The 3rd of July
Yesterday we had a great time with the whole family. Domenic, Erica, Myles, Colby, Nancy, Domenic, John, Katie, Margaret, and Janet all came up for our local food 4th of July grill out. We all had a awesome time.
All of the boys, at one point or another, other than Poppa Dom got in the pool. Isaac ventured in in his super raft which we have christened the Dawn Treader (we are reading that book at bed time right now). It was cool, not cold, at 62 degrees. Our little Isaac got blue lips and a shivering chin, but refused to get out, especially when Dad was pushing him. Myles got in for a little bit, as did Colby. John and Dom both JUMPED in to the thrill of all at the party.
Couple of funny stories.
Myles seems to like going into the workshop and making stuff, even if it means just screwing some screws into wood. Yesterday we decided to make a block with a hole through the dead center. I used a jig I had made to find the center and then used a Forstner bit to drill the hole. I took the bit out of the chuck and even the shaft of the bit was still a little hot. I grabbed it and said "Yowza! That's hot." It wasn't like burn-your-skin hot, but it was definitely warm to the touch. Here is what happened afterwords, almost verbatim:
Myles: Can I touch it?
Me: No, its hot.
Myles: Are you okay?
Me: Yeah, I didn't get burned, its just hot.
Myles: So can I touch it?
Me: No, its hot.
Myles: Why is it hot?
Me: Friction.
Myles: What's friction?
Me: Friction happens when you rub things together. It makes the things rubbing together get hot.
Myles: Really? Like what?
Me: Rub your hands together. Start slow.
[Myles rubs his hands together]
Me: Now go faster.
[Myles rubs his hands together faster]
Me: And faster. Now is it getting hotter?
Myles: YES!
Me: You can stop. That's friction.
Myles: So can I touch the bit now?
Me: No, its hot.
Myles: How can it still be hot?
Me: Because it was going much faster than your hands, like 200 times faster.
Myles: Can I see? I want to touch the bit.
Me: OKAY, fine (I tested it first).
Myles: Yowza! That's hot. Why did you let me touch it?
Me: Sometimes, the only way you can learn things is through experience. I answered all your questions and you still wanted to touch it. So go ahead, learn by experience.
Myles: Whew! I hope that is the last time I learn something through experience.
Oh my god. That is the funniest thing I have ever heard someone say. I about died laughing. He just looked at me with a serious face. We can only do simple projects because all of the tools are too loud and too dangerous, so it was drill press, screwdriver, and sander only. Myles liked the Festool sander, even he noticed no dust.
Later in the day Myles and I were playing with sparklers. I was trying to make a big sparkler sprinkler by combining the sparklers into a tight cluster, but I couldn't get them to stay. I went and got some foam insulation and stuck them in it. It worked well. We set the bouquet of sparklers just outside the bulkhead door with a pail of water at the ready and lit the sparklers. They burned just as we had imagined them to until the very end when the insulation caught on fire. It stunk up the joint and precipitated a visit from Auntie Bianca. She came downstairs and said: "Boys it smells like you are letting off sparklers in the basement. Is that true?" I said: "No. We have not let off sparklers IN the basement." Myles hopped to my defense: "Auntie Bianca that's right. We have not let them off in the basement, we just did it right out side the basement door." Needless to say that answer was not as acceptable as mine. We stopped the sparklers until later.
In the end, everyone had a good time and I now have a new story when someone asks me what is the funniest thing you have ever heard someone say.
More on the 4th itself later.
All of the boys, at one point or another, other than Poppa Dom got in the pool. Isaac ventured in in his super raft which we have christened the Dawn Treader (we are reading that book at bed time right now). It was cool, not cold, at 62 degrees. Our little Isaac got blue lips and a shivering chin, but refused to get out, especially when Dad was pushing him. Myles got in for a little bit, as did Colby. John and Dom both JUMPED in to the thrill of all at the party.
Couple of funny stories.
Myles seems to like going into the workshop and making stuff, even if it means just screwing some screws into wood. Yesterday we decided to make a block with a hole through the dead center. I used a jig I had made to find the center and then used a Forstner bit to drill the hole. I took the bit out of the chuck and even the shaft of the bit was still a little hot. I grabbed it and said "Yowza! That's hot." It wasn't like burn-your-skin hot, but it was definitely warm to the touch. Here is what happened afterwords, almost verbatim:
Myles: Can I touch it?
Me: No, its hot.
Myles: Are you okay?
Me: Yeah, I didn't get burned, its just hot.
Myles: So can I touch it?
Me: No, its hot.
Myles: Why is it hot?
Me: Friction.
Myles: What's friction?
Me: Friction happens when you rub things together. It makes the things rubbing together get hot.
Myles: Really? Like what?
Me: Rub your hands together. Start slow.
[Myles rubs his hands together]
Me: Now go faster.
[Myles rubs his hands together faster]
Me: And faster. Now is it getting hotter?
Myles: YES!
Me: You can stop. That's friction.
Myles: So can I touch the bit now?
Me: No, its hot.
Myles: How can it still be hot?
Me: Because it was going much faster than your hands, like 200 times faster.
Myles: Can I see? I want to touch the bit.
Me: OKAY, fine (I tested it first).
Myles: Yowza! That's hot. Why did you let me touch it?
Me: Sometimes, the only way you can learn things is through experience. I answered all your questions and you still wanted to touch it. So go ahead, learn by experience.
Myles: Whew! I hope that is the last time I learn something through experience.
Oh my god. That is the funniest thing I have ever heard someone say. I about died laughing. He just looked at me with a serious face. We can only do simple projects because all of the tools are too loud and too dangerous, so it was drill press, screwdriver, and sander only. Myles liked the Festool sander, even he noticed no dust.
Later in the day Myles and I were playing with sparklers. I was trying to make a big sparkler sprinkler by combining the sparklers into a tight cluster, but I couldn't get them to stay. I went and got some foam insulation and stuck them in it. It worked well. We set the bouquet of sparklers just outside the bulkhead door with a pail of water at the ready and lit the sparklers. They burned just as we had imagined them to until the very end when the insulation caught on fire. It stunk up the joint and precipitated a visit from Auntie Bianca. She came downstairs and said: "Boys it smells like you are letting off sparklers in the basement. Is that true?" I said: "No. We have not let off sparklers IN the basement." Myles hopped to my defense: "Auntie Bianca that's right. We have not let them off in the basement, we just did it right out side the basement door." Needless to say that answer was not as acceptable as mine. We stopped the sparklers until later.
In the end, everyone had a good time and I now have a new story when someone asks me what is the funniest thing you have ever heard someone say.
More on the 4th itself later.