Story Timing

We had a cat named Theo. Each night he would jump into bed, plop against Daphne, and purr her to sleep. When Charlotte was born, Theo made room for our baby at nap time.

Theo passed away almost exactly two years ago, and you might suspect that Charlotte has forgotten him: she was only two and a half when he died. But that isn't the case. Theo has become one of Char's favorite story characters.

The Theo stories started last fall when his name came up during a car ride. Charlotte wanted to know more about him, and Daphne told a true story about that "crazy cat". Since then, Charlotte constantly asks for a "crazy Theo story" when we are in the car. Although he was a cool pet, there are only so many anecdotes that you recall about a cat, so now we have to make them up. Theo makes dinner, goes to school, and drives a car.

When Daphne makes up a story about Theo it ends with a moral that Charlotte can learn. When I tell a story about it ends with a body function. For instance, Daphne told a story about sharing and making sure everyone takes their turn. When she finished she smiled at me - proud of the lesson she provided. I could tell that Charlotte wasn't quite happy with that conclusion, so I added one more line:
"And then Theo went to his room, closed the door, and ripped a huge fart!"

Charlotte squealed with laughter, and Daphne turned and punched me squarely in the shoulder, "You just hijacked my story!"

"No I didn't!" I laughed, "I just made it a tiny bit better..."

"You did not make it better! I was using this opportunity to make a point about being nice to others, and you ruined it."

"Oh c'mon! Despite my superior ending, I'm sure she learned your lesson."

From the back seat Charlotte chimed in, "And then he ripped a huuuuuge fart!"

Daphne shot me a look, "Oh yeah, she learned something, all right."

The moral of this story for me:
Comedy is all about timing. Save the fart jokes for Daddy-Daughter nights.

Want to Put Your Name in the Pool?

Our backyard slopes down from our house until the ground levels out at our back fence. Rainwater pools in the back right corner of our lot after a heavy storm, and that's probably why the previous owners put in a small pond in that spot. I'm sure the backyard was a muddy mess most of the time. It might sound fancy to say we have a pond, but in reality it's just a permanent puddle with a water pump.

I considered draining the pond when we first moved here, but the April showers proved that wasn't possible, so we kept the pond full. A month later we noticed that the still water was full of mosquito larvae. Since mosquitoes cannot breed successfully in flowing water, and we didn't want a mosquito colony on our property, I had to learn how to get the pump working.

Last June I thought it would be fun to put some goldfish in the pond. We bought six feeder fish from PetSmart (32 cents each), and three died during the first week. The other three survived the summer months and Char's overfeeding - we shouldn't have been surprised with how big they grew. Char gave the fish names when I told her they were her pets:

1. Black Hat had a black spot on his tail.
2. Carrot was the goldest of the three.
3. Frosty had a white spot on his nose.

I did research how goldfish survive the winter, and I thought the pond was deep enough to keep them the fish from freezing, but either it was too cold this past winter or I overestimated the pond's depth. The fish didn't make it. Char was a bit bummed, but she cheered up when I said we'd try again.

Char declared, "This time we'll get seven fish!" And we did.

He they are on the way home from the pet store yesterday. The guy on the bottom doesn't look too happy.

But Char was, and she named them before we got out of the car:

1. Rosie is the name Char currently gives to all new stuffed animals and to the daughter she'll have, "When I grow up!"
2. Flower is the pretty one.
3. Christmas Tree is also the pretty one.
4. Target enjoys archery (?).
5. Flip did summersaults in the plastic bag.
6. Hotel was named after a building we drove past.
7. Restaurant's named was changed to Popcorn this morning.

I don't know many fish will survive, but I'll bet one will be named Rosie. 

Pinball Update: 1B or not 1B? (That is the question.)

Here's another reason the pinball schematic is so confusing to me. Every electrical component in the machine is labeled, but different items share the same name. For example, look how "1B" is used.

