Heroes and Villains

WE PUT A MAN ON THE MOON: Before even going vertical this morning, R.E.M.'s song "Man on the Moon" was rolling round my brain. I knew today was the 43rd anniversary of American astronauts (Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, in that order) setting foot on the moon. Talk about an historic event. Though I remember it, it's well before CJ and Annabelle's time, so we turned to books, photos and video for them to "experience" it.


We visited the Smithsonian Website and looked at some iconic images from Apollo 11, the top one being Buzz Aldrin standing in his spacesuit (above), the sun casting his shadown on the moon's surface, with the reflections of fellow moon walker Neil Armstrong and the lunar lander in his visor.


We checked out other still shots and footage from the day, including a slideshow on YouTube featuring Apollo 11 images set to REM's "Man on the Moon" song.
We also watched a wonderful, poignant video love letter to the Apollo program from Carl Sagan. 
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And we spent some time re-reading a favorite book we own - "Moon Landing"- a phenomenal pop up book published in conjunction with the 40th anniversary of the first moon walk.

After all of that, the kids each wrote a little something about the event.

43 years ago, the Eagle launched in space. Three heroes were on the Eagle, which are Neil A. Armstrong, Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., and Michael Collins. When the Eagle landed, Neil A. Armstrong said "Tranquility Base here. The eagle has landed.". That quote is often used when something big happens. The reason NASA needs to send more astronauts to the moon is because if it was successful back then, it will probably be more successful now using modern technology.

Annabelle weighed in, as well.

43 years ago, the 'one small step for men, one giant leap for mankind' dream was accomplished. We had all dreamed about going to the moon, and Apollo 11 made this dream possible. Neil A. Armstrong, Edwin E. 'Buzz' Aldrin JR., and Michael Collins went to the moon. When they returned, they were welcomed as heroes. My one question is: If we could afford going to the moon then, why not now? We have advanced our technology so much we could find even more about the moon than we know now. We could drill for minerals, go into the moon craters, and even see if there ever was life there. We need more men on the moon, so we could discover more things about it. 

We need to go back to the moon because it may be hiding something that we couldn't find back then, and could find now. The moon is a beautiful place, meant for us to explore. So why stop exploring such a beautiful place? The moon is a dusty grey ball, but it means more to us than any other moon. Because this is our moon. It is our job to explore it. No man has stepped foot on the moon since 1972. We need more Eagles to land. We need more info. So we shouldn't stop exploring, no matter what. We need to step foot on that dusty, grey surface again. We need to explore, discover, and learn.

JAPANESE STYLE: After dinner, we tuned in to NASA TV to watch the launch of an H-2B rocket sending an unmanned cargo craft to the ISS. It was the first time we've watched a launch from Japan. Their launch pad at the Tanegashima Space Center is picturesque - on a peninsula surrounded by the Pacific Ocean. Here's a photo of it from a previous H-2B launch.

IMAGE: Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency - http://jda.jaxa.jp/result.php?lang=j&id=34e0e6aeae445b619931256a0bc7b9f1
There was incredibly dense cloud coverage during today's launch, so we got to see the rocket fire for all of five seconds or so before it disappeared. But it was fun listening to the launch in Japanese. Even though I didn't understand a word they said, I could have told you it was a launch they were talking about. It's just a distinctive patter no matter the language.


DARK MORNING RISES: CJ bounded out of bed at 5:20 this a.m., raring to go with Rick to see the new Batman: The Dark Knight Rises. Because you HAVE to see it on opening day, you know, and the earlier the better. Well, unless you went to the midnight screening in Aurora, CO's Century 16 theater. :(


I had just sent CeeJ and Rick out the door with Christian (who dropped them at the Pacific Science Center's IMAX theater on his way to work) when I turned on the Internets and saw the shocking news about the massacre. I immediately and irrationally wished I hadn't sent the boys to the movie, but then I quickly convinced myself that, of course, the random awful act of violence in CO had absolutely nothing to do with any other Batman screening anywhere. 


When CJ got home, he started hearing about the killings and he couldn't get enough info about it. He started combing the Internet for stories about the shooter and his background while he was listening to MSNBC and CNN on cable. I could tell that he was trying to make sense out of it and I was trying to explain to him that there will be times in life where you just can't make sense out of the senseless. Young as he is, he isn't quite ready to accept that. Can't say that I blame him.

In the Neighborhood

FRUITY GOODNESS: This morning we took Kirby for a loop-di-loop around the neighborhood. In our travels, we saw a variety of produce on the vine (or bush). 


