How to make a paper airplane

I asked my son, Spider Droid to share some of the fine points of Paper Airplane making.

Here is some footage of him teaching his method to our family

Spider Droid turned the camera on me and walked me again through the process

I have shared this post with the Carnival of Homeschooling which will be hosted this week at Why Homeschool.  I will put up the link here on Tuesday.

I guess there's nothing more to say except the closing. 

Six Word Minimum

It's been far too long since I participated in Six Word Saturday at Showmyface.com.  I talked about my new job in my last post.  I didn't mention that I am earning minimum wage for the job.  This fact gave me two (count them) different six word reflections . . .
Haven't made minimum wage since 1996

OR

I make 13.75 cents a minute.

I prefer the second one because it require more math.  It also puts a more positive spin on it.  That's 20.625 cents a minute if I can get some overtime going. 

For more six word Saturday click here.

Wow

I am gainfully employed. I have been trying this summer to get a temp job. I finally got 1 this week and it has the potential to go beyond the summer and not interfere with homeschooling. So I have the potential of working 2 jobs for a while. Homeschooling has many non monetary forms of payment. But a steady paycheck is going to come in handy.

Fragments of rants, thoughts, and feelings.

Fragment 1: Stupid is a swear word in our family.  It is not a word that we want our kids to use nor  do we use it ourselves. It's a crippler.  And it's everpresent.  Consider these lyrics from the beginning of Book Report from You're a Good Man Charlie Brown:

"Peter Rabbit is a stupid book about a stupid rabbit who steals vegetables from other people's gardens."

Be that as it may, stupid things fascinate me.  I don't mean that I am fascinated by things that nobody else finds interesting.  That is true.  I am very random, and the oddest things do strike my fancy.  What I mean is the nonsensical things that people say and do fascinate me.  Nonsensical is a kinder gentler way of saying stupid.

Before, I continue with fragment 1, let me digress. This whole introduction to fragment 1, is a fragment to itself.  So let's call it a prefragmenace (part fragment part preface). 

At the 4th of July parade I described in my last post, I saw one illustration of the nonsensical.  It was a sign that a man was carrying in the above picture.  I have isolated the sign below.

The reason why I think this sign is stupid nonsensical is mainly because it doesn't make sense.  Voting independent will not end fascism for a number of reasons. 

Fascism is defined at dictionary.com as  a governmental system led by a dictator having complete power, forcibly suppressing opposition and criticism, regimenting all industry, commerce, etc., and emphasizing an aggressive nationalism and often racism.

So A,  if the U.S. was a fascist state, this mans opposition  and criticism of it would be forcibly suppressed. 

B, our governments checks and balances and our current 2 party system and free elections  show that we have no dictator leading us. 

C, voting independent will not necessarily keep us from a fascist state.  Imagine a fascist running as an independent.  His plan to get in power and become a dictator. Voting independent in that case would actually put a fascist in office rather than remove one from office.

Fragment 2:  Not  all isms are Puppyisms.

Bunny Girl just walked into our bedroom and said that she was thinking and when she was done thinking she began thinking credits.   Then she walked out. 

Fragment 3: Obligatory heat wave post.

It's been hotter than heat itself for the past week or so.  It is 10:30 at night and the temp have finally dipped to 85 degrees.  It was 104 at 3:00 when we left the swimming pool  I am not sure how I feel about these real feel forecasts.  It is 85 now, but it feels like 95.  Who cares how it feels? What's next  if were at work at 2:00 in the afternoon but it feels like 5:00 in the afternoon, are we supposed to leave for the day?  It's anarchy I tell you.  And if there's anarchy, can fascism be far behind?

For more fascism free fragments head back to half past kissing time. 

2 questions for the 4th of July

;

It has been quite a while since I participated in Thursday 2 questions at Self Sagacity. My independence day activities have given me few questions to ask.

Question 1: When is the last time you marched/walked in a parade? If you have never marched in one, when is the last time you went to a parade?

I marched in a local parade today and actually had 3 separate invitations to participate. 2 political candidates (one a homeschooling father, who I will be featuring in a future post) needed marchers but I ended up marching with Spider Droid and his robotics team.

This cyclist was in the group behind us. Right before the parade started his horn sprung a leak. Some of the robotics kids gave him a few I love robotics stickers and he patched up his horn easily. That was honking cool.

I asked myself question 1 on my way to the parade. As far as I could recall, before today the last time I walked in a parade was in a 4th of July parade in 1990 in Macomb, Illinois during my time at university there. What was unique about that experience was that a Christian group that was marching in the parade needed someone to carry a full size cross in the parade route. I remember this having a powerful spiritual impact on me, as I was able to reflect on how Jesus carried the cross in preparation for paying for my sins through his death and resurrection.

Question 2: What is your favorite part of the 4th of July holiday?

For me it is going to see the fireworks. It's not exactly the fireworks themselves, which were fantastic this year. It is actually tossing a ball or a Frisbee with Amy or the kids prior to the fireworks. Just a simple act of familial affection in a sea of patriotism and excess make me realize how much I "depend" on my family.

For more questions click here.

Next Time: Friday Fragments

You're Only Old Once!

Today was my folks' 50th wedding anniversary. We celebrated with a big picnic at a nearby forest preserve. It was really nice to see all the extended family and friends who came out to celebrate! My parents renewed their wedding vows, and even had their best man and maid of honor standing up with them. My brother also gave a nice speech. The "show" aspect of the picnic ended up with 10 of their 11 grandchildren doing a dramatic reading of Dr Suess's book, "You're Only Old Once." The book is hilarious! It was enjoyed by everyone. It was nice to see the older cousins helping out the younger cousins with reading their parts. It's a blessing to have a heritage of marital longevity to remind us to keep the course. Amy's parents celebrated their 48th Anniversary last week, so I'm glad to see it runs in the family.