Archive - Jul 20, 2009

Just in case you, my devoted Cake Eater readers, depend upon me entirely for your news, today, July 20th, is the 40th Anniversary of the moon landing. 

And they did this all with less computing power than is in my cell phone. 

Amazing. 

And for you conspiracy theory nuts who keep insisting that the moon landing never happened, that it was all staged on a set in Burnbank, that flags don't wave on the moon because there's no atmosphere or wind and THAT PROVES IT DEFINITIVELY (even though that was a result of the effin' rocket wash, you dolts!) you should shut your pieholes, definitively, or I'm going to send Buzz Aldrin after you.

Nicely done, Buzz. 

Courtesy of the husband's wild surfing ways, we have this little gem this fine Monday morning: Company Denies its Robots feed on the Dead.

Would you like some brainssss with your Cheerios this morning?  Well, too bad for you---because DARPA, Cyclone Power Technologies and Robotic Technology would like to reiterate that what's been rumored in the media about one of its robots is patently false.

POMPANO BEACH, Fla.– In response to rumors circulating the internet on sites such as FoxNews.com, FastCompany.com and CNET News about a “flesh eating” robot project, Cyclone Power Technologies Inc. (Pink Sheets:CYPW) and Robotic Technology Inc. (RTI) would like to set the record straight: This robot is strictly vegetarian.

On July 7, Cyclone announced that it had completed the first stage of development for a beta biomass engine system used to power RTI’s Energetically Autonomous Tactical Robot (EATR™), a Phase II SBIR project sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Defense Sciences Office. RTI’s EATR is an autonomous robotic platform able to perform long-range, long-endurance missions without the need for manual or conventional re-fueling.

RTI’s patent pending robotic system will be able to find, ingest and extract energy from biomass in the environment. Despite the far-reaching reports that this includes “human bodies,” the public can be assured that the engine Cyclone has developed to power the EATR runs on fuel no scarier than twigs, grass clippings and wood chips – small, plant-based items for which RTI’s robotic technology is designed to forage. Desecration of the dead is a war crime under Article 15 of the Geneva Conventions, and is certainly not something sanctioned by DARPA, Cyclone or RTI.

“We completely understand the public’s concern about futuristic robots feeding on the human population, but that is not our mission,” stated Harry Schoell, Cyclone’s CEO. “We are focused on demonstrating that our engines can create usable, green power from plentiful, renewable plant matter. The commercial applications alone for this earth-friendly energy solution are enormous.”

I LOVE that they felt the need to put out a press release to tell the world that, no, their robot doesn't eat flesh. 

Do we live in an awesome world or what?