Super Troopers For the Win!

This year has been Jacob's senior year in high school. It has been a wonderful experience for him and he has learned so much. This fall he will be at Virginia Tech and our house will no longer be quite so full.

 As his high school career has been coming to a close he had one big final project, the hover car. The class was divided into teams with the assignment to build a hover craft. An integral part was to have a theme for the creation, not just for the car but for the team members as well. After some hard lobbying by Jacob's two team mates, they settled on the movie "Super Troopers." I found some "trooper shirts" at Party City and the guys used yellow duct tape for the stripe along the pant leg. Aviator sunglasses and a big old fake mustache for Jacob rounded out the look.

Today was the big competition for all the hover crafts. Team Super Troopers had created a very quick and nimble car, It passed the maneuverability portion with great style and speed. The team's driver, the other Jacob, was able to swing around the car and come to a very impressive stop at the end of the course. The next portion was the timed races. They didn't have the fastest car, the Duck Dynasty entry went off like a shot, but it's maneuverability won the day. They ended up winning the competition by a two second margin.

Jacob at one point observed that today they proved that a '93 Crown Victoria was faster than the USS Enterprise.

Artist of the Week: National Honor Society

Jacob is this week's artist for his official induction in the National Honors Society.

He was admitted some time ago, but not in time for the fall induction ceremony. Which wasn't too big a deal, he was still able to include his affiliation on his college applications. He just missed out on a slightly bigger event in the main auditorium as opposed to the smaller room that it was held in today. Five current members of the NHS spoke, candles were lit, and then a brief bio was read of each of the four inductees. Either there was cake and for me it was nice to have the short version of the event.

I'm very proud of his achievement, I was oblivious to the whole thing when I was in high school, It wasn't until college when I became dimly aware. Additionally it wasn't even an option at my school. I hung out with a smart crowd in high school, but grade wise I wasn't particularly motivated. Only some classes were challenging and I was perfectly happy with a mixed assortment of As and Bs. Plus the whole community service thing didn't exist, maybe my exercising my geriatric neighbor's horses would have counted.

Anyhoo, I seriously doubt I would have made the cut. So well done Jacob.

Artist of the Week: Mount Everest

Wind Symphony, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

This past weekend was the annual district assessment for school bands. Jacob's school hosts the event and everybody, parents, students, and the band director work their collective tails off to make the whole thing work. We have had the honor of hosting this event for quite sometime due to our hard work producing a well run affair that runs on schedule. If you are scheduled to go on at 5:15pm, by gum you will be on stage no later than 5:15 pm. This year we had to rejigger the schedule a bit to slip in an extra school. They had been originally scheduled for Friday, but they had a snow day and couldn't come. It would be a shame for all their practicing to be for naught, so we made it happen. None the less we still ended on time.

In addition to running concessions, setting up the stage and escorting the various schools to the warmup room, the main auditorium, and the sight reading room, our kids also participated in the assessment. Friday the lower, symphonic band performed and received a superior rating. Saturday the upper, wind symphony performed and received a perfect superior rating. The kicker, for the past 25 years the wind sympony has garnered a superior rating. That is quite a feather in their cap.

Below is part of their performance, the piece is titled "Mount Everest." I apologize for the poor sound quality. I was using my cell phone and it really did not do justice to the performance. It sounded much better in person.

Artist of the Week: Handel's Messiah - Hallelujah Chorus

Jacob and the Trumpet Section, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

I have used this picture before, but it is so very fitting for this week's edition of Artist of the Week.

Way back on December 12th was Jacob's turn for a winter concert (Max's was the previous day). In a new to me format, it was a combined Orchestra, Wind Symphony, and Chorus concert. Each of the groups got to perform several songs separately and them come together in the end for a combined concert. It was a nice change and I enjoyed the en mass concert.

I fully intended to post this on Christmas Day, but I was too preoccupied with the magnificent roast we had and the company that made it possible (thanks again Meryl for that lovely bit o'beef!).  So it's a bit late and not quite as seasonally appropiate as last week, but it is a nice high school rendition of Handel's Messiah, the Hallelujah Chorus.

