I really have too much fun with this blog :)

It's sad but true. Blogging can entertain me for a long time.

And the sad thing is that I also enjoy reading my own blog. As if I didn't already know what was on it. I can be entertained in odd ways. :)



Oh! Please yes! To blog, please!



I <3 Blogging!

Molly

Quotes!

"Try to learn something about everything and everything about something." -Thomas Hardy


"A jury consists of twelve persons chosen to decide who has the better lawyer." -Robert Frost (Emailed to me by my friend Allison)


"I'd much rather be a woman than a man. Women can cry, they can wear cute clothes, and they're the first to be rescued off sinking ships." -Gilda Radner (emailed to me by my friend Julianne)


The following are also from Julianne:


"The meaning of life is to find your gift, the purpose of life is to give it away." -Unknown


Sorry, that was only one. Here are some from Allison:


"If there are twelve clowns in a ring, you can jump in the middle and start reciting Shakespeare, but to the audience, you'll just be the thirteenth clown." -Adam Walinsky


"Truth is twelve years old." -Unknown


"Last week the candle factory burned down. Everyone just stood around and sang Happy Birthday." -Stephen Wright


"You can turn off the sun, but I'm still gonna shine." -Jason Mraz


"A yawn may not be polite, but at least it is an honest opinion." -Unknown (love it!)


"Truth is like the sun. You can shut it out for a time, but it ain't goin' away." -Elvis Presley


"Denial ain't just a river in Egypt." -Mark Twain


"A classic is a book which people praise and don't read." -Mark Twain


"Opera is where a guy gets stabbed in the back, and instead of dying, he sings." -Robert Burns (love this one too!)


"A song is like a smile. If you meet people from another country, even if you don't speak the same language, you know what a smile means. A song works the same way. Music produces feelings that need no translation." -Clay Aiken


"Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened." -Dr. Seuss


"A celebrity is a person who works hard all his life to become well known, then wears dark glasses to avoid being recognized." -Fred Allen


"My friend has a baby. I'm recording all the noises he makes so later I can ask him what he meant." -Stephen Wright (love this too!)


"Life is full of obstacle illusions." -Grant Frazier


"A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie." -Tenneva Jordan


"Religion is meant to be bread for daily use, not cake for special occasions." -Unknown


"The two hardest things to say in life are hello for the first time and goodbye for the last." -Moira Rogers


Yay! Another one from Julianne!


"May the friendships you make be those which endure and all of your grey clouds be small ones for sure. And trusting in Him to Whom we all pray, may a song fill your heart every step of the way." -Irish Blessings


A bunch of quotes I found:


Duct tape is like the force. It was a light side, a dark side, and it holds the world together -Unknown


"If a child can't learn the way we teach, maybe we should teach the way they learn." -Ignacio Estrada


"Tell me and I'll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I'll understand." -Chinese Proverb


"The process of learning requires not only hearing and applying but also forgetting and then remembering again." -John Gray


"To appreciate the beauty of a snow flake, it is necessary to stand out in the cold." -Unknown




I love quotes! Leave your favorites as comments! I also love comments!


Molly

New words to add to your vocabulary, courtesy of Adam Young (Owl City)

AQUADEXTROUS – adj. Possessing the ability to turn the bathroom faucet on and off with your toes.

CARPERPETUATION – n. The act, when vacuuming, of running over a string or a piece of lint at least a dozen times, reaching over and picking it up, examining it, then putting it back down to give the vacuum one more chance.

DISCONFECT – v. To sterilize a piece of candy you dropped on the floor by blowing on it, assuming this will somehow “remove” all the germs.

ELBONICS – n. The actions of two people maneuvering for one armrest in a movie theater (airplane).

FRUST – n. The small line of debris that refuses to be swept onto the dust pan and keep backing a person across the room until he finally decides to give up and sweep it under the rug.

LACTOMANGULATION – n. Manhandling the “open here” spout on a milk container so badly that one has to resort to the “illegal” side.

PEPPIER – n. The waiter at a fancy restaurant whose sole purpose seems to be walking around asking diners if they want ground pepper.

PHONESIA – n. The affliction of dialing a phone number and forgetting whom you were calling just as they answer.

PUPKUS – n. The moist residue left on a window after a dog presses its nose to it.

TELECRASTINATION – n. The act of always letting the phone ring at least twice before you pick it up, even when you’re only six inches away.

Accordionated – adj. Being able to drive and refold a road map at the same time.

Aeropalmics – n. The study of wind resistance conducted by holding a cupped hand out the car window.

Mummabolic Chorus – n. When three or more people are singing along to a tune and suddenly discover they are all faking their way through the unintelligible lyrics.

