Saturday, February 26, 2011

Team Paradox Nerf Battle-Lego Pit- Movie Night


This is the aftermath of a party so great, so full of Geektastic revelry, that it can only have been a Team Paradox movie night party, with pre-show Nerf battle, and LEGO build session.



We can always count on Grant to be creative and entertaining. Here he is lifting faces right off the screen.

After six intense weeks of build for the robotics club, I believed that we could all use a little fun and pressure-reducing play. It was Tatiana that suggested we were due to host a another movie night, and when she requested a screening of our all-time favorite paradoxical musical, "The Pirates Of Penzance," I was totally on board.

We invited the entire team over to see "Pirates of Penzance" on the big screen. Alex and Eli have been meaning to have a LEGO build get together, and then we threw in Nerf battle, because... because Nerf Battles are awesome, and FIRST 2102 Team Paradox is awesome, and awesome things go well together.

Stacy, Corey, and Alex J. came with full Nerf regalia, and hot drinks. Tatiana was here, and got to see the mill we've been mini-botting with. Suki, Lonnie, Sammay, and Kiley Lin came with the button stomper. We were also joined by James H., Eli, Grant, Andrew D., Andy C., Kyla, and Myron. After 4H business, Olivia and Sandy were able to jump in too. Seems like there were more... oh, yes! Us. That's six more!

(I took a few pictures, and then I noticed William with my camera, which I totally loved seeing. When Lonnie's camera batteries expired, she borrowed my camera too. So photo credits to William and Lonnie, and more photo memories for us all! Love it.)


Did I mention there was an Epic Nerf Battle?
Yeah, they were armed.
And anyone that arrived unarmed was soon outfitted with defensive tools.


Did I mention that Geoff made a trip to the toy store and replenished the darts supply?
Yeah, there were no shortages.


Of course, the battle was not strictly restricted to darts and semi-automatic devices.


There were teams. There were frenemies. There were battle cries, but no actual fatalities.


Strategy was in play, and also outright anarchy!!



Stealth and patient stalking are good tactics in a Nerf battle.


It also helps to think eevel.


The aim of the whole evening? Fun!


Alex, Max, and James negotiating a temporary truce.


And as more Paradox arrived, the fun increased.


Suki and Sammay. The marketing team have arrived, and they are loading!


Maria appointed herself the Nerf battle doctor. She heals wounded players with her sword, collects ammo, and also fights.


Andrew's weapon is automatic, but requires close range firing.


Noodles... a ubiquitous robotics material... make excellent, albeit floppy, light sabers.


Alex and Tatiana cross beams in a team mini-bot match-up!


Casings Darts dropping, swords flailing, the field is strewn with the fallen, the mighty, the soon to be resurrected!


Kyla takes aim, Andy takes cover, Suki takes five, and Maria applies her magical-medical sword.


Lonnie's lens finds William, in the shadows, waiting for his opportunity to inflict Nerf pain.


Close range menace. Kyla and Kiley, Suki and Maria... who will prevail?


And this is how the president of marketing takes care of business. Firm, persistent, and unflinching.


Eli rules Helm's Deep. Alex and Tatiana resume tactical negotiations with new sabers. Alex J., Corey, and William survey the perimeter.


Andrew makes his strike!


Another swift blow by Suki.


Then... a rescue... Tatiana escapes, when Andy moves in.


Maria holds Suki at bay.


Suki takes a moment to contemplate the meaning of the universe.


Andrew and Andy debate the merits of chain drive versus belt drive.


James is either designing a better Nerf weapon, or writing up the peace treaty.


Meanwhile... back at Helm's Deep, new alliances are being formed.


Tatiana calls for Peace.


All surrender...


Time for dinner!


Feeding the team is easier in a house, than in a metal shop.


Movie popcorn, hot dogs (beef and vegetarian,) baked beans, hummus, veggie sticks, hot cocoa... good stuff on a cold night, after a long, eventful battle.


Satisfying other appetites: the LEGO pit.


Just a couple of boxes from the stash... and the build team is back to work.


Myron and Maria put their heads together and got to work.

We sang along with the Major General, finished all the popcorn, and had a great evening with our FIRST 2102 Team Paradox family. Pick a movie Perry Parrot Ox, ... I am ready for the next movie night!

Friday, February 25, 2011

All Kinds of Chicken and a Cat


This is Zoltar.


Once upon a time he was a tiny chick.


A tiny chick that we named Zoe, assuming he was a she, and was going to give us pretty, green eggs.


Now he is all grown up, which is not to say he is much bigger. But he thinks he is big. He acts like he is big. He is a big something. He is a big pain in the farmer's shin. He is a cocky-little-dude.


Zelda is broody. She went through this once before, and like a silly minded farmer, I let her sit on five eggs for twenty one days... twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-five. I composted them after it was obvious they were not going to amount to anything. Well. I guess I am still silly, and she is still broody, and last time I checked she was sitting on seven eggs! What am I thinking?!


One thing I am thinking is... Silkie chicks sure are cute.


Little Zelda, and Puff are adorable, and sweet. I have heard Silkie roosters are mild, and easy to have around. Of course between the Polish rooster and the cocky-little-dude as baby-daddies, I am not sure what kind of bird we could expect.


Boy-howdy, I do not need any that look, or act, like Tesla. He is a freaky-feathered foul, with very little brain. Zoltar is handsome, sure, but what if seven eggs hatched with chicks bearing his attitude? That would be a trial!


Hencakes. All those eggs should go to hencakes. Hencakes are much easier to manage.

Let's see... Zelda started sitting on the sixteenth... is it twenty-one days from the first egg she sets on, or the last? Maybe I should try candling her eggs.


Did I tell you that he flew up to the telephone lines? It happened last month, when Ferris was stalking him. Zoltar pumped his wings, and in a panic and flurry he reached the lines running down the side yard, twenty five feet up!


He looked like a fat pigeon. It was hilarious, and impressive, but mostly hilarious.


When Zoltar finally came down, it was in an almost graceful, controlled fall. Then he strutted off, like he meant to do it all along... Fly? Of course I can fly. I don't need a cat to scare me up a pole! Humph. I fly when I want to fly.


Benjamin does not find any of this interesting. He thinks blogging is a waste of napping time. He tells me this every time he climbs on my lap, as I tap away at this silly computer.