We're finally winding up our long Thanksgiving weekend, and it certainly reminded us of all we have to be thankful for. We were able to see most of our extended family in Michigan, and celebrated twice, once on Thursday, and again on Friday. We were able to get in a little shopping, some extra sleep, cat skritching, a few hours doing school volunteer work, and some TV football (J and I on the football season: "Next year will be better!" and "Go State! Big Ten co-champs!", respectively.)
Happy Thanksgiving weekend to everyone!
Herbie Joins the Family!
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Herbie the light-following mousebot was born November 22, 2010. M and I are the proud parents. He was delivered naturally, following the instructions that came with his kit: soldering, bending, snipping, installing motors, making whiskers, and attaching sensors. Herbie rolls around on the floor, and if he bumps into something, his whiskers or tail make a connection with the "brain" chip, and he backs up, turns around, and goes forward again to avoid the obstacle. A paper clip was seriously harmed in the making of this mouse (parts of it are used for an axle for the front wheel, and a contact loop for the tail).
Herbie and his parents are resting comfortably. Herbie's battery was removed so he could nap. It is not known whether Herbie eats cheese or makes friends with cartoon cats.
Here are some baby pictures:
Isn't he cute?
And wook at his widdle tummy!
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One link of interest: Look at these great ideas for traffic lights. When the sand gets to the bottom, you should either be hitting the brakes or flooring it, depending on your personal style.
Herbie the light-following mousebot was born November 22, 2010. M and I are the proud parents. He was delivered naturally, following the instructions that came with his kit: soldering, bending, snipping, installing motors, making whiskers, and attaching sensors. Herbie rolls around on the floor, and if he bumps into something, his whiskers or tail make a connection with the "brain" chip, and he backs up, turns around, and goes forward again to avoid the obstacle. A paper clip was seriously harmed in the making of this mouse (parts of it are used for an axle for the front wheel, and a contact loop for the tail).
Herbie and his parents are resting comfortably. Herbie's battery was removed so he could nap. It is not known whether Herbie eats cheese or makes friends with cartoon cats.
Here are some baby pictures:
Isn't he cute?
And wook at his widdle tummy!
---
One link of interest: Look at these great ideas for traffic lights. When the sand gets to the bottom, you should either be hitting the brakes or flooring it, depending on your personal style.
Goin' Shoppin' and Talkin' Turkey
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Over the weekend, the boys and I went to Cabela’s to get winter boots for M and me. (K had to sit and watch us try them on.) I gave up looking for something mid-priced in Ann Arbor – it was either $30 or $130. If there's one thing Cabela's has a lot of, it's boots. And fishing poles. And camouflage gear. And very expensive long underwear.
They were closed when we arrived at about 9:45 on Sunday morning, which was my fault because I didn’t check their hours before we left. We started towards the store, noticed it was closed, and decided to return to the car to stay warm. On our way back to the car, we passed someone who realized we were walking away from the store because it was closed, and he asked when it opened. I told him ten o’clock. He said “What kind of place doesn’t open until ten?” Indeed! I want my stores open when I arrive, dang it! It is interesting that in this day and age I just assumed a large store would be open pretty much any time I felt like going there. A humbling lesson was learned that day.
They used to have a moose head and a deer head mounted on the wall in the upstairs area. They were mechanical heads, and they talked to each other and moved up and down and told jokes. When M was really little and Cabela’s had first opened, I took him there a couple times to get out of the house and see what jokes the moose and the deer were telling. In 2008, we went back for the first time in several years, and the heads were gone. Now that the kids are older, though, they are attracted to the hunting video games, where you use a plastic gun attached to the game to shoot deer or elk or mooses (meese?) on the screen. You can also play bonus rounds where you shoot ducks or pheasants flying out of the video marsh. I have to admit, the games are a lot of fun, so we wrapped up our visit with a few rounds of pretend meat-killing.
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Isn't it amazing that I can go online to see the progress of a package that's being shipped to me? Next thing they'll do is put a little GPS unit on every one and I'll be able to follow the truck on Google Maps. "Hey, that's my neighbor's house! Don't give him my stuff!"
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I'm still not sure how this thing works, but it looks interesting.
I’d love to have one of these brick paving machines. If I had a lot of money to buy one of these. I could play some great practical jokes. It would be hilarious to, say, cover someone's driveway with brick pavers and they'd come home and wonder what happened to their driveway. "Who covered my driveway with bricks? And where's my dog who always waits for me right here? Oh no! You paved over my dog!"
