When you get right down to it, I love lots of things. For starters, I love the seaside, coffee, exploring new cities, 80s nostalgia, people who challenge me and Lionel Richie.

I also love animals. While my love for marsupials has been well documented here, there is one other group of animals I overlooked when listing animals I adore. The “sea” animals. Seals. Seal lions. Sea otters. Creativity and its power are tops on my list, too, which is not surprising seeing how often I write about it. Loving creativity also means loving creative people of all sorts, like people who make robots.

While checking out some amazing robot photos today, I was floored by all the helpful things new robots are doing. Helping people eat! (It’s actually called “My Spoon!”) Catching burglars with a crazy-looking web! (Kind of like a tiny metal Spiderman!) Moving the dead post-apocalyptic disaster! (Creepy, yet fantastically awesome!)

I also found something combining three loved things, creativity, robots and seals!

I was especially endeared by the invention of a robotic seal named Paro, who was invented as a companion for the elderly and/or lonely. It turns out this little guy also helps children with autism and individuals with Alzheimer’s! While my cat ran away during the playing of the below video, I found it fascinating, especially around 3.24 when it shows how Paro is providing companionship for an older woman living by herself.

Want more? There is a sweet video over here showing Paro’s effect on residents in a Japanese nursing home that made me cry. The accompanying news story is here, which may also make you tear up when an elderly woman mentions someone stole her cat. (The video link above also answers my burning question of why they made a seal instead of, say, a kitten.)

Some other nice things you might like:
*Bad Banana Blog
*Ranch dressing recipe from CRAFT
*Life size blue whale (link from Tiny Choices)
*Lovely interview with the amazing Diane Gilleland.
*Discovering where the time goes when you’re on line with Rescue Time