CHESSFAST: This morning, we assisted Rick with a project he's doing in conjunction with his Master's. He's writing an instructional chess book for beginners. So, our place hosted a photo shoot, and it wasn't an easy endeavor because it was so dark and gray, Grey, GRAY today. Thank goodness for Photoshop. ...

Since the board was out, Annabelle wanted to play. Christian obliged.

MERRY FAMILY:  This morning, I dropped the kids and Christian off at the doorstep of Seattle Children's Theatre (SCT) for a performance of "Robin Hood." The Veterans Day holiday meant Christian could go, which was great. SCT does such a great job, I was glad he got a chance to see it.

"It was one of the best plays I've ever seen," Christian reported afterward, not even qualifying it by saying anything about it being for children. He said it had, "A great set, costumes, acting and it was hysterically funny. Even if you didn't have kids, you'd be glad you went."

After the performance there was a short Q&A session. Of course, CJ's hand shot up. When he was called on, he informed the actors that what he had to say wasn't a question, it was more of an observation. He told them that by looking at the photos in the playbill, he assumed the show was going to be a drama, "but it was a comedy. I laughed my head off."

Needless to say, they took kindly to his non-question.

Below was my view of the play. :) It was POURING down rain when they came out. We had one foggy car on the way home.

UNDER THE WIRE: I have to admit, I darn near forgot to submit our entry for the GRAIL-A and GRAIL-B spacecraft today, the contest's deadline day - Doh!

Fortunately, around 2 this afternoon, a bolt out of the blue (well gray, really) struck me. So, we hopped online and submitted our ideas  via the form on the contest Web site, under the deadline. Phew.

We know our submission was accepted because we immediately got confirmation (we're entry #873), as well as neat-o certificates acknowledging the kids' participation. That was a nice touch!

NEEDLED: Today we stopped by the corporate offices of the Space Needle. Seattle's number one landmark graciously provided me with trinkets to take to the Tweetup. The launch of Mars Science Laboratory is two weeks from today. W00t!

NOT GOOD: News surrounding ill fated Russian Phobos-Grunt mission is dire. From all accounts I've read ground control has zero control. The Russian space agency seems to be taking the 'if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all' approach to the mission. And have I mentioned that the Chinese government had a part in this mission? The first report I heard is that they had some kind of communications satellite on board. A story I read today seemed to contradict that.

CJ asked if the Chinese will get a refund since the rocket didn't work like it was supposed to. I told him I didn't think so.

BIRTHDAY CAKES: Happy birthday to Washington state. I didn't feel like making a cake, so I made lil Evergreen State pancakes instead.

Pressing On

Source: Space.com: All about our solar system, outer space and exploration
PRESSER: With great interest, this morning we watched the live press conference on NASA TV about the upcoming Mars Science Laboratory mission.
Have I mentioned I'm attending the launch?! ;)

Naturally, my ears were perked up for any word of a "slip" (that's mission managers' speak for postponement). Imagine our delight when NASA's Mars Exploration Program Director Doug McCuiston announced nearly straightaway that everything was on track for the Nov. 25 launch date. Hooray!

McCuiston said MSL is a quest to see if Mars "was ever habitable ... we're seeking signs of life," but that it's not a life detection mission," per se. McCuiston pointed out several ways MSL differs from previous Mars missions, and noted that size (about 2,000 pounds!) of Curiosity is one thing that sets it apart. He called MSL a "pioneering challenge" of high technology, with a larger-than-ever payload and more accurate landing parameters. He also noted that MSL is nuclear (rather than solar) powered and that it includes state-of-the-art scientific instruments. MSL is "moving us toward our ultimate goal of putting humans on the surface of Mars," he declared.

McCuiston called MSL's launch "the capstone of the Year of the Solar System," and said the mission involves things scientists "couldn't have even dreamed of doing 10 years ago. ... It's amazing how in a matter of 15 years (since the Spirit and Opportunity Mars probes) we have gone this far."  He predicted Curiosity will "excite and inspire the nation" and stressed that "the launch is just the beginning."

Next up was Ashwin R. Vasavada, a senior scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory  He called Curiosity "A scientists' dream machine." Vasavada noted MSL represents 200 scientists around the world and talked about its various instruments, including HD cameras, a Martian rock-obliterating laser, and a first-of-its kind drill. MSL will analyze samples taken for the minerals they contain and check them "element by element," looking for any organic material present.

