Month: November 2006

“We seem to have reached an absurd situation in which ‘independent’ has come to mean ‘not made of plastic.'” – Abigail Nussbaum

I think I also have to agree with her assessment of Casino Royale, which she describes as “an entirely earnest story about the creation of an utterly ridiculous man.” It’s a good movie, and one of the better Bond movies in recent years, but it’s tough to bring a gritty realism to something which, at its heart, isn’t terribly real at all.

Well that’s weird. The speaker on my cell phone, which hasn’t been working — or, more acurately, has only been working when I put calls on speakerphone — and which I thought meant that I would need to go buy a new phone — just started working again.

On rare occasion, when you ignore a problem long enough, it fixes itself.

Some potentially troubling news on the whole “the machines will inherit the Earth” front:

  • “A satellite orbiting Earth is learning to think for itself. This artificial intelligence offers a powerful new way to study Earth, and it may prove useful on other planets, too.” [Link, via Cynical-C]

  • “Researchers at NEC System Technologies and Mie University have designed a robot that can taste — an electromechanical sommelier able to identify dozens of different wines, cheeses and hors d’oeuvres….When a reporter’s hand was placed against the robot’s taste sensor, it was identified as prosciutto. A cameraman was mistaken for bacon.” [Link, via Neatorama]

  • “Scientists have used computer software to come up with what they say is the perfect comedy face….They said soft and feminine features, typified by Ricky Gervais, were more likely to make people laugh.” [Link, via TV Squad]