"Murphy was an optimist!"
Child Protective Services - Don’t read this July 2, 2009 11:15 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Amy, Cathy, Daily Life, Evan, Family, Health, Juggling, Noah, Of Being Dad, Sarah , 2comments
Here’s some additional information about the rolla bolla from my comment on Cathy’s flickr set:
2commentsI now get to tell a story which may or may not add a little bit of a technical appreciation for what’s happening in this picture. My rolla bolla freaks other jugglers out. Mine is completely homemade. It uses a 4 inch diameter thick pvc pipe. The board itself happens to be exactly the same length as a shelf in a homemade bookcase I built for my dorm room in college because it is one the shelves which happen to be precisely 19 inches in length. Most jugglers are more accustomed to using rolla bollas closer to 3 feet long. For instance, Dube’s is 29 inches (btw, there’s your spec).
Juggling is all about physics. This is center of gravity trick. The longer the board, the greater the center of gravity. In essence, if you drew a line from the ground up to the top of your head (or the head fo the person on your shoulders) that divided your torso symmetrically and simply made sure that line never passed over your foot, you would never fall down. Since my board is so short, there is very little room for error. One way to cheat the physics is to use a larger diameter piece of pvc but frankly the 5 inch pvc tends to flatten a little taking away from the visual effect (in addition to simply being disproportionate to the other equipment and plain ugly).
Regarding the pvc when making a homemade rolla bolla. I learned the hardway that the pvc pipe should be the same width as the board (or slightly larger). If it is smaller you create a third degree of freedom and you might as well be doing this trick on top of a ball.
Don’t use those stupid stoppers on the bottom of your board! If you look at the Dube rolla bolla you will see that the underside of the board has stops at each end. This prevents the board from flying at high velocity to your left or right severely hurting people. Instead the board stops and you go flying at high velocity to the left or right breaking yourself and the people standing beside you. When we were first learning this trick. My brother fell off the board and sent it flying into a filing cabinet. 3 days later we were still trying to open the drawer. Without the stoppers you can safely take the board to the very edge without falling. I mean the very edge being exactly at the halfway point on the pvc pipe. Instead of the stoppers, control your board.
You can break things with a rolla bolla! These things may include: glass, bones, teeth, spines, and metal cabinets. When learning to stand on a rolla bolla do these things:
- Get a partner! Have the partner stand behind you with their arms underneath your armpits but not touching you. When you fall, they will spot you and keep you from breaking yourself
- Make sure your feet are at the edges of the board.
- Wear shoes!
- Practice daily in short spurts
- Start with the board touching the ground on one side and about one third of the board on the pipe. Starting by jumping up to a horizontally balanced board is cool and fun but an advanced trick that will land a beginner on their hind side.
The rolla bolla will increase your balance, develop your abs and back, and tighten your buttocks.
Warnings!
- Don’t let people stand to your left or right. I cannot emphasize this enough.
- If you fall…er…when you fall, think of yourself as being on a skate board or inline skate. Protect your wrists! Better to belly flop on concrete than to impact your wrist, elbows and knees
I will happily get together with anyone that wants help learning the rolla bolla.
Air holes should be smaller June 17, 2009 11:38 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Amy, Daily Life, Family, Of Being Dad , add a commentI woke up this morning to find 20 lightning bugs outside of their container.
add a commentHappy Birthday Amy! June 10, 2009 11:40 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Amy, Daily Life, Family, Of Being Dad , add a comment
Amy has been 7 years of joy (and some frustrations) for me! She is full of life, confident, hardheaded, funny, adventurous, emotional, intelligent and so much more. I am lucky to have such a child for a daughter. Happy birthday Amy!
From the mouths of babes June 3, 2009 11:00 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Amy, Daily Life, Family, From the mouths of babes , add a commentI most often listen to Pandora but chose Slacker Radio today.
Slacker: *playing Low Rider*
Amy, almost 7, skipping down the stairs, exclaims: "George Lopez!!"
