Jayber

Oviparous Rover

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 09:40:34 -0600

Mandy and I entered the 2008 Logic Egg Drop Competition with a piece titled Oviparous Rover, which was built to withstand a 6-story drop to asphalt while protecting a large chicken egg from breaking on impact.

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(Photo © Erik Anderson.)

Although the propeller didn't produce an even drag during flight, and it pretty much exploded its innards (cotton balls) on impact, it still ended up protecting the egg. Like my dentist says: "It's not pretty, but get 'er done!". Photo galleries:

Tie-Dye Sydney

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 09:36:00 -0600

Sydney, on her tie-dye blanket, waiting to be chauffeured to the park.

Gloomy Autumn for French Writing

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 09:07:15 -0600

The Guardian is reporting that a gloomy autumn is on the way for French writing.

Avid readers across France are gearing up for "la rentrée littéraire", the deluge of new novels that hits the country every August in anticipation of France's autumn swarm of literary prizes. But this year's rentrée strikes a sombre tone, and brings a halt to a seemingly unstoppable trend with a marked fall in the number of this year's new titles.

Here are a few examples of what's to come (from the article):

Régis Jauffret's recounting of a suicide in Lacrimosa.
Valentine Goby's novel about abortion Qui touche a mon corps je le tue (Touch Me and I'll Kill You).
Emmanuelle Pagano's Les mains gamines (Innocent Hands) tackles the story of girl abused by her classmates.
Mathieu Riboulet's L'amant des morts (Lover of the Dead) confronts the Aids epidemic of the 1990s with the story of a man who sleeps with his own father.
Tristan Garcia's La meilleure part des hommes (The best of man), a novel which the author describes as a "faithful record" of the "betrayals of human existence, a portrait of the worst of mankind and - in negative - the best".

I understand that good novels are not necessarily happy -- in fact, I'd prefer otherwise -- but I have to admit these don't seem like ones you'd want to read when you're alone on your Birthday.

"These books are fairly dark, very depressing - a bit like France," said Vincy Thomas of Livres Hebdo. "There is a 'grande malaise', a sort of depression, in France at the moment. This is not a joyful country; when you think of France, you don't think of a party country. The social reality in France is a real concern about the future and this is reflected in the books." Aurélie Delfly, of one of France's largest publishers Gallimard, agreed. "We aren't very happy in France, and that is being felt in the subjects of the literature produced."

Delano Orchestra / Coldplay / Salsa Orchestra / Radiohead / Louis Armstrong

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 22:49:42 -0600

Here's an eclectic brew of The Delano Orchestra, Coldplay, a Salsa Orchestra at the Buena Vista Social Club in Havana, Radiohead, and Louis Armstrong from Streetkiss Music. What an unexpectedly pleasing mix.

Money Magazine Best Place To Live 2008: Plymouth, MN

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 20:16:16 -0600

Money Magazine just ranked Plymouth, MN the best place to live in America.

Hair-Brained Egg-Drop Scheme

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 13:54:11 -0600

Logic is having a 4-story egg drop contest next month. Last night, I spent some time scheming about a potential design. I don't know if it's possible for me to not win. Bwa ha ha haaa.

Unpimp My Ride

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 11:33:27 -0600

Make - Volume 11 describes how to unpimp a Bianchi Milano and turn it into something that looks like a piece of crap, to deter thievery.

Typical Bo Jackson Run on Tecmo Super Bowl

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 09:17:57 -0600

Typical Bo Jackson Run on Tecmo Super Bowl. Ahh, the memories.

Freestyle Rap Battle

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 09:08:24 -0600

No names will be dropped, but word on the street is that a freestyle rap battle spontaneously broke out between team Lefty & Skinny and the rest of the pack coming out of the second checkpoint at Minneathlon v2.0. Overheard on the course:

]]>Brains vs. Brawn

Lefty & Skinny gonna’ skool you
Till the break of dawn
With our brains and our brawn cause we’re loco
Smooth like cocoa
Excuse our expression, but class is now in session