Happy Chinese New Year!

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I don't really celebrate Chinese New Year, but so many people do, it just seems right to wish everyone a happy one. I also wish you a conventional new year, and when the various Indian New Years roll around, why not have a happy one of those too? In general, I hope you're happy and it lasts a year.

Now that the polar vertices have gone back to Santa Claus where they belong, we’re trying to get back to normal where we can go outside for more than a minute without the inside of our noses freezing.



A few years ago, we had a leak in the space above our garage where the bathroom is – the person who updated our shower forgot to put everything back together correctly. We had another leak a few weeks ago. This time it was the toilet leaking. It happened right after the first big freeze, and I was worried it was a burst pipe, but it wasn’t. I need to fix the drywall, but for now the insulation-stuffed-into-a-hole-in-the-ceiling-held-in-place-by-a-piece-of-wood approach is sufficient.



M got his braces off right about the time we were wrapping up our payments to the orthodontist. An amazing coincidence.

In the picture above, you can see M without his braces. I spent a few minutes trying to convince him to pose like the monkey in the picture behind him (he didn’t know the picture was there) but knows me too well, and wouldn’t do it. I finally showed him the picture, and he felt very smug that he hadn’t fallen for my ruse.

K has been selected as one of the ten Mathcounts contestants from his school, and is the only 6th-grader. The competition is in February and he gets to skip a day of school to go. Good luck, K!


K and his friends are playing football in the front yard during one of the cold weather waves. He’s the one dressed like Peyton Manning.

Several of us at the company are teaching a Python programming class to 7-9th grade offspring of our co-workers. Our first class was earlier this week, and it went really well, with 12 students in attendance. There are six more classes to go. I taught the first class, and there will be three other instructors over the course of the class. We’re hoping this whole “computer programming” thing will catch on with the younger crowd.


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The Cold Report

Here's proof that we had some cold weather. The little red square in the left side of the picture, across the street, is a "For Sale" sign in our neighbor's yard.
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I'm changing the name of this blog to The Cold Report in honor of our recent cold weather. The forecast says it's coming back soon, so we can't say goodbye to it quite yet.

Below are some links to keep you warm. I'm working on a version of the Coca-Cola truck at home to keep my mind off the arctic blasts. I'm also in the process of making a toolbox out of pine. The pine is kind of frustrating to work with - it's so soft, it tears and gets crumbly sometimes. But I want to get my prototype working correctly before using real wood on it. I also need practice with sawing dovetail and finger joints. I always need practice on those.

Links
Dave Hax makes a scale model Coca-Cola truck out of Coca-Cola cans.

How to make a vase out of a light bulb.

Making a nickel, which is already a work of art in its own right, into a more interesting work of art.

Here are the instructions for building a space-age nixie clock that will tell you the time if you go back to the future. It's modern and retro and antique at the same time. The wiring diagram is pretty involved, so give yourself at least an hour to build it.

The Floyd Leg is a great idea. It's not a commercial product yet, but it should be.

The Wipebook is another product that isn't commercial yet, but for those of us who still use a pen to record our thoughts, I can see this coming in handy.

Happy New Year!

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The snow is falling in Michigan. Meanwhile, in Pasadena, the Spartans are getting ready to take on Stanford in the Rose Bowl.

In Ann Arbor, there will be a hockey game in Michigan Stadium between the Detroit Red Wings and the Toronto Maple Leafs. It's going to be really cold, so I hope the fans brought their long johns. A few years ago, we went to see Michigan and Michigan State play a hockey game in the stadium, but fortunately, we had better weather.

Happy New Year! Go State!

Merry Christmas Two Days Ago!

Merry Christmas! Christmas Day, and the day after, were two wonderful days for us. We saw all our Michigan relatives and had tons of yummy food and good fellowship with moms, dads, grandmas, grandpas, sisters, brothers, nieces, nephews, and even far-away cousins via Skype. A good time was had by all, and too many cookies and pieces of pie were had by me. My diet starts tomorrow, as they say. Or maybe later this afternoon.

A Very Plunger Christmas
Last year, at our dollar gift exchange, K wrapped up a small sink plunger, and Mary was the fortunate recipient. At K's birthday last summer, she returned it to him in the state you see it below: Daniel had added some feathers to make a plunger arrow worthy of a plumber Cupid.


To give it back, it had to be given a more Christmas-y look and feel. I thought a lighted "tree" would be nice. Here's a picture of the wiring in progress, in which it looks like a homemade explosive device from a bad movie.


The final product - there is a switch at the base that turns on the lights, and it has a little hat on top to keep it warm.


Lyrics That Ruin Christmas Songs You Once Liked
The Plunger Tree inspired me to write some new lyrics for some classic Christmas songs. I hope you like them.

