Gizmodo: massachusetts

Rockport Paper House Is Most Ambitious Papercraft Ever

Elaine Chow — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 09:30:00 EDT

Back in 1922, a mechanical engineer began building his summer home in Rockport, Massachusetts, out of paper. Originally used just as insulation, Elis Stenman soon began to make furniture and decorations out of paper as well. What resulted was Rockport's Paper House, which is remarkably still standing after 80 years. Stenman's grandniece is now in charge of the house, which was turned into a museum in the 1930s.

The wall material, roughly an inch thick, is made out of pressed newspapers, glue and varnish—which keeps it waterproof. After finishing the walls in 1924, Stenman began using paper to build things around the house. He would roll newspapers up until they were roughly half an inch thick, and then cut them, glue them and nail them to create one-of-a-kind pieces of papercraft.

All furniture in the house is made out of paper, except for the brick fireplace and the insides of the piano. Stenman's grandniece told local reporters she had no idea why her granduncle decided to embark on the project, but quipped that it could have been because paper was cheap—everyone gave him the materials for his house for free. [The Contaminated]

Wiimote, iPhone are New Tools of War

Haroon Malik — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 20:30:00 EDT

David Bruemmer and Douglas Few, engineers at the US Department of Energy's Idaho National Lab in Idaho Falls, have put together an unlikely use for the Wiimote—they've hacked the remote so it can control a bomb-disposing, landmine-detecting, machine gun-carrying robot.

The Packbot robot, which is manufactured by iRobot in Massachusetts, is 70 cm long, transports itself via inbuilt tracks and is usually controlled via joystick-like device. However, the joystick method is problematic because it separates speed and direction controls, therefore requiring the soldier's undivided attention. The Wiimote hacks works exactly as you would expect; by simply waving the remote around the robot moves accordingly, and when an object of explosive interest is detected, the Wiimote's in-built vibration feedback goes nuts. We're guessing the B-trigger shoots the on-board machine gun, and if it doesn't, it definitely should.

The crazy modding pair plan to get to work on the iPhone next. They reckon soldiers should not need to lug laptops around with them when a modified iPhone could do the task equally well. First stop; iPhone controlled Packbot, complete with streaming footage. Now, there's something you won't get going on WinMob. [New Scientist]

People of Massachusetts to be Having Sex With Robots by 2012

Haroon Malik — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 15:30:00 EDT

MSNBC is running a report on the impending likelihood of legalized marital relations with robots. They have word from a leading researcher at the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands, Dr. Levy, who seems to think peeps will be getting freaky with their robots by 2012, with marriage following by 2050. One thing is for sure; Gizmodo shall be supporting the revolution all the way! Dr. Levy said:

"Once you have a story like 'I had sex with a robot, and it was great!' appear someplace like Cosmo magazine, I'd expect many people to jump on the bandwagon."

We are thinking you could probably drop the phrase "with a robot," as well as the blurb after the exclamation mark, and still have us convinced. Dr. Levy goes on to suggest that Massachusetts will be the first state to contain a robot-human sexing population. He justifies his theory by stating:

"Massachusetts is more liberal than most other jurisdictions in the United States and has been at the forefront of same-sex marriage."

Though we aren't too sure the reasoning is sound, we have already seen Roomba owners gaining an emotional attachment to their machines. Whether they will be putting their winkles in the Roomba's dinkle and allowing it to have a tinkle, we very much doubt. However, if sexbots get this real (NSFW), well, perhaps the ethics of robosexuals is a serious debate, after all. If that was a bit too technical for you, don't hit up the link for a more detailed overview of the human-robot emotional landscape and its likely evolution. [MSNBC image via What the Heck]

Diebold Sues Massachusetts Because the State Doesn't Like Them

Adam Frucci — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 18:10:00 EDT

Diebold, everyone's favorite manufacturer of easily hacked voting machines, wasn't happy when the Commonwealth of Massachusetts decided to go with one of their competitors when purchasing voting machines for the disabled. In fact, their feelings were so badly hurt by the snub that they've decided to sue the state.

Yes, Diebold is suing because Massachusetts chose competitor AutoMARK instead of them. Why is it worth suing the state over this? Because Diebold thinks their machines are better. That's the reason. Really. That's the only reason. I'm speechless. –Adam Frucci

Boston.com [via SlashDot]