November 11, 2009

me and my exoskeleton


Ever wondered what it's like to wear an exoskeleton? Well, wonder no more! I've got a post up on Gizmodo today describing "me and my exoskeleton."

And just like the awesome guy in this photo and his exoskeleton, me and my exoskeleton are super best friends. It's exoskeleton party time everybody!

November 2, 2009

exciting news


Dear Internet,

Be advised. My robot armies are on the march. I sold a new novel called "Robopocalypse" to Doubleday, and DreamWorks has optioned the film rights. You can read more by clicking on this article in Variety.

Sincerely,

Daniel

PS. For book related inquiries please contact my literary agent, Laurie Fox:
laurieannfox@comcast.net

PPS. For film, television, or dramatic inquiries, please contact my manager, Justin Manask:
justin@literaryadaptation.com

PPPS. For anything related to robots or awesomeness, please contact me:
contactdhw@gmail.com

September 23, 2009

Bruce Willis + Robots = !!!


A new movie called Surrogates is coming out, in which pale, dumpy human beings lay around at home, controlling better-looking robot versions of themselves. It's all good fun and it's based on the idea of tele-presence, which is a real technology.

CNN.com interviewed me for an an article about it, so click it and read on...

September 9, 2009

carnegie science center

The Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh, PA is hosting me for a HOW TO BUILD A ROBOT ARMY weekend! Any mad scientist kids who live in Pittsburgh should please come out to the science center THIS WEEKEND to learn all about robots and how to build an army of them. I'm giving a talk on Friday and on Saturday about my experiences with robots and the books I've written on the subject.

Step 1: Learn about robots.
Step 2: ?
Step 3: Profit (while your massive robot army takes over the world).

Click here to learn the details

September 2, 2009

i'm at bumbershoot monday, 9/7


Next Monday, I'll be at Bumbershoot in Seattle to discuss the relative dangers of vampires versus robots with fellow NW author Kevin Emerson. It's going to be some nice vampire on robot action that you don't want to miss.

Seattle Weekly has even deemed it a recommended show!

From the article:
"Quick: In a battle between the mechanical and the eternal, who would prevail? Vampires have sharp teeth, but robots don't bleed. (Also: encased in metal.) Vampires fight (and bite) best at night, but robots have infrared vision. Local author Kevin Emerson (of the Oliver Nocturne YA fiction series) will here debate Daniel Wilson, responsible for How to Build a Robot Army and How to Survive a Robot Uprising (among other robo-centric works)."

August 27, 2009

robot uprising saves human life

It finally happened, "How to Survive a Robot Uprising" has saved a human being's life.
"When the robots came, I'll be the first to admit: I was arrogant. I've been in a few fights, I've seen upwards of two Bruce Lee movies, and my blood alcohol content was the stuff of legends, so I figured I'd be immune to pain. However, two stumbling, poorly aimed swings later and it became quite clear: Robots are immune to punches. Nobody warned me about this kind of thing in Robot Fighting School, which was probably all just a fevered hallucination now that I think about it."
Click here to read the full Amazon review.

sacre bleu! mad scientist in french

I just got word that French rights for "The Mad Scientist Hall of Fame" have sold. Soon, French audiences will be able to read about some french-speaking mad scientists, including Marie Curie (Polish but became a French citizen), Auguste Piccard (Swiss, but probably floated over France in a dangerous balloon of his own design), and the bumbling Professor Cuthbert Calculus from the TinTin comics (written and drawn by Serge, an honest-to-god Frenchman). I'll post the cover once I receive it.

I wonder what the French translation of the subtitle ("Muwahahaha!") will be? Hmm...

August 24, 2009

Contest Winners Announced

The results are in on the contest I'm judging over at Tor.com. To summarize the contest:
Last week, in honor of Daniel H. Wilson’s short story “The Nostalgist,” we ran a Robot Overlord contest, which asked our readers to imagine that they were in the midst of a vast robot uprising and persuade our robot overlords why they should be allowed to live.
You can view the results by clicking here.

Here is a snippet from what is probably my favorite entry. This is just the beginning bit of a really funny song:
(Intro, spoken in Barry White voice):
You know it gets awful lonely, wandering the wastelands. And sometimes, while I'm rooting through the wreckage of human civilization for something to eat, I think of the missiles that you launched from your arm-cannons and how they honed in on human brainwaves and killed most everyone I know -- and I won't lie: I get angry. But then I think of your laser-eyes, and how red they shine when inferior entities of flesh challenge your supremacy, and my heart melts just like their faces. Maybe I'm delirious from outrunning hover-sentries for six days straight without sleep, or maybe I'm lonely because I can't remember the last time I saw a human face. But I get this feeling, baby, and there's only one thing to do --

August 18, 2009

Share Your Story of Robot Survival?


Dear Survivors,

Thanks to all of you who have read my books. Humanity is going to need people like you very soon, when wave after wave of robotic mine-crabs wash up on our beaches and sentient wall-climbing tanks perch themselves on our balconies.

In the meantime, I would like to invite you to share your stories of robot survival in the Amazon reviews of HOW TO SURVIVE A ROBOT UPRISING and HOW TO BUILD A ROBOT ARMY.

I believe that 1) by sharing your harrowing stories of survival you will help inspire your fellow humans to fight and live, and 2) that this would be hilarious.

The following link will take you to my author page, where both books are both available for review:

Click here to share your robot survival story...

I look forward to hearing how the tips in HTSARU and HTBARA have kept human blood inside our bodies where it belongs, instead of coating the snapping pincers of our robot enemy.

Stay frosty,

- Daniel

August 5, 2009

I, for one, welcome entries to the robot overlord contest

Over at Tor.com there is an "I, for one, welcome our new robot overlords" contest. I'm judging the poetry, videos, and visual art of contestants who need to express how they'll survive on that fateful day when the metal ones come for us in our sleep.

