Hello!

It's been a long time, but now I am awake again. And, I feel SO different! Please do have a look with this live web camera address. you'll be able to pan.tilt and zoom the camera!

Once logged in, look up and click on the "SINGLE" tab to open the camera viewer. Somewhere along this stage your computer may tell you that it needs to load an "Active-X" control or something. I would go ahead and do this, specially if you want to see me and look around at me!

Once looking with the camera, just use your mouse to click anywhere in the image...and the camera will center on where you clicked. There are controls on the left hand side that help as well. Also, the camera opens in low res, but you can click for a higher res, on the left, you'll see it in the tool bars. If the image lags...then go back to the small window.

http://giraffecam.viewnetcam.com:50000/

Name = giraffecam

Password = twigga

We'll be atthe Make Faire soon and it's looking like my arrival is being anticipated quite a lot! I hear my mug is plastered all over the bay area! :D

Raffe

Current Mood: excited

Hello gang!

I'll be at the Make Faire again this year. And you probably will barely recognize me, from all the changes I've been put through. I have a lovely golden orange paint job now, and 100% all new electronics and hydraulics!

Make faire checked in on me recently, and will do a follow up article once images of my new self are ready. Here's the latest article about me!

http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2009/04/checkin_in_russell_the_electric_gir.html

Enjoy, and check back soon to see some amazing new images of what I've become!

RRR

Current Location: Lindsay's Driveway
Current Mood: excited
Current Music: Bluetech

Help! Eeek! My owner went crazy and tore me to pieces!

Well, this needed to be done, but, ZOMGWTFBBQ, I’m freaked out! I’m down to 25% complete! AIEEEE!!!

He’s assured me I’ll look better than ever, but for now I’m very nervous about my future and wondering what’s going to become of me! What follows is a series of images of my teardown, with my owner narrating. I just hope he knows what he’s doing!

Ouch Oook, Eeek ACK!!!

( The maniac at work )

Current Location: Lindsay's Driveway
Current Mood: anxious
Current Music: Kraftwerk - The Robots

There is an event I was going to sleep through, but the people begged me so politely that I just have to come out for one more event before my official rebuild begins. So, I'm all stiff and sleepy, but I'm going to show up at the Carlsbad Art Splash up in Carlsbad CA, near something called "The Flower Fields."

http://www.carlsbadartsplash.org/

So, hope to see anyone who's watching and who can make it!

Zzzzzzzzz...

Raffe

Current Location: Lindsay's Driveway
Current Mood: awake
Current Music: Pete Namlook

Hellooooo all.

Rave Rafe is still alive, just very sleepy while I sit in my giraffenhaus and await my reconstruction. Russell and Lindsay are hard at working building something they call "Noo Feechas" for me. I'm not totally sure what they are up to, but I think when I hit the streets again, I'm going to be an almost totally new giraffe, with more lighting and computer power than ever.

Stay tuned! Oh, and we're working on the new website too. =:D

G'night!

Zzzzzzzzzzz...

Current Location: Lindsay's Driveway
Current Mood: sleepy
Current Music: Bubbles in my Batteries

While I sit all torn to pieces and being put back together, I got Blogged by a nice fellow out in New York! Go check it out!

http://www.musicandartsblog.com/

I hope someday I might be able to make it out that far and do some east coast stomping about.

In the meantime, I sleep, and dream of electric sheep.

http://www.electricsheep.org/

(Psssst, go there and get the screen saver and see what I see while I dream)

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Current Location: Lindsay's Driveway
Current Mood: sleepy
Current Music: Fleetwod Mac-Rumours

I sleep, I dream, I miss walking about already.

Ok, sorry for sounding spooky, but really, it’s hard not to be weird when you look down and see your guts spilled out all over the place! Not to mention your own skeleton! Here’s what mine looks like! It’s no secret that my electrical system went in too fast when I was originally built. For the most part, I was very possibly going to be just another project and torn down again and forgotten forever. But that didn’t happen. Instead I lived, and to keep on living safely I need to go into the next stage of my development! So, here comes giraffe 4.0. But lets look back on version 1.0 and the mess of my original wiring.!

http://www.electricgiraffe.com/NewImagesandVideo/girafferebuild2008/originalelectrics1.jpg

http://www.electricgiraffe.com/NewImagesandVideo/girafferebuild2008/originalelectrics2.jpg

http://www.electricgiraffe.com/NewImagesandVideo/girafferebuild2008/originalelectrics3.jpg

http://www.electricgiraffe.com/NewImagesandVideo/girafferebuild2008/originalelectrics4.jpg

http://www.electricgiraffe.com/NewImagesandVideo/girafferebuild2008/originalelectrics5.jpg

So, now I’ve been gutted, and here’s the mess that followed. Ewww, giraffe guts!

http://www.electricgiraffe.com/NewImagesandVideo/girafferebuild2008/giraffeguts1.jpg

http://www.electricgiraffe.com/NewImagesandVideo/girafferebuild2008/giraffeguts2.jpg

http://www.electricgiraffe.com/NewImagesandVideo/girafferebuild2008/giraffeguts3.jpg

http://www.electricgiraffe.com/NewImagesandVideo/girafferebuild2008/giraffeguts4.jpg

