Ballet Recital 2013

May 15, 2013.  The sixth year of dance recitals.  Not one moment of regret for any of it.

2013 Picture night

2013 Recital with grandma and mom

2013 Recital with Mrs. Randolph, their instructor.

2013 Recital

 Previous Years

2008 Recital

2009 Recital

2010 Recital

 

2012 Recital

2011 Recital

Elias and His Catapult

Every year, Mr. Cash's 6th grade science class does a catapult project.  Katherine and Sarah both did one.  This year it was Elias's turn.

Elias incorporated a sling into his project.  Here is some text directly out of the essay he had to write.  He named his catapult the "Power Winder".

"My catapult, a roman torsion catapult/onager, is a combination of two catapults. I chose the Power Winder’s design because when I researched different catapults and how they work I found most kinds of catapults have one or two things that set them apart from others and make them work better. The torsion bundle, or rope twisted to create torsion, classifies my catapult as an onager and provides the power and strength my catapult needed. The Power Winder uses the sling idea from traditional trebuchets instead of a spoon shaped depression to hold the projectile. The sling action provides the momentum and length along the arm to fire the projectile faster."

I helped him some with the cutting of the pieces and drilling of holes for the screws, and offered suggestions as needed.  The catapult project is something I have enjoyed working on with all of the kids.  We have already starting thinking about Asher's, which will be in two years.

The boys have already starting thinking about useful applications for this catapult, such as using it as a pitching machine and launching water balloons at turkey buzzards.

There are two strings for launching the projectile.  One is a safety device to hold the arm down while getting ready for the launch (that arm is under surprising tension).  The other string pulls a trigger releasing the arm.

Here's another view.

The Adventures of HandyMan, Chapter 6

HandyMan Changes His Name

The evening I wrote this out, a friend of mine was writing about difficulties his family was having in the adoption of a young girl.  That next morning, I realized I was writing this frivolity while he was writing about heartbreak.  Nevertheless, I've decided to go ahead and post this.

On the surface, this is a complete waste of space.  Below the surface, it is one way I battle the doldrums.  I'm not sure what makes me think anyone else would like to read it, except that one friend has told me he gets a kick out of it.  

If you do bother to read on, here are a few clues:  1) Sarcasm, 2) Bad theology, and 3) Sarcasm.

And one final note - The HandyMan series is based on actual, although not verbatim, conversations, which actually help with my state of mind.  Otherwise I wouldn't have them.




Handyman had sunk into the pit of self-analysis, again.   In a moment of weakness, he let his guard down and unintentionally divulged his state of mind to a friend.

HandyMan to Friend:  Do you have dreams, as in aspirations?

Friend: These days?  Not really.  But I am in survival mode and not able to look to the future much.

HM:  We need to learn to live our dreams while in survival mode.

Friend:  Lately, I'm content to complete the routine stuff.  The bar is much lower but I'm still not doing that well.

HM:  Perhaps the bar is different, but not lower.  Maybe dreams are for the unrealistic and irresponsible.

Friend:  I think your unfulfilled dreams weigh on you a lot.  I don't think they bother me as much.

HM:  Yea... I am so DONE with carrying that weight as of RIGHT NOW.  Survival mode all the way from now on.

Friend:  I think that is like trying to pull yourself up by your bootstraps.

HM:  I'm done thinking about.  The bootstraps are going to work.

Friend:  That's good to hear.  Tell me how it goes so I can do that when I'm in need.

HM:  You may have to remind me what you are talking about because I am so done with it I will have forgotten.  Please address me as "Mr. Content in All Things" from now on.

Friend:  Wow!  How do you stay so positive?

...Time passes... perhaps a full five minutes...

HM:  You won't believe the change I've had.  It's a miracle!  I LOVE my present, past, and future life.

Friend:  I'm impressed!  I could never be that content.

HM:  It's the new me.  "Impressive" is my new middle name.

Friend:  Amazing!

HM:  Gonna be hard to keep track of all my new names.  How about "Mr. Unbelievable" for short?

Friend:  Or "Mr. Incredible"?

HM:  Already taken.  "Stupendous Man", "Mr. OMG", or "Awesome Boy" all work.

...A day later, while working outside, in the rain, chilled to the bone...

HM:  Mr. Stupendously Content is thankful for the rain.

Friend:  Uh... me too?

HM:  Mr. Stupendously Content is going to have another ridiculously stupendous day.

