Extraterrestrials traveling in high-tech flying saucers contact a scientist as part of a plan to enslave the inhabitants of Earth.
Earth vs The Flying Saucers came out 70 years ago. The special effects aren’t convincing, but the movie doesn’t rely on spectacle. Nobody is fat, the cars and clothing are vintage, and everyone is competent.
Clean as a whistle, even before it was swept.
If I put Sparky in the stove, I could get a really cute photo of him looking up the chimney flue.
I’m not going to do that, but I do want to try.
Maybe good robots are coming. This Microduck from Pollen Robotics seems like a decent platform. Out of the box, the Microduck can walk around and can get up after tripping. The good part is the software is open-source, so more inventive people can generate programs to make the Microduck useful.
Don’t think of Microduck as a cute, waddling mechanical duck that just stepped out of a Pixar animation. Okay, think of it like that, and Microduck would be entertaining for a couple of hours. Maybe a couple of days if your friend buys one also.
Microduck is a mobile sensor platform linked to an AI controller. Now it’s good for something.
Sparky was excited to tell me that President Trump just changed the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America.
Sorry to dampen Sparky’s enthusiasm, but that was a dumb idea.
China doesn’t often have a good, original idea, but the World Humanoid Robot Games is fun.
Events are competitive sports analogous to human sports and scenario-based challenges. Some events are fully autonomous, and some allow remote control.
Sparky just told me that today is National Dog Day. He says that he has been hinting around all day, but I wasn’t picking up on it.
In my defense, Sparky is naturally charming and attentive, so it wasn’t obvious that he was being an extra good dog.
I will give him another piece of orange chicken to celebrate his day.
Silo is the only TV show I’m watching as each new episode comes out. It’s the season finale, but Sparky figures I should play with him rather than see how the season wraps up. Sparky is trying to piss me off by blocking the TV, but jokes on him. He’s is more entertaining and has a better plot.
Twitter/X is an interesting place today. With the passing of Dolly Parton, celebrities are telling their stories about working with her. It’s not a surprise that nobody has a bad thing to say. What is surprising is the range of people who have a story to tell.
There are also a bunch of clips of her performances and appearances on Johnny Carson and other late night TV shows.
Ricky Gervais provided a Dolly Parton quote. “You don’t get the rainbow without the rain.”
Be sad that she’s gone, but grateful that Dolly Parton ever existed.
Sparky adds cuteness to these IKEA end tables I’m getting rid of.
© 2026 Big Stick Physics
Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑
