Allan’s Site

For the second year in a row, W and I went on the Kern River rafting and Camp Whitsett camping trip with his Boy Scout troop this Memorial Day weekend.  This time, W and I went on the full-day whitewater rafting excursion on Saturday, which involved two rafting trips down Kern River, near Kernville, down Class 2 and Class 3 rapids (from Little Mama, to Big Daddy, all the way down to Ewing).  Then we had a lunch break, and at 2 PM, we repeated the downriver trips, this time in two-man inflatable kayaks.  Many of W’s patrol attended, including three new members who transferred into the troop this past month.  We also had three new patrols of former Cub Scouts who had just joined the Troop.

The trip began with me and W driving to Bakersfield on Friday night and staying at the Courtyard Bakersfield overnight.  Several people stayed overnight for this trip, since check-in at Sierra South Mountain Sports, the rafting company, was at 9 AM in Kernville for the full day excursion.  That would have meant leaving the LA area before 6 AM, which few of us wanted to do.

During the first trip downriver in the rafts, the six boys from W’s patrol wanted to ride together, and I volunteered to be the other adult on board (in addition to our rafting guide).  I sat in back.  The guide told us to brace ourselves during Big Daddy, and he told me to get in the bottom of the boat because of something he called “the guide launch” — basically a big bump that launches people sitting in the rear maybe 15 feet over the front of the raft.  When we hit it, I definitely fell into the bottom of the raft.

For the second trip downriver, the boys went alone with the guide while I switched to a raft of the fellow dads (and one senior scout).  During the trip down Big Daddy (or maybe it was the other Class 3 rapid), Daniel fell out and with a look of surprise and a little worry on his face, but we managed to get to the side of the river, and he was able to get up and walk over to us through the shallower water at the edge.  Our guide was a girl who I thought was still in high school, though Daniel thought she was older.  Her problem was that her raft was full of four adult men and one senior scout, and since, for liability reasons, we weren’t allowed out of the raft when stuck on rocks, she had a hell of a hard time getting out and trying to push our raft off the rocks.

In one of the still areas, we dads watched a comedy of our boys jumping out of the raft, struggling back in, losing their paddles, reaching for the paddles and falling back in again, and so on.  I should have taken video.

After lunch, during the kayaking afternoon, four of the boys paired up in the two man kayaks with each other.  I went with Ben, another dad, and Daniel went with C., one of our new scouts whose dad didn’t come.  W went with L., Ben’s son, and the two of them got stuck on rocks a few times.

I was steering from the rear, while Ben powered from the front.  I had trouble steering, and I kept switching the paddle from side to side, despite what our guides told us, because I found it easier to control (though my grip on the T-bar wasn’t always what I wanted).  I had less trouble during our second trip downriver when I kept the paddle farther from the side of the kayak.

And Daniel fell out again, during the first kayak trip downriver.

Once our trips downriver were done, the boys in our patrol and a few other boys stayed behind and completed work for the Whitewater Merit Badge, so that will be a nice thing to take back.

We got to Camp Whitsett sometime after 6 PM, by which time the scouts and dads who didn’t do the full day excursion were already starting to cook dinner.  Those of us who arrived after 6 PM scrambled to set up our tents and other gear.

The boys had done meal planning during their last Scout meeting, Daniel (as ASM) assigned each scout items to bring, and W assigned prep, cooking, and clean-up duties.  Cooking crews were divided by patrol, so our patrol cooked and ate together.  The new scouts came across as really young and inexperienced, like Cub Scouts, and they seemed a bit surprised that they had to share responsibility for preparing and cooking our meals and cleaning up afterward.

We had a big campfire at 8 PM with a Scout Spirit session as well as a handoff of Scoutmaster duties from Brett, our current Scoutmaster, to Scott, next year’s Scoutmaster.  It was a touching ceremony with moving speeches.

On Sunday, we went on a hike.  Experienced scouts were supposed to go on the hike to Sherman Peak.  We all went on that hike last year, and it went from 9000 ft elevation to 10000 ft elevation.  It was my first serious hike, and it wiped me out.  For the last 250 ft of ascent up the peak, I had to stop every 30 yards or so on the trail to catch my breath.

