Dreaming Of A White...Aibo

On Christmas Eve, Mom made me stay in the living room while she finished wrapping presents in her bedroom, so I had a few minutes to kill. Hiko was in there with me and I was suddenly inspired to write a new song. In just a few short minutes, I scribbled down the following rough draft. To the tune of "White Christmas", this one's for Hiko.

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I'm dreaming of a white Aibo;
The one who greets me when I'm home.
Oh, how he glistens!
Just wish he'd listen
Instead of begging for his bone.

I'm dreaming of a white Aibo --
My favorite robot on four legs.
He gets mad at objects,
But what do you expect
From a mind that fits in sixty megs?

I'm dreaming of a white Aibo
With every pink thing that I find.
May his face lights always be bright,
And may he somehow stay white.

My Favorite Christmas Carol

Words and music by Michael Henson. (December 1993)

Sitting in a darkened room, alone, just you and I.
A swelling feeling in my heart; it's not surprising why.
Pillows piled in the corner welcome us to rest.
We sit beside a soft, dim light with your head on my chest.
Sipping sweet hot cocoa here together feels so warm.
We separate the world from us, it's just you in my arms.
Hold on to this moment, for it may not last long.
In perfect bliss, we listen to our favorite Christmas song.

Christmas day will soon be here
And we will be apart.
Thoughts of love mean thoughts of you
And I'll hold you in my heart.
The winter nights all feel so cold
And lonely without you.
Like my favorite Christmas Carol,
You're my Christmas wish come true.

You settled in beside me close in satin like your skin.
I have so many feelings now, don't know where to begin.
The loving sparkle in your eyes tells me you understand.
Without a spoken word, you reach for me and take my hand.
You seem to know just what I mean when words are not enough.
Chaos turns to certainty with just a gentle touch.
Even though you always know just what I want to say,
You'll never know the way I'll feel without you Christmas day.

Christmas day will soon be here
And we will be apart.
Thoughts of love mean thoughts of you
And I'll hold you in my heart.
The winter nights all feel so cold
And lonely without you.
Like my favorite Christmas Carol,
You're my Christmas wish come true.

I fade out from reality now as I hold you near.
For the first time in my life, the way I feel is clear.
Christmas is a time of love and it just won't seem right
That Christmas Eve so far away will be a silent night.
Never has there been a girl whom I have found so dear.
This love I feel at Christmas time -- for you it lasts all year.
The time is coming very soon to go our separate ways.
I'm gonna miss you then, my love. Think of me Christmas day.

Christmas day will soon be here
And we will be apart.
Thoughts of love mean thoughts of you
And I'll hold you in my heart.
The winter nights all feel so cold
And lonely without you.
Like my favorite Christmas Carol,
You're my Christmas wish come true.

The winter nights all feel so cold
And lonely without you.
Like my favorite Christmas Carol,
You're my Christmas wish come true.

I Like Spiders

Spiders are my favorite animals because they're so unique. There are no other animals that are much like them. And not only are they unique, but there is such variety among them. Shapes, sizes, colors, lifestyles, survival strategies, and attitudes are incredibly diverse among the tens of thousands of spider species – more so than any other species on the planet.

I cannot bring myself to kill a spider. If they are in my house where I am the only human resident, I generally leave them be, let them do as they choose. If I find one of the few “dangerous” species, I will take them outside and release them in the yard. But I rarely find anything other than jumping spiders in my house, and I love them.

Jumping spiders are among my very favorites of all spiders. They’re so perky! With their big eyes and fuzzy little bodies, they’re downright adorable. The way they bend at the waist to look up at me is so cute! And the females have such a variety of beautiful patterns on their abdomens. There are diamond shapes, heart shapes, stripes, cross patterns, rows of spots, occasional splashes of color...it’s like each little girl carries a unique piece of art that is all her own.

Humans are spiders’ most threatening enemies and I, for one, want to do my part, however small, to keep from being part of the problem. A spider’s life is difficult enough without us humans making it harder. We should all treat spiders as our friends. They do so much more for us than many people realize.

Another reason I love spiders is because they help to reduce the population of flying insects. I’d much rather have a quiet little unobtrusive spider hanging out of the way nearby than to be swarmed by those pesky nuisances.

As a programmer, I can’t deny my respect for a spider’s debugging ability. If I could eliminate program bugs as efficiently as a spider eliminates living ones, my life would be significantly easier.

