In Europe I've seen countless mobile banking ideas over the last decade - from the soft drinks machine in Helsinki where you paid by SMS, to the phone which doubled as a travelcard for London's transport system, and innumerable schemes involving Near Field Communication (NFC) technology.

BBC: Mobile money - has its moment come?

Enigmatic British musician Robert Wyatt, the former Soft Machine drummer, was invited to become Meltdown's artistic director this year.

BBC: Meltdown for legend Wyatt

The technique allows the machine to be made of soft materials so it can squeeze through tight spaces and mould its shape to rough terrain.

BBC: Pentagon helps build Meshworm reconnaissance robot

Ayres and Soft Machine toured the USA extensively with Jimi Hendrix but he left the band in 1968 after their first album.

BBC: The Soft Machine

Bush can never do that because, long before the campaign, he made an unholy promise to Trent Lott and Mitch McConnell that he would never do anything to derail the Republicans' vast soft money machine.

CNN: Bill Press: Seducing the McCainiacs

In last month's election for mayor of Buenos Aires city, he backed the soft-left incumbent, who defeated a challenger supported by the Peronist party machine.

ECONOMIST: Politics in Argentina: The Mission | The