Andrew’s Simple Halloween Costume
 Andrew’s Simple Halloween Costume. Click this small image for a better look.
Also check out the Boomerang Expo Photo Galleries again. I now include links to several other galleries. |
Category: Site News (from newest to oldest)
Saturday, October 25th, 2003
Monday, October 20th, 2003
USBA National Boomerang Expo in Houston
 USBA National Boomerang Expo in Houston. Though I flipped and flopped about whether to actually attend this thing, boy am I glad we went! We had planned to merely spectate, take part in workshops, and help out wherever we could, but on the night we arrived, I ran into tournament director Tony Brazelton, and he convinced Andrew, Holly, and me to sign up for the actual competitions. Andrew, or “Ace” as he was known by the other boomerangers, is now the National Champion of the both the Novice and Junior divisions. Holly won several silver medals, and I even managed to score a few medals myself in the Intermediate division. Check back soon for a longer write-up on this super-fun event, but for now enjoy the photo galleries.
You may also be interested in these articles from the local Houston papers:
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Monday, September 22nd, 2003
A Couple of New Lists
 A Couple of New Lists. I was looking through a drawer and was astounded by just how many computer parts receipts were stuffed in there. After I pulled them out, I realized they dated back pretty far and decided to see how accurately I could list my computer purchases over the years. It’s not done yet, but it’s pretty close. I think this list could come in handy for some of you guys to show your wives and say, “See Honey? I don’t buy that much computer stuff.” Click here for the Armstrong Computer History.
In that same drawer, I found quite a few concert ticket stubs. My first thought was “Man, I used to have a lot of fun.” My second thought was “Hey, there’s another list I can make for Bruce’s Self-Indulgence Page.” This list has lots of missing dates and venues, and probably lots of missing concerts, but I’ve put out the call to friends to help me fill in the blanks. Click here for my Concert List. |
Thursday, September 11th, 2003
Holly’s Biography of Annie Oakley
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 Holly’s Biography of Annie Oakley. Holly’s big school project recently was to read a biography of a famous American and prepare an oral presentation where she dressed as her subject. She chose Annie Oakley and she did a fantastic job. She was obviously very well prepared and spoke at length on Annie’s life without having to consult her notes.
Kudos to Holly’s Nannie, Aunt Debbie, and Mom for helping make sure she looked the part. After Andrew’s Meriwether Lewis costume, and now this, I think they could enjoy careers as Hollywood costumer designers. |
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Saturday, July 5th, 2003
Official Group Photo
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Official Group Photo. The official Class of ’83 20-Year Reunion group photo arrived in the mail today and I have added it to the reunion photo gallery. I also have a high resolution version suitable for printing or just zooming in. Click here for the 600dpi, 2MB version. |
Monday, June 30th, 2003
20-Year High School Reunion
| 20-Year High School Reunion. Though I took an embarrassingly small number of photos at the June 21st reunion, I have finally put together a web photo album. Click here to check it out. |  |
Sunday, June 29th, 2003
Andrew’s Wax Museum
Andrew’s Wax Museum. This happened way back on May 15th, but I have finally got the newspaper article scanned in and the new web gallery software working, so here you go:
Andrew’s 5th grade class (and the 6th grade class) participated in a huge project in which they wrote research papers, prepared a museum exhibit, and finally dressed and performed as a historical figure they admired. It was very impressive and it was easy to see that all the students had put tons of work into it. The kids would stand still as statues (WAX statues) until a patron walked up and touched them. At that point they would “come to life” and give a summary of their life and accomplishments, possibly with a little dramatic acting thrown in.
This was a large enough event that it was written up in the Oak Cliff Tribune. Click here or on the image at the left to see a color photo gallery of the 5th grade kids in character.
Monday, June 2nd, 2003
Amazing New Phenomenon
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So this next phenomenon is amazing, but not without precedent. As many of you know, Andrew’s nickname at school has been “Ace” for a few years now. For many years throughout my youth, I used my initials “BDA” for signing artwork and had a particular stylized version which was all straight lines and angles. Recently when the kids were playing with some sidewalk chalk, I drew my initials in that style, and since Andrew liked how it looked, he wrote out “ACE” in the same style. I didn’t think too much about it for a while, until over the weekend we were painting some boomerangs and were trying to think of something cool to make a stencil of. We decided that he would make an “ACE” stencil for his boomerang and I would make a “BDA” stencil for mine. Imagine my shock when I realized that the same stencil would work for both! Freaky! We didn’t get around to using our stencils yet, but I did whip up a quick animation to display this Amazing Phenomenon! |
Amazing New Phenomenon. Years ago, when I used to do a bit of home-brewing, my best batch was named “Bruce’s Naked Ale” and subtitled “A Strong Creamy Nude Brew”. The reasons for these names are unimportant to this story. What is important is that rearranging the letters (as an anagram) in “A Strong Creamy Nude Brew” gives “Bruce Dewayne Armstrong”, my full name. Some of my friends theorized that my mother must have known that I would eventually become a beer-brewer and had to have taken that into consideration when naming me.
Saturday, May 17th, 2003
Andrew’s Sleepover Birthday Party
Andrew’s Sleepover Birthday Party. For Andrew’s 11th birthday party, he wanted to have a sleepover with some friends from school so they could play video games, watch movies, and basically goof off. The boys had tons of fun and Michelle and I were worn to a frazzle. Having 5 computers networked for Motocross Madness 2 was the hit of the evening. The boys would’ve chased each other around on motorcycles all night if we hadn’t dragged them off the PCs. To see a small gallery of photos from the night, visit Andrew’s page at www.acesbase.com/birthday2003. |
Tuesday, April 15th, 2003
“Spring Musical” at the Kids’ School
| “Spring Musical” at the Kids’ School. Both kids worked hard memorizing their songs and hand-motions. Andrew even had a small solo and was the standout voice of the show (in my personal opinion). We got the still-shot camera out a little late, but there is a photo gallery of what we did get. We may even put a video clip of Andrew’s solo on here if he authorizes it.
New Bluebonnet Photos Added. On the way home from the musical, we stopped on the side of the road to take a few more Bluebonnet shots right before sunset. Click here to see them. |
 Andrew at the mic for his solo. |