Homecoming '18: Crazy Socks and Shoes

Luckily, all of yesterday's hair spray washed out for picture day. 

Homecoming '18: Crazy Hair Monday

I asked Charlotte when we were walking into school this morning, "Do you like my crazy hair? I sprayed a whole bunch of grey all over it."

The Right Tool

This is my mother-in-law's bicycle.

This trusty steed carried Deb through seven complete RAGBRAIs. I think that is impressive.

Deb had a bike shop install "clipless" pedals on her bike.

These pedals connect to special cycling shoes that have cleats embedded in their soles.

Because you are pulling one pedal up while pushing the other pedal down, these are the most efficient pedals for speed and biking long distances.

You have to turn your foot to get your shoe out of the "clip", and that takes practice. Emergency stops for an inexperienced "clipped in" rider can be dangerous. Also, for casual riders like us, it would be a pain to brig a separate pair of shoes to wear when you stopped to play at a park or eat at a restaurant.

Daphne inherited this bicycle when her mom passed away five years ago. Daph wanted to keep the bike, but she wasn't interested in using these pedals. I told her I'd replace them for her, but I... errr... couldn't.

I remember a frustrating night in our old garage trying in vain to get either pedal bolt to turn. I skinned my knuckles and broke a wrench before I gave up. A couple of months later the Felt was hanging upside in our new garage, and we were so busy unpacking I forgot about my failure. Kinda.

This summer I restored this '79 Schwinn, and I sold it on Craiglist for a small profit.

That success had be looking for another bike project to work on. As I was scouring Craigslist, Letgo, and eBay, it dawned on me. You dummy, you've got a bike project hanging in the garage.

I got the Felt down from the hooks and tried to remove its pedals again. That was last Saturday night. On Sunday morning the Felt was still wearing the right side pedal, I was limping with a bruised right foot, my back and shoulders hurt, and my Craftsman 15mm wrench was ruined.

I went shopping after church, and I came home with this Park Tool P-5 pedal wrench from Kyle's Bike Shop.

The PW-5 wrench was broken five minutes later. I could not believe it. The guys at Kyle's were kind enough to let me return the wrench, and they suggested that I bring my bike in to let their shop remove the pedal. Tempting, but I wasn't ready to quit, yet.

Before I left, the guy behind the counter pulled up a picture on his computer to show me what their bike mechanic uses for stuck pedals. He called it "The Hatchet".

As you can see, I bought the PW-4. Yes, $33.20 is a lot to spend for a tool I might not ever use again, but it is cheaper than paying a shop to do the job for me. Plus, I get a tool, and I didn't have to transport the bike. And, as one Amazon reviewer wrote, "You can always use it to fight zombies!"

But did the wrench work? After five seconds of pressure, the pedal bolt groaned in protest and began to turn. The pedal was off in no time. Here's the new pedal installed

If Daphne wants to try the clipless pedals, we still have them. Deb kept the original box.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, "If you do the work yourself, then you can buy the best tools you can afford." Plus, I enjoy helping others. If you have a stuck pedal and you are in the area, the Hatchet and I have your back. 

Oh yeah, thanks go out to eBay for providing a vintage 15mm Craftsman wrench replacement. Yes, new tools made in China are cheaper, but... enough said.

Smile!

Last year my school photo was horrible (yes, teachers have to take them each year, too). I was in a terrible mood, and my fake, half-smile proved it.

I have read that if you want to take a good picture, then you should think of something that makes you laugh right before the camera clicks. We had picture day at the high school last Monday, and I was on the lookout for something to make me smile.

I didn't have to look long.

Charlotte's school has a counter full of free books. We walk by them every moring on our way to the coat hooks

On Monday morning I spotted this book. (See what I did there?) Jackpot!

I'm not going to make fun of sick children, but there are a few laughs inside.

This doctor had great advice for Amanda's mom, but she couldn't hear him because of the way he held the phone.

I know that Peter and his dad are going to the doctor, but who got locked in the garage?

What a safe school! The office has posted warning signs that the School Fair may contain clowns. Gummo says, "Stay away, kids!"

The main problem with this teacher's poster is counting. I see: step a, step 1, step 5, step 4, step 6, step 7. 

I would imagine that this teacher is also on a step.

I had my picture taken later that morning. When the school photographer used her fist to demonstrate how I should tilt my head, I thought about that doctor talking to his hand, and I giggled.

The photographer said, "Nice smile!" when she was done, so we'll have to see how my picture turns out.

August Rewind

We got the Howtoons book from the library. Char read through all of the projects, and she decided that she wanted to make the marshmallow launcher. 

The project requires two feet of PVC. As luck would have it, Home Depot sells PVC pipe in two foot lengths. I knew this project was meant to be when I saw the name of the PVC company.

Here's Char goofing around with the launcher. "... and my papa's going to film it..." (in case you need an interpreter)

We visited mini golf courses when the weather was decent. That's some blue water, my friend.

I thought it would fun for Char to have a putter of her own. I used a pipe cutter to shorten a club purchased at a thrift store. You can see how much of the shaft I cut off. My dad enjoyed collecting and restoring old golf clubs, so I already knew how to re-grip the putter. 

