geekosystem

Carnegie Mellon University's unnerving snake robot is back in the news today, and not for its unnerving auto-strangle function, which we've talked about here previously. The snake-bot -- which was designed to be a maneuverable set of eyes and ears in disaster situations, delving into collapsed buildings and other areas that first responders may not be able to reach. Over the weekend, the team behind the project released footage of some of it's latest tests, where it's paired with a rescue dog that carries it into the building.

A train engineer in California is my new hero -- and hopefully yours -- for pulling the emergency brake on the train he was conducting earlier this month in time to avoid hitting a puppy that had been tied to the tracks by a 78-year-old man. The pup, dubbed Banjo by the animal shelter that has taken him in, is okay after his harrowing experience, though we assume he will bear a lifelong aversion to men with top hats and handlebar moustaches. Then again, who doesn't?

This dog gets an A+ for perseverance, but fails when it comes to spatial reasoning. It found a giant stick on one side of a fence, and wants desperately to get it to the other side, but oh noes! The stick is too big! That doesn't stop the dog from repeatedly smashing it into the fence trying to get it through. Of course the person filming this, I presume the dog's owner, eventually helps the dog get the stick through, but I kind of wish he let it try for a little longer. Silly puppy. That stick's too big!

We knew it was only a matter of time before the stray dogs of the world rose up against their mistreatment at the hands of humans, and it appears that the revolution has begun, At least, it has in India, where a stray dog reportedly stole a bag containing over 400,000 Indian rupees -- almost $7,500 U.S. dollars -- from a man when he stepped outside for just a moment to wash his face.

We humans love proving our species' superiority by recording videos of animals doing silly things to upload to the Internet. It truly is lovely to be the most advanced and intelligent species living on our little planet. We are so fortunate that we don't feel the need to eat cars as they pass us on the freeway. So sit back, crack open a brewskie with those opposable thumbs, watch this video, and revel in the glory that is humanity and also adorable dogs.

Artist Whatshisname created these two lamps that portray pooping dogs, the bigger of the two dubbed Good Boy and the smaller dubbed Good Puppy. The switch to turn the bigger lamp on and off is actually the pile of curled poop found underneath the dog that you need to step on, so don't you worry, the poop is practical. The artist states that both of the lamps were set to be part of the Art Below exhibition at London Underground stations, but were banned from the show due to being offensive. If you'd like to get ahold of one of these lamps, you actually can, but it'll cost you.

Redditor Linksawake took his pets, a bunny and puppy, and turned them into the iconic Valve logos. You know the ones, with the valve sticking out of the back of the guy's head, and poking out of the other guy's eye socket? This time it's a bunny and puppy though, so it's adorable, and also you probably like Valve. Linksawake also made a video of the Valve splash screen, complete with the valved bunny and valved puppy coinciding with the iconic Valve brwoaw sound effect. That's how you spell that. Check it out after the break.

Another possible title for this post: Shai-Hulud is way less intimidating in person.

This young red fox labrador Tessie is not only adorable, but just about the best ping pong spectator for which one could hope. Too small for the table, Tessie jumps every single time the ball is hit, and since the pup wants a pretty good view of the action, jumps in the proper direction each time. If you wanted to be a fan of this ping pong fan, don't worry, because she has her own Facebook page.

You've never seen a dog park like this before. No, I don't mean with all the slow-motion editing and glorious HD; I mean from the perspective of your canine pals. This video, by Kelsey Wynns features his 9-month old Great Dane Bishop and his friends. Sure, it makes the rough-housing look a bit rougher, but the sheer joy of the dogs is downright palpable.

Willow is a small dog and that is a very big pile of leaves. Hilarity, adorableness ensue.

I've been excited to eat before, but that's nothing compared to this adorable little puppy. He's so happy to have a face full of food that he can't even keep his feet on the ground. Perhaps I should take a clue from this dog and start doing handstands to show my appreciation for wonderful things. But then again, I would probably just end up hurting someone.

If you put pants on me, I just get cranky, usually because it means that I'm going to have to leave the house or see other human beings. If you put pants on a dog, however, it appears to give him superpowers; at least it does for this dog. This dog, when put in pants and confronted with stairs, will walk down them on his two front legs, because his skinny Santa-pants are just a little too skinny. Why doesn't he do this all the time? He realizes that it can be dangerous to blow your mind that often.

Susie, a boxer dog with a heart of gold, has had a rough life. She was rescued two years ago from a Welsh puppy farm where she was kept in terrible conditions. Now, she's a healthy and happy resident of the Hillside Animal Sanctuary, where she met Tabitha, the pig. As you can see, the two are best buddies. You owe it to yourself to take a few minutes to watch this video of a pig and a dog playing together. See it, after the break.

Bizzle is one cool dog. He totally knows where it's at when it comes to snack foods. Watch as he completely devours his favorite dunking-based cookie snack with gusto. Gusto and suspiciously human arms.