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The world could be changing before our eyes. A revolution is being Twittered, and the old dictators can’t stop it. I hope and pray that it works out well, that no more people are killed or tortured, and that freedom triumphs; but I expect that it will be messy and unpredictable, as human events always are. Meanwhile I turned the homepage banner green. Not much, considering I’m sitting here in comfort far from the turmoil; but when the opportunity arises to do more, I’ll take it. Meanwhile I recommend some good sources to stay informed: Instapundit, Lucianne.com, Townhall.com.

Both kids home for a couple of days; Brian for a short time before hitting summer classes, Valerie before her finals next week. We hit a gun show in Fredericksburg. Walking around a gun show with Brian is like shopping for cars with Jay Leno; you’ve got an expert at your elbow. We found some guns he needs for his next semester at Lassen, and he even lined up some work for the next vacation. There seems to be a major demand for trained gunsmiths.

Before Brian left California he took advantage of the opening of fishing season to get his first trout at Eagle Lake. Nothing tastes like your first trout.

Tonight we took Valerie back to Randolph-Macon Academy, and shortly after we got home we got a very excited phone call: she’s been selected for Cadre next year. What does this mean? Well, to quote from the R-MA website:

The most challenging opportunity for R-MA cadets is holding a position of leadership within the Corps.  Cadre Leadership Training is an opportunity each summer for selected, highly motivated juniors and seniors to engage in practical leadership training.  The weeklong course demands the best from participants as they strengthen their leadership skills and learn the value of teamwork and a positive attitude.  Cadets work together in small groups to solve prepared problem situations, compete in drill events, and prepare to teach new cadets.  Cadre training culminates with a formal promotion ceremony.  Cadets who graduate assume the top leadership positions in the Corps and train and mentor new and returning cadets who subsequently fill the remaining Corps positions.

The Corps is led by cadet officers and non-commissioned officers under the supervision of the AFJROTC staff.  The cadets exercise daily leadership and management of the student body during the academic year.  Together, seniors and juniors conduct the day-to-day operations of the Cadet Corps in terms of drill practice, parade preparation, dormitory and classroom leadership, and the structure of military life on campus.  Cadets develop “people skills” to accomplish daily tasks with their peers.

How did I get so lucky to have these two fabulous kids?

Valerie and I worked the Team America Rocketry challenge flyoffs again yesterday, and had a wonderful time. The old guy was working safety check-in with other old guys (we’re the only ones mean enough to tell contestants that they can’t fly if they’re violating the rules). Valerie was on a timing team this year, and I was glad to hear that she did just great; in fact, she was asked to stay and time the US/UK flyoff at the end.

Because of the forecast (thunderstorms in the afternoon) we were on an accelerated schedule, where all the rounds after Round 1 were 45 minutes instead of an hour. From where I worked this was better than previous years; we had a steady flow of customers rather than a rush at the beginning and end of each round. There were quite a few reflights (due to the showers early in the morning, I think) and everyone got a chance to fly. This year the top 20 teams made a second flight to determine the final standings, which I think worked very well.

There was a biiig black cloud moving in as they were getting together for the US/UK flyoff, and I think they pushed it up by 15 minutes or so. Good thing. Valerie met Mom and me in the car, since everyone had been directed to their cars because lightning was sighted on the horizon. Not long after she got there the rain came down…it blasted. I don’t know what happened with the awards ceremony but I’m pretty certain it wasn’t held outdoors!

We had been briefed about lightning. After all, storms can pop up and move through pretty fast in this part of Virginny, and standing around in a field watching models leave trails of carbon particles up in the air is not terribly smart in a thunderstorm. Not quite on a par with standing on a golf course waving metal poles in the air, but close.

It was great to see everyone again. Ted Phipps (http://rocketjones.blogspot.com/) and I got a chance to update each other on our kids (his daughter Rachel is graduating from college and going to work for an opera company in Colorado..very cool!). We should really set up a separate blog service for kid-bragging. It was great to see Jim Kukowski again; I will be eternally grateful to Jim for helping me wangle a press pass to watch the launch of Apollo 14. Jim and Judy Barrowman, Jennifer Ash-Poole, Sir Carl of Semroc, Jon and Jacob Rains, Sir Andy of ASP, too many others to mention. A grand day.

