Riley's blog

Wienermobile

September 10, 2011 6:01 PM

We saw the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile at a gas station in Texas. It looks like a hot dog. It really does. The guy was driving all over the country, and noticed me walking around. He said, "MOAH MAMINALS", MOAH MAMINALS", MOAH MAMINALS" over his public address speaker. Once he got out of the 'mobile, we realized it was "Go Cardinals". Guess my shirt helped. Riley

Things I Learned How to do This Summer

September 4, 2011 9:55 PM

I had a HOT, but interesting summer. THis summer I learned how to do a few new things, including: Airbrushing, taught by this artist in his studio: Building a super fast remote car, taught by a Texas Instruments electronics expert: Sailing Solo on a Sunfish, withOUT dad telling me to "Push, Push, Push the rudder!; No, Pull, Pull, Pull the rudder!": And, learning how to golf, when we were in Portland, between eating blackberries on the side of the fairways and trying my best chip shot - which still needs some work: Fun times.

Bucky Ball Creations

September 4, 2011 9:23 PM

As bizarre as my hobbies are, I really enjoy building with bucky balls. Here are some recent creations. A small pig like creation: A capsule using all or almost all of my buckyballs: A ninja star: Hope you enjoy future creations. Just kidding.

Sky Watch Unit

April 23, 2011 4:21 PM

Plano TX police had an open house, where I got to go up in one of their sky watch units. These are parked as remote observation units around the city. Also had some adventures with handcuffs.

Pinewood Derby - take 2

January 25, 2011 1:46 AM

I recently finished my pinewood derby car. This year I did better than last year because now I can go to the district finals. My design was based on an airfoil, and I made the car myself. Here are some photos, and two video links - including one where I get pretty excited. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C87GGZsL95I&feature=player_profilepage http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WJB0rq2ie8&feature=player_profilepage

Stop Action Animation - that's better

January 18, 2011 1:29 AM

Here's a better animation, than my prior one, I think. I used a cool program called iStopMotion, from Boinx software. Dad says iStopMotion got good reviews, and I enjoy working with it. It allows me to see a hint of the prior frame's image, so I can keep track of what the next shot should be. I made the music on Garage Band. See if you like it, and let me know your ideas. http://www.youtube.com/user/itsawrap2002?feature=mhum#p/a/u/0/nEFdTXVZArg

Stop Action Animation - simple

January 17, 2011 1:17 AM

I like stop action animation, and worked on this one in Fort Worth Museum of Science and History. It is using a camera and software from Intel, that is not produced any more. This clip is pretty simple, and I think I can do better. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_profilepage&v=fIvDKUM4Ch0

Texas ICE (trademark)

December 19, 2010 5:29 PM

Claire and I went to see Texas ICE (TM) at a big resort building near DFW airport at Gaylord Texas. It is a way for people to see (fake) snow and (real, sculpted) ice in TX. There was also a big ice sculpture display, made by Chinese artists that fly in each year. The ice figures included a lot of Peanuts stuff this year, made of colored ice for more detail. It was cold inside, and because people don't have many winter clothes here, they have hats and coats for everyone to wear. That seem great until we discovered that this has been a source of lice epidemics in past years, because so many people wear the same hat. So, now we call it Texas L-ICE (TM). Some of the ice sculptures were even big enough to walk into, and had lights built into them. Here's a house we went in. There was also a slide one could go down in a sled. It was a hill made of fake snow but it seemed to work OK. Pretty fun, in a weird way. Last year we got real snow, but that is really unusual.

RipStick - better than a board

October 11, 2010 3:09 AM

I got a RipStick at a garage sale this month, and I think it works better than a skateboard. The hardest part is learning how to get it started. Once a kid on my street taught be how, it seems like I've gotten better pretty fast. It's amazing, but having only two wheels instead of four seems to make it easier to balance. Here is film Dad took in front of my school. This is me going faster, going down a hill, and learning how to turn. You can hear us celebrating at the end of the clip. Still some problems with rough surfaces, so we're going to get a real skateboard helmet instead of just a bike helmet. I saw someone do an ollie on just one wheel on the internet - amazing.

My Advertising Project

October 9, 2010 2:18 PM

In school I've been working on an advertising project and a chocolate unit. So, I created this video of a commercial I wrote for a new candy brand I designed. Hope you like it. By Riley

Lego Design Contest

July 10, 2010 2:13 PM

I entered a Lego Design contest with my bendable Lego creatures. I made the chain mail from a chain and sproket system that worked like a bike chain on a Star Wars Lego kit. I like them better this way. Here's a YouTube video to show how it transforms. http://www.youtube.com/user/itsawrap2002#p/a/u/0/eyggU_feWuw Here's my photo contest entry.

The Soda Shop

July 10, 2010 1:49 PM

We found a fun part of Dallas when Pop and Hilda visited, called the Bishop Art District. Nice local businesses, and creative shops. The street has a mural that I like, from an old repair shop. The Soda Shop must have hundreds of different brands of soda from all over. This is just one shelf worth of root bear. My favorite soda there was one that turned my tongue blue. Dad and Claire searched for the ultimate Creme Soda. A chocolate shop up the street is called Dude Sweet - with some amazing chocolate combinations all made on site.

Chain Mail Creatures

May 31, 2010 3:58 PM

I got some chain mail lego pieces for a Star Wars kit. I've been playing with it and like how chain mail can bend about. It lets me make shape shifting creatures. Here is a creature I made. It is designed to easily bend into several other shapes. This is Lizard form It bends into Praying Mantis It bends into a Horned Thing

Face Painting with Pat

April 12, 2010 1:48 AM

Grandma Pat visited us recently, and practiced 2 face painting patterns on me. They were great, and had other kids around Dallas asking me "where did you get your face painted? I want one like that, too". Here is the prep work, with Grandma and Claire. First stage. Next Stage, really green. This was a good face to have at the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Dallas. The next day, I got a new face. Very superhero-like, as I zip through the bamboo. Also, at my favorite chair in the Art Museum. Here's the view I like so much from that chair. It looks out over a sculpture museum I like to take people to see. Thanks for visiting, Grandma!

Race Videos

February 14, 2010 12:25 AM

I had a chance to race my pine wood derby car. Claire and Dad shot some videos. My car is the black one. I had 6 races. Here they are in order. My car's name was "Lightning Bolt". I'm watching the races by the track, in my scout shirt without a neckerchef, just to the left of the guy in the orange shirt. Race 1 Race 2 The finish line is pretty high tech: with sensors and lights to show rank order. Race 3 - the finish line view. Race 4 Race 5 Race 6 Here I am with my friend. He was last year's champion racer and is a great guy, It was a good night. We said we were happy no matter how the actual race went, because we learned a lot just by making the car.