Foolin' Around

TRICKSTERS:  April 1 only rolls around once a year, and we were ready right out of the gate this morning. Annabelle beat CJ out of bed, which meant she had time to cover the bottom of his computer mouse with a piece of paper, so that it wouldn't work properly. 

I got their little hopes up when I told them they were going to get brownies for breakfast.

They were more than a little disappointed when they wound up being letters made from brown construction paper. Ha ha!

Together, CJ and Annabelle flipped the display on Christian's computer screen with just a few clicks of the mouse. They also changed his Internet Browser homepage to that of a Havanese puppy breeder, ha ha. With two Havanese in the home, another one of those is about the *last* thing we need. 

I told the kids about a great hoax a newspaper pulled way back in 1825. (I learned about it from a Library of Congress education resources email I received a couple of days ago.)

Called "The Great Moon Hoax," in August of 1825, the New York newspaper The Sun published a six-part series (!) all about how life was found on the moon.. The author was supposedly Dr. Andrew Grant, who was purportedly a protege of renowned astronomer John Herschel. 

According to the Library of Congress account, the articles told "about goat-like creatures with horns and beards frolicking about on green turf," the moon's many water birds and animals, and even "a spherical amphibious creature that rolled along the moon beach."

But it didn't stop there! There was also news of upright, humanoid beings about four-feet tall, covered in short, glossy copper hair, except for on their faces. They also had wings "composed of a thin membrane, without hair, lying snugly upon their backs, from the top of the shoulders to the calves of the legs.” 

Here is an artist's rendition that ran in the paper. Pretty far out!

The stories captured the fancy of an untold number of readers. However, when it was revealed that the "author" Grant was actually journalist Richard Adams Locke, the hoax was over (and I bet a whole lot of people were disappointed). 

We talked about how it would be virtually impossible to perpetuate such a hoax today, because there are so many other avenues for information beyond the daily newspaper these days.

A LITTLE SLIP:  Last night, via a NASA post on Facebook, we learned the launch date for the SpaceX resupply mission to the International Space Station has been pushed forward a couple of days. Ruh roh! That meant some scrambling (and extra expense) today, to rebook Christian's flights, lodging, etc. so that he can attend the NASA Social and launch.  The new launch date is Monday, April 13, with the NASA Social set to take place on Sunday the 12th through Monday the 13th.

Launches 'slip' all the time, for any number of reasons (weather, technical difficulties, people violating the safe range, you name it). 

EDITH'S HOUSE: Part of our scenery on a near daily basis is a squatty, tiny, unremarkable looking residence just north of the Ballard Bridge.

The humble abode, however, became famous a few years back when its resident, Edith Macefield, refused to sell out to developers, even for $1 million.

             photo via Wikipedia, from Ben Tesch
And so, the developers built around her. 

Never married and with no children, Edith lived much of her life alone, though she did spend years taking care of her mother, who died in the home. It was Edith's wish that she, too, would get to live out her life in the place.

During the construction, the project manager, Barry Martin, befriended Edith. He began taking her to appointments, making her meals, and paying visits on weekends. Their friendship seemed genuine, not opportunistic. 

When Edith died at age 86 in 2008, she left Martin the home. 

Check out the short story by CBS news at the following link. It gives you a glimpse of Edit, and inside the home, as she left it:. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/a-homeowner-who-wouldnt-sell-part-ii/

In 2009, Martin sold the home to Greg Pinneo, a guy who was going to use the structure to run a real estate "coaching firm" called Reach Returns. Rather ironically, the house is now in foreclosure, and set to be auctioned off. This has put the home back in the news, and that has prompted some to begin a balloon wall memorial to Macefield (a nod to the fact that the promoters of the movie "Up" hoisted a huge cloud of helium filled balloons over the place as a promotional stunt).  

The kids each blew up a balloon at home, wrote a message on it, and affixed it to Edith's fence (during a wild thunder and lightning storm, might I add).

However, it was neat to see that someone has put balloons, scissors, a marker and ribbon in the fence so that anyone who is so moved can add to the tribute.

There's an interesting twist to the sale of Macefield's former home. Broker Paul Thomas has told the local media that there's no set asking price, and that the highest offer isn't guarantee he keys. Rather, potential buyers have to guarantee that either the home or something will remain to honor Macefield.  It will be interesting to see what becomes of the place.  Stripped down to the studs, siding peeled off, and subject to weathering, it sure isn't a fitting memorial to Macefield in its present state.

ALIEN PLANETS REVEALED: This evening, we gathered 'round the telly and watched an episode of NOVA all about the hunt for and discovery of 'alien' planets. The hour-long program focused largely on NASA's Kepler mission, which has identified over 3,500 potential planets orbiting stars beyond our sun.

A fair amount of time was spent talking about Kepler-22b, which might have the right combination of elements to harbor life. 

You can watch the whole show on the NOVA Web site, here: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/space/alien-planets-revealed.html