Ok, all three of my loyal readers are probably wondering how I did in our Extreme Pinewood Derby. Drum roll please... I lost. Horribly. I was in three races total. The first one I lost because the string (see pictures from previous post) attached to the rear axle broke at the starting line, so my "4 mousepower" engine ran down the track in neutral. I lost.
The second race wasn't much better. The trap went off too early and the car just spun its wheels at the starting gate. By the time the race began, my car (again) hobbled down the track with no go-power. I lost again. Very frustrating.
The third race was much better. The string held as it should and the trap released at precisely the right moment. Unfortunately, by this time most of the slower cars had been weeded out, and I was racing against cars powered by rocket fuel or nuclear fusion. Yet again, I lost.
The winning car this year was basically a slingshot design. The designer cut a 6" PVC pipe in half lengthwise, and attached surgical tubing to it for elasticity. This launching device propelled a simple block-design car down the track at an amazing speed. Very clever. Every year there's always a new rule added banning some sort of "innovation". The rule is typically named after the designer, which is almost a badge of honor per se. I have a feeling a rule will be added so that the cars must be self-contained with no launching devices. I have already begun planning my car for next year now that I know that a mere mousetrap will not suffice. My goal is to be the guy next year who has a rule named after him...
If there is any consolation, I am winning in all three of my NCAA bracket pools. Historically, I'm awful at bracket picks, but this year I'm doing pretty well. My objective was to beat Shannon this year. She has beaten me the past two years, and my ego can't take another loss to a person who chooses teams according to Jersey color. If I can claim victory here, everything else is a bonus. I have Memphis and Kansas going to the final game, with Kansas winning 70 to 68. In retrospect, my margin of victory may be about right, but both of these teams are runners, so the scores may be higher. We'll see.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Friday, March 21, 2008
Extreme Pinewood Derby
Tomorrow the Elder’s Quorum of our Ward is hosting an Extreme Pinewood Derby- a modification of the popular Cub Scout activity. It’s an opportunity for (not so) grown men to tap into their childhood and play with little cars. Hey, do you ever TRULY grow out of that?
Anyway, what makes this fun is that that there are very few rules. Here they are:
1. You must use official BSA (Boy Scouts of America) wheels and axles.
2. Your car cannot touch another car on the track
3. Your car cannot extend beyond the starting mark
4. You cannot damage the track with your car
5. No open flame
6. “The Fox Rule” aka- no CO2 cartridges
We had this activity last year, and most of the rules stem from last years entrants. For instance, “The Fox Rule” was adopted on behalf of Bill Fox. When the CO2 cartridge that propelled his car came loose and flew across the gym, it almost decapitated his eldest daughter.
This year’s race is going to be a lot of fun. In true NASCAR style, we’re tailgating in the parking lot beforehand. I’m sure the root beer will flow like a river. You know how those crazy Mormons are! The part that I like most about the activity is seeing the imagination that goes into creating the perfect car. We have many men of intellect from our ward, so it’ll be fun to match wits with them. My car is called the Rat Racer. I chose that title because it’s “powerplant” is a mouse trap. This baby cranks out a MASSIVE 4 mousepower. Not really sure about that figure, but when I bought the mousetrap, it came in a pack of four, so it seems logical.
As you can see, I took the “Use BSA wheels and axles” rule a little liberally. The rule doesn’t say how MANY wheels and axles to use, so I used them on the front end of the car. On the back, I made wheels from an old radio I cannibalized. They were part of the mechanism that operated the tape deck. They are made of a heavier metal material, which turned out to be necessary with this type of car. I learned the hard way that using a mouse trap to move a small car generates problems. Here they are along with my solutions:
1. The mouse trap makes the car jump when it goes off. Hence the use of the heavier wheels. It helps to keep the car on the track.
2. The spring action of the car is so strong, it either bent or snapped my axles. I was using thin aluminum tubing at first, but I had to re-mount the axles using pieces of heavy gauge wire and parts of a coat hanger clip.
