Useless Machines in a political struggle

[Video Link] I feel cheated because this Useless Machine video runs out after only 11 minutes and five seconds.

Buy a Useless Machine kit from The Frivolous Engineering Company Inc

Mark Frauenfelder is the founder of Boing Boing and the editor-in-chief of MAKE and Cool Tools. Twitter: @frauenfelder. Come and hear Mark speak at the ALA conference in Chicago on July 1.

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morkl

So this is the presidential debate everyone is talking about?
- Brainspore
  
  As you can see, Jim Lehrer couldn’t get a word in edgewise.
nixiebunny

I sure hope he patented this thing.
http://daniel.friesen.name/ Daniel Friesen

I wonder how many solar cells and batteries it would take to make as custom set of these that would run indefinitely.
- Apple Guy
  
  8 batteries and 4 cells salvaged from some patio lights 2 cells should charge 4 batteries enough to last the night and one of these things will go about 18 hours with a good charge
Elijah

It starts a little slow/predictable, but at the 8 minute mark really takes off.
- Donald Petersen
  
  Blue’s position gets tenuous for a half-minute or so. Choke! I think Blue really suffered in the polls until finally getting in the last word at 9:41.
  
  After a brief honeymoon and the installation of two “bipartisan” bridges, reaching out across the aisle, we’re back to Business As Usual.
- chaopoiesis
  
  I regretfully call your “slow/predictable” and raise it to “music-soiled dreck”. 8:25′s where to start for a pure fix of uncut ennui.
http://twitter.com/digitalArtform Joseph Francis

Unfortunately it’s not just a disagreement over which color is best.
- rocketpjs
  
  Unfortunately neither of them disagree on most of the core issues to do with the economy or the enhancement of the wealthy.
Blaven

Go blue box!!
http://www.facebook.com/people/George-Herbert/100001916116969 George Herbert

Both wrong lizards have been replaced by robots! This is a truly tremendous day! Morbo can now scorn machines, not just flesh-beings.
http://www.nathanhornby.com/ Nathan Hornby

This, this right here is the problem with a two party system.
Marmo Squirrel

I don’t understand how you can call these machines “useless”. They were designed to turn themselves off. They have been set up, in this instance, to cause each other grief in this regard. Note that they DO in fact eventually achieve their goals. Both are off with doors closed. Then the human element gets involved again, and they’ll have to work at the problem a bit longer.
Andy Fraser

wait, wait. these are not ‘Useless Machines’ they are ‘Ultimate Machines”. Calling them ‘useless’…my flabber is gasted, the horror. the beauty, the elegance…bam! Dumbed down to the lowest denominator. I’m _horrified_.
- Andy Fraser
  
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_Shannon
- Apple Guy
  
  your correct. the machine was miss named. and by the time it was noticed it became to late
http://www.facebook.com/people/Nell-Anvoid/100002383626402 Nell Anvoid

What’s the problem? It’s elegant, simple…and works exactly as intended.
msbpodcast

Jeez. It was almost as pointless as watching tennis…
http://mechtheist.wordpress.com/ mechtheist

Marvelous, great model of our political system, even down to the use of temporary bandaid fix to solve all problems. One grossly out of place element is that both sides are sticking their neck out with every action and thus taking their heads out of the sand, etc etc,
glaborous_immolate

That’s some serious false-equivalency there when one side is tolerant and the other hates.