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I am sound asleep. I have not been feeling well and actually went to the doctor last night. So what do I wake up to this morning at 4:52 AM? A text message. Jacob could not make it to the AMOC yesterday because he was on the east coast for spring break. He sent me the address of trip blog which is here. He was excited to announce that he saw the White House and also sent a picture of the Washington Monument. I will need to work on that time zone thing with him. I look for forward to more messages and the week moves on.
 Washington Monument
Today Crew 6 made a trip to the Air and Marine Operations Center on March Air Reserve Base. What is this place? It is a place that watches thousands of aircraft and watercraft within and without our borders. We saw a short video that went over the operation. It was informative. There is an explanation of what they do in an article I found on the web.
It starts out “A sleek Citation jet pierces the night sky traveling at a speedy 350 knots—more than 400 miles an hour—keeping a suspicious plane in sight either visually or by on-board intercept radar.”(Link is the quote above.)
As for us, after the video, we left our cell phones and cameras on the table and went to the command center. As we entered the command center, there were cubby holes for cell phones. No wireless communication was allowed in the room. That indicated the room was a secure place that was important. There were several stations with several monitors looking at different geographic areas. If you happened to be one of the dots on the screen and were doing something dumb like flying under visual flight rules in a snowstorm to hide you travel, you would be a suspect target. Then again, not acting normal makes most anyone become a suspect target.
There were lots of questions. Most of them by the adults. The boys did not ask that many questions. I am guessing that the monitor screens would have been more interesting if there was a lot of action on them at the speed of an X-box game. One if the boys said that looks like a boring job. I just thought to myself, wait until you are an adult. As for me, it looked like an exciting job that would be different every day.
Eric did another experiment for the Environmental Science Merit Badge that he is working on. He needed to put 10 worms in a box that was half in the shade and half in light. The worms were placed in the center and he watched them for five minutes. Would the worms go to the light or move to the dark side – the one in the shadow of the Sportfishing book. After watching them for several minutes Eric noted that the worms moved towards the darkness.
The worms will make it into the back yard to live out their lives as opposed to hitching a ride to a lake in the area with a neighbor, his son and a pair of fishing poles. The neighbor left before the worms made it very far from the center. I guess this is a case of where they were saved by their slow movement. I reminded Eric that I expected him to move faster than worms when it came to cleaning his room and emptying the trash. Needless to say, he is not hooked on the idea of doing those chores very fast. Now for a look at the boy who actually stopped playing the X-box and was fascinated by the way worms moved.
 Worm Behavior
The past couple of days Eric complained about a pain in his abdomen area, especially when he drank the limeade that I purchased for him. I took him to the doctor today. Questions asked, answers given. We were walked across that hall to the gastroenterologist who asked more questions. He asked them fairly quickly. Questions like, where does it hurt? When does it hurt? Does it hurt when you eat? Are you taking medications? A couple of presses on the abdomen and the big question, have you dry swallowed any pills in the last week?
The answered was yes. Eric asked, are you talking about the one that says “Take This Medicine With A Full Glass Of Water.” The doctor let Eric know that he needed to follow the instructions on his medications and to never dry swallow pills.
The consequences of not following directions, and ulcer and the wonderful need to take some liquid medication every 4 hours to coat the stomach along with and antacid once a day. No fried foods, chocolate, caffeine and of course no limeade for about a week. He assures me that he will pay more attention and follow directions.
I was at Home Depot a couple of days ago getting some flowers for Eric. He needed them for a experiment for the Environmental Science merit badge. As I was there I grabbed a few plants for the garden. Yes it is the beginning of March and it still could freeze, but I am willing to take my changes. One person perusing the garden section asked if I was going to grow them indoors until the chances of frost were over. I said no. I was thinking to myself I would cover the plants with sheets like my parents did when I was a child. I also remembered the clear plastic things with water in them that Grandpa Rogers had around his tomato plants years ago to protect them from frost. There are ways to get started and so some tomato plants along with some peppers and a squash plant made their way into the ground tonight. The now accompany the herbs the are in the neighborhood from last year.
 The garden is back As for the flowers, the will be meeting a little motor oil for the experiment. I feel sad for them, but that is how a boy learns.
