[extropy-chat] robot racing

Spike spike66 at comcast.net
Sat Feb 28 17:57:26 UTC 2004


> Robert J. Bradbury
...
> 
> So for example, I have met Amara only once in my life.
> On the other hand I have met Spike many times.  So Spike-R
> has to be a bit more accurate than Amara-R for me to
> say "Ok, that effectively is Spike".  Spike-R has to
> have a strange sense of humor, has to like working on
> and riding motorcycles and be a very clever engineer... Robert

Contraire: there are other geekmeisters like me, but 
there is only one Amara-like being on this planet.  
Robert you are too kind.  Many interesting topics are
being discussed while I am missing in action, and this
is why:  

You may have heard there is to be a robot race thru the
desert from Barstow to Las Vegas in a couple weeks.  This
is sooo waaayyy cool: few restrictions on what you can
build, but it has to be completely autonomous, no remote
controls of any kind, no overhead observers etc.  The
terrain is some of the cruelest one could find anywhere,
right thru the roughest Taxifornia desert.  DARPA is
offering a milllllion bucks to the winner, so long as
they get across the 210 mile course in 10 hours or less,
which in itself is quite a challenge.  {8-]

There is a good article about it in the March 04 issue
of Popular Science, and I am told this month's Scientific
American has an article too (my subscription ran out.)  In
any case, I want to go down and watch that if possible, or
if nothing else, go to Barstow, watch them take off, then
ride around to Vegas and see if anyone bags the cash. {8-]

A couple weeks ago, I bought another new old motorcycle:
new to me but it has gone a skerJILLION miles, and its never
been taken apart or serviced at all.  I got it for a really 
good price, started tearing her down and found a buuunch of
mechanical issues that must be resolved before Im ready to 
take her down thru the central valley.  So Ive been up to 
my fanny in grease, googling around, searching for parts 
bikes, eBaying my brains out, transferring parts from another
bike I already own that is just like it, 600 bucks later and 
Im not finished yet.  Today I get to reassemble the secondary 
gear case and hope for the best.  If all goes well, tomorrow 
evening I will be riding.  Then a couple days after that, 
vacation in Florida (bike week in Daytona!) then when I get 
back, that robot race on the 13th of March.
  
Kewwwalllll.  {8^D

Anyone else going to go that race?  That is Doug Jones the
rocket plumber's neighborhood.  Anyone heard from him in a
long time?  We aughta find him and have an extropian nanoschmooze 
at the finish line or something.  If the weather permits, I 
might take my camping gear and sleep out in the desert that 
Saturday night.  And hope a rattlesnake doesn't crawl into 
my sleeping bag.  {8^D  If you've never camped under the 
desert stars, that is a kick in itself.

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.03/robot.html?pg=1

http://www.scienceblog.com/community/article2292.html

http://www.cmu.edu/cmnews/031120/031120_race.html

Is this a cool geekathon or what?  Any predictions?  Im
guessing no one will get across there in 10 hrs this year.  
We aughta put together an entry for next year.  {8^D  spike









   








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