no disassemble scooby doo!

neat article about robots in combat environments, and the reactions people have to them. a snip (but it's all good):


Ted Bogosh recalls one day in Camp Victory, near Baghdad, when he was a Marine master sergeant running the robot repair shop.
That day, an explosive ordnance disposal technician walked through his door. The EODs, as they are known, are the people who -- with their robots -- are charged with disabling Iraq's most virulent scourge, the roadside improvised explosive device. In this fellow's hands was a small box. It contained the remains of his robot. He had named it Scooby-Doo.
"There wasn't a whole lot left of Scooby," Bogosh says. The biggest piece was its 3-by-3-by-4-inch head, containing its video camera. On the side had been painted "its battle list, its track record. This had been a really great robot."
The veteran explosives technician looming over Bogosh was visibly upset. He insisted he did not want a new robot. He wanted Scooby-Doo back.

where are they now?

Ever wondered where Spinal Tap are now? Well, thanks to their upcoming reunion for Live Earth, you can find out. See the 15 minute short film here:

http://www.liveearth.msn.com/spinaltap

(via Boing Boing)

red symons?

From Red Symons? I assume it's the same Red Symons that's been on the ABC of late, and before that was on Hey Hey It's Saturday... he's more than made up for that if this is him with a series of great little videos - this is my favourite of them so far:

More from here and also here.