Oh, Plunger Tree
Sung to the tune of "Oh, Christmas Tree"
Oh, Plunger Tree
Oh, Plunger Tree
How brightly lit thy handle!
Oh, Plunger Tree
Oh, Plunger Tree
It really is a scandal!
A clogg-ed sink, or W.C.,
A pain for you, a pain for me

Oh, Plunger Tree
Oh, Plunger Tree
It’s better than a candle

Plunger Tree
Sung to the tune of “Jingle Bells”
Plunger Tree!
Plunger Tree!
Plunger all the way!
Hairballs, toenails, facial soap
Plunge away the day (hey!)

Plunger Tree!
Plunger Tree!
Plunger all the way!
Oh what fun it is to plunge
Till the drain is clear of gray.

Saxophone News
To get the bad taste out of your mouth after reading those lyrics, I'll leave you with (a picture of) the musical stylings of M, who performed with the eighth-grade band a few weeks ago. They play some very impressive music these days, preparing for the top-notch high school band.

Tennis Plus Turkey Day Plus Links

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The weekend is nigh and, while there is not a lot of news, having a nigh weekend is celebration material enough, I think.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving at our house last week. Everyone was there that we could reasonably have expected, even John, who only had a 48-hour hiatus from his job on tour with Pearl Jam. Some Christmas card pictures were taken that day – I won’t publish any of them and spoil the surprise, so this year you’re going to actually have to open what we send you to see what we look like, instead of placing it directly on the Recycle pile.


K demonstrating his very consistent serve in Monroe, MI

K played in his first USTA Junior tennis match last weekend in Monroe. He played two games of singles, and one game of doubles against a talented Monroe YMCA team. He was very evenly matched with his opponents, which is the goal of the organizers. We're impressed with his skills.


M and J went to the UM/OSU game last weekend. It was cold, which caused M to dress like this. UM lost by 1 point in a nailbiter.

Some links I’ve been saving up
Did you know this room existed? Next time I’m in Florida I’m going to see if I can get a tour of this.

I love the trains at Henry Ford Museum, these pictures are almost as good.

Automaton!

There is a ton of time left to buy me this for Christmas.

Robots! (although I like the cars the best)

You’ve probably never heard this musical instrument before. It’s a combination harpsichord, organ, and cello, invented by Leonardo somebody or other. More info.

Being Thankful for the Present and the Past

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Thanksgiving

As hard as we try, J and I will probably always have trouble convincing the kids how lucky they really are. Cleaning up your room, having to eat THAT for dinner, being forced to go to school in their warm clothing, carrying fancy musical instruments - life can be so unfair!

I'm thankful for everything I have, and as much as I'd like to believe it's all because I work so hard or that I applied myself in school, it has a lot to do with family (both mine and J's) and now the kids are benefitting from that. Where you start has a lot to do with where you end.

'Tis the season to be thankful. I am thankful for how lucky I am.

Back to the Future
Here are some pictures from the distant past that have never made it to The DEB Log. They were taken long before I started this web endeavor (webdeavor?). Enjoy.


K was upset about something. So we took his picture to cheer him up. (2004)


K in a happier moment showing off the snowman he and his dad made. (March 2005)

I hurt my back doing this. I'm not sure why, it might have been that I was wearing the wrong shoes. More research needed. (June 2005)


One of my all-time favorite pictures of the boys and me - this was at Lake Michigan in August, 2005.


M is stepping out - handsome devil! (2003)


Another of my favorites of the boys - overlooking Lake Michigan from the cottage we stayed in. (2005)

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Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Sculptures, Tennis, and Pumpkins

Tennis

K (in the white shirt) hits backhand during a two-on-one game at practice.

K has been taking tennis lessons at the U of M indoor tennis center. It's a beautiful facility that looks like it was built about a week ago. His class has roughly10 students, with boys and girls together. These are more serious lessons than ones that he's taken in the past, and he's improving by leaps and bounds. He will probably get to play in a few matches before the lesson season is over - even though his level of group isn't normally scheduled to play matches, they often need students from his level to fill in at the higher levels if someone can't make a game. We're going to see a game tomorrow to take it all in and help prepare if he gets called up to take another player's place.

My Favorite Sculptor

Dad's sculpture at Ella Sharp Museum

Last weekend, our whole family was excited to get a personalized tour of sculptures surrounding the Ella Sharp Museum by experienced sculptor Fred Bruey. Pictured is his latest work "Green Galaxy". The display at Ella Sharp is part of a sculpture series called the Midwest Sculpture Initiative.

We're so proud of dad (and grandpa) for being selected, and we're impressed with his artistry. We can't wait to see his next sculpture on display!

"Green Galaxy" by Alfred Bruey

Pumpkins

J's "Wicked" pumpkin and K's "hothead" pumpkin.

The kids are getting better and better at carving pumpkins from patterns (as am I), and you can see the results here. As is typical, J's wins the prize for most complicated (and probably coolest-looking) with her "Wicked" jack-o-lantern.

M's skull pumpkin is a contrast to the goofy one I carved