Mars Science Laboratory project manager Pete Theisinger also spoke. When asked how long MSL would roam around Mars, he said the rover didn't have "any life-limiting consumables, per se," and noted its power source could last "a number of years. ... We should be good for an extended period of time."

Theisinger said MSL is undergoing final testing but as of now, it's "prepared to launch 25th of November, the Friday after Thanksgiving."

And because there's no such thing as too much info about Curiosity, I downloaded the new (63-page) press kit Mars Science Laboratory press kit. Link to PDF version of it here: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/press_kits/MSLLaunch.pdf

MIDDAY MUSINGS: Not sure what the topic du jour was at your lunch table, but CJ, Annabelle and I were reading Russian news reports for the latest on poor Phobos-Grunt. With each passing hour, it's looking less and less likely that mission will get anywhere near a Martian moon.

With great interest we read a story on Russian Space Web that recounted the launch, what should of happened and what's going on now. It's not good. Bottom line is, as of right now, ground control cannot control that rocket.

Another story we read said Phobos-Grunt would be the most dangerous spacecraft to ever re-enter Earth's atmosphere. : /

SUNNY STROLL: We took time out to appreciate the (too few!) daylight hours by strolling through a small but nice little park in Shoreline.

In a far corner, the kids found a stick fort someone had started constructing.

The whole time we were in the woods, CJ was pretty sure some murderous psychopath was going to pop out. Not sure where that came from. I'm happy to report we survived our walk.

GONE MISSING: A story dominating the news up here really has CJ (and a whole lot of other people) rattled. A two-year old boy went missing, when his mother supposedly left him in her car when it allegedly ran out of gas. When she and her 4-year-old returned to the car, the two-year-old supposedly had been kidnapped or wandered off. (Oh, and when they "ran out of gas," supposedly they were on the way to the hospital, taking the sick-now-missing two-year-old.)

The holes in her story get bigger by the day. Things like, there WAS gas in the car. That, and there are eerie coincidences to the case and a Law & Order episode that aired the night before. (L&O was the mother's favorite show, per her estranged husband.)  

While watching the news tonight, CJ had LOTS of questions and I told him that it's clear there are suspicions about what the mother is saying and in a "best case" scenario, she left a sick two year old alone in a car on the side of the road for at least an hour.

"That is terrible mothership!" he proclaimed.

I would have to agree with him.

A Splash of Color

Image Credit: NASA/Sean Smith
SPLASHDOWN!: One of the first things we did this morning was review photos and footage from yesterday's Orion Drop Test 3. Conducted by engineers at NASA Langley the Orion capsule was hoisted about 20 feet above the ground and had a pitch of 17 degrees. Per NASA, it reached a horizontal velocity of about 22 mph before splashing into a Hydro Impact Basin in representing stable seas. I must say, the lovely fall colors make the scene very picturesque.

There is also video of the splashdown. Check it out - it's definitely worth 90 seconds of your time! The kids and I got a huge kick out of the surprise on the top of the capsule. Video: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/videogallery/index.html?media_id=119773741

NASA's Orion Crew Exploration was originally part of the Constellation Program, which was cancelled. However, the Orion design was carried forward. Now called the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (Orion MPCV) it's part of NASA’s latest plans to explore beyond low Earth orbit and into deep space. Recently, NASA announced a proposed test flight of Orion in 2014.

WHAT'S IN A NAME?: You should have seen the look on the kids' faces this morning when I said, "How would you like to name two of NASA's spacecraft? They were absolutely gobsmacked by the idea. "Really?!" they both squealed.

Yes, really. Then, I told them about the NASA contest to name GRAIL-A and GRAIL-B - the two robotic spacecraft which are working in tandem to create a gravity map of the moon. I pointed out to CJ and Annabelle that they had just as good a chance as anyone to name the spacecraft, so why not give it a go?

GRAIL stands for Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory, and the mission will enable scientists to learn about the moon's internal structure and composition. Having accurate knowledge of the moon's gravity could also be used on future moon landings, be they manned or unmanned.

