RobsBlog

2010-05-01T20:06:00.001-06:00

Playing around with Aviary Audio Editor. Fun, easy, and well...what do you think?

Montana Surfing

2010-03-01T14:48:00.000-07:00

Posts Gone Missing...

2010-01-19T21:21:00.000-07:00

Haven't seen a post from me in awhile. Well, it's not that I haven't been posting, it's just that the school year is in full swing, and all my efforts have been located there.

I do make post...to my Ed-Tech blog. So if you're at all interested, please check them out. It's a bit of shop talk, but then again, that's what I do with my days. Some people knit sox, others take massive amounts of pictures (66,975 to be exact) and others just ramble on about technology in education.

Good Friends on the Deck

2009-07-06T22:35:00.000-06:00

Enjoying good company on the deck.

Robot Lego

2009-06-27T21:01:00.003-06:00

First set of robots done with Lego's. A souped up merry-go-round. I took the original design and added some gearing so it would spin faster. Definitely a wild ride. It ended up throwing the little lego people across the room.
The other pic is a programmable robot that we taught how to navigate through a maze using infrared sensors. Never did do much programing language before, but this was kind of fun to figure out. We started out by making the robot do a simple square, then progressed up to using the sensors. First, having it sense for the edge of a table, then turn around, and finally the maze challenge.
The sequencing and logic thought process could be great learning activities.

Covered Porch...Let it rain!!!

2009-06-20T14:54:00.001-06:00

First in a series of deck improvements. A rustic timber framed roof for our north deck. It's great to sit outside while it's raining without a care in the world. I'm sure there are more pictures to come from this improvement.

Readings From Podcast - thoughts on society and data collection uses

2009-05-02T00:20:00.001-06:00

Bill Moyers Journal . Transcripts | PBS

Interview with David Simons - The Wire HBO series discusses issues of society and data

tags: bill_moyers
- - school testing is Juking the stats - post by rocketrob
- Juking the stats
  - making the data say what you want it to say - post by rocketrob
- DAVID SIMON: You show me anything that depicts institutional progress in America, school test scores, crime stats, arrest reports, arrest stats, anything that a politician can run on, anything that somebody can get a promotion on. And as soon as you invent that statistical category, 50 people in that institution will be at work trying to figure out a way to make it look as if progress is actually occurring
- Anything that is a stat can be cheated
- - Chess game to explain society - post by rocketrob

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Proscuitto

2009-02-15T11:19:00.000-07:00

Crazy to think this leg of pork has been hanging around for over a year. But then again, that's what makes it-prosciutto-and taste so good. Wow, it's good. We love making things.

Now There's a Peach!

2009-01-29T17:40:00.000-07:00

We had a great relaxed holiday, making and eating great food. Like this hand crafted peach/huckleberry pie.

Eggs SOOO big they kant fit in da box!!

2009-01-16T18:02:00.000-07:00

Holy guacamole, today the chickens gave us three eggs. I'm thinkin' one per chicken, since there wasn't any eggs yesterday. One (the speckled one) weighed in at 100g a whopper. So big I couldn't even shut the lit on the egg carton. See...

Bacon and egg Thursday is turning into a big success in the family. Now we need something special for Tuesday? Any suggestions?

First Video Editing Attempt

2009-01-14T19:30:00.001-07:00

Follow this link to a YouTube of my first attempt at creating a video with actual editing. I guess this will be interesting to see down the road when I'm a famous producer. Ha,ha

Pasta cuta

2009-01-10T14:38:00.000-07:00

Our first forray in making pasta.

How Common Craft Stopped Doing Client Work, In Plain English - ReadWriteWeb

2009-01-02T09:11:00.000-07:00

How Common Craft Stopped Doing Client Work, In Plain English - ReadWriteWeb: "We think their story can inspire anyone who dreams of making a living doing good work and exploring new ways to do business on a changing Internet"

Eggs ahoy!

2008-12-21T18:11:00.005-07:00

From Drop Box

Can't believe it. But one of the chickens decided to start laying on the Soltice. We thought for sure we wouldn't have any eggs 'till spring. She has layed one a day since. They were tasty too. Decided to have eggs and hashbrowns for breakfast this morning. Maybe the others will get the idea and we'll start getting three a day. That's a dozen and a half a week. We'd be having all sorts of egg dishes.

Full Moon Drumming

2008-12-13T13:17:00.003-07:00

A short clip from last nights Full Moon Drumming. To dark to see picture, but the rhythm comes through loud and clear.
p.s. Gbot and LiquidGirl you were missed. We hope you're back home by the next moon.

Robinson Crusoe

2008-12-10T19:29:00.000-07:00

Acadia's big preformance in the Missoula Childrens Theatre

2008-12-08T18:20:00.002-07:00

Farewell Grandpa, RIP. You made an incredible contribution to this planet by your presence. We all miss you greatly, and cherish the wonderful times we've had in you life.

Things that Stick

2008-11-14T20:18:00.002-07:00

Interesting ideas about why some things stick in our heads and others don't. I'm reading some of the articles here and finding them interesting. Haven't bought the book yet, but it could be interesting. I'm always thinking about this kind of stuff as a teacher. How do we get the ideas we're trying to get across to students to "stick" in their heads. I guess, sometimes I questions what ideas are important. But then I know some of the things I try to get kids to ponder - such as kindness, etc.

2008-10-26T18:30:00.000-06:00

October Fest with the SCA

2008-10-26T18:27:00.000-06:00

Reva and the Baroness of Weldsmeare (aka Aravierre, MER, Rocketrobs sister). Here are some pics of our latest SCA outing.

