Summertime Robots

Along with another area team we set up over the weekend and did demos at the town's River Fest.  Its one of those "just for fun" things, and it was great to have half the team come by for various lengths of time.  Darn kids they keep growing, and even the passage of a few months is noticeable.  

A few pictures, also just for fun.

Pretty good crowd on a lovely day.

Always looking for the Drivers of the Future.  A kid brother in this case.  He's not bad.

Video of the two robots operating in tandem.  Not long afterwards they both broke down and repair skills had to be recalled...

One thing about summer demos where you are running the robot for long periods of time.  Things get hot.  One of our motors was really cookin' so a couple of ice packs from the cooler had to be applied during its rest time.

In a couple of weeks the robot is going to be expected to present awards to people.  So I had them practice grabbing atypical objects.  A pop can.  A small beach ball.  And my baseball cap...

Doll Baby's Night Out

My grand daughter is still interested in dolls, although she is now old enough and sophisticated enough to know they are not real.  Except for one.  Her earliest doll is one she started calling "Doll Baby" as soon as she started talking.  The grand daughter that is....Doll Baby, or DB as I call her....only talks when I'm around.  And a sassy, ill behaved little imp she is!

The other day it was decided that Doll Baby could stay up at the cabin with grandpa when the kids went home.  So what sort of mischief will DB get into when poorly supervised????

Swiping the last brownie.

Insisting that I walk her instead of the dog.  Note how the dog's eyes are bugging out over this.

Swiping the dog's treats.

Now this will not end well...

Driving Grandpa's car.  She and the dog have it all worked out.  She turns the wheel and he works the pedals.  Also not gonna end well....

Barbenheimer Anticipated

Many, many years ago when I was doing combat robots with one of my sons we dabbled in assorted comic relief ventures.  Mostly Barbie Jeeps with weaponry.

Given the recent cross over interest between Barbie and Oppenheimer I think we were prophetic. Although our version of Barbie Land does seem a bit more "Mad Maxine"

 

 

Farewell Mushroom March

I've been putting out geocaches for about four years now.  Some are basic.  But in most cases I'm trying for more.  An interesting container or highlighting an obscure bit of local history.  A couple of series caches have been on nature themes, such as the Strange Fish series.

One such series I did a couple of years ago was called The Mushroom March.  There was a woodland trail known to be popular with people out looking for edible mushrooms, so I decided to make things a bit more interesting and have five geocaches along the way.  Each had a specific theme.  Each one got harder.

Geocaches are rated on a star system.  One star is easy, five is really hard.  So MushroomMarch-1 I figured would be walk up and there it is.  MM-5 would be devilishly difficult.

As it happens I succeeded all too well.

Most of the containers I placed "weathered in" to the point that my star ratings were not nearly hard enough.  

As this series was pretty isolated it did not get many visits.  It's a very pretty walk, but lots of mosquitos.  So recently I decided to discontinue it and add more caches closer to home.  Here's a retrospective view.   That is, if you can see 'em!

Mushroom March 5 - Illusions.

The slight angulation could be a tip off, the container was starting to sag.  It had not been found in 18 months.  For those who did it was very popular.  Over 60% Favorites rating.

Mushroom March 4 - Alice.  Sometimes geocachers decide to change things on you.  This one was left upside down which makes it far easier.

In its proper configuration it was at least the four stars I gave it.  A hunk of wood in the middle of a forest full of downed lumber..

Mushroom March 3 - Attack of the Mushroom People.  This one honored a cheesy Sci Fi flick of my youth.  By now your eye is trained in so of course you see this paltry three star...

Mushroom March 2 - Homer Price  This one you can see.  Note that it actually has mushrooms growing not only next to it but ON IT!

Which brings us to Mushroom March 1.  This is right next to the parking lot and as such does get a bit of traffic.  I was tempted to leave it in place.  It's only a simple one star difficulty, right?

Well maybe not.  Here, lets sweep away some leaves.

Anyway I did decide this one could stay "in play" albeit with a higher difficulty rating.  In case any intrepid geocachers have read this far, congratulations and here's an even better hint.

Our Companions and Jesters.....

I recall a quote by C.S. Lewis that describes animals as "our companions and jesters".  Of course I can't track it down, even with the help of the internet.  I think it is in Perelandra somewhere. * Well what the heck, if he didn't say it he should have.  And maybe made it specific to dogs.

Dogs have been there for us ever since their shaggy ancestors snuck up close to the fire beside our equally shaggy predecessors.  

I periodically get a chance to take care of our kid's dogs.  Two of them, Reba and Hank, were over the other day.

 

I know there are some people who identify more strongly with cats.  To each their own I guess.  But I prefer dogs.  They have all of mankind's major virtues.  Bravery, Loyalty, Patience.  They have none of our vices except Immoderation.  They will eat, sleep and procreate as much as is Caninely possible.

One of these days I'll have to get another dog of my own.  I figure I'll wait until I lose a step or two and am snoozing in the sun whenever possible.  Then I'll adopt an old dog with similar inclinations.

*As it happens the quote, when I finally tracked it down, is from the subsequent book in the series "That Hideous Strength":  

"We are now as we ought to be - between the angels who are our elder brothers and the beasts who are our jesters, servants and playfellows".

Fungus or Fungo?

My usual walking route goes by a school facility that has baseball fields.  The other day there was a family there, the dad pitching to his young son.  When I walked by today I saw this:

So was this a ball hit a surprising distance for a fledging ball player?  Nope.

Fungus.  Some kind of puff ball.  Well what about this?  Did the kid leave his glove behind?

Again, no.  Again, some kind of fungus, although almost the right size for a kid's glove.

Got me thinking.  The term in baseball for fly balls hit for fielding practice is "fungo" or "fungoe".  The origins of the phrase?  Unknown.  Maybe this is where it came from, going back the next day looking for the balls in tall grass and finding fungus instead!

Derek + Tammy

 Seen on the side of a water tower near our local Middle School.

Derek + Tammy.  While I don't approve of even petty vandalism its hard not to look at this and think "Awwwwww..."

A few blocks away.....any chance this is related?

When I'm out for walks and run across little mysteries like this I try to mentally "write the story".  You'll be happy to know that Derek made the basketball team and did take Tammy to Prom.  Of course when Aaron came into the picture it all got complicated.....