Comments On Images Only Thread

[stefano]

Very cool, thanks Iam.

[semper occultus]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04ndsb3

...that documentary on Randi was shown on the BBC but looks like it only has one day left on BBC iplayer...

...I pass it on for those folk who know how to gain access to this source or other nefarious alternatives if they are interested...

[Jerky]

The author of "The English Speaking People - Will They Fail in Their Mission to the World?" was Bishop Wilbur P. Thirkield, one of America's post-Reformation anti-racist activists and personal friend to Booker T. Washington.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilbur_P._Thirkield

[Iamwhomiam]

Jerky, ya gotta remember to link to the image you're commenting on. Here's the link to the image Elvis posted you refer to:
http://rigorousintuition.ca/board2/styles/RI_2012/imageset/icon_topic_latest.gif

Glad you folk found the Randi bit interesting. I did as well; but I never would have recognized him as the aged man in the image, which is kinda creepy-cool.

The caption to Elvis' image posting here:

"Seven = Heaven,
Six = Styx."

[Elvis]

Hm, I see those little books are $80 on Amazon; as fascinating as it is, I might have to sell it!

I see the book as a residue of the whole Atlanticism / colonialism / Cecil Rhodes thing. "You're soaking in it."

[stefano]

On justdrew's pic of the revamped Daleks:



I now see those are actually real-life security robots in Silicon Valley that you can rent. Peachtree Pam posted about it in February. They can't exterminate... yet. What a strange place Silicon Valley is.

Rent A Robot Security Guard for $6.25 an Hour

After a multimillion-dollar investment round, robotics firm Knightscope has announced its plans to deploy autonomous guards for hire in Silicon Valley



Creating quite a buzz among robotics enthusiasts and media outlets, a number of robotic security guards recently toured Microsoft’s Silicon Valley campus during an industry event. Today, the bots’ makers announced that the success of their first rounds of funding — which raised over $5 million — will allow the company to put their automatons to work patrolling other Silicon Valley campuses in the near future.



Robotics firm Knightscope said, including converted funds from its seed round, it has raised an oversubscribed $5.2 million in Series A financing. In a press release, the company noted that the investment will help to accelerate its deployments of robotic security services in Silicon Valley while “aggressively” continuing technology development.

Knightscope’s autonomous data machines (ADMs) are autonomous robots with an array of surveillance sensors for monitoring various security conditions, each unit being capable of generating over 90 terabytes of data per year. In addition to wirelessly relaying surveillance data to Knightscope Security Operations Centers (KSOC) and providing real-time alerts to human staff, the robots offer a “physical and commanding presence in public places where security is needed,” the company explained.

Knightscope’s first machine, the K5, is now being made available via preorder on a MaaS (Machine-as-a-Service) rental basis. Select customers in Silicon Valley will be able to rent the ADMs for 24/7 deployments over one-, two-, or three-year terms, with a per-machine rental rate of $6.25 per hour. According to Knightscope, deploying K5 machines around outdoor corporate environments, data centers, shopping malls, and where private security guards are stationed “will free humans to address strategic tasks while the machines handle the monotonous, computationally heavy and sometimes dangerous tasks.”

Knightscope’s Series A funding round included participation from standing and new investors. NTT DOCOMO Ventures, Inc., Japan’s largest mobile services provider and Knightscope’s largest seed round investor, reinvested before the close of Series A alongside new investments from technology firm Konika Minolta, Inc. and electronic services company Flextronics.

William Santana Li, Knightscope’s chairman and CEO, previously commented that his inspiration for creating an ADM was a recent rise in school-related violence and other public threats. Today, he praised the “financial and strategic support of [investing] global leaders” that will allow Knightscope to begin integrating robotic security units into modern culture, often where and when human security staff are unavailable. “As important as our smartphones are to our lives today,” he added, “we will wonder in the future how we ever lived without these machines in our communities helping keep our families safe, our neighborhoods vibrant and our businesses thriving.”

The company also noted that strategic investors Konica Minolta and Flextronics stand to leverage their companies’ own strengths — such as a “world-class service infrastructure” and a global supply chain, respectively — in reaching a robotics-infused future. Ekta Sahasi, vice-president of Konica Minolta, expressed his company’s enthusiasm for the venture, as well as its participation in the effort:

We are extremely impressed with Knightscope’s vision and the team’s dedication to providing an all-inclusive service to its customers. Knightscope’s security solution utilizes some of today’s hottest technologies in Silicon Valley – autonomous technology, robotics, big data, predictive analytics, sensors and social engagement – and we are delighted to help Knightscope define the next generation of public safety where technology is embraced for the betterment of society.

Company representatives looking to learn more about Knightscope’s 2015 Silicon Valley 2015 deployments are encouraged to fill out the Preorder Survey on Knightscope’s Web site, the firm stated.

For extra dystopian disconnect, check this video. I can't tell if it's being narrated by a person or a robot - bet you can't either.



Big fuckers, wonder how fast they go.

[zangtang]

fiver says you can fuck it up with a skipping rope!

while i'm here,many thanks to all of you who stick all this mindbending & occasionally beautiful stuff up here - another fiver says i'm not the
only one whose all-time favorite thread this is..... I'm too technimpoop to contribute mself, so thanks.

any of you fancy trying to post the artwork of John Berkey? - for those who don't know, the most beautiful conceptions of what a spaceship should look like

- and thats a fact !

[Iamwhomiam]

http://www.johnberkey.com/gallery/space/

[zangtang]

sublime beauty - poetry of a future we're not going to see. When the affluence rolls in (good lord Jeeeezus soon please) i shall buy one.

Or three.

[Iamwhomiam]

I bet a well placed taser would have the same effect on an electronic sentinel as consuming a dram of liquid acid would have on a human.
Does Not Compute...Does Not Compute...

[Joe Hillshoist]

Shirtfront - definition: to give someone a koala.

[semper occultus]

..hey...good t'see you back Joe...

[conniption]

..hey...good t'see you back Joe...

Ditto.

[Joe Hillshoist]

Cheers.

Its nice to be back.

This place is still an intelligent up to date forum with a far better perspective than most.

I needed a break tho.

[Iamwhomiam]

This image accompanied this article.