3. Spooling the pull string. The mouse trap pulls so hard that it would break or fray the pull string. I finally was able to use a woven type of dental floss and make it work for repeat races.
4. Leverage. You get a very short burst of speed from the trap since the spring mechanism only has a travel range of about 4 inches. I was able to multiply this by adding a pulley-like extension on the back of the car using a twisted up piece of coat hanger.
5. "Spin outs". The pull of the trap is so sudden that the wheels would just spin the car in place, giving it no forward propulsion. I had to wrap the rear wheels in double-sided tape in order to give it a little grip. You can see that they are tow-tone in appearance. I had fun with a black Sharpie.
Don’t know if I’ll win or not- after all they are predicting 36 cars this year, but it will be fun. I learned last year that it’s not necessarily the FASTEST car that wins, but the one who can handle the most races. We’ll see what happens. Wish me luck.
Anyway, what makes this fun is that that there are very few rules. Here they are:
1. You must use official BSA (Boy Scouts of America) wheels and axles.
2. Your car cannot touch another car on the track
3. Your car cannot extend beyond the starting mark
4. You cannot damage the track with your car
5. No open flame
6. “The Fox Rule” aka- no CO2 cartridges
We had this activity last year, and most of the rules stem from last years entrants. For instance, “The Fox Rule” was adopted on behalf of Bill Fox. When the CO2 cartridge that propelled his car came loose and flew across the gym, it almost decapitated his eldest daughter.
This year’s race is going to be a lot of fun. In true NASCAR style, we’re tailgating in the parking lot beforehand. I’m sure the root beer will flow like a river. You know how those crazy Mormons are! The part that I like most about the activity is seeing the imagination that goes into creating the perfect car. We have many men of intellect from our ward, so it’ll be fun to match wits with them. My car is called the Rat Racer. I chose that title because it’s “powerplant” is a mouse trap. This baby cranks out a MASSIVE 4 mousepower. Not really sure about that figure, but when I bought the mousetrap, it came in a pack of four, so it seems logical.
As you can see, I took the “Use BSA wheels and axles” rule a little liberally. The rule doesn’t say how MANY wheels and axles to use, so I used them on the front end of the car. On the back, I made wheels from an old radio I cannibalized. They were part of the mechanism that operated the tape deck. They are made of a heavier metal material, which turned out to be necessary with this type of car. I learned the hard way that using a mouse trap to move a small car generates problems. Here they are along with my solutions:
1. The mouse trap makes the car jump when it goes off. Hence the use of the heavier wheels. It helps to keep the car on the track.
2. The spring action of the car is so strong, it either bent or snapped my axles. I was using thin aluminum tubing at first, but I had to re-mount the axles using pieces of heavy gauge wire and parts of a coat hanger clip.
3. Spooling the pull string. The mouse trap pulls so hard that it would break or fray the pull string. I finally was able to use a woven type of dental floss and make it work for repeat races.
4. Leverage. You get a very short burst of speed from the trap since the spring mechanism only has a travel range of about 4 inches. I was able to multiply this by adding a pulley-like extension on the back of the car using a twisted up piece of coat hanger.
5. "Spin outs". The pull of the trap is so sudden that the wheels would just spin the car in place, giving it no forward propulsion. I had to wrap the rear wheels in double-sided tape in order to give it a little grip. You can see that they are tow-tone in appearance. I had fun with a black Sharpie.
Don’t know if I’ll win or not- after all they are predicting 36 cars this year, but it will be fun. I learned last year that it’s not necessarily the FASTEST car that wins, but the one who can handle the most races. We’ll see what happens. Wish me luck.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Mitt Romney Back in Business?
I don't know if it has anything to do with Romney's recent interview with Sean Hannity, But Mitt's website is up and running again. Shortly after his concession at CPAC, www.mittromney.com was reduced to a single page expressing thanks. Now it has various links to the issues he espoused during the campaign, speeches from the trail and even a contact link. Weird.
