No news is good news

We have been very busy lately — all in a good way. I'll catch up soon, but in the meantime take a look at the video clip below, and the Flickr site for some new photos of A's 4th birthday party.

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Lego Derby, part I + II

A number of people have asked me about the Lego Derby we held on 23 March. Sorry for the delay in posting the results. The derby was a profound success. In all, thirteen cars entered. So, it was a crowded track and a full race with 31 heats. There was a lot of excitement, as the early favorites all fell by the wayside, victim to the “Danger Zone.” The track measures about 30 feet, and I installed side rails, and two lane dividers [total of three lanes]. But, I ran out of the material I was using for the lane dividers, so I suggested to H at the last minute that the last piece of track should be open track — no lanes. To make that a bit more appealing, I called it the Danger Zone. It turned out to be a pivotal part of the race, as many cars did fine when they had a lane to bump up against, but spun out of control once they hit open track. In the end, the cars had to be heavy enough to build momentum, but not so heavy that they dragged out of the starting block; and they had to roll straight, with the least amount of friction, specifically between the wheels and the lane dividers and side rails.

Given those criteria, the winning car turned out to be L’s Block of Cheese. It wasn’t pretty, but it consistently kept its nose down and powered through the danger zone as many faster cars [mine included] flipped, spun or crashed around it.

Second place went to HBA, and third to Chris. A fun time was had by all — you can see some of the action on the flickr site. In fact, it was so much fun, and there were a number of friends who were unable to make it on the 23rd, so the following weekend we did it all again. Special kudos to BJ, who clearly made the most arduous journey to compete. He flew out from San Angelo, TX on Saturday, and the effort paid off for him. His #14 Shark Attack finished a razor-close second place to the unstoppable Block of Cheese Machine, which again finished first. In third place was HBA’s little orange #2, followed by one of RBA's two-wheel cars [two wheels + axle], and FD's heavily modified car, which was a real testament to perseverance and adaptability, as it initially wouldn't make it down the track at all.

So, we have a full-fledged lego-epidemic here, with pieces strewn about the house and the boys nearly constantly engaged in cannibalizing wheels as they make, destroy, and remake their cars. Tonight, some friends stopped by for dinner. The boys quickly made a car for both of them, and we went out to the track. Turns out one of the cars may be a real contender to beat L in the third Lego Derby which will happen sometime soon. So, if you are in the area, come on over for some practice runs on the track. Otherwise, watch the flickr site for more updates.

HandFont

I've been trying to figure out how HandFont — a professionally designed font based on my handwriting — is a professional necessity so that I can get reimbursed for the $249 it costs to do it. I do grade / comment on papers electronically, and this would allow me to do so in a more unique way. But the fact remains, the students can still read my comments fine in Lucida Grande.
Anybody have any ideas of why I really, really need this? Or, if you are looking for an overly extravagant gift idea...

So...

wrote out a lengthy, perhaps even brilliant post explaining why I have been so derelict in posting recently, and recounting the move to our new house this past weekend. But somewhere along the way, as I was trying to upload some pictures, it disappeared. Likely caused by me falling asleep at the computer.

So, the short version is — bittersweet move, love the house, miss the short commute to work + the woods, the kids + dog are doing well with the move, the house has nice flow, there are pictures on the flickr site, more later and come visit.

two more pictures

fairly frightening picture of H, in which he looks like he is fifteen. Something about the sharpness of the chin and jaw. A good looking young man, but still very troubling.

R is playing it cute.

Snow

Wednesday night brought a bit of a surprise. Around 9:00p the light rain turned to heavy snow and it kept up for about three hours. By midnight, the campus was buzzing with snowball fights, snowman-making, and general mayhem. The boys woke up without any idea, as many people in Greensboro did. Of course, Guilford County schools closed for the day, so we took a walk in the woods.

Book meme

Mr. T tagged me, so alright...

"Pick up the nearest book of 123 pages or more."
The nearest book is Edward Tufte's Envisioning Information. Page 123 is the index, so maybe that isn't the best book. Second nearest book is Noel Ignatiev's How the Irish Became White. I'll report for both and let the reader decide.


"Find Page 123."
[easily done]

"Find the first 5 sentences" [which appears to mean, summarize the first five sentences]
various items re: Edwin Abbott - aerial photography. [Tufte]
A brief excerpt from a novel which relates the story of how the main character murdered an African American with a pump handle. This begins the chapter, "The Tumultuous Republic," which traces the effect that anti-Black riots by Irish in the middle of the 19th century had on Irish understanding of their own whiteness. [Ignatiev]


"Post the next 3 sentences."
- "Aesop's fables 65; Akahata [Red Flag] 28; Albers color demonstrations 92-93" [Tufte; so I know these aren't really sentences, but in the absence of periods, I used line breaks to signify a sentence]
- "That is a passage from The Quaker City, an 1844 novel by one of the most remarkable writers the country has ever known, George Lippard. Now forgotten, Lippard was the best selling author in America before Harriet Beecher Stowe. Before he died in 1854, two months shy of his thirty-second birthday, he wrote twenty-three separate books, ranging from thick volumes to pamphlets, scores of uncollected stories and 'legends,' hundreds of news and editorial columns, and wrote or collaborated on several plays; he also founded his own publishing house, edited his own weekly paper, and lectured widely." [Ignatiev; not good writing — Lippard nor Ignatiev]

Tag 5 people.
Anyone interested? Consider yourself tagged. Beej?, Em?, Madame Yocum?