*Wow! George Lopez has a nice MySpace page! I didn’t think "nice" and "MySpace" could be combined in a single sentence.
add a commentFrom the mouths of babes May 28, 2009 6:20 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Amy, Daily Life, Evan, Family, From the mouths of babes, Noah, Of Being Dad, Sarah , add a commentSplashes!
Noah, assisting Amy and Evan in evening baths and getting frustrated: "Evan! Stand up!"
Me: "Sarah, please give your brother some backup."
…because life with 5 children is like a police drama.
Short timer’s syndrome May 18, 2009 7:41 am
Posted by utterz in : Amy, Daily Life, Family, Podcasting , add a commentMobile post sent by djuggler using Utterli. Replies. mp3
Parent mistake #78314 May 1, 2009 9:04 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Amy, Daily Life, Evan, Family, Of Being Dad , 5commentsInheritance
There are a few things I inherited from my father. He is still alive. I am talking about genetically and behaviorally. For instance, I have his hair. Fortunately for me he still has his so odds are baldness is not in my future. Not that I’m saying anything about hairlessness. Bald is cool. Shoot for the past week I’ve been thinking about shaving my head. It’s the economy stupid. I also got his intelligence even if my wife cannot see it. The words "god damn" came from him. Despite my efforts to remove that from my vocabulary, I seem intent on passing that legacy to my children. It’s reflexive particularly when the stress is up. Ever since I started taking blood pressure medicine, I have become acutely aware of when the stress is up. Don’t get me wrong. Before the blood pressure medicine I was well aware of my mental state and knew when the stress was up. But now I feel it differently. Yesterday I could feel the blood coursing through my veins. Prior to the blood pressure medicine I was less aware of the tension in my arms and chest but it was there and constant. I should fart more. Or get the wife to calm me down more frequently.
Yesterday, knowing my blood pressure and stress were up, I struggled to keep myself in check. This morning, I overslept and was simply not awake enough to be responsive instead of reactionary.
I’m bigger and louder than you so I’m right
Amy will be seven in just over a month. Her sister, who turns 16 in June, has taught Amy teenager behaviors that she shouldn’t know. Then there is the inheritance thing. After all, she is my child. And she has my temper. And stubbornness. And those pretty blue eyes. This morning I had but one focus: get Amy ready for school and out the door on time. Considering I overslept, we were pressed for time. I was so focused on doing my job of being a father I forgot to actually be a father. After I dropped a teary eyed child off at school, I finally realized that this morning Amy needed to be in control. In control of what? Anything. It wouldn’t have mattered but instead of being that television dad who instantly has the wisdom and humility to help his child, I became the unruly dictator and drill sergeant who bullies his children as objects instead of sensitive beings. I yelled, I cursed, I threatened to throw toys away, and I produced tears on demand from what minutes earlier had been two happy, joyful children. Yes it was abusive. And wrong. And unnecessary. And I feel horrible. She had a need and did not know how to express it. She needed to be in control. She took this control by taking her brother’s toy. All I had to do we redirect her and give her the chance to make some choices and decisions and, in effect, be in control. Instead I taught her that you can be in control by raging, raising your voice, cursing, and threatening. I get no dad points today. Raising children is tough but you shouldn’t raise the dead and wake the house in the process. Last week I secretly vowed to myself to never raise my voice in anger to the children again. No. It wasn’t just the children. I vowed to never raise my voice in anger to anyone ever again. I failed. Can I have a Mulligan? Amy, I’m sorry.
5commentsFrom the mouths of babes April 2, 2009 6:09 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Amy, Daily Life, Family, From the mouths of babes , add a commentAmy: "Tinker Bell is named Tinker Bell because she’s a Tinker Fairy. Leprechauns are fairies…in Ireland. They make shoes for other fairies."
add a commentFrom the mouths of babes April 1, 2009 5:55 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Amy, Daily Life, Family, From the mouths of babes, Of Being Dad , add a commentAmy, 6.5 years old: "Dad, what’s a death threat?"
