Initiated in BC3 by M@,
Ewok and Sms, though (Truth to tell), M@ and Ewok
were the ones that actually built stuff whilst Sms went off to
arrange women in bikinis with big guns.
The BC workshop has become, not only vital to the entire event, but an event in itself. Partially inspired by the excellent 'Chaos Costuming' that has been running at Eastercons for years. Basically, a room in which anyone can come along and spend as long as they like knocking together a load of junk to call "A robot" and enter, later, into the event. It's actually rather more technical than that - as M@ will be very happy to point out to anyone when lugging two trolleyloads of kit into a lift.
BC Workshop provides technical junk and basic
materials like wood, metal, plastic, string, motors and elastic
bands.
You supply your own beer. Any donations (Really: Anything is useful!) welcome. If nothing else is handy, beer will do.
Please try to bring something along for the cause and you can be surprised to see someone else knock something up out of your old junk.
Robots that you built last year and would be happy to see messed about with are particularly welcome.
Anything built in the BC Workshop is deemed a 'Chaos
Entry'. This doesn't actually earn it any special points.
BC doesn't expect people to spend months on a robot. From our
experience of past events, a thing knocked up from available
materials over a few hours in the Workshop is likely to be as well
built as anything made at home.
Funding came from BCIV and was bettered by BCV.
The workshop has been organised and supplied by M@, Miche and Tim Kirk since BCIV.
Occasionally, Eira visits to interview the robots.
A popular Convention 'stream' that runs the entire course of the Convention and is very popular with families who want to mess about with tools and junk together (Hence the high number of 'Chaos Entries' by children). M@ and Tim will be the bearded chaps with an air of quiet confidence and a soldering iron. Buy them beer, but please don't put any children too close to them. It's not quite safe for either…
Named 'The Susan Calvin Robotic Automata
Playroom' by Sms in 2001, when it became apparent that
people had worked out what the Robot Workshop was, and so it became
neccesary to confuse people.
To date, Susan Calvin has refused to make a personal appearance, but we live in hope. On the other hand, rumours have circulated of Rotwang working in one of the darker corners…
The BC Workshop is also licenced for Robot Betting. Just talk to Honest M@ or Sm'The Old Firm' S for the odds. To date, they've organised betting for the 2001 'Queen Victoria Race'* around the Hotel Rotunda. All proceeds to the Feryal Raja Trust (A genuine charity and nothing to do with us aside from our supporting it. Check with Con Admin to confirm).
*Against all odds, Queen Victoria won.
See 'S.C.R.A.P.'
See Chaos Workshop.
See Chaos Costumes.
We have to point out that we're not responsible for
anyone's stupidity. We expect anyone using the BC Workshop
to treat power tools with the respect they deserve. If you act
stupidly, then we'd all be in trouble - the Workshop too.
This is a patronising statment of the obvious, and we're
happy to state that to date, everyone (Children included) have
behaved in a manner the Nuclear power Industry could do well to
learn from (But, with rather more laffs than we feel is seemly
in an industry involving radioactive elements). It's people
behaving sensibly (But not, of course, 'sensibly') that
makes it not only possible, but fun. Thank you!
Due to Tim's staunch efforts to gain K-Nex
donations of kit, there has been a lot of K-Nex to build robots
from. This has become so successful that there's now
frequently a parallel 'K-Nex Workshop'
in which people can build anything they damn well like - not
necessarily robots - so long as it's using K-Nex.
For further K-Nex or Engineering wisdom, Tim is contactable at: tim@wobbegong.demon.co.uk
In 2000, the K-Nex Workshop was so popular that it was exported to Dublin for the 'Aliens Stole my Handbag' Humour/SF Con as Tim lent the Kit to The Gimp Boys (The Organisers). They returned it during Eastercon 2001. It was, apparently, a success which is likely to be repeated. Their next Humour/SF Con is 'Damn Fine Con' (Again, in Dublin. 3rd-6th May). Avoid it. It's just people being silly and having a good time. They'll probably just play with military hardware again, so why bother, eh?
More Irish entertainment: www.damnfinecon.org.uk
We'd very sincerely like to offer our thanks to K-Nex. They've been very nice and helpful.