The blackberries are already starting to turn from green to red and black. That's early for us. CJ and Annabelle each found two ripe enough to eat. Almost unheard of for July.

A block or so away, we came across some blueberries bushes bursting with fruit. Annabelle asked if we could eat some, but I told her tempting as it was, the bushed don't belong to us, so we'd have to settle for a photo.

As we returned home, we checked in on the ancient grapevine draping the fence to our north. Little green bunches are getting bigger. Too bad the grapes they produce are so darn sour.


CLOUD WATCHING: At 7 this morning, I tuned in to a NASA NEON Webinar about the S'COOL program. I've had a postcard on my desk about S'COOL for months now, and I've been meaning to learn more. Today was that day.

S'COOL stands for Students' Cloud Observations On-Line. It's a project involving students in  real science. Per the S'COOL Web site explanation, students "provide ground truth measurements to assist in the validation of the CERES (Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System) instrument. They can also compare the surface- and space-based observations to learn more about clouds and climate."  (A NASA fact sheet about CERES is here: http://www.nasa.gov/centers/langley/pdf/70877main_FS-2002-03-71-LaRC.pdf)

Using the S'COOL Web site, classrooms check when certain weather satellites are passing over them, and then they make cloud observations from the ground. Some of the things students are looking at are cloud levels, cloud coverage and visual opacity. Scientists then  'remote  compare what satellites observe and what students observe.


The program teaches the "ground troops" (students) about clouds and climate how it affects their city, country, and the world.

I registered Magnolia Preparatory Academy today. We should be receiving our welcome packet via mail in a couple of weeks, and then we'll be able to access data and report our observations. Neat-o!

CAPED CRUSADER: In preparation for the premiere of Batman: The Dark Knight Rises, today the kids used a handy dandy tutorial from Andertoons.com to draw their own Batmans. Er, Batmen? 


Actually, during the coloring process, Annabelle decided hers was Batgirl, the sister of Batman. 

Tomorrow morning (as in 6 a.m. morning), CeeJ and Rick are going to see the movie on Pacific Science Center's IMAX screen. That ought to be interesting! That's really not getting up early for CJ. He's always awake by 6. Rick, on the other hand, might be dragging a bit.


FALCON REWIND: SpaceX recently released a video recapping their triumphant launch of the Falcon 9 rocket and the Dragon capsule's successful docking with the ISS.


As we watched it, when the Canada arm on the space station grabbed Dragon, Annabelle proclaimed, "That was such an epic moment." 


That it was!

Shrinking

ALIEN INVASION: Today, be broke out one of the prizes Annabelle won during the Home Run Derby a week or so back - an space-themed Shrinky Dinks set.


Oh, how I love me some Shrinky Dinks. I remember being absolutely mesmerized by them as a kid. It was so much fun to watch the colored plastic sheets shrink right before your eyes to about 1/3 their size. It was like magic!


Today marked CJ and Annabelle's first foray into the Shrinky Dink world. They each colored an alien and some alien accessories (spacecraft, weapons, and such). 


After they cut the shapes out from the sheets, we popped them into the oven for one hot minute and PRESTO! 


Here is CJ's alien just before and just after baking.

While CJ's alien was in one piece, Annabelle's required some assembly. 

They played with their creations for a bit after baking, and for today's writing assignment, I asked them to each write their alien's backstory. What was its name? Where did it come from? And so on. 

Here's what Annabelle came up with. ...

The Firians are a species of alien never before seen. They live on the planet Heatup (HEET-up), which is made of pure molten lava. They survive because they have made very hi-tech suits that allow them to swim in lava. They also have gloves, shoes, and the suit has a helmet attached to it. The core of the planet is made of solid metal, and they will swim in the lava and secure their homes to the core. They do this so that their homes will not drift into each other. 

The planet used to be much like Earth, until the huge volcano, Erputeon, erupted. they usually use the words lava, fire, and flame as similar sounding words. Like this: "i lava you" (i love you).

In case their suit gets a rip, it is super thick. About as thick as a astronaut's suit, except lava proof. The suit is red and orange, the colors (presumably) of lava.
Now that we know about this species of alien, we believe there might be life on Mars.

The Firians eat rocks, and have very strong teeth. They also drink oil, which is very interesting to us.

This concludes the presentation of the Firians.

And here's CJ's account ...