OK, that's it. I've made up my mind. I'm going out and getting one. Be right back. In the meantime, bring your dogs inside.
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I love these buildings that are shaped like the products they sell/manufacture.
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Mom, I hope you're feeling better! You looked great the other day, other than the velcro straps I would never have known anything was wrong. Are you sure you're not faking it to get sympathy, or trying to guilt Dad into making you a sandwich?
And Mom? We need you healthy pronto. Thanksgiving is coming up, and I didn't really want to give away the big secret, but I guess I have to. We're starting a new family tradition: a limbo contest in the front yard for all the Thanksgiving guests. You're going to want to be back to 100% for that, because we're awarding prizes that you won't want to miss. You're teamed up with Dad, so I'm going to need to see a little Jackson spirit. Wearing matching shirts and hats isn't required, but it will get you style points with the judges.
Get well soon!
---
Over the weekend, the boys and I went to Cabela’s to get winter boots for M and me. (K had to sit and watch us try them on.) I gave up looking for something mid-priced in Ann Arbor – it was either $30 or $130. If there's one thing Cabela's has a lot of, it's boots. And fishing poles. And camouflage gear. And very expensive long underwear.
They were closed when we arrived at about 9:45 on Sunday morning, which was my fault because I didn’t check their hours before we left. We started towards the store, noticed it was closed, and decided to return to the car to stay warm. On our way back to the car, we passed someone who realized we were walking away from the store because it was closed, and he asked when it opened. I told him ten o’clock. He said “What kind of place doesn’t open until ten?” Indeed! I want my stores open when I arrive, dang it! It is interesting that in this day and age I just assumed a large store would be open pretty much any time I felt like going there. A humbling lesson was learned that day.
They used to have a moose head and a deer head mounted on the wall in the upstairs area. They were mechanical heads, and they talked to each other and moved up and down and told jokes. When M was really little and Cabela’s had first opened, I took him there a couple times to get out of the house and see what jokes the moose and the deer were telling. In 2008, we went back for the first time in several years, and the heads were gone. Now that the kids are older, though, they are attracted to the hunting video games, where you use a plastic gun attached to the game to shoot deer or elk or mooses (meese?) on the screen. You can also play bonus rounds where you shoot ducks or pheasants flying out of the video marsh. I have to admit, the games are a lot of fun, so we wrapped up our visit with a few rounds of pretend meat-killing.
---
Isn't it amazing that I can go online to see the progress of a package that's being shipped to me? Next thing they'll do is put a little GPS unit on every one and I'll be able to follow the truck on Google Maps. "Hey, that's my neighbor's house! Don't give him my stuff!"
---
I'm still not sure how this thing works, but it looks interesting.
I’d love to have one of these brick paving machines. If I had a lot of money to buy one of these. I could play some great practical jokes. It would be hilarious to, say, cover someone's driveway with brick pavers and they'd come home and wonder what happened to their driveway. "Who covered my driveway with bricks? And where's my dog who always waits for me right here? Oh no! You paved over my dog!"
OK, that's it. I've made up my mind. I'm going out and getting one. Be right back. In the meantime, bring your dogs inside.
---
I love these buildings that are shaped like the products they sell/manufacture.
---
Mom, I hope you're feeling better! You looked great the other day, other than the velcro straps I would never have known anything was wrong. Are you sure you're not faking it to get sympathy, or trying to guilt Dad into making you a sandwich?
And Mom? We need you healthy pronto. Thanksgiving is coming up, and I didn't really want to give away the big secret, but I guess I have to. We're starting a new family tradition: a limbo contest in the front yard for all the Thanksgiving guests. You're going to want to be back to 100% for that, because we're awarding prizes that you won't want to miss. You're teamed up with Dad, so I'm going to need to see a little Jackson spirit. Wearing matching shirts and hats isn't required, but it will get you style points with the judges.
Get well soon!
---
Road Trip!
The boys outside the Aquarium, with the Chicago skyline
We went to Chicago this weekend. The primary reason was to see the Jim Henson exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry, but we also wanted to get in some time at Shedd Aquarium.
