Angry Puppy

Disclaimer: I do have a sense of humor and laugh at lots of stuff that makes fun of gays. Taken as a whole, we’re a very curious people.

But playing to boring stereotypes isn’t funny. It’s not offensive; it’s just not funny. For example, think of the old black-guys-dance-like-this-and-white-guys-dance-like-this routine, which I saw just last week on some late-night stand-up show. If that was ever funny, it’s really not funny anymore.

With that out of the way, go read “A Brief History of Gay Robots” at Radar Online, and let me know what you think in the comments.

For the lazy, here’s a sample of their qualifications for being “gay”.

C3PO
“The fussy drone’s permanently agog eyes suggest a certain feyness.”

HAL 9000
He’s “prone to queeny fits of jealousy and rage.”

Data
He’s rated as “bi”, but it’s not clear for what reason. Possibly because he likes S&M and has a cat?

The worst offense is putting Bender on the list (rated “steak and beer”, which I guess means “straight”) without mentioning The Gender Bender!

In Episode 22 (look for it on blogs near you), we mention the quiz Name That Robot.

Here’s the link I promised along with Marc’s score. I know someone can do better on the first try, so send me your scores or I’ll have to listen to his gloating all weekend.

[Via Yes But No But Yes]

I’m not a huge Twitter fan.

Not because I don’t like it, but because I haven’t found a use for it yet. My less interesting friends only Twitter their dinner plans or what movie they’re watching. The more adventurous ones, besides being too busy to keep me updated, would probably be afraid of the legal consequences of Twittering their exploits.

If you do care what your friends are having for dinner, you may also be the type who wants to know when the plants need watering, which you can do with this Botanicalls Twitter. [Via Makezine.com]

“Botanicalls Twitter answers the question: What’s up with your plant? It offers a connection to your leafy pal via online Twitter status updates that reach you anywhere in the world. When your plant needs water, it will post to let you know, and send its thanks when you show it love.”

I have no particular use for this, but I like the concept.

Twitter from my apartment: “I’m on fire!”
Twitter from my oven: “Marc is burning dinner!”
Twitter from Saint Mark’s Comics: “There’s a sale on Number Six action figures!”

As for the plants, might I suggest replacing those needy beasts with the robotic venus flytrap pictured above? Your Pleo and Roomba need company.

The official Star Trek site has been updated again.

The forums are now active, so if you feel like kvetching, you can do it there. There’s also an official Star Trek Facebook group, so if you know exactly what the producers are doing wrong and exactly what they should do to fix it, I’m sure they’d love to hear from you.

Look! We’ve seen nothing but the trailer, yet the disappointment is palpable.

Fan 1: “We already have rudimentary droids that can clean carpets (e.g. the Roomba) so when the starship begins construction in 2244, why are the welders still organic? Why aren’t self-aware, autonomous robotic welders doing the job instead? Aren’t we supposed to consign robots to the more dangerous and mundane work in as little as 20 years?”

Fan 2: “I am already disappointed that A) The Enterprise looks like the movie version instead of the TV version and B) Continuity is further disregarded because I always thought the Enterprise was supposed to be assembled in space, and the trailer makes it look otherwise.”

Fan 3: “In episode 2F09, when Itchy plays Scratchy’s skeleton like a xylophone, he strikes the same rib twice in succession, yet he produces two clearly different tones. I mean, what are we to believe, that this is some sort of a magic xylophone or something? Boy, I really hope somebody got fired for that blunder.”

If you want to casually catch up on TOS, they’re available free and legal on Joost.

…or is that some kind of cheesy New Year’s costume?

Firefox 3.0 Beta 2 was just released, and I have to applaud the post-installation landing page. (Note: I don’t necessarily recommend downloading this beta as your primary browser. Mozilla intends it for developers. Release Notes)

Click to Enlarge

Over at Into the Fuzz, John Slater, Creative Director at Mozilla issues a challenge:

“Answer the unanswered questions…who is behind this rampaging robot? Are the UFO’s in the background working with or against it? What’s the significance of it all? Post your theories in the comments section - the best one gets a Firefox t-shirt.”

In Windows-only news, Internet Explorer 8, which is expected to be released as a beta in 2008, has just passed the Acid2 test. If you’re not into web development, trust me, that’s not as exciting as it sounds. If you *are*, then, trust me, it’s more exciting than it sounds.

And rounding it all out, on Monday Apple released a security update for the Windows version of Safari 3. The issue addressed?

“Visiting a malicious website may result in the disclosure of sensitive information”

Fun.