Monday, January 18, 2010
Two Things to Check Out
Mondays through the end of February are $1 pulled-pork sandwich nights at Dickey's. Mmmmm!
Phil's building a blog as part of a geometry project. Check it out.
Phil's building a blog as part of a geometry project. Check it out.
Friday, October 09, 2009
Honor Roll
We break Radio Silence for the following brief announcement:
Phil made the Six Weeks Honor Roll with All A's and 1 B. (Still time to get All A's at the semester.) Here's a couple pix from this morning's assembly.
...descending again beneath the depths and resuming Radio Silence....
Phil made the Six Weeks Honor Roll with All A's and 1 B. (Still time to get All A's at the semester.) Here's a couple pix from this morning's assembly.
...descending again beneath the depths and resuming Radio Silence....
Labels: Fourth Grade, Philpix
Saturday, August 01, 2009
New States, New Philpix
Yesterday Dina, Phil, and I took a road trip to Shreveport, Louisiana, and near Texarkana, Arkansas (skirted around the city, never went in). Here's Phil at the Louisiana border. No pic at the Arkansas border because a) it was dark and b) it was Arkansas. Two new states bring the total of states visited to 29, 58%.
This evening sister Julia took us and my brother's family out to dinner. Here's pix from Red Robin in Garland:
This evening sister Julia took us and my brother's family out to dinner. Here's pix from Red Robin in Garland:
- Phil
(he had just rubbed his hair with his balloon ... to pick up salt from the table with the balloon, of course) - Cousin Jack
- Bill & Brenda
- The Whole Group
- Julia and Phil, Outside
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Running on Ice
Phil had his first experience ice skating this afternoon. His aunt Julie took him and his cousin Jack to the Dallas Galleria and helped them both get the hang of things. They lasted a couple hours, and by the end of it Phil had let go of the handrail and was tooling around quite ably.
Since Aunt Julie can skate backward (and do hockey stops!), she shot some video of Phil. Enjoy!
Since Aunt Julie can skate backward (and do hockey stops!), she shot some video of Phil. Enjoy!
Labels: New Adventures, Philpix
Thursday, January 22, 2009
The Honorable Scientist
Earlier this week Phil took an honorable mention for his project in his school's science fair. His experiment investigated if a light bulb painted black would get hotter than a standard light bulb. We set up the bulb inside a styrofoam ice chest, poked a digital meat thermometer through the side, flipped a switch connected to a couple 6-volt batteries, and voila!, yes it does.
Phil's project was kept on display in the school's library this week along with all the other winners.
Judge's comment.
Phil and his award.
Phil's project was kept on display in the school's library this week along with all the other winners.
Judge's comment.
Phil and his award.
Labels: Philpix, Science, Third Grade
Sunday, October 26, 2008
The Jeffersons
President William Jefferson Clinton came to Thomas Jefferson High School on Oct. 15, to support senate candidate Rick Noriega. The evening was as much pep rally as stump speech, and a good time was had by all.
A couple oddnesses: the Billy Joel selections in the pre-event background music mix included "Only the Good Die Young" and "You May Be Right" (which includes the lyric: "You may be right / I may be crazy / But it just may be a lunatic you're looking for"). Might I suggest "We Didn't Start the Fire" next time....
Also, Clinton made the mother of all faux pas with his "barring some miracle Obama will be the next president." Ouch.
Not sure if my vote was swayed; I do think the threat of filibuster is an important check in Congress, but we'll see....
Some pix:
And here's a few video snippets from the evening.
In his comments, Clinton mentioned when he grows up he wants to be able to tie a bowtie like John Wiley Price does. If you're not familiar with JWP and his haberdashery, behold.
A couple oddnesses: the Billy Joel selections in the pre-event background music mix included "Only the Good Die Young" and "You May Be Right" (which includes the lyric: "You may be right / I may be crazy / But it just may be a lunatic you're looking for"). Might I suggest "We Didn't Start the Fire" next time....
Also, Clinton made the mother of all faux pas with his "barring some miracle Obama will be the next president." Ouch.
