Thursday Tales

 BRACE YOURSELF: Big day for CJ. He's sporting a heavy metal smile tonight. 

He's pretty uncomfortable, but he's being a good sport about it. 

Speaking of uncomfortable, yowza, orthodontia is expensive. ...

HOT SPOTS: It was a warm one today, again. Upwards of 85, I'm guessing. To help beat the heat, the kids dangled their legs in water while eating lunch at the Locks this afternoon. 

And this evening, we went down to a little rocky beach on the north shore of Magnolia. There were lots of ferries, sailboats and cargo vessels on the Sound tonight.

CJ and Annabelle launched a small surfboard.

 No surfing was done, but after a bit they managed to at least bob around in the water on it. 

 The mountain was out today, majestic as always.

NEWS FROM NASA: An email from our national space agency let us know about a new NASA Education program, 'Science WOW!' 

By signing up for weekly “Science WOW!” email, we'll be receiving science education offerings delivered “Weekly on Wednesdays.” In the announcement, NASA told us, "Science starts with a question, and so does "Science WOW!" Each week's message kicks off with a science question and a link to where you can find the answer. "Science WOW!" also highlights an awesome science education tool each week. These featured resources will include NASA apps, interactive games, 3-D printing templates and more!"

Sounds great! We're looking forward to the first "Science WOW!" message, scheduled to be sent on Aug. 10, 2016. People can register their email address and be added to the list by visiting https://www.nasa.gov/education/sciencewow/. 

SO LONG, LITTLE LANDER: Sad news from the European Space Agency. The Philae lander, which touched down on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on November 12, 2014, is now in the big sleep, so to speak. 

Adorable cartoon: ESA

The end came when ESA switched off the Electrical Support System Processor Unit (ESS) on the Rosetta spacecraft, which delivered Philae to the comet. The instrument was used to communicate with Philae but, as Rosetta nears the end of its own life, it needs as much power available as possible.

Photo of Philae on the comet: ESA

Rosetta's days are numbered, as well. The spacecraft is expected to have a planned impact on the comet in September this year.

Now, though, we must say farewell to Philae. And in two months, there will be another sad goodbye as the Rosetta mission ends.

ONE MORE: The kids are still singing Weird Al songs nearly nonstop a couple of days after the concert. Today, they asked me to play this video. To the tune of Lorde's "Royals," it's called "Foil," and it's hilarious.