NationStates Jolt Archive

So, this week has been punctuated with the making of two of the ugliest pine wood derby cars I have ever seen in my life (and let me tell you I have seen more than my share.)

If you are wondering what exactly a pine wood derby is here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinewood_Derby) is a wiki article on it, hopefully it explains better than I am about to...which is, they give you a block of wood, you carve a car, paint it, put on the wheels and race it elimination style against other kids who made cars.

And thus follows the drama. The car plans were drawn on graph paper with a No. 2 pencil, taped to the block with masking tape, and cut using a band saw, sanded first with a belt sander, and then by hand with a fine sand paper, they were spray painted a base coat and then covered with acrylic paint.....and finally scribbled all over with metallic blue paint pens.

Tonight was the race.

This is the 3 year old's car sitting on the track....

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c389/Smunkee/annikacartrack.jpg

hers is the pink one with metallic blue polka dots. Here she is sitting at the end of the track waiting for the race to start.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c389/Smunkee/prix004.jpg


her car weighed in at 4.90oz. just under the maximum of 5.0oz, she lost every heat but one, and placed second in it. She is already planning modifications to her plan for next year's race.

you are still waiting for the drama aren't you? here it goes.

This is my 5 year old's car on the track, it's the green and purple one with metallic blue lightening on it. (the one in front)
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c389/Smunkee/katcartrack-1.jpg

this is her car going down the track dead last.... for the third time in a row (there are 4 heats)

that's her to the far right, looking dejected.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c389/Smunkee/prix017.jpg

after many more heats and all sorts of drama involving the other kids that I will not post about (because why would you care) she comes down to her last chance... her very last chance to win anything, and she is against her arch nemesis, who by the way has been taunting her for at least 45 minutes at this point about how slow her car is...

and this, this is her car leaving his in the dust!

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c389/Smunkee/prix013.jpg

notice him screaming "NO!!!!!!!!!"

she won. (not overall but she beat him, so she is happy)

pardon the picture quality of the last one, I was in fact jumping up and down screaming......yeah, I am that kind of mom.

so, what drama have you met up with today? (or this week, I am not picky)

I try to avoid drama.

I try to avoid drama.

and yet you fail.

I need details. :D

That's a great story!




I'm fresh out of drama though.

so, what drama have you met up with today? (or this week, I am not picky)

I got in an argument.

Over a bouquet of roses.

At Wal-Mart.



And now I'm getting pissed off again. :rolleyes:

Ahh...the Pinewood Derby...good memories.

I remember getting a pocketknife when I won one year. I promptly split my thumb in half. Ahh...the memories...

you were right ;)

feel better?

But I still didn't get what I wanted.. :(

Sure, I finally found Americone Dream ice cream, but I didn't get what I went there for.

I got in an argument.

Over a bouquet of roses.

At Wal-Mart.



And now I'm getting pissed off again. :rolleyes:

you were right ;)

feel better?

i hurt the same wrist i fractured a few years ago in the exact same way it happened last time (playing goalie in soccer(I knew there was a reason I quit playing)), but i was having fun so i didn't really tell anyone about it and kept playing. it dosn't really feel broken, and it's not swollen, but it didn't swell the last time i did it either... and now my whole forearm up to my fingers hurt like hell, and im typing one handed (not like that, owww...) and i have a feeling i should tell someone if it dosnt get better soon. and thats my drama for the weekend.

today my flatmate suddenly found that she can't lift her arm above shoulder height and experiences excruciating pain whenever she moves it. there's no apparent cause that we can identify, no bruising or anything, everything in the right place as far as we can tell, no recollection of any falls or other accidents, and yet it is getting worse. and she has her finals all this week and is terribly worried it's going to affect her performance if it keeps hurting so there were tears. she's going to the doctor's first thing tomorrow morning though so hopefully it'll be okay.

Ahh...the Pinewood Derby...good memories.

I remember getting a pocketknife when I won one year. I promptly split my thumb in half. Ahh...the memories...

I was forced to be in the boy scouts, and therefore participated in said race. I always got to the finals that were held at the mall show thingy. Well I was just pissed off at how damn long I was forced to sit there racing over and over again..

I just walked off, quit the race.

I had better things to do. :p

My mom got pissed off at me because I took my brothers out to lunch with our dad, and as I'm typing this she is downstairs breaking things for some reason.

