Category Archives: Awesome

Cheshire Cat Robot

July 29, 2013Awesome, Fun, Technology, WVFun, Robots! Technologywarren

A few weeks ago, Abigail attended a science in the arts camp sponsored by the WV State Division of Culture and History. It sounds weird but the idea was to demonstrate the use of robots and animatronics in art. About 2 dozen or so kids were invited to the camp where counselors helped young mad scientists put together proximity sensors and motion detectors and wires and batteries to control servos and motors to animate whatever forms the kids wanted.

Abigail chose to build Cheshire the cat! Cheshire looked very much like the cartoon version from the movie Alice in Wonderland which makes sense I guess. I didn’t know she had ever seen the movie but it seems obvious. Anyhow, Abigail’s cat detected when we tried to pet it. It purred and wagged its tail like a good kitty. When we talked to her cat, Cheshire meowed in response.

I haven’t seen the girl so on fire for technology…ever! Often girls are excluded or exclude themselves from science and technology so I am absolutely delighted that she participated in this week-long day-camp and that she says she wants to work as a robotics engineer! So, thanks WV Division of Culture and History! I think you have sparked a new interest in math and science for my daughter!

Mawage

July 23, 2013Awesome, Family, ThoughtsAnniversary, Awesome, Wuv...tru wuvwarren

“Mawage is wot bwings us togeder tooday. Mawage, that bwessed awangment, that dweam wifin a dweam…” – The Princess Bride

The kids sat down last night with Emily and me to watch the Princess Bride on the eve of our wedding anniversary. Nineteen years ago today Emily and I were married hoping that, “…wuv, tru wuv, will fowow you foweva…” We were young and maybe a little dumb but getting married was the best non-dumb thing I did when I was 22. And so far, wuv has followed us. We joked last night about some of the funny things that happened on our honeymoon like the worms and crows. Emily told the kids what I think is my favorite story to tell other people about our honeymoon…

Our wedding pic — Who are those youngsters?

We were engaged for 2 or so years before we got married and we had dated before that so we pretty well knew each other and mostly had a good idea that we were going to be married early on and that it was going to be ok…or so I thought. The wedding was stressful and my face was locked in a perma-smile for days but the ceremony was fun and went well. We finished up at the reception and headed off to our honeymoon destination. We were broke so there wasn’t money for anything exotic. We went to a nearby state park that had a nice lodge and stayed there. We ate and hauled our stuff to the room and basically collapsed in exhaustion. Within a few minutes, Emily started crying, “What have I gotten myself in to?” Over and over. It’s not like we were having problems or anything…reality just struck her…on our wedding night! I suspect she still doesn’t exactly know what she has gotten herself into as I like to keep her guessing but it’s worked out pretty well and the wedding apparently “took”. So happy anniversary to you Emily! I look forward to annoying you for a lot longer!

It’s West Virginia Day!

June 20, 2013Awesome, WVThe Mountain State, WV, WV Day!warren

Today is the sesquicentennial of the creation of the great state of West Virginia! You see, there was a disagreement on how things ought to go, known as the Civil War. Due to the mountainous terrain, slavery was not really profitable so it was more common in eastern Va than in western VA. When the VA legislature decided to count 3/5 of the slaves when setting up representation, western VA residents were not happy. The people of the region that is now WV did not feel properly represented and saw an opportunity for independence from VA by seceding and joining the Union. Residents of western and northern counties set up a separate government under Francis Pierpont in 1861, which they called the “restored” government. Most voted to separate from Virginia, and the new state was admitted to the Union in 1863. In 1864 a state constitutional convention drafted a constitution, which was ratified by the legislature without putting it to popular vote. West Virginia was the only state to form by seceding from a Confederate state and was one of two states formed during the American Civil War (the other being Nevada, which separated from Utah Territory). Personally, I think they should have called Virginia, East Virginia to clarify that we are indeed separate entities. Many people outside the region still think we are one state, united with East Virginia. As a small protest, I always call “Virginia” “East Virginia”…so take that!

Although I am not a native, I have been a part of WV since 1990 when I first came to the state to attend West Virginia Wesleyan College. That happens to be the same place I met my lovely wife when she accosted me from the library and made me drink hot chocolate with her back at her dorm room. She’s a native. We spent a few years away doing schooling and stuff but we were delighted to move back to WV in 2005. All of her people are here and this is where I will live the rest of my days if it is up to me.