I bought a new ROSSA grip from eBay. It was pretty cheap because it was missing the ROSSA ball marker. I used my bench grinder to shape a penny to fit inside the end of the grip.

Char got upset when she lost the coin, but she calmed down when I asked her, "How much do you think it cost me to make that ball marker?"

"Ummm. A penny?"

"That's right. A penny. I think we can afford to make you another one." That's when I got a smile and a hug.

Here's another project. I bought this window at a Vintage and Made Fair a couple of years ago. Since then it's being hanging on the wall waiting for something to frame

I had Walgreen's print a poster of one our pictures taken in Québec City. Now we have a window looking out on our vacation in Canada.

Char's name was drawn in the Johnston Public Library's Summer Reading Contest. She won an electronic keyboard, a book about making instruments from everyday objects, and two packs of Pop Rocks. What did she get the most excited about?

She exclaimed, "Pop Rocks! I can't believe how lucky this is!"

Sometimes when we're out and about, we get hungry, but we don't want to take the time to eat at a restaurant. That's when we go to Kum & Go. They have healthy choices,  salads, sandwiches, and their pizza is good. On Wednesdays they have my favorite - bacon cheeseburger pizza!

Hey, don't judge! Chef and TV host Andrew Zimmern says his comfort food is gas station pizza, too.

Char's comfort food is egg drop soup. That bowl in the middle of the table was full when lunch began. Daphne and I had our own cups of hot and sour soup, but Char was the only one going to town on the egg drop.

There were a few thunderstorms rolling through Iowa in August, but I still haven't been able to get a  photograph of lightning. This picture is interesting and ominous, though.

On Sundays the Iowa Cubs let the kids run the bases after the game. That's pretty cool.

I visited Living History Farms for the first time. Daphne was a Living History Farms camp counselor when she was in college, and this year Charlotte was a LHF camper. The two showed me around.

Charlotte's favorite part of the tour? This farm cat.

I was impressed with the vintage campaign posters. The Concert at the Forum had quite a lineup: 

"On stage, Barbra Streisand, James Taylor, Carole King, and Quincy Jones performed for hordes of nubile screamers, who paid up to $100 a ticket to hear their favorite artists and gawk at the ushers: Warren Beatty, Jack Nicholson, Julie Christie, Gene Hackman, Burt Lancaster, Jon Voight, Sally Kellerman, Robert Vaughn, Mama Cass, John Philip Law, Peggy Lipton, Michelle Phillips, plus the celebrities in the audience, Gregory Peck, Britt Eklund, Carly Simon, and Joni Mitchell."

 - The Village Voice

Daphne got a kick learning about the secret language of the fan while we visited the Victorian-styled Tangen House.

Well, it is time to use my right hand to hold the fan in front of my face. Summer's over. Let's go check out fall.

A Link to the Past

Several of my sophomore students will be reading The Great Gatsby this semester, so I thought I should read it myself.

The English department ordered a slew of new copies of the book,  but I borrowed an old copy from the department's old book cabinet. This is a 1986 edition.

I found this note card tucked between the pages. Looks like someone was bored in study hall. Kids, this is what your parents did in school because they didn't have cell phones.

The bookmark isn't the only thing I found inside.

F. Scott Fitzgerald dedicated The Great Gatsby to his wife, Zelda.

Look underneath the dedication.

Link is the main character in the 1987 video game The Legend of Zelda. 

The "Win with Link" sticker is from 1989.

There's an unused sticker for sale on eBay right now.

I wasn't an English teacher at UHS in 1989 (I was in college), but I worked with people who were teaching here then. I can tell you that this sticker would have made a couple of those ladies furious. If they would have seen it; they would have ripped it out.

So, as a teacher, what do I think? I think that it is a special kind of awesome that this gamer's joke has been hiding undetected inside this book for almost 30 years.

Rip it out? I'm more likely to frame it.

Music for the Ages

WARNING: This post is full of musical earworm links. Step carefully.

Recently Charlotte has been in the gripp of YouTube songs like "It's Raining Tacos", "Cat Flushing a Toilet", and "Space Unicorn." 

She likes the taco song so much she started a Taco Club at out house. There are three card-carrying members so far. 

However, only two of the members actually eat tacos. 

Char told me that these insanely catchy songs are written by Parry Gripp. That name sounded familiar, and it turns out that he's the lead singer of the rock band Nerf Herder. Nerf Herder, named after a Star Wars insult, released one of my favorite CDs of the late 90's. I saw them live at KKDM's DotFest in '97.

That was over twenty years ago, but I still know the lyrics to "Van Halen", "Sorry", and "Golf Shirt." 

Now when Char's is blasting "Narwhal Eating a Bagel" on the laptop, I can nod my head and sagely comment, "Nice choice. I've liked Parry Gripp for a long time."

Mr. Gripp has joined Charlotte Monson's Musical Ranks. Char wishes him welcome like she did for The Presidents of the United States, Andre 3000, They Might Giants, Barenaked Ladies,  Lisa Loeb, and The Verve Pipe.

As for me, I'm happy to welcome all of those artists back to my car stereo. 

Six years from now, Char and I will listen to your old stuff...