Not sure if my vote was swayed; I do think the threat of filibuster is an important check in Congress, but we'll see....
Some pix:
- Clinton and Noriega
- Clinton at the lectern: 1, 2, 3, 4
- Presidential Salute
- Near the wings: 1, 2, 3
- Phil in the audience
- Phil in the aisle, getting closer to the president (the blur by the blurry Texas flag)
And here's a few video snippets from the evening.
In his comments, Clinton mentioned when he grows up he wants to be able to tie a bowtie like John Wiley Price does. If you're not familiar with JWP and his haberdashery, behold.
Labels: Bill Clinton, Philpix
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Phauxhawk Phil
The boy came back from the pool last night sporting a new 'do. Yeah, the fake mohawk/fauxhawk look. Usually he's got the George Clooney comb-forward bangs thing working, so I'm not sure what his inspiration was. Public-school third grade, probably (when he starts thuggin' large with the oversized T, saggy pants, and gold chains, I'll start to worry -- or maybe I'll just hock the gold chains).
Here's his new look: mugshot front and side views.
Here's his new look: mugshot front and side views.
Labels: Philpix, Third Grade
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
iCamp II: iPhoto Boogaloo
Today was Phil's second day of Apple Camp. He got to play with the built-in webcam on modern Macs, as well as the photo editing/manipulation tools in iPhoto. At the end of the session he and new-friend Jacob put together a slideshow of their weird photos.
Next year we might sign up for the Music and Presentation days.
Stay tuned.
Next year we might sign up for the Music and Presentation days.
Stay tuned.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
iCamp
Phil spent the morning at the Apple store at NorthPark Center mall attending Apple Camp. Today's topic was iMovie/iDVD. After an intro to the software packages, the campers were tasked with creating an ad for any of the Apple products in the store (with the caveat to not bother the paying customers).
Phil was teamed up with T.J. and Anthony. They shot a bunch of video (they were supposed to come up with a "plan" before shooting ... so much for that idea), then composed and edited it in iMovie and created a title page in iDVD before burning discs.
Here's the result.
(If it plays choppy, let it load all the way before pushing the play button.)
Tomorrow is iPhoto day. Stay tuned.
Phil was teamed up with T.J. and Anthony. They shot a bunch of video (they were supposed to come up with a "plan" before shooting ... so much for that idea), then composed and edited it in iMovie and created a title page in iDVD before burning discs.
Here's the result.
(If it plays choppy, let it load all the way before pushing the play button.)
Tomorrow is iPhoto day. Stay tuned.
Saturday, July 05, 2008
The Ocho
For those of you keeping score, Phil turned eight at the end of last month.
We interrupt this blog for the following announcement from The Simpsons:
A special Staf Trek exhibit was on display at the museum. Phil got to sit in the original Captain's Chair. Let the argements begin: who fills the chair better: Kirk or Capt. Phil?
We interrupt this blog for the following announcement from The Simpsons:
Warden: You kiddin'? Look -- [shows painting] he painted a unicorn in outer space. I'm asking you: What's it breathin'?Which reminds me: while on our trip to San Diego, we stopped at the Air and Space Museum in Balboa Park. Here are a few pix of Phil.
Homer: Air?
Warden: Ain't no air in space.
Homer: There's an air-in-space museum.
(Episode CABF05: Pokey Mom)
- Dina and Phil in a kit plane
- Dina and Phil by the Apollo 9 orbital craft
- Phil by an astronaut spacesuit
(the last time Phil posed with an astronaut space suit he was about 8 months old and looked like this)
A special Staf Trek exhibit was on display at the museum. Phil got to sit in the original Captain's Chair. Let the argements begin: who fills the chair better: Kirk or Capt. Phil?
Labels: California, Philpix
Thursday, July 03, 2008
Knights Tournament at LegoLand
A week ago we were at LegoLand, down in the San Diego area. Not quite the Disney experience, but we had fun. The ride we spent the most time on was Knights Adventure, essentially a giant robot arm that swings you all around (what it has to do with knights we never figured out). Phil and I wound up riding it three times before the day was over.
It looked like this.
