We are the Stuarts (formerly of Imperial) now residing in Okinawa, Japan.

This blog started from a desire to bridge the miles as we were preparing to leave the USA for 3+ years. It has turned into much more. It's part travel diary, part personal reflection, part "sociology of military life" and part mommy-blog. We hope you read something here that is interesting to you (or at least not a total waste of your time).

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Underwater ROV


One of the reasons Jake was looking most forward to getting home, was checking the mail for his underwater ROV robot kit, sent from his awesome homeschool science program, Supercharged Science. The postman did not disappoint.

Most of the stuff SCS sells comes all-inclusive. Except (of course) the one Jake wanted most. So in addition to the $69 plus shipping for the kit, they said we could also expect to spend about $80 in supplies at our local hardware store. {That's if you're not paying in Yen.} Also not factored into the equation would be the frustration of trying to guess what you are really buying since it's all in Kanji...or the confusion that comes along with conveying English measurements (in the English language) to the Okinawan man who is going to be cutting your PVC pipe. All 57 pieces of it.

It made for a fun evening at Make-Man, pushing a cart and a wheelchair...and of course I forgot the camera. Jake couldn't wait to get to work this morning. He set up on the back patio and got to sanding, gluing, drilling and snipping. I left the back door open, just in case he needed emergency assistance. I figured he'd be awhile and I'd get back there to get some pictures when things were really in full swing. I missed my chance. Pretty soon, he came in and announced that it was drying.



That was fast!



Can't wait to see phase two, once the silicone dries. I sure hope the pool lets us try this thing out. Who knows with the government. Otherwise, this is going to be one big fish in one very small bathtub.

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