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Hello Gang! I got featured with my creator in a "Best of 2007" article in the North County Times! Lindsay Lawlor (June 2007) Escondido's Lindsay Lawlor, whose electronic giraffe was featured in the North County Times earlier this year, has continued to add to his creation and has more in store for his 17-foot tall robotic friend. After returning with the giraffe from the annual Burning Man festival last summer, Lawlor added bright red, yellow, green and blue LEDs to create glowing spots on the robot's body. He also doubled its walking speed from its original half-mile an hour and rebuilt its hydraulic-control system to make it complete maneuverability. "I don't have to get off and turn him around," he said. "He can turn on a dime. We've motivated his feet a little more with drive motors so he can actually just roll around as well as walk." The robotic giraffe recently was featured on the Discovery Channel in Canada, and Lawlor's proudest moment may have been Dec. 1, when he rode it during the Ocean Beach Christmas Parade. Unsure whether the Escondido parade would be rained out the same day, Lawlor said he picked Ocean Beach because it is his home town. "He went down Newport Avenue, and the crowds went ballistic," he said. "I've never been subjected to that much roaring from people. It was just amazing." Lawlor won the top award in the best-individual entry category. He next plans to add more artificial intelligence to the giraffe so people with wireless devices can communicate with him as he works the controls. "The giraffe will graze on the frontiers of technology," he said. Lawlor said several schools are interested in visits from the giraffe, and he hopes to create lessons about robotics and actual giraffes for the visits. The giraffe's next public appearance will be 6 to 9 p.m. Jan. 12 at Ray at Night, held the second Saturday of each month in North Park, San Diego. The event is held on Ray Street, just north of University Avenue. ---- Staff writer Gary Warth Current Location: Hanging out in the rain. Bleah!
Current Mood:  chipper
Current Music: (censored) muwahahaha!!!
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Well... I have no idea what Lindsay was thinking, changing out my main drive motor for a newer untested device. Needless to say when I suffered total heart failure on friday just before the big Make Faire, my old drive motor was 450 miles away down in San Diego on the garage floor! I have one thing to say about that to him. "You big dummy!" So, with my chest still smoking from the burnout, Lindsay and Phil and all his friends started a frantic search in San Francisco to find me another drive motor. It was a long and scary wait, but soon they returned and drilled holes in me to mount the new one. Though this replacement is not as powerful as the original, it's definitely working out just fine and I really like it. It's so nice in fact that when I'm sitting idle, you can't tell the motor is even turned on! Whrrrrrrrr...ahhhhh. And so, with much glee I was allowed to take off and wander about the Maker Faire, and be petted and fussed over my scores of kids and adults. Oh, as I wandered out of the building, I passed right by BRAF, the Black Rock Arts Foundation, where Lindsay proudly presented me to them and asked if he could apply for an art grant! Talk about the hard sell! Here was the art he was soliciting, standing right in view! They seemed quite taken with me and I think I'm going to try and give some of them a ride tommorow. So, today was a very good day for everyone, Lindsay included. Now I sleep with my new batteries being charged up overnight. Goodnight everyone and I hope to see some of you tommorow. Hummmmmmmmmmzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz... Current Location: Make Faire 2007
Current Mood: rejuvenated
Current Music: Hummmmahhhhhhhh.
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