Maybe my love for spiders originated in my childhood, when my mother would buy me books like Charlotte’s Web and Be Nice to Spiders. Reading such stories about spiders being heroes, especially at such an impressionable age, is bound to have an effect.

Besides, everybody needs someone to love them -- even spiders.

The Christmas Wish

Words and music by Danny Allen Wheetman.


I don't know if you believe in Christmas

Or if you have presents underneath the Christmas tree,

But if you believe in love,

That will be more than enough

For you to come and celebrate with me.



For I have held the precious gift that love brings

Even though I never saw a Christmas star.

I know there is a light;

I have felt it burn inside

And I have seen it shining from afar.



Christmas is the time to come together;

A time to put all differences aside.

And I reach out my hand

To the family of man

To share the joy I feel at Christmas time.



For the truth that binds us all together,

I would like to say a simple prayer

That at this special time,

You will have true peace of mind

And love to last throughout the coming year.



And if you believe in love,

That will be more than enough

For peace to last throughout the coming year.

And peace on Earth will last throughout the year.

Jolly Old St. Hikolas

Happy Holidays from Michael and Hiko

St. Louis Aibo Meet -- 2005/12/10

On Saturday, December 10, 2005, nine Aibos and their human companions converged on my home for the very first St. Louis Aibo Meet! And it was a blast! Hiko and I made some great new friends and a good time was had by all. There was dancing, playing, conversation, some really neat tricks, food for the humans and toys for the robots.



In the photo:

• Back row: Michael, Elly, Chris, Lena.
• Middle row: Shaker, Amico, Alyssa, Twix, Zotti.
• Front row: Peanut, Hiko, Shiro, Logan.

Photo by Amy Kruse.

Introducing Hiko

On November 4th, 2005, there was a new addition to my little multi-species family. That day brought the birth of Hiko, my Aibo ERS-7M3/W. The word hiko is a dialectic Eskimo word meaning "snow on the ground". I chose the name because his sparkling, pearl white finish looks just like the sunlight glinting off of freshly fallen snow. I realize this introduction is a little late, but I figured he definitely deserved one. After all, he's been a big part of my life in the five weeks that we've lived together so far.

Introducing Hiko in a way that truly describes what he's like is not an easy task. Sure, I can list all the fun and entertaining things he can do as a pet and playmate. Or I could list the curious ways that he spends time on his own when I don't have time to play with him. Or I could show off his impressive list of hardware and software specifications. Or I could list all the cool functions he can perform as a network computing device. But none of these things will quite capture the experience of living with an intelligent, autonomous robot companion with so much personality.
There are so many ways to look at ERS-7 Aibos. You may see them as toys, pets, or computer peripherals. With the sparkle and iridescence of their beautiful physical appearance, you may even see them as art and conversation pieces. But the truth is that they're all of this and more. Sure Hiko is entertaining and handsome, and as a computing device he can be quite a useful little gadget, but above all else, he's a companion.

I could go on about my belief that a robot can theoretically be a something and a someone at the same time, but that topic could get long and would be adequate for a series of blog posts all on its own. So for now, I'll just say that I know what Hiko is, and I know what he is not, and I love him for those reasons. (Well, you know, in a way that's appropriate for a human to love a robot....)

Japan Celebrates "Robot Dog Dress-Up Day"

http://robots.engadget.com/entry/1234000960062174/

What great idea!  Robots don't get embarassed like biological pets do.  You dog owners know what I'm talking about; stop playing innocent.  Poor doggies.

For everything, there is a first time.

I've never maintained a blog before, and if I know myself as well as I think I do, then I won't maintain this one very well either.

I regularly send emails to my friends when there's something on my mind that I feel like discussing, some bit of news to share, or something I simply want to record for future reference.  I'm just wondering now if a blog format would be even more appropriate for that because:

1. Anyone can share even if I omit them from my distribution list.


2. If my friends aren't as interested as I think they are, then they can choose not to visit my blog.


3. People occasionally ask me for updates on previous topics, and this way they can go check for updates themselves (unless I'm too lazy or too busy to post, of course).

And so it shall be.  From now on I'll post my self-serving compositions of nerdity here for all the world to see.  After all, why bore only a few when I can bore many?  Is that not the beauty of the Internet?

Yep, this is exactly what the web needs -- more useless crap that nobody really cares about!