Lovely November

Can you find the kids on the bridge over Lake Union?

A LOOK INTO THE FUTURE: We were gearing up to go to our southbound science class in Seatac this a.m. when we got a call from the teacher letting us know that the kit she was expecting didn't come in, so no class today, darn it.

We decided to head southbound anyway - we needed to hit Costco. As soon as we walked in the door there what did we see but a big ol' Sony 3D TV on display. CJ and Annabelle strapped on goggles and took it for a test drive.

It looked horrible without the goggles on, and pretty good (but not awesome) when wearing them. It will be interesting to see if/when this technology takes off for the home market. According to one article I read today, "3D is here to stay."

CONSTRUCTIVE COMMUTE: Oftentimes our unorthodox schooling means we have to be in the car for a half hour or more commuting to one place or another. I try to make that time useful by always having books, flashcards, CDs, etc. in the car. Today, on the 30-plus minute drive to science, the kids put finishing touches on their science homework.

GOOPY AFTERNOON: We continued our explorations of paper in our p.m. science class. Today's topic - papier mache. The kids have a lot of experience when it comes to that, thanks to our past piñata projects.

The kids were covering a plastic tub with strips of newspaper and gloppy gloop. No doubt when it dries, they will paint it off as a bowl.

Perhaps not too surprisingly, Mr. Tactile Sensitive wasn't too down with the sticky icky nature of the work. However, he did soldier on and waited until class was over to wash his hands against his many, many urges to bolt to the sink sooner.

After class, we three stayed to help the teacher clean up the considerable mess. That's when I noticed her space shuttle earrings. I told her we went to the last launch and she told me she's not been to one, but is flying down to FLA for the launch in Feb. She's even been to NASA's Space Camp (me = jealous!).

LOVELY AFTERNOON: The headline this morning said it all: "Nearing record high temperature, another sunny day in Seattle Wednesday."

Well, we couldn't let that go to waste, could we? The kids and I talked about where we should enjoy the sunshine. We recalled that we hadn't been back to South Lake Union Park since its grand opening (complete with Bubbleman!). On that day we had to share it with thousands and thousands of people. Today, the weather was every bit as lovely and there were only a couple of dozen others. I'll let the photos do the talking.






MI AMIGO, AMIGA: This evening CJ emerged from the bedroom and asked, "What the hell is an Amiga system?"

I corrected him and so he restated, "What the HECK is an Amiga system?"

Apparently he'd been doing some research in his room on his PC and discovered yet another gaming platform he'd been previously unaware of. Lord knows for the next several days we'll be hearing all about every game ever made for the Amiga system ...

Oh, and in case you're wondering what the hell an Amiga is, the Amiga 1000 was released in 1985. It was a personal computer sold by Commodore. According to Wikipedia's Amiga entry, it was "a high-end home computer and became popular for its impressive graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities. The Amiga provided a significant upgrade from 8-bit computers, such as the Commodore 64, and the platform quickly grew in popularity among computer enthusiasts."