HAL is a girl!

Last night Delightful Finch turned HAL on while I was holding him. HAL said her first words (in a definite FEMALE voice): "Please check wheels." Poor HAL, we've been calling her a 'him' for 5 years..... =\

Five years ago, we bought a first generation Roomba for my birthday. We named him HAL. 3-yr-old Beautiful Rabbit loved HAL. He was much quieter than our previous vacuum which never failed to bring her to tears just by being on. Also, HAL was good for Buffy-type fighting practice. She'd chase HAL around the room and run screaming/giggling from him when he turned to chase her. We had to make a rule: no jumping over HAL.

Three years later, we traded HAL in for a second generation Roomba Discovery SE. Beautiful Rabbit threw a fit when we were packing up HAL. Finally we convinced her that HAL was just going in for a make-over and would come back better than new. Because he was the same robot, just upgraded, we called him HAL. 8-mo-old Strong Bear was fascinated with HAL. We had to make a rule: no letting HAL touch you. HAL became part of the "rescue the princess" game. HAL was poison! If HAL touched you, or if you touched the carpet, you'd be poisoned, too.

Last night, we traded HAL in for a third generation Roomba 560. When told HAL was going in for a make-over, Beautiful Rabbit pictured HAL with lipstick, eyeshadow, and curly hair. Strong Bear didn't want to put his pants on until he found out it meant a trip in the car. Delightful Finch bursts into tears every time HAL vacuums. New HAL is quieter, but still too loud for Delightful Finch.

Lucky for Delightful Finch, HAL now has a scheduler! I can program HAL to clean 3 different rooms (one at a time) at any time of the day or night. Plus, each day of the week can have a different programing schedule. Now if only he could climb stairs.....