All Too True

Jacob sent me this image on FaceBook with the note "I think you will find this relevant."

Which is a very accurate description of how I play Skyrim. I have been playing the game for a while ad I entertain my children with my all too frequent announcement "Now I'm going to do something stupid, it's time to do a save." My son totally understands me and I love his dry delivery.

Artist of the Week: What Goes Up

Jacob, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

I've been slacking off on the whole Artist of the Week thing Mostly because I have been wanting to feature Jacob and his band, but also due to the intense competition for my computer between yself, Max, and Rebecca. Silly middle schoolers with all their computer based homework.

Anyhoodle, this week's artist is Jacob in his final year of high school marching band.

I took this picture of him at the start of the football team's penultimate regular season game. His grandparents were visiting just to see him march and I was in attendance for my first ever high school football game. It was a beautiful night for football, the weather was clear and mild, much nicer than you would expect for November. We had a grand time and left after the halftime show since we were only there for the band.

Recruitment, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

The previous day I had gone out with the band for a recruitment drive. The idea was to visit several feeder schools, one elementary and two middle, and drum up some excitement for band. All of the students we met were polite, but the elementary kids pictured here were the most receptive. They asked plenty of questions and begged for the band to play a few more songs. Hopefully a few more kids will get turned on to music.

And now for the music, I never did get a proper video of this year's show "What Goes Up." The best I have is of a semi dress rehearsal (they have the be-plumed hats on) with the addition of a pickup truck that was not moved in time. The music was a bit flat, it was pretty darn cold with a wicked wind, but they did do a good job coping with the rogue vehicle.

Semi-Dress Rehearsal

band, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

Today was the last rehearsal before the big high school marching band state assessment. The band director had the kids wear hats, gloves, and marching shoes for this last run through. Parents were invited to attend to give it more of a feel as a performance than just another afternoon marching around in the parking lot.

The band has come a long way since the preview show I got to see way back in August. They know the music and their marks, hopefully it will a bit warmer Saturday than the 55 degrees today. I wish I could see them, but alas with two soccer games and a lacrosse game, I have to be home shuttling kids with larry.

Raspberry Drop

Raspberry, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

Last week Jacob was having a little late nigt snack of raspberries when he noticed the water drop on top of the one he was about to eat. He marveled at how the surface tension of the water held it in domed shape. Thenhe showed me the berry with it's water drop and asked me to take a picture.

I'm pretty pleased with how it came out. II took three shots and this one (the third) was the best. I used the microwave's door as a backdrop, I knew the black surface would show off the droplet perfectly. A little tweaking of the color and crop that tightened up the photo was all that I did.

Please Explain

Texas brand, but from Wisconsin, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

I love Jacob's sense of humor, it's not that far off from mine. We find the same things funny and gleefully point them out to each other. Case in point, the can Jacob noticed on the shelf at Walmart.

Neither of us could get over the fact that the label boldly proclaims "Texas Brand" with smaller letters stating "made in Wisconsin." So many questions, is it Texan or is it Wisconsin. Clearly not from the lone star state, since it it is made in Wisconsin and yet Texas Brand, Thus is it just Texas style? Also why the big deal that it is made in Wisconsin.

We will probably never learn the reasoning behind this label, but it did amuse us and was worthy of a picture.

Artist of the Week: Piñata

Jacob, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

This week's artist is a rather valiant Jacob.

I took this photo of him near the end of the school year, The sword he is wielding is in actuality a piñata. It was an extra credit project for his Spanish class and he really knocked it out of the park. His teacher liked it and asked if she could keep it as an example for future classes. Jacob was happy to gift it to her and I was even happier to not have it add to the mess in our house.