Simple things…

The new license plate, the capitol and a view from the Greenbrier

Flowers in the WV mountains

West Virginia is the only state that is entirely within the area commonly defined as Appalachia. To some people, Appalachia is a negative term, but to me, it means something special. Typical stereotypes paint Appalachia with ugly traditions such as moonshining and clan feuding, and often portray the region’s inhabitants as uneducated and prone to impulsive acts of violence. Some of that is true, but there are ugly things everywhere. Rather, I prefer to think of West Virginians as quiet and kind folks who value simple living and the land and family. The music and mountains and old traditions of WV run deep and make WV naturally a different culture than much of Virginia. The state motto, “Montani Semper Liberi” means “Mountaineers are always free” and absolutely represents the mindset that outsiders perceive incorrectly as backwardness or mistrust of outsiders rather than as fierce independence and pride in one’s home.

Panorama from a WV ridgetop

To me, West Virginia is a lot about a way of life. There is rugged beauty here and an abundance of natural, awe-inspiring landscape. It’s about front porch sitting and gardening and being surrounded closely by the mountains that help feed me both physically and spiritually. WV is about people and history and simplicity and freedom. WV is home to me and my family and will always be where I return. It’s home and I am so glad to help celebrate it’s 150 anniversary!

There’s tiny stuff down there

May 29, 2013Awesome, NatureBugs, Cool, Nature, Quit being a cry-babywarren

I was outside pouting about something the other day and somehow, out of the corner of my eye, spotted movement. I rose from my self-pity to discover a swarm(?) of newly hatched praying mantises (mantii?). I suppose they were newly hatched though I didn’t see still-attached umbilical cords or anything. Anyhow, they were itty-bitty and there were tons of them.

We have miserable English ivy at our place and though I hate the stuff, I was delighted by its greenness which is the only way I could have seen the little critters. They scampered as well as any baby 6-legged creature could scamper. I guess they liked being in the sun though mostly they stayed hidden. It was awesome!

I looked around some more and noticed some cool lady bugs though I couldn’t get a good pic to save my life. I figure they were probably eating my baby mantii anyhow so I didn’t want to stick around for that show. I moseyed over to the driveway and found a cool collection of ants. I am not sure what ants do in their spare time but they were certainly busy doing it, whatever it was. Ants can be sort of hypnotizing to watch, much like rushing water. Does anyone else ever get the (sort of) urge to get closer and closer to running water? Maybe it’s just me but I am drawn to water as if I being compelled to jump in. Of course, that sort of water would end me so I am lucky to have some power over my compulsion…anyhow, ants…back to ants. I took some video and they just make me want to stand and stare at them. I suppose I could jump into them. They are not nearly as dangerous as rushing water!

My video isn’t great but I still love to watch the ants

I guess it was good to look down and see some small stuff. It made my pouting go away. That was small stuff too..

Kentucky Cane Mill…yes, I bought another one

April 17, 2013Awesome, History, TinkeringCane mill, Heavy metal...turn it up!, Sorghumwarren

I get wild hairs sometimes. It is usually not a big deal but when I get into something, sometimes I jump in with both feet. Honestly, most times I jump with both feet. Plans are nice for people who like to plan, but I often just go for it. I posted a few weeks ago about the Chattanooga Plow Company cane mill I got to make sorghum. In response to that post, a gentleman in Minnesota contacted me about a mill he had inherited from his grandfather…in Minnesota. That’s probably a little far north for sorghum and definitely too far north for sugar cane. He wasn’t sure why it ended up in his grandfather’s barn but he wanted to find it a new home where it would be used as it was intended.

We emailed back and forth for quite awhile. I considered driving to Minnesota to pick it up but that seemed like more than I wanted to bite off. I checked around for shipping costs but since it was so heavy and the weight was concentrated into such a small package, the prices were insane. The highest price I saw was $2300.

I really wanted this mill though. It is sort of cool to add to the collection because it was made by Deere & Mansur. That company became John Deere of course. What makes that fun in my book is that International Harvester which made the other mill (by buying Chattanooga Plow Company), got into the plow business when it appeared that Deere was going to branch from the plow business into the harvester business. I do not know the exact dates but these two cane mills would have been contemporaries and competitors.

