Here's something else for Scoble to pimp Windows with: White Box Robotics' PC-BOT Model 914 is a home robot that incorporates "vision-based navigation, object recognition, speech synthesis and speech recognition - all in an easy-to-use yet powerful point-and-click graphical user interface."

It looks remarkably droid-like, and actually it's kinda really nifty and cool. Engadget points out that it runs Microsoft Windows (98SE/ME/2000/XP according to the specs page). And the craziest part? Only $1,199.00 each!

"The White Box Robotics 914 PC-BOT defines the new standard for the personal robot, by fusing two technologies - PCs and mobile robots - into one empowering platform.

"Inspired by art and fueled by science, the 914 PC-BOT gives enthusiasts, students and OEMs alike the opportunity to create revolutionary, functional, low cost mobile robots from off-the-shelf computer parts.

"Tinker with it. Master its intricacies. The 914 was designed to be cut, drilled, painted and modified in countless ways. Create a new future. One inspired by you."

Here's the production schedule, which shows delivery is scheduled for before Christmas, but you can reserve yours today with a $299 deposit:

• Tooling Starts: May 31
• First 20 units verified: August 25
• Production run complete: September 30
• Customers receive units: November 15-30

There will also be a limited-edition "founders" model, shown at right, which will have fancy paint and a few hardware upgrades. It will sell for $1,699.00 and looks pretty cool, too.

There's also a page listing optional components, which you'll use to deck out the robot to your own tastes.

Coolio idea, nice design. Thinking about it.

"A powerful alliance of heros"

"Big Iron again? Let's get in there and kick some proprietary ass!"

Anyhow - if you liked Team America and/or happen to be a Dell fan, check out the video:

Not really sure where this comes from, but the domain is registered to Sam McJunkin in Washington state - Ah, and he works for Maverick Productions, which produced the site. Well there you have it, I guess? Sometimes these things need a little more explanation.

I've been looking for HDTV antennas that might be able to pull in the Portland HD over-the-air (OTA) broadcast signals all the way out here in Podunk, Oregon (no, that's not the real name, it's a joke...). I recently bought a HD receiver for my Satellite service, and need to see if I can get the local channels this far out.

After poking around on KOIN's web site to find out their HD broadcast coverage, tonight I found three great online resources: Antenna Web, CheckHD.com and TitanTV.com. Note that all three appear to share a common source information, so try all three and see what you come up with.

Antenna Web is the Consumer Electronics Association's online resource for buying an antenna to meet your needs based on your address. Answer a few questions and you'll have an idea of what antenna hardware you'll require. Your Antenna Web results will include a list of the local broadcast stations in your market, the broadcast types and channels (and compass heading for pointing), as well as the type and size of antenna required to receive the signals. And you'll be able to view a map of your location with the available channels and bearing shown. No registration required, which is nice. For a sample map of results (my home), click the map image at right.

CheckHD.com is another good site that doesn't require you to subscribe, and it provides you with quick information about what's available and what color code to be looking for when you pick an antenna. They also have lots of other great information, like the current state of DTV coverage in the United States.

TitanTV.com is an online service that also provides a set of electronic programming listings that tie into a variety of PVR systems, and you can sign up (it's free) to see listings for your location and to run some tools and find out what kind of HDTV coverage you have where you live.

The tools on the TitanTV web site help you determine what kind of equipment you might need to successfully receive HD signals, and even makes specific antenna recommendations. Note that with OTA broadcast HD, it's often an all-or-none thing (not like regular, analog TV, where you can get a fuzzy signal and just deal with it). There's also online TV listings (for whatever services you use - you specify them when you sign up).

The verdict? Well, I found out pretty much what I expected - It should work, but I am in a fringe reception area and will likely need to use a roof-mounted, high-gain antenna. If I do that, I should be okay.

I also found a link to the FCC's DTV web site, replete with annoying gratuitous flash animations. There's no escaping gratuitous flash. We paid someone to create that?? Ugh.

I live In The Middle Of Nowhere^TM, and it seems recently I can't run the mowers fast enough to keep up with the grass growth (both lawn and field). It's gone from grey and dormant to green and growing like crazy, and the whole area now looks completely different.

This picture was two months ago (March 5th), when the grass was just starting to come back out:

And this is today, after several mowing sessions over the past couple months. Without the mowing, the grass would be three or four feet tall by now. It's amazing each year how freakin' GREEN it gets around here. I know, people who have lived here all their lives roll their eyes and don't get it, but try growing up and living in the desert. Then you'll understand.

3M themselves have a web page (on their Canadian site) dedicated to providing a detailed description of how to make a men's wallet using nothing but a roll of Scotch® Duct Tape, a utility knife, a ruler and background music (optional).

"Most people agree that Duct Tape can save you money on costly repair bills but did you know that you could create a wallet to hold all of the money you’ve saved? It’s not as difficult as it sounds and in just a few simple steps, you could be the proud owner of this year’s most important fashion statement ('Duct Tape is my life')."

So, there's a good way to burn away a rainy weekend afternoon with the kids.

Kikizo.com has another (big ol') video of the XBOX 360 team discussing what's so cool about the upcoming console. This one's different than the Our Colony video from the other day (although it does share a little common footage).

Nice, and interesting how this marketing thing is happening... View the video here.