Maddenation
Christmas 2008
I was chatting with Ian Frazier yesterday as I drove him to the airport after a few-days’ visit to BYU. I mentioned our hovercraft and trebuchet, and he was fascinated. He encouraged me to write an essay about those things. So I think I will.
Let’s use this area here for planning this Christmas in Utah. I agree with David’s goal of less focus on gifts, more focus on family. I also love the projects Dad has led us on in the past. I think it’d be great to make a mason-jar biosphere. I remember being fascinated, when I was young, by the film-canister diver (wait, didn’t Dad do this with Pato recently, even?). Earlier on Maddenation, Dad mentioned the Heron’s Fountain. We could play with the trebuchet some more, perhaps.
Patrick • Plans • 11/08/08 • 2 commentsWhat ended the _Age of Aquarius_?
“The Stone Age didn’t end for lack of stone…”
Sheik Ahmed Zaki Yamani, former Saudi oil minister.
Dad • Quotes • 10/05/08 • 1 commentsOnce in a while table
Who can be the first to watch every one?
Dad • Stuffs • 10/01/08 • 1 commentsParty Like It’s Nineteen
Is it just me? I was looking up reviews of a board game called Colosseum, which we just played last night (excellent game, by the way). At the top of the list was one called Party Like It’s Nineteen. I nearly fell out of my chair laughing.
[side note: I think the hardest I’ve ever laughed, or can remember laughing, was with Dad’s “Put a Hat on Elderly Heroes of Europe” thing. HOLY MOLEY! I think I added a couple of years to my life with that one.]
Patrick • Funnies • 09/28/08 • 4 commentsProject 10 to the 100th
I’m 99% serious. Let’s do this. We’ve got until October 20th. My toilet-seat-holder-upper might not qualify, so I’m thinking about something even more amazing. Who’s with me?!
David • Inspirations • 09/25/08 • 1 commentsWelcome to the World, Marcos John Madden
Of course, you all know by now that Marcos was born last night, 9/15/08, at 9:34 PM. He weighed 7 lb. 12 oz. and is 20 in. long. You may not know, yet, that we’ve chosen the middle name “John,” which is an English version of a good Hebrew name, meaning “God is gracious.” Indeed he is. Perhaps it is fitting that had Marcos been a girl, he would have been named Mary Grace. I am fascinated by the very idea of grace. I think I will have to write about it.
You may also not yet know that at the exact moment of Marcos’s birth, the heavens were opened and the angels played the Notre Dame fight song. In the end, the miracle coule be explained—it was the doctor’s cell phone ring—but I think the event is none the less miraculous. It would have been miraculous without the fight song, of course.
We shall post pictures soon. We love you all,
PC, Karina, the kids
Patrick • Events • 09/16/08 • 1 commentsIs Google Making Us Stupid?
I think you will be very pleased to read this article. It is longish, and that is part of the story – IS GOOGLE MAKING US STUPID?
The article is from The Atlantic and offers a thorough critique of the internet and how it is changing our brains, the way we think, and the way we act and engage in the world. It brings to mind Picasso, who said, “Computers are useless, they can only give you answers”
David • Ideas • 09/10/08 • 4 commentsBest Song to Sing into a Fan
Sometimes the universe gives us a gift. Such it was earlier this summer when my children had “Crocodile Rock” by Elton John stuck in their heads just as we got to Notre Dame, whose St. Ed’s dorm has no air conditioning, only box fans. You know what happened next: They began talking, then singing into the fans to hear the funny chopped-voice sounds. It didn’t take them long to get to “Crocodile Rock,” with its legato “Laaaaaaaaaaaa-la-la-la-la-laaaaaaaaaaa la-la-la-la-laaaaaaaaaaaa la-la-la-la-laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa” chorus.
And even though it was kind of annoying, I have to agree with Dan, who observed that “They’ve discovered the absolute best song to sing into a fan!”
Patrick • Observations • 09/09/08 • 0 commentsCudding edge research
A recent AP article from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences tells us cows like to align themselves in the north-south direction. Well land sakes alive, as I live and breath, have you ever heard anything so outlandish?
Dad • Stuffs • 08/26/08 • 0 commentsThoughts on the Olympics 2008
Opening ceremony - best ever.
Maniac kills American - Isolated tragic incident highlighting the limits of secority everywhere.
Volleyball - Great coverage! Are synchronized swimmers complaining?
Swimming - Great coverage. Phelps is superman. Glad to see Spitz’s record go down.
Team sports - I’m rethinking the concept of team sports in the Olympics. I have always favored the individual competitions with objective outcomes. Run faster, throw farther, jump higher, etc. Even extra props ought to be minimized. Discus? - OK; Bicycle? - iffy; Race car? - deffinitely not. Pole in pole vault? - yes; Rifle in shooting event? - What is shooting doing in the Olympics anyway?
Dad • Observations • 08/24/08 • 2 comments