Friday, January 29, 2010

Prepping for the Pinewood

Nathan's Cub Scout Pack was supposed to participate in the Pinewood Derby tomorrow. It has been postponed for a week due to the ice storm, so that gives this procrastinating bunch another excuse to put off finishing Nate's car.
If you are not familiar with the Pinewood Derby, here's a summary: (1) Each kid gets a block of wood and 4 regulation tires and axles, (2) you fashion it into some type of car following strict regulations regarding length, weight, etc. (I'm sure they will run the gamut from finely crafted machines to painted blocks of wood!), and (3) all the Scouts meet on a Saturday for the big race on a sloped track. I don't know if they compete individually against the clock or multiple cars at a time.
Jeff and Nathan went last weekend to Wayne's shop to work on the car. Apparently, Nathan was very involved in the whole process operating the saw, power tools, and everything!

This is our first race, but I hear from the veterans that weight is the most important factor. Being the biggest geek in the family and having access to the most precise equipment, I took the car to work and weighed it on an analytical balance. It cannot exceed 5 oz. (that's approx. 141.8 grams for you non-geeks). As you can see, ours needed a little more weight.
In other Scouting news, Nate's group (I can't ever remember if it's called a "pack" or a "den") went to the fire station on Sunday. As you might gather from the picture, they are quite a rowdy crew.

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