New York City is filled with wonders and curiosities that never cease to amaze. There are those special moments however, when one happens upon something in the city that resonates so deeply in their soul, they are stopped in their tracks. I recently had said experience last weekend when I found myself gazing past the window display of a store I had come across and the wonders contained behind its plate glass façade. What was this magical place you ask? Well, it is my new favorite retail find on this utopian island of mine know as AC Gears. A treasure trove of gadgets, gizmos, doodads, and thing-a-ma-beeps that could cause a person like myself to lose countless hours of their life. Wide-eyed and memorized, I began to scan the offerings and instantly fell in love with everything that I touched. But what really got the ink inside the pens in my pocket protector boiling was the assortment of robots. Yes, robots… Why, because I am in love with robots… There I said it, and I feel better.Ever since R2D2 first beeped and glipted at me through the 9” black & white TV I had in my room when I was four, robots have held a special place in my heart. Through their portrayal in TV shows and movies robots teach us about humanity, the human condition, and ourselves. These lessons are all relegated to the role of the robots in science fiction as we have yet to experience what it would be like to have a free-thinking companion made of metal with an off switch in real life. Nonetheless, these lessons are some of the best of my life, and would have been impossible to communicate in such a unique way without the dynamic characteristics of the robot.
In addition, to keep it simple... and not so deep, robots are just plain cool! They look cool, they move cool, they talk cool, and they can generally do cool stuff that we can’t. Robots make me feel like a kid again, which makes sense seeing how my parents bestowed upon me any robot toy that they could get their hands on. From actions figures to 2 ½ feet tall remote control programmable robots – I had them all. (thanks mom and pop) Which leads me back to AC Gears.
The store has a great selection or robots for the grown up kid. The crown jewel of this assortment is PLEN, a desktop hobby robot that roller skates and skate boards. PLEN commands a high price of $2,499.99 but with only 50 produced in the world so far it is easy to see why: He is programmable via bluetooth and is sure to offer countless hours of entertainment.If PLEN is a little out of your price range AC Gears also carries a unique collection of electronics, and “limited run gadgets,” which are sure to make the Geek Squad at Best Buy jealous. So reconnect with your inner dork and pay AC Gears a visit at 69 E. 8th Street in NYC or online at www.acgears.com. The robots will thank you.
If you have something you'd like to write about just let me know, and you might be the next Summer Friday blogger!
Related Things:
- Read all the Summer Friday entries
- More things about NYC