Didnep is a LGM (Little Green Man) who is very small. As a child, Didnep wanted to become a hero. He studied why so many disasters happen on HKHKHLHHKJHLKKHJLK (his home planet). His species is Alien. When Didnep grew in to a teenager, he figured out why so many disasters happen in his planet HKHKHLHHKJHLKKHJLK. The reason is during its early years, there was a terrorist that planed to make disasters happen, and it was successful. When Didnep became a adult, he started getting a interest in volleyball. He even used volleyballs for soccer, basketball, football, baseball, and Monkey in the Middle. The rival of his planet is the Lorsoxians

STOOD UP: This afternoon Rick and I were going to listen in on a NASA Webinar about the Kepler mission. Unfortunately, the presenter never showed up. About 20 minutes after the start time, a guy who looked to be in his kitchen, using a web cam, came on. He apologized for the gone missing instructor's absence and started trying to fill time with random NASA education stuff. 

Fortunately, the hour wasn't a total loss, as one of the resources Mr. Fill-in shared was the NASA Aerospace Education Services Project's Resources Repository. It's a place to find and share educational resources. It's searchable by topic and grade level. For instance, if you use the search term "Mars" for K-12, you'll get 30 hits returned, including everything from PowerPoint presentations about MSL to an interactive Web site about geologists' roles studying samples from planets. In other words, it's a diverse and deep resource, and it would be a fantastic tool for any educator. Cool!

ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT: Today, we checked in on Curiosity using the amazing "Eyes on the Solar System" software available online. You can track MSL's progress (along with the movements of other spacecraft and the planets) in real time. 

Look at how close Curiosity is to its target!!! The excitement is building here!

In the multimedia section of the site, we learned that today, Curiosity's RCE-A computer, which was swapped with the backup computer yesterday, is being cold reset, or rebooted, while in online, or backup, mode. 

We also learned that work is continuing regarding uploading updated flight sequences and communications parameters for Curiosity's entry, descent and landing and surface operations to the spacecraft. Yesterday,  mission controllers completed the 21st attitude control turn on MSL. The turn adjusts the spacecraft's orientation to keep its medium-gain antenna pointed toward Earth for communications. There is just one more attitude control turn planned before Curiosity lands. 

STRUNG UP: This afternoon, Rick and Ken helped the kids change the strings on their guitars.   CJ's guitar was a quick fix; Annabelle's pink sparkly number was a bit more of a challenge, but in the end, they both got restrung. Now, the kids have no excuse not to practice!

Swimming Upstream

LOCKS: This evening after dinner, we headed just a mile or two to our north, to visit the Hiram M. Chittenden (Ballard) Locks. I've been wanting to go there for a week plus, because I follow the Locks on Facebook and I know their fish count has been huge (like 1,000+) sockeye salmon through the fish ladder for the past several days.

We parked in the west lot and as we approached the dam, I suspected the fish were still running strong as we saw some Native American fishermen stringing a net across the Locks. I've noticed a sign on site before explaining that Native Americans have fishing rights there as part of the Stevens Treaty settled by the U.S. Supreme Court years ago, but tonight was the first time I'd actually seen anyone fishing the Locks. 

The interpretive sign explains that members of the Muckleshoot and Suquamish tribes have fishing rights at the Locks, and that Locks officials and representatives from the tribes meet annually, assess the fish count, and decide upon a harvest number. I saw the fishermen tonight harvesting several large, silvery salmon.


We went "down under" to the under water viewing windows and saw more fish than I've ever seen in our many trips there before. 

Their year-to-date total for the sockeye run as of July 15 was 128,896. Wow!

After awhile, we went back up top to watch fish try to make their way upstream by jumping from one level of the ladder to the next. Here's a shot of the ladder right before a sockeye made a leap. 

Since the weather was so nice, the kids took advantage of the inviting, grassy hillside at the Locks and did a little rolling. 

And we even did a little trainspotting while we were there.

GEE-TAR: Since we were in the car for most of Sunday, the kids missed their guitar lesson. Today, Kennedy swung by to give a make up lesson. 

CJ reports that during the lesson he played Beethoven with his eyes closed. Not bad. 

Annabelle reports they worked on finger speed, so that "we can play actual songs at the speed they have, not just like really slow." Makes sense.


Ken reports that CJ broke a high E string in his exuberance. Time to stock up on strings. 

Cake and Rockets

TAKE THE CAKE: There was no Friday post because we were on a mission. A six-plus hour cake run, to be specific. 


We headed to Siletz, Ore., to attend the wedding of Christian's niece at Christian's parents' home. It's always a long drive, but this drive was particularly taxing because I was in charge of making the groom's cake, and to that end, we had a fair amount of fragile and perishable cargo on board and it was hot out and basically the whole way there, I worried that something was going to melt and/or break.

