I was unable to post a news entry this weekend, so some of these stories might be tired by now. I’ll try to focus more on the pertinent ones. Like Robocup (not to be confused with Robocop, one of the most fantastic movie franchises I have ever seen).
What is Robocup, you ask? Why, it’s only the premier forum for researchers to exhibit their soccer-playing, search-and-rescue robots and nanobots! And it’s happening this week! This year, 300 teams from 37 countries are competing at Robocup, which is being held on US soil for the first time ever. The essence of the competition is to further the robotics industry, but that’s not the real goal of Robocup. The competing robot teams are battling for more than just robotic dominance, they’re striving for universal dominance. The chief ambition of Robocup is to field a robot soccer team that can defeat the human world champions by the year 2050. Watch out, Brazil. Robots are coming.
• If you’re not living anywhere near Atlanta, you could go to the Roswell Festival in New Mexico. Er…you could have, I think it’s over already. Sorry I didn’t let you know sooner. 50,000 UFO fanatics were expected to attend this year’s festival, which brings together believers from across the globe. This year celebrates the 60th anniversary of the nearby crash landing of a flying saucer in Roswell (supposedly), so this year’s festival was sure to be extra special. With festival-goers spitting newsworthy quotes like, “”The secret world will fall. We want the truth embargo to end,” there is no doubt Roswell would have been perfect for a weekend of watching crazy people hyperactively screaming paranoid delusions about aliens. I wish I could have been there to see and hear it. [story]
• CNN is reporting that experts say pills are becoming the new marijuana on college campuses. In other news, water is wet, babies smell, and I wouldn’t mind being back on a college campus… [story]
• CNN is also reporting that a new study shows that men and women are “about equally chatty.” Yeah, I don’t think so CNN. [story]
• “A baby-faced 18-year-old has offered her virginity for the price of £10,000 ($NZ25,800) to help her pay for university tuition.” – Need I say more? [story] I just need to add, wouldn’t it suck if some old pedophile responds to the ad and “wins,” but the girl’s hymen was broken in a freak horseback riding accident when she was an adolescent? What…too obscene?
• An unidentified sea creature resembling both an octopus and a squid was caught of the coast of Hawaii’s Big Island. They’re calling it an “octosquid”. I for one hope we find more perverted mutations in the sea, because they always look really unsettling but taste delicious. Like fish, for example. Some fish taste good, once you get past the icky, gross exterior. Think of it as having sex with a fat girl. On an unrelated note, I have still yet to see photographic evidence of the legendary Allentown, PA “squabbit” population. [story]
• Headline: Music licensing companies come calling for royalties
Subject: Coffeeshops, bars and cafes are now being sent bills by BMI and ASCAP for royalties when local musicians perform anything other than their own original tunes. When is this shit going to stop? Ugh. [story]
By the way, can I borrow $NZ25,800? I uh…have an overdue book I have to return. Yeah, that’s it…an overdue book. No virgin-buying here! Just overdue-book returning!
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