By vote of our patrol, we decided to join the new scouts on the hike on the North Fork Kern River Trail.  For one thing, our patrol hadn’t done that hike before.  For another thing, it was at much lower altitude than the Sherman Pass hike to Sherman Peak.  W, T., and I hitched a ride with Daniel and his son A., and once at the bridge on M99 which is the starting point, the Scouts all did a little orienteering with map and compass, and then we set out.

Compared to the Sherman Peak hike, this was relatively easy, and I was able to keep up.  It was hot, and I was sweating like crazy and taking regular sips from my hydration sack (a Platypus in my backpack).  My main problem, really, was maintaining my footing in areas with lots of loose, jagged rocks.  I was using telescoping hiking sticks, though, which helped a lot with my balance and footing.  W kindly kept an eye on me and inquired periodically how I was doing, but I like to think I did well.

We got to our destination maybe 2.5-3.5 miles from the start, depending on who you believe, and we had our sandwich lunches, rested, and headed back.

One thing that irritated me was that I kept finding trash on the trail — a map here, some food wrapper there.  Some must have come from our scouts, and some may have come from other hikers.  Regardless, what irritated me upon coming across the trash was knowing that scouts walking ahead of me hadn’t picked it up.  The Boy Scouts are supposed to abide by strict Leave No Trace rules, and they’re supposed to be responsible enough not only not to litter but also to pick up litter as they go along.  To some extent, hiking with new scouts means that many of them haven’t learned good habits of Leave No Trace, but I think they’d better learn fast.

I mentioned my findings to Brett, and during lunch, he reminded the scouts to pick up trash they find on the trail.

The ride back was a bit of an eye-opener for Daniel and me because, in addition to a lot of horsing around in the back seat, the boys spent a lot of time talking about girls.  Daniel said that he knew girls had been talking about boys for two or three years already, so it seems that the boys are just starting to catch up.

Back at camp, we started doing scout skills activities.  Prashant started teaching our boys about various First Class sign-off items — food pyramid (or whatever it is nowadays), finding directions without a compass, and so on.  We also got a senior scout to show a couple of the boys (V. and W) some advanced lashings, and Tom, one of the dads who is a lawyer, gave a talk on the US Constitution.  All of the new scouts in our patrol along with a couple of our existing scouts also had their Scoutmaster Conferences with Daniel and Ben (our ASMs) in preparation for rank advancement.

Meanwhile, just before dinner, I managed to wash off my hair and the sweat from my body in the very cold shower nearby.  Feeling a little clean and civilized was worth the cold water to me.

After dinner, we gathered as a troop around a big campfire and held our annual Memorial Day weekend flag retirement ceremony.  An old, worn flag was displayed by a color guard while a senior patrol leader read aloud a speech on service to our country.  Tom, the only veteran in our gathering, also stood at attention near the flag, and finally, the flag was put in the fire.  Shortly after, fragments of other worn and retired flags were distributed to everyone, and we all burned our fragments.

This morning, we struck camp.  W and I had our stuff packed away by 7:30 AM, including time taken off for a cereal breakfast.  After the troop did a camp sweep at 8 AM (to pick up any stray bits of trash), W and I finally left and headed home.  We had McDonalds lunch in Bakersfield.  And like last year, I was so tired from the camping that, for the sake of driving safety, we stopped at a couple of rest stops for me to take brief naps in the car.

We made a long-scheduled one day vacation trip to Disneyland and California Adventure on Sunday.  We hadn’t been there in months, and though we had gone to Cancún in March, I felt we were overdue for a family getaway.

Unlike our past visits, when we arrived near noon, this time we arrived before 10 AM.  This earlier arrival allowed us to grab FastPasses to Radiator Springs Racers, a ride that is always much in demand, usually has no FastPasses left by noon, and has standby wait times of up to two hours.  Our Radiator Springs Racers FastPass was for 6:55 PM to 7:55 PM in the evening, comfortably after our 4:30 PM dinner reservation at the Carthay Circle Restaurant — another first, because we are usually able only to get lunch reservations.  The dinner menu is different.

Our arrival also preceded our 11:30 AM lunch reservation at Cafe Orleans.  So, reservations for two very good (if expensive) meals.

So, after picking up our Radiator Springs Racers FastPasses, we hung at in the Art of Animation location in CA Adventure before heading out to Disneyland, where we picked up 12:30 PM FastPasses for the newly renovated Big Thunder Mountain Railroad roller coaster — a move that J found not at all to his liking, given his long dislike of roller coasters.  But W and I wanted to see what was new, and I also wanted to keep getting J more comfortable with roller coasters.