Anyhow, awhile back I flipped the tv to watch Shipping Wars. It’s a program following small shippers who bid on parcels that need delivered. The idea is I put a bid request for delivery of my cane mill and small (and some large) shippers bid on it. Bids go lower of course so I make out better and can choose the lowest/best bidder. On the show, they follow a few very colorful shippers, most of whom have a van or small truck where they pick up several packages and bid on additional deliveries along their route.

So, I signed up and a nice couple from WV happened to be in Minnesota and were heading through WV on their way to FL (or something like that). They bid on my delivery and it worked out beautifully. They called me often with status updates and I could track their progress with the website that manages all of this. I guess not everyone has great luck but my shipping battle was a done deal! I received the mill and have plans to fix it up and use it along with the bigger mill. Honestly, I am at the edge of giddy about having these cool and historic pieces of farm equipment in my possession. Emily may be less excited but she surely is a tolerant and kind woman!

My cane mill/sorghum stuff

Electrolysis to remove rust

March 17, 2013Awesome, Technology, TinkeringDon't be blinded by science!, Electrolysis to remove rust, it's shocking!warren

So my cane mill is around 105 years old. It has rust slightly younger than that, but that’s not saying much. Pretty much all un-restored mills have old rust to some degree. Some folks like the rust look and it technically will not harm you if it is otherwise clean. I don’t like the look though and the mills weren’t rusty when they were new so it’s not like I am changing its original state.

So, I was searching around for the best way to remove rust from old iron and there were tons of people using electrolysis. I had heard of electrolysis for hair removal (which is becoming increasingly more interesting as I age and my ears have started to sprout). Anyhow, it is a well known technique for rust removal too (Here is a great bit of info on it). I put my rusty iron into a plastic tub filled with water and laundry soda. I hooked up my battery charger and hee-haw if it didn’t start bubbling!

Cut the power on and wait a few hours and poof…science happens! Search around for more details on your own because, of course, this could kill you if you do it wrong (Just look at my de-rusting tank…those bars are electrified when it’s running). Abigail and I enjoyed our little experiment and I am here to report that it works pretty well. I will still touch it up with a sand blaster (or maybe a soda blaster) but I think it is going to turn into a really nice piece!

My cane mill/sorghum stuff

Superior rating

March 1, 2013Audio, Awesome, Family, WVBand kids are the coolest!warren

I have been remiss in writing about a significant event that took place last weekend. Isaac plays in his school’s jazz band and they had a regional band competition and rating. I had a certain expectation of how the middle school band would sound. I mean, I have heard Isaac play a lot at the house, but getting an entire band to play together is another thing…and middle school kids…well, they aren’t always known for their attentiveness to detail.

We headed to Huntington to one of the high-schools where school bands had been playing all day. Band kids are super cool and mostly a lot of fun to hang around, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to spend my day sitting in an auditorium listening to a bunch of hormone fueled kids screeching out jazz tunes.

I couldn’t believe how wrong I was about pretty much all of my assumptions. I still think band kids are really cool, but I had no idea how awesome they could play a huge variety of jazz tunes. Most of these kids had only been playing 1-2 years but to hear them, you would think that they had been playing since way before puberty. Anyhow, their music speaks for itself so without further adieu:

Extra points to anyone who can identify the names of the songs! I am so proud of all of these kids. They did one heck of a good job and all of their hard work definitely paid off. They were given a superior rating, the highest rating possible!

Can you hear me now?

October 18, 2012Awesome, Family, TechnologyAwesome, Family, Technologywarren

Isaac was born early and under very hard conditions. You can read most of the details here. We had to make many hard decisions and face many hard realities when he was born. We were told that he would likely have a variety of issues that might present themselves as a result of his premature birth and the subsequent treatment to save his life.

Hearing aid box — His hearing aids came in a cool box!

As it turns out, Isaac does have one issue that resulted from some of his treatments. During his time in the NICU when he was most critical, we had to sign several releases acknowledging that some of the meds they were giving Isaac may result in his being deaf. In fact, he does have moderate hearing loss in both ears and it centers around higher frequencies…right where most voices tend to fall. As you can imagine, that makes school and sports teams and even home life sort of interesting.

Hearing aids are not noticeable — You can barely see the wire into his ear

Now Isaac has never been a particularly organized kid. He loses his shoes almost daily. Sometimes he even misplaces his toothbrush if you can imagine. We were hesitant to get him hearing aids when he was younger for that reason. Now that he is in middle school though, he seems to be rounding the corner on keeping track of himself. The school situation was becoming more of an issue as well. The county had been making accommodations for him and provided in-school sound systems in his classrooms but it became hard to manage and he didn’t enjoy the extra attention that went along with it.

