I should have been writing.

Today, I took some time out from writing to work on a small planetary-rover-style robot.

No joking.

I write primarily science fiction (as opposed to fantasy) under the premise that you should write what you know and I know science, –whether you are talking quantum physics, astronomy, weaponry, nano-tech, ship design or just computers and electronics. I try to make all my Sci-Fi stories have real science behind them. The fiction portion includes taking the science to the next logical step that Earth humans will reach in the future once they explore that particular scientific notion.

Back to my project. There was one piece on the robot that I previously made from plastic, which had come out poorly, so I decided to replace it with a metal one, but spray-paint it the same colour as the plastic I was replacing.

(GROAN! ...What was that about the best-laid plans of mice and men?)

I made the new replacement piece out of metal.  That part went well.  Then I picked up my can of colonial white spray paint that matched the colour of the plastic pieces and pressed the spray top.

Nothing happened.

Clogged.

With no other choice occurring to me, I set off up two flights to my bedroom in search of a sharp pin to clean the spray nozzle.  That seemed to go well, but upon returning to my shop, the paint still failed to spray.  It turned out that the clog was further down in the can, just below the spray nozzle. Taking a drill bit the right size to fit in there, I started trying to clean it out.

As it happened, I had never changed my shirt, thinking I would be very careful and not get grease or stain on it. It was Sunday and I was still wearing one of my expensive shirts, which cost 35 each, even with a discount. Add to this a clogged spray can full of pressure and wet paint of a far different colour from the shirt. I was pressing down with drill bit when the clog let loose. Obviously, paint travelling up the spiral grooves of the drill bit would spray in a circular pattern all around, and too quickly for human reflexes to avoid totally.

The last factor in this equation must relate to the combination of the paint being "fast drying" and my inability to find either turpentine or paint-thinner... Add that to "expensive shirt" and you KNOW what happened. That certainly added to the cost of the robot project –and not in a good way.

I should have been writing.