Maybe you wanted lighthearted drama? Don't got any.

i hurt the same wrist i fractured a few years ago in the exact same way it happened last time (playing goalie in soccer(I knew there was a reason I quit playing)), but i was having fun so i didn't really tell anyone about it and kept playing. it dosn't really feel broken, and it's not swollen, but it didn't swell the last time i did it either... and now my whole forearm up to my fingers hurt like hell, and im typing one handed (not like that, owww...) and i have a feeling i should tell someone if it dosnt get better soon. and thats my drama for the weekend.
that sucks, you should totally go see the doctor before it gets a chance to get worse. ;)
today my flatmate suddenly found that she can't lift her arm above shoulder height and experiences excruciating pain whenever she moves it. there's no apparent cause that we can identify, no bruising or anything, everything in the right place as far as we can tell, no recollection of any falls or other accidents, and yet it is getting worse. and she has her finals all this week and is terribly worried it's going to affect her performance if it keeps hurting so there were tears. she's going to the doctor's first thing tomorrow morning though so hopefully it'll be okay.
that sucks too....:( has she done any heavy lifting or slept weird or anything? once I pulled that muscle on my back, the one near the shoulder blade...what's it called my......supraspinatus? yeah, I think so, something like that, anyway it hurt like hell any time I tried to do more than a 30 degree angle with my arm.....I went to the doctor and they gave me muscle relaxers. I hope it's something simple and treatable for her too.

So, this week has been punctuated with the making of two of the ugliest pine wood derby cars I have ever seen in my life (and let me tell you I have seen more than my share.)

If you are wondering what exactly a pine wood derby is here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinewood_Derby) is a wiki article on it, hopefully it explains better than I am about to...which is, they give you a block of wood, you carve a car, paint it, put on the wheels and race it elimination style against other kids who made cars.

And thus follows the drama. The car plans were drawn on graph paper with a No. 2 pencil, taped to the block with masking tape, and cut using a band saw, sanded first with a belt sander, and then by hand with a fine sand paper, they were spray painted a base coat and then covered with acrylic paint.....and finally scribbled all over with metallic blue paint pens.

Tonight was the race.

This is the 3 year old's car sitting on the track....

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c389/Smunkee/annikacartrack.jpg

hers is the pink one with metallic blue polka dots. Here she is sitting at the end of the track waiting for the race to start.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c389/Smunkee/prix004.jpg


her car weighed in at 4.90oz. just under the maximum of 5.0oz, she lost every heat but one, and placed second in it. She is already planning modifications to her plan for next year's race.

you are still waiting for the drama aren't you? here it goes.

This is my 5 year old's car on the track, it's the green and purple one with metallic blue lightening on it. (the one in front)
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c389/Smunkee/katcartrack-1.jpg

this is her car going down the track dead last.... for the third time in a row (there are 4 heats)

that's her to the far right, looking dejected.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c389/Smunkee/prix017.jpg

after many more heats and all sorts of drama involving the other kids that I will not post about (because why would you care) she comes down to her last chance... her very last chance to win anything, and she is against her arch nemesis, who by the way has been taunting her for at least 45 minutes at this point about how slow her car is...

and this, this is her car leaving his in the dust!

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c389/Smunkee/prix013.jpg

notice him screaming "NO!!!!!!!!!"

she won. (not overall but she beat him, so she is happy)

pardon the picture quality of the last one, I was in fact jumping up and down screaming......yeah, I am that kind of mom.

so, what drama have you met up with today? (or this week, I am not picky)


My scout troop didn't do the pinewood derby, we did the regatta (which I missed because I was sick). What are the rules, maybe we (the people of NationStates) can offer some suggestions that will help next year. :D

/me channels Brian Van Hoose

My mom got pissed off at me because I took my brothers out to lunch with our dad, and as I'm typing this she is downstairs breaking things for some reason.

Maybe you wanted lighthearted drama? Don't got any.

:( hopefully she will cool down soon and things that are broken won't be yours.

is there a reason this upset her so much? (not that in my experience mom's ever really need a logical reason to flip out, or at least we don't think we do)

that sucks, you should totally go see the doctor before it gets a chance to get worse. ;)

i will if it feels this bad tomorrow
that sucks too....:( has she done any heavy lifting or slept weird or anything? once I pulled that muscle on my back, the one near the shoulder blade...what's it called my......supraspinatus? yeah, I think so, something like that, anyway it hurt like hell any time I tried to do more than a 30 degree angle with my arm.....I went to the doctor and they gave me muscle relaxers. I hope it's something simple and treatable for her too.




something similar happened to my dad a couple years ago, he got accupuncture and massage done by his amazingly talented brother-in-law, and he could use his arm all the way within a day.

