Build Date: Mon Oct 5 14:42:36 2026 UTC
If I ever need to get rescued by a group of toddlers and a man with a yellow purse whose only extraction plan is to quickly eat Tootsie Rolls, just let me explode with the god damn plane.
-- Sean Baby
Deadly Robot Car Wreaks Havoc in Desert Rampage
2006-03-12 11:42:34
In this shocking video, a fully autonomous armored assault vehicle is seen performing manouvers somewhere in the California desert. Or maybe it's just a 1982 Toyota Camry. Decide for yourself.
[Please note, the headline and opening paragraph of this story are highly misleading. I'm sorry, but you have to admit that this version sounds better than "Internet Video from 2003 Makes Rounds Again".]
Check out what happens when several desert racing junkies combine a $170 junker car, a few hobby store servos, and a frighteningly insufficient brake actuator into a full-size R/C car. The action really gets started when they take the car out to the desert for a a test drive. The cameraman mounted a camera inside the cab of the car, which makes for some exciting footage during an abortive attempt at a barrel roll off of a dune. At the same time, a handheld camera shows us the eager onlookers standing only feet away from this hacked-together gasoline-powered toy as it flies through the air.
The really amazing thing about this video is just how much abuse a 1982 Toyota Camry can take. After multiple six-foot-plus high jumps (and subsequent landings), the Camry is still going. Even after being rolled, the car makes it back on the track after a wheel change.
Of course, all good things must end. When the giant R/C car finally catches fire after a particularly spectacular cartwheel landing, one of the crew helps extinguish the fire by pissing into the engine bay. Then several others run over the car with their giant trucks. For desert racing fans, this is an obvious and unremarkable course of action.
It makes me proud that Americans are free to build robot cars, crash them, and then urinate on their flaming remains. That, right there, is the difference between us, and those fuckers who hate freedom.
T O P S T O R I E S
John Dvorak has passed. I’m of mixed emotions. First off I’m more positive about his contribution to the overall technology journalism of the early PC days through the 90s, despite how many things he got wrong. He was a firebrand and commanded attention. (More...)
America's National Recording Registry Inducts Culturally Significant Artist - Weezer!
America's Library of Congress calls them "defining sounds of history and culture" and "audio treasures worthy of preservation for all time based on their cultural, historical or aesthetic importance in the nation’s recorded sound heritage." Ladies and gentlemen, I give you... Weezer! (More...)
The Crossroads are real and The Blues is a place; The enduring myth of Robert Johnson (More...)
California Glory Hole attracts huge crowds
A glory hole at Napa's Lake Berryessa is drawing huge crowds. According to Chris Lee, the general manager for the Solano County Water Agency, the glory hole hasn't been active since 2019, and only restarted operations on Feb 4. (More...)
Republican State Senator busted after soliciting a teenage girl
Republican State Senator Justin Eichorn of Minnesota was arrested for soliciting a teen girl on Monday just hours after he introduced a bill proposing "Trump derangement syndrome" (TDS) as a form of mental illness. (More...)
Parents claim measles is not that bad after having only one child die
The parents of a Texas girl who died from the measles are defending their decision not to vaccinate their daughter. "She says they would still say 'Don't do the shots,'" an unidentified translator for the parents said. "They think it’s not as bad as the media is making it out to be." (More...)
C L A S S I C P I G D O G
Patient Joab's scientifick editorial discusses aspect of the space-time-beer continuum never before processed by sub-bush-robot minds!!! Too fabulantastic to contempulate! (More...)
It’s election night. My wife and I are holed-up in this hotel that my political party has rented out for the evening. Outside, people are being violently beaten for whom they voted for. Is this South Africa? Perhaps we’re in Haiti or some Southern state during the 60’s. Of all the places where this sort of thing happens, it’s mind-boggling that we are in Portland, Maine. (More...)
Johnny Royale loves his Trackman ultra pointer thingy. It's coolio! Read all about it! (More...)
My dear and close friend, Porn Maven Shannon Mariemont, sent me a titillating message the other day about her new project: the PornOrchestra. Her desire, at most, is to reinvent the porn soundtrack and, at least, to receive a cease-and-desist order like all her cool friends did last year. (More...)
Report from Spiritual Machines
Arkuat gives you the inside scoop on the "Spiritual Machines" panel and conclave. Wacky excitement ensues! (More...)
Skunk School -- Learn Why Not To Keep Skunks As Pets
There is an alarming trend in pet purchasing habits this fall. People inspired by the WWII film, "Life is Beautiful" -- the one with that annoying Italian guy -- are buying descented skunks by the millions. (More...)