We rode the Haunted Mansion and the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh before having lunch.  I had just a bowl of gumbo and a salad, trying to save myself for dinner

The track at Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is pretty much the same, but some mine effects have been added to the tunnel sections — like dynamite fuses and explosions..  Since we had FastPasses, I didn’t linger enough to see if there were changes to the queue, but overall, everything seemed new-looking.  Or maybe it was just the nice weather and the fact that we hadn’t ridden in quite a while.

We got front-car seats, so the ride wasn’t too fast for J, and afterward, he insisted on telling me that he “didn’t hate it” this time.  So that’s good.

J challenged W that he hadn’t ever ridden Splash Mountain or Space Mountain, but I backed up W and told J that he had indeed ridden those. W and I agreed to try riding Splash Mountain via the single rider line, but when we got there, the ride was closed.  Lots of rides were closed throughout both parks, including Indiana Jones for a while, Pirates of the Caribbean and the Nemo Submarines for the day.  (Submarines were closed for long-term refurbishment.)

Eventually, we gave up on Splash Mountain and caught the Mickey and the Magic Map musical show, which we enjoyed the last time we saw it. 

A highlight of the day came when we went to Innoventions and got to meet Captain America.  Hsuan kept going on about how the actor they chose had exactly the same chin as Chris Evans (the actor in the movie).  I think it’s hard to say, because it’s really the costume that makes the character.

After Captain America, we rode Buzz Lightyear, got Star Tours FastPasses (starting at 7:25 PM), and then headed over to CA Adventure for our 4:30 PM dinner reservation at Carthay Circle.  We had their signature fried biscuits, and Hsuan and I had the spicy duck wings.  The duck wings were really tender and tasty, but in retrospect, the spiciness dominated over the fact that they were duck wings rather than chicken wings.

For dinner, W had the (12 oz?) Angus New York steak, and he pretty much ate it all.  Growing boy, he is.  Hsuan had the salmon, and J had the kids’ pasta.  I had a grilled quail, and for my wine, I chose the Lasseter family rosé.  It was a very good combination.  For dessert, W had a cheesecake, while I had a “vintage coffee”  (Bailey’s Irish Cream, Tuaca, and hot coffee, served with a cinnamon stick in a brandy snifter).

After dinner, we headed to Cars Land and rode Luigi’s Flying Tires.

We then went to Radiator Springs Racers to do our FastPass ride.  The line moved very quickly, especially since, for some reason, they didn’t have the standby line running until well after we entered.  Perhaps the ride was shut down while we were having dinner or riding the tires and the reopened shortly before we arrived.

We won our race.

We were heading out of Cars Land to return to Disneyland in order to ride Star Tours on our FastPass before returning home.  However, on the way out, the boys decided they wanted a snack from the Cozy Cone Motel.

While there, I noticed that it was almost sunset, so I hung out on the main street.  Sunset in Cars Land recreates the scene from Cars in which Lightning McQueen shows Sally a nighttime Radiator Springs with the new street and the neon signs all lit up.  At sunset in Cars Land, the speakers start playing Sh-Boom (“Life could be a dream”), and the neon lights gradually start lighting up from one end of the street to the other.  It’s a magical experience that evokes not just the movie but also the nostalgia for the Route 66 glory days that the movie celebrates.

I always enjoy catching the transition.  I was lucky enough to catch it on video, though it’s not my best videography.

Afterward, we returned to Disneyland to ride Star Tours — Hoth, followed by Naboo — and then we went home.

A most welcome day off and visit to Disneyland/CA Adventure...

This past weekend, J and I went on his Cub Scout Pack’s annual campout.  Unfortunately, the San Gabriel Valley Council decided not to open up Camp Cherry Valley for Cub Scout camping this year, so the Pack went to Camp Trask for an overnight, instead.  I would have preferred CCV, with the longer stay on Catalina Island, the plethora of activities, and the island environment.  However, Camp Trask is very conventiently near to Pasadena, and the Pack had dinner catered, so that was nice.  The boys got to do a little archery and BB gun shooting — I did both, too, and hit my targets nicely.  The boys also got to go on a couple of hikes, and I got to use the hiking sticks I had bought for the Anza Borrego Boy Scout trip.

A lot of the parents are parents of Webelos who are bridging over to W’s Boy Scout Troop, and one of the dads is also a former Scoutmaster for that troop.  So we had lots of discussion with new parents about what to expect.