I remember participating in a race just like that. My car was green and yellow checked, with flames on the hood and around the wheels. I didn't think I'd do well at all, probably because I'd done such a comparatively poor job of constructing it. There were kids with seemingly impossibly-professional looking cars, and here mine was an abortive (and I mean, really abortive) attempt to make a Camaro (this was 1979 or so).

It didn't look anything like a Camaro, though - it looked like more or less like a brick with one sole feature, an aerodynamically-smooth hood that I'd sanded rigorously in my spare time for a couple of weeks. I just didn't know what to do with it, really. And I had an aversion to power tools... but I was able to give it a wicked paint job!

My father despaired, and padded the underside of this green-and-yellow wooden brick with lead weights. There was nothing illegal about it, but it did bring the car's weight up to just below the limit. Nonetheless, the day of the big race, I felt my heart sink - my car was shabby, unremarkable at best (well, except for the paint job anyway) and I prepared to lose gracefully.

Except I didn't. In fact, I won. I won the whole damn day. The kid I defeated in the end bawled his eyes out 'cause he didn't win the big prize. I can't remember offhand what it was (instamatic camera, microscope, something like that) but I had won it - and I decided that what I'd won wasn't necessarily the big prize, but my choice of prize, and so I let the runner-up have the prize he wanted.

I got stuck with a "build-a-replica-Viking-warship-in-a-bottle" kit that I eventually cannibalized for use with my Micronauts. But all in all, it was a great day. Went in with low expectations, came out on top of the world.

that sucks, you should totally go see the doctor before it gets a chance to get worse. ;)

that sucks too....:( has she done any heavy lifting or slept weird or anything? once I pulled that muscle on my back, the one near the shoulder blade...what's it called my......supraspinatus? yeah, I think so, something like that, anyway it hurt like hell any time I tried to do more than a 30 degree angle with my arm.....I went to the doctor and they gave me muscle relaxers. I hope it's something simple and treatable for her too.

yeh, i think that's what it sounds like, or a trapped nerve or something. i'm only worried that she was saying it was getting worse, cuz i've had trapped nerves in my neck before where the pain has gone down my arm but it's been a constant pain. but then it could be muscles, we were out dancing and drinking last night so she could have pulled something and then slept wrong, although she was only hurting from mid-afternoon. but also when she had some tea and i got her to relax and not to worry herself the pain seemed to ease a bit so it could well be muscles needing relaxed. we shall see tomorrow. fingers crossed..

:( hopefully she will cool down soon and things that are broken won't be yours.

is there a reason this upset her so much? (not that in my experience mom's ever really need a logical reason to flip out, or at least we don't think we do)
My dad took his girlfriend to a wedding. My mother flipped out and said it was humiliating. Don't know why she's breaking her stuff, though. It didn't have any involvement that I'm aware of.

so, what drama have you met up with today? (or this week, I am not picky)
I'm grading essays and putting together a final exam for my Interpretation of Drama class--does that count?

I'm grading essays and putting together a final exam for my Interpretation of Drama class--does that count?
Clever.

I'm grading essays and putting together a final exam for my Interpretation of Drama class--does that count?

I believe the Drama actually unfolds when you hand back a 'C' paper to someone who just knows they deserved an 'A'...

I had the final dress rehearsal for the comedy/musical revue my theatre group takes on the road tomorrow, does that count?

I teach freshmen in high school.

Every freaking DAY is drama.

I teach freshmen in high school.

Every freaking DAY is drama.

Inner city?

Cuz if it is.. You might have street cred.

I teach freshmen in high school.

Every freaking DAY is drama.Holy crap.:eek:

As the parent of 13 and 14 year old daughters you have my upmost sympathy and deepest respect.

150 of those little fuckers a day... how do you remain sane?

Holy crap.:eek:

As the parent of 13 and 14 year old daughters you have my upmost sympathy and deepest respect.

150 of those little fuckers a day... how do you remain sane?

Every second day she beats one.

Don't tell anyone, it might get her in trouble.

I have fond memories of Pinewood Derbies. :D

As for the recent drama, it's all work related stuff.

The short version is one particular branch of workplace, among the four branches I'm working at, has been at the center of dramas regarding unfair labour practices, an unsafe workplace, discriminatory workplace practices, and just plain annoying management in a space of about a week.

I believe the Drama actually unfolds when you hand back a 'C' paper to someone who just knows they deserved an 'A'...

Drama for them. For me? Not so much. ;)

Every second day she beats one.

Don't tell anyone, it might get her in trouble.How do you know this? Was friday your day?

