Following up on lots of items

The Science Fair was a big success -we had about 140 projects by over 200 students, and we could have used a bigger auditorium. This is the first time I've been in charge of it (with help, of course) and I learned a lot from it. It was a lot of fun, and Mom and Dad even stopped by to hobnob with the Lawton Elementary School scientific community. Dad wore his "Amateur Radio Nerd Hat" so he fit right in with all the other nerds, including me, wearing my "Stand Back - I'm going to try science!" shirt. What a bunch of nerds. Gotta love it.

I was at the school for about 8 hours on Wednesday and about 13 hours on Thursday. We had a small army of volunteers who showed up at various times to help out, and everyone showed up when they said they would, so I'd count that as a big win.

------------------

I wrote in my last blog entry that I'd like to get the book "The Art Of Electronics" which apparently has a huge following and is supposed to be the best electronics book ever (or "evar!" as the kids write these days.) I was able to get it through an inter-library loan. This is probably one of those books that a bunch of people used when they were in school, and remember it fondly like a prom date or winning the football championship. I say that because it's pretty hard to follow, and the first set of exercises listed asked a question about a topic that wasn't discussed until a few pages later. Maybe someday I'll look fondly on this book as they do, but I doubt it.

----------------------------------
When I see how popular books like "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" are, I think I should try to get in on the gravy train of dollars that these books rake in. Since I'm not a publisher (who get 90% of the book sale price, leaving the author and agent to split the remaining 10%), I guess I'll have to be an author. (J told me about the 90/10 split, she heard it from an author who came to the library where she works.)

I've decided I'm going to write a book about kids who are interested in science and use science to solve problems and play tricks on people, and ultimately save the world/town/school/dog. Depending on how old the kids turn to be they might win the girl in the end - hugging/kissing to be determined. For the younger kids, maybe they'll get a new bike or something. The main characters will naturally be boys, because everyone knows girls are awful at science. (I know that's not true - not everyone knows.)

As with all books by every author, this will be semi-autobiographical, and will take place in a town just like Jackson, and the main character will have a brother, a sister, and parents who travel with the circus 11 months a year, just like my parents. I'll try not to reveal anything too personal.
---------------------

On the topic of work, we actually got a bonus a few weeks ago, which was a reflection of the company's performance in 2008. We met some of our goals, and not others, so it wasn't like it's been in years past. But any company that's giving out bonuses these days is something to celebrate, especially if I'm a recipient. It's not enough to retire on but I'll take it.

---------------------

We're going to drive around a little today to look at roofs - we have a few colors to choose from ("Black", "Really Really Dark Grey", "Indistinguishable From Black But Not Actually Black", "Almost Completely Black", etc.) I think you see where I'm going with this. We may be able to schedule the roofers in the next few weeks, and once that's finished we'll invite everyone over for a barbeque and we can all sit and stare at the new roof.