Guessing at Christmas presents is somewhat alien to the Robinson’s.  We provide lists from which one chooses an item for another party.  Just guessing seems odd and barbaric akin to going to a restaurant and just guessing what the chef could prepare based on knowing it was a Greek restaurant.  I have found this is not how most people work and after asking a friend she replied “sunshine and rainbows”.  So, I purchased her a flash light and a prism.  While I was as it, I got myself a prism too having never messed with one.

Today the prism came and I took it out of the box, set it on the table and learned I have no idea how a prism works on any practical level.  I held it up to various lights with little effect and then held it up to various other focusing devices also with no effect.  I drew a little diagram of the prism a la dark side of the moon and realized I needed a beam of light.  I cobbled together a baffle from cardboard pieces and made a ghetto rainbow in our heater closet using the door and the lights from the rec room as my beam generator.  I have mastered optics circa 1600.

On a more victorious note, someone I sent cracker jacks to got them and responded with this: