Tales of the Golem; or, the Modern Epimetheus

Wheels Coming Off

Not a great day for science on Saturday. As I was turning a corner in Golem 1 (in non-autonomous mode), there were popping noises and the front right wheel went all wobbly. I stopped to find that three of the wheel bolts had sheared off, so the wheel was only held on by two bolts! I found two of the sheared-off bolts in the street, the fifth one is unaccounted for. I called AAA and had Golem 1 towed to a mechanic. This is not the first time this has happened... We need to figure out what is wrong with this wheel, that it keeps shearing off its bolts.

Well, at least we can carry on with Golem 2, and with simulators, while Golem 1 is out of action.

On the way home, the half-moon was the color of blood. I pointed out that it looked weird. Maribeth concurred that it was creepy.

posted by Richard Mason @ Sunday, September 11, 2005