The Jim Henson exhibit was neat – it covered the history of the Muppets, advertisements from the 60’s, Sesame Street, the Muppet Show, Fraggle Rock, several movies, and some of his non-Muppet work were all covered. He was a very creative person.
The Aquarium was a lot of fun, too. The kids had never been there before. J and I have been there a few times, most recently in 2008 when we went to Chicago to celebrate our 15th anniversary. We saw the beluga whale/sea lion/dolphin show in their large amphitheater, and we enjoyed looking at all the tanks full of tropical fish, reefs, frogs, seahorses, and other water life. I petted a starfish, which was kind of slippery and hairy at the same time.
It is a fact that the only animals that were supposed to be in this display, but were not, were the Grand Cayman Blue Iguanas.
Rockhopper and Magellenic Penguins live peacefully, quietly, until one day, the one on the far left goes crazy and choas ensues.
We were not able to cover the whole place while we were there, and we’re planning to return in the spring to see the rest. Because we were already planning to return, we decided to buy a year membership, which not only saves us money over the long haul, but allowed us to go directly to the membership entrance, bypassing the slow-moving general admission line of what looked like at least 200 people. I felt a little guilty bounding up the steps past the huge line, but membership has its privileges, as they say.
We made the decision to go to Chicago on Wednesday after checking the weather forecast. Chicago was to be 48 and sunny on Saturday, and the weather was similar to home on Friday. Looked good to us, so we made hotel reservations and started packing. We didn’t check the weather for cities between here and there, so we were surprised when we hit an all-out snowstorm in western Michigan, about 40 miles from the Indiana border. We were going as slowly as 30 miles per hour for a while, and visibility was terrible. It was one of those times when you hope the car you’re behind doesn’t go off the road, because you might just follow their taillights off the road yourself.
The snow stopped in Indiana, but on Saturday we woke to two inches on the ground, and on the car. Fortunately, the roads were dry and there was no more snow for the rest of the trip. The weather in Chicago was beautiful and we had very pleasant walks to and from the car, which was parked under Soldier Field.
It's hard to drive when your car is like this. Hotel service surprisingly did not include vehicle snow removal, which resulted in no tip for the housekeeping staff. What do they need tips for anyway? They can eat as many of those warm cinnamon rolls as they want.
We all had a great time and the trip went well despite the surprise snowstorm.
Welcome to November
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Halloween
This year for Halloween, K went as Luigi, a video game character who is the brother of the well-known Mario character. His friend, Max, dressed as Mario.
M went as a hobo. J and M spent a lot of time making the suit and other clothes look "lived in".
In Other News
A week ago, J and I picked up our new van, a Dodge Grand Caravan. Red. It's very nice, has seats that fold into the floor, and lots of other great features. We traded in our 9 year-old Ford Windstar. If it was sad to be parted from us, it didn't say anything. We'll miss it, but we're happy to move up to something new.
On Friday, J and I had a date night (Laurie babysat) and went to the Purple Rose Theater to see the show "Best of Friends". The play was written by Jeff Daniels, the actor, who lives in Chelsea when he's not filming movies. He is also the person behind the theater, and a number of his plays have been performed there. We've also seen plays written by Mitch Albom, of "Tuesdays with Morrie" fame.
After the play, we walked over to Common Grill and had a few appetizers followed by dessert.
Links
This ship is not sinking.
From the great “Fake Science” site:
Solar power
Cow formations
Halloween
This year for Halloween, K went as Luigi, a video game character who is the brother of the well-known Mario character. His friend, Max, dressed as Mario.
M went as a hobo. J and M spent a lot of time making the suit and other clothes look "lived in".
In Other News
A week ago, J and I picked up our new van, a Dodge Grand Caravan. Red. It's very nice, has seats that fold into the floor, and lots of other great features. We traded in our 9 year-old Ford Windstar. If it was sad to be parted from us, it didn't say anything. We'll miss it, but we're happy to move up to something new.
On Friday, J and I had a date night (Laurie babysat) and went to the Purple Rose Theater to see the show "Best of Friends". The play was written by Jeff Daniels, the actor, who lives in Chelsea when he's not filming movies. He is also the person behind the theater, and a number of his plays have been performed there. We've also seen plays written by Mitch Albom, of "Tuesdays with Morrie" fame.
After the play, we walked over to Common Grill and had a few appetizers followed by dessert.
Links
This ship is not sinking.
From the great “Fake Science” site:
Solar power
Cow formations
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