 Simpson Chubby 1 - Kell's Casbah Mint - Dovo Razor It was a rainy day her in southern California and I wanted a little change for the Shave of the Day. I chose Kell’s Original Hemp Blend Shaving Soap in the fragrance of Casbah Mint. The soap lathered easily and had a clean fragrance. Elements of Spearmint, Peppermint and Corn Mint are combined with a touch of black tea. As I lathered up I could feel my sensation of the mint as the Simson Chubby 1 Super Badger brush stroked my skin in preparation of a smooth shave. After a smooth and pleasing shave I chose a generous splash of Varon Dandy from Spain. It is a wonderful fragrance and one of my favorites. The combination of the Kell’s Casbah Mint and Varon Dandy made for a great shave.
Today was the 10th Anniversary for Janet and I being married. A lot has happened in 10 years. As I look back, it has been a fairly quick 10 years. The little children have become teenagers and past. They are growing so fast.
As for the day, we had a wonderful day. Had to look my best so I needed to get the hair cut for the event. The guys at the office told everyone that I took the day off of work to recover from getting my hair cut. See yesterdays post for details. One of the highlights of our anniversary was the Anniversary Cake. The wonderful friend that made our wedding cake 10 years ago brought us a beautiful Anniversary Cake. The cake was great.
 10th Anniversary Cake
Today as I was shooting the pellet gun during lunch, I determined that hair was getting into my eyes. I needed to find a solution. I had picked up some new shades. I thought that perhaps they could work with the hair for a new look. Even with the shades, hair was getting into my eyes. I consulted a family member that is an expert an fixing hair problems.
 Bad Hair Day This hair style works. No more hair in the eyes. I can actually see the front sight of my air gun without trying to see it through the hair. However, it was problematic. Being tall I have had problems with the headliner in cars being to low. Try being 6 foot 2 and looking out the windshield of a MINI-cooper. I tried one out once because I thought driving one would be cool. My line of vision was through the folded up sun visor and my head was millimeters below the head liner. I guess with the long hair as well with the hair in the upright position, I should stick with the Volkswagen Van. Almost picked one up to go with the shades, but that is a different story. Additionally, I did not want a hair style that looked like a front sight. So, plan B was put into practice. The results were much better.
 Better Hair Day There is another reason to get the hair cut shorter. That reason comes tomorrow.
It is always good to get out at lunch and do a little shooting. Today Emily joined us for Lunch Time Fun. Emily started out with the Sheridan Blue Streak in .20 caliber with peep hole sight. She proved capable and the cans starting falling from 40 yards. She next tried the Diana RWS 350 Magnum in .22 caliber. The large break barrel did not prove to be easy to cock. On her first shot, she was surprised by the difference between the Sheridan and the RWS 350 Magnum. The 350 has some kick to it. Next was the Air Venturi Bronco, equipped with a peep sight as well. This is a nice .177 caliber break barrel air rifle. It has 19-lb cocking effort which is almost half of the 36-lb cocking effort of the 350 Magnum. Overall, Emily proved to be a good shot.
 Dad and Emily
Taking teen age boys out for fast food is dangerous. It can be expensive. Then there is Eric that sold me on the value of the Fiesta Pack. Six bean burritos and six tacos. Enough to fill the kid up and a carry out box for that snack a couple of hour later.
 Fiesta Pack in action
I walked out the back door yesterday and Eric and one of his friends were having some type of improvised weapons match. I could not really tell, they dropped everything when the door opened, except for the five foot piece of 3/4 in galvanized pipe Eric was trying to hide behind his back. I looked at the old box springs that needed to get thrown away and I saw two boys that needed a project.
I went to the garage and got a large crowbar and a sledge hammer. I asked them to destroy the box springs and put it in the trash cans. They jumped on the opportunity to inflict destruction on something in a flash. They also filled two trash cans.
 Destruction under way Then there was the old skateboard decks and a lawn with springs on it. They say necessity is the mother of invention. I cannot determine why there is a need to attach springs to a skateboard deck. But is was done.
 Spring installation And before long they were bouncing on the skateboard deck like a 6 year old jumping on the bed. I guess being a boy necessitates creating something new and different. You have to give them credit for doing something that was was not attached to a video monitor or television. Then again, they were recording videos of the tricks they tried doing with the spring decks. A real boy activity – destruction, creation and a video to boot.
