thanks y'all for your insights.
i guess i knew my answer all along but just wanted to hear from other folks. this sort of hobby is most of the time more like an ongoing experiment which is why it usually stays in.
but if i were to build say a robot toy for my kids who will be happy with something that just walks around avoiding objects or following them, it is something that has an "end" (or is it?). i'd feel better running it on say a $12 minimal http://moderndevice.com/RBBB_revB or something similar. something similar.
thanks again!