I suggested a good ol' fashioned brainstorming session in order to generate name ideas. But first, we had to review what a brainstorming session is. ;) After that, I was the recorder of ideas while they talked. Once they hit a roadblock, I suggested CJ go pull a resource off the shelf - "Moon Landing," an amazing pop up book. Leafing through its pages, the kids got all sorts of ideas which led to a little bit of research. They finally came to an agreement on two names, but since the contest doesn't end until Nov. 11, I won't share them here yet.

TOTALLY TUBULAR: In Annabelle's art class today they made sculptures which incorporated tubes. It inspired her to produce this ...

DIRTY WORK: Imagine the glee in science class this afternoon when the kids learned they were going to be able to spill and stain on purpose!

As part of their continuing unit on textiles, each student was given a white swatch of fabric and they were instructed to sully it with six stains: dirt, ketchup, mustard, oil, and chocolate.

Next, they were to try to get the stains out with nothing but their fingers and a tub of water. That didn't work too well, so cleaning attempts escalated. They were given a sponge. And then a scrub brush. And then soap. And then detergent. And last but not least, some Oxyclean (which I really must say worked miraculously well).

COLORFUL: When got back to our neighborhood, the weather was wonderful and we took full advantage. Annabelle jumped around in leaves ...

while CJ was more contemplative. He spent several minutes perched atop pseudo boulders.

Spaced Out

Image Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
SPACE CASES: A number of space-related activities were on our to do list today. First up, we tuned in to NASA TV to see if the asteroid buzzing by Earth today (2005 YU55) was still keeping its distance. Fortunately, it did. :) NASA now has a (first ever!) video of the asteroid. It's highly pixelated and only six looping frames, but it's an interesting look, nonetheless!

While on NASA TV, we also watched (taped) footage of the Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity being lifted (safely inside its clamshell) atop an Atlas V rocket. Pretty amazing to think that in just two weeks, I'll be down in Florida to watch the MSL skyrocket toward Mars as part of a NASA Tweetup!

After the launch pad footage, we stayed tuned into NASA TV for a live broadcast from the International Space Station. Mike Fossum, Commander of Expedition 29, was answering questions from Earthling school children. They asked great questions, including about the importance of exercise for ISS inhabitants so that muscles don't atrophy and what types of experiments the astronauts are conducting.

It was fun reminding the kids that just a couple of days ago, the NASA astronaut they were watching on TV this morning took a photo of Japanese astronaut Satoshi Furukawa holding a laptop with a screen displaying the poster bearing the kids' names (as well as a few dozen space-loving friends). How cool is that!? CJ and Annabelle both said, "Thank you, Mr. Mike!" as they listened to him talk today.

Image credit: NASA/Mike Fossum

Just after noon, we started turned our attention to the Internet and live video stream from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. On the launch pad was a Russian Zenit rocket carrying the Phobos-Grunt sample-return spacecraft. The spacecraft was targeted for Mars' smallest moon (Phobos) and we learned today that grunt means "soil" or "land" in Russian, hence the spacecraft's name. The mission was designed to retrieve samples from the far-away moon and return them to Earth. There are high hopes for the mission, as it represents the first Russian interplanetary mission since the failed Mars 96 mission in 1996.

I have to say, there were some crazy sounds before, during and after the launch. There was robotic howling and groaning straight out of a sci-fi thriller, and underneath it all was a repeating pa-pum pa-pum pa-pum that sounded like a heartbeat.

By our clock, the rocket actually lifted off a minute or two early, and the kids and I weren't smack dab in front of my computer screen when it started. However, the second we heard that unmistakable rocket roar, all three of us went RUNNING for the computer desk. It was like a Pavlovian response. ;)

It was a beautiful launch - the rocket cleared the pad quickly and blazed into the night sky. (If you're so inclined, here's a link to launch footage: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4P0L6NUV98&feature=youtu.be. FYI, the actual rocket fire doesn't happen until about the 4 minute mark, though, so fast forward if you're looking for that.)

Imagine our surprise tonight when my Twitter feed started showing reports of trouble with the mission and news that the spacecraft is stuck in orbit. According to Universe Today, 2.5 hours after launch, the first burn should have put the spacecraft into an higher orbit around Earth, and a second burn should have occurred just over 2 hours later, sending the spacecraft on its way to Mars. Neither of these burns occurred. It isn't yet clear whether the problem is with flight computer or flight hardware. In either case, it's a huge bummer, obviously.