As you may know, Hannity and Karl Rove have been pushing a so-called "M&M" ticket. I don't know what to think about that, and I am highly doubtful that it will happen. Romney stated several times in the Hannity interview that there are no hard feelings between he and McCain since the primaries. Maybe this is true. After all, McCain was quick to support George W. Bush after a dirty and humiliating defeat in the 2000 primary.
Is it a good idea for him to consider Romney? Possibly. There are at least four things McCain and his advisors are asking themselves right now. ALL of these take a back seat to #1 listed below.
1. Who is best going to help me to beat my opponent in November?
2. Who is going to align with me on policy issues?
3. Who is going to fill in the gaps where I need additional strength?
4. With whom do I feel comfortable entrusting the Presidency if I cannot serve?
Maybe Romney is the guy to answer these questions, maybe not. If I were McCain, here would be my pro and con list about selecting Romney:
Pro:
-Romney has economics in his bloodstream. This is an admitted McCain weak spot.
-Romney has a solid conservative following, and it would help draw in voters that rejected McCain previously.
-Name recognition. The primaries have given Romney a lot of street cred
-He’s young. There has been nervousness within the party about McCain’s ability to serve long term.
-He’s good looking. This is probably the silliest reason, but hey, all those women who were “sMITTen” have votes too.
-Solid supporter of Iraq war and the surge. The two men favor staying in Iraq until victory is achieved.
-He is known for offering market-based solutions for the healthcare crisis, and could be a foil for a key Democrat issue.
Cons:
-Well known perception that the two men don’t like each other. May appear to voters as a union of expediency.
-Mitt’s “flip-flopper” tag. There’s some cannon fodder for the Dems.
-Even though Romney has a lot of conservative support, he does not have concrete backing by the southern evangelical voter, a must-have for the Republican nominee. If McCain wants to repair the damage in this voting bloc, Mitt’s probably the wrong guy.
-Mormonism. See previous bullet point.
-“Mr. Perfect” persona. Romney failed to connect with some voters because of this.
On a purely selfish level, I don’t want to see Romney hitch his wagon to McCain. No matter who the VP is, at the end of the day, you’re still voting for the guy at the top of the ticket, and I still see McCain losing this year. If McCain is going to go down in flames, I don’t want to see Romney attached to the fallout and thereby weakened for 2012. You don’t have to look any farther than John Edwards to realize that voters don’t like a loser.
However, I have cooled down enough from February 5th to admit that I will probably vote for McCain in November. I will do it while stifling a gag reflex and telling myself that I’m not so much voting FOR him as AGAINST the Dems. In the unlikely event that Mitt is chosen as McCain’s #2, It’ll take out some of the sting, but I still don’t know if I’d be happy about it. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the subject...
As you may know, Hannity and Karl Rove have been pushing a so-called "M&M" ticket. I don't know what to think about that, and I am highly doubtful that it will happen. Romney stated several times in the Hannity interview that there are no hard feelings between he and McCain since the primaries. Maybe this is true. After all, McCain was quick to support George W. Bush after a dirty and humiliating defeat in the 2000 primary.
Is it a good idea for him to consider Romney? Possibly. There are at least four things McCain and his advisors are asking themselves right now. ALL of these take a back seat to #1 listed below.
1. Who is best going to help me to beat my opponent in November?
2. Who is going to align with me on policy issues?
3. Who is going to fill in the gaps where I need additional strength?
4. With whom do I feel comfortable entrusting the Presidency if I cannot serve?
Maybe Romney is the guy to answer these questions, maybe not. If I were McCain, here would be my pro and con list about selecting Romney:
Pro:
-Romney has economics in his bloodstream. This is an admitted McCain weak spot.
-Romney has a solid conservative following, and it would help draw in voters that rejected McCain previously.
-Name recognition. The primaries have given Romney a lot of street cred
-He’s young. There has been nervousness within the party about McCain’s ability to serve long term.
