Sunday, April 12, 2015
Friday, April 10, 2015
Thursday, April 9, 2015
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
Friday, October 31, 2014
Pinewood Derby at the Pinewood Speedway
I can be a little over-zealous about hobbies. My wife says I'm out of control. You have heard of the husbands who are gone fishing every week, or watch sports for six hours a night. Well, I'm not a huge sports fan, but I do enjoy the Pinewood Derby.
It started 31 years ago. I was eight years old. My Den leader gave me a little box that contained a block of wood, four nails, four wheels, some stickers, and a page of instructions. I took it home and helped design, sand, and paint my car. I loved working with my Dad in the garage. He was a mechanic and genius with tools.
Jerry Loessin was a member of our Cub Scout Committee and he built a two-lane wood track for us to race on. He set it up at the church. We had a very high tech timer system. Two adults would sit in chairs at the finish line and the side that won would raise their hand. Some of my first experiences pleading to God were while cheering for a five-ounce block of wood on wheels.
Race night was exciting. Our kitchen scale lied and our car was too heavy. Just a little over 5 ounces. My dad broke a sweat in the hallway with his corded drill as he carved away some of the wood underneath to make weight. We removed the Lego driver and steering wheel and finally were legal to race. It was a long night. The judge on my side of the track didn't raise his hand that night. I kept losing that night, but I have kept my losing car all these years. I raced three more times as a youth. I was able to take first place in two out of three of the following races. I love those memories.
When I found out I was having a boy, I started planning and studying physics. I read up on friction, gravity, aerodynamics of slow speed, energy conservation, and moment of inertia. I found and read a 500 page textbook titled, "Physics of the Pinewood Derby." Yea, a little over-zealous.
My son turned eight and we built his first car. I let him do the design even though I knew it was not ideal. His car was average and did not win a single heat. He went to our minivan and cried about losing. They weren't little tears either, they were the big industrial wailing tears that make parents crazy.
The better part of a decade of research turned out a really slow car. Back to the drawing board. It was a great learning experience for my son. I am glad he lost. I am glad he experienced failure. I got him up at six in the morning the next day. We drove to McDonalds with a pad and pencil and his car. We talked about the weight and physics and drew some pictures of next years car. A year passed and he raced again. We shaved too much off his wheels and they were binding up on the track. His car was a little faster, but we still didn't win. More egg McMuffins, more plans, but no tears on race two. He was learning.
For the third year we decided to make alignment a priority. We found a guy with a track in his basement on tested his car. After two years of disappointment, my son took every race by multiple car lengths. It was a very powerful experience for him. He had empathy for the boys who lost. Six years and two sons later and we can build a pretty fast car.
So, most zealous Dads would stop there. They build some cars, buy a lot of specialty tools, learn everything about it and have some fun. But I'm not a zealous Dad. I'm over-zealous. I designed a logo, created a theme, got another business license, and built a stadium. We emptied the 5,000 square foot warehouse we used with our other business, and put in a 56 foot 8 lane track. We installed a sound system, screens, picnic tables, chairs, displays, and now we host races all the time. Now I get to see cars built by kids and their parents regularly. Each car really is a work of art. Some look like cars, some look like parade floats, and others resemble a kids favorite candy bar. But at the end of the day, each kid loves their car if they got a say in the design and got to work on it with their parents. They love them even more if they win.
I do a little presentation at each race. I show a picture of my first car followed by a picture of a snail. I talk about how slow my first car was. I talk about winning and losing and the importance of getting back up and moving forward. I like to look at the faces of this generation and see their expressions. Some of them will start working on their next cars the next day. And you can see in their expressions which ones are zealous and which ones are over-zealous. My youngest turns 11 in a month. He can no longer defend his title at our speedway. On Tuesday night of this week a Cub Scout came in and knocked him off the record board. But, one day he will have a son, and maybe this Pinewood Speedway thing will still be around, and maybe his son will be the over-over-zealous one to break the record again. Or maybe he will spend his time fishing.
Some cars I built as an adult...
#pinewoodderby #pinewoodspeedway #woodwork
Friday, October 18, 2013
Happy Book
I don’t know when I
started this list. Sometime after
getting married. I started dating new
lists after Chris was born. It’s been a
fun ride. These are some of the things that make me happy.
1.
Emily’s fluttering eyes.
2.
Puppies
3.
Dogs
4.
Lizards Eating Moths
5.
Catching really big fish on lakes where there
are “no fish”.
6.
Buying gear
7.
Emily’s curly brown hair
8.
Two words.
Wal-Mart.
9.
Lasagna
10.
Back massages
11.
Foot massages
12.
Other massages
13.
Sparkling apple cider
14.
Pet stores
15.
A clean (spotless) house
16.
Video games
17.
Dinosaur toys
18.
Rock and Roll
19.
Books
20.
