UNIT ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Middletown High School has been awarded the Unit Achievement Award for the fifth straight year.  Congratulations!  Next year:  Distinguished Unit with Academic Honors!

CONGRATULATIONS!

Congratulations to Cadets Ferguson and Esquivel for winning the end of the year challenge.  The received credit for correctly answering 6 of 13 challenge questions and, considering the grading methodology, no one else could win, no matter how many answers were correct.  They will split a $50 prize that will be awarded at the change of command ceremony on the 31st of May.

THE HIDDEN QUARTER

The quarter has been found, and it was found not by luck, but through an analysis of the clues.  The quarter was found by Cadet Ferguson.  Before I report where it was hidden, let me add two clues that were not published and see if anyone can tell me the erstwhile whereabouts of the quarter.

- At The Citadel a short cadet has a name.  Look to the short cadet.

- This particular one is an E-5.

The end of year challenge remains open, but I have received on response that is 46% correct.  Based on this and the time remaining, it will soon be mathematically impossible for even a perfect entry to win.  Keep trying, lazy ones.

THE HIDDEN QUARTER

Another hint:  If you go to Washington, D.C. or Boston, MA, you can ride one of these with or without a quarter in your pocket.  You need not be a tourist, but it helps.

THE HIDDEN QUARTER

Time for another clue?  Boo on you!  I present the following for your comprehension and dancing pleasure:

Just as Archimedes said, the added weight of the quarter in question will cause an increase in the force of gravity.  This will push the object lower in the water and the underwater volume of the object will increase, thus generating an increase in the force of buoyancy.  The force of buoyancy and the force of gravity will come back into a state of equilibrium and the object, quarter and all, will now sit lower in the water.  This interplay between gravity and buoyancy would continue until the object either sinks or, if the change is in the opposite direction, simply floats away. 

Gotta love Archimedes!

THE HIDDEN QUARTER

Where's the quarter?  Without a doubt,  it will keep the water out.

(MHS NJROTC props if you know who Hans Brinker was.)

NEW CHALLENGE

Where's the quarter?  Where, indeed! Don't worry, don't whine.  It's safe someplace where the sun doesn't shine.

Note that the Sun is not shining on these (presumably) unhappy demons.



This challenge will close when the quarter is found.  There will be a small prize.  Don't look for the quarter in areas where you would have to intrude on some one's privacy or where you might cause a disruption. 

YEAR END COMPETITION

As of today, only one entry has been submitted for the $50 end of the year competition.  Six of 13 questions were correctly answered establishing the baseline for other enteries.  Keep trying, but remember, the longer you wait, the harder it will be.




Cadet Fedorka in his younger days.



Good luck!

MILITARY BALL--ANOTHER ONE IN THE BAG!

Last Friday we conducted our 24th annual Military Ball.  Here are a few photos to capture the event:

Not all photos are flattering!

Not sure what happened here, but it looks serious.  Was a ring exchanged?

The Honor Guard.  No joke, a pretty sharp looking bunch (although I hate the thought of Barone with a sword!)

The Mess President, Cadet Tiffany Parker, pronounces the beef "tasty and fit for human consumption."

Petty Officer Parker makes the point that the Class of 2009 was better.

The King and Queen:  Tiffany Parker and David Geer (The Queen is actually the on on the left)

The End.

SAD BUT TRUE

Are you "college and career ready"?  Not quite yet.  Consider the following exchange overheard in an NS 1 class:

MSGT Willard (to class):  Where did General Cornwallis surrender to General Washington?  Hint:  there was an aircraft carrier by the same name...it starts with a "Y" and ends with a "N."

Anonymous student:  JFK?



Not the JFK



YEAR END CHALLENGE

Year End Challenge—A Baker’s Dozen of Tribulation

Here is the end of the year challenge for those cadets who have qualified to participate. The prize is $50.00. The completed challenge is due back to CDR Wall not later than 0730 30 May and will be graded as follows:

- The challenge will be graded on the basis of both accuracy and promptness.

- The inputs will be graded with each question equally weighted. Each correct response is worth 1 point.

- The first input sets the baseline by which all inputs will be judged. If the first input is 100% correct, it wins the challenge.

- A late input that is more correct may beat an earlier input that has fewer correct answers. (This will be based on when other inputs are received and how correct they are. Remember, both accuracy and promptness counts.)

- The winner will be announced as soon as it is determined. There is no second place. (Second place is the first loser!)

- Absolutely no hints will be given. Good luck!

The Challenge

1. Per R.H., USNA Class of ’29, you can’t get one of these for free, even on the Moon.

2. Math puzzle: There is a mad scientist in Ottumwa, Iowa who wants to design a clock such that it would keep perfect time. Being a mad scientist he also wanted the end of the minute hand to move at 60 mph. How long would the minute hand have to be?

3. What is Navy slang for a shower stall?

4. From the perspective of the one who is dining, which is harder to swallow, a duck dinner or a big chicken dinner?

5. Who first “attacked” the fleet at Pearl Harbor?

6. What is the best number? (Why? There is a correct answer.)

7. Logic puzzle: Professor Banatz was talking to a colleague who told him about a dinner party he had attended with his wife. The colleague told him the following things about the party:

1) There were four married couples present.

2) Each person had a unique hobby.

3) The eight people were seated around a dinner table with the host and hostess at either end or three people seated on either side.

4) Only one married couple were seated beside each other.

5) A man was seated on either side of the hostess.

6) A woman was seated on either side of the host.

7) The hostess likes to ride horses.

8) Donna collects stamps.

9) Carol and her husband were seated on the same side of the table.

10) The piano player was seated next to his brother-in-law.

11) The person who grows roses was seated next to the person who does needlepoint.

12) Frank was seated directly across from the person who builds model planes.

13) Harold is seated to the immediate right of the hostess.

14) George and Betty were seated directly across from each other.

15) Alice is married to Edward.

16) Donna's sister-in-law is seated directly across from Carol.

17) The piano player was seated next to the hostess.

18) The stamp collector's husband was seated across from the model plane builder.

19) Carol was seated immediately to the left of George.

20) Alice is married to the fisherman.

21) The person who does needlepoint was seated across from the actress.

22) The actress was seated immediately to the right of the host.

23) The fisherman was seated across from his sister.

24) Frank was seated next to Edward.

The question is what was each person's hobby, and where did they sit? (Be prepared to discuss your methodology and show your work.)

8. In remembrance of Titanic’s 100th anniversary, I ask: Tiller or wheel, what’s the deal? ‘Splain.

9. Who was the MHS NJROTC Battalion Commander in school year 2004-2005?

10. What is Commander Wall’s favorite word? (There is at least one student who knows.)

11. You are standing watch on the bridge of the USS Middletown. Dead ahead you see a red running light just to the left of a green running light, both on the same vessel. Describe the situation.

12. Marine Corps trivia: Almost every item on a Marine’s uniform has some historic significance—the blood stripes, the quatrefoil, etc., are all examples. What is the significance of the Star of David inlaid on the blade of the sword?

13. Find CDR Wall and be prepared for a surprise question or task. (For the sake of fairness, the tasks or questions will be of equivalent difficulty.)