Dean's Blog: Dog of a Thousand Faces

FOPAL

I recently started volunteering at the Friends of Palo Alto Libraries (FOPAL). This nonprofit organization receives donations of books, and sells them, with the proceeds going to the local libraries.

One of the stranger traditions at FOPAL is the dressing up the stuffed animal mascot named Le Woofer. FOPAL sells books once a month, and Woofie, and his wicker bird companion are dressed to match a major holiday in the month. e.g. For December Woofie was Santa Claus. It started when somebody donated Woofie to FOPAL, and since he was clearly not a book nobody knew what to do with him. The volunteers started propping him up in the "Earth and Animals" section, or hunched over a keyboard. And then it got out of hand. None of this makes any sense, but traditions rarely do.

Woofie the Clown

In October Woofie is dressed as a clown for Halloween. The base outfit is a children's costume. The nose is a Christmas ornament. The hair is polyester fiberfill, and some fluorescent paint.

Woofie Claus

In December Woofie is Santa Claus, and the bird a reindeer (note the blinking LED nose). The chimney is a couple of moving boxes glued together and painted red.

Woofie the Drunk

In January, it appeared Woofie has had a bit too much to drink at a New Years Eve party. The foam coming out of the bottle is a product called Great Stuff; it's spray insulation in a can. Inside Woofie's hat is an mp3 player which added a snoring sound effect.

Woofie in Love

February is Valentine's Day, and it looks like Woofie has a case of puppy love. The heart has 16 LEDs controlled by a programmable chip called a PIC. Sound effects are supplied by a small digital voice recorder. The big red button activates the everything.