Hot McNews?

Only in Japan

The Tokyo Times today reports the latest development in scrapbooking technology from the Majinichi Scrapbooking Technology Centre in Kyoto.

'Scrappeena' is the latest of the humanoid form robots produced collaboratively with the Sony Robotics Laboratory and incorporates a wide range of functions that will allow people to use the robot to complete most scrapbooking tasks. 'Scrappeena' comes complete with inbuilt photo printer, cutting and embossing system, OPT optical imaging system, micro-servo controlled page and embellishment placement and USB capability for design input from a PC.

'Scrapeena' is the brainchild of Dr Notsosuni Makiti. Dr Makiti's wife, Hanako is president of the Japanese National Guild of Scrapbooking and Stamping and the robot was built to allow her more time to spend with the family. Dr Makiti said that "Robots are the way of the future for Japan. The population is aging and we do not have enough people to assist the elderly with daily tasks. It is fitting that robots should be used also to allow people to enjoy their hobbies."

"I never see my wife, she is always off at Crop Nights (scrapbooking events) or in her hobby room. We have lost the intimacy that we once shared and I hope that the robot will be able to take over some of the less creative chores and allow Hanako spend more time with me."

Although 'Scrapeena' is a prototype it is understood that production models will be available from late 2010.

Shocked and Appalled

April 3! I haven't blogged here since April 3.

Since then I've had a birthday, eaten too many Easter Eggs, met a coffee grower (my coffee hobby), calculated how many billions of dollars we need for disability services and been used as a scrapbooking embellishment twice (or was I a subject - not sure!).

We also started painting the 'Scrapping Room' and any hopes I might have had for it becoming a dual purpose "Scrapping and Home Theatre' room were immediately scotched by the green paint I applied to the walls on Sunday - not at all conducive to movie watching!

I've also been too tired to Blog much lately - sad, but there you go, life interferes with hobbies sometimes.

Our local shots are fairly new and some of the shops are just being leased. The most recent to open is a pizza shop and we tried (and enjoyed) their pizza recently. They make square pizzas and have a jumbo size that is really enormous. Consequently its box is of corresponding brobdinagian proportions. Mrs Grendel (in a moment of what I sincerely hope was idle speculation) voiced an interest in the kinds of scrapbooking supplies that could be shipped in a 24 inch pizza box (as opposed to the 12 inch size that so many supplies seem to transit the country in).

I must confess that the thought of a 24 inch binder and 24 inch pages leaves me quite breathless in horror - double the glue, at least double the embellishments and I can imagine the cost of the large-format printer AND its ink cartridges would be nothing short of astronomical.

So please scrappers, a little sanity, just because there is a pizza box of 24 inches it doesn't mean you have to fill it, a 12 inch box is a meal in itself.

Survival

Well, we survived the absence of Mrs Grendel for the weekend. There were some moments when the boys and I were not friends, but that happens (as they say).

Lately we have had a party every weekend and this continued this weekend with a birthday party on Saturday at yet another one of those kids play places.

Invariably they are called 'jungle something' or 'totally something else' or 'Wild thing' or a variation on this theme. Loud, crowded and bad coffee, but the kids love them. Not much opportunity to talk scrapbooking for any scrapping mums there though by the look of it.

By Sunday all three of us had collapsed in a heap waiting for mummy to come home, Jnr Grendel Number One and I took turn playing 'tanks' (Command and Conquer - Generals) then he brought me a white sheet of paper and said: "look Dad, I've been scrapcooking".

There in his hands was a sheet with Mrs Grendel's scrapping stickers stuck all over it. It was very nicely done, but not sure if it was what Mrs Grendel had in mind for those stickers.

Fortunately though they were surplus sheets she'd given him - from his own scrapping box of scrapping scraps.

Which leads me to wonder why it is called scrapbooking when all of the materials used are bought new, maintained in pristine condition and discarded when they are actually 'scraps'.

'High Grade Paper and Expensive Embellishent Archival Decorative Album System' may not be as catchy as 'scrapbooking, but I reckon it is more accurate!