Jacob did, however, bring it home to show off and have a few pictures taken. He was justifiably proud of his work and wanted us to see his creation. Then it was packed off back to school a couple of days later.

sword, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

He had told me in advance he was going to bring home his piñata, but never told me what it looked like. I had a mental image of the type you find at parties, you know something like these seven pointed stars that are filled with candy. So you can imagine my surprise when he came out of the school with a sword. A really nice and sturdy short sword. I know they can be any shape, but I (wrongly) assumed it would be a traditional shape since it was made for Spanish. Ah well, live and learn.

Knackered

Blue Ridge, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

Today I drove to Blacksburg and back., which is no small feet considering to almost 4 hours away.

Jacob is attending a summer session at Virginia Tech. The course is an intensive week long exploration of architecture and design. He'll be there with other like minded high school students, living in a dorm and eating in a dining hall. It is a sort of mini preview of college living.

Meryl tagged along, she has never been to Virginia Tech and was curious to see what it like. I much appreciated the company for the long ride back. After Roanoke the roads are very empty. I got to see quite a bit more the Blue Ridge Mountains, but I forgot my camera so this picture from trip with Larry will have to suffice.

It wasn't a bad drive, but I'm happy to be home.

Artist of the Week: Baking with Jacob

Jacob, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

Jacob is this week's artist for his little foray in baking.

I can't believe my boy is finishing up his junior year of high school. He is looking at various colleges and universities with an eye towards architecture. He has grown a lot this year, but he is still the same goofy boy. He is starting to take more of an interest in how food appears on the table, but he is still a ways off in regards to cooking for the family. He'll get there, apart from cookies and cakes, I really didn't start cooking until junior year in college.

Anyhoodle, as I said the school year is winding down and as a result the assignments are getting rather... unique.

mock apple pie, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

Monday he had an extra credit project for chemistry, to bake a "chemical apple pie." He started to tell me how there are no apples when I blurted out"Oh it's a mock apple pie and you use crackers."

Bingo.

I have never had nor baked one, but I have always been intrigued by the whole idea of a mock apple pie. This assignment should be very interesting. Pies, apart from the crust, are pretty easy to make and make for a good first time baking project. Jacob was to make the whole thing, all I could do was provide the materials and maybe coach a bit from the sidelines.

sliced mock apple pie, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

Here is the recipe he brought home from school:

"Chemical Apple Pie"
Materials needed:
1.5 quart saucepan
3 cups water
1.5 cups sugar
1.5 tsp cream of tartar
25 Ritz crackers
pastry for two pie crust (store bought is fine)
cinnamon
butter
pie plare

Procedure:
1.) Bring the 3 cups of water to a boil in the sauce pan.
2.) Mix the sugar with the cream of tartar and add this to the boiling water.
3.) Add 25 whole Ritz crackers, one at a ti8me, to the water.
 Do Not Stir
4.) Boil for 3 minutes but do nor stir.
5.) Pour this mixture into a pastry lined pie pan.
6.) Sprinkle the top with cinnamon and dot lightly with butter.
7.) Cover with the pastry top and pierce several times to allow steam to escape.
8.) Bake at 450 F for 30 minutes or until done.
9.) Allow to cool and taste for quality.

Pretty easy and not an apple in sight. I taught Jacob how to make pie crust, the main points being cold butter and handle it as little as possible. He did a great job rolling out the dough and assembling the pie. The only deviation was a dash of ground ginger to liven things up.

As for the pie itself, it actually worked. It's not the best pie in the world, but it looks and smells like a proper apple pie.

Artist of the Week: Spring Band Concert

Jacob and the Trumpet Section, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

Last week was the 35th annual Spring Concert for Jacob's wind symphony. They did a great job on the four main pieces: Time Sift. Heartbeat Five, Sun Cycles, and Passages plus the traditional end of Spring concert set: Armed Forces Songs (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard) and The Stars and Stripes Forever. This year there was an added bonus in the audience, Jacob's grandparents  were able to come down for the concert.

I selected Sun Cycles to post because of a rather odd connection we have with the song. It was composed by Brian Balmages as a commission by the Patrick Marsh Middle School in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, just outside of Madison. We had lived in Madison for oh about 7 years and still have friends in the area and in fact one family still lives in Sun Prairie.


