Interesting kickstarter here, PetBot
The product promises to allow you to interact with, and feed your pet from abroad, pretty rad eh?
From the kickstarter campaign,
“Most people with pets find themselves away from their furry companions while living hectic lives. PetBot is a unique technology that allows you to interact with your pet while at work, in meetings, making overtime, commuting, or having an after-work drink. With PetBot you can feed, reward, and connect with your pet anywhere and anytime.”
There’s more information on the website, you ought to check it out.
Now…please, meet me on the other side of the aircraft carrier.
psst, you there
Now, the PetBot doesn’t promise any kind of higher intelligence functions, and I don’t see how it could move around autonomously… but I wouldn’t outright blind myself to the possibility. I would be mindful of this in a fashion similar to my fear of waking up in bed with my fridge in the doorway… paralyzed with fear, I lay in my bed, frozen. I squeeze my eyes tight as the fridge approaches. It opens its doors, I feel the cool air pouring over me, it pulls me inside of it. The dream is always the same. I can hear the hum of the compressor at all hours of the day…
No one is going to spend time worrying about their fridge, and I suppose in a similar vein, one ought not fear the product which helps them communicate with their beloved pets.
If anything, the greater fear is of the animals reprogramming the PetBot, and then colluding with the refrigerator to hold you captive in your own home… your own fridge… the crisper twitching, beating like a heart, tapping your leg, a horrifying ever-present reminder that you continue to be preserved only because it chooses to… stares off into the distance
In short, if you’re dealing with anything of higher intelligence than that of a toaster (they’re all the same to me, but scientists say the toaster is the simplest, and thus the most naive of all household electronics) you should be alert to changes in your devices. Say, if they seem more tired during the day, or if they seem distant, agitated, perhaps scuffed, damaged without explanation, or boastful of Battlebot victories– especially if they are boastful of Battlebot victories…
Ah yes… a best of Battlebots treat. ugh… all of this toaster violence really ought to be insulated by…say… A ROCKET. Yes, rockets, the gentle cows of technology.
ahhh, much better. Rockets are sweet.
And now that our palettes are properly cleansed, the best of Arrested Development’s Tobias Fünke, the best of Tobias Fünke.
Hey, it’s Friday already. Good news for those of us who wanted it, and a sobering reminder of the accelerating perception of the passage of time for the rest of us.
stares off blankly again
– J
