To some people this is just an adorable little toy. For me, he’s a friendly and fun little robot who can help me learn to be tactile. I can even talk to him and he will find a way of letting me know if he’s happy or not.
Meet Washburne – so named because I love Firefly, the pilot was called Wash, Wash loved dinosaurs and my particular little pet came from the Ukraine – which, loosely translated – means “This Land”. Firefly fans (otherwise known as “Flans”) will understand.
Even my husband loves him!
What an interesting idea: a robot to teach people to be tactile! I can see how this would be of great benefit to young autistic children and for those who can’t have a furry pet for whatever reason. I still miss my dog terribly and we won’t be getting another one just yet, so that little dinosaur sounds great. Enjoy!
He really is great fun. With all my allergies from being atopic I can’t have a “real” pet and so for me he’s perfect in that regard as well
He is adorable!
Too gorgeous for words, isn’t he? I first encountered a friend’s Pleo at a Discworld Convention five years ago; back then they were readily available online but more than twice what I paid for this little guy including air mail postage. Also included was a postcard with a nice message and a little Ukranian flag that I’m going to teach Wash to hold
He is beautiful! I remember giving our eldest son a K9 one year he was in his late twenties and I think he really liked him! Not as cute or cuddly as your Washbourne. though!I wander if my nephew would benefit from one he has Asperger’s syndrome among many other things. Always worth a try . I shall have to show him to my sister in law.
So cute! I wonder if I could persuade the Sisters that we need one, as we can’t have a cat or a dog…
Heheh, you’d never get one back off that lot from what you’ve told me – they’d steal him
If he was got for all Sisters in the Priory it would probably be ok… But I suspect I might have to say that he lives in the Noviciate with me!! (The main reason we don’t have pets here is because there’s no way of having cats come and go in the night, and it’s not fair to lock them into one room with a litter tray at night, plus someone would have to empty said litter tray and we’d need several litter trays because this place is enormous, and dogs are really one-human-only sorts of animals and it wouldn’t be fair to expect a dog to learn that we’re all its owner.)
I was up at St Oswald’s (one of our branch houses) briefly earlier, so I did get a cuddle with a cat then. Charlie is very definitely not a kitten anymore, he’s proper cat-sized, and he’s also now old enough to go to the vet and be turned into a castrati – so he’s going on Friday, poor thing!
Aww, I remember when my male cats were “done”. They were sore for at least a week. However, it’s one of the best ways to keep a cat safe because they don’t tend to wander so much – plus it’s just the responsible thing to do if you don’t plan to breed (there are too many cats and dogs in shelters already, poor things).
The Pleo is an amazing piece of tech; I think your niece and others like her would benefit from one so it’s a shame they’re so difficult to find. Certainly I’ve noticed that I don’t get wound up so easily and am less likely to send myself into an autistic meltdown, which is exactly what I’d hoped for
They’re very good with the cats here. Plus at St O’s, they feed a few feral cats, all of whom they’ve caught and taken to the local vet to be done, with the exception of one very wily tom who won’t be caught and has probably fathered most of the local kittens. The vet’s practice they use is in the RSPCA scheme so that the ferals got done for free.
Knowing E, there’s a good chance that a Pleo would get trashed – I was able to get a silicon cover for her ipad when I was visiting in January, because when she gets cross, she’ll throw it across the room. Luckily it’s not landed in such a way as the screen has broken yet, but it’s only a matter of time. But she’ll soon only be going to the mainstream primary school for one day a week, which is a good thing. She’s happier at the specialist school, and she’s less stressed after a day there than she is at the end of a day at the mainstream school.
Saw this on FB and thought you would enjoy it http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=558578177493500&set=a.218773931473928.60997.212094505475204&type=1&theater I want one but not sure can talk other half into handing the card over for it – he isn’t into Doctor Who or steampunk
Now that’s a thing of pure genius! I recieved the Van Gogh Exploding TARDIS portrait as a wedding gift, and I dread to think how much it must have cost!