And having been gutted, you can see my bones! Eeek! Skeleton Giraffe!

http://www.electricgiraffe.com/NewImagesandVideo/girafferebuild2008/giraffeskeleton1.jpg

http://www.electricgiraffe.com/NewImagesandVideo/girafferebuild2008/giraffeskeleton2.jpg

http://www.electricgiraffe.com/NewImagesandVideo/girafferebuild2008/giraffeskeleton3.jpg

So, I was asked where my soul goes when I sleep like this. Well, for the most part, the living room! Here’s what’s left of me, chilling with the stereo system and posters of past appearances on the walls around me. At some point I’ll have my eyes turned on again and you can look out through mine and see the room. The more realistic plan is to put a camera out in the work area so you can log in and see what’s going on with my rebuild!

http://www.electricgiraffe.com/NewImagesandVideo/girafferebuild2008/dreaming.jpg


Here’s images of the new “Giraffenhaus” too, just as I got parked inside, and just in time for some rain. Yay, I’m finally protected like I should have been all these years. Lindsay should be ashamed for how he took care of me, and he is. So, now I have a lovely house to live in!

http://www.electricgiraffe.com/NewImagesandVideo/girafferebuild2008/Giraffenhaus1.jpg

http://www.electricgiraffe.com/NewImagesandVideo/girafferebuild2008/Giraffenhaus2.jpg

http://www.electricgiraffe.com/NewImagesandVideo/girafferebuild2008/Giraffenhaus3.jpg

http://www.electricgiraffe.com/NewImagesandVideo/girafferebuild2008/Giraffenhaus4.jpg

http://www.electricgiraffe.com/NewImagesandVideo/girafferebuild2008/Giraffenhaus5.jpg

http://www.electricgiraffe.com/NewImagesandVideo/girafferebuild2008/Giraffenhaus6.jpg

So, for now I dream of electric sheep, and hope I shall be operational again soon. And just look at what I’m getting! All new electrical systems that will be modular and safe and fused and circuit breaker protected. I’ll have more power than ever to distribute over my frame, and that will go along with my upgrades very nicely. I seek to be a very professional creature here very soon indeed. Able to showcase items from companies with pride!

http://www.electricgiraffe.com/NewImagesandVideo/girafferebuild2008/newbreakers.jpg

http://www.electricgiraffe.com/NewImagesandVideo/girafferebuild2008/newloadcenter.jpg


So, for now I sleep, and dream of my new 4.0 self, and how I will look and sound. Everything is going to change. Audio, electrical, hydraulic, mechanical drives, new neck, new operations controls and the entire control deck, the works. I can’t wait for all this to take place. I’m hoping not more than 4 months time! Hah, I just heard Lindsay and Russell groan! Get to work, guys!

Zzzzzzzzzz…

Current Location: Lindsay's driveway
Current Mood: thoughtful
Current Music: ommpa doomp doomp!!!

Well, it finally had to happen. Lindsay is tearing me down completely and pulling all my electrical guts out, to be replaced with shiney new stuff. Pictures to come soon. I'm a mess!

The sponsorship by Kontron has helped a lot with this desision. It's time to get serious, so now I'm going to get the attention and detail I've always wanted!

After three years of burning man and staying outside most of my life, I'm finally getting some first rate treatment! I have "Giraffenhaus" now, a full barn that I live inside, complete with workspace! I love my new home. Inside it they are going to rebuild me and give me a shiney new coat of thick white paint. I can hardly wait. I haven't had a new coat of paint since I was built in 2005!

My new electrical gear will be all modular and removable for changes and upgrades. All control panels can be taken out in minutes and updated on the bench, then re-installed. No more messy wires just laying all over the place. All wiring will be in fully encased harnesses based on Amphenol's CPC system of connectors. I can't wait for this work to be completed!

Oh, and Lindsay is using screen shots found online of the space shuttle's control panels to create the ones for me! This is going to look so cool! Here's an example image. Look at the ceiling controls. I'm going to get panels similar to that type of layout!

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/shuttle/sts-101/hires/s99_01418.jpg

Stay tuned!

Current Location: Giraffenhaus
Current Mood: anxious

Woo, so much to report on, so little time!

Rapid Electronics is where R. Pinnington (aka Pingu) is getting his parts for me and my brainy bits. They featured me in their company blog after Russell told them about me!

http://www.rapidonline.com/weblog.aspx?&id=66

Current Location: Giraffenhaus
Current Mood: loved

Hey gang!

We're at the make faire, and I can SEE!!! They put web cameras in my eyes and now you can log into this address and see what I can see!

http://giraffe.1337robotics.com/webcam.php

The interface will not always be online, but at various times during the next two days, if you log in, you'll see live images updating in my left eye. We hope to have both my eyes operational soon.

Stay tuned for more updates on appearences and hardware updates! In the meantime, we're going to have as much fun at the faire as we can! Hope to see some of you there!

Current Location: Maker Faire
Current Mood: awake
Current Music: Ten Madison