Merlins Tower

Robots Invade Pittsburgh - Roboworld

Posted on April 20th, 2008 by Merlin.
Categories: Adult, Analog, Announcement, Human, Life, Pittsburgh, Travel.

Just announced - Well earlier this month - Is Roboworld at the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh, PA. This new exhibit will be part of their permanent display -  It will cost about $3.4 million and  will emphasize three aspects of artificial robotic behavior: sensing, thinking and acting.

This Display will also  include members of the Carnegie Mellon University Robot Hall of Fame. On April 9th Anthony Daniels Dropped by for this announcement as his famous character C3PO is on display in the Robot Hall of Fame.

This exhibit hopes to help to foster kids into careers in Science, Math, and Technology and hopefully relating to the field of robotics. From all that I read on this new display this will be the largest of it kind in the nation.

I know I can’t wait till this display opens - if it is like the other displays there - it will included lots of hands on and lots of fun with a bunch of education thrown in with out it seeming like you are learning.

And as R2D2 would Say:

Technorati Tags: Roboworld, Carnegie,, Science,, Center,, CSC, Mellon, C3PO, R2D2, , Carnegie, Science, Center, Robots, Robotics, Robot, Hall, of, Fame, Carnegie, Mellon, University, Carnegie, Mellon, CMU, Pittsburgh, PA

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Sumo Bean Bag Omni :I Want One!

Posted on April 3rd, 2008 by Merlin.
Categories: Analog, Anything Else, Communication, Craft, Drawing, Health, Human, Journaling, Movies, TV, Video, XBOX.

Well - everyone here knows I like the simple things in life and I happened to see a photo of one of these Sumo Bean Bags -  Omni the Urban Lounge - To Quote the Sumo Website:

This super-sized pillow by Sumo is the ultimate solution for all your relaxing needs. We’ve come up with 10 ways to use it, but some people say we lack imagination!

It’s a crash mat, lounge chair, loveseat or floor pillow to name a few, but the possibilities really do go on.

Sumo Beanbags are made from space age rip-proof nylon and come filled with top quality Sumo Beads. Omni is 4.5′ x 5.5′ and it only weighs 18 lbs!

This looks like something I want to try out and use. I can see using this sitting in front of the TV and watching my favorite TV Shows (CSI, Big Bang Theory or Monk) or Playing the xbox! But really I can see this as a comfortable place to Lounge listening to some good music (like the New NIN - Ghost Album)  and Pulling out the good old jounral and putting the pen to paper and writing my thoughts away. possibly drawing some Zentangles. Someday If I ever get one of these ingenious bean bags I will have to write a review of it. In the mean time - Check out their site and decide for your self.

Merlin

Technorati Tags: Bean, Bag, Bean+Bags, Chair, Lounge, loveseat, floor+pillow, floor, Xbox, xbox+360, wii, Sumo, Omni, Urban, Urban+lounger, Urban, Lounge, Bead+Bag, Beads, Chair, Kids, Furniture, NIN, Ghost, Journaling

1 comment.

Things that Are not there Anymore!!!

Posted on March 9th, 2008 by Merlin.
Categories: Analog, Communication, Fountain Pens, Free, Gadgets, Hack, Human, Pittsburgh.

I was playing around on Twitter today and found this great tool for twitter called TerraMinds - It allows you to search for a topic you want to see if anyone wrote about. I did a search on there for Pittsburgh and found some interesting articles. But I was lead to LyriqueTragedy and her web blog - DawnPapuga.com - And she wrote about Things that were not there anymore and specifically to Pittsburgh - But there are the general topics as well - Such as the handwritten note - to quote her on this:

There’s something magical about handwritten letters. To receive a handwritten letter from someone is a gift.

Boy isn’t that so true - I think this leads me to why I love to use my fountain pens and write things down instead of using a computer for everything.

Yes, Email is much faster. But, receiving a letter from a friend that was written down is way more personal.

They actually took the time to sit down at a desk, pull out a piece of paper, select a pen, and put their words in ink on paper. This truly is Magical.

Something that used to be taken for granted has been over taken by email, voicemail, faxing, (All things Digital) - Trust me - I love digital devices more then the next person but… There has to be a time and a place to sit down and write your friend a letter just because…. I know I would really enjoy getting a letter in the mail from a friend - Much more then I would like reading that same letter in email form. Yes, even the same words seem more powerful when put in ink on paper and not just represented on the screen in ones and zeros.

Well this is just my little push to go out and write a letter to someone that cares. And see what happens. You really don’t need to have a fancy pen, fancy paper or anything fancy at all. Just pull out a sheet of white paper from your printer and grab that bic pen that you have been chewing one and just write it down. Nice to write your thoughts down - when you have to think about them first and not have the backspace key at your beck and call. Now you don’t have to pre-think the whole letter but just think about the current sentence you are writing and just write what comes from your heart. I am pretty sure whom ever you are writing will be surprised and will love what ever you write no matter what.

