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The Things They Teach in School Nowadays...
2005-02-02 - 8:19 p.m.

So, crazy customer of the day award:
A woman called and said she was looking for a confetti cannon. Well, first she had to tell me her life story. She is working with an Odyssey of the Mind kind of group (That�s this thing for smart kids that has them try to figure out logic problems and build things and feel superior to the other students) and the kids were creating a show of some sort. They were building a clock and I�m not sure what else and they want streamers to shoot out at the audience. Apparently, one of the girls in the group saw this at the Rockettes� Xmas show. So they called the Rockettes (I�m sure there�s a kick line joke in here somewhere, so please feel free to insert your own), and they told them it was a confetti cannon. I told her we had one, but she was looking for one of the small hand held ones with the CO2 cartridge. I told her ours was air pressure. She asked if a kid could operate it. Um, this thing shoots out 150lbs of air pressure in one go. I told her they could, but I wouldn�t recommend it, seeing as this thing could injure someone should something go wrong. �Really?� She asked me incredulously. Well, I told her, yeah, it�s basically a giant air rifle and if it goes of aimed at a person, that could be really bad. �Oh,� she replied, sort of disenchantedly. Well, do you know where to get the hand held ones? I would try a party store or a magic shop. �Oh, ok. Well, do you know how to make those, because ideally the kids would make them themselves.� WHAT!! Um, no I do not know how to make them, and you probably shouldn�t let the kids try because I don�t know that the school wants the kids building guns. �What do you mean?� Well, it is basically an air rifle, like I told you, and the hand held one is basically a smaller version, so it is also a gun. �Oh, well, ok. Thanks. *Click* Oh my God lady, are you crazy?? You were actually going to let 12 year olds build a gun?? Yeah, yeah, I know it�s not a bang, bang, you�re dead gun, but a device that propels something out of it�s barrel at an accelerated speed to increase the distance and force is technically a gun and someone could get hurt by it; and something tells me an urban based school district isn�t going to look very kindly on the construction of ANY kind of potential weapon by it�s students for a school event. Think people!!!! The future of our country is doomed.

Also, book 2 finished! A short story collection called McSweeny�s Enchanted Chamber of Astonishing Stories, edited by Michael Chabon. Very, very good. Highly recommend it. It�s a book of short stories written by authors who sort of straddle the realm between standard fiction and Sci-fi/ horror. Lots of well written stories with bizarre little twists to them. OK, well it�s already Feb, so I better get cracking on book 3.

when we last left our heros� - in our next exciting installment