Here’s the official word:

Congratulations to the members of Madison West High School Team #3 from Madison,
Wisconsin, who emerged as the winners of the Team America Rocketry Challenge
2009 with a combined two-flight score of 20.54. They won $1000 for their
school, $10,000 for themselves, and a trip to the Paris Air Show this June
courtesy of Raytheon Corporation. This was Madison West’s 5th year making it to
the TARC Finals. NAR mentor Pavel Pinkas has done a great job establishing a
strong, highly scientific rocketry program at that school.

We also conducted the second year of a “Presentation Competition” among 12 of
the teams at the Finals, selected from among all those who applied for this
optional event based on a pre-screening of their presentations on how they
designed, built, and tested their TARC rockets. Each of the 12 teams in this
event gave an 8-minute presentation to a panel of scientists. The winners were
Madison West High School’s “junior” team (Team #1). They received $500 from
Launch Magazine and free NAR memberships for all the student members. All 12
teams received Bushnell telescopes and free NAR memberships for their teachers.

My old buddy Ted Phipps is justly proud of his daughter Rachel, and has posted some great pictures of Rachel’s costume designs at the Rocket Jones blog, which you really should check out regularly. Which gives me an excuse to post some pictures from Saturday, Spring Family Weekend at Randolph-Macon Academy.

A beautiful day for a parade. R-MA’s band is excellent and the cadets look very sharp, showing off for proud parents.

Cadet First Class Valerie Pratt, Class of 2011.

But the high point of the day was the annual Awards Banquet of the Franklin-Grady Literary and Debating Society. Valerie won several awards and her second Varsity letter. She is currently ranked #3 in the state of Virginia by the National Forensics League, and is one of very few 10th graders in the USA to have reached NFL Quad Ruby status; there is only one higher level. Her coach, Rev. B. A. Gregg, announced at the Banquet that Valerie will be Captain of the debate team next year.

Whatever you do, don’t get into an argument with her.

