Category: life

where everything else happens

Goolsbee News: Nick @ Hi-Q

Following his big brother’s footsteps Nicholas tried out for the Arlington High School Hi-Q team. Even though he is only a Freshman he managed to land a spot on the team. Last year, when his older brother was in his last year of high school the AHS Hi-Q team won the regional championship in an intense final. Hi-Q is a question and answer format quiz contest, with categories ranging from Math, Biology, Chemistry,and Geography, to Literature, Shakespeare, Current Events, and American History.

Since Chris is home on Spring Break, he was able to watch his brother’s team advance from the semi-finals to the finals.

The semis were held at Everett Community College on a rainy Saturday morning and was a very tight match:

tight race

This match featured Edmonds-Woodway high school, Arlington, and the dreaded Kamiak, who apparently put up a very good team each year and provide Arlington with plenty of tough competition. The match was very close throughout, with Kamiak pulling away with an early lead and maintaining it up until the mid-match break where it was 14-18-14. You can see Nick on the right, just to the right of the boy in the red sweater. Nick’s side took the table at the half-time and immediately started to pull even…

a tie!

Then away… strongly…

they win!

The above photo was taken with 7 seconds to go in the final question, and you can see the Kamiak stumbled from their lead and Arlington really poured it on. This win in the semifinals allowed Arlington to progress to the finals. These took place at Stanwood High School, and pitted Arlington against two strong teams, Stanwood High School and Marysville-Pilchuck High School. Stanwood were the Division II champions & achieved the highest overall score with 136 points, earning a direct seed in the finals. Marysville-Pilchuck were the Division III co-champions (I think with Kamiak) and won their semi-final match. Arlington were the underdogs in this match having only landed in 6th place overall, but winning their semi-final. Christopher, as well as his good friend and teammate from last year Rob Peiffle, and I were able to attend the match and it was pretty thrilling.

(Apologies for my crappy cell-cam photos!)

On stage at the start.

It was held in a large auditorium at Stanwood High School, filled with a few parents & family, and a vast sea of Stanwood High students, there to cheer for the “home team”.

Unfortunately for the crowd, Stanwood managed to only answer two questions correctly in the first half, with Marysville and Arlington pulling away early and leaving them in the dust. Just after the half Arlington managed to catch Marysville and tie it at 21.

tied at 21

Stanwood seemed to wake up (most of the crowd left at the half, perhaps lowering the pressure on the home team?) and pulled to within a few points, but then Marysville hit their stride and just went off seemingly beyond reach.

Surprisingly, Arlington rallied and came within one correct question of Marysville but just could not catch them in the end. The final was Stanwood 24, Marysville-Pilchuck 34, and Arlington 30.

Final Score

Onstage for their 2nd place awards

Nicholas wearing his Second Place medal

Close but no 1st Prize for Arlington this year.

We’re very proud of Nick though. He’s got three more chances to win it all before Graduation. 😉

Imbolc

This winter, like the last one has been colder, clearer, and our precipitation has come frozen rather than melted. Every time I think the thaw has finally come and the rains have returned it turns colder and I wake up to snow on the ground. Hope Springs Eternal however. Over the weekend it snowed, …again. This time though I noted this irrefutable sign of Spring, one of our daffodils popping through the snow cover.

When we lived in the UK our house was in the midst of a large dairy farm and when we first saw it from the car of our letting agent it, the farm, and the long drive from the road were awash in daffodils. The following Spring the bloom happened again, not long before we left the UK as Spring turned to Summer. When we found this home in the Cascade foothills the boys and I planted daffodils all over the property, lining the driveways in the hope that it would cheer Sue up. So now ever year they return in early Spring, providing a reminder of our time in Wiltshire… (and drive me crazy as I mow around them once the grass starts growing in earnest come April & May!)

No blooms yet, but hope springs eternal.

A hot night in Budapest…

I’ve always loved this song, as it is so evocative lyrically. A few moments in time and something pleasing to the eye stretched into a 10 minute masterpiece that lives on and on.

…and her legs went on forever, like staring up at infinity…

I know I have this album on vinyl, at least I did when it first came out. Now I can’t find it. Oh well, nice to stumble upon this cut on YouTube though.

Car Photo of the Day: XK 140

Sorry for the lack of posts yesterday… I was asleep pretty much all day long. I was at work Tuesday and at the end of the day an illness hit me like a ton of bricks. High fever alternating with chills. All I could do was just lay down and shiver for about 3 hours. I eventually got up and drove myself home, arriving about 10pm. I crashed into bed and stayed there all night and all the next day… and all the next night. Appears to be the flu. I’m still not feeling very well, but really can’t sleep much more. At least now I can post a few pics!

Here is a nice shot of Jim Sitton’s Jaguar XK 140 ascending the Beartooth Highway leaving Red Lodge, Montana.

Steelworks: Do the right thing…

via Steelworks: Do the right thing…

“I mean, who wants to see a D-type Jag with mirrors underneath it? That gives me the same awful feeling as seeing a polar bear in a zoo laying on a fiberglass rock in 90 degree summer heat. Gives me a strong sense that someone somewhere needs to be reprimanded in a big way for going against nature.”

I read this and had to link. It is saying something I often say, and honestly I’ll go beyond David’s application of it to Vintage Racing and say just get out and DRIVE any old car. Even if it is your mom’s 1979 Buick Le Sabre. There is something about an old car that drops social barriers and serves as an invitation into people’s lives. I LOVE to drive my dad’s old Jaguar places. People smile. People wave. People come up and talk to you at gas stations. They stop and offer to help when you have problems. No matter if you are driving something as ubiquitous as a ’65 Mustang or as rare as that D-type Jaguar, old cars need to get out and drive.

Take them to your local car show and let people (especially kids!) sit inside. Drive them on trips. Take them on vintage rallies and tours. Make up your own vintage rally or tour! The last place these machines should be is under glass at some museum, languishing like David’s metaphorical polar bear. Going against nature indeed.

GET OUT AND DRIVE!