Ode to Bot

I have packed 99% of my workshop now.

Ah, lonely drill press! You sit on the loveliest, sturdiest shelves ever made. Will you miss them?

Of course, in the midst of packing, I had to make one final bot.

This is the last to be made here in Baldwin City. Next stop, Tonganoxie . . . with a minor layover at my poor parents' for two weeks.

Robot on.

Still Chuggin'

I seem to have a problem with keeping up with things that require, you know, thoughts and words and all that other coherent stuff. Luckily I'm still completely capable of operating the drill press.

I'll work on that whole coherent thing at some point.

This Week's Sign of the Apocalypse - Brought to you by Sprint

So I finally manage to slog my way through the homeschool prep for tomorrow and reclaim my workshop. Believe you me, I need to make a robot. Or at least drill a hole in something. 

My 12-year-old son is simultaneously playing a basketball video game in the shared basement.  As I work, not only am I bombarded by the incessant, meaningless babble of computerized sports commentators, but I look up to see the Halftime Analysis brought to me by Sprint.

Seriously? 

Even in a video game halftime, there's freakin' shameless advertising sponsorships?

  
These partially assembled robots brought to you by Coca-Cola, the letter R, a Ryobi drill press, and apparently Folger's. You're welcome.

New Beginnings

After a month of broken-foot-ititus, I conquered the stairs (by sliding down them like a toddler) and made it to the workshop a couple nights ago. I promptly doused everything in super-killing spider spray, as I have had numerous dreams of spiders taking over and inhabiting every inch of my workspace, patiently waiting to capture me like the Lilliputs captured Gulliver.

Today, I actually made it down there to work.  And, by work, I mean play.  I plugged in the drill press and drilled holes randomly.  Ah, the sweet sound of high-powered machinery!

Once the initial euphoria wore off, I finally started on a custom order I received several weeks ago.  I bent things and drilled things and attached aluminum knives to a pepper shaker.  It was magical.

Although I didn't last as long as I'd like, I feel good. Good enough to mostly ignore the not-so-subtle throbbing of my foot. It's a brave new world.

Mishap

So I had a bit of a mishap (let's just say I was saving a baby from a rabid robotic bear . . . or something), and robot production has temporarily slowed to a halt. Once I can remaster the stairs--or stand--watch out, world!

To All You Dads

And, thanks, Dad, for my drill press and my extra sturdy closet shelves. I would have been working out of my bedroom for all these years without you.

The Return of the Pit of Doom?

There once was a house full of boys; and it so happened that in that house, there was a Pit of Doom.

 

 The Pit of Doom kept the littlest boy safe and happy.

 Or, at least, it kept the littlest boy trapped, therefore keeping the rest of the family safe and happy.

 

As time progressed, the parents succumbed to guilt and dismantled the Pit of Doom, effectively turning loose a tiny hurricane of disaster.   

The mother suffered through the littlest boy's freedom (with her teeth gritted and her sanity slipping further and further away).  Until one day, she decided to reclaim a small sliver of space just for herself -- her own Pit of Doom   . . . or, as she liked to call it, Sweet, Sweet Paradise. [Would that be the Pit of Paradise?!]

As she sat in her cage with the littlest boy tearily looking in, the question was posed:  Is she in the Pit of Doom or has the rest of the house now become the dreaded Pit of Doom?

It's all a matter of perspective, I suppose.

Me and "The Assistant" Tackle Robot-ing

Inspiration

So the Question of the Day: What inspires you?

Metal.  And my drill press. Obviously.

Day 318 - 70's Robot . . . Literally

A robot of 70's for the man who changed my life with the words, "Drill Press."

Day 265 - Priorities

My son wanted to put up a list of what we had to do today for homeschool--he really likes to check things off.  I wanted him to know his priorities were all off.

Day 182 - We're Halfway There (Oh, oh, Livin' on a Prayer)

I'm calling today the halfway mark for my 365 project.  Woo-hoo!

Honestly, I'm surprised I've stuck with it.  Maybe I'm turning over a new leaf!

. . . Although, The Sketchbook Project required the sketchbooks to be postmarked by today, and I was frantically drawing, pasting, and spraying til the last possible moment.  Nothin' like procrastination-fueled panic.

(Sidenote: I used the drill press to make the "R" on the front!)

 

 

Day 180 - Rescue, Reassemble, Release

AN IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT/CONFESSION

So . . . I swear on my drill press (the most sacred thing I own) that I have been completing my Robot-a-Day challenge each and every day.

I know this blog does not currently reflect that.  A week of creating jewelry and robots for store distribution, coupled with homeschooling, and a dab or two of out-of-control laundry, has accumulated into a perfect storm of disorganization.  I simply haven't had any time to take pictures, edit, and upload my work.

I'm leaving for a much needed vacation tomorrow and will be gone through Nov. 24th.  However, I solemnly swear I will try to work on my blog and upload some projects during that time.

I just can't promise I'll succeed. : )