Narcolepulacy – n. The contagious action of yawning, causing everyone in sight to also yawn.

Oreosis – n. The practice of eating the cream center of an Oreo before eating the cookie outsides.

Pajangle – n. Condition of waking up with your pajamas turned 180 degrees.

Prestofrigeration – n. The peculiar habit, when searching for a snack, of constantly returning to the refrigerator in hopes that something new will have materialized.

Rignition – n. The embarrassing action of trying to start one’s car with the engine already running.

Sark – n. The marks left on one’s ankle after wearing tube socks all day.

Turfigee and Pedigee – n. The two extreme target points of a rotary lawn sprinkler, TURFIGEE being the safest point at which to walk past, PEDIGEE being the most dangerous.

Tanumbum – n. The sorry side of the Christmas tree that gets placed toward the wall.

Wondracide – v. The act of mangling a piece of soft white bread with a pat of cold butter.

Add your new words in the comments!

Molly

Very cool robot

We are going to be competing in a robotics competition in late September. The competition is a RoboSumo one, but not like the RoboSumo that Robofest hosted in 2008 (and possibly before that, I'm not sure.) This competition is using Bioloid Premium robots, instead of LEGO NXTs (which I have nothing against, one of my closest friends being one). Our robot is named Peter, and I just have one thing to say about him:

HE IS A VERY COOL ROBOT!

Molly to Earth, Molly to Earth, this is Molly, reporting in to her blog :)

Molly here. How are you all? I'm doing quite well, thanks for asking. Well, I'm sure you would have asked if we had been face to face. But since we are not, and you are reading my message which traveled I'm not sure how far through cyber-space to reach you, this message is all I've got to reach you. Wow. That made you seem really far away and distant. Sorry about that.


Anyway, what's goin on? I'm just sitting here, talking to you. Even though you aren't hearing me. Now that one made you sound unresponsive. Sorry about that.


Now I've already had to apologize twice. Sorry dear reader. Don't take it personal, I assure you it wasn't meant to any harm :) I'm sure no one out there is unresponsive, and I hope no one is very far away. But they could be. And that's the beauty of a blog. To talk to those to far to hear me yelling.


-Molly




Wow. That was really random. lol :)

Very Cool Video

Pastor Scott at our church showed this video in one of our church services. We were in the midst of a series called WEiRD: because normal isn't working. The series was about how these days it is normal to divorce, to want everything for yourself, and to do what the World does. But looking at it from a WEiRD perspective, a God perspective, it is normal to have life-long relationships, to give everything away, and to do what Jesus taught. 

Here's to being weird!

Molly

You might be a writer...

If you immediately wonder how you can use a person you meet as inspiration for a character in a future story (before you learn the person's name...not that his/her name matters because you'll change it, anyway.)

If you bring a notebook everywhere

If you own more than one notebook full of fragmented stories and scribbled sentence fragments that don't make sense a week after you've jotted them down (or several random documents on your computer consisting of the same)

If going to a bookstore makes you want to go home and type your fingers off.

If your characters have ever taken over your story.

You might be a Michiganian...

If at least 50% of your relatives work for the auto industry...

If you have ever gotten frostbitten and sunburned in the same week...

If you think Alkaline batteries were named after a Tiger outfielder...

If you point at the palm of your right hand when telling people where you grew up...

If someone asks you if you've been to Europe and you answer, "No, but I've been to Ann Arbor..."

If octopus and hockey go together as naturally as hot dogs and baseball...

If traveling coast to coast means going from Port Huron to Muskegon...

If you have as many Canadian coins in your pockets as American ones...

If you think there are only TWO seasons, Hockey Season and Off-Season...

If you know that Pontiac and Cadillac are cities...

If you can actually pronounce Ypsilanti... (though you gotta admit – it’s way more fun saying yip-sil-an-tee)

If you know where the Cherry Capital of the World is...

If you can drive 65 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard, without flinching…

If you design your kid’s Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit.

If you know that UP is a place, not a direction.

You gotta love...

A look inside: the Northville Government

A few nights ago I attended a City meeting for the Historic District Commission. The main topic of the meeting was to decide if the house next door to ours that is being build should be allowed to have a horseshoe driveway. The reason that they might not be allowed is because they are in the Historic District of Northville, and by some it is not considered historic.

The first person who talked at the meeting (a concerned citizen) wanted to let people know that his opinion was that the Historic District Commission was not tight enough about their rules. He told us that his neighbor had had an ordinance about fencing changed just for him. He talked about another house where some people moved in and put up a fence, saying that it was an existing fence. The neighbors of that house said that there had never been a fence there. The City just watched and didn't do anything about it.

The first person on the agenda was not there, so they moved to the next people.