Hearing aid behind his ear — The only visible part and he may just grow his hair out some

So, we decided it was time to do something. Last week, Isaac was fitted for new hearing aids for both ears. They are very inconspicuous and work super well. I think the best thing was when we first walked outside from the doctor’s office. The office is near an interstate and Isaac stepped out and immediately looked around, sort of confused. He asked me what the hum was. He was truly shocked and neither of us realized how much he had been missing…I only wish his first “sound realization” had been something other than the traffic noise from the interstate. Still, it sort of made me happy just to see that he was finally going to hear like me!

Hot…dang hot

October 8, 2012AwesomeAwesomewarren

I guess most couples have funny phrases or things they say that only they get. Actually, lots of times, many couples have the same set of things they say. My blog friend Capri-Kel is a master of funny words and statements and I think we probably share a lot of the same phrases. In our case, many come from a handful of movies we really enjoy. For instance, the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice is loaded with awesomeness and also many good lines that we use as they appropriate situation arises. Another favorite is Good Morning Vietnam. Most of you who have seen it know the line when Robin Williams gives the weather report…”it’s hot, #$@% hot…so hot you could fry a snake’s @ss”. That’s a line that Emily and I use pretty much every time that one or the other of us asks about the upcoming weather.

That’s a long bunch of rambling just to say I bought a kerosene heater this weekend. There is a church about a quarter mile down the road that has a junk sale every year. It’s sort of locally famous and with good reason…there is a little bit of everything there. So, I was among the early birds this year. I woke before the rest of the family on Saturday and decided to walk in the rain over to see the stuff in this year’s sale. I walked in and immediately spotted a poor, lonesome kerosene heater and they only wanted $10 for it!

Of course, new, such a heater would go for $100 or more so I was pretty pleased with myself. Of course, since I wasn’t thinking properly at 8 am on a weekend, I didn’t think about the fact that I had to walk a quarter mile home in the rain carrying a kerosene heater that seemed to grow increasingly heavy.

Kerosene safety manual — This silly manual came with the heater…it’s so goofy I am tempted to actually read it!

We didn’t have to own a kerosene heater but this winter when the power eventually goes out, we will have some heat. That’s way better than burning the dining room table in our questionable fireplace. I love to go junkin’ (that’s a word I picked up from my friend Granny Sue). Mostly I am not a packrat and I do not usually buy anything when I go to a yard sale but I really like to check out other people’s junk and occasionally find a deal that is hot, dang hot!

Edit: Emily just reminded me of alternate meanings for the word “junk”. It gives new meaning to “I really like to check out other people’s junk”. She is not amused…she also took the opportunity to use some of her favorite phrases…I’ll spare your sensibilities…

Dralion

September 24, 2012AwesomeAwesomewarren

Time has been flying lately and I have been remiss in keeping up with writing about things. Take for instance, Dralion, the cool Cirque du Soleil show we say 9 days ago. That’s good stuff and I haven’t written about it for 9 DAYS! Well, as I mentioned in July, Emily and I celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary and our gift to each other was tickets for the family to see the show. We got incredible tickets in the second row back. They were acrobatting right in front of us!

So, I don’t know if you have ever seen a Cirque show but they are amazing acrobatic shows where the audience is left wondering if the laws of physics apply to the performers. I am not kidding…the performers fly through the air and do things that people should not be able to do. And they do it every day and somehow, apparently, survive to fly day after day.

I first saw the Cirque show called KA in Las Vegas (if you ever get the chance, see the show!). It was amazing so I was so excited to see how the kids would react, seeing this show for themselves. As much as I enjoyed seeing the show this time, I enjoyed even more seeing the look on Abigail’s face. She couldn’t stay seated. She perched in her seat, she sat cross-legged. Her eyes lit up and she smiled and frowned and clapped. It was so much fun to see her watch the show!

Even with things being so hectic, it was so wonderful to be able to share such a cool time as a family. I don’t figure that things will slow down in the next month or two but it’s all in a day’s work around here! We aren’t defying the laws of gravity around here but we are squeezing more into 24 hours that I ever thought possible!

My Home Among The Hills

Life in WV!