Popular Mechanics, Tuesday, May 12, 2015

[momslilassassin]

An exhausted but happy Ben was mainlining coffee in the Danger Room today as he waited for the students to arrive. "Hello again," he said with a bright smile. "I was glad to see how much technical experience most of you already had last week--that'll make this class a lot more fun when we don't have to slow down and explain why touching hot metal with your bare fingers is bad."

He rolled his eyes at that example, then smiled again.

"As you might have noticed, there are a lot of hills on this island, which makes it completely perfect for Soap Box car races," he said. "These are cars powered only by gravity, so no engines to muck with this time, but you do have to work to make it as aerodynamic as possible. I've put out all of the supplies you'll need to make your cars, so work on it for the class period and we'll race them next week once the paint's had time to dry, okay?"

He grinned over at Barry. "The TA and I will participate, too. If you can come up with a good prize for the winner, come talk to me. I'm thinking ice cream, but I could be persuaded."

Comments

Sign in 5/12

[momslilassassin]

Ready to race!

Listen to the lecture

[momslilassassin]

Wonder how you'll fit in a box of soap.

Make your cars!

[momslilassassin]

Don't forget brakes if you don't want to end up flying into the ocean.

Talk to Ben or Barry!

[momslilassassin]

Mmm. Delicious coffee.

OOC

[momslilassassin]

Moving is a pain in the ass, ya'll.

Re: Sign in 5/12

[thegreywaren.livejournal.com]

Ronan Lynch

Re: Make your cars!

[thegreywaren.livejournal.com]

This wasn't exactly the type of cars Ronan liked to race but whatever, going fast was going fast even if this car wasn't built of sleek metal, wasn't painted a color that gleamed under stoplights and didn't make him utterly forget everything for just a few seconds.

He wouldn't be caught dead driving this in front of anyone. Maybe he'd give it to Matthew.

Re: Make your cars!

[momslilassassin]

"What color are you going to paint it?" Ben asked.

Re: Make your cars!

[thegreywaren.livejournal.com]

"Black."

Like his soul.

"Keep it simple."

Re: Make your cars!

[momslilassassin]

"Matte or shiny?" Ben asked.

Re: Make your cars!

[thegreywaren.livejournal.com]

"Whichever," Ronan said. "Paint job doesn't really concern me as much as making sure the thing doesn't fall apart or embarrass me."

Re: Sign in 5/12

[dwarvenswagger]

Thorin

Re: Make your cars!

[dwarvenswagger]

Did Thorin really need to work intricate little designs into his 'car'? No. Was he doing it anyway? Yes.

Because it wasn't of dwarvish make without them. Or a bumper that was starting to look like it could be used as a weapon.

Which was only sensible.

Re: Make your cars!

[momslilassassin]

"Well, that depends on you," Ben said with a little grin. "How good are you at putting wooden stuff together?"

Re: Make your cars!

[momslilassassin]

"Nice work," Ben said, crouching down to see what Thorin was up to.

Re: Make your cars!

[thegreywaren.livejournal.com]

"It's not that hard," Ronan scoffed, shaking his head. "Insert tab A into slot B. Done."

Sort of.

Re: Sign in 5/12

[sciclone]

Cosima Niehaus

Re: Make your cars!

[sciclone]

Cosima was smaller and lighter than most of her classmates, and -- annoying as that was for getting things off high shelves -- she figured being fairly petite might be an asset when zooming down hills. She went for the lightest wood and most streamlined design she could manage as she crafted her car.

Re: Make your cars!

[momslilassassin]

"Sort of," Ben said. "Make sure it's tight, too."

Re: Make your cars!

[thegreywaren.livejournal.com]

"Yep." Ronan even saluted with a tool before turning his attention back to the pile of car in front of him.

Re: Make your cars!

[momslilassassin]

"What are you planning?" Ben asked, crouching down. "Oh, and how did your robo-kitty turn out?"

Re: Make your cars!

[sciclone]

"Robokitty was so realistic, he rolled under my bed and won't come out," Cosima admitted with a grin. (Or the battery had come loose and she hadn't fixed it. Probably that.) "And -- okay, my theory was I was going to make being five three work for me. I'm using the lightest wood and the fewest fasteners I can manage, and I figure the weight advantage might be enough to make my car a tiny bit faster. Think it'll work?"

Re: Make your cars!

[momslilassassin]

"I think it's definitely worth exploring," Ben agreed. "Make the front end skinny, give you more of a streamlined look, too?"

Re: Make your cars!

[sciclone]

"Good idea," Cosima said, and made a mark to tell herself to cut down the front endpieces. "Are you going to grade on appearance? 'Cause I have this purple skull scarf that would make a fantastic seat cover."

Re: Make your cars!

[momslilassassin]

"I don't think it would hurt to make it look good," Ben said, winking.

Re: Make your cars!

[sciclone]

Cosima was almost certain that hadn't been intended as a flirty wink, but some pink crept into her cheeks at it anyhow. Stupid hot teachers.

"Make it pretty, make it fast, and make it work," she said, ignoring the flush. "I think I'm down for that."

Re: Sign in 5/12

[nolizardhere]

Andros

Re: Make your cars!

[nolizardhere]

Andros wasn't really sure what the point of something without an engine was, but he was working on streamlining his car as best he could.

And then he was going to paint it red.