The first person to talk to the HDC (Historic District Commission) was there to present a sample of a fence that they wanted to put up in their yard. It was completely black and made of Aluminum. The gate on the fence would look exactly like a continuation of the rest of the fence.

She also wanted to re-build part of her porch and porch stairs. They would be an exact duplicate except that part would be made of Trex, not wood, because it weathers better. They would also be on a concrete pad instead of dirt so that it would be more durable.

The HDC accepted her plan and she will be allowed to re-build.

The next person to talk to the HDC wanted to install a new roof on his garage and house. He needed to because the ceilings were gone on his second floor. Everything would look exactly the same on his house except for a new roof.

The HDC accepted his plan and told him that he could do either black or charcoal, as those are the colors his neighbors have.

The next people were our new neighbors who want the horseshoe drive. The first thing they presented were new paint colors for their house. Then the builder came forward to talk about the drive.

He said that he talked to the Building Inspector and was led to believe that there was no ordinance about a driveway. He said that he decided to come before the HDC anyway to make sure it was okay with them. That was interesting because I was told that he was going to pour the driveway and a lady on our street, who is on the HDC, came over and told him that he needed to come before the HDC with his new plan.

The builder told us that a horseshoe driveway would be good for safety because otherwise the house owners would have to back out of their driveway onto the street, and the street can be fairly busy. He also said that many houses to the south of this house (along the same street) have horseshoe driveways. Interestingly, nobody could really list any that were, except for a few that were on corners (which is a different story) or some that had horseshoe drives that went behind the houses.

We were also told that the driveway is completely ready to pour. He was going to pour it but he needed to go before the HDC.

The lady who was from the City told us that the Building Inspector had asked her to look at ordinances. She found one that said that the HDC has the right to regulate any changes to the exterior of a house in the Historic District.

The builder replied to this that the HDC does not regulate landscaping, and a driveway is landscaping. A man on the HDC agreed to this.

The homeowners also want permission to raise a retaining wall on the side of their house. The retaining wall would be completely made of stone. The homeowners and builder gave the HDC some copies of the siteplan to look over.

Next the builder pointed out that they are asking for a horseshoe drive, not a circle drive. He listed a few houses in the Historic District that have horseshoe drives. Someone on the HDC said that they didn't know of any that did. It turned out that the ones in the Historic District are on corners, which is different because they don't have two curb cuts on the same road.

One of the people on the HDC said that they were concerned about the subdivision look with a horseshoe drive in the front yard. The builder said that they will put in lots of landscaping and bushes to make it blend in.

Someone asked the homeowner how many cars they plan to have parked in the driveway. They said one or two at one time.

Another question arose: would the horseshoe drive be a parking pad? If it is, then it would not be allowed in the set back from the road. The homeowner came forward and said that after hours of Googling he could not find anywhere that a horseshoe driveway is a parking pad. He also pointed out that the HDC's job is not to make sure that houses match all the other houses exactly, they just need to make sure they "harmonize" with other houses on the street.

One of the members of the HDC said that he would feel better if they could hide the horseshoe drive with landscaping or pave it with brick or stone. The builder said that they could cut the size to 10', so it would be smaller and harder to see. They also agreed to hide it with landscaping as best they could.

Then they had a time where the public could give opinions on this decision. One man and his wife stood up. They thought that it was a relatively narrow lot for a horseshoe drive and it was like a parking pad. They also pointed out that another house as refused a horseshoe drive because they were too close to an intersection, and this would be right at an intersection. They made it known that lots of people back onto this street, despite the traffic. Plus, the current homeowners might move, and who knows what the new owners would do with the landscaping.

Another man stood to give his opinion. He didn't like the fact that there would be two curb cuts. He didn't think that would flow with the rhythm of the street, and he thinks it will be unsafe and a difficulty with traffic.

The HDC and the homeowners agreed that the drive would be reduced to 10' across and they would mask it with landscaping (and bring in a landscaping plan.) 4 members of the HDC were in favor and 1 was opposed.

My opinion was that they should not be allowed to have the horseshoe drive. I agree that it is the subdivision look, and I don't want that for my street. I guess they will put in bushes and try to cover the drive, but you will still see a bunch of cars in front of the house, and now that they let one person do it, what if more people want to?

Thanks for reading my article/opinion about this meeting. If you have any comments, or opinions you would like to share, feel free to leave them as comments. Thanks, and have a great day!

Molly

All I have to say - YUM

Hey y'all...

Soo sorry i havent posted in a while... no real good excuse. maybe i can get by with saying that i was swimming? please? Thanks, you are all so nice and forgiving :)

We saw the coolest thing the other day...

