Feb 15 2013
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Science

A Valentines Song about Alan Turing

Eliza was the first chattbot and first program to take the Turing test. Technically of course she didn’t pass, but that doesn’t mean she didn’t make an impression.
For those of you who don’t know. Alan Turing was forced by the British government to take hormone treatments for his homosexuality, which was illegal at the time. Though I think his true love was really computers. The governments treatment of him no doubt contributed to his suicide… No I don’t think that is too much of a bummer for Valentines Day.

Just so there isn’t any confusion, Alan Turing actually died 1o years before the invention of ELIZA. I just have the bad habit of liking to fictionalize and romanticize real events in science history.

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Feb 05 2013
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Art

8-bit Alberto Salazar

It’s been quite a while since last post. Roboheart has once again joined the legions of zombie blogs on the interwebs. It’s not because I am lazy, even though I am. I’ve just been too busy doing contract work to muse about the future. Well, too busy to do it in any organized way. The above video is one of several freelance jobs I’ve had since the last robo post. It was a contract job for Adam Gothelfo of gothelf.tv. I’ll post links to some other freelance pixel art at a later date.

Oct 08 2012
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Scifi

Cult of Regenerative Personality

Doctor Who is a cult.  Not in a Rocky Horror Picture Show way.  Although yes, it is cult in a Rocky Horror Picture Show way too.  But in a more traditional sense of the word.  The general definition of a cult is a group of people “bound together by veneration of the same thing, person, ideal(, etc)”.  It can, and often does, involve rituals (such as compulsively offering or eating jelly babies) and symbols (such as a blue box).  We typically imagine cults as a closed group with a strange mythos, and people are lured into the group by a charismatic leader.  Once a person is inside the guarded group different techniques are used to keep them there, including forms of mind control.  So how did this happen, right under our noses?  How did the Doctor manage to get so many helpless and beautiful young women to drink his wibbly-wobbly kool aid?

Let’s throw a link to Wikipedia in here that will help us illustrate just how he accomplished this dastardly feat.  Some of the mind control tactics used to ease victims into this exciting lifestyle of cult-dom are:   Continue reading →

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Oct 01 2012
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Art

Pixel Island

I made a 32×32 pixel animation for some reason. I guess the appeal was to do something as minimal as possible.

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Sep 25 2012
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Art, Scifi

The Doctor and a Dalek (Spoilers)

The first episode back in this season of Doctor Who introduced the woman who will play the next companion in the form a of Dalek who used to be human and who still thinks she IS. It seems likely that this is just a case of the show starting her off in a different role, to then be reintroduced later as someone else. They have done it before. But I really hope that is not the case. I want a Dalek as the next companion. Continue reading →

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Sep 07 2012
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Art, Gaming

Oh No! Its a Another Beast Jesus Meme


I feel kind of sorry to join the meme parade and don’t mean this to be insulting to Christians.

Elderly-woman-destroys-19th-century-fresco-with-DIY-restoration.html

I promise not to make a “Long Cat” video or something like that. On second thought, that actually sounds like a good idea, but I’m sure by now someone must have already imagined that as a video game. Also this is the second Shadow of the Beast related animation I’ve made.

http://www.nickquest.com/animations/Shadow.swf
I loved that game growing up, yet for some reason I keep violating its memory with oddball videos.

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Aug 18 2012
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Art, Gaming, Software

The Roboheart Game That Never Was

Once upon a time, this guy was to be the roboheart mascot and star of his own video game, but I totally lost interest and never made it much past basic character design. The idea was to have the robot upgrade himself as the game progressed eventually filling the heart shaped hole in his chest. Yeah… not brilliant. A sympathetic if basic character that may have deserved better though. I started making it with Power Game Factory which was a cool piece of software at the time, but hasn’t been updated in years. Anyway you can now look at these 3 rough game animations I made back then.

3 robo animations

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Aug 12 2012
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Psychology, Science, Software

A Social Network for Climate Scientists

I’ve recently decided that human kind needs this even more immediately than brain augmentation.

There is no reason why large organized discussions about climate should be limited to yearly conferences. In fact it’s inexcusable in the internet age. I want to see a website that exclusively connects climate scientists, not only to expedite problem solving, but also to provide the public with a single reliable place to go to for the definitive scientific consensus on climate change. One reliable place for up to date data analysis on the front page that is easy enough for the layman to understand. Continue reading →

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Aug 04 2012
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Futurism, Gaming, Technology

I Want a Telepathic Computer

Or Else!!

Is that too much to ask?

I want more direct interaction. I want to draw with my mind. I want my computer to know when I’m frustrated. I want to navigate the digital realm like I am flying effortlessly through a lucid dreamscape.

Maybe it IS a lot to ask, but advances are being made. So much so that if some amount of mind control computing isn’t common and practical in a decade, I’ll be very disappointed.

The Mindflex and Star Wars Force Trainer are good examples of a very simple implementation of this technology. The user can levitate a ball with their mind, by controlling the speed of a fan. The user puts a gizmo on their head that measures their level of concentration and transmits a corresponding signal to the fan. You could easily see how this tech could be used to move a mouse pointer up and down with the exact same mechanism. An only slightly more advanced version could move it in all directions and have left and right click as well. Let’s not forget The Mindflex and Force Trainer are sub $100 toys that are now several years old. They don’t represent anything close to the cutting edge of technology. Continue reading →

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Jul 12 2012
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Gaming, Philosophy, Psychology, Uncategorized

Minecraftian Slip

There are two types of people in the world  Those that lead, and those that follow.  That is, until you enter the strange world of Minecraft and realize that there are many blocks of gray.  Freud would have a field day in this blocky world full of neurosis.  All the hidden obsessions you push deep inside of you are methodically brought out, block by block.

Block one.  You are obsessive.  Sure, in your daily 3 dimensional world you function fine.  You go to work, perform your menial tasks, then come home to watch reruns of Twin Peaks and eat Pringles.  You’re so relaxed, you don’t care that your shirt is pink because you stuck a red sock in the wash or that there are now Pringles crumbs all over the couch.  Is that gas you smell?  Did you leave the burner on?  Meh, not worried about it.  But then Continue reading →

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