Sean Vs. Zombies

I recently watched The Last of Us which aired on HBO. If you're not familiar with the show, it's based on a video game where a mass fungal infection causes people to turn into zombies. I mean, it's slightly more complicated, but that's the general premise. The show starts with the beginning of the pandemic and mostly focuses on several years later in a post-apocalyptic world where Pedro Pascal's character transports a teenage girl across the country. Hilarity ensues! (Spoiler: While there are some amusing scenes and the chemistry between Pascal and Bella Ramsey is fantastic, hilarity does not ensue.) I was really disappointed by the show's ending until I found out that there's a season two coming out. Knowing that the show didn't end where it did makes more sense.

Pedro Tulo is about to finish his time as a Cub Scout. Boy Scouts is right around the corner, and while the kids are largely responsible for their own activities there, parents really do the bulk of the planning in Cub Scouts. This helps explain my work in adding the wheels to Pedro Tulo's pinewood derby car.

Amazingly, the wheels stayed intact during the three heats of the race. Pedro Tulo didn't win (or place or show), but the car didn't fall apart on the track. I count that as a win.

In the next few weeks, Pedro Tulo's Cub Scouts den is going to go on one final campout. I wrote about our previous camping experiences here and here. For this one, we don't have the luxury of a car nearby. After parking, we will walk a mile with all of our gear to the campsite. That's not really a problem depending on how much we need to carry. We also won't have the luxury of plumbing and potable water. The campsite has pit toilets, which I don't believe I ever used. Regarding water, one of the parents mentioned that we'll simply have to boil water or use iodine tablets. Sure. I just have a bag of iodine tablets sitting around. Look, I don't need a fancy hotel, but potable water and plumbing doesn't seem like an extravagant ask.

What it comes down to is that I'm not very handy and have little to no outdoor/camping/survival skills. If there is a zombie apocalypse, I will not turn into Pedro Pascal's character. I'll be one of the first ones eaten or bit or whatever.

Pinewood Derby

When I was in Cub Scouts, I only remember participating in the Pinewood Derby once. I was in a head-to-head race against a kid a grade behind me. I lost. To this day, I’m convinced that he either pushed his car or started early which would have led to a disqualification or at least a do-over.* It did not. He was declared the winner, and I never really thought about the Pinewood Derby again…until several months ago.

When Pedro Tulo joined Cub Scouts this school year, the Pinewood Derby was listed as one of the featured activities. At a late fall pack meeting, we received a box containing the car. And by car, I mean a block of wood, four tires, and four nails. What was I supposed to do with this?

I have no recollection of making a car as a kid, and I had no idea how to make a car as an adult. There is a wood shop at the local Scouts camp, but we weren’t available during any of the open time slots. Fortunately, the dad of another scout had some equipment, so we went over to their house. We spent at least an hour essentially cutting the block of wood in half and then sanding down the rough edges. So now we had half a block of wood, four tires, and four nails.

I bought a weight specifically used for Pinewood Derby cars, and we screwed it into the top of the wood. I learned that the key to doing well in the Pinewood Derby is to have a car as close as possible to 5 ounces, so we just painted the weight hoping that it would blend in. 

Then, we (well, I) managed to get on the wheels. The night before the race, we took the car to the test track and early check-in. The car weighed 4.95 ounces and successfully crossed the finish line every time. This was a huge win. Not a huge win is that I realized in the middle of writing this post that I don't have a final picture of the car. We were unable to participate in the race itself due to a prior engagement/celebration, so the den leader currently has Pedro Tulo's car. With the exception of a few more stickers and some more paint, this is close to the final version.

I have a video of the race, but I feel like I'd need consent by the dozen or so scouts/parents in it in order to share it. You're definitely not missing the most exciting 7-second video in history. Here's a still shot though.

Pedro Tulo's car won! (Assuming that you don't count the other car not pictured that finished before his car.) While I'm glad that I was able to spend time with Pedro Tulo building the car, and I think he enjoyed the experience (especially going shopping for stickers), like the overnight campout, this is another Cub Scout activity that is certainly out of my comfort zone.

* While it's quite possible that the Pinewood Derby race track in 2023 is the same as it was when I was I kid, I don't remember an automatic start. I feel like we were supposed to just let the car go at the same time, and that's why I think I lost from the other kid cheating. Now, you just put your car in position, and someone essentially flips the switch to start.