Friend:  In the rain.

HM:  Amazing isn't it?  When will it end?

Friend:  I never realized the bootstrap thing would work!

...A day later...

HM:  Have I mentioned how lovely everything is lately?

Friend:  You will have to give me the code for lovely.  Does it equal "crappy"?

HM:  Stupendously Content Man has abandoned the lowest form of wit (sarcasm), and only speaks sincerely now like a good normal Christian.

Friend: I hate Stupendously Content Man.

HM:  Yes, as with all perfect people, he is irritating.  Can I change my superhero name from HandyMan?  "Stupendously Content Man" is so much more appropriate now.

And thus, the name stuck, and HandyMan, in a mighty tug of superhuman strength on his bootstraps, becomes  "Stupendously Content Man".

The Weirdest Thing

This morning I checked my email and saw that my blog has sent out an email about an entry I posted on November 28, 2012 regarding my marathon training.

Not sure why that happened.  My blog is only supposed to send out the latest entry.  So we shall see what happens next.  Perhaps my blog will start randomly sending out other posts.  If so, this will become irritating to us all, and I shall put it out of its misery with sledgehammer or something.

The Song

Here's the link to my article in the March Manna (click on "The Song"):

The Song

Elias and his Wire Bot

Elias, age 12, brought home his school Art Class folder.  Found this inside:

This is the description he wrote:

My robot is a bot that scares away the birds that perch on telephone wires. It has clamps to grip the wire and special wheels to help it stay balanced.  It has lots of tools to fix the wires if broken.  It has an extra eye and a powerful flashlight to use in the dark.  It has brushes to clean the wire and is light so it does not weigh down the wire.  It also has a magnet to get tools it drops and rocket boosters to get him up on the wire.  It has an umbrella for the rain.  It has water guns and horns for the birds.  It has clippers and a grappling hook to get branches off the wires.  It also has a chain saw and axe to clear away fallen trees.  It has a very strong robotic hand to hoist itself up and finally extra wire to fix broken ones.  I like my robot because it has so many different tools..  MADE BY ELIAS TIMMONS

I especially like the rocket booster touch.  Elias Timmons.  Look for him in Wikipedia in the future under "Creative Genius."

The Georgetown Little League Horse Crap Call Incident

Georgetown Little League had tryouts today, and I was reminded of an incident last year involving one of our boy's coaches.  That incident was the subject of a previous blog post, and since it was such a colorful event, a portion of it is reprinted here:

Coming into Little League two years ago, we heard all kinds of cautions, mostly pertaining to overly competitive coaches and parents.  We have experienced none of that.  Georgetown Little League has been an outstanding organization, staff and parents alike.

We did have one small incident, the details of which are listed below:

• A visiting umpire made a questionable call.
• Elias's Coach Jeff tried to question the call, the umpire refused to discuss it, and as he walked away, Jeff muttered the words "Well that's a horse crap call."
• The umpire immediately ejected Coach Jeff from the game.  It was his first ejection, ever.
• A parent got involved in the situation (normally calm and extremely pleasant), and probably without thinking, let the "F" word slip.  He too was ejected from the field by the umpire.  The parent protested that he had just cut the grass on the field, and couldn't be ejected.  The umpire did not think these extenuating circumstances merited any leniency, and the parent was ejected anyway.  When he hesitated to leave, the umpire threatened to cancel the whole game.
• Another parent rose from the stands and shouted "It's all about the kids.  Let them play ball!"
• Our coach and the parent then quietly left the field.  No yelling, no kicking of dirt onto the umpire's shoes, which was very disappointing, as I thought these things were part of the game of baseball.  Apparently not in Little League.
• The term "Horse Crap Call" became a joke for the rest of the season.  
• Elias was called out at first base on a subsequent night by this same umpire.  The ball clearly reached the base before he arrived and the umpire called him out, but the first baseman apparently bobbled and then dropped the ball.  Jeff was coaching first base and politely asked for a revision of the call, which was ignored.  He elected not to use the term "Horse Crap Call", and let the call go in the interest of good sportsmanship and the fact it was closing night.
• Later, Jeff said he thought I should have gone to bat for my son, and should have used the "Horse Crap Call" line myself.  

Thank you Georgetown Little League.  Thank you coaches.  And thank you boys.  From your perspective,  you are just playing a game.  From ours, you are enriching our lives.