Wright Flyer

I asked Greg Dean if he could build a Wright Bros Flyer in two weeks time. He replied, "Does it have to fly? Because that may take a little longer."

Here's a photo before the wings get their covers. Cindy Dean is the wing fabric specialist. The Deans are the best partners a guy could ask for. I'm a lucky dude.

Wait till it's all finished. My buddies Mark and Lay, two of Cincinnati's top artists, are doing two murals on the walls. It's gonna be awesome. We start a new series this weekend that's about tackling the fears that hold us down and keep us from setting off an adventure of a lifetime.

French Mr. Rogers Video

If you liked those old Mr. Rogers videos where he visited factories, and you also like French accents, nice music and flax, you're gonna love this little documentary.

Potassium Cat

Mega weird.

Vulnerability

Thanks to Deputy Hutchinson for sharing this video with me. I know that I frequently encourage you to waste time watching screwball videos that I post on this little weblog. This video is the opposite of that. It is seriously worth carving out 20 minutes in your day to take this in. There is so much to chew on in here that I'm gonna watch it again over the weekend and take notes.

The Good Idea Engine

Thanks to Sven Sallquist for finding this one...

Flag Corps

I don’t want to rant, or be mean, or come off as a jerk....but am I the only one who doesn’t understand flag corps? How did that ever get started? Did a band conductor look out at his fleet one day and decide something was missing? Did he survey his instrument army playing and marching in perfect harmony and think, “You know what I need?....A bunch of ladies in small, sparkly outfits waving flags. But they must suck. I want them to do routines that are super awkward and out of sync. If they manage to wave their flags in unison even once I’ll be angry. Oh! And I want their flags to never match the team colors. Give me shimmery golds and other random hues. Yes. A mess of confusion is what my band of precision needs.”

So yeah, I just don’t understand flag corps. But what I reeeeeeeally don’t understand is a flag corps taking the field and having one of its flaggers unable to flag. It happened this Saturday at Nippert Field. My brain melted. Check out the girl on the 42 yard line. What you can’t see is that her arm is in a giant cast.

Yet she’s out there.

Flagless.

What universe does this make sense? She has one job and one job only- wave a flag. Seems like you don’t take field if you can’t do your one and only job. Right? If the trumpet player’s lips fell off, surely he wouldn’t still go out there and march around. And it seems silly to even point out that injured football players don’t still go on the field and play.

Am I the only one who finds this insane? If so, someone help me understand.

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IMG_0715.MOV (1700 KB)

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Bearcat vs. Pumpkin

Every time I see what a bearcat actually looks and acts like, I am ashamed. No need for anyone to comment about this weekend's game. It wasn't good. Let's focus on what's important. Notre Dame lost in glorious fashion.

Hawaii post #3

I was inspired by Hawaii’s giant bonsai trees.

This Might Take Awhile

It's taken 25 minutes to count this many. Only $450 to go....

editor's note: they kicked me out after $81.12. they weren't too happy with my cart load of Abrahams.

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IMG_0708.MOV (1622 KB)

Hawaii post #2

A few more pics from vacation.

After the surfing lesson I took a bath with Speedy Gonzales. Not too shabby being able to stare out at the ocean while you soak. Then Steve came over with dinner, a red snapper. He cleaned the fish and told me to give the guts to the crabs. I held a funeral ceremony on the cliffs. Leah had a drink. Steve made an amazing spread, he made us let him have the head (we didn't argue) and Pono fell asleep. Adults are boring.

The next day we went to the volcanoes, walked through lava tubes and went to Aunty Cindy's place to partake another masterful dinner by Steve. We also had my new favorite thing, poke. It's cut up pieces of raw fish. I'm certain I now have mercury poison from all the ahi I consumed.

The next day we went to Waipio Valley. Hands down the most amazing place I've ever been. Wild horses just waltzing around down in this secluded paradise. You have to have four-wheel drive to make it down the death-defying hill. I did the boogie boarding with Steve and Pono. Much easier than surfing. We finished up the day driving up the mountain to watch the sun set into the clouds.