National Association of Rocketry March 16, 2009

Fellow NAR Members –   As the result of nine years of hard work by our legal team and the teamwork and leadership of a series of key leaders of the NAR and TRA (especially former NAR President Mark Bundick), and as a result of your generous financial support for our cause, this case is now over.  We have completely and unambiguously won.   The BATFE regulation of APCP was found by Judge Walton to be “.. arbitrary and capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with the law.” and has been ordered by the Court to be “vacated” or canceled.  Sounds good, doesn’t it?  The full text of the Court decision is provided below.  Enjoy reading about how justice has been served and an arrogant and capricious federal agency has been defeated by two small all-volunteer organizations with sound “rocket science” on our side.  We know that APCP is not a threat to national security, nor are we, and the court has agreed with us.   TRA President Ken Good and I will be consulting with our legal counsel over the next several days on exactly what we have to do next to ensure that BATFE complies with this order, and to determine what recourse they might try to pursue to continue this battle (i.e. by trying to redraft their rule) with what likelihood of success.  They will not give up and will not go away easily.  Please do not do anything confrontational with any BATFE agent, do not tear up your LEUP, and do not remove material from any magazines yet, until we know exactly where we stand legally.  We will issue a joint statement on what is next and what you should do as soon as we sort it out; this may take a few days.  I believe that we have enough in the Legal Fund to cover all the remaining close-out costs of this case.   Thanks for your patience and support while we fought this battle for you.  And if you see Mark Bundick, shake his hand and thank him!   Trip Barber NAR 4322 NAR President   - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Civil Action No. 00-0273 (RBW)   TRIPOLI ROCKETRY ASSOCIATION and NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF ROCKETRY, Plaintiffs    vs   U.S. BUREAU OF ALCOHOL, TOBACCO, FIREARMS AND EXPLOSIVES, Defendant   The plaintiffs filed this action nine years ago challenging the defendant’s regulation as an explosive under 18 U.S.C. § 841(d) (2006) a chemical compound known as ammonium perchlorate composite propellant (”APCP”), which is commonly used in the motors of hobby rockets. After the Court ruled on the parties’ initial cross-motions for summary judgment in this case, the plaintiffs appealed and the District of Columbia Circuit, reviewing the matter de novo, held that the defendant’s classification of APCP as an explosive based on its determination that the substance functions by deflagration violated the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. § 706(2)(A) (2000), because the decision was arbitrary and capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with the law, Tripoli Rocketry Ass’n, Inc. v. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, 437 F.3d 75 (D.C. Cir. 2006). The Circuit Court therefore remanded the matter to this Court “with instructions to remand the case to the agency for further consideration consistent with [its] decision.” Id. at 84. The remand was ordered because the Court found that “[t]he agency ha[d] never provided a clear and coherent explanation for its classification of APCP.” Id. at 81. The Court further found that the agency “ha[d] never articulated the standards that guided its analysis” that would permit a court sitting in review to “determine whether [the defendant’s] judgment reflect[ed] reasoned decisionmaking.” Id.; see also April 20, 2006 Order. In its October 13, 2006 memorandum the agency informed the Court that it had complied with the Circuit’s mandate and was affirming its earlier decision to classify APCP as an explosive. Defendant’s Notice of Agency Decision (Oct. 13, 2006). The plaintiffs thereafter amended their complaint, the defendant filed its answer to the amended complaint, and both parties crossed-moved again for summary judgment on the certified administrative record. The parties came before the Court on March 13, 2009, for a hearing on the parties’ cross-motions for summary judgment. Upon consideration of the parties’ written submissions, the administrative record presented to the Court, the applicable legal authority, the oral arguments presented by the parties, and for the reasons expressed by the Court at the hearing on the motion, the Court finds that the agency’s decision does not satisfy the standard for evaluating agency rulemaking because it was arbitrary and capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with the law. 5 U.S.C. § 706(2)(A). Specifically, the defendant did not adequately explain why it came to the decision it did in light of contrary evidence in the administrative record submitted by the plaintiffs, which tended to show that APCP can burn at a rate lower than that which the defendant designated as the threshold, and “which, if true, . . . would require a change in [the] proposed rule.’” La. Fed. Land Bank Ass’n, FLCA v. Farm Credit Admin., 336 F.3d 1075, 1080 (D.C. Cir. 2003); see D&F Afonso Realty Trust v. Garvey, 216 F.3d 1191, 1195 (D.C. Cir. 2000) (quoting Public Citizen, Inc. v. F.A.A., 988 F.2d 186, 197 (D.C. Cir. 1993) (”‘[t]he requirement that agency action not be arbitrary or capricious includes a requirement that the agency adequately explain its result . . . .’”). Here, the agency’s shortcoming was its failure to articulate any rationale for finding that the relevant and significant evidence in the record that conflicted with its position was unpersuasive, which it seemingly out-of-hand dismissed merely because it was contrary to the agency’s ultimate conclusion. As to the appropriate remedy to impose for the agency’s failing, the Court has discretion to choose between vacatur of the agency’s decision or remand to the agency without vacatur. See Advocates for Highway & Auto Safety v. Fed. Motor Carrier Safety Admin., 429 F.3d 1136, 1151 (D.C. Cir. 2005) (quoting Allied-Signal, Inc. v. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Comm’n, 988 F.2d 146, 150-51 (D.C. Cir.1993) (”[T]his court is not without discretion. ‘The decision whether to vacate depends on the seriousness of the order’s deficiency . . . and the disruptive consequences of an interim change that may itself be changed.’”). Considering the number of years that have elapsed during which time the plaintiffs have awaited final resolution of the merits of their claims, the fact that this matter has already been remanded once to the agency for further action consistent with the Circuit’s decision, and it appearing that vacating the agency’s decision will not pose any serious threat to the public’s health or safety, the Court will vacate the agency’s decision to classify APCP is an explosive pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 841(d). [Should the defendant choose to reinstate the policy that ACPC is properly classifiable as an explosive within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. § 841(d), nothing in this decision prevents it from redrafting this rule in accordance with the tenets of the APA or from seeking an explicit statutory classification from Congress.] Because the plaintiffs have conceded that were the Court to grant summary judgment in their favor on Count One of their third amended complaint “will moot all of remaining counts” of their complaint, Plaintiffs’ Memorandum of Points and Authorities in Support of Motion for Summary Judgment on Count 1 at 1-2 n.1, the Court having now granted summary judgment on Count One will dismiss all the plaintiffs’ remaining counts of the complaint as moot. Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED that the plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment is GRANTED. It is further ORDERED that the defendant’s motion for summary judgment is DENIED. It is further ORDERED that the defendant’s decision to classify APCP as an explosive under 18 U.S.C. § 841(d) is VACATED. It is further ORDERED that the remaining counts of plaintiffs’ third amended complaint are DISMISSED as moot and therefore this case is dismissed in its entirety. SO ORDERED this 16th day of March, 2009. _________/s/______________ REGGIE B. WALTON United States District Judge

The greatest student rocket competition in the world….going strong. Needless to say, we’ll be there in May!

