About My Website:
I first started tinkering and building robots many years ago when I was home-schooled in the 3rd grade: the year when I really became interested in science and technology. Some of my earliest projects included a small solar-powered car (which worked, sort of), a "Disk rover" made out of a pair of DC motors and old CDs which used tactile feedback to avoid obstacles, and a two-servo, four-legged walking robot controlled by a Basic Stamp II. I also enjoyed mixing random chemicals and creating slush.
With my unemployed, elementary-school status, I obtained parts and tools for my projects mostly through convincing my parents to spend cash on obscure-sounding components which I had almost no idea how to use. However, through lots of trial and error, I slowly learned how to read schematics, build circuits, etc., and soon enough, I found myself tinkering and pursuing projects simply for entertainment and intellectual stimulation.
Unfortunately, with my low budget, I couldn't afford to buy new parts and supplies at the same rate that I wanted to build projects. So, I turned to "dumpster diving" and scavenging parts from broken electronics and toys. However, when random junk didn't contain the specific components that I needed (or knew how to use), I (to my great regret) disassembled my old projects in order to recycle parts.
With my unemployed, elementary-school status, I obtained parts and tools for my projects mostly through convincing my parents to spend cash on obscure-sounding components which I had almost no idea how to use. However, through lots of trial and error, I slowly learned how to read schematics, build circuits, etc., and soon enough, I found myself tinkering and pursuing projects simply for entertainment and intellectual stimulation.
Unfortunately, with my low budget, I couldn't afford to buy new parts and supplies at the same rate that I wanted to build projects. So, I turned to "dumpster diving" and scavenging parts from broken electronics and toys. However, when random junk didn't contain the specific components that I needed (or knew how to use), I (to my great regret) disassembled my old projects in order to recycle parts.
Fast-forward to a couple years ago. One day, as I was spending a perfectly beautiful Saturday afternoon cloistered in my workshop, I looked around the room and noticed how, after years of building and tinkering, I had a disappointing amount to actually "show" for all the hours that I spent working away tirelessly with my drill-press and soldering iron -- a small robot emerging from piles of junk, and a half-disassembled project in a corner, etc. In order to feel satisfied with sacrificing the precious time that I could otherwise be enjoying in the sun and fresh air, I decided that I needed to create some way to document my projects and pursuits (both successes and failures).
So, I came up with the idea of creating this robotics blog that you are visiting right now. However, that wasn't all. I wanted it to be even bigger.
So, I arrived at the idea of not only starting a robotics blog, but also starting a robotics team with two friends (Ryan and Michael) from my school's FTC Robotics team. We'd all work together during the summer to compete at various hobbyist competitions, like the Atlanta Hobby Robot Rally which I had gone to and competed in myself the previous two years. We even came up with a catchy team name: "Team Ctrl Alt Delete." Since there were three of us, we thought it reasonable that I should be "Ctrl" (since I was the one who came up with the idea), Ryan should be "Alt" (for no particular reason), and Michael should be "Delete" (since he likes to destroy and take apart stuff). And so, teamctrlaltdelete.com was born. |
However, things did not go as expected. "Alt" had summer plans that interfered with his ability to participate, "Delete" and I both took summer Calculus that impeded our ability to spend much time working on our mini team, and during the following school-year, we would all be too busy to accomplish our goals.
And so, after about 5 days into the summer, Team Ctrl Alt Delete was disbanded without even doing anything (though"Delete" did write this post about making a cheap taser to shock annoying siblings). What a bummer...
However, though things didn't necessarily work out the way that I wanted them to, I still decided to make good on my goal of documenting my various projects. I also decided not to change the web address for sentimental reasons (in addition to the fact that I spent $67 in order to purchase the domain name).
During the years since I first built my "Disk Rover," my parents had noticed my deep interest in science and robotics, and were extremely supportive in both financing and encouraging me in my pursuits. And so, to this day, I still try my best to continue tinkering and blogging: activities that I both find stimulating and gratifying.
-- Chris (September 2014)
And so, after about 5 days into the summer, Team Ctrl Alt Delete was disbanded without even doing anything (though"Delete" did write this post about making a cheap taser to shock annoying siblings). What a bummer...
However, though things didn't necessarily work out the way that I wanted them to, I still decided to make good on my goal of documenting my various projects. I also decided not to change the web address for sentimental reasons (in addition to the fact that I spent $67 in order to purchase the domain name).
During the years since I first built my "Disk Rover," my parents had noticed my deep interest in science and robotics, and were extremely supportive in both financing and encouraging me in my pursuits. And so, to this day, I still try my best to continue tinkering and blogging: activities that I both find stimulating and gratifying.
-- Chris (September 2014)