Monthly Archives: October 2008

Nathan For The Win!

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Today, Nathan won his first Cub Scout race. This is his third year in scouts, and he’s done pretty well so far: 2nd and 4th in the pine wood derby, 3rd in a regatta. But this is the first official First Place. He won the pack Rain Gutter Regatta. The regatta starts with a balsa wood sailboat kit given to the kids a few weeks before the race. The kids and parents then assemble, modify and paint the boat as they like. The boat is then placed in a rain gutter with both ends capped, and the boys race the boats by blowing through straws at the sails.

Last year, Nathan’s friend Dante won the regatta with a new (to our pack) boat design. His father had helped him turn the standard sailboat shape into a catamaran. Dante won easily last year because the catamaran solved all the weaknesses of the standard design: it was more stable, it tracked straighter, and it wasn’t top heavy.

I liked the design so much, this year I went searching for plans, and found one I liked. It wasn’t hard to build. Nathan did a majority of the cutting and sanding. I glued the pieces together, and he put on all the paint. The only deviation from the design is that I had to use the mast. Our pack didn’t like that Dante’s sail was attached directly to the boat, and so they made a rule that the sail cannot be attached directly to the hull of the boat. So we cut the mast in half, and made it double masted for more stability.

This year, Nathan won every heat, and beat Dante (with a new catamaran) in the finals. Fortunately they were both absolutely ecstatic to finish 1-2.

A Prayer for McCain

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We pray for peace, we pray for rain
And now we pray for John McCain
We pray with everything we’ve got
And once again… it won’t do squat.

I’m not sure if this guy wrote it, but he posted it in a comment on a blog I read, so I’ll give him some credit. He very well might have since he’s got quite a bit of other original poetry on his blog.

Updated: See comment below. Digital Cuttlefish wrote this. Thanks for sharing!

2008 Renaissance Festival

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For the third year in a row, we’ve gone to the Ohio Renaissance Festival. I’ve found it interesting in the past, but this year I’ve finally come to realize that not much changes year-to-year. For example, the main performers: Daniel Duke of Danger, The Mudde Show, and the Washing Wenches have all been the same act every time we’ve been. For example, compare these two shots from the Mudde Show: 2006 vitctim, 2008 victim. In fact, the 2008 victim was so prepared for what he was in for that he upstaged the performers. Or these shots of the characters 2006 vs 2008; 2006 vs 2008. I wasn’t even trying to duplicate the shots.

Don’t get me wrong–the kids have fun and we laughed and cheared and tipped the performers. But $60 for a family of four to get in the door, plus tips at most performances, plus $34 for lunch–feels like a bit much only to see the same shows and and shop at the same merchants. Anne and I are currently planning on skipping next year. We’ll see how that flys with the kids.

Vanity Versus Pride

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Shortly after I started exercising, I noticed that I started pausing in front of the mirror. If there isn’t a mirror, I’ll look at my biceps (coming along) and my forearms (still spindly) and try to notice changes.  I haven’t previously considered myself vain. (Do vain people ever think they are vain?)  I think I’m OK to look at, and I don’t spend a lot of time fussing over my appearance (as demonstrated by the #1 clipper cut, and shaving every other day).

Except now, when I’m in front of a mirror. I keep trying to tell–am I bulking up? My wife, lovely woman that she is, tells me “Yes, rowr!”. I can see some improvements. I feel some sense of accomplishment with what I’ve done so far. And I can definitely see improvements in the amount of weight I’m able to move around the YMCA.

But why this need to check myself out every time I pass by the bathroom sink? Is it just pride in the work I’ve done? Where is the line between pride and vanity?

Pride: 1: the quality or state of being proud: as a: inordinate self-esteem : conceit b: a reasonable or justifiable self-respect c: delight or elation arising from some act, possession, or relationship

Vain: 4: having or showing undue or excessive pride in one’s appearance or achievements : conceited

Ah, no wonder I’m confused. Its all in the level of pride: do I have a reasonable self-respect, or excessive pride?

One of the exercise (ok, body building) websites I occasionally read puts it this way: in the end we all want to look good naked. Exercising, and weight training in particular, are means to that end. Some writers would add “for as long as possible” since there is a strong belief that strong bodies last longer (I’ll be honest I’m not sure about research that supports that belief). So, is the desire “to look good for as long as possible” and watching for the results of that work pride, or excessive pride?

At this point, I think it is just pride. But its a weird feeling to admire the work I’ve done so far. But again, I’m not sure vain people ever realize that they are vain. To them it seems like a reasonable amount of self-respect. To those around them, they seem vain. So I’ll have to be judged by those around me. What say you?