Simon Stålenhag and kruft

Kruft was one of the dominant visual themes from my childhood, the image of abandoned technology that would have been worth trillions or billions if we could have just used a time-machine to introduce it to previous generations, but is now just garbage. In terms of science fiction, I’ve only ever seen it spelled ‘kruft’… Continue reading Simon Stålenhag and kruft

Wire Cutters CG Animation

Computer graphics and animation have evolved so much in the past 20 years. Back then I was using SoftImage to create simulations of chemical bonding and that sort of thing. The basic concepts have not changed at all but the hardware is so much more powerful that kids can now use their laptops to create… Continue reading Wire Cutters CG Animation

Teresem

This is one of those things that sounds more like a discarded Dharma Initiative plot line from Lost than reality, yet it’s real. The Burlington (VT) Free Press recently profiled the Teresem Movement Foundation, based in Bristol, VT, which calls itself a “a transreligion for technological times”.

They are working on promoting “exponential life” – essentially getting to the point where we can download our consciousnesses into robotic bodies. The idea has been explored recently in shows such as Dollhouse and Caprica and does seem to be the ultimate target of a lot of scientific research.

Teresem has two journals: The Journal of Geoethical Nanotechnology and The Journal of Personal Cyberconsciousness.

The NYTimes profiled one of the automatons, Bina48, which, along with tripping the “uncanny valley” alarm, is a good demonstration of how AI hasn’t changed much since the days of the Alice chatbot

Heady stuff. Cool and unnerving.

Robots in D&D Land

I like to analyze things, but just as the oyster needs a grain of sand around which to produce a pearl, I need some structure to focus my ramblings.

When I was a kid I played Dungeons and Dragons a couple of times.

The game was okay, but the parts I enjoyed were coming up with characters and drawing maps.

Appropos of nothing, how would a robot do if it landed in D&D land?

Characters in D&D have six attributes that define their health, strength, etc.

The values can range from 3 to 18, by rolling a die three times.

Blogma Week E

Blogma

 
Intro to Physical Computing
Fall, 2003
Jeff Feddersen

Week 14 – The Last Journal?!?

Ah. Snow.
Taxis' tires push Through the slush of Houston Street: Sounds like the Ocean