On Sunday, the day of our departure, J got out his football and was passing with some friends near the camp pond.  Unfortunately, the ball went into the pond at one point.  I went to get a rope while the ball was close to the shore — the pond wasn’t deep, but the bottom looked pretty scummy, so nobody wanted to wade in to get the ball.  Then Charles, one of the dads, decided to get one of the boats and paddle out to get it.  He got about 20 feet from shore when he looked in the back of his boat and said, “Uh oh, it’s sinking!  I’d better get back!”

He paddled back quickly.  It turns out there was a leak.  We had a nice laugh at that.  He then found another boat and got the ball.

While J and I were away, W had a piano recital along with many or most of Vatche’s other students.  He played an Arabesque by Burgmüller and a Sonatina by Beethoven.  Hsuan took video.

I was a judge at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair on Tuesday and Wednesday at the LA Convention Center this week.  This is the world’s largest science fair, and it includes not only the best students from the USA but also internationally.  This was my first time judging this fair, and I was in the Physics and Astronomy category (Instrumentation and Electronics subcategory, but all the judges judged across the category).  Tuesday was our orientation and an opportunity to view our assigned projects without the students, and on Wednesday, we interviewed the students and caucused to determine the winners.

There were 96 projects in the category, 57 judges, and 26 awards to determine.  The awards were divided into 3 first place awards (with one judged best-in-category), 5 second place, 8 third place, and 10 fourth place.  The award tiers included monetary prizes.  I was assigned 14 projects to view and interview, I got to select two more, and after the main rounds of interviews, I volunteered to join a team with two other judges to interview one more top candidate.

The Physics and Astronomy category is one of the largest and most-international of the categories.  Because no judge can view, interview, and score all of the projects, and because each judge has an individual, somewhat subjective scoring scale (despite scoring guidelines), all of the scores have to be accumulated and cross-referenced.  For example, while one project might be considered very highly across its judges and be scored in the top quintiles for each judge, another set of judges might consider another project in only a middling quintile but give a very similar numeric score (on a scale of 0-100).  So things have to be balanced out and cross-referenced before getting some sort of ranking.

The Intel ISEF used software by Syncrety in order to do this score accumulation, cross-referencing, and ranking.  The software results aren’t binding.  The results are just an initial ranking, and then the judges can debate to alter the rankings based on their judgment and discussion.

Unfortunately, when it came time to caucus and determine awards, the computers weren’t working, or something.  You’d think an Intel competition would get their computers working.

So, that left us to do things the old fashioned way — long discussions in which judges proposed projects for first place consideration, then debates, and votes to whittle things down to three first place winners.  And then on to the top-in-category, then second place winners, then third place, then fourth place.  Judges had their pet favorites and made arguments in favor of them, but then other judges made arguments against.

I myself stood up to argue against one project getting first place, saying I thought the project was good and solid but deserved second place instead of first for not reviewing the scientific literature and finding out that the result had already been made in 1995 and again in 2013 with a newer experiment.  A professional scientist always reviews the literature before making a claim of a novel result.  Also, one of my fellow judges told me “At first, I thought you were being too harsh, but then I Googled it and found that result second from the top.  You’d think [the student] could have Googled it.”  He voted with me, along with several others, but we were in the minority.

About two hours into our debate, we had finally voted on the top three (first place) winners, and we were starting in on the five second place winners, when an official came in and told our chairmen that the software was ready.  That caused some consternation, since we had already spent two hours coming up with first place winners, but the chairmen decided to use the software and then go ahead and adjust the placings.

We had another two hours of debate as judges proposed swapping this or that project for another one in the rankings.  Only a couple of projects I had been assigned had a chance of getting awards, and one other judge proposed one of them for consideration, but neither made it.  It was getting past 9:30 PM, and our lead chairman kept reminding judges that we could keep doing these binary comparisons and votes for a very, very long time — as we had already been doing.

Eventually, we exhausted ourselves and closed out the votes.  I shook hands with both chairmen and left.

The Judges Reception outside the meeting rooms was already well past starting and was, in fact, winding down by the time I and my fellow Physics and Astronomy judges walked through the reception area and out to our cars.

There was, apparently, an NBA Final at the Staples Center, which made my exit from downtown LA take forever… or maybe that was just normal LA nighttime traffic.