K and I just finished a project together - it combines a "defusable" timer K built from a kit, combined with some dynamite I made as a sort of stand for it.
The dynamite is a broom stick sawed into pieces, with red construction paper covering. The lettering was created with pencil and stencils.
K ramped up his soldering skills for this one (it's been awhile!) and is already working on another, more advanced electronics project.
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Links
Take a few minutes and visit Paperholm. All the models are made of paper and glue.
I'm currently reading Locks, Safes, and Security. It's really big, so I'm not reading the whole thing. Just the good parts.
I really like Tom Gauld's work. His take on the biblical David and Goliath story (called "Goliath") is thought-provoking.
Meadowbrook on Friday night - here to see Jim Gaffigan, one of our favorite comedians.
This is my great picture of Jim Gaffigan on stage.
Mouse and Chipmunk News
We've had mice in the basement occasionally for quite a few years, and we even had a chipmunk get into the house a few months ago (he met his untimely demise in one of the mouse traps). After talking with a pest control person about it, I put up some 1/4" wire mesh in some places where we suspected these critters were getting in.
Here is a mesh "curtain" that comes down under the fireplace and goes about 12" underground. There is a 4" section of mesh that extends out from the bottom of that curtain away from the house - that extra mesh stops them from just digging down and under the mesh.
In another area, I put strips of mesh in the corners where the mice can find small gaps to crawl in. I made friends with lots of bugs and spiders while doing this.
In the Garden From right to left: chives, basil, and parsley.
We've already gotten some good tomatoes this year, and there are a lot more on the plant.
K's Latest Project Here's the progress so far on K's latest electronics project - he has already completed one, and I am adding something to it. I'll post pictures when it's done.
Welcome to Frankfort! The boat on the sign doesn't move, in case you're wondering.
M, K, and I play frisbee on the beach
This is what it looks like when I take a picture of the moon with my phone camera. The grainy picture looks like a painting. The bright dot above the moon is Venus. Also framed in this picture, but not visible because of the poor picture quality, is Jupiter. None of our cameras could capture Jupiter, it was just a bit too dim to show up.
The clouds were unusual during one of the sunsets - here's a panoramic shot.
M's picture of the clouds.
We went mini golfing at our usual place. Because K's birthday was only a few days away, the attendant gave him a shiny silver ball.
K and M relax after their exhausting round of golf.
Down the pier to the lighthouse - picture by M.
The reflection of the sun on the clouds was striking.
K in repose, standing on the pier.
J's picture of our favorite sunset was the best of any of ours, in my opinion
Art Fairs Cactus sculptures (cacti sculpti?) at the Ann Arbor Art Fair.
J and I went to the art fairs in Ann Arbor yesterday and bought a few things. One was by Russ Erickson, which we put in the living room above the couch. Now it makes us want a new couch. Decorating is like setting up dominoes.
Drivin' a Stick Here's M driving a 2015 Mustang GT with a 6-speed manual. This car has 435 horsepower and an engine whose displacement is two and a half times the displacement of my Ford Fusion's engine.
In other news, M had the chance to drive an amazingly powerful car, a 2015 Mustang GT. It was also the first time he's driven a car with a manual transmission. I don't think he enjoyed the car as much as he could have since he wasn't good enough with the gears to drive it through town, but he had plenty of fun zooming around the Pioneer High parking lot, as you can see by the picture.
I, on the other hand, did drive it through the streets, and had a great old time.
Some Fun Links
If I drank tea, I would always use this tea infuser, even if I had a tea bag.
Farewell to Top of the Park All of us went to the final night of Top of the Park where George Bedard and the Kingpins played their cool brand of rock and rockabilly.
Rolling Sculpture - Downtown Ann Arbor
The hood ornament on a 1929 Willys Knight
Rolling Sculpture was tonight. I enjoy looking at the styles of cars, but what I think makes a car above average is a great dashboard.
1967 Jaguar 420
1956 Plymouth
1931 Ford Model A
1936 Dodge
1960 Oldsmobile Fiesta Wagon - this picture doesn't do it justice.
This year's runner up for best dashboard was a 1959 Buick Electra. This was a very close second, it's really a work of art.
Finally!
First, what you've all been waiting for: the boys playing their recital pieces. They had their recital a few weeks ago, so they dusted off their pieces and made a special recording.
Clementi's "Sonatina" Op. 36 No. 6, played by M
Schumann's "Winter-time (II)" by K
Drainage Update
I know you're itching to hear the update on the French drain that runs between our yard and our neighbor's. It's been backed up for a while, and we hired someone to put a camera in the tube and see what was in the way. They identified an area where silt and roots had pretty much blocked off the pipe, so we opened it up and cleaned it out. I just cut the tube in one place, pulled the ends up one by one and cleaned them up as far down as I could reach (yes, it was gross.) That was a few weeks ago. I have been waiting for a break in my schedule to finally put in a clean-out PVC "T" in the problem area. Here are a few pictures of today's muddy adventure.
The french drain before the repair. It was cut open a few weeks ago to clear out a blockage.
This is after the first of two cuts. Mud Pies for all.
The full repair. The drainage tile is connected to the PVC with a rubber connector and hose clamps, and PVC part is a "T" shape with a screw-in top, so I can dig it up a little bit next time it gets clogged and clean it out from there.
Science Olympiad
This year's Science Olympiad had a new schedule: 3 hours each for grades 2-5. This gave us a 12-hour tournament day, with a few hours surrounding that schedule, so many of us were there for a solid fourteen or fifteen hours. Add on the 6 hours for setup the evening before, and that was a lot of standing and walking. I enjoyed a lot of sitting the following day.
The tournament went very well. We had a completely revamped schedule, a brand new computer programming event, and over 2000 Washtenaw County students participating. Things went so smoothly, in fact, it would be easy to forget we're an all-volunteer organization, from top to bottom.
I have six Honorable Mention medals lined up and ready to present. Those went to two different teams with three team members each. If you don't split them up like this, they're easy to get tangled. I'm not wearing my glasses in this picture because it was the end of the day, and we had been loading the truck in the rain, and I took off my glasses so they wouldn't get all rainy.
Here's me giving some students Honorable Mention medals at the third grade awards ceremony. The colorful, tie-dye shirt is our uniform of sorts - it makes it easy for people to find us if they need something.