New Driver on the Road

2008-10-12T10:03:00.000-06:00

Well, as of last Thursday, there's a new driver on the road. Acadia passed her learners permit test with the highest grade of her class. Congratulation! Keep an eye out for this new driver and give her a wave. New braces, now driver...it's shaping up to be a great year for Acadiabean.

Frost brings an end to gardening

2008-10-11T11:50:00.000-06:00

The berries that got away

2008-10-11T11:46:00.001-06:00

Say goodbye to the berries that got away. I found these suckers hiding out in the bottom of my berry picking bucket. I artfully picked them out, and gobbled the hideaways up.

Story sharing

2008-09-12T20:11:00.002-06:00

Here's a link to some stuff I've been doing with my school kids. Check it out, or go to our class webpage and blogs

Home sweet home

2008-08-24T10:22:00.001-06:00

The start of my cool bumper sticker collection. If you find any cool ones, send them my way!

Hacking our ram pump

2008-08-24T08:12:00.002-06:00

Don't get me wrong, we are tickled with our Folk ram pump. It has been pumping away for over 5years with virtually no problems. One of the inconveniences, however, was the need to charge the system with air every month. This is due to the fact that Folk pumps have a permeable membrane in the air chamber. Other pumps, that I've read about not seen personally, use a snifter valve to keep the chamber pressurized. The down side to this is a loss in efficiency, but then you don't have to add air monthly.

Well, I think we've figured out a way to work around this issue. Recently we discovered that our permeable membrane had totally broken. This occurred because we didn't get around to pressurizing the chamber often enough. When we went to replace it, it came over us that if we could get a non-permeable membrane in place, one might never have to add air again. The trick is getting the pressure equalized on both sides of the membrane while your setting things up, without bursting the membrane. You can't see inside to tell what's going on.

What we did, was to fill the lower part of the pump with water, then place a non-permeable membrane between this and the air chamber. The purpose of the water was to create a backing for the membrane while we pressurized the chamber. Once chamber was reassembled, we started to fill the chamber with air. We knew our operating pressure was between 95-100psi, so we slowly pumped up the chamber to that pressure. When we opened the feedline with it's back pressure, everything was equalized. We didn't hear any "pop" noise, and figure we now have a non-permeable membrane in place, the pressure set, and will never (or mostly never) have to add air again. So far, 3 days into it, it's looking good. If it's still running smoothly 3 months, 6months... from now, then we'll know we've got it.

Time on the river

2008-08-17T12:57:00.002-06:00

Just back from a great time on the river with Dig & J. Nothing better for the soul than a few uninterrupted days in a canoe. Couldn't have asked for better weather, and warm water, plenty of rope swings and just a general relaxing time.

A month of gettin' plastered

2008-08-08T08:59:00.000-06:00

The kitchen is looking great! Reva, the master plasterer has put on the final tadelakt coat of plaster on the kitchen walls. They're looking smooth and shiny. She's thinking of putting a bit of color in the soap finish, to try and see how that looks. The color now is great as well, a mottled tan color, that goes well with the posts.

Acadia's got Braces

2008-07-31T20:56:00.000-06:00

Well, it's been a long time waiting, but Acadia finally has her braces on. If you look closely, you can see them. She chose red ones so they might conceal any bleeding she might have. Smart thinkin' I guess. Just finished her first meal - soup and steamed broccoli. No problems eating, and no food in the braces. She's adjusting to this new feeling of stuff in the mouth, and looks just like any other teenager with braces. In fact, it feels as those she's had them forever. I guess it's just so common to see kids with braces these days.

Getting ready for Yaak Wilderness Fest

2008-07-23T20:58:00.003-06:00

got the van half packed, Heather shows up tomorrow, and Nicolas is coming with. Practice your French! Keep tuned for some pics of our sure to be awesome time

Hey DAD!

2008-07-20T12:32:00.000-06:00

i love you, and im typing this correctly.

Henna Hands

2008-07-20T09:06:00.003-06:00

Reva's excited about her performance today. She's looking good in all her garb (pics to come) but wanted to show off her "henna hands" See ya all there!

End of the day - Ram pump

2008-07-15T19:31:00.006-06:00

Well, you never really seem to get to the things you thought you might in a day. Grandma's deck is on hold while we fix the water system. Looks like we've got it up and running well finally. I learned a lot about the inner workings, and we're trying out some new ideas on the inner diaphram so we hopefully won't have to charge it with air as frequently. Still, all in all after 5+ years of operation, I'm definitely sold on ram pumps as a way to move moving water up hill.

Cool Fire Shot

2008-07-14T09:24:00.001-06:00

Took this picture in sepia mode. It came out kinda cool, I think.

Monday Morning Coffee Time

2008-07-14T08:59:00.000-06:00

Lovin' my new chaise lounge out sittin' in the morning sun. Thanks familiy for the BD gift! Mondays after a class weekend are slow starters. Especially with the great weather we've been having. Eventually I've got to get myself going here and get to working on g-ma's deck, so she can be out enjoying the weather as I'm doing. Love projects that make other's lives better. Guess that's why I love teaching - making lives better. Like the waves created by a drop of rain in the ocean, the far reaching effects of influencing a young person's life will ultimately effect many. Whoo, I don't know if it's really that heavy. I don't think I could handle the pressure. Anyhow, I do enjoy the smiling faces and friendly greatings from students in town. Life is good.

On an additional note: I'm so proud of "my girls" I love them both (differently of course) they both add much to my life. Guiding a young person's life is a challenge - thanks for helpin'.

First Post

2008-07-13T10:32:00.001-06:00

Boy, oh boy, could a fella spend some time messing around with this stuff.