E-mail I just received

[Ben E Lou]

Oops!! I can't make it to the gym this afternoon. I forgot that I'm
basically in charge of a Cub Scouts outing. Caleb and his den mates are
going to Michaels to learn how to make model rockets. Nothing dad likes
more than getting a bunch of 6 and 7 year olds together and playing with
explosive model rocket engines!!! :-)

I won't even be able to make it to the gym after the rocket building
class. It's off to Rehoboth Church for a baseball game at 5:30. This
being a parent thing is very time consuming!!
Rocket building class..

ROCKET-BUILDING CLASS?????

FREAKIN' ROCKET BUILDING CLASS?????




OK...that tears it. I gotta have sons.....NOW!!!!!!!!

[DeToxRox]

I think that guy might be in two having sons with you ..

[hums theme song to My Two Days]

Ben Reiser!

[JonInMiddleGA]

Yeah, rocketry has been a unit of scouting for quite a while now AFAIK.

[Ksyrup]

The first thing that stood out for me was...MICHAELS? What kind of a store is that to take a bunch of young boys?! MIght as well buy them crochet needles while he's there.

Man, I hate everything about that place. Especially the smell. Oh yeah, and the total lack of anything remotely interesting to me. I usually sit in the car while my wife shops.

[Radii]

we haven't done that in cub scouts yet :(

[Ben E Lou]

The first thing that stood out for me was...MICHAELS? What kind of a store is that to take a bunch of young boys?! MIght as well buy them crochet needles while he's there.

Man, I hate everything about that place. Especially the smell. Oh yeah, and the total lack of anything remotely interesting to me. I usually sit in the car while my wife shops.My friend, rocket-building class ALWAYS trumps picture frames.

[gstelmack]

The ONLY thing I miss about the house we owned in NH for a year was that there was this big giant ex-quarry pit right nearby. It was PERFECT for launching model rockets without worrying about hitting anything or losing the rocket.

[Ksyrup]

My friend, rocket-building class ALWAYS trumps picture frames.
Would you suggest playing cards at Curves? I didn't think so.

[Celeval]

The first thing that stood out for me was...MICHAELS? What kind of a store is that to take a bunch of young boys?! MIght as well buy them crochet needles while he's there.
Hehe... believe it or not, the Michael's I've been in while my wife shops has model rockets, soapbox derby cars, plastic models (of the 'use a little bit of glue' variety)... generally one aisle that is safe from the ravages of knitting needles and crochet hooks.

[digamma]

As a team building exercise, my company is having a company-wide Pinewood Derby next Friday.

Last year, they had a "Gutter Regatta."

The year before it was the rockets.

I guess all of these are scouting events.

[Ksyrup]

Hehe... believe it or not, the Michael's I've been in while my wife shops has model rockets, soapbox derby cars, plastic models (of the 'use a little bit of glue' variety)... generally one aisle that is safe from the ravages of knitting needles and crochet hooks.
Kinda like being forced to go to Payless Shoes - they have 1/2 aisle "dedicated" to men's shoes. Whoopee!

[Fritz]

Rocket building class..

ROCKET-BUILDING CLASS?????

FREAKIN' ROCKET BUILDING CLASS?????




OK...that tears it. I gotta have sons.....NOW!!!!!!!!

Fritz used to teach such a thing

[Ben E Lou]

More info...including a how-to link....


Hey, skip your workout and come join us!! We'll be at Michaels at 3:30. Call it a "future YL kid recruiting trip." Unfortunately, we don't have time to launch the rockets today, given the fact that 4 of the kids are on the same baseball team and we have a game at 5:30! But hey, you love baseball, too. Another reason to have kids!

We launched a really cool rocket last weekend. It is a plastic rocket with a plastic soda bottle as the "combustion chamber." You put an adjustable stopper in the bottle opening to allow it to build up pressure prior to launch. Then you shake it to mix the fuel -- vinegar and baking soda. These two react and generate so much gas so quickly that, in a few seconds, it blows the stopper out and launches the rocket into the sky. They claim it will go up 300 feet. We didn't get that high but I bet we reached 150 - 175 feet on our last launch. We set the rocket on a piece of wood. The pressure was so great that it imbedded the metal screw portion of the adjustable stopper into the wood when the pressure forced the stopper out. It was really cool. The only problem was that this thing doesn't have a parachute, and it only has 3 replacement nose cones. We have now destroyed 2 of the nosecones upon "re-entry." The kids loved it!!

-rss

PS - Here's the link for the vinegar & baking soda rocket...http://www.scientificexplorer.com/products/pages/215.html

[cartman]

Man, I should have tied one of those to my pinewood derby car way back when. I would have won for sure!

:D

[Bubba Wheels]

Wait till they start the brain surgery section of the book.

[Franklinnoble]

I was an Eagle Scout back before they banned the Methanphetamine merit badge.