1B is a relay:

1B is a "contact":

1B is a location for a pair of switches: 

 And 1B is also a position on the motor:

How can 1B be all those things at one time? The answer is that it isn't. And I know that because I spotted this while skimming repair posts on the Pinside.com forums.

Well that was news to me! The "contacts" tell you how many switches are on a relay, and in what position they should be. I needed to check this out.

One irritating problem I have with my machine is when the two "Jack" drop targets are down, the machine awards me bonus points for also making the "King" targets, even if they aren't down. No one likes a cheater, so I wanted that to stop. Here's the schematic's contacts.

Looks like the 2 Jacks Relay is the same as the 2 Kings Relay. Both should have six switches (6A) that are open and one switch (1B) that is closed.

When I checked the relays under the playfield, I spotted the problem. The Jacks Relay had two switches closed instead of one.

Since the two relays are supposed to be identical, I used the Kings relay to figured out which switch should be open on the Jacks Relay. I opened the switch with a contact adjuster, and now the machine has stopped awarding unearned King points!

I used this same line of logic to solve the mystery of the KX relay and why the machine wouldn't award "Double Bonus" points on balls two and three.

I'm starting to figure this out, but man, they sure don't make it easy on a guy.

Pinball Update: DIY Joker Face Sticker

When I began the Royal Flush pinball project I was pretty intimidated by what was on the inside of the machine, so the first "fix" I did was cosmetic. It's a simple repair, but I think the process is pretty versatile, and I bet I use this trick again.

Many of the light inserts on my Royal Flush's playfield have a joker face on them.

But this one doesn't have one.

I went online to see if someone sells replacement inserts, but I didn't have any luck. I googled "DIY clear stickers", and found instructions for making custom stickers. The best part was I had all the materials at home. The steps are pretty simple, and I'll put the link to them at the bottom of this post.

 I found this picture on the Royal Flush page in the Internet Pinball Machine Database.

I printed it at 30 percent of its original size on a laser printer, and I covered the face with clear packing tape. I then roughly cut out the joker face. Next, I put the face in a dish full of water and let it soak for a few minutes. When the paper is thoroughly wet, you can use your finger to rub the paper off of the tape. The toner will stick to the tape, and when the tape dries the bottom surface will be sticky again.

After the tape dried, I neatly cut out the face and applied it to the insert.

During the past six weeks I've rolled the pinball over this sticker hundreds of times, and it doesn't show any sign of peeling. Until I find a suitable replacement, this will work fine.

I think it will be really fun for Charlotte and I to design some custom stickers for her school supplies!

Thanks to AndelDOA who posted the instructions to this idea here: link.

Easter Egg Hunt #2: Our Basket Runneth Over

We tried another Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, and this one was more Char's speed. This hunt was sponsored by our church and two others. Between the three small parishes there were enough small kids to have a respectable hunt and more than enough eggs for everyone. Charlotte had a blast.

"Look at all my eggs!"

After filling the basket (and our coat pockets), we headed back into the church to empty the eggs and take the candy home.

Char may have missed out on trick or treating last year, but Easter has more than made up for it.

Halloween link

Blink and You'll Miss It - part 4

Easter 2011 (nine months old)

Easter 2012

Easter 2013

Easter 2014 (Just a little grumpy about going to church.)

Easter 2015 (Pretty happy about going to church.)

Insert "time flies" cliché here.

Actually, it isn't a cliché; it's a law.

Pinball Update: This Might Change Things

I was trying to figure out why the green "Joker" lights on my pinball flash when they're not supposed to. I posted my question on the tech forums on Pinside.com, and I was told to look for a normally closed switch on relay 1B. I found relay 1B after some research, but I couldn't see the switch that was "normally closed".

I thought to myself, How can I be so stupid? How come I can't even find a closed switch? 

Then, and I don't know why, I remembered seeing this notation towards the bottom on the schematic:

That's when I slapped my forehead.

I usually wait until a game is over before I work on my pinball machine. Then I shut off the machine and get to it. But that approach is wrong if I want to use the schematic. I should start the game first. Then after the ball has popped out into the shooter lane, I should shut the game off and pull the ball out. That's when the pinball machine matches the schematic.