Sometimes I quote Shakespeare just before I kick someone in the groin. :)

Sometimes I quote Shakespeare just before I kick someone in the groin. :)The comedys or the tragedys? Or do you mix it up?

Sometimes I quote Shakespeare just before I kick someone in the groin. :)

Quoting Shakespeare? That's just wrong.

Sometimes I quote Shakespeare just before I kick someone in the groin. :)

The comedys or the tragedys? Or do you mix it up?
Something like this, I imagine:
Fie, thou dishonest Satan! I call thee by the most
modest terms; for I am one of those gentle ones
that will use the devil himself with courtesy:
sayest thou that house is dark?

I was volunteering at the hospital yesterday. Two girls there were gossiping for 3 straight about everything that happened that week. I didn't have my ipod with me, so I was forced to listen to their conversations on what boys were hot, what happened at swim team, and what girl that week they thought was a slut.

I had better things to do. :p

Like, shave, Scruffy?

I was volunteering at the hospital yesterday. Two girls there were gossiping for 3 straight about everything that happened that week. I didn't have my ipod with me, so I was forced to listen to their conversations on what boys were hot, what happened at swim team, and what girl that week they thought was a slut.

Did you get the slut's #?

Did you get the slut's #?

From listening, it was actually any girl in the swim team who tried to act like she was "hot". Of course they're all underage, so no luck there.

I'm unemployed and behind on my rent. I'm tired and sick, but at least my hip is feeling better.

and yet you fail.

I need details. :D
I was expecting a preschool bust up.:(

Well i broke my ankle playing Frisbee.:cool:

The comedys or the tragedys? Or do you mix it up?

Quoting Shakespeare? That's just wrong.

Something like this, I imagine:

Twelfth Night.

What about:
How many ages hence
Shall this our lofty scene be acted over,
In states unborn and accents yet unknown!

:)

Twelfth Night.

What about:
How many ages hence
Shall this our lofty scene be acted over,
In states unborn and accents yet unknown!

:)

If someone came up to me and said that, I would totally not be expecting a kick in the crotch. Which I imagine is the point.

If someone came up to me and said that, I would totally not be expecting a kick in the crotch. Which I imagine is the point.

The typical response is: "What the hell are you-- urk!" :)

she made him cry.


sucky!

do you think there are usually this many ailments, injuries, and unpleasant things that go on weekly for the average generalite? or is this a self selecting group in this thread? or maybe I picked the drama filled week?

I never stay bored long. :)

I was expecting a preschool bust up.:(
she made him cry.

Well i broke my ankle playing Frisbee.:cool:
sucky!

do you think there are usually this many ailments, injuries, and unpleasant things that go on weekly for the average generalite? or is this a self selecting group in this thread? or maybe I picked the drama filled week?

Awww... Smunkee's kids are so cute!

Drama for me? Erm, I was configuring a computer for a friend. I called her and said it was done, just then Opera decided to go all wonky on me. If anyone has had to do a fresh install of Opera, you know what a pain in the ass it can be to thoroughly remove. I finished it right before she arrived, never knowing the difference.

So, this week has been punctuated with the making of two of the ugliest pine wood derby cars I have ever seen in my life (and let me tell you I have seen more than my share.) ...

Ahhh... the Pine wood derby...

That does bring back memories...


do you folks do Rain Gutter Regattas as well?

back in my Cub Scout days... (sigh... soo long ago...) I build one and raced it with other members of our troop. it came down to the last two, me and someone else. both of us were undefeated...

the first heat, we tied.

the second heat, we tied...

the third heat, he won by a couple of centimeters.

I was happy, I made him work for that first place trophy. :D

My boyfriend tricked me into cybering him and we've been fighting about it ever since.

My boyfriend tricked me into cybering him and we've been fighting about it ever since.

Give him a virus. That'll teach him the dangers of unsafe computer sex. :)

today my flatmate suddenly found that she can't lift her arm above shoulder height and experiences excruciating pain whenever she moves it. there's no apparent cause that we can identify, no bruising or anything, everything in the right place as far as we can tell, no recollection of any falls or other accidents, and yet it is getting worse. and she has her finals all this week and is terribly worried it's going to affect her performance if it keeps hurting so there were tears. she's going to the doctor's first thing tomorrow morning though so hopefully it'll be okay.

I had this same issue, though mine was clearly related to lifting something. My chiropractor moved my arm to a slightly impossible position, said "this is going to hurt", and popped my elbow in the wrong direction. My response was to shout "OWWW" and pull my arm away ... towards the sky ... with no movement pain. I got full mobility back in seconds, and the minor pain of the adjustment was gone in minutes.

