Monthly Archives: May 2005

Just came back from a few days at E3, the massive video game conference that happens every year in Los Angeles. As usual, it was an experience in sensory overload that left me exhausted and slightly depressed by the end. … Continue reading →

Looks like Clara, who took a Sharper Image robot vacuum I was reviewing to preschool for show & tell, isn’t the only kid who loves to play with Roomba. And why not? Roombas are cute, unpredictable, a little bit scary … Continue reading →

Only a few days late here. She was born in the Midwest in 1933, when her dad earned $12 a week and movies cost a dime. It was the Depression, but she didn’t know it. … My mother used to … Continue reading →

According to the editors of Analog, circa 1984. Lee H. Pappas: Star Raiders Commander Level: Star Commander Class I, no shields used the entire game, 54 Zylons destroyed. April 20th, 1984. That’s it, that’s all. Twenty years from now, will … Continue reading →

Entertaining toys for anyone who might be contemplating a new child in the near future (and I know a few of you): Baby Name Wizard’s Name Voyager is an amazingly entertaining Java app that lets you see how the popularity … Continue reading →

A few years ago I was working on a story about copyright law for a magazine. For a factoid in that story, I spent an inordinate amount of time trying to figure out what proportion of the film industry’s revenues … Continue reading →

It’s not often that people who love and want to preserve wild land and wild species get to enjoy unmitigated good news. Every battle won is only a temporary win, while battles lost are permanent failures. Today’s wildlife preserve might … Continue reading →

I wonder if it has to take time-outs when it malfunctions? Japan Today – News – Sony’s Qrio robot attending nursery school in California While the children were at first apprehensive about Qrio, they now dance with it and help … Continue reading →

Robert Rodriguez’s inspiring 1995 book, Rebel Without A Crew, makes a convincing case that anyone can make movies–all you need is chutzpah, a few friends, and the ability to previsualize the entire movie in your head, so you can do … Continue reading →