That car... can you guess what it is?

Post guesses in comments! I will reveal in a week or so (and if i dont remember call me and gently remind me to remember :)

Molly

Proverbs 21: 30

There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the Lord.

I really do :)

Proverbs 10:12

Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers all wrongs



*Dissension means disagreement that leads to discord

The Good Samaritan Parable in Modern Retelling (found in Luke Chapter 10)

30 On a dark evening, a man was walking home from his friend’s house. As he was passing the Gas Station on the corner, some men jumped out from behind a bush and attacked him. They took his coat, his iPhone, and all his money, and after beating him up, they left. He lay on the side of the road, almost dead. The next morning was Sunday. 31 A pastor drove along the road where this man was. He was blasting the Christian radio station in his car and loudly singing along to ‘They will know we are Christians by our love’. He saw the man on the side of the road, and knowing that he was already running behind, the pastor passed him by. 32 The next car that passed was an assistant pastor. He too passed the man, and as he was driving off, his “I heart Jesus” bumper sticker was visible. 33 The next car that came was driven by a man who had three hyper kids in the back of his car. They had just been grocery shopping, and they had ice cream melting in the back of their car. Even though it would have been easier for him to just drive by and pass the injured man by as the other two had done, he stopped his car and got out to help the man. 34 He cleaned the man’s injuries with the Peroxide and Cotton balls he had just bought, and after the man was feeling a bit better, he helped him into his car. He brought the man to the Holiday Inn down the street. 35 All night the father thought about the man who had been injured who he had helped to the Holiday Inn. Early the next morning, he drove to the Holiday Inn and gave the clerk his credit card. He told him to charge whatever he needed to on the card to make the man comfortable for the night.

The Importance of Robot Technology

Have you ever had a problem that you just wished would just solve itself? What about that coffee maker that you wish would make the cup of coffee and bring it right to your table while you read the morning paper? Or your dog you spend tedious hours with just throwing a rope toy and having it returned to you? Have you ever wished that your washing machine would just put the clothes right in the dryer when they were clean? I have a solution for you - all of these simple tasks could be accomplished with a robot!

Some people thought that we would be living in a robot controlled world by now. “In the 50s, in the 60s, in the 70s, many eloquent representations of our future life were showing an (sic) happy family of the XXIe century in an apartment literally full of robots: robot maids, robot companions, robot nanny, robot guards. Where are they? Why are we not living yet with robots? (Kaplan, 59)” It’s true; robot technology has been improving, but not as much as people had expected. Kaplan goes on to say, “If robots are not yet part of our common everyday objects, it is maybe also because there has never been a sufficient effort to think what could really be the place of robots in our life.” Maybe it’s time to involve robots in our lives in a bigger way.

That’s the idea behind Robot Town, a project that is hoped to be accomplished by 2014. There will be a center in Detroit, MI, where you can go and see different types of robots. There will also be a robot testing area and robots to direct you around. The people who are organizing Robot Town are currently working on funding and a location. You can visit their website at www.robottown.org.

If you are tempted to say, “Why do I need a robot? My life is fine the way it is” then I will tell you that though your life may seem fine, there will always be something that can be improved by a robot or other technology. If you take a look at the Robotics competition called Robofest, based out of Lawrence Technological University in Southfield, MI, you can see many practical applications of robots in everyday life. Every year they hold a different game competition in which students use a LEGO robot (or a few use different types) to solve a challenge. Past challenges have included saving water bottles or other objects that represent trapped humans, simulating blocking an oil spill, cleaning up toxic waste, and extinguishing fires created by earthquakes. Think of all the practical applications for robots like this in everyday life!

Robofest also holds a competition in which students can exhibit original ideas they have come up with for robot application. Past Exhibitions have included musical instruments, gardening robots, security robots, sorting robots, and games including robots. The Exhibition competition is a great way to encourage students to come up with robotic ideas that will support the future. You can visit Robofest’s website at www.robofest.net.

Even though some may deny it, robots will be a part of our future. Robot technology has been improving rapidly, and people have discovered more and more uses for robots. It is believed that Charles H. Duell said “Everything that can be invented has been invented.” I could not disagree more. Robots are advancing daily, and what we see now is only the beginning of what is to come.

Frédéric Kaplan, ‘Everyday robotics: robots as everyday objects’, in Proceedings of Soc-Eusai 2005, pp. 59 – 64, Grenoble, France, (2005).

Bioloid Premium Robot (The type used in Hexapod Sumo)

NXT Robot (The type used in Robofest)

Robot from a competition called FRC (First Robotics Competition)

Hexapod Sumo Competition

This is our team at Robofest

This is a FRC Competition (This is actually a soccer competition from last year)