It's been a good year and a half for me in the competitive events at work. We've got something going every couple months and it's often something associated with sports events in the real world. Some of these, like the runt bike race, require youth and agility so I've got to take advantage of those that only require skill and creativity. The silver object in the picture is the base of the "Stan Cup" (named for the owner of the company, Stan Bradshaw, and ,of course, for the similiarity to the Stanley Cup). It's a competition played with hocky sticks, pucks, and a target. It takes luck to win this one - repeat winners are hard to find. So it's not really bragging to point out that the small medal in the picture is the runner-up medal from last year and the big medal is first place for 2007. You get to keep the medal but the (signed) cup goes to the next winner. The paper airplane and the slingshot combined to win the Open Distant Competition in the paper airplane contest this year. The wings are the medal for this one. The Open Distant Competition was a new event this year in response to my contesting my disqualification last year. One rule (among a number of rules) states that there must be "no propellent" and the rubber band on the slingshot was determined to be a "propellent". I challanged that with NO propellent, the paper airplane would just sit there and that the forward movement caused by the rubber band was no diffferent than the forward movement created by a moving arm. I lost. My winning flight this year was about 120 feet and further modifications to my equipment and technique have produced a flight in tests of 157 feet. (The plane itself did conform to the rules but now that it's in open competition, I've modified the plane too.) It's too bad we'll be living in Quitman when the next competition rolls around but I have cleared it with HR and the VP of Ops that, even though I'll be retired, I can return to compete. They are going to have to open the back door so my plane doesn't run into the wall!
