I've been playing around with Facebook lately and I am testing a WordPress plugin' that will upload this post directly into my Facebook account. We will see.
Explosively
Mixing skateboarding with explosions is genius. I wish the entire movie was this.
Fully Flared is a skateboarding video by Lakai, directed by Ty Evans, Spike Jonze and Cory Weincheque.
Fully Flared from Sturge on Vimeo.
Big anniversary coming up – Pages are up to date
I have finally updated the site and all of my archive pages have been migrated into the WordPress engine, yeah! As you can see the blog now goes back to March 1998 which means I've got a big anniversary coming up. Party!!!
Podcast from your iPod
The TechStop reports on what looks like an awesome new product form Belkin. The Belkin Podcast is not out yet and I couldn't find it on Belkin's website so this is the first that I've seen it in detail.Then again if you can find anything easily on Belkin's site than you're one up on me.
2009 – The Year of the Robot
I'm going to skip 2008 and go right to my 2009 prediction. 2009 will be the year of the robot!
We first started seeing robots enter our day-to-day world with toy devices such as Sony's AIBO or your Robosapien. Then we started seeing working robots like the iRobot Roomba vacuum cleaner. This year we were introduced to the Nabaztag/tag wi-fi bunny that was connected to you network and not only entertains you but also reads you your email and RSS feeds.
At this year's CES we are seeing the next step in robot technology. WowWee the maker of the Robosapien, Roboraptor and anything else you can put Robo in front of has a new "security" product. Rovio is their newly announced roving webcam that you can control from a webpage and view what is going on in your office or home. You can also setup a predefined area that the Rovio can patrol. I'm not sure what makes this a security product, but I do see a use for it.
iRobot who makes the Roomba and other home cleaning products also makes industrial and military robots. They have announced there new Looj, a gutter cleaning robot that crawls through the leaves and slime to leave your gutters clean and ready for rain and snow.
The Nabaztag which is made by French company Violet, is built on an platform that gives enterprising developers the ability to connect in and create their own applications for this device. The bunny allows for user to input via voice, button or RFID tag, although they don't quite have the RFID features ready for prime time.
As of today most of the Nabaztag add ons from developers that have made entertainment applications such as radio and podcast streaming, but the possibilities are endless. Universities in Europe, where the device has been available for quite some time, have been developing anything from diet/nutrition studies to medication alert systems.
iRobot also has opensource development models available to the public. The company provides the basic communication to the device and you can add to it.
Having working products that allow developers to add on to them creates huge push for the future of the technology. Before enterprising robot developers not only had to deal with their own code but also be an expert in the robot they were developing on. Developing add ons for the Nabaztag or iRobot is no different than developing add ons for Facebook or Google.
My immediate thoughts on where some of these technologies could go is for people who have elderly parents or neighbors they could use the security robot to check in on them. The Nabaztag could be used to make sure they are taking their medication when they should.
Robots are here and the floodgates are about to open. They might not exactly look like a robots of the 1950's but they are tools that will start to change how we go about our day to day lives.
. . . I just wanted to note for this article that my family owns a Nabaztag. It is hilarious interacting with a bunny on a day to day basis. Right now it is a novelty and doesn't really add to the quality of our lives, but I bet it happens soon.
Now why did I make that movie?
It appears David Cross is having to defend himself for appearing in the fine Alvin and the Chipmunks film.
.... I tried again to explain the concept of the value of "credibility" and "artistic integrity" but he refused to take it in exchange for the house. This guy was a fucking idiot! But what could I do? He wouldn't take no for an answer. If I wanted that cottage I would have to pay him money.
If you check my daughters blog I'm sure she has Alvin & said Chipmunks in her top 5.
.. and Jees, cut the guy a break, he look awesome as Allen Ginsberg. Oh, this is actually Ginsberg.
What am I up to? Duh, watching Movies.
Yes I realize that I haven't posted in a coon'z age, and you might be thinking to yourselves that old Bill is gettin' might lazy.
Well you would be right.
One thing that I have been doing is watching movies. I think we can thank the TV networks for getting me off my ass and reminding me that the silver screen out does the boob tube 275 to 3. Those are exact numbers, check'em.
Here are some of the films that I have seen recently that I quite liked. They are in exact alphabetical order.
No Country For Old Men, The Orphanage, Persepolis, Juno, Das Leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others), Eastern Promises, Superbad, Enchanted, Charlie Wilson's War.
I also watched Inland Empire, but that is between me and my therapist.
One thing that I haven't been doing is watching movies on my phone. No sirree. I wouldn't do that.
He always swears. Does he have to do that? Every single fucking clip.