We have read that there is a three day window of opportunity to hopefully get the mission back on track and trigger the burns. We'll be watching and rooting for the Russians.

GIVE ME LIBERTY: Our history lesson today ended up being a couple episodes from a cartoon series called "Liberty's Kids." I'd never heard of it before we found the DVDs at a local library branch a couple weeks ago. According to the show's Web site (http://libertyskids.com/), the animated series aims "to provide 7-12 year olds with a fresh and exciting experience of the extraordinary period of 1773 to 1789 in American history." Stories are presented "through the eyes of two young apprentice reporters," Sarah, a British girl fresh from England, and James, a 15-year-old apprentice, who "sees things from a cocky colonist's perspective."

The first episode we watched today was about the Tea Party. (No, not THAT Tea Party - the original one, involving actual tea leaves and Boston Harbor.) The second episode was all about Ben Franklin and how he helped shape early America.

The kids were pretty engaged by the show, and are looking forward to watching more. My favorite part was hearing Walter Cronkite as the voice of Ben Franklin.

CIVIC DUTY: This afternoon, we popped over to Ballard to put a couple of completed ballots in a collection box. I have to say, I almost didn't put them in because when we arrived, a couple of guys driving an Enterprise rental truck had the side of the box open and were messing with it. They didn't look very official like! Despite the misgivings, I had Annabelle put our ballots in and we'll hope for the best. Election results are just starting to trickle in. I certainly won't miss the campaign ads.

DRIP DROP: We tackled our science class homework today. It was fun. The assignment involved dripping a drop of water on several different types of fabric and recording what happened with the water droplet. Did it just sit there, did it quickly get absorbed or was the result somewhere in between?

In case you're wondering, no the kids didn't drop water on the the plates of Honeycombs. That was just part of their breakfast.

LITTLE RED PIZZA: Knowing we were going to make pizza for dinner tonight, when I saw "The Little Red Hen (Makes a Pizza)" on the shelves at the Ballard library today, I grabbed it straight away.

We read it this afternoon and it was a fun retelling of the familiar story. Afterward, we got down to the business of making our own pizza. First, we read the recipe assembled the ingredients. I got a bit nervous when I found out I was out of the bread flour it called for. The obvious research question for us became "What's the difference between all purpose flour and bread flour?" Thanks to the magical Internets, we learned it's about the amount of protein or gluten in the flour. Bread flour has about 12 to 14 percent protein, which produces a chewier bread. All purpose flour is typically in the 10 to 12 percent range. Cake flour has even less. Articles we read said our pizza dough would be OK with the regular flour. Phew - crisis averted.

I had the kids read the recipe and follow the directions, all the way from feeding the yeast to dumping the whole mess into the Kitchenaid bowl and letting the dough hook do its work. We let the dough rise for a couple of hours, then the kids punched it down (yes, with clean hands).

The kids were both thrilled with the final product.

Football Follies

BOW DOWN: This weekend we took a field trip to Husky Stadium, perhaps the most picturesque field in college football. At least from a distance. ;)

We hopped a chartered boat at the foot of our hill which took us right to the game. It's an excellent way to go - no bothering with traffic or parking and you get to enjoy a scenic cruise to and fro. Unfortunately, the boat ride was the highlight of the evening. ;)

For the eighth time in a row, the Dawgs lost to the Ducks. And in a way, that wasn't the worst part of our night. I've pretty much grown used to that outcome at this point. :/ The worst part was that it was a night game. Unlike the good ol' days, when you'd buy your tickets months in advance and know the day and TIME of the game you'd be attending, now TV drives everything, and the game time isn't set until a couple weeks before the game. We found out not too long ago that our tickets were for a 7:30 start, which is pretty late and cold for a family with a couple of little kids. That, and when the game doesn't start until that late, the game-goers have SEVERAL extra hours to tailgate ahead of time, which means by gametime there are a whole lot more people who are seriously schlitzed. That public drunkeness * 10 results in it being a LOT less family friendly, shall we say. The low point of the evening was a drunk guy older than me who decided he could singlehandedly solve the bottleneck problem as hundreds of us waited to work our way into a tiny entrance gate by starting to shove people. Chaos ensued and he's lucky (and we're all lucky) someone wasn't seriously hurt. Most unfortunately, Annabelle was one of the many people jostled and it scared her badly and set her off on a crying jag. Once things had settled down somewhat, I did make it a point to turn around and 'congratulate' the jerk on being such big bully that he made a 7-year-old girl cry.

