Lore on cheap robots, Warren on reality TV

This robot does not come with an instruction booklet, because if it did the booklet would just read, "Turn it on." All the Mini Roboraptor does is walk, and poorly at that. It shuffles awkwardly forward. If you gave it a little bathrobe and a miniature cup of coffee it would look like a retired civil servant getting the morning paper. Seriously, those little sparking wind-up Godzillas are more impressive, and cheaper. For the price of the Mini Roboraptor you could buy four sparking wind-up Godzillas and have them walk down the street like a kaiju version of Sex and the City.

How it could make your life easier: If you have to select one of your possessions to pound into shards with a lead pipe, the decision will be simple.

Also, Warren Ellis says what we're all thinking re: "reality" TV:

The 20 “castaways” in the 13th season of US reality show Survivor will be divided according to their ethnicity.

The contestants will be segregated into four “tribes” of blacks, whites, Asians and Latinos when the hit CBS programme returns on 14 September…

(And here we thought that stuffing the Big Brother house with the seriously mentally ill was the worst we’d see this year)

Hippo birdies

To bon vivants and men-about-town dexfarkin and Stephen Fry. Whom I've never seen together at the same time. Hrm.

Meme-like, yet not very interesting

I had just enough time to wolf down a salad and do this. I'm not sure if I like busy days or not.

Picspam post-Pluto

Eight planets. That doesn't seem right. I don't think we should be allowed to demote Pluto without obligingly, say, destroying it. Anyhow. ( 32 pics below.... )