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Noah's Pink Pearl eRacer. Average speed of 3 races 3.17 seconds. Winning car bested 2.8 seconds. Noah and I need to practice wheel mounting. 

This is the squirrel's new door. It made the door. Previously when the new roof was put on the roofer's removed a short section of fascia that gave the critters direct access to the attic. I covered the hole but apparently they really liked the digs. 

Obsession! It's not just for perfumes anymore!

Obsessed with a television show like I am with "Lost"? How about to the tune of raising $30 million dollars?

TrekUnited, which is trying to raise money to make another series of Enterprise, says it has a "legally binding pledge" from three donors totaling $3 mil.

Finding the Ultimate Theory of Everything

Could two lookalike galaxies, barely a whisker apart in the night sky, herald a revolution in our understanding of fundamental physics? Some physicists believe that the two galaxies are the same - its image has been split into two, they maintain, by a "cosmic string"; a San Andreas Fault in the very fabric of space and time. ...

Of Grasshoppers

Student: I'm so tired.
Master: Lighten your burden.

We have a new border. Collecting rent is difficult. I thought it was cute that I was watching this critter collecting building materials for its nest until I realized where it was going. 

Ironic Irritations

I made a post abut how irritated I was this morning when our model Pink Pearl eraser for Noah's Pink Pearl Pinewood Derby car vanished and irritatingly enough the post disappeared.

Accuracy

Two points! Could you imagine the dialog if the net caught her? "Uh. Dude. Didn't see that coming!" "Uh. What should we do." "Yeah. mmm. Maybe we should go get some beer." "Yeah. That's it!" "Guys? Should I just hang out?"

Wiring Harness Complete

Our station wagon is now legally allowed to tow a trailer. The trailer hitch had originally been installed without a lighting harness as it was only intented to ever carry a bike rack.

I think about when I started learning about electronics (8 or 9) and I wonder if I'm giving my children enough knowledge. As I work with Noah on rulers and angles and sanding I think about what skills I am giving him and what skills I'm neglecting to pass on. I watch closely to see what he can intuitively figure out and I ponder how to hone his common sense.

I enjoy my adaptability. I want my children to derive as much pleasure from achievement.

The Harness Saga

So I attached the white ground wire. I identified the brown wire on the car as the tail light and attached the brown wire from the harness. I identified the red wire on the car as the brake light and attached the red wire from the harness. I identified the green wire with the yellow stripe as the left turn signal and attached the yellow wire from the harness.

There! I was done and ready to test.

Then I saw this bundle of green cord. Panic! What does that go to? I just attached yellow to green. Oh no! Did I get left and right backwards. Think. Think. Make an L. No. I did it right. Oh! The green bundle goes to the right turn signal..er, that's on the other side of the car. How will I .. ugh.

Automotive Work .. wood and metal

It's Pinewood Derby time again! Noah and I are hard at work putting together his car at the last minute (the race is tomorrow). We've decided to make the Pink Pearl eRacer! The car is shaped and sanded. Noah has learned a lot about straight edges, rulers, angles, Drimel tools, and sanding. I've learned that I'm still a procrastinator.

It's also cookie time in TN! I have to install a wiring harness in the station wagon this morning so that U-Haul will rent us a trailer otherwise we have no way to pickup the quantity of cookies our Girl Scouts did so well selling. I'm mostly there. I've identified (with much effort) where the wires will route and that was probably the hardest part. I've grounded it and am now in the process of identifying the other wires.

Technorati Tags: (what's this?) Pinewood Derby, pine wood derby, scouts

Toddler Priorities

Amy rose at 4:55am this morning and went straight to her brother's room to play with Playmobile. I went back and asked her "why are you up? Do you want breakfast?" to which she replied, "I play with legos."

Her vocabulary, grasp of language and the concepts that spurt from her mouth constantly amaze me. She said half a dozen things yesterday that dropped my chin.

Focus Comes and Goes

Just as I'm starting to get into the programming groove the morning chaos blows everything away. I woke at midnight and tried to convince myself to stay up. That would have been 6 out of 8 of my work hours. 4am rolled around and I tried hard to convince myself to get up for 2 our of 8 work hours. I finally rose at 5am which was better than the normal 6am.

My 9:30am deadline is going to hit me like a ton of bricks.

Once upon a tree

I remember in my teens..would have been 14 or 15..I walked down to the pond at the end of the neighborhood, climbed a tree 10 or 12 feet high (3-4m), daydreamed for a bit, watched some people that never saw me, then I napped deeply, in the tree, on the branch with a pleasant, warm breeze as the only thought on my mind, with no worries. Irie.

We need to move

I've decided we need to move to Colorado. Perhaps Buffalo. Mork (amz) liked it. Anyhow, the dog likes the snow very much so we need more snow!

Feature Blog from the Roll

The Solbourne Identity

In search of synchronicity, serendipity, and Plan B...
The inconsequentials of an expatriate speculator living in Hong Kong

Family Found at Dog Park

The other day we had Molly at the dog park and ran into a family of similar size to ours that had a large, all black, German Shepherd. It didn't take long to figure out they had both come from the same breeder in Greenback, TN. He was two years old and the family said he has finally quit chewing on things so much and is still rambunctious. He was a good 2 to 2.5 hands larger than Molly. It was a good trip to the park. Molly performed well and showed off her jumping skills after I set up two 18" jumps before and after the large ramp. She would jump the hurdles, run over the ramp, then jump the other hurdles. She didn't always jump and didn't always clear but we had much fun!