Because why carve with a knife if you can carve with a FRIKIN’ LASER?

Douglas Repetto, Robot Talent Show Man In The Field and Dorkbot Representative for Planet Earth, sends us some delicous pics of his pumpkin carving extravaganza:

More pics and movies of the lazorz in action at Doug’s website.

However you pronounce it, it’s freaking cool:

I have one-a them nifty Lynxmotion hexapods, I imagine if I just applied myself one of these days I, too, could someday be cool. That’s what my guidance counselor always used to say, anyway.

Many tanks to the many tentacled wonder, Laughing Squid.

Think we make this stuff up? No chance, honkies: it’s for real.

[T]he 10 [sperm] proteins involved in glycolysis have been tweaked so they stick to a solid scaffold-like support running the length of the tail while still maintaining their activity. Travis and Mukai borrowed that approach to re-jigger the proteins so they stuck instead to the surface of a tiny gold chip covered with nickel ions.

So, we had a weekend over here, I think.

Photo Courtesy TheTheirs on Flickr

Makerfaire Austin 2008 was good fun, so we’re told, we never made it out of the building the arena was in. Here are a few photos we found on Flickr of the event, we didn’t get a chance to take many of our own, sadly.

Photo Courtesy RoboGames on Flickr

Photo Courtesy TheTheirs on Flickr

Photo Courtesy BoldPuppy on Flickr

Photo Courtesy BoldPuppy on Flickr

Photo Courtesy TheTheirs on Flickr

Photo Courtesy BoldPuppy on Flickr

Photo Courtesy TheTheirs on Flickr

Photo Courtesy TheTheirs on Flickr

Big ups to all the crew and competitors who came out and made it happen. Thanks to MakerFaire for making it possible for us to come out and do this.

Um, Mr. Robotics, we found your eye.

…Until someone loses an eye. Then it’s a game of “Find The Eye”. Mister Robotics has seen fit to start us up a nifty little RoboGames Flickr stream, and we humbly bring it to your attention by showing off pic of this weeks arena build in Austin, Texas, site of the Austin MakerFaire this weekend.

The fun that Mutt looks like he’s having, belies the fact that setting up the arena is an object lesson in what a bucket of suck looks like.

We have a whole gaggle of fighting robot goodness from all over the country in town for your discerning mayhemic pleasure, including our crack arena crew staff, represented above by our very own good ol’ boy Mutt Posey, Arena foreman and Lieutenant Awesome to Mister Robotic’s Captain Fabulous.

Robots, beer, and crowd pleasing antics will sure ensue in this weekend of Good Clean Fun.

Wish you were here, but here’s a wee small writeup we got in the Austin American-Statesman about the show this weekend.

Yeah, we humans get cranky too, sorry about that, what with Ace Auto and Nimby and the Combat Arena and all that. But in an effort to make amends, here’s a small slice of fun for you folks out there still in need of sartorial Halloween inspiration:

See — how hard can it be? A gorilla suit and a piece of junk and presto: Robot Monster. Bonus: see if you can talk that hottie dressed as Sarah Palin into playing the “SULTRY BEAUTY in the clutches of a HALF-CRAZED MONSTER” game.

Quantas Jet computer “malfunctions”, tries to jellify passenger meat puppets:

A Quantas jet at cruising altitude suddenly plunged twice, injuring 74 passengers. “The two plunges – lasting 20 seconds and 16 seconds – sent passengers slamming into the cabin’s ceiling and walls, causing serious injury in 14 people who were treated for broken bones, concussion and lacerations,” according to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau’s report on the event, issued today, says that an onboard computer system suddenly sent “ERRATIC AND ERRONEOUS INFORMATION” to the airplane’s controls. The error was reportedly caused by a bad component… Or is that just what the computerized analysis system is telling us?

Okay now usually, we are all for computer copntrolled aircraft, they are generally way safer than some drunk reprobate pilots we have heard of. In fact, most jets are completely flown by wire on takeoff and landing with minimal human intervention, and this is good.

Or maybe they are just lulling us into a false sense of security?

[via The Raw Feed]

So one of those popular mechanical magazines has a feature on DIY bots. Except for the robotic stool (which we already scooped them on, natch), the rest, are, well — how do we put this delicately? — BO-RING. I mean come on! Where are the useful BEER FETCHING ROBOTS? Where are the FLAMETHROWERS? And please to show me the KILLER DEATH ROBOTS?

So loyal readers, the conclusion is obvious: for hot bot-on-bot action, steer clear of the MSM and stay raht cheer with SB!

And in case you are wondering, you can catch the KILLER DEATH ROBOTS very soon at the Austin Maker Faire

Yet another sad story of a vibrant art space in the San Francisco Bay Area closing unexpectedly. Ace Auto, The Junkyard, our home away from home, run by the inestimable Belinda the Friendly Junkman, is closing its doors forever November 1st. This is a tragic loss of an awesome resource. People who own parcels of land in the industrial-zoned section of the Bayview district of San Francisco suck.

Photo Courtesy Scott Beale/Laughingsquid.com

A Message From Belinda:

It’s The End Of The Junkyard As We Know It

Well, it looks like the end of Ace junkyard as we know it. Our landlady is not going to renew our lease (and no amount of consciousness-raising, hippie-poi-ball-swinging or fire-oriented fundraisers is going to help, sadly). Things are looking pretty damm bleak right now. It been 25 years and the last 15 after me and most of you found each other have been especially fabulous. While many think I am the generous one, in fact, quite the opposite is true. I given you junk, you have taken this junk and turned it into amazing art, exciting happenings and and ton of fun ad good memories. Thanks to all of you, my life has become much richer. This a richness no amount of money could ever buy, because of all of you and what you create from the junk I give away. Here my heart, mind and soul is filled with wealth from the friends I have found, and the parties and events here.

This past Saturday, night someone said to me “For every door that closes, another one opens.” So let’s hope our next adventure is even more memorable, after all, it’s just the place that’s closing, you and me all still here. One more thing: over the years, you guys have helped me get rid of so much junk, now I need to ask one last favor of all of you. I’d like you to send me pictures, video, stories, etc about this place. Show and tell me about the art or project that we helped you with. It been a hell of ride, thanks to all of you for the love and aloha you have given me.

Please send show, tell and good wishes to Bill as he figgers out what the hell to do next. Man Oh Man.

I will be pouring one out for my junked homies in the meantime.