I mean, it's obvious that they're REALLY BAD at it. Hardly any animals are bipeds, in comparison to the amount of quadrupeds, especially.

Why not play to robots' areas of strength and just stick with wheels/treads/rotors/wings/etc., and worry about more advanced forms of locomotion later? I understand that humans want robots that look and act like humans, I suppose, but how about coming up with more practical designs?

Guardian article from 2008 called 'Captcha is broken, now what?', which in turn references a Captcha-breaking algorithm that was created in 2005, "and demonstrated it by posting automated comments to nearly 100 blogs to demonstrate their vulnerability."

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2008/aug/28/internet.captcha

...duh.

(One of Castro's workers tells him some men with a trillion dollar bill are here to see him.)

Mr. Burns: Oh, so the island's not for sale, eh? Well, will you at least permit us to live in your socialist paradise?
Castro (in disbelief): You talking about Cuba?
Mr. Burns: All we ask is preferential treatment because of my fabulous wealth!
[Burns holds the trillion dollar bill up.]
Castro: May I see?
Mr. Burns: Ho ho ho, see with your eyes, not with your hands!
Castro: Please, we are all amigos here!
Homer: Mr. Burns, I *think* we can trust the president of *Cuba*...
Mr. Burns: [hands it to Castro, and waits a couple of seconds.] Now, give it back.
Castro: Give what back?
Mr. Burns: D'oh...

(The three men are on a crudely made raft in the middle of the ocean headed back home.)

Homer: It's hard to believe there's a place worse than America, but we found it!
Mr. Burns: Yes, I, too, feel renewed appreciation for the good old US of A. Oppression and harassment are a small price to pay to live in the land of the free.
Smithers: Sir, aren't you facing some serious jail time?
Mr. Burns: Well, if it's a crime to love one's country, then I'm guilty. And if it's a crime to steal a trillion dollars from our government and hand it over to communist Cuba, then I'm guilty of that too. And if it's a crime to bribe a jury, then so help me, I'll soon be guilty of that!
Homer: God bless America!

--"The Trouble with Trillions"

Your hands are full of very small bones. It's very easy to break your hand by punching something hard and dense (such as a skull or face for instance).

If you want to strike someone in the face, it's smarter to use other parts of the body such as your knee, elbow or to use an open hand strike (such as a palm strike). That way you have the edge of a very long bone delivering the blow.

This is one of the differences between humans and animals, such as dogs, for instance. Dogs smell each component separately.

This is why they make such good detectors for things like explosives or drugs -- they are still capable of pulling the "bomb" smell out of a complex mix of smells or when the smell is deliberately being masked, thanks in part to their highly adapted vomeronasal organ, also called the Jacobson's organ.

http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/7_11/features/Canine-Sense-of-Smell_15668-1.html

// So Google did get to the front doors of all the people in Kansas City, and Charter and AT&T couldn't stop them, because the city agreed to it. //

As a Kansas City-area resident, I'm afraid this is not the case. I don't know anyone that lives in Kansas City, KS that currently has access to Google Fiber services, or that has seen any trucks or workers in their neighborhood.

Google has been very short on public details with this entire project, and this launch that the article is referring to has to refer to a very limited and localized deployment.

Keep in mind that physical installation did not even begin until this past February: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytjn-5_li-I

'A Google spokeswoman would not say whether the announcement actually means somebody in Kansas City will finally get a light-speed connection next week.

"We're excited to announce more information Google Fiber next week," said Jenna Wandres. "We haven't elaborated on what arriving means."'
http://www.kansascity.com/2012/07/18/3711326/google-fiber-to-make-july-26-announcement.html#storylink=misearch

I'll be curious to eventually find out who has access to it, exactly, and how long it'll be before any significant portions of the city are lit up.

I will absolutely sell my most recent graphics cards, they're still worth some dough and it really helps to offset the cost of upgrading all the time. I call it "trading up", and usually I can get away with buying a $200 video card and make $100 back from the old card. (Simple math: new cards only cost me $100 that way!)

But I just gave away my old K6/2 400 Windows 98-era retro-gaming box. It's so old that I couldn't even donate it anywhere, and one of my co-workers wanted one just like it. No more Mechwarrior 2 or Rogue Spear for me.

Especially the stories of Elric of Melnibone / Stormbringer series -- very good fantasy series.