museum of robots’s posterous

A new book from New Zealand, "Time to Eat the Dog: The real guide to sustainable living" studies the carbon footprint of our animal companions and calculates that a dog the size of a German Shepherd has the relative carbon footprint equal to two SUVs.

The primary culprit? The meat that dogs eat - about 164 kg per year for our German Shepherd, and meat uses a lot of resources in its production. Cats = a VW Golf, a pair of hamsters = a plasma TV and even goldfish don't get off the hook - they are the environmental equivalent of two cellphones.

Their suggestions on how to solve the issue are provocative - Fido-sharing anyone? Human food? Or have pets that produce food - chickens for eggs and rabbits for, well, rabbit.

Although it seems to us that once you've cooked your pet, it's not a pet, it's dinner.

Perhaps robot dogs are the answer, although it looks like they'll have to be solar powered to pass muster.

http://bit.ly/ViWuZ

FRIDAY NIGHT FLICKS AT MUSEUM OF ROBOTS: tonight at 5pm SLT

Radar Men from the Moon (1952) a 12-part serial starring the adventures of Commando Cody.

When the U.S. finds itself under attack from a mysterious force that wipes out military bases and industrial complexes, Cody deduces that the Earth faces a menace from our own moon, and rockets there to discover and confront the moon's dictator Retik, who boldly announces plans to conquer Earth and move his subjects there.

Join us every Friday at 5pm SLT for Movie Nite, bringing you the best (and worst) of sci-fi, space, fantasy, horror and robot drama from the 20th Century. Serials and full length feature films shown.

Movies at the Lava Pit:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Kubrick/98/161/26

Friday Nite Flicks presents 'Voyage to Planet of Prehistoric Women', the first movie directed by Peter Bogdanovich. Roger Corman produced.

The movie is a remake - with the addition of screen siren Mamie Van Doren - of 'Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet', itself a remake of an earlier Russian film.

Tonight at 5pm SLT at Museum of Robots: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Kubrick/98/161/26

Creativity Explored is a nonprofit visual art center where artists with developmental disabilities create, exhibit and sell art, with 50% of art sale proceeds going directly to the artist.

“Science” Fiction features a fantastical array of renderings by Creativity Explored studio artists depicting characters, landscapes, and vehicles from the world of science fiction television, film, and pulp fiction, as well as original conceptions of futuristic places and beings. In this lively show, images of iconic characters such as the Robotrix from Metropolis, Robbie the Robot, C-3PO, Darth Vader, General Ursus, and Mr. Spock and the crew of the Enterprise will populate the gallery at Creativity Explored, while renderings of scenes from classic films and TV shows further advance the science fiction theme.

“Science” Fiction is one of a series of exhibitions curated by artist and instructor Francis Kohler, which contain text elements that encourage gallery visitors to consider the experiences and issues attendant to living with developmental disabilities. In the case of “Science” Fiction Kohler says, “the quotation marks around the word science in the title of the show refer to the various excerpts of text interspersed throughout the exhibition. These excerpts offer small bits of historical “science” regarding people with disabilities that most people living in 2009 would find laughable if not offensive.”

http://www.creativityexplored.org/whats_new/happenings/2009/10/science_fiction/

Only 2 days left - please Vote for Museum of Robots' Flying Saucer Bowl to be a Top 10 California design!

Vote for #41 here: http://bit.ly/3MrZr

Many thanks!!

What manner of half-robot, half-human creature has Nurse Ratnee just given birth to?

Is Lenny Roboticus involved?

Where do they get all that vodka in space?

These and other deep space mysteries will be explored in this weeks' installment of Space Hospital!

5pm tonight at Museum of Robots:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Kubrick/98/161/26

And please visit our friends at Space Hospital:
http://www.spacehospital.tv

All the comforts of home, without having to leave bed, but just in case the walk to the microwave is too much, there is a moving chair attached.

 Just the chair for the future, if the future is like Wall-E.

 http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/18/panasonics-robotic-bed-makes-sleeping-with-robots-a-reality/

Virtual Museum of Robots Screens Sci-Fi Web Series, Space Hospital, as part of its Friday Night Flicks

 The Museum of Robots in Second Life has programmed the first season of the sci-fi web series Space Hospital to screen in its entirety over three consecutive weeks – September 18, September 25 and October 2 at 5p.m. PDT - as part of its Friday Night Flicks.

 Created by Second-City alumni Sigurd Ueland and Robert Poe and produced by Susan Stoebner, Space Hospital is a classic TV-style, sci-fi soap opera in space that tips its hat to its mid-century inspirations while serving up thoroughly engaging storylines and characters. The show is a unique combination of episodes, commercials and PSAs that offer a multi-faceted journey into a futuristic world. Season II will launch in October 2009 through its YouTube and FunnyorDie channels with new characters (human and android), bigger action and even more bizarre sci-fi scenarios.

 With a mission to promote understanding of robots’ place in popular culture and science, Museum of Robots is a natural fit with the retro-futuristic world of Space Hospital. Speaking to their connection, Museum of Robots Co-founder Vicki Küng (Bibi Bayliss in Second Life) said, "Space Hospital is made with so much love, respects the heritage of the retro-futuristic genre, and has a healthy dose of irreverence: it is a perfect and special blend. We are proud to be able to give Space Hospital its first virtual world screening and introduce a new world to the adventures of the robots and humans of this very entertaining serial.”

 Of special interest to Museum of Robots, of course, are the robots of Space Hospital. Season I introduced CRONOS, the omniscient central computer, and Lenny Roboticus (a.k.a. Lovable Robot) who has a benevolent but conflicted relationship with the humans he serves alongside. Both robots were creatively handmade by co-creator Robert Poe.

 Space Hospital was created by Second City alumni Sigurd Ueland and Robert Poe and is produced by Susan Stoebner. More about the world and its creators can be found at www.spacehospital.tv where there are links to join us on Twitter and Facebook along with a link to the Company Store where fans can purchase a Space Hospital thong, a CRONOS refrigerator magnet or a “clone-in-training” t-shirt. An episode guide is provided on the website along with links to episodes at www.funnyordie.com/spacehospital or www.youtube.com/spacehospital.

 Museum of Robots is located in the online 3-D virtual world of Second Life® and is dedicated to the appreciation of robots, featuring exhibits, art, and special events. Exhibits include: "'Bots, Bugs & Beasts: The Art of Joshua Ellingson," "From Teapot to Robot: The Sculpture of Clayton Bailey"; "'Robots and Donuts: The Art of Eric Joyner," and 'Celebrity Robots Hall of Fame,' featuring famous robots of film and television. In Second Life, Museum of Robots is located at [http://slurl.com/secondlife/Kubrick/98/161/26].

The US Army is sponsoring the Robotics Rodeo:
"Howdy, partners. It's time to saddle up for the Robotics Rodeo! The U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) and Fort Hood III Corps want you to demonstrate your innovative and new unmanned ground systems technologies to the U.S. Army user and research and development communities at the Robotics Rodeo at Fort Hood, Texas, from Aug. 31 through Sept. 4, 2009."

 http://tardec.army.mil//newtardecweb/roboticsrodeo.aspx

 Museum of Robots has loved cowbots for a long time and has just the right product for fans of the concept:

Le Petit Prince will grow plants in hostile environments when Earth is so FUBAR that we have to toss it away and move on.

 Silent Running is again required viewing:

 http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/ariel-schwartz/sustainability/le-petit-prince-robot-grows-earths-plants-mars