Tag: robots

My first computer

I always thought my first computer was a Texas Instruments TI99 computer (cassette *and* cartridge loaded). It was with that I learnt how to code basic when I was 7 or 8 or something. Well after seeing The Journey Robot I realized that BigTrak was actually my first computer.

You could program BigTrak with up to 16 instructions before setting it off, and it would execute them. Say forward for 5 seconds, turn, forward for 10 seconds, fire phasers etc. (or something like that, I don’t remember it fully). I’d love to play with it again, but they are rather rare now I hear.

2/8/2005 2 Comments

Leeds film festival tertiary bit

Steamboy cover Two anime films back to back. First of all, Katsuhiro �tomo’s Steamboy. Truly impressive artwork, amazing sound engineering, utterly poop story. I enjoyed the film but a second or third viewing would only be to check out the visuals. Set in Manchester and London in the steam powered 19th century, young Ray Steam has to help his father and grandfather do some crazy shit protecting their high pressure steamball invention. It’s insanely surreal to see an army of steam powered soldier-robots and flying steam powered attack kites fighting against a Japanese-speaking British army led by Robert Stephenson in the centre of 19th century London. Really, it is, you’ll just have to take my word for it.

What this film lacks in plot, is almost perfectly balanced with lovely things to look at. Almost. Apparently I’m one of very few people outside of Japan to see this film. Don’t I feel so goddam elite.

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8/11/2004 Add Comment