There are five levels of intensity for the ride. Because Phil is a few inches short of the height requirement for the upper three, Level Two ("The Bear") was the most-intense we qualified for and the one we rode every time. Level One was called "The Monkey;" as far as I could tell that one never turned the chair sideways or parallel to the ground. Phil and I decided there should also be a Level Zero ("The Guppy") where you sit stationary and swing your legs for a minute.
The music, by the way, comes from a give-away set of film score samples composed by Christopher Franke, a one-time member of Tangerine Dream who also did all the music for (one of my all-time favorite shows) Babylon 5. Check out his website for more.
It looked like this.
There are five levels of intensity for the ride. Because Phil is a few inches short of the height requirement for the upper three, Level Two ("The Bear") was the most-intense we qualified for and the one we rode every time. Level One was called "The Monkey;" as far as I could tell that one never turned the chair sideways or parallel to the ground. Phil and I decided there should also be a Level Zero ("The Guppy") where you sit stationary and swing your legs for a minute.
The music, by the way, comes from a give-away set of film score samples composed by Christopher Franke, a one-time member of Tangerine Dream who also did all the music for (one of my all-time favorite shows) Babylon 5. Check out his website for more.
Labels: California, LegoLand, Philpix
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Four New Visiting Countries
Recently four new countries have shown up in my stats log.
Now at 136 countries / 61% of the world (as World66 figures things).
- Armenia stopped by to see a traffic spike graph from Oct. 2005.
- Bhutan wanted to see some bowling scores from Jan. '06.
- Kyrgyzstan came for the old Phil-being-"eaten"-by-the-shark pic.
- And today Belize took time out of its busy schedule for this classic Phil haircut shot.
Now at 136 countries / 61% of the world (as World66 figures things).
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Easter Revisited
Just downloaded a bunch of pictures from the digital camera, including a couple way back on Easter.
Here's good-lookin' Phil
and slighly goofy-lookin' Phil.
We now return you to your previously-scheduled day, already in progress...
Here's good-lookin' Phil
and slighly goofy-lookin' Phil.
We now return you to your previously-scheduled day, already in progress...
Labels: Philpix
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Open House
It was Open House night at Phil's school. Spent about 45 minutes getting the tour of his classroom and the things he's been doing.
Such as...
Also got to see the special classrooms devoted to Art, Science, Music, as well as the Library and Gym. Nothing was going in any of those rooms, but it was nice to know that they're there.
Such as...
Also got to see the special classrooms devoted to Art, Science, Music, as well as the Library and Gym. Nothing was going in any of those rooms, but it was nice to know that they're there.
Labels: Philpix, Second Grade
Thursday, March 06, 2008
It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like...
My spring break starts tomorrow at 3:45. Or 3:40 if I decide, like most of my students, to start packing up five minutes before the bell. This afternoon, and once earlier this week, the weather decided that we couldn't break for spring if we'd never had winter.
Cue the snow clouds.
Yes, we're dreaming of a white Spring Break. Here're a few pix:
- Phil with a snowball from the Subaru
- Phil's "snowman" in the lee of the stairwell
- Snowfall from the other night
Phil's spring break is the week after mine. Maybe we'll have wacky triple-digit weather come mid-month.
Labels: Philpix
Thursday, January 24, 2008
LEGO-Rama
Phil got a membership to the LEGO Brickmasters Club for Christmas. Since then he's really wanted to get photos of his LEGO creations online or in the LEGO Club magazine. So I snapped some pix the other day (with a cool quilt as a backdrop) and sent a few to the LEGO folks.
They looked like this:
They looked like this:
- Phil's 4-Gun Police Ship
- The "Functual Time" Truck
According to Phil, the FT Truck sells clocks and phones. If you look at the top of the truck you can see the F (reversed) and T for Functual (Phil's word) Time. - The Chase (widescreen)
- The LegoMaster
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Phil: Boy of Science
Tonight was the Science Fair at Phil's elementary school. Phil's entry dealt with what happens when you make significant modifications to one of his LEGO toys. It was his first time to participate in a science fair and he's happy with his participant's ribbon.
