Feb 04
Alexander Goldinsky deliberately threw ice on the floor before orchestrating the accident, authorities allege.
Feb 04
With the recent cold snap here in the midwest, I’ve been downing cups of tea like they’re going out of style. At times, I even imagine taking a swim in some chai or mint tea since it smells so good. Of course, if you’re going to fill a swimming pool with tea, you’re going to need some pool floaties. Or is that Float-Teas?
The wacky minds over at Fred came up with these cute and clever tea infusers that look like inflatable pool floats. But not to worry about keeping these ones filled with air. They’re actually made from stainless steel, and offer a compartment inside for your loose tea. Simply fill, and float in a mug of hot water, and your mini pool will soon be filled with a delightfully-fragrant beverage.
The Float-Tea is available in pink flamingo, unicorn, and swan designs, and they’re just $15 each from Fred. Now if only tea water was blue or green instead of brown…
Feb 04
I had this fun idea to make a video called “Real dog vs. robot dog,” where Henri (my Maltese Shih Tzu) and Aibo would go head to head performing a dozen tricks like high-five, bark and play dead. Aibo arrived, however, when I was simultaneously battling a cold and dog-sitting for my best friend. Because two days with Aibo didn’t allow for much time to teach him tricks, I decided to give him free rein to explore the apartment while I followed him around with my iPhone in a Theraflu haze.
As expected, Aibo was incredibly cute, does a bunch of tricks and can learn new ones with practice and patience. Brian goes in-depth here.
Pack life
The (real) dogs were curious at first, and would sniff Aibo (his butt rather), but shortly afterwards would ignore him, despite his numerous attempts to engage with them. If this were elementary school, Aibo would be the smelly new kid no one wanted to play with.
Like a real dog
We were told each Aibo was programmed to have a unique personality. The Aibo we received was a defiant little one that would obey orders half the time. He was also needy and would constantly try to get my attention. Unlike a real dog though, I could tell him to go to his charging station or turn him off.
Although his OLED eyes were meant to be expressive and help mimic a puppy’s endearing personality, they can be creepy at times, especially when he does the side-eye or when his pupils dilate.
Room for improvement
Aibo’s impressive for a robot companion dog, but with a $2,899 price tag, I’d like to suggest the following features for the next iteration:
- Fur. Aibo isn’t very cuddly, and it’s a bit more difficult to get emotionally attached to a cold, shiny object rather than, say, a teddy bear.
- Better movement. He would get stuck between rooms or at the edge of the rug and hardwood floors. He’s also quite slow. Watching him performing certain tricks and getting settled into his docking station was like waiting for a .jpg to load on dial-up.
- The ability to read your expressions, so he knows when you’re sad and can act accordingly.
- A fart feature, so you can blame your farts on Aibo.
Sony plans to roll out a security package in Japan that uses Aibo’s on-board sensors to keep your home safe. I’m not quite sure what that entails, but if Aibo’s eyeballs could be used as cameras to stream video footage on your smartphone while you’re not home, and alert you when someone’s there, that alone would justify the price tag.
This U.S. version, however, is available now.
Feb 04
If there’s one feature that already seems to be defining the next Android release, it might be built-in Dark Mode. Users, developers, and Google itself have all flirted with dark themes at one point or another but Android Q might be the first to bring a polished and system-wide dark mode for the entire platform. But while it does seem … Continue reading
Feb 04
Feb 04
You’re entering the vicinity of an area area adjacent to the Superb Owl. The kind of place where there might be some sports, or some sort of weird advertisements. These are just examples. It could also be something much better, like Jordan Peele inviting you to follow him into the CBS’s new Twilight Zone.
Feb 04
Feb 04
Feb 04
Feb 04
These days there are certain things that you should not joke about if you don’t want to get into trouble with the law. For example joking about having a bomb on board an airlines could get you kicked off the flight and arrested. More recently a 13-year old boy was arrested after telling Siri he wanted to shoot up a school.
According to the reports, the 13-year old told Siri, “I am going to shoot up a school.” Siri then (disturbingly) pulled up a list of several schools in the area (presumably it interpreted the boy’s statement as wanting to know what schools are in the area). The boy then took a screenshot of his conversation with Siri and posted it on social media where one of his friends saw the post and called the cops.
He was then arrested and was held at the Porter County Juvenile Detention Center on intimidation charges. However the authorities don’t seem to believe that there was any real intention behind the posting, and that it was more than likely meant as a joke. However one can never be too safe which is why such postings are all treated seriously, joke or not.
According to the police’s press release, “The threat is not believed to be credible at this time; however, these types of communications are taken very seriously by the Valparaiso Police Department and our community. We continue to work with the Valparaiso Community Schools to ensure the safety of the students and staff.”
Boy Arrested After Telling Siri He Wanted To Shoot Up A School
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