Use Twitter to Stalk and Meet Celebrities, or How to Get a Man Date with Shaquille O'Neal

Just when you think you have no cogent arguments for people who insist that things like Twitter and Facebook are "mindless" and "nonsensical," a beautiful story emerges of how a technology like Twitter can encourage some meaningful, memorable connections and make other people's days a little brighter. Isn't that what life is all about? Magical.

Read on...

....oh and we're not celebrities, but you can follow us on Twitter if you dare.

Design the Future with Jacque Fresco

Imagine a world where war is outdated, there is no shortage of resources, and every human being enjoys a high standard of living.

Welcome to the future...by design.

Imagine Atrium will be showing the remarkable film, Future By Design, which profiles Jacque Fresco and The Venus Project, on Friday, November 14 @ 7pm, free of charge.

If you're in the NYC area, stop by and join us!

More info: www.imagineatrium.com

Bugs Passing Gas Might Help Us Live Better

Silicon Valley hopes that bug poo is the future of gas. Bacteria could be the answer to the oil crisis, aming other things. Check out this very interesting article from the Times of London.

"Telectroscope" Connects London, NYC

Hello, London! Jolly good show, New York!
read on...

Buy Your Own Child for Only 300 Bucks!

Well, just kidding. He's almost a child though....

Yesterday at the Wired Nexfest, David Hanson of Hanson Robotics showed off his pride and joy to groups of fascinated kids and adults. The object of all the attention? Zeno, an AI boy that has his own realistic facial expressions and mannerisms and who recognizes and remembers people's faces and names.

Zeno is named after, and based on, David Hanson's 18 month old son but has been in conception for the last 5 years. Zeno is technically still a prototype (he still has to be connected and positioned next to computers that communicate to him what expressions to make) but Hanson is hard at work on the little dude and plans to make Zenos available for people to buy within the next few years for around $200-$300.

Hanson sees robotics as artistic expression, and if you agree, then you'll admit that this is the epitome of art imitating life. The technology is truly fascinating and makes you wonder about what our world will be like in 50 years if everyone is walking around with robot kids (and robot girlfriends and boyfriends and bosses and friends even?) who look like them. Hanson might just be envisioning our future as such because he believes that the market for robot companions will be hot pretty soon. Some of the folks in Steven Spielberg's AI: Artificial Intelligence (rent this film if you haven't seen it. It's one of the best films of 2001) might beg to differ, however.

Check out the full story and video here.

Of course, if you're mildly creeped out by humanoid looking robots but still love technology and the marriage of art and science, and you have just a smidgen of tech geekiness in you, an awesome book to get you started is a brand new title called Making Things Talk: Practical Methods for Connecting Physical Objects.

And if you're majorly creeped out by robots and concerned about your future safety, this book is a must have: How To Survive a Robot Uprising: Tips on Defending Yourself Against the Coming Rebellion.

Drive a Car With Your Mind

The Associated Press recently released a story about Hitachi's development of a device that allows you to control the movement of electronic things by using nothing but your brain. The article also suggests that Honda may be looking to use similar technology to possibly develop cars that people can drive with their brains. How cool would that be? Very. I don't know how practical and safe, though. Imagine driving one of these next generation mindcars while listening to a Linkin Park album in your car or with two screaming kids kicking each other in the backseat. The roads could get quite ugly very fast (oh wait, we're in New Jersey...Fuggedaboutit!).

But seriously, the major focus of this technology seems to be in the direction of entertainment/personal use and also providing ways for people who are disabled to communicate and become more self-sufficient. It seems like something that could be very beneficial and practical to a whole lotta people, and the best thing is they won't have to insert any chips in your head.

Read all about it here.