Seven Eleven

SLURP: Before 7 .a.m I let CJ know that today was a Special Day. It was July 11, or 7/11, and to celebrate, the store 7/11 would be giving away free Slurpees. That made CJ quite happy. Around noon we headed over to Ballard and, along with a whole lot of other people, took advantage of the opportunity. 


CJ was thrilled that he got to have a blue Mountain Dew Slurpee. Annabelle chose some cherry flavor. If I'm not mistaken, it's the first Slurpee either one of them ever had.


As we were heading home in the car, the always inquisitive CJ asked, "Why is 7/11 called 7/11?" I told him I think I knew once upon a time, but couldn't recall the answer. When we got home, I reminded him to look it up. He turned to WIkipedia, where we learned that the store was originally called "Tote'm," as customers "toted" away their purchases. Some stores even had made-in-Alaska totem poles in front of them. It was 1946,m when Tote'm morphed into 7-Eleven. The name change was to let people know the store had extended hours - 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., and that it was open 7 days a week. So there you have it. 


THIS AND THAT: We did some math today. Some reading. Some cake crafting and some roofing. Busy day. Tomorrow will probably be a repeat. 

LATEST FROM CURIOSITY: Have I mentioned the Mars Science Laboratory will be landing on the night of Aug. 5? Probably. And I'll probably mention it again many times between now and then.

Artist's conception of Curiosity on Mars - image credit: NASA

An email from NASA today let us know that on Monday, July 16, there will be a news conference at 10 a.m. PDT (1 p.m. EDT)  to discuss the upcoming August landing of the most advanced robot ever sent to another world. 


At the news conference, "a new public-engagement collaboration based on the mission also will be debuted," per the press release. The presser will be held at NASA Headquarters in Washington D.C. and can be watched live on NASA Television and/or streamed via NASA's Web site. 


Jet Propulsion Laboratory will also live stream the even with a moderated chat: http://www.ustream.tv/nasajpl.


Press conference participants will be: 
-- Doug McCuistion, director, Mars Exploration Program, NASA Headquarters
-- Michael Meyer, lead scientist, Mars Exploration Program, NASA Headquarters
-- John Grotzinger, MSL project scientist, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, Calif.
-- Pete Theisinger, MSL project manager, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena
-- Jeff Norris, manager, planning and execution systems, Jet Propulsion Laboratory