I'd be cautious recommending this course of action with most chiros, as this guy is the only one I've ever used who gets things right the first visit; but if you've got a chiro you already trust, try it.

Today, there was some drama on NSG. Somebody posted a misleading thread title, so people thought they were getting one thing, but ended up with something else. So, I ignored his thread, and made a real one :D

I was involved in a major alliance-wide pvp event on the MMO I've been playing. 117 of us, in various ships of various sizes and skill levels, against about 70 members of one of the tougher alliances in that area.

We left HQ at 4, assembled at 4:30 and left as a fleet for the destination, arriving there an hour later. We had about an hour's time to prepare, outfitting ourselves with any additional weaponry required, etc. before our opponents jumped into the system.

Within the first five minutes the entire system lagged out from the sheer load of ~200 people firing off weapons and mods at the same time. I managed to get two kills before someone brought me down, after which I self-destructed my escape pod and popped back at HQ.

As far as who ultimately won, hard to say. We lost more in terms of ships, and they controlled the field at the end of the battle as we were forced to retreat, but we made them bleed in terms of ship costs and mod costs. And one of the guys I killed lost a significant amount of in-game money in gear, was bitching about it over the local channels.

Very, very tense, very, very fun.

[/nerd]

Give him a virus. That'll teach him the dangers of unsafe computer sex. :)

He's more tech-saavy than me.

Give him a virus. That'll teach him the dangers of unsafe computer sex. :)

:p *bows down to LG*

Brilliant story!

Revenge...oh so sweet ;)

He's more tech-saavy than me.

And considerably more devious, apparently.

He's more tech-saavy than me.

tell him your computer is 'late'. apparently the protection failed during the cybering and now your computer is pregnant and expects childcare updates from his computer.

she made him cry.


sucky!

do you think there are usually this many ailments, injuries, and unpleasant things that go on weekly for the average generalite? or is this a self selecting group in this thread? or maybe I picked the drama filled week?
It's not actually broken, just badly sprained.
When it happened i heard a crack and thought oh crap.

I think it has something to do with computers and the outdoors, a good proportion of those who use computers of the geeky or nerd type aren't very good at outdoors stuff, Mother nature owns these people, most of us fall into that catergory i guess.
*LG doesn't count because he looks for the pain.*

today my flatmate suddenly found that she can't lift her arm above shoulder height and experiences excruciating pain whenever she moves it. there's no apparent cause that we can identify, no bruising or anything, everything in the right place as far as we can tell, no recollection of any falls or other accidents, and yet it is getting worse. and she has her finals all this week and is terribly worried it's going to affect her performance if it keeps hurting so there were tears. she's going to the doctor's first thing tomorrow morning though so hopefully it'll be okay.
2 years ago i was playing cricket and fielding on the boundary, the ball was hit towards my general direction and i ran in and picked it up and threw it, in the process my left shoulder made a cracking noise, i had no pain, but when i got home i decided i'd lift my arm above my head and lower it as if i was pulling a chord...

I got another crack and also let out a yelp/owww/something manly eventually it was all better.

tell him your computer is 'late'. apparently the protection failed during the cybering and now your computer is pregnant and expects childcare updates from his computer.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v427/vonbek/abort.jpg

Inner city?

Cuz if it is.. You might have street cred.

Brooklyn, baby.

Holy crap.:eek:

As the parent of 13 and 14 year old daughters you have my upmost sympathy and deepest respect.

150 of those little fuckers a day... how do you remain sane?

Actually, at 34 students per class, it's 170 total students. I have about 130 freshmen and 40 seniors (who are interesting in other ways.)

I play a goodly number of mindless computer games like Chuzzles and Diner Dash and CakeMania, and Sims 2, and then I come on here and chat with people.

And.... with the planning and the grading....go to sleep at 1am, get up at 6am, wash, rinse, repeat.

What, wait.... what were you saying about keeping my sanity?

Every second day she beats one.

Don't tell anyone, it might get her in trouble.

Nah. When they get out of line I tell them I'm getting annoyed, and why. And redirect them. And tell them if they don't stop X, I'm calling home. And follow up if they don't stop X. And very occasionally, have the biggest bastard of the day removed for a lecture from the AP. And in the case of a student who saw fit to assault another in my class, used my wrath-of-God, six-years-choral-training-way-back-in-high-school-projecting-to-the-horizon voice, had him removed, and sent him five days worth of work in the in-house suspension room.

I've yelled maybe ten times in eight years, so I think I must be doing something right.