Frantic Mantis: July 2006

Cosmic Blob

Monday, July 31, 2006


Cosmic Blob biggest thing in the universe.

[ LINK TO ARTICLE ]

Praying Manti Wise To Sexual Cannibalism Risk



If you were a male praying mantid, the top item on your prayer list would be to survive sex. Female praying mantids are notorious for eating males after they mate. Now for the first time, scientists have experimentally shown that the males are hip to the risk and not too keen on being food! Looks like us boys aren't as dumb as we look.

[ LINK TO ARTICLE AT LIVESCIENCE ]

Virtual real-estate

Thursday, July 27, 2006


This virtual being known as Anshe Chung is making about $150,000/year in real money. Things have officially gotten strange... welcome to the metaverse folks. Your mom is logged in.

[ ARTICLE ON CNN MONEY ]

Scientist Tried To Clone Mammoth?

Wednesday, July 26, 2006


"SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- Disgraced scientist Hwang Woo-suk denied Tuesday that he had spent research funds for personal use and said part of the money was used in failed attempts to clone mammoths, extinct relatives of today's elephants."

[ ARTICLE AT CNN.COM ]

Snus. Indeed.

Tuesday, July 25, 2006
[ Snus Trailer ]

Robot Ego.

Friday, July 21, 2006


Hiroshi Ishiguro and his latest robotic/android ego creation "Geminoid".

Price tag: 350.000 USD

[ Read Article - In Swedish ]

Maybe We Should Leave That Up to the Computer.



“As long as you have some history and some quantifiable data from past experiences, a simple formula will soon outperform a professional’s decision-making skills. It’s not just pie in the sky. I have the data to support this.”

- Chris Snijders of the Eindhoven University of Technology

[ Read the full story. ]

Numeric Wizard

Friday, July 14, 2006
Can you crack it?

[ Wizardy: A Game From Milaadesign ]

Yes, we like Robots.

Monday, July 10, 2006


The Robot Museum, Japan’s first museum fully dedicated to educating visitors about the robots of the world, is scheduled to open in Nagoya’s Sakae district in October, where everything from toy robots to industrial robots will be showcased in exhibits covering topics from robot history to the latest in robot technology. In Robots we trust.