Well now you need to send it to them - I know I don’t have any blank envelopes on hand so here you can make your own. - DIY - Fold Your Own Envelope.

But now that you have it folded what about a stamp - Two things - There are many post offices that are open 24 hours and you can put your pocket change in and get a stamp feed out to you - or go to and purchase a few booklets of the Forever Stamp from the post office - Cost the same as a first class stamp does now $.41 but it doesn’t have a price on it and can be used anytime in the future for no additional postage due. Very Cool - Nows the time to buy in bulk and use them in 20 years.

Merlin

Technorati Tags: Handwriting, letterwriting, writing, ink, paper, envelope, stamps, stamp, make, your, own, envelope, Hack, DIY, Free, love, fountain, pen, analog

2 comments.

Cool New Pen: Tombow Object XL

Posted on December 31st, 2007 by Merlin.
Categories: Analog, EDC, Pen.

Just happen to have seen this pen today - I saw it as I was looking for a Fisher Space Pen to buy as a gift for a friend.

Let me introduce the Tombow Object XL Pen - This really is a cool pen. As cool if not cooler then the Inka Pen. This really is pretty easy to use pen. Nothing to twist off or Turn or better there are No Caps to loose. All you have to do is pull the plunger out and the pen tip pops out. This really is a nice feature. Similar to the Cross Gel Pen. But this uses a from what I understand a pressurized ink that will allow you to write upside down and on wet paper but only comes in black ink. The pen is of an all metal design. Closed it is 4 inches. Open it is 5 inches - Which should be easy to write with. And you might notice on the back there is a keychain hole to allow you to clip this with your keys. Plus I understand you can also replace the ink with a fisher stylus tip and make this a nifty PDA Stylus. These can be purchased on Amazon for about $24.95. I know I would like to buy one but…

Technorati Tags: Tombow, Object, XL, Pen, Inka, Fisher, Space, Pressurized, Ink, Black, Metal, Keychain, EDC

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Theo Jansen - Modern Day DaVinci

Posted on December 21st, 2007 by Merlin.
Categories: Analog, Art, Video, YouTube.

This guy is incredible - These kinetic Sculpture’s are unbelievable. I just had to share what people are calling the Modern Day DaVinci. Theo Jansen artwork and designs just have to be seen to believed. I really can not describe what you are about to see except that it is beautiful and it flows. They look so full of life. Well I will not try to describe this - Just enjoy the show. -Merlin

Technorati Tags: Theo, Jansen, Artist, art, work, kinetic, sculptor, netherlands, engineering, engineer, bmw, artificial, life, sculptor, video, youtube, algorithms

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Miquelrius Journals - On Sale - Moleskine Replacements

Posted on December 15th, 2007 by Merlin.
Categories: Analog, GTD, Gadgets, HPDA, Journaling, Leather, Life, Miquelrius, Moleskine, Notetaking, Office, Web Service.

On sale for the next few day are the Miquelrius Journals that I love an chat about here on Merlins Tower.
I really do use these everyday for my notes and ideas. And Now I can help you save some money on these journals.

To see all the Miquelrius Journals Click Here - NOW! or the link might run and hide from you LOL! Or the Special will run out.

The special is if you order over $35 dollars you will get 25% off and upgraded to 3day shipping at no additional cost over the regular shipping price.

To get this offer Type in this following code 25OFF - But what if you are not ordering over $35 dollars then Use the word 15Off and you will get 15 % off your entire order. Wow nice to same some cash at Christmas Time.

Just thought I would share this with everyone - Enjoy and Happy Holidays from the Tower.

Technorati Tags: Miquelrius, Journals, Moleskine, Journal, notebook, fountain, pen, Fountain+Pen, Leather, Like, Life, Journalling, Notetaking, Notes, Writing

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Cool Tool: Authentics Pen Clip for Moleskines and Other Journals

Posted on December 2nd, 2007 by Merlin.
Categories: Analog, Fountain Pens, Gadgets, HPDA, Journaling, Miquelrius, Moleskine, Notetaking, Office.

I recently found this pen clip while stumbling around the web and this happens to be a really cool tool. It is made by Authentics - Just called the Pen Clip from what I can ascertain from the Japanese website I saw.

This Pen Clip can be used on a side of a journal like the photo to the left. And yes that looks like the Moleskine Notebook with the Pen Clip attached. But you can use this clip with other types of journals as well.

I have been looking around this morning and I am unable to find a place to purchase one of these really cool pen clips. So, If you know where I can get one please leave me a comment.

Here is the Pen Clip with my one of my favorite pens the Lamy Safari

Here is what the pen clip looks holding a Mechanical Pencil

Here is what the Pen clip looks like naked without a journal

Here is the Pen Clip attached to a Leather Journal Cover
Doesn’t need to be used on a spine of a journal.

Technorati Tags: Pen+Clip, Authentic+Pen+Clip, Fountain+Pen, Pen, Pens, Journal, Leather+Journal, Leather, Notebook, Moleskine, Miguelrius, Japan

6 comments.

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