I have just finished a very busy time of lots of relatives coming and going for four weeks, a wedding, a big Christmas party and things have just settled down so I could think about a new kitten. I have been thinking about her for the last few months and it’s great to finally have her with me; full of mischief, purrs and cuddles.
Heathy
Animal are supposed to help us to reduce stress and generally make us nicer people. In fact the Burmese cat first lived with monks in Burma (Myanmar). Each monk had a kitten and was to spend his time pleasing the cat. I wonder what they learned from that. The cat they bred certainly became a wonderful, independent, fearless cat.
Can’t have a cat?
I can hear some one you saying, but I can’t have a dog or cat because I live in a flat, am allergic to hair, have a father who hates cats or …
There is a solution and in the future the solution might be even better!
AIBO
My favourite robotic pet was AIBO. AIBO is very cute and it's personality develops by interacting with people where it learns its owners voice and face. It learns about its environments and reacts differently based on its experiences. Each AIBO develops its own "personality" and each AIBO grows in a different way, based on its individual experiences and the software being used. It seems to work well and is programmable.
AIBO walks smoothly, has a ball and to play with, can sit, lie down, and even self-charges. It uses its face, sounds, voice communication and motions to express a wide variety of emotions (happiness, sadness, fear, dislike, surprise, and anger). It sounds like it might be almost as good as a real pet. However it costs the price of a horse or show animal; $2,000 US is the quoted price. I guess most of us with stay with the real thing for a while longer.
Cheaper option
Pleo a robotic dinosaur that can sense its surroundings while walking on 4 legs, react to touch, and show emotion. Besides that, it’s quite cute.
This "pet" doesn’t understand words, but reacts to the tone of voice and touch. When you get this pet, you will need to touch him a bit so that it will explore its surrounding. When it "wakes up" it will stretch and if you continue petting it, it will start to play.
Pleo also can learn from its experiences, and its actions or personality will develop by the interaction it has and the programming built into him. Pleo has had great reviews and sells for about $200US.
Other useful robots
This search then took me to look at robots that could be used in the home. I was amazed at the progress made. Some are actually at the point of development that they seem really useful. (Do you remember when home computers were just a games machine and not something people expected to have in their homes? Then spreadsheets were developed and home computers took off really fast. Perhaps we are getting to this stage with home robots.)
Vacuums and Cleans
The most successful home robot has been the Roomba, a platter shaped robot vacuum cleaner which can move around carpets cleaning as it goes. It is cheaper than a Dyson and works without a person. The more expensive models return themselves to self-charge as needed. It’s something I will certainly look into when buying my next vacuum; just think it could do my work while I sleep!
The same company, iRobot makes a hard floor cleaning robot name Scooba that is said to do a better job than most people as it can go under hard to reach places and you can use it more frequently.
Doesn’t look like a robot?
OK, you’re right. These robots don’t look like Rosie of the Jetsons, but have a look at Honda’s new model Asimo. This robot made quite a hit at his debut in January this year in Las Vegas. It’s starting to be the robot you might want to own in future. It’s more people size, it walks and runs (4mph), and it talks. It can carry objects and can move in sync with a person holding its hand.
It is hoped that robots like Asimo will be able to provide home help to many of us in our later years; getting medicine, food, helping us move about and so on. How exciting.
Until next month
Useful Websites
http://www.robotadvice.com/sony-aibo-ers-7m3_robot.html
http://www.robotadvice.com/ugobe-pleo_robot.html
http://world.honda.com/news/2007/c070109ASIMO/
http://www.irobot.com
Sunday, January 14, 2007
Christmas on a budget
Wow isn’t it dry and don’t we wish for rain for Christmas more than anything else? There’s a group praying for rain each Saturday morning at the Riverbank Park and many more us praying at home. It will rain, but in the meantime many people are going to have a leaner time this Christmas. Does that mean it will be less meaningful or less fun? I don’t think that has to be the case.
Presents?
Why do some people (especially buyers of presents) value presents according to what was spent for them? My work colleagues and I realised a couple years ago that we all had too many things, so we decided to only exchange "use upable" presents. These are also relatively cheap and have included a miniature plum pudding, candle, soap, cookies, and this year I’m giving cupcakes!
One year a friend and I on a budget made tiny stockings out of fabric for each person and filled them with $2 presents and hung them on a tree. A great time was had by all to find their present and to see where our imagination had led us.
Do you have old photos gathering dust? Why not put some into a small album (with comments) for your parents, grandparents or grown child? You could even give "service" presents (coupons for 2 evenings of babysitting or one afternoon work in the garden or a batch of cookies).
See if you can put more thought and less money into your presents this year, and if you do this really well, you might even find that you have money left over to buy a gift for the giving tree at Fosseys or another charity.
Wrappings?
