Everything looks good from here... Yes. Yes, this is a fertile land, and we will thrive. We will rule over all this land, and we will call it... 'This Land.' I think we should call it 'your grave!' Ah, curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal! Ha ha HA! Mine is an evil laugh! Now die! Oh, no, God! Oh, dear God in heaven!

Wash ,'Serenity'


Natter 47: My Brilliance Is Wasted On You People  

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.


Dana - Oct 18, 2006 10:31:36 am PDT #4204 of 10001
I'm terrifically busy with my ennui.

I saw this on TV! Did you get to slide?

Frankly, the slides were a little narrow, and I figured that it would not to be good to get halfway down and then figure out that my hips didn't fit through. I did take pictures and video of other people on the slides. It was mostly kids. I'll try to remember to post those at some point.


sumi - Oct 18, 2006 10:40:19 am PDT #4205 of 10001
Art Crawl!!!

Oh, SLIDES!

I thought you meant GIANT photo-transparencies.


Consuela - Oct 18, 2006 10:52:52 am PDT #4206 of 10001
We are Buffistas. This isn't our first apocalypse. -- Pix

Oh, you didn't slide! I'm all disappointed virtually! But pictures would be good.

I hope the remainder of your trip was fun and safe and there was no driving the wrong way on any one-way streets.


Jessica - Oct 18, 2006 11:02:33 am PDT #4207 of 10001
And then Ortus came and said "It's Ortin' time" and they all Orted off into the sunset

Swarm, swarm!

A "swarm" of simple-minded robots that teams up to move an object too heavy for them to manage individually has been demonstrated by robotics researchers.

The robots cannot communicate and must act only on what they can see around them. They follow simple rules to fulfil their task - mimicking the way insects work together in a swarm.

"In the object transport scenario they search for a red object and grasp onto it," explains Dorigo. "When they do that they also change colour from blue to red." This means a cluster of bots is "connected" to the object. When the bots cannot see any more blue - meaning they are all linked together - they start dragging the object towards its target.

The robots can adjust their caterpillar tracks, to ensure they are all pulling in the right direction. "Each robot has a traction sensor inside that detects all the external forces on it," explains Dorigo. A robot uses its sensor to identify any conflicting forces, and then changes direction accordingly.

Dorigo is now working on a swarm of robots that could operate in a human environment. "It is called Swarmanoid and will have three different kinds of robots," he explains. Some robots will be able to crawl along like Swarm-bots, others will be able to climb walls, and others still will be able to fly, he says.


Dana - Oct 18, 2006 11:03:10 am PDT #4208 of 10001
I'm terrifically busy with my ennui.

Some robots will be able to crawl along like Swarm-bots, others will be able to climb walls, and others still will be able to fly, he says.

And then they'll take over the world and dispose of humanity?


tommyrot - Oct 18, 2006 11:04:50 am PDT #4209 of 10001
Sir, it's not an offence to let your cat eat your bacon. Okay? And we don't arrest cats, I'm very sorry.

And then they'll take over the world and dispose of humanity?

Only if their good/evil switches are accidentally set to evil.


Jessica - Oct 18, 2006 11:05:15 am PDT #4210 of 10001
And then Ortus came and said "It's Ortin' time" and they all Orted off into the sunset

I, for one, welcome our new Swarm-bot overlords.


Steph L. - Oct 18, 2006 11:05:36 am PDT #4211 of 10001
I look more rad than Lutheranism

I thought you meant GIANT photo-transparencies.

I did, too.


juliana - Oct 18, 2006 11:06:24 am PDT #4212 of 10001
I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I miss them all tonight…

I thought you meant GIANT photo-transparencies.

I did, too.

joins the corner, offers beer


Jesse - Oct 18, 2006 11:09:32 am PDT #4213 of 10001
Sometimes I trip on how happy we could be.

Me too!

Now I say: OOH -- SLIDES!!