Arlington, Va. — Student rocket teams are preparing their launch vehicles for qualification flights in the opening round of the world’s largest rocket contest.

A total of 653 teams from 45 states and the District of Columbia has registered for the 2009 Team America Rocketry Challenge — the seventh installment of the annual competition.

The contest challenges 3- to 10- member teams to design and build model rockets by hand, then successfully launch them and return a raw-egg payload to the ground unbroken. This year’s contest goals are an altitude of 750 feet and a flight time of 45 seconds. The rockets must transport one egg laid horizontally to mimic the position of an astronaut.

The 100 teams with the best qualifying scores make it to the final round fly-off at Great Meadow in The Plains, Va., (near Washington, D.C.) on May 16. The teams registered for the contest in December and have until April 6 to submit a qualifying score.

AIA sponsors the annual contest, along with the National Association of Rocketry and several partners: NASA, the Defense Department, the American Association of Physics Teachers and three dozen AIA member companies.

The goal is to increase interest in science, math and engineering education among middle and high school students to ultimately steer them to careers in aerospace. The industry faces a workforce challenge as many current employees are nearing retirement eligibility.

There is plenty at stake for the teams — the total purse is $60,000 in scholarships and prizes. Two AIA companies provide additional prize premiums. Lockheed Martin gives $5,000 in scholarship funds to each of the top three teams, and Raytheon pays for the winning team to attend the International Paris Air Show in June. Some of the top teams may also be invited to take part in the NASA Student Launch Initiative, an advanced rocketry program.

Since the first TARC in 2003, about 50,000 students have taken part.

For more information visit the Web site http://www.rocketcontest.org/.

As many of you know (because I take every opportunity to brag), Valerie is having a great year on the Debate team at Randolph-Macon Academy. I started traveling with the team to events, judging and helping out, and have been adopted by the kids as official Team Geezer. I just posted a report from the Virginia State Championships on the team’s blog at http://rmadebate.blogspot.com/. Scroll down for reports from the Patriot Debate at GMU (Valerie took first in Public Forum!), the Liberty Bell Classic at UPenn (another first!) and others. I do mention other kids in my reports…honest.

I should have taken Douglas Addams’ advice, but I’m gun-shy when it comes to regulatory agencies.

Several good friends in the hobby industry have enlightened me about the CPSIA (Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act). I read some articles, especially in the Wall Street Journal, that sound very bad for toy makers. However, hobbies are different from toys, and amazingly enough the law seems to recognize this.

Here is part of an email I received from Bill Stine of Quest:

Don’t be surprised if you start to see some captions and notes around the catalog saying something like, “This product is not intended for use by children under 12.”

I’m adding it to all my product labels, instructions, and packaging too.

A new law is taking effect in February that requires all products for use by children 12 years old or younger to be tested and certified by an independent testing laboratory. It’s primarily a response to the Chinese toys that were found to have lead paint on them, but the law is written so broadly that it could easily apply to my rocket kits and launch systems. It doesn’t specify imported products, or exempt tiny little basement businesses. If you make or sell a product for this age group, you must pay a laboratory (CPSC kindly provides a list) to test it, and send the certification paperwork to CPSC for approval. CPSC will send you back a certificate. Then you must send that certificate to each store that retails your product, which is supposed to display it. No idea how a Toys-R-Us or a Wal-Mart would accomplish this. Finally, each certified product must have a permanent label on it.

Google “Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act” or “CPSIA” and you’ll see what I’m taking about. While you’re at it, look at http://nationalbankruptcyday.com/ and learn about the estimated 61% of small toy manufacturers who are about to go out of business.

Patrick McGoohan died yesterday.

If you don’t recognize the name or know about “The Prisoner,” google him. You won’t regret it.

Beyond his art, McGoohan himself was a remarkable man. He turned down the role of James Bond because he wasn’t impressed with the character’s morals. He was happily married for 60 years (not easy in the acting biz…the only other happily married stars that I can think of are Mel Brooks and Ann-Margret). I once interviewed him, as part of a panel show on the Kansas City Public TV station in 1979. A thoughtful, serious man with an unmistakable twinkle of mischief in his eye.

Be seeing you.

If you got a Sixpack launch system in the last two months and haven’t tried it yet, please check and see if the Safe/Armed switches have transparent red handles. If they do, send me an email at dad@pratthobbies.com and I’ll replace your Sixpack with a new one at no charge. I got a bad batch of switches. They test just fine, but they have a high internal resistance, and if you’re powering the Sixpack with anything less than a car battery they won’t pass enough current to fire an igniter. Dammit. I’m sorry a customer had to discover this the hard way! I’ve tested (and trashed about half) the switches from that batch that I have left, and I won’t be getting more of those.

