No Strings Attached

Posted By Kathleen David on February 6, 2016

For the past twelve weeks Caroline has been part of a team that participated in a local FLL (First Lego League) tournament. She and the other girls have been working hard at learning all kinds of things including programing the robot and building solutions to various problems and tasks to get ready for the challenges of the competition.

This was supposes to happen two weeks ago but the large snowstorm brought the Island to a halt. Then we had the storm yesterday that dumped about eight inches out of nowhere but, given the conditions, we were told it was on.

They did very well and won a judge’s award for their overall presentation and team-work. For a first time team, they did better than expected.

The robot decided that it had a mind of its own and that was a bit of consternation for the team but they worked through the problems and tried to figure out how to fix the problems on the fly. They did well under pressure and kept moving forward.

I am very proud of her and her team. It is a great group of very intelligent young ladies who are going to do great things one day. She had a lot of fun making new friends and feeling good about being smart.

Plus she got to build things with Legos that they attached to the robot that they programmed. I am a little jealous of all she did but glad that she did it.

My thanks to her coaches and her mentor and the other parents for their time and effort to teach the girls new skills and give them a fun experience.

I am grateful that Caroline had this opportunity.

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Posted By Kathleen David on February 5, 2016

I remember reading in A Scandal in Bohemia the line “You see, but you do not observe.” Holmes goes on to ask Watson how many steps are there between the hallway and their rooms. In my head I said 14 depending on how you count them in our house. Watson hadn’t a clue. He had seen the steps every time he went up and down them but never observed how many steps there were.

It was like Arthur Conan Doyle flipped a switch in my brain that I had been using passively but I now actively do it. I had always counted the number of steps when I went places. I have a good memory for where I see things. It’s not perfect but I have a good parlor trick I can use to impress. If I have to drive somewhere a couple of times, I can pick my way back to it based on what I observed while driving. This is all good until someone takes down one of my landmarks.

It is snowing outside and according to the weather report it will be doing so until about 3 pm and then it will be going down to freezing which will turn the slush to ice. I guess we are stuck in the house again.

This stinks because I was going to go Superbowl snack shopping today.

Instead I guess I’ll clean up around here and get back to the puppets.

I am grateful that Peter ran out last night and got milk and bread, which we did need.

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Posted By Kathleen David on February 4, 2016

We had some rather heavy rain last night. Any snow left is rapidly vanishing. It would have been another storm like the one we had almost two weeks ago.

This weekend Caroline’s team competes in her Lego Robot League preliminaries. She is ready to do this. She was ready to compete two weeks ago when it snowed. She had been working really hard on this project with her team. I hope it goes well for her.

I have been sorting things out. Yesterday I took a day to be creative and tackle a project I have been putting off because I was scared I couldn’t do it. I did it and feel rather good about the results. Now onto the other puppets. There will be pictures after this project is all done and in the hands of its new owner.

I have decided to start recording how long I am on various electronics just doing things that aren’t really relevant to the tasks at hand. I think I am not going to be happy with the result but I need to look at it.

Today I am cleaning the kitchen and then restocking the larder all while doing laundry. If I get those tasks all done, I have a list of other things that need to be done and an order they need to be done in. So here’s to a productive day.

I am still trying to write in my web log once a day just as a kickstart to my brain.

I found out that Bryan Singer’s next project is going to be his version of 20,000 Leagues, which means that the Nemo novel I am writing might be very timely. My only concerns are that he stated that there would be new characters and science fiction elements that aren’t in the original. Disney was smart enough to realize that the story could stand on its own without love interests and the like. His only crime was the music but it was a Disney project.

I loved this season of Galavant and really hope for a third but know it probably won’t happen. And I super believe in Tad Cooper. I think Tad Cooper was the breakout character this year and Timothy Omundson did a great job of selling that.

Agent Carter has been fun. There have been some nice easter eggs for both the movie viewer and the comic book fan.

I am grateful for the new format of TV that allows for short series to be aired as well as the long run shows.

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Posted By Kathleen David on February 3, 2016

Cause I don’t want to get hassled by the NFL and CBS for saying Incredible soup plate in the vernacular.

The commercials for the Big Game have started to air. There are teasers for commercials that will air on CBS this Sunday. Teasers for commercials, let that sink in for a bit. So far the funniest has to be Key and Peele’s teaser for Square Space.

I am finding the commentary interesting as someone tries to make this exciting for the country. They come up with the human interest stories and the sound bites or tweets that people have been making. Peyton complimented Cam so there’s not much there so instead they are talking about Peyton’s volley in the psychological warfare that happens before the big game. Personally I think he was just giving Cam a compliment and observing that Cam is a good quarterback and, barring injury, will be proven to be a great quarterback over time.

My local brew pub is sorting out wings for Sunday as they have really good ones and people order a lot of them. I know two Buffalo Wild Wings that have taken reservations for the game and have a take out schedule for wings and the like. People are sharing their favorite recipes and the like on Pintrest and the like. Personally all I need is my go to onion dip and Ruffles potato chips and I am happy.

A number of the local establishments have set up their betting pools for the game. Although they are not called betting pools. You buy a box and you might win some money depending on the score. Unless you are a bookie, the state of NY looks the other way.

The whole country seems to be gearing up for this one sporting event. And you have to give it to the NFL for creating this sort of frenzy about one game. The NFL has worked hard to make itself the most popular sport in America and the rates of viewers allows the stations to go and ask for more money for the commercials to pay the NFL more money to air their product on TV. It’s insane when you really stop and think about it.

So like the gladiators games of old, we go and watch the game as two teams pound on each other. More are aware of the damage being done to the bodies of these athletes. Of the concussion issues, of legs damaged, and ribs broken.

What is not commented on is that there are only a few that get paid those absurd amounts of money. The rest of the squad makes a decent living and, if they are frugal, they might have money to live on afterwards. But many don’t and even a ring is not going to put food on the table or a roof over their heads. They have seminars now for the new players explaining fiscal responsibility and the like so they can say that they are doing something. Retirement funds have been bandied about but the youngsters are thinking about the here and now not what they are going to be in five years. Just ask Johnny Football or Tim Tebow about that one.

But still we watch and cheer for one team or another. We are happy when our team is doing well and second guessing everything when things go poorly.

And I can honestly say I really don’t care who wins this year. Both teams have played their hearts out and left it all on the field. Might be Payton’s last game win or lose. Cam might be the MVP for the NFL. Either team might win at this point which is the purpose of playing the game.

I am grateful for the past football season even though I still can’t figure out what is a catch and not a catch these days.

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Posted By Kathleen David on February 2, 2016

I met Ruth Smith when she was working with my mother at the Emory Nursing School. If I couldn’t find Mom, Ruth would pass on messages or, many times, take care of the issue. She became a constant in our lives and we loved her very much.

If you looked up Good Christian woman in the dictionary, I swear you would see a picture of Ruth. Steel Magnolia comes to mind as well.

Peter remembers that he talked to her the day Caroline was born and we were trying to find my mother. He said she had a lovely voice and was very helpful. And that was Ruth to us and countless other students through the years at Emory.

She is the reason I met Jim Henson. Her husband Gene was the voice of WABE back in the day. He also did voice over work including the intro to something Jim did called Tales of the Tinkerdee. Because of that, I was able to ask a question at a World Con that I don’t think Jim was ever expecting to hear. He caught up with me later and asked how I had heard about the show and then asked if I could make a copy of the audio for him.

She was many things to many people. Giving of her time and wisdom and a good heart.

I will miss her.

My sympathies to her family and friends.

I am grateful that I had Ruth Smith in my life

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