Jets
21.
Building models
22.
Shoot-em-up movies
23.
Pet stores
24.
Emily’s kisses
25.
When it’s so clean you don’t have to wipe
26.
Lingerie
27.
High test scores
28.
Correct answers that were well thought out from
difficult questions
29.
Bubbles
30.
The ocean
31.
Being up and working before the sun is
32.
Sunrises
33.
Fresh snowfall
34.
Baseball
35.
Reading Stimulating Literature
36.
Physics
37.
The movie Titanic
38.
Speaking Russian
39.
“New Mail”
40.
Nikki-dog
41.
Jogging
42.
Hiking
43.
Sleeping like spoons
44.
Rex ‘n Torque
45.
Being right
46.
A’s (grades-not the baseball team)
47.
Emily’s “cutesy” look
48.
Hitting home runs
49.
Blocking home plate so well that the runner
never gets within two feet of the plate
50.
The dream of hitting a Baseball into the Hartman’s
pool from FOHI’s Varsity baseball field
51.
Carrie’s smiles
52.
Carrie’s laugh
53.
Baby “bubbles”
54.
Carrie’s blue eyes
55.
A good night’s sleep
56.
Jane’s F-15 video game
57.
Wingman interceptor flight controller
58.
Walks with Carrie
59.
Geckos
60.
Science
61.
Cookie dough and moose tracks ice cream
62.
Scouting
63.
Sunrises on campouts
64.
Toys
65.
Toy section at Wal-Mart
66.
Tool Section at Sears
67.
Victoria’s Secret
68.
New books
69.
Lizard stuff
70.
Bed time
71.
Frisbee football
72.
Mail order CD’s
73.
IBC root beer
74.
Reptiles magazine
75.
Explorer Jogging Stroller
76.
Being naked
77.
Skinny dipping
78.
Understanding an entire Chemistry lecture
79.
Watching Emily breastfeed
80.
Carrie trying to crawl
81.
Carrie sticking out her tongue
82.
Carrie sucking on her top lip
83.
Insects
84.
Stars on a clear night
85.
Locking the door after work
86.
Showing Carrie off
87.
Showing Carrie’s pictures
88.
Watching live minor league pro baseball games
89.
Ballets
90.
Ballet Goggles
91.
Risk (the board game)
92.
James and Blake’s “alliance” in Risk games
93.
Jurassic Park and Lost World
94.
Candlelight dinners after work
95.
Carries crinkly nose
96.
Amazon.com
97.
Barnesnnoble.com
98.
Janes.ea.com
99.
Carrie humming while eating
100.
Carrie playing chase
101.
Carrie playing peekaboo
102.
Being able to see the mountains in California
103.
When the checkbook balances
104.
Payday
105.
Carrie saying “dog” and her excited look
106.
White wings paper airplanes
107.
Watching the lizards eat
108.
Seeing Emily dance naked
109.
My multimeter and ammeter
110.
Having enough work to make lots of money
111.
Having my dad say he is proud of me.
112.
Being satisfied at the end of a day
113.
Watching young scouts come together in a time of
emergency.
114.
Christopher’s dimples
115.
Looking at Christopher’ s eyes
116.
Playing anything with Carrie
117.
Tic-Tac-Toe with Carrie
118.
Watching the stars with Carrie and having her
fall asleep in my arms
119.
Commission!
120.
500 crickets in a box on the doorstep to feed
the lizards
121.
A Blake-clean house
122.
Fixing a problem in record time with no hang-ups
123.
Kristin’s hugs
124.
Snapping my sister’s bra
125.
My dad’s handshake and smile after shooting my
first deer.
126.
Craftsman tools
127.
My air compressor and shop vac
128.
Root Beer
129.
Macaroons
130.
Lasagna
131.
Bikini line
132.
Long talks with my Mom at 2-4 a.m.
133.
Tips (the monetary kind)
134.
Watching Carrie hold up her snake saying “FUFFY”
(his name was Fluffy, she couldn’t pronounce the L)
135.
Hearing Carrie say “izard” when she wants to go
to the garage to hold the lizards, and watching her hold both hands out in
anticipation
136.
Em’s long hair
137.
When Em packs a lunch for me
138.
Seeing Evan get married
139.
07/08/02 Christopher’s “Webster” laugh
140.
Watching Chris run
141.
Tickling my kids
142.
Chris running to me with two bar clams, handing
me one and making a light-saber clashing noise
143.
Chris’ fascination with airplanes
144.
Chris saying “ug” when he sees a bug
145.
Carrie and Chris’ mini workbench
146.
Rockets
147.
Being the one the neighborhood boys catch snakes
for
148.
Carrie calling me at work and saying with a
gasp, “Uhhh! It’s Daddy!”
149.
My outdoor fishpond
150.
Reading
151.
Getting my diploma
152.