Here's a pic of the happy scientist.
In conjuction with the Science Fair, the school also had math and science activities for the kids to play. Among other things, Phil estimated area with Ms. Spencer, played a predictions game with Mrs. Wheeler (his teacher), and helped the blue eyes catch up with the browns (OK, not quite).
Next year we'll see if they lift the ban on explosives and Phil can enter his rocket engine-modified LEGO car....
Here's a pic of the happy scientist.
In conjuction with the Science Fair, the school also had math and science activities for the kids to play. Among other things, Phil estimated area with Ms. Spencer, played a predictions game with Mrs. Wheeler (his teacher), and helped the blue eyes catch up with the browns (OK, not quite).
Next year we'll see if they lift the ban on explosives and Phil can enter his rocket engine-modified LEGO car....
Labels: Philpix, Second Grade
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Last Weekend Photo-Recap
While my sister Julia was here last weekend we made a stop at the NorthPark Center mall along with cousin (nephew) Jack to kill some time before getting together with the rest of the family (and Santa) at Half Price Books.
Here're Jack and Phil with some turtle friends at the mall.
Phil with Santa. And Jack, Santa, and Phil: 1, 2.
Back at my brother's house, Phil kept himself busy with a Karmann Ghia when he wasn't playing LEGOs.
And before she left on Sunday, I took this picture of Julia with Phil and Dina at the airport
This concludes our "last weekend photo-recap."
Here're Jack and Phil with some turtle friends at the mall.
Phil with Santa. And Jack, Santa, and Phil: 1, 2.
Back at my brother's house, Phil kept himself busy with a Karmann Ghia when he wasn't playing LEGOs.
And before she left on Sunday, I took this picture of Julia with Phil and Dina at the airport
This concludes our "last weekend photo-recap."
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Richardson Christmas
Sunday night Dina, Phil, and I stopped by the Christmas village set up outside the Richardson municipal center. It was our first time and their last night, so mostly we walked around and plotted our course for next year (on a weeknight).
Phil did stop in a couple of the village houses (each sponsored by a city bureau/department or corporate partner). In the house put on by one of the local TV stations Phil was interviewed about what he wanted for Christmas (and his technolust jumped from a Nintendo DS to a Wii) while the interview was fed to screens around the top of a lighthouse outside (not Phil in the lighthouse pic). Here are a few pix of Phil's interview: 1, 2, 3.
Phil also stopped by the fire department's house. And he met their mascot (that's Santa rappelling -- who knows why? -- down a rope in the background).
We're still getting the hang of the new camera, and the rest of the pictures didn't turn out as planned. Not always a bad thing though; this pic of a tree full of lights was transformed into a tree full of candy canes. Mmmmmm...
Phil did stop in a couple of the village houses (each sponsored by a city bureau/department or corporate partner). In the house put on by one of the local TV stations Phil was interviewed about what he wanted for Christmas (and his technolust jumped from a Nintendo DS to a Wii) while the interview was fed to screens around the top of a lighthouse outside (not Phil in the lighthouse pic). Here are a few pix of Phil's interview: 1, 2, 3.
Phil also stopped by the fire department's house. And he met their mascot (that's Santa rappelling -- who knows why? -- down a rope in the background).
We're still getting the hang of the new camera, and the rest of the pictures didn't turn out as planned. Not always a bad thing though; this pic of a tree full of lights was transformed into a tree full of candy canes. Mmmmmm...
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
All Phil Wants for Christmas
are his two front teeth
... and a LEGO Star Destroyer ... and a Nintendo DS ... and a puppy ... and a computer ... and his own TV ... and a mess of candy ... and an iPod ... and cash ...and ....
(Phil was partway through a Fun Dip when I took the picture; he does not have an unfortunate tongue disease.)
... and a LEGO Star Destroyer ... and a Nintendo DS ... and a puppy ... and a computer ... and his own TV ... and a mess of candy ... and an iPod ... and cash ...
(Phil was partway through a Fun Dip when I took the picture; he does not have an unfortunate tongue disease.)
Labels: Philpix
