Jack is getting quite a bit more active, which is fun but can really complicate things when both mom and dad are trying to work. ^^;; He is growing tired of his compliment of spaceships, like his mothership (the crib), his deep space exploration and service wessel (the pack ‘n play), his high speed intercept fighter craft (the Papasan cradle rocker), his low atmosphere shuttle (the bouncy chair) and his escape pod (the car seat). His undersea exploration vehicle (the baby bath tub) needs a full compliment of crew to operate (mom and dad), and his maintenance and support craft (the diaper changing table) what never what you’d call entertaining. So what is a deep space explorer and great captain to do?

Get more vehicles, of course.

His current favorite is the Daddy Landmate. This advance Mecha design is basically Jack strapped to my chest in a Baby Bjorn infant carrier. What is most amusing about it reminds me of Masamune Shirow’s Landmate designs in Applessed — in particular the ones where the control armatures that contain the pilot’s arms and legs are not fully contained within the mecha. As you can see, he’s tricked out his Daddy Landmate with a head rest and a Boppy pillow to sit his tush on when the Landmate is using the Desk Chair attachment.

While this might look like it is a perfect setup for me to work and keep him happy, there are some drawbacks to being a Gundam. Using the computer is easy, but drawing can be a challenge. The biggest issue is not being able to lean over the paper as I draw, but I solved this morning after a huge ‘Doh!’ moment. All I needed to do was tilt my drawing table up and problem solved :) (note that the table is still flat in the photo from a few days ago).

I don’t know if you have ever worked on a tilted surface, but it can be a real pain. Gravity is a bitch, and since just about everything you work with is either thin and round, flat and heavy (like books or binders) or flat and light (like paper) it all has a tendency slide right off the table onto the floor, usually as soon as you let go of it. Trays and flat areas around your table are fine, but with all that space you actually want to USE some of it

Last year, I came up with a most excellent solution - Dashboard Sticy Pads. You know those sticky pads they sell for your dashboard to hold your cellphone? Yep, those things. Works amazingly well as a place to put pencils, markers, erasers, etc. They also work great for holding binders and books. They tend to loose stickyness over time, what with eraser shavings and dust and stuff, but all you have to do is wash them off and they are as sticky as new.

As for the metal trays - I just use little rubber pads or feet I got at the hardware store. they work almost as well (tho they can slide off if the desk is at too much of an angle or you put too much in them).

The other problem with trying to draw in Daddy Landmate mode is the pilot. When he’s drowsy and relaxing, it works fine, but when he bounces around, it’s a little hard to draw straight lines. Hopefully with the desk at more of an angle, this will be less of a problem - the drawings from yesterday really look off, and I’m gonna have to redo a few panels.

That said, it looks like Space Explorer Captain Jack has decided it’s time to fire up his Daddy Landmate and get to work. He says they are cheap to operate because they run on coffee, but the control interface needs work. :)