You can save by recycling paper (wrapping, newspaper, magazine pages). In the past I have used brown paper (very cheap) which I’ve printed with a potato cut in half and then carved and cheap paints. Also I’ve used children’s school drawings. With a bit of ribbon, yarn, dried flowers or grasses, these presents can look as special as those in the expensive wrappings
Of course it’s easy to make gift tags and cards and they often are much more appreciated because of the time and effort put into them.
Dinner
Turkey and ham are expensive, but chicken or a lamb roast can be just as tasty. Take special care the vegetables that go with it. Consider a soup for the first course. Apple pie seems to be enjoyed by everyone and doesn’t cost that much to make, but it does require a bit of time.
Your dinner will be special if you set the table with your best dishes, find or create a lovely centrepiece and have a number of cheerful topics for conversation ready in case you need them. Remember to take time out to send thanks for the reason for this celebration dinner and be thankful that we have plenty to eat compared to many others in the world.
Activities
There are lots of Christmas activities that cost nothing or very little. You could walk around town and look at the beautiful shop windows (love Country Charm’s Australian Christmas tree), walk or drive around town to see the light displays, or attend carols by torchlight at Cooma Cottage. Attending a church service (the youth at the Uniting Church are putting on their presentation next Sunday) is a good activity for this season.
You could even play games with the family or your neighbours. (Haven’t you got some cards, a monopoly game or chess set put away somewhere?), What about doing a group jigsaw puzzle? Enjoy some neighbourhood sport—tennis, cricket, swimming or perhaps just walking or jogging.
There are many activities online and you could try kidsdomain or you could even make decoration with family or friends.
Next year
Of course, if you start in January, you can gather recipes and buy things at sales throughout the year, and not only will you save money, but you’ll save stress.
Until next month, have a peaceful and meaningful Christmas season.
Useful Websites
http://www.abc.net.au/westernvic/stories/s1788308.htm
www.cheapskates.com.au
http://www.kidsdomain.com/holiday/xmas/index.html
Presents?
Why do some people (especially buyers of presents) value presents according to what was spent for them? My work colleagues and I realised a couple years ago that we all had too many things, so we decided to only exchange "use upable" presents. These are also relatively cheap and have included a miniature plum pudding, candle, soap, cookies, and this year I’m giving cupcakes!
One year a friend and I on a budget made tiny stockings out of fabric for each person and filled them with $2 presents and hung them on a tree. A great time was had by all to find their present and to see where our imagination had led us.
Do you have old photos gathering dust? Why not put some into a small album (with comments) for your parents, grandparents or grown child? You could even give "service" presents (coupons for 2 evenings of babysitting or one afternoon work in the garden or a batch of cookies).
See if you can put more thought and less money into your presents this year, and if you do this really well, you might even find that you have money left over to buy a gift for the giving tree at Fosseys or another charity.
Wrappings?
You can save by recycling paper (wrapping, newspaper, magazine pages). In the past I have used brown paper (very cheap) which I’ve printed with a potato cut in half and then carved and cheap paints. Also I’ve used children’s school drawings. With a bit of ribbon, yarn, dried flowers or grasses, these presents can look as special as those in the expensive wrappings
Of course it’s easy to make gift tags and cards and they often are much more appreciated because of the time and effort put into them.
Dinner
Turkey and ham are expensive, but chicken or a lamb roast can be just as tasty. Take special care the vegetables that go with it. Consider a soup for the first course. Apple pie seems to be enjoyed by everyone and doesn’t cost that much to make, but it does require a bit of time.
Your dinner will be special if you set the table with your best dishes, find or create a lovely centrepiece and have a number of cheerful topics for conversation ready in case you need them. Remember to take time out to send thanks for the reason for this celebration dinner and be thankful that we have plenty to eat compared to many others in the world.
Activities
There are lots of Christmas activities that cost nothing or very little. You could walk around town and look at the beautiful shop windows (love Country Charm’s Australian Christmas tree), walk or drive around town to see the light displays, or attend carols by torchlight at Cooma Cottage. Attending a church service (the youth at the Uniting Church are putting on their presentation next Sunday) is a good activity for this season.
You could even play games with the family or your neighbours. (Haven’t you got some cards, a monopoly game or chess set put away somewhere?), What about doing a group jigsaw puzzle? Enjoy some neighbourhood sport—tennis, cricket, swimming or perhaps just walking or jogging.
There are many activities online and you could try kidsdomain or you could even make decoration with family or friends.
Next year
Of course, if you start in January, you can gather recipes and buy things at sales throughout the year, and not only will you save money, but you’ll save stress.
Until next month, have a peaceful and meaningful Christmas season.
Useful Websites
http://www.abc.net.au/westernvic/stories/s1788308.htm
www.cheapskates.com.au
http://www.kidsdomain.com/holiday/xmas/index.html
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