No wonder I couldn't find the closed switch. The switch wasn't closed when I was looking at it.

It makes sense to have an unplugged machine in the "on" position. That's how you can safely find the electrical connections that aren't working, but I didn't think that deeply.

I don't know if this discovery makes me feel less stupid or more stupid... I suppose it doesn't matter as long as I'm making progress.

Easter Egg Hunt #1: Hunting, Not Gathering

Charlotte participated in her first Easter Egg Hunt yesterday. It was held at the barn near the Johnston Public Library. The hunt didn't go as well as we hoped.

I don't know if it's because Charlotte is an only child and there's no competition at home, or if she simply didn't understand the concept of "hunting eggs". But instead of picking up all the eggs she found, she pointed them out and then moved on. I don't think she realized that she couldn't call "dibs" on an egg and expect other kids to stay away from it. She looked a bit shocked when she turned around and all the eggs she had "called" were gone.

She eventually got the hang of it, but in the end her egg basket was pretty shallow.

Char was upset, but on the way home we made the best of it by walking through the open field where the "big kids" had hunted. There were a few undiscovered eggs, and since I was holding the egg basket, a few eggs were "accidentally" dropped behind Char's back so she could find them again.

There's another egg hunt next weekend, and I think we'll be better prepared for that one.

Pinball Update: Building Empathy

I turn to repair books and online forums for help when I'm working on my VW Bug. The web is full of predators, but I don't think too many people working on Beetles are mean spirited - most intend to help. 

The same can be said of the people on pinball forums. Their responses are very useful, but I can get lost after a few words. It's hard to make the jump from reading classic literature at school to reading technical writing at home. 

Here's an example. I couldn't figure out a problem with my drop targets, so I posted my question on the EM Tech forums. I was hoping for, "There's a wire that needs to be plugged back in." 


This is what I got instead:

"When a drop target switch closes, it activates (energizes) the X relay. A switch closing on the X relay activates the G relay (which is the Hole relay; the drop targets score the same as the kickout hole value). A switch closing on the G relay causes the score motor to run. Since the continuous scoring also has the score motor running, then first need to confirm if it is the G relay causing it. The X relay is locked on (stays energized) via a switch on itself, and a switch at score motor position 2B. When the switch at motor 2B opens, X should de-energize. The G relay is locked on via a switch on itself and another switch on the score motor (which I can't make out on the schematic; check yours for the correct one)..."

It's great advice, but it assumes a level of understanding that doesn't come easily to me. It's frustrating to admit I need help. Triple that frustration when the help creates new problems - that response actually made my head hurt. But after re-reading it, slowly, 15 times, the words began to sink in. I haven't completely fixed that drop target problem, but I'm much closer to a solution. I will get it.

The upshot is that these types of problems can make me a better teacher, odd as that may sound. I often work with "reluctant readers and writers" who struggle in school. I also have many students that are learning English as their second language (ESL).  

When these students find my instructions or my assignments confusing, I need to remember that pinball advice. I'm sure the gentleman who wrote that information thinks his words are simple to understand, and they probably are if you live in his world. But I'm not from there. Understanding the words of a language does not guarantee understanding. 

The same goes for my students. I have to remind myself that they don't live in my world, and my words might not make any sense to them. They only visit once a day, and I should be a good host. I need to slow down and find ways to make my words more assessable. I will work on it.

I know some people think that working on old cars, old bikes, and old pinball machines is a waste of time. I think it's amazing what these projects can teach me.

As Seen at Hy-Vee

I think mac and cheese is fine, but I don't even want to smell this lip balm.

It makes me think of the gross jelly beans Harry Potter and his friends eat. I was going to make a list of some of the worst flavors for a lip balm, but someone beat me to it: link.

Whenever people talk about disgusting flavors (suckers, hard candy, lip balm), I always say that "scrambled eggs" is a flavor no company would try to recreate.

I'm wrong again.