I distinctly remember promises of flying cars, the elimination of paper, and household robots.
While I have always thought the idea of flying cars foolhardy (you see what happens with accidents on the ground…all we need is those idiots crashing over our heads…shudder). And the elimination of paper and printed books is horrifying to me (Kindle be damned). But that robot thing, now THAT was always an idea I was all about.
As a child sitting in my GATE class reading about that rosy robot-filled future I could hardly contain my excitement. I couldn’t wait to have my own robot. As the years passed I realized I had been hoodwinked. There were no personal household robots fetching our slippers, making us dinner, walking the dog. They had LIED to me. I must admit I was just a little bit bitter about the whole thing.
Well I am happy to announce that that bitterness over my robot-less life has finally been lifted thanks to the
kindness of my husband. For Christmas he gifted me with my first household robot and while he will not be bringing me my slippers anytime soon he is awesome and just cleaned my living room and dining room floors yesterday. I am the proud owner of an iRobot Roomba and I love him beyond reasonable understanding.
The jury is still out, but I am leaning towards the name Isaac with Karel also still in the running. Roo has been a possible option and for some reason Charlie. Please feel free to offer suggestions or preferences in the comments. There is a picture of the little guy below for inspiration.
PS – For those who think I may have forgotten about the the eventual Terminator-style uprising of the robots I have not. I just realize it is inevitable and we may as well enjoy them in the meantime. Besides having a Roomba may save me from a deadly viper attack.
Well, if you customized the ‘clean’ button in the center, replaced it with a glass dome red-glowing, all-seeing eye, it could be HAL. There’s something HAL-esque about it overall. Hm.
But ideally you want something that says both ‘robot’ and ‘domestic’, and also alludes to some classic literature of sci-fi heritage angle.
What was the Jetson’s robot maid called?
Random name suggestions:
“Three Thousand 2000”
“Mektor the Indomitable”
“Our Dread Lord Rugmu”
My husband had already cast his vote for HAL as well (HAL 530 to match its model number). I have to admit from the start HAL has been stuck in my head and I was just trying to avoid it since I was worried that there might be a lot of Roombas out there called HAL . But gosh darn it it just fits.
Although I have to say “Our Dread Lord Rugmu” is calling to me now also. 🙂