/We are so lightly here/It is in love that we are made; In love we disappear

How does the Scooba deal with corners? Because if it works, DAMN.

We need to find someone who knows.

Damn. I don't mind vacuuming, and have a decent one at home, so justification of a Roomba = unpossible. Mopping, however, I hate so much that even the WetJet is an occasional chore and my kitchen floor ALWAYS looks like something died on it.


amych - Jan 04, 2006 11:44:43 am PST #7444 of 10002
Now let us crush something soft and watch it fountain blood. That is a girlish thing to want to do, yes?

I want the Roomba and the Scooba to mate and make something that decides whether the floor needs mopping or sweeping or vacuuming or shampooing. And then empties its own dirt canister at the end. And peels me grapes. But I suspect I'd be peeling it grapes if it were that good.

stoopid overlords


Lee - Jan 04, 2006 11:45:11 am PST #7445 of 10002
The feeling you get when your brain finally lets your heart get in its pants.

There are SIX Roombas?? My god, how are you supposed to choose?

I think only the Discovery works well. That gets rid of 4.


§ ita § - Jan 04, 2006 11:45:56 am PST #7446 of 10002
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.

I think only the Discovery works well. That gets rid of 4.

Better than the Scheduler? That looks like Discovery+.


Gudanov - Jan 04, 2006 11:46:31 am PST #7447 of 10002
Coding and Sleeping

HAL was an example of bad QA. Or maybe it was just bad project management, there could have been a bug logged for "Conflicting commands leads to murdurous rampage" but the fix didn't make into the release.


brenda m - Jan 04, 2006 11:47:08 am PST #7448 of 10002
If you're going through hell/keep on going/don't slow down/keep your fear from showing/you might be gone/'fore the devil even knows you're there

Which kind did you get, Amy? Anyone else have one?