Earth Day - Hooray! (title by Annabelle)

FAILURE TO LAUNCH: So, while most of the West Coast was still tucked under their sheets, at 5:45 a.m., I was frantically monitoring three computers and working the cell phone. You see, tickets to view the launch of Atlantis (STS-132) on May 14 at Kennedy Space Center were supposed to go on sale at 6 a.m. our time, with the Internet 'waiting room' queue opening at 5:45.

I was more than ready to jump on in at 5:45, but from the get go all Internet connections timed out, access was denied, and every end was a dead end. The phone was either a busy signal or an error message. This went on for TWO FREAKING HOURS. Over and over: refresh, reload, redial. Refresh, reload, redial.

OK, so they can land men on the effing MOON, but they don't have the tools and technology to sell me four frigging tickets to watch a shuttle launch?!?!?! Grrr!

Not a wonderful way to start one's day. ...

Finally, at about 7:48, one of the computers loaded to a page that, in really tiny type, said that Kennedy Space Center was having technical difficulties and no tickets would go on sale today. AARGH. After investing so much time and angst in the process, I almost didn't believe what I read. So, I finally thought to check Facebook, as I'm friends with the KSC. Sure 'nuff, before 8 a.m. they had posted notice that tickets wouldn't be going on sale today and to stay tuned for further developments. So I guess the good news was we weren't aced out yet. The bad news was, we still might be, and we get to go through all of that frantic phone/computer crap again. Now there was something to look forward to!

In happier NASA news, just before the kids went to bed last night, we watched live streaming video on NASA's Web site of Space Shuttle Atlantis being rolled to its launch pad. At times, we could hear crowds cheering the vehicle. I wonder if some of the voices were the astronauts. Apparently the crew that will be on board Atlantis was also at the pad last night.

CLEAN TEAM: After ballet this morning, we came home and took Kirby for a protracted walk. We brought empty plastic bags along to pick up any trash or recycling we found along the way. (We often gather recyclables during our walks, but today, bags in had, we were equipped to pick up more than usual.) CJ and Annabelle were vigilant about their jobs and each filled their bags by the time we were done. Because it was the right thing to do, we didn't just throw it all in the trash either, nosiree. We had to sort the castoffs into trash and recyclables. We took the recyclables home and put them in our recycling bin.

Naturally, after doing this, it occurs to me we should carry a bag with us every time we go for a walk. Today, we were able to pick up a LOT more than we usually do.

GREEN GORILLA: An email from New York Times' Learning Network provided us with a list of links to somewhere around a gazillion other Earth Day links. One was the Earth Day TV Web site. Once there, we watched a couple of videos: "Polly Bear's Earth Day," which the kids liked so much they asked to watch it twice. Next up was "Gorilla in the Greenhouse," which, it turns out, has its own Web site. Naturally, our next stop was the Green Gorilla's Web site, where we found out more about the series' characters, some games, all with an earth-friendly focus.

The Green Gorilla, named KJ, by the way, is an interesting dude. He comes off like a cross between a wise old shaman and a beatnik. The group of kids (Bucket, Socket, Scoot and Cypher) he hangs with is a musical band (of course), and their songs are in kind of a Partridge Family-meets-ska style. (Unique, to say the least.)

On their "about" Web page, the show's creators describe Gorilla in the Greenhouse as "an action-packed animated web show that inspires kids to take real-world steps towards a healthier environment. One part Scooby Doo and one part Yoda, the series shows that small actions can make a big impact, emphasizing fun, collaboration and great music."

READ ABOUT SEEDS: After lunch, we read the excellent, informative "From Seed to Pumpkin" by Wendy Pfeffer. A picture book, it followed a pumpkin seed from the day it was planted through harvest time. Root function, green shoots, seedlings and seed leaves were covered, as was the process of how the pumpkin plant feeds itself. By halfway through the book, the vines sprouted orange blossoms, and it's explained that then the bees come and carry yellow pollen from male flowers to female flowers. "Now pumpkins can grow," it says, noting the petals wither away and where flowers bloomed, hard fruits begin to grow.

This last fact caused Annabelle to recall, "My pumpkins last year never grew." And she was right. We got huge, beautiful blossoms, but no fruit was produced. I asked the kids why they suppose we were fruitless and they both concluded that the bees didn't come and do their job.

Well after all our hard work so far this spring, nurturing starts from seeds, we want to make sure this doesn't happen again. So how can we coax the bees to visit? Quite obviously, signs seemed like a good idea. So we scrounged up some 3x5 cards and craft sticks and the kids made some insect sized billboards.

Annabelle posted this one at the top of the lot:
CJ wants bees to know the price of pollen is right! (This sign is posted by our blueberries)
And this year, we hope the bees will be a bit more diverse (we need them to visit male and female blossoms!), so CJ crafted this one:After our sign project was finished, we turned our energies toward planting a few sunflowers and tomatoes around the lot.
SEATTLE THEN & NOW: Reader Ruth sent us a cool link today - it's a shoreline/skyline photo of Seattle that transforms from 1907 to 2002 with a click of your mouse. Check it out!

FREE DVD!: Via a Seattle Homeschool Group email list post, I learned we could get a free copy of "America The Story of US." It's a six week (12-hour) mini series that will be premiering on HISTORY™ April 25. According to the folks at History.com, it will present "a fascinating look at the stories of the people, events, and innovations that forged our nation. It will provide you with an unprecedented opportunity to bring our nation's history to life for your students." They also say the series "will be supported by educational materials tied to curriculum standards and is copyright cleared for Fair Use in the classroom by instructors or pupils in the course of face-to-face teaching activities."

And the best part? "HISTORY is offering America The Story of US on DVD to every school in the United States. School must be an accredited public, private or home school, grades K-12 and college. Hey, we're eligible! That being the case, I filled out an online request and got a confirmation saying our DVD will arrive in August. Cool!

LATER, GATOR: Though my attempt to get tickets to view the launch was a dismal failure this morning, during the day I kept researching our options. After reading about alternative viewing places, I decided that, by god, if we're flying that far and spending that much $ to see the shuttle launch, by god, we're going to see it (and hear it and FEEL IT) from the Causeway.

In reading the comments of other disappointed people on the Kennedy Space Center Facebook page, many of them mentioned an outfit called Gator Tours. I checked out Gator's Web site, found that they did, indeed, have bonafide tickets for the launch and then I thought to check Gator's Facebook page to see if past customers had left comments. They had and they were glowing. So I told Christian about it and he was sold, too. So we DO have tickets to the Causeway for launch day. They cost twice as much as getting them straight from NASA, but we do get the added bonus of being picked up at the Titusville Kmart parking lot at 6 a.m. on launch day (launch time is after 2 p.m.) and spending god knows how many hours on a bus with strangers. I ask you, dear reader, how can you put a price on that?

OVERHEARD: This afternoon, behind a closed bathroom door, CJ muttering, "Everybody is a critic."