Then, we made our way up to our seats. Somehow, Ticketmaster, despite their technological prowess, did not manage to inform me that our seats were two rows from the very top of the stadium (stratosphere) and that the view was somewhat limited by the hanging down press box. Nice.

By halftime, the kids were cold and hungry and so I took them and we wandered around checking out the sights and sounds of the stadium and its views before we headed back to our boat. Upon arrival, the captain herself said she couldn't let us on because the whole boat was an open bar until the fourth quarter. Oh. Really? At that, I wondered aloud how it could be that no one told us in advance that the boat my kids rode over and had a ticket back for was off limits to them but open to other non ticket holding comers during the game. How could that be right? In fact, it couldn't be, because that would be very WRONG to deny my tired, ticket holding children boat boarding. Miraculously, the rules changed and we were allowed to get on.

Eventually, the whole gang (two grandparents, the two biggest brothers, their friend and Christian) all made it back to the boat and we had a lovely ride home.

IMHO, the remodel of Husky Stadium can't come soon enough. Our experience there Saturday was, by far, the worst time I've ever had. From seats to egress/exits and concessions, the stadium's beat. It's a top flight location but the facility is the absolute dregs. Time for onward and upward!

I WANT MY JETPACK: Didn't someone in the not too distant past predict we've have flying cars and jetpacks by now? What's the friggin' hold up? This morning's email from NASA served up a look at NASA astronaut Bruce McCandless jetpacking his way in orbit 25-plus years ago (on Feb. 12, 1984). MCandless ventured further (320 feet) away from the confines of his ship than any previous astronaut ever. A nitrogen jet propelled backpack (previously known at NASA as the Manned Maneuvering Unit) made it possible.

IMAGE: NASA
Have I mentioned I want my jetpack?

RETRO 'ROID: We've been watching news of the approach of Asteroid 2005 YU55 (catchy name, 'eh?). Tomorrow it will do a (relatively) close flyby of earth - just 860,000 miles away, which is closer to us than our own moon. NASA made available the latest tracking photo it has of the asteroid. I have to admit, it looks very 8-bit to me.

IMAGE: NASA/JPL-Caltech

When I saw it, I couldn't help but wonder if Space Invaders are far behind.

METAL METTLE: Regular readers know, thanks to Minecraft, the kids have been asking lots of questions lately about elements found in the Earth. Today, CJ asked me what the hardest metal is. I didn't just answer with a blank stare. I also gave him an, "Uh ..." And then we promptly hit up the Google. ;)

Simply by typing in "what is hardest metal" we got some great hits, one of which told us that the hardest known metal is steel alloy. That led to a discussion about what an alloy is and if you're mixing something, is it really The Hardest Metal? (BTW, steel alloy is made by adding carbon).

We also learned that carbon steel is surpassed in hardness only by very hard nonmetals, such diamonds. This info fed right into what the kids have learned in Minecraft, where diamond weapons are the most coveted.

By reading further, we learned about the Mohs scale. I am ashamed to admit, I'd never heard of it before today. :( But I'll never forget it now! The Mohs scale of hardness ranks elements on a scale from one to 10, with 10 being the strongest. Elements are rated according to their ability to resist abrasion or scratching. The scale is named after this dude (below) Friedrich Mohs in 1812. Mohs was a mineralogist from Germany who wanted a simple way of testing minerals' toughness. What the mineral could scratch, or what could scratch the mineral determines its position on the Mohs scale.

Since he worked in the field, Mohs wanted a simple way to rate things, and used his fingernail, a penny, glass and a knife to scratch and rate elements.

Interestingly, back to that hardcore high-carbon steel we started with - well, it only rates an 8 on the Mohs scale, while a diamond ranks a 10 (and a ruby rates a 9, in case you were wondering).

WISE WORDS: Both of the kids are under the weather, with stuffy sinuses and scratchy throats. This morning, when they were curled up on the couch and I handed them each one of G'ma's chocolate chip cookies, Annabelle observed, "Everything's better with a cookie."

Truer words were never spoken.