I cam put of my room this morning before 7:00 AM and lo and behold, it was Jacob in the house. He came for a surprise visit to work on the how to presentation. We worked on the presentation and went to Home Depot to get the prices of what is needed for his Eagle Project so that he can put together a budget for his project planning. More work for tomorrow on the Eagle Project Plan
 How to Build a Rocket Project Board
Lunch Time Fun is always better when there is more lead flowing. As the lead flies, frequently it flies right through the can leaving it standing in place for another attempt at setting it in motion. When it does not, cans jump, get shot again as they are on the move and may get shot a third time before they come to a rest. How high can you make them fly? What makes them fly? It could be the Crosman NPSS with the Nitro piston in .177 caliber on the left. A nice scope and it really lets you zero in on the o in Coke. Then again moving to the right, there is the Hammerli Pneuma, a PCP or precharged pneumatic. It is the one you pump up while lunch is cooking in the microwave. Well, how about the next one to the right. This bad looking boy is the AirForce Talon SS, also a PCP or precharged pneumatic in the caliber of .177. It is the quietest one of the bunch due to some silencer technology in the larger barrel. This one usually gets pumped up a little earlier in the day so that lunch can be eaten while one is not breathing hard like the owner of the Hemmerli. Finally, the last one as we move towards the right, we have the Benjamin Discovery, a PCP rifle in .22 caliber. It is a classic looking air gun with the wood stock. It does not matter what your air gun of choice is, it is always Lunch Time Fun.
 Four on the Floor
One project is finished and another two are still in the hopper. On Sunday Jacob soldered all the pigtails together and began testing how many BB,s each electromagnet would pick up. After several attempts to hold onto the magnet and count I offered Jacob a alternative way to do it. He pushed the button and lifted the electromagnet. I snapped a picture. We then viewed the results and counted BB,s on the screen of the computer monitor. Jacob then wrote up all the details and got an idea on how the basic layout was going to work.
I took half a day off work so we could finish the project today. I arrived at home at 11: 15 and what did I find? Jacob was a sleep. As he got up and got dressed I printed out the pictures and a large copy of what he wrote. We left the house, grabbed something to eat and went to Office Max for some rubber cement so we could adhere the information to the display board and a paper cutter so we could cut straight lines. We made quick work getting everything laid out. The finished project turned out well.
 Finished Project Not only does it look good, it works as well. Of course Jacob did not what to show his smile while modeling his hands. He has this fear of ending up on some blog.
 Jacob showing how pushing the button makes the electromagnet work
I received a text message from Jacob on Thursday that he needed to do a Science Project on electromagnets, build a display board on “How to build a rocket” and follow up on his Eagle Project planning. On Friday night we began by making a couple of electromagnets with 16 penny nails and some magnet wire I had from another project.
Saturday morning, after teaching two “Map and Compass” classes for Scoutmaster Training, I picked up Jacob and we went shopping. We went to Electronic Warehouse for some momentary switches, jumper cables and a couple of sets of alligator clips.
Then it was off to S&W Plastics for some plastic containers to house the experiments. Jacob chose a green, purple and yellow container over two clear containers. We were now going to have three electromagnets.
We then went to Baumans Hardware to get a dowel for the handle that that electromagnet was going to be attached. On the way home, we realized the project went from two to three electromagnets and we needed another switch. Off to Electronics Warehouse again.
It was then to the garage to start the project. After some time in the garage, we went to the kitchen table to start soldering the magnets to lead wires and some lead wires on the switches. Jacob did not want to be in the picture because he know where it would end up. As of Saturday night, the picture below shows the progress.
 Science project in progress You may not notice, but the battery and a couple of jumper cables are missing from the picture. Jacob took them over to his brother while I was taking the picture. Jacob convinced his brother Eric that he should let him attach the the jumper cables to the wire on his braces. The wire is a heat sensitive wire that becomes rigid and wants to return to its original position with heat.
Jacob applied the first jumper to left side of the wire in Eric’s mouth. He then attached and then the second jumper to the wire to the right side on Eric’s braces. There was a small spark as the clip was attached to the wire of Eric’s braces. Then there was the sizzling sound of the saliva as the wire heated up. Then there was the realization in Eric’s mind that the sizzling that he heard along with the tightening feeling he felt in his mouth that he made a bad decision. He exclaimed the the experiment hurt his teeth. I am sure the bands as well as his teeth were getting warm.
I just shook my head and had to chuckle that letting someone attach an electrical current to their braces was not a very bright idea. If Eric’s head had glowed, I still would have not been a bright idea. Just a really intriguing one.
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