The potential with Quixtar
153.
Hummingbirds fighting over my yard
154.
The way if feels when a goldfish nips at your finger
155.
Chris’ black eyes – man they are a dark color.
156.
Big, well-trained German Shepherds
157.
Getting certified to work with Freon
158.
Being out of debt
159.
The “Bed of Roses” soundtrack
160.
My 3 car garage
161.
My rocket launcher
162.
The Fruit Heights house falling through
163.
The house purchase working out
164.
My reptile room
165.
Being the only Russian speaking, appliance
repairman with a Bachelors of Science in Animal Science in the entire world
166.
“Smallville”
167.
Adam Sandler movies
168.
The dog run
169.
Automated sprinklers
170.
Movie family night at the outdoor amphitheater
in Ogden
171.
08/04/02 Palm Pilots
172.
Glide recovery rockets
173.
Radio Shack
174.
Finding out that Em is pregnant
175.
Riding Lawn mowers
176.
Knowing that reptiles are coming out of hibernation
177.
Snake tongs
178.
Lizard nooses
179.
Affecting young men in a positive way
180.
Sports cars
181.
Big trucks
182.
Jars of Clay:
“Little Drummer boy”
183.
Rocky movies
184.
The undying resolve to never give up
185.
Staying up late to think
186.
Chris standing by my bed and staring when I wake
up
187.
Carrie’s smiles
188.
Riding Garden Tractors
189.
Fixing microwaves in “my” shop
190.
Garden tractor wagons
191.
Egg-lofting rocket competitions
192.
Rock-sim software
193.
Father-son campouts
194.
Carrie smiling and sprinting to me across the
yard when she sees that I’m home from work.
195.
Hearing the pipes in the basement crackle and
knowing Em is getting out the the bath (her skin red from heat)
196.
07/28/07 Coleman falling asleep in my basement
office with a blanket
197.
Hitting wiffle balls with my kids
198.
Air rockets
199.
Winning the egg-lofting contest
200.
Geocaching
201.
Breaking records with my business
202.
Seeing a competitors magnet on the refrigerator
I’m working on
203.
“Short-bus adventures”
204.
Dutch oven cooking for family
205.
Christopher wanting to play computer games
206.
Christopher asking if today is a work day and me
saying, “No.”
207.
E-bay
208.
Being my own boss
209.
Creating a successful business
210.
Knowing that my competition doesn’t stand a
chance.
211.
Taking my dog backpacking
212.
Airshows
213.
The f-22 Raptor aircraft
214.
Central air (don’t have it yet)
215.
When my yard is topped off
216.
Finding good employees
217.
Paying bills the day they come
218.
Net-flix
219.
Jennifer Garner movies
220.
Girls with Sai’s
221.
My Glock
222.
Concealed Carry Permits
223.
My tactical baton
224.
My light/laser for my pistol
225.
Walking on a frozen lake
226.
Ice fishing
227.
Sonar
228.
“The pelican” fishing boat
229.
Cache doing a 200 yard blind retrieve
230.
Cache coming out of thick brush with a duck in
his mouth
231.
Watching Carrie catch a 6 pound 3 ounce Wiper,
her first fish
232.
Watching Chris catch his first fish through the
ice
233.
My 15 passenger van with roof rack
234.
Klondike campouts
235.
People asking who trained my dog
236.
Taking my dog to restaurants as a service dog
237.
Headlamp flashlights
238.
Butterfly crescent kicks
239.
Step up side kicks
240.
Sparring
241.
Watching Carrie spar against two boys
242.
Sparring with Emily
243.
Gina Carano fights
244.
The ferrets attacking Emily’s socks
245.
The ferrets stealing tennis balls
246.
05/25/10 Coleman asking if we can cuddle.
247.
Coleman wanting to help fix his bike so he can
ride
248.
10/18/13 Coleman asking me, “Will you swing me” The swing broke last summer. I won’t hear that again, I’m afraid
249.
Watching Godzilla the Savannah Monitor fly
through her cage with her mouth open while chasing a mouse
250.
Mango smoothies at Burger King
251.
The Pinewood Speedway
252.
Touchscreen laptops
253.
Android phones, I remember really wanting a
color Palm Pilot at one time
254.
Applications on cell phones
255.
Coleman asking if he can work on his Pinewood
Derby car 3 months before his race
256.
Having a storefront
257.
The look on people’s faces when they see Carrie
and Emily in Venture uniforms. Most
women are weaksauce. My girls aren’t.
258.
Trango 4 tents
259.
Riding out a thunderstorm in a tent on the top
of a mountain with my girls and my dog.
260.
Hatching quail eggs
261.
Watching Coleman roll on his back in a chair the
first time he shot a 20 guage shotgun
262.
Ducted fan pinewood derby cars
263.
The look on peoples faces when they see the
Pinewood Speedway the first time.
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