Blog - The Daily PoopThe little stinker did it again

These guys designed a watch that sold for 2.7 million dollars

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We have now completed our film of Franck Muller brand wristwatches, the master of complications. Here are the brains behind the operation, Jean Pierre Golay and his cousin Pierre Michel Golayl Both of these Swiss gentlemen went to watch making school years ago and have mastered their craft. If there were a sport called Xtreme watch making, these guys would be the poster boys. The last watch they created took four years to make and had over 1,500 parts delicately placed in a case that fits on your wrist. Without SolidWorks CAD software, this would have been nearly impossible to create. I asked Jean Pierre this afternoon at lunch why the Swiss are so well known for watch making. He surprised me by answering that the French were the real watch makers but that hundreds of years ago, the protestants and Catholics went to war and the protestants were exiled and they went to Switzerland. These were the watch makers and so they took their craft with them.
Tomorrow, we’re back to Paris to finish filming the Aldebaran humanoid robots. I’d like to get my son one of them but considering they are $15,000, I’ll look for something a little less steep in the local souvenir shop. Seven more days until I get to hold him in my arms and kiss my wife.
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Interviewing the designer of the world’s most complicated wristwatch

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Today is exciting as we prepare to interview the designer of the world’s most complicated watch which sold recently for 2.7 million dollars. Located in the foothills of the Swiss Alps in Geneva, Switzerland, John Pierre Golay and his cousin Pierre Michel, of Franck Muller Company, are two charming older gentlemen who have opened their studio compound to us. They have agreed to show us the entire process of how they created their newest watch, the Giga with the largest tourbillon ever designed. I asked John Pierre if there were any secrets or proprietary information that we should stay away from. His reply was, “What secrets? We have no secrets. It is about experience; about understanding. If you can make this watch, please go ahead.”
They don’t make any children’s watches so Conor will have to keep asking mommy and daddy what time it is. Considering he’s only 6 months old, I don’t suppose he cares what time it is anyway. It’s either time to play, time to eat or time to sleep. And no watch is going to tell him that!
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Today I'm directing in Paris

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I left my family in Boston yesterday to embark on a 10 day journey to direct 3 new small films celebrating the persona of engineers around the globe -- the fact that they can never leave well enough alone. The result is that they create the most wonderful inventions that sometimes change the world. Today I met Bruno Maisonnier, the founder and CEO of Aldebaran. The company is located in the heart of Paris. He has been dreaming of robots since he was a child. And today, he is has created the most charming humanoid robots. Bruno is a very enthusiastic and nice man. And not your typical shy engineer. He is full of ambition and you can feel it when in his presence because he is so outgoing and fun. Forecasters say in the next 15 years, robots will be as commonplace as the personal computer is today. And that every home will have at least one personal robot. Some are calling Bruno Maisonnier the Bill Gates of humanoid robots. We shall see.
The purpose of his robots is to help people. And one of the first breakthroughs with his robots is helping autistic children. Because autistic children learn by repitition and ritual, and often don’t respond to emotion, the robot is the perfect teacher for some tasks. For hours the friendly robots can patiently help and teach without being ‘judgemental.’
I will be posting the short documentary of Aldebaran in mid June so stay tuned.

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