E-mail hijinks

Sometimes folks get a little wacky in the e-mail exchanges around our office. Behold:

So, a few of us were discussing the idea of creating a summer celebration of the 13 weeks of wings. For the 13 weeks of June through August we will select a restaurant to sample and rate their wings each Wednesday at noon. We are currently seeking the level of interest to have a general idea for planning purposes, understanding this is not a 13-week commitment; attendees will vary from week to week depending on one’s availability. Takers?

Wings? You eat the wings of little birds?

Whenever we can. We're cruel - it's how we roll.

Yep! And sometimes their little beaks too!! A little ranch dressing....yummy!

No, big birds. And we should figure out how to incorporate the consumption of that certain liquid refreshment commonly known as "Beer"!

So, we should keep you far, far away from the World Center for Birds of Prey?

Yes, unless there is a Beer Garden in the vicinity.

Does keep things interesting, though.

Wordless Wednesday

Okay, I promise there will be actual words soon, but in the meantime, here's one of my favorite pictures:



I took this last year during a spring break vacation that took us on a loop from Boise to Portland to the Oregon coast to the California Redwoods to San Francisco to the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains (California side) to Lake Tahoe and back to Boise. A whirlwind trip, but very fun. This shot was at a beach below Heceta Head. A, ahem, rest break - yep, that's what we'll call it, a rest break - was needed so I pulled into the parking lot above this beach. While other inhabitants of the car were "resting" I wandered down and took this photo. I just loved the way the rocks reflected in the wet sand.

And, after getting back on the highway and down the road aways, we looked back and saw the lighthouse that was a little hike from the parking lot we had been in and totally hidden from view when we were on the beach:

Oh heavens, this is soooo familiar

This is the same gal who sang the hilarious list of "mom sayings" to the William Tell Overture tune. Hysterical!

Wordless Wednesday

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahah!

Whew, the thought of me actually being “wordless” is pretty darn hysterical.

But I did want to share one of my favorite photos from our trip to Chicago. This sculpture, located at Millennium Park, is called “Cloud Gate” - although the locals apparently refer to it as the “Bean.” Which totally makes sense given its kidney-bean shape. A highly polished metal, it perfectly reflects the Chicago skyline.

So, clue me in...

What is Indiana.rivals.com and why is my tiny little corner of the interwebs attracting so very many people to visit from there?

Inquiring minds would LOVE to know.

Now THIS is how it should be sung

I'm probably the last person on the planet to have seen this video and y'all are gonna be all "Oh, THAT old thing," but just in case I'm not, I wanted to share a You-Tube video sent to me recently. Really puts to shame just about every other version of our national anthem I've ever heard sung. Rosanne, take note - not a single crotch grab during the entire song. THIS is how is should always be sung!

Up, up and away!

Nope, no beautiful balloons here (please tell me I’m not the only person who gets that reference).

But there are rockets!

My son, along with the rest of his Team American Rocketry Challenge (TARC) team has spent the last 7 or so months designing and building a rocket that can launch an egg (nestled sideways in the body of the rocket) 750 feet in the air and return to ground within 45 seconds - without scrambling the egg.

Last weekend was the deadline for completing a qualified launch (one timed and verified by an official). Points are awarded thusly: 1 point for each foot above or below the 750 feet goal and 2 points for every second slower or faster than the 45 second goal. A scrambled egg automatically disqualifies the flight. Obviously, the goal is a number as close to 0 as possible. We spent a day at the Swan Falls launch site of the Tripoli Idaho Rocket Club (members of which launch high powered model rockets – making the kind my kids used to build look downright puny). Pretty scenery as a backdrop for the flights:

My son’s team set their rocket up on one of the launch pads and it failed to take off twice. Turns out it was nothing to do with the rocket – the person who set up the launch pad didn’t connect the pad to the launch controller’s station.

The next launch was successful:

Successful in that it took off and landed without breaking the egg. But something went wrong with the altimeter, which was a special kind that also had some fancy breaking mechanism. So the team then had to revamp its rocket so that it wouldn’t need to employ a breaking mechanism to keep from flying far beyond 750 feet. They got close, but not close enough to ask for a qualifying launch. The next weekend (the last weekend to qualify) the team went out and launched without all of the spectators. After a lot of adjustments, the rocket made 743 feet in 42 seconds, for a score of 24. Hopefully that’ll be good enough! If they’re in the top 100 teams (out of approximately 600), they’ll head to Virginia for the national competition – with the top team from that competition not only winning a large cash prize, but also a trip to Paris for the international competition.

Keep your fingers crossed!