I met the bus at George Mason U on Friday morning. Last year, they had the event organized around the nice food court in Johnson Hall. No such luck this year; we were down in an older set of buildings with smaller rooms, no comfortable meeting place, and those blasted plastic desk-and-chair things that I can’t fit myself into. Grumble. Not that we had much chance to sit, with four rounds of Public Forum and Lincoln-Douglas Debate to get through, and they started almost an hour late.

Randolph-Macon Academy had four PF teams: Maryanne Nell and Kaleb Gerber, Steve Maddock and Paul Smith, John Christoph and Dave McAteer, and Will Dungan and Valerie Pratt (my kid). Squad captain Valerie took good care of her debaters and made sure they all got to rounds. Our lone LDer, Phil Kinney, headed off for his rounds.

The plan was to return everyone to R-MA Friday evening and come back Saturday morning, since it’s only an hour away. We got word about 1 pm that the weather forecast for Front Royal was calling for snow and possible freezing rain Friday night, so it looked as though we wouldn’t be able to get the team back for the final day of the tournament. Coach Burt and I got busy on the phones and lined up local accomodations for everyone, along with parental permission. Phew! The parents who took in debaters on Friday night basically saved the tournament for us. Valerie and I wound up with the RMA bus parked in front of our house, and four team members and the bus driver camped inside. I must compliment my wife, Jennifer, for reacting with complete aplomb when I called and told her we were going to be a hotel; she whipped up an excellent breakfast for everyone, too.

We lost one of our PF teams on Friday when Dave McAteer came down with the flu. He struggled bravely through the  morning, and he and John Christoph won two out of three rounds. By noon, he was tired out, and we arranged to have his dad come and pick him up. I want to say Well Done to Dave for doing his best, and to John for dealing with the disappointment of having to forfeit the rest of the tournament. If they can do this well when Dave is feeling lousy, watch out for them at NFL States in two weeks!

We rallied at GMU on Saturday for the last two rounds of PF and LD. When the standings came out, two of our PF teams were in quarter finals: Maddock and Smith, and Dungan and Pratt. Dave and Paul were up against a tough team from Sherando, but we were thrilled that they broke. I went off to judge the LD quarter finals, and when I got back I learned that both teams broke to semis! Dave and Paul were eliminated in the semi round, but their performance pleased all of us.

Will and Valerie were headed for finals when I got the word that I was needed on the judge panel in both semifinals and finals in LD. Those LDers were very good; Perry Mason would be proud of those cross examinations. I was keeping one eye on the cell phone, hoping that someone would text me when Will and Valerie’s round finished. When I finally finished filling out my last ballot and stumbled back from the tab room, I found Valerie stretched out on the floor reading a book. “Oh, by the way, we won first place!” Everyone else had already gotten on the bus and headed back.

What a weekend. I thoroughly enjoyed my role as Team Geezer. It was a real pleasure to watch everyone working together and getting the job done.

Next week, two local meets at West Potomac and Chantilly. Then, on to NFL State Championships at the University of Virginia!

We entertained a houseful of friends New Years Eve by showing three movies that everyone had already seen: Star Wars IV, Indiana Jones 3, and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

How could we force people to watch this stuff over again? Seatbelts on the couch? Anesthesia? Bribery?

Here’s the secret: RIFFTRAX.

Remember “Mystery Science Theatre 3000?” The program that used an implausible and usually insignificant sci-fi story as an excuse to watch cheesy movies and make sarcastic comments throughout? Well, the head writer and host of that show, Mike Nelson, has created Rifftrax.com, a service that expands the concept and brings it roaring back from cable-tv hell.

Here’s how it works. Go to Rifftrax.com and purchase (under $4) a downloadable MP3 file that matches the movie you either buy or rent on DVD. Load the file on your MP3 player. Start the DVD and the MP3 playing. Pause the MP3 when it tells you to, and start it when it tells you to (in Star Wars, you hit Play as soon as the Lucasfilm logo fades out). Now watch the movie, accompanied by a complete synchronized MST3K-style commentary! It’s like going to the movies with your three most sarcastic friends.

