Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• I'm loopy because I stayed up until 4:00 a.m, so stay with me here. We've got a modified Random Thoughts coming up. I'm about to fall on the Stupidity Sword and I'm about to get great sympathy from some of you and about to get kicked in the crotch by many others. 
• You know why? The Junior In the House has a school project and asked for my help. (She gave me plenty of notice for a project not due until this week). This is from the instruction sheet that she handed me (paraphrased): "Construct a miniature three room component house with lights powered with a battery. The light(s) in each room should be able to be lit individually and also all of the rooms should be able to be lit at the same time. Draw a schematic to show when you used a series circuit and/or a parallel circuit. You can only use on battery."
• Good lord. 
• Let me tell you something. I think I'm really smart in some areas of my life, but I an idiot in a lot more areas. Stuff like that project is one of them. Series circuit? Parallel circuit? My head was spinning. I had (have) no idea what that meant. So I spent a lot of time on Saturday researching it on The Google.  I'll give Mrs. LL big credit. She went to a hardware store after researching as well and bought a bunch of items that she knew would help -- like alligator clips. (Alligator clips? I'll be dang. Love those things now.)
• What's coming up is my Wheels Off/Life Lesson moment. The concept of a series circuit or parallel circuit really isn't that complicated. Basically, in a series circuit, because of the wiring, all the lights will go out when a bulb is blown but in a parallel circuit that won't happen. To create  both type of circuits you need the right size battery, lights, and copper wire -- which is slightly tricky but that's no biggee.  (Once again, stay with me here.)
• But you know what went wrong in my science challenged brain? I watched a great video by this guy on series and parallel circuits but at the end of it he makes a statement (and demonstrates) that you could even disconnect the electrical line and . . . it would still work except for the next bulb down the line. At least that's what I thought he said. That made no sense to me but batteries and electricity make no sense to me either. For some reason, perhaps in trying to grab too much information too quickly or really wanting to impress everyone in the Family that I could do this or, probably, just being stupid, I didn't understand what he said. (Which was: If you cut the line, every bulb down line will go dead. Everything on the battery side will stay lit). At 3:30 a.m. that finally dawned on me. After hours and hours of jacking with bulbs and batteries and wires and alligator clips and electrical switches, I learned what I believed to be true was not true.  (It was a pretty impressive contraption of three batteries lights and switches I might add.) Edit: I told you I was loopy. 
• Two thoughts: (1) What I went through is what learning is about. Trial and experiment. Research and understanding what you see  versus what  you believe.  (2) My real life lesson realization is this: I stupidly misinterpreted a youtube video on parallel circuits and believed something that was not true: I believed if  you cut the line  it will all still work except for the next bulb.  Here we go: In all aspects of your life, once you believe something is true when it is not, it takes waves and waves of ridiculous amounts of evidence to convince you to the contrary. 
• OK, let's address the  Elephant in the Room: I'm up in the middle of the night and not the Junior In The House because I told her I would handle it and explain it to her later? That's inexcusable and completely my fault. She asked to help. Although I will admit that I loved every Wheels Off minute of it.
• Epilogue: I went to bed at 4:00 a.m. after drawing a schematic and notes of how I think this project will now work. That's for tonight. I'll think I'll let the Junior in The House do most of the talking and working. 

Edit: This has gone through multiple edits since it was originally published which is proof I'm loopy.