Fluffy Stuff

SNOW DAYS:  This weekend brought some precipitation in a pretty form - a few inches of snow blanketing the Emerald City. 

The kids had a blast playing in it, of course. Per her request, I filled some squeeze bottles of colored water for Annabelle, who painted on the snow with it. And, of course, they had to have a (rather tame) snowball fight.

Despite the snow, we managed to make it over to Rick's house to work on his floors some more. Slow, painstaking process trying to save 100 year old wood, removing and re-installing dozens of boards (to cover up where we removed wall. We're nowhere near done.

We also tackled a couple of other minor projects, including getting his washer and dryer up and running. It was handy having Annabelle around, as she could wedge into the small space between his washer and dryer and help attach the dryer's exhaust hose.

STUDIO VISIT:  We were back at Rick's today, working again, but had to leave a little after 2 to make an appointment at the Pacific Science Center. There, we toured the '"The Studio" area of  the center, and offered our feedback to a staffer as part of a focus group we've been participating in for about a year now.

The exhibit we toured today was all about the West Nile Virus. It was super educational. We'd all heard of the virus, but now we all have an understanding of its genesis, the threat it poses and how you can protect yourself.

The first case is traced back to Uganda. By 1999, it had reached NYC. 

It didn't take long for the virus to spread across the United States. 

We watched a series of five short videos about how the disease is tracked at the present. For instance, locally, researchers from Washington State University set out traps to collect mosquitoes. The traps are baited with dry ice, because they emit Co2, which the mosquitoes are drawn to.

The trapped specimens are identified by species, which is important because out of the 40-plus types of mosquitoes in the state, there are only two species of mosquitoes in Washington state which carry West Nile virus, Culux tarsalis and Culex pipiens.

We learned about hot spots in the state for the West Nile virus  (east of the Cascades).

We also learned that the majority of people can get bitten by an infected mosquito and not have a reaction (represented by the green beads below), while some have a flu-like reaction (represented by the yellow). In rare circumstances, a person can become gravely ill - or even die (represented by the red beads below).

The exhibit included the story of a Washington winery owner, Paul Champoux of Champoux Vineyard, who darn near died from a mosquito bite in 2009. He's still struggling with the after effects.

MEANWHILE, IN SOCHI: We've been watching some of the Olympics since they started last week.
This morning, on NBC's Olympics' Web site, we watched a video about America's top short track speed skater J.R. Celski (a local guy!) and four-time Grammy winning artist Macklemore (another local guy). Turns out the two have a number of things in common, beyond geography. http://www.nbcolympics.com/king/video/10000-hours-jr-celski-and-macklemore?post_id=572443862_10152039777163863#_=_