Robot Thursday - Can I go and live in Detroit?

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/imaginationstation/detroit-needs-a-statue-of-robocop

http://www.detroitneedsrobocop.com/

Turns out the people of Detroit are getting a new statue, erected to one of their most famous and awesome robot sons - Robocop. According to this article from KickStarter, a crowdfunding website, it's not even a made up fact. Following an amazing and inspired tweet sent to the Mayor of Detroit, and a flurry of subsequent crowdfunding, it looks like they've raised enough money and it's going to go ahead. Watch this space for updates.

Robot Tuesday - On the front line

Photo from QinetiQ @ wired.com

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/02/1-in-50-troops-robots/

Here's an article from Wired about how one in 50 U.S. troops in Afghanistan is actually a robot. It's not some terrifying undercover android scenario, but in fact there are around 2,000 different robots sent out there for bomb disposal, manning (well, roboting) checkpoints, and other cool (and, in some cases, classified) activities. It's not clear how many of the 2,000 robots are actually in active use, but there is evidence that the robots have definitely saved human lives, by going ahead and sweeping for bombs.

There's also an interesting point made that they already widely use airbots, such as unmanned scout planes, since there's less of a problem with bumping into things when you're in the air. Who knows - maybe with more developments in robots-not-bumping-into-things technology, we could see a more harrowing all-robot combat scenario, like from Terminator or something. Or, you know, just use robots to save more lives and stuff.

Superbowl Cookie Experiment

Today is Superbowl day, and this obviously calls for some kind of snack-based foodstuffs to eat whilst watching a sport we don't understand and shouting at the TV when things happen we don't understand.

I found this recipe on the internet, and immediately I had lots of ideas about ways in which to modify this recipe, using various biscuits I have here in he house. Inspired by http://www.bakeitinacake.com, the following experimental biscuits have been made:

1. Oreo cookie sandwiches, as given in the recipe above
2. Jaffa Cake cookie sandwiches, because I can
3. Malted Milk biscuit cookie sandwiches (the ones with the cows on)
4. Control batch (just normal cookies).

The cookie dough recipe I used was from here, although I'd probably try to make a slightly stiffer dough for next time, since it did melt and spread quite far horizontally, meaning the cookies looked less like those pictured in the recipe and more like UFO biscuits.


Oreo cookie sandwiches (http://twitpic.com/3x7kyt)


Jaffa Cake cookie sandwiches (http://twitpic.com/3x7lc6)


Malted Milk biscuit cookie sandwiches (http://twitpic.com/3x7lqn)


Control cookies (http://twitpic.com/3x7m1i)

(The control cookies, of course, came out awesome).

Despite their extreme width, they all tasted pretty phenomenal, due to the fact that they were made of cookie dough and incorporated other kinds of biscuit. The interior of the Oreo sandwiches (the interioreo) looks a lot like the ones in the original recipe, if you ignore the big flat round cookie bit.


Oreo cookie sandwiches, interior (http://twitpic.com/3x7m7q)


Jaffa Cake cookie sandwiches, interior (http://twitpic.com/3x7mfk)


Malted milk cookie sanwiches, interior (http://twitpic.com/3x7mvc)

So in conclusion, baking has, as always, resulted in delicious baked goods, and the addition of further existing baked goods baked into the centre of the baked goods has only improved the situation.