Dad: "What did you just say?!"
Amy: "What’s a death threat? On the show iCarly, they talked about death threats."
Dad: "A death threat means I’m going to have to have a talk with Nickelodeon."
From the mouths of babes March 26, 2009 6:04 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Amy, Daily Life, Family, From the mouths of babes, Of Being Dad , add a commentEvery morning I do 3 sets of 25 push ups and 3 sets of 25 sit ups. I rotate so I’ll do 25 push ups, turn over, do 25 sit ups, turn over, do 25 push ups, turn over, and so forth.
Amy: "Daddy. Every time you turn over I heard this noise like a wooden spoon hitting the floor." (that would be my back popping)
add a commentFrom the mouths of babes March 5, 2009 6:17 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Amy, Daily Life, Evan, Family, From the mouths of babes , add a commentSaying Grace:
Amy: "Thank you God for all this food and for the whole world you made well and Ben Franklin but you made most of he well he made some of .. ah somethings and since you made this world we should help you and thank you Amen."
Evan: "Thank you God for this food and for the bunnies helped make food and now we scare the bunnies away…and the sharks. Eeeeemen."
add a commentDad of the Year! March 5, 2009 10:42 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Amy, Daily Life, Family, Of Being Dad , 1 comment so farIt just occurred to me that I sent my little girl to school with an empty lunchbox today. Oh I’m going to get it when she comes home!
1 comment so farFrom the mouths of babes March 5, 2009 7:10 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Amy, Daily Life, Family, From the mouths of babes, Of Being Dad , add a commentAmy, 6.5: "Daddy, your belly is BIG!"
Dad: "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"
Amy: "I don’t know. It’s just funny looking." She then proceeds to put on some Teen Spirit deodorant that her 15.5 year old sister gave her. I’ll tell you what’s funny looking!
You NEED Girls Scout cookies you know you do! February 28, 2009 1:11 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Amy, Daily Life, Family , 1 comment so farAmy will be selling Girl Scout cookies at West Town Mall’s Belk’s Mens department from 2pm to 4pm today. Feel free to drop by and say hello! Oh, and buy some cookies of course 
Pulling a tooth February 25, 2009 10:09 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Amy, Cathy, Daily Life, Evan, Family, Of Being Dad , 5commentsI feel like a failed parent when my children suffer a health issue. We are a remarkably fortunate family when it comes to health. We see very little sickness. Granted, we have a bug going through the house right now but it really is not terrible. Everyone is taking turns so only one person has it at a time.
Evan has a tooth that grayed a while back. We took him to the dentist and everything was assessed as fine. The tooth whitened and seemed fine then died. We attempted to extract it at the dentist but the twilight drugs made Evan too loopy and uncooperative. A surgery was scheduled but the anesthesiologist flipped out when she saw his older brother is diagnosed with Von Willebrand disease (which the doctor thinks is a misdiagnosis) and canceled the surgery until Evan had blood work. Why this wasn’t noticed on his paperwork the month prior to the first surgery attempt is beyond me.
His second surgery attempt was scheduled for March 19th but we got a call yesterday that an opening had come available. "Don’t give him anything to eat or drink after midnight. Your appointment is at noon." Huh?! That’s a long time for a 3.5 year old to go without food. In a different phone call, clear liquids were okay’d until 9am. Cathy and Evan will be off to the hospital shortly. I will remain home with a feverish Amy and working on programming and talking to bureaucrats on the phone. I hope all goes well. These things worry me so much.
Update: Surgery canceled. In the same post I talked about be blessed with decent health, I get to say my child has pneumonia.
Update 2:08pm: Apparently he had pneumonia and is at the end of recovery so they are proceeding with the surgery. Lungs still rattley.
Update 3:30pm: Evan out of surgery and in recovery.