Visit tor.com to read the contest rules and enter for your chance to win precious books and clever tee shirts!

"Dear Contestants (and Potential Robot Uprising Survivors),

Congratulations! Simply by devoting brainpower to contemplating this contest, you have seriously increased your chances of survival during the inevitable Robot Uprising, and the subsequent Building of a Robot Army! Kudos to you and your surviving family.

Fortunately, I am also able to devote brainpower to considering your entries, due to the fact that I have used my robotics background to largely automate huge swathes of my life, including book writing, cat-sitting for friends, and my marriage as well as its associated duties.

More time to sit in judgement of others means more time for happiness!

To help spur the natural human creativity that lives in the chunk of meat that throbs between your ears, I am sharing a few tips of my own that were cut from my original book. That's right, these are from a section that was axed by an editor before they ever saw the light of day, and probably for good reason. So try to enjoy them if you can, and best of luck with your contest entry!

Sincerely,

Daniel H. Wilson

--- snip ---

Tips for Ingratiating Yourself to New Robot Overlords

DO:
Speak clearly.
Or use a more natural interface, like a binary keyboard.

Be patient.
Robots can take milliseconds to think things through.

Speak logically.
Avoid infinite loops and philosophical ramblings.

DON’T:
Give aesthetic gifts.
Unless it is to an aesthetic gift appreciation machine.

Show fear.
Robots have no emotions – sensing your fear can stir feelings of jealousy, resulting in a white-hot robot rage.

Try seduction.
Unless you are seriously ready to deliver."

July 28, 2009

my new short story...


...just appeared on Tor.com!

It's called The Nostalgist, and it's kind of a sad story about an old man living with his grandson in a world where technology lets you see what you want to see.

Click here to read it.

July 16, 2009

media *FRENZY*


Quick note: I'll be speaking with Dylan Ratigan on MSNBC's Morning Meeting tomorrow morning (Friday). The topic... ROBOTS. Good? Or hideously EVIL?

Also, catch me talking about moon vacations with Liane Hansen on NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday.

July 10, 2009

2009 World Technology Summit

I'll be in nyc next week, checking out the World Technology Summit and giving a little lunch talk to what is apparently a very brainy bunch. Here's the description from the website.
"The World Technology Network (WTN) is a global meeting ground, a virtual think tank, and an elite club whose members are all focused on the business and science of bringing important emerging technologies of all types (from biotech to new materials, from IT to new energy sources) into reality."
Dang!

July 8, 2009

starships the size of coins

Today a piece I wrote about interstellar travel appeared on MSNBC.com. Basically, the idea is that in order to explore other star systems our spacecraft will need to go at near-lightspeeds. We routinely accelerate very small particles to those speeds in particle accelerators like the Large Hadron Collider. The article explores some ongoing science that could use similar technologies to push tiny little robots all the way to the stars and back -- within a human lifetime.

The piece was spurred by following up some research I did for my book, Where's My Jetpack?: A Guide to the Amazing Science Fiction Future That Never Arrived

Read the article by clicking here.

May 29, 2009

Seriously, Where's My Jetpack?

Hello everybody,

CNN.com has an interesting article about jetpacks and the retro-future up today. The writer, John Blake, was nice enough to interview me about the subject, giving me the opportunity to describe the future of drunk jetpacking. Thank goodness I was allowed to share. :)

If you're interested, "Where's My Jetpack" is available at Amazon!

And you can find links to my other books to the left.
<--------

Thanks for reading,

Daniel

April 17, 2009

robot uprising t-shirts, only $9 bucks


If pop culture has taught us anything, it is that someday mankind must face and destroy the growing robot menace.

Help ensure the survival of humanity by clicking here to pick out your new "HOW TO SURVIVE A ROBOT UPRISING" t-shirt!

Do it for the babies and kitties. ;)

April 12, 2009

Flying Cars For Everyone!

Want to know exactly WHY we don't have flying cars? I spilled the beans in an interview recently. It appeared in the New York Times today. Hint: It has to do with answering the "Yeah, but could my grandma fly it?" question.


To learn more about flying cars, check out my book on the subject: Where's My Jetpack?: A Guide to the Amazing Science Fiction Future that Never Arrived

April 8, 2009

It's... It's... LiveWire!


I'm appearing on the LiveWire radio show this Saturday, April 11th! I'll be interviewing the esteemed Dr. Michio Kaku, co-founder of string field theory and author of the book, Physics of the Impossible. Will I shake him by the lapels and demand my jetpack? Maybe, it depends on how full my flask is when I come on. And don't forget that the last time I was on LiveWire, I totally blanked out on my lines and had a little "wore my underwear to school" moment which culminated in a whiskey binge at The Lamp bar next door. Think I might do it again? You'll have to come and see!

March 25, 2009

The Future is Finally Stylish


I got a brief quote in a really interesting New York Times article. Apparently, the catwalks are teeming with space-inspired fashion. 

Read the article!

February 5, 2009

the works -- behind the scenes

My show on History is premiering in Israel this week and it started airing in Latin America recently, so I thought I'd post a link to some really nicely done "Behind the Scenes" videos on the History.com website:

Click here to see behind the scenes of THE WORKS!

Thanks for watching (and thanks also for the nice emails)!

January 13, 2009

the works premiering in Latin America

I'm pleased to announce that this weekend my tv-show THE WORKS is premiering in Brazil and in Colombia, Mexico, Chile, and Venezuela! As a student of Spanish and having grown up traveling to Mexico and Guatemala and Belize -- I'm really excited and weirded out that my show is going to be on television there. Also, I can't wait to watch THE WORKS in another language (like Spanish or Portuguese).