Robot Fighting #6

Remember that movie that came out last year that featured Hugh Jackman controlling robots to fight with?

It's fair to say that the movie-verse has crossed over to real life. On February 26th this year, Syfy, the international channel for science related shows, announced that they would be premiering a new show where people fight each other... using robots. I would agree that this sounds like a pretty cool concept at first, with metal scraping on metal and sparks flying for sure, but is it really morally correct?
The three laws of robotics state that 

1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws.

If a fight gets too intense between the people or the robot misfires, how are we to know that these robots would not be in violation of these laws? And people have a natural disposition to preventing cute furry small mammals from fighting against each other, but are the morals really so different that we can make large metallic machines do the same?

I mean, just look at those puppy dog eyes!

Sources:

http://sourcefednews.com/humans-fight-each-other-with-robot-surrogates/

http://www.syfy.com/robotcombatleague/about

http://www.giantfreakinrobot.com/sci/syfy-announces-real-steelstyle-robot-fighting-show.html

Monopoly Changes #5

About two weeks ago, the makers of Monopoly, the board game, decided to change the pieces and let America decide what the new piece is going to be because we are a democracy! (that doesn't really support the making of a monopoly but that's besides the point) Of course, since the decision was left to the internet, the chosen piece was... (drumroll please)... a cat!
Now I know that pieces have been changed in the past, for example, the Nokia 3360 and A glass of scotch used to be among the silver lumps of metal a player could choose, but I think that the cat is a particularly ridiculous choice for a monopoly piece, I feel that these monopoly pieces should try to reflect the most major objects of our era, and although the cat does dominate the internet,

 I don't feel that it is grounds to change the monopoly pieces. In all honesty though, does it really matter? Changing this monopoly piece isn't exactly going to make people run out to go buy more monopoly games, and with all the varied different types of monopoly, the classic board game isn't that classic anymore, it has fought to stay relevant in our society and I suppose I must commend the makers for that.
It doesn't mean I'm going to go buy Monopoly though.


Sources
http://sourcefednews.com/monopoly-pieces-that-fell-by-the-wayside/
http://abcnews.go.com/US/monopoly-gamers-choose-cat-replace-iron/story?id=18413338
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/06/monopoly-cat-piece_n_2629561.html

Cannibals in Court #4

On October 25th of last year, a New York cop, by the name of Gilberto Valle was arrested by the FBI for his plans to kidnap, rape, kill, and eat women. It is important to note that none of his plans were actually carried out, because the FBI was able to arrest him. Yesterday, his wife testified in court against him. His lawyers are defending him with the statement that since he never did any of these things, no charges can be pressed against him. Obviously, I disagree.
The problem is, they're right. In America, anyone is allowed to have sick, disgusting thoughts, as long as they don't act on them. But I would argue that Valle in this case, had the intent of acting on these plans. For goodness sake, he had files on his computer about over one hundred women that he stalked and was planning to cook. Files that he used police databases to get. If that's not a crime, I don't know what is. Did I mention that he was also offering up $5,000 on the internet for someone to kill and rape a woman for him, before he got the chance to eat her, because he didn't "want to be tempted the next time [he] abduct[ed] a girl.” Since he hasn't done anything, though, he is just some cop who has a weird fantasy about which he chats with others online about, which begs the question, Is that enough to convict him? I would hope so.


Sources:
http://sourcefednews.com/nyc-cop-totally-planning-to-eat-some-women/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKb5ZLgRR4E&list=PL8kma_GjQgWxiIbjU_JcWcjHMixor2AOW&index=2
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/27/cannibal-cop-trial-fbi-agent-corey-walsh-gilberto-valle_n_2772821.html
http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2013/02/27/cannibal-cop-chatted-barbecuing-woman-with-olive-oil-fbi-agent-testifies/

The Beethoven of Today #3

A nightclub. Many of us under 18 have never had the experience of going to one, but we certainly see enough about it on  the television and internet to know what goes on. There's alcohol, dancing, and a general party atmosphere with complete strangers. Some would argue that the most vital part of a nightclub is the music, which, after all sets the tone for the entire club.
"DJ'ing", creating the music for these clubs is not an easy task, it requires a higher level understanding of the music and how sounds from different tracks and songs blend together and whether they sound harmonious together or discordant. It's a difficult thing to do even for someone skilled in music. So what if I told you one of the most respected and talented DJs is actually deaf?
DJ Robbie Wilde has been in Hewlett Packard advertisements, played at this year's Consumer Electronics Show, the Sundance Film Festival, and even New York Fashion Week. The only catch? He's completely deaf in his right ear and 80% deaf in his left. He works harder than all of his fellow DJ's to not only keep up, but excel in his career.
I think that Robbie Wilde shows exactly how far hard work and determination can get you. For someone who has everything against him, to be able to do what he does, create beautiful music, even when he can't hear it, is incredible. His story is a testament to those who are hoping to follow their dreams, as long as one works hard and never gives up, they can do anything, which may sound cheesy, but true. So to sum up this story in an even cheesier way:

Sources:
http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/23/showbiz/deaf-dj/index.html?hpt=hp_c1
http://act.mtv.com/posts/interview-deaf-dj-robbie-wilde/
http://www.elektrodaily.com/news/2012/04/robbie-wilde-that-deaf-dj-documentary/