-He’s good looking. This is probably the silliest reason, but hey, all those women who were “sMITTen” have votes too.
-Solid supporter of Iraq war and the surge. The two men favor staying in Iraq until victory is achieved.
-He is known for offering market-based solutions for the healthcare crisis, and could be a foil for a key Democrat issue.
Cons:
-Well known perception that the two men don’t like each other. May appear to voters as a union of expediency.
-Mitt’s “flip-flopper” tag. There’s some cannon fodder for the Dems.
-Even though Romney has a lot of conservative support, he does not have concrete backing by the southern evangelical voter, a must-have for the Republican nominee. If McCain wants to repair the damage in this voting bloc, Mitt’s probably the wrong guy.
-Mormonism. See previous bullet point.
-“Mr. Perfect” persona. Romney failed to connect with some voters because of this.
On a purely selfish level, I don’t want to see Romney hitch his wagon to McCain. No matter who the VP is, at the end of the day, you’re still voting for the guy at the top of the ticket, and I still see McCain losing this year. If McCain is going to go down in flames, I don’t want to see Romney attached to the fallout and thereby weakened for 2012. You don’t have to look any farther than John Edwards to realize that voters don’t like a loser.
However, I have cooled down enough from February 5th to admit that I will probably vote for McCain in November. I will do it while stifling a gag reflex and telling myself that I’m not so much voting FOR him as AGAINST the Dems. In the unlikely event that Mitt is chosen as McCain’s #2, It’ll take out some of the sting, but I still don’t know if I’d be happy about it. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the subject...
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
New Addition to the Blog
You may notice that I took down the link to http://www.mittromney.com/. This was done with tremendous sadness. I quickly noticed that without a picture there, the blog looked a little sparse. To remedy this, I'm adding a "Photo of the Week" in its place. This week's lucky winner is Hillary and her finger pistol. Enjoy.
Hillary's Last Stand?
Now that the magic number of 1191 has been surpassed by John McCain, it’s all about the Dems. Last night was very exciting. Along with everybody else, I was expecting to hear the Clinton death rattle last night. Boy was I wrong! I have to admit, I was pulling like crazy for Hillary. The more turmoil in the Democrat party the better! TX, OH and RI were largely symbolic victories for her since she didn’t chip away at Obama’s delegate lead. Even with her three to one victory, she remains more than one hundred delegates back- a fact that did not escape Obama in his concession speech last night.
Clinton did say something in her “Thank You Ohio” speech that may be “THE story” as the nomination unfolds. Amid the many thank yous and platitudes, she rattled off the states where she has been victorious- Florida and Michigan included. Everybody knows that there has been behind the scenes work by Hillary’s camp to have these delegates here reinstated. Surely, if talk becomes serious, the Obama camp will protest. The compromise may be a “do-over” in these states. If so, Hillary will have a built-in advantage in both. Michigan is enduring a similar economic crisis to that in Ohio, and Florida should play well for her with its large Hispanic and New York snowbird population. Whether or not we do see a redux in FL and MI, it should be fun to watch the cat fighting over the possibility.
All I know for sure is that I don’t want to be Howard Dean (DNC Chair) right now. I wonder if he got a call at 3:00 this morning…
Clinton did say something in her “Thank You Ohio” speech that may be “THE story” as the nomination unfolds. Amid the many thank yous and platitudes, she rattled off the states where she has been victorious- Florida and Michigan included. Everybody knows that there has been behind the scenes work by Hillary’s camp to have these delegates here reinstated. Surely, if talk becomes serious, the Obama camp will protest. The compromise may be a “do-over” in these states. If so, Hillary will have a built-in advantage in both. Michigan is enduring a similar economic crisis to that in Ohio, and Florida should play well for her with its large Hispanic and New York snowbird population. Whether or not we do see a redux in FL and MI, it should be fun to watch the cat fighting over the possibility.
All I know for sure is that I don’t want to be Howard Dean (DNC Chair) right now. I wonder if he got a call at 3:00 this morning…
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
