Most Terrifying Video You’ll Ever See

Which column do you choose?

Dr. Hawking Hovers Closer to Space Travel Goal

Astrophysicist Stephen Hawking, paralyzed by Lou Gehrig’s disease, floats during a zero-gravity flight; an apple, a tribute to Isaac Newton, drifts along with him. (By Steve Boxall)

Stephen Hawking is one of the coolest guys on Earth— for now. He’s crippled by Lou Gehrig’s disease, he’s 65 years old, and he says we’re all f*#&ed unless we get off the planet. Says Hawking:

Life on Earth is at the ever-increasing risk of being wiped out by a disaster, such as sudden global warming, nuclear war, a genetically engineered virus or other dangers… I think the human race has no future if it doesn’t go into space. I therefore want to encourage public interest in space.

Richard Branson and Virgin Galactic hope to make that dream a reality for Mr. Hawking in 2009.

Portals R Us

Doom meets Escher via Looney Tunes.

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Elvis May Be Dead But He’s Still Prettier Than Celine

I remember the scene in Forest Gump where Forest meets the President of the USA. He shakes hands, moves around the room and has his picture taken. It was probably one of the most technically difficult shots in the film. American Idol have done that, live, in 3D, in front of an audience, BETTER. I looked at this film twice and I’m still very impressed. It’s a tech masterpiece.
Now that’s entertainment.

 Thanks to Robyn for this awesome find. 

About Kurt Vonnegut, The People and Our Planet!

I, Robot Researcher, Do Solemnly Swear…

NewScientistTech reports that South Korea took a page from Isaac Assimov’s famous I, Robot series and began work on a Robot Ethics Charter. The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy claims a five member task force, which includes a science-fiction writer, have been pondering this since November of 2006.

I don’t know about you, but I haven’t seen anything to worry about from the robot camp. But the robot researchers are creeping me out a bit with comments like these:

“Imagine if some people treat androids as if the machines were their wives,” Park Hye-Young of the ministry’s code of ethics team says. “Others may get addicted to interacting with them just as many internet users get hooked on the cyberworld.”

Uh… what are these rules for again?

Tempbot – Can Multitask

Neill Blomkamp is a remarkable film maker. He specialises in making the near future into his latest film project. He also loves robots. And after the Honda fiasco below I thought a little faith restoration was in order. Check out his other work on YouTube (remember that Citroen C4 dancing car? Here’s the warm-up.). He’s apparently the director for the Halo film as well.

Asimo Suffers Embarrassing Fall On His Head

Well folks, we are a looooong way off from having these things clean our houses and perform light yard work. Not only is this cute little guy unbearably slow, but he can’t make it up a simple flight of stairs. I like the way the Honda team immediately blocks the view of the robot, like some twisted Japanese version of the restaurant scene in Brazil. Suddenly the lights are dimmed, dividers are unfolded around Asimo, and the young girl just stands by the stage the entire time. It sounds like the robot keeps talking, even after he smashes his head, but I can’t speak Japanese. Can anyone translate? I think my favourite part is when Honda turns off their sign that reads, “Honda: The Power of Dreams”. It’s all kind of sad, but I’ll say it again: I don’t think robots are going to take over the Earth any time soon.

Woolly Lobster

…but does it taste good in melted butter?