Games People Play

TWO THE TEST: Last week, we were called by the Playtest folks at Microsoft about a partnered play test. CJ and Annabelle were happy to answer the call, so this morning, we visited the Microsoft campus and for an hour the kids did as directed.

I would love to tell you more, but I absolutely can't (as usual). We all signed non-disclosure agreements and intend to honor them. :) 

Even though the PlayTest is a rewarding experience in and of itself, Microsoft is generous with gratuities. We call came away very happy. :) You can sign up for Playtesting at www.microsoftcom/playtest.

HOT DOG: As we made our way from the shadow of the Space Needle to Redmond, we were on the bumper of the biggest bun I've ever seen. It was the Oscar Meyer Wienermobile.

I had fun watching other people doing double takes when they spotted it.

One of the things we wondered while following the Wiener was if there was more than one like it. I found our answer on Twitter tonight, via Wienermobile Tweets. Turns out there are at least five mobiles:  IWSHIWR (which is the one we saw), LTLLINK, WNR MBLE, RELSHME and YUMMY. There may be a sixth, but I can't tell if KETCHUP is a vehicle and/or just a play on words.

THE WRIGHT STUFF: When it comes to photographs of aviation pioneers Orville and Wilbur Wright, you'll see lots of photos like this - a snapshot of their very first flight, covering 120 feet in 12 seconds, at Kitty Hawk on December 17, 1903, at 10:35 in the morning.

As historic as the photo above is, it's the photo below that really strikes me. Titled "Crumpled," it's part of the Library of Congress' Wright Bros. collection.

I had the kids look at both photos and we speculated about how the Wright Bros. might have felt when "Crumpled" was taken and asked them to write a few sentences about it. Upon reading them, you'd think that they were sitting next to each other conversing while writing. ...

CJ wrote: "I feel bad for the Wright Brothers when I see 'Crumpled.' I think the Wright Brothers got hurt when I saw 'Crumpled.' I think the Wright Brothers where sad when I saw 'Crumpled.' "

Annabelle wrote, "When I see Crumpled I feel sad for the Wright Brothers. When I think of Crumpled I think that they felt sad. When I see crumpled I think one of them got hurt! I think that when Crumpled happened, it was loud!"

After they wrote, we talked about how oftentimes failures lead to successes. Following the Wright Bros.' triumph on Dec. 17, the Library of Congress notes "An excited Orville sent a telegram to his father from Kitty Hawk asking him to inform the press, ending his telegram 'home Christmas.' Perhaps their earlier failures paved the way to success and added sparkle to their holiday celebrations at home."

Then, we poked around "The Inventive Wright Brothers" info on the Library of Congress site, which reminds me, I don't think I've mentioned it lately, but I really love, Love, LOVE the Library of Congress' "Teaching with Primary Sources" resources. As I sit here wearing my Evergreen State College sweatshirt, without a doubt one of the most valuable things I learned at my alma mater was the value of using source documents whenever possible (as compared to a text or other book that is someone else's retelling or representation of events). Through Teaching with Primary Sources, the University of North Carolina is "Bringing the World's Largest Library to K-12 Classrooms."

We also hopped over to The Discovery Channel's pages about the Wright Brothers. There, we found computer animations of the brothers' four flights on Dec. 17, and took a 3-D tour of the Wright Flyer.

CLOWNING AROUND: This is a leftover shot from yesterday, at Pike Place Market. On the lower level, near the magic shop, there's a mural wall featuring oddities - including "a real clown shoe." CJ gave the big floppy thing a quick once over. I kept my distance.