I tell you, we had an absolute blast. Popcorn was thrown, soda was choked, chair arms were pounded, floors were rolled on. We plugged a laptop into a set of speakers at the back of the room, and ran the Rifftrax facing down the speakers next to the DVD screen at the front. It was a gas. Who would have thought that a stack of movies that I have owned for ages and everyone else had seen at least five times would be the high point of the night?

Holidays about over…one kid goes back to school this Sunday and the other one next Sunday. Back to work!

The instructions for the Little Red Altimeter are almost done and it will be released shortly. We’re going to have some fun with this.

We also hope to have lots of great news about a new steroid-enhanced CANSAT kit, at the same price as the present one!

A company in Oxfordshire has designed a new supercooled magnet for integration into a Space Station experiment:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/oxfordshire/7780354.stm

The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer will be attached to ISS in 2010 and give us Hubble-quality insight into cosmic rays:

http://cyclo.mit.edu/~bmonreal/

And the coolest part? Somewhere in that thing is about 300 feet of our Tubular Kevlar Microbraid, supplied to the manufacturer through our European distributor (or “stockist” as they say over there), the Model Rocket Shop!

Instead of bailing out the car companies, which rewards them for bad management and a poor business model, how about this:

If you go to a dealership, trade in an old car, and buy an American car, you get a whopping subsidy on the purchase price from the Gummint.

A 50% rebate (not a tax credit, a direct payment from the Gummint to the dealership) would sell a TON of cars. That would help the manufacturers AND the dealerships, who are hit badly in the current crisis through no fault of their own. It would be a major stimulus to the economy. And to frost the cake, since new cars are FAR cleaner and more efficient than old cars, it would contribute to the ecology.

Polls show that voters think an auto industry bailout is a bad idea. How do you think voters would react to a 50% discount on a new car? I’d love to read that poll.

And it would be FAR cheaper for the US Treasury than the bailout proposals I’ve read about.

About the only people who wouldn’t like it are the foreign auto companies and dealerships. But they weren’t getting anything out of the bailout anyway. Another negative is that it would prop up the present unsustainable business model in Detroit. Maybe it could be structured in a way that accomplished some good things, like management changes, union contract changes, or the restrucuring suggested in Mitt Romney’s op-ed in the Wall Street Journal a couple of weeks ago. But don’t let it get complicated. The more complicated something is, the more opportunities for scoundrels.

Why isn’t anyone talking about something like this?

Just got a very cheerful phone call from Valerie’s debate coach, who was looking at a report of NFL (National Forensic League…yeah, I know) standings. Valerie has earned the Quad Ruby, and is ranked #2 in the state of Virginia.

For a sophomore to get to Quad Ruby is remarkable. There is only one higher level. Her old man is very proud.

We’re going to spend Christmas break practicing for States in January!

Pretty different this year, with Brian off at college and Valerie away at Randolph-Macon Academy. Peace and quiet, you’d think? One out of two ain’t bad; it’s been quiet.

The high point of the last couple of weeks was the chance to go to Princeton, NJ for a debate tournament with Valerie’s team. Report here, on the R-MA Speech and Debate blog.

Christmas shopping has been cut back, since the economy is affecting everyone. Thank goodness for amazon.com. Lots of bargains in the stores, at that.

Can’t wait to have both kids back in the house for a while.

The first batch of Little Red Altimeters have arrived from the top-secret underground mountain hideout world headquarters sometimes known as Mike Dorffler’s workshop. They have been distributed to volunteer NARHAMS and NOVAAR folks and an eighth grade class in Massachusetts, and the instructions are being written. Progress! If you would like an LRA in time for Christmas, let me know. They will retail for $49.95.

This morning I decided to take a few minutes and get my new phone (Sprint Mogul pocket pc…I absolutely love it) talking to my laptop via Bluetooth. I have gotten a Bluetooth handsfree headset and stereo headphones working with the Mogul, and was feeling foolishly confident that it would be an easy process.

I’ll spare you the gory details, but at some point in installing the new Mobile Device Center (Activesync wasn’t bad enough?) I had to stop and configure Outlook as my default email client. What it didn’t tell me that when I did so, Outlook would hoover up all my current in-boxes and clear them off the server.

There are now fresh teeth marks in the edge of my desk.

I think I can recover most of it if nothing bad happens to the laptop, and I’ll try to answer everything over the next few days, but if you have emailed me and you don’t get a reply by the end of the month, try again…and please don’t think I’m being rude. Clueless, but not rude.

And did I mention that Windows Vista INHALES VIGOROUSLY?