Funny how you can find connections in the strangest places.

Artist of the Week: Surprise

Band, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

The artist, or rather artists, of the week are Jacob's high school band, in particular the trumpet section.

Last Tuesday was the birthday of one of Jacob's band-mates. He is a fellow trumpet player and on a day he was out it was decided by the section that they would arrange for a surprise party. The asked the band director and she readily agreed. A request was made for cupcakes and I happily volunteered. The students planned the whole thing, the band director only got involved to help me coordinate the best time for the cupcake drop off.

cupcakes, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

The party was a big success. The birthday boy was completely surprised. He is not one of the popular crowd, just a socially awkward high school band kid who never would expect such a thing. Both the director and I thought it was a very sweet thing for the kids to do.

Before this I always thought band is a wonderful thing and now I definitely know it is. It like a big family and they all look out for each other.

Artist of the Week: Superior with Honor

Jacob, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

This week's artist is Jacob and his high school's Wind Symphony.

Last weekend was the annual concert assessment. Middle and High schools across our district perform three pieces of music before three judges. Each judge scores the bands on a scale of one to five with one being superior. Then each band goes before another judge foe a sight reading. The director has seven minutes to organize the students to perform a new to the piece. As with the performance, the sight reading to judged on the same one to five scale.

The assessment is a very big deal, the directors select music that is graded by the Virginia Band and Orchestra Directors' Association. The grading goes from I (the easiest) on up to at least VI (that's the highest I've seen). It's a tricky balance, the band director wants to challenge their students, but not overly so. Our school is at about a grade IV to grade V, next year we should be a solid V.

Everybody wants a superior rating and this year it's doubly so for Jacob's high school. This past fall the marching band earned a very hard won superior rating. If a high school's music program earns a superior in both wind and marching they become a Virginia Honor Band. So you can imagine the tension going in. Happily they did a solid performance and earned ones all across the board.

Below is their performance of "Beacon of Polaris" by Gary P. Gilroy.

Artist of the Week: Blueprints

outdoor jake, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

This week's artist is a rather silly Jacob.

I took this picture of him a few months ago. He was goofing around and mugging for the camera, a rare moment indeed. I loved the resultant picture so much I put it in our annual calendar that we give out to family each year. We have been doing the calendar since Jacob was a baby and it has become a sort of annual photo album. A good thing since I haven't made one in years, dare I say decades.

Anyhoodle this is about Jacob and not my lack of the scrap-booking gene.

blueprints, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

The picture I have here to the right is a blueprint. Specifically the blueprint of a house designed by Jacob to my specifications.He is taking Architectural Engineering Building Systems and the ongoing assignment is to design a house from the ground up. I was asked about where I wanted to build, what kind of heating system, what style of house, and so forth. I settled on a home along the James River with a Victorian flare, but with geothermal heating. Oh and I wanted a walk out basement and at least one turret.

He is having a lot of fun with this project. Before this class he was having doubts about the whole engineering thing. It has reminded him of his love for architecture. The program the class is using is Revit and is an awkward piece of software. Despite the bugs and oddities of bathtubs being installed sideways and sunken in the floor, he has rekindled his passion for architectural design.Plus I get plans for a pretty funky house.

Artist of the Week: The Eighth Candle

Jacob, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

This week's artist is Jacob and his high school"s band.

Last week was their winter concert and amongst the various holiday songs was "The Eighth Candle." This not the first time I have seen it in the program, but it was the first time the band was deemed to be ready to preform. I like that the director chooses a range of songs, from relatively easy to those that require the students to stretch. This  year the band was up to the task.

Clocking in at just under eight minutes, the song is a long and difficult piece. The performance wasn't perfect, but the kids did a solid job. The level of play is ever so much higher than middle school and as a result the concerts are a treat to attend.

Hopefully the video will finish being processed and y'all will be able to enjoy The Eighth Candle.

Hooray, it's ready! Enjoy.