Fortunately, everything made it intact, and within about 15 minutes of arriving, I began making a half sheet cake layer, a couple of batches of Rice Krispie treats (which would become a forested river bank the next morning), and molding some back up bride and groom parts out of gum paste.

Saturday morning, I started making fondant and buttercream frosting around 8 a.m. and got to carving, sculpting, smooshing, smoothing, frosting, covering and decorating the cake for the next 6 hours. I was VERY happy to have super good help from Christian's sister Trina and her son's girlfriend, Leanne. They were great. Annabelle checked on its progress throughout the day, and helped a bit with mixing fondant and such. (It's worth noting that CJ and Annabelle contributed a lot of time to the project - they were with me every step of the way as I contemplated, designed, hunted and gathered supplies and so on.)

Though it looked like hell as a carved up and smooshed together mass in the morning, by the afternoon, the cake came together quite nicely. The weather and the wedding were lovely and a great time was had by all.


At the reception, there were fancy fluted glasses on the table. Annabelle informed CJ that when drinking from such a glass, you need to hold your pinkie out.

Worried about getting it right, CJ held BOTH pinkies out when drinking. :) 

BOUNTY: We haven't harvested hardly anything from our garden yet, but a couple of days ago as I was contemplating our gonzo-growing cauliflower plants, I noticed (gasp!) a couple of them actually had HEADS growing in them. Rather large-ish, appeared overnight type of heads. Sweet! So, tonight, we harvested one and it was part of our salad. Our first home grown cauliflower ever.

MORNING REPORT: At 10 this morning, we tuned into NASA TV for an hour long press conference all about the latest on the Mars Science Laboratory mission. 


I had CJ and Annabelle take notes during the presser, so that they could write a short report about it after ward. Here's how they summed up the event. ... CJ's is first.

In summer, on August fifth, 2012, the Curiosity Rover will get to Mars. According to NASA, it will be very risky to have Curiosity on Mars, due to its atmosphere. NASA also says that there could have been past life on Mars, as there used to be water on Mars, until it heated up. There have been two past rovers on Mars, which are Opportunity and Spirit. Curiosity will have to explore most of Mars' atmosphere to find even the smallest life. On July 16, 2012, an educational broadcast focused on the Curiosity Rover aired on NASA TV. There will be engines on top of the vehicle that the Curiosity Rover will come out of. On day 3 and 4, the Curiosity Rover will start taking photos for NASA members to look at and you might get to see the photos too.

And here's Annabelle's account ...

Curiosity is a rover that is going to Mars. Curiosity will be landing on August 5th, 2012, at 10:31 pacific time. Curiosity will be landing in Gale Crater, by Mount Sharp. By Mount Sharp there are minerals, but we are not exactly sure what they are. Curiosity is going to mine the minerals in the Martian soil, and study them under a laser! The laser is going to drill through excess rock to get just the pure mineral, and then it gets analyzed. Once the mineral is analyzed curiosity will store it and drill for more mineral. Curiosity will not only be drilling, it will be searching for microscopic life. it may find life, and it may not. But we at least hope it finds out what the minerals are by Mount Sharp. Curiosity will stay up there like its cousins that are also on Mars, Spirit and Opportunity. Curiosity, Spirit & Opportunity all have one thing in common, their mission. They are all exploring Mars just so we can see what it is like so we can go there, and maybe even live there. 

One of the questions from the media during today's press conference was about NASA's "batting average" when it comes to Mars missions. NASA Mars program director Doug McCuiston said he wasn't certain, but thought it was about 40 percent. "Mars usually wins," he admitted, matter of factly. We're sure hoping that NASA wins this go-round!

The photo below, courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU, is of Gale Crater. If you look closely, you can seen an oval outline. That's where Curiosity is expected to land. 

The areas in red above indicate a surface material that is more tightly cemented together than rocks around it and likely has a high concentration of minerals. That's one reason this oval is an attractive target for MSL. It's thought that this texture could be the result of water that could have been present there some time in the past. 


In other NASA-related news, today marks the 42 anniversary of Apollo 11 blasting off, carrying astronauts who would be the first to set foot on the moon. 


To learn more about the mission, we visited the Web site We Chose the Moon. It's hosted by the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.


On the site, we listened to mission control chatter from T-minus 5 minutes through lift off. We watched an animation of the launch, as well as archival footage. Exciting stuff, even 42 years later. Annabelle was absolutely jumping up and down when the Saturn V cleared the tower.

Photo: NASA