Image: tru TV RUINED: This morning, we worked on some algebra, including taking a look at intervals where a function is positive, negative, increasing, or decreasing, and interpreting features of graphs. We also did a little learning about run-on sentences and mitosis (separate lessons, in case you were wondering!). And we handcrafted some tissue paper roses. An eclectic educational mix, I'd say. This afternoon, we had to go get the oil changed in a car. Usually that's a D-I-Y project around here, but I saw a Groupon to have it done for cheaper than we could do it ourselves, so off we went. While in the waiting room at the auto shop, we couldn't help but notice an animated show about how inaccurate most accounts about the gladiators during the Roman Empire are. The cartoon also touched on how inaccurate the movie "300," about Spartans, was. We found ourselves wondering, "What the hell is this that we're watching?!" Curiosity piqued, CJ hit the Google and found out the name of the show was "Adam Ruins Everything: Reanimated History." The particular episode we happened upon was from season 2, "An Ancient History of Violence."
As it turns out, the cartoon was an offshoot of a 'real live' Adam Ruins Everything program. Truth be told, we hardly ever watch TV. When we do, it's mostly sports, with Food Network competition shows a distant second. We really don't watch any network TV to speak of, or any kind of series. We learned the "Adam Ruins ..." shows are broadcast on tru-TV, a previously unknown-to-us station. The network describes the show as a program where "host and investigative comedian Adam Conover embarks on a comically inventive yet unrelentingly serious quest to reveal the hidden truths behind everything you know and love. Tackling topics ranging from the workplace and voting to forensic science and security, he gives you not just fun facts to share with your friends, but information that will make you see the world in a whole new way. If knowledge is power, then Adam Conover will have you laughing all the way to the top." Once we got back home, we tuned in to tru-TV and caught a live action episode of "Adam Ruins Everything." Interestingly, it was about mistakes Adam and crew had made on earlier episodes. While some might find that off-putting, I was actually glad to see that the show cared if/when they made a mistake or false claim. That's refreshing in what feels like a 'post truth' society.
We'll definitely be checking out more "Adam Ruins ... " in the future. So glad we got our oil changed this afternoon. If not, we may never have heard about the educational series!
MOUNTAIN MAJESTY: This morning was a rough one. I was wide awake at 5 or so, reading headlines. I learned Ruth Bader Ginsburg was in the hospital, there was another mass, murderous, senseless shooting in the U.S., and the White House was circulating a doctored video to 'prove' a point and further their war against a free press. What a bad morning for America. However, at sunrise, Mt. Rainier stood majestically above the foggy valley, reminding me that there is still plenty of beauty in this world. I had to get up and take a few pictures, like this one, from our deck.
And this one, below, from our living room window.
By contrast, this is what the view is like this fall, when fog isn't shrouding the valley.
And here's another peek - from the window above our staircase.
SCHOOL STUFF: We did our 'standard' today. For us, that's some algebra, some language arts education (focusing on grammar right now), and some science education (we're currently focusing on cellular life and genetics). Our art project for the day included making some cards and collection bags for our Empty Bowls event next week. We also folded more napkin hearts (and even ironed them into shape). While doing the handiwork, we listened to a TED talk. I Googled something like 'TED talks for teens' one of the search result articles I read suggested Angela Lee Duckworth's "Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance." It's an interesting talk about what makes certain students successful. The TED talker contends it's not IQ, it's not looks ... ultimately, said Duckworth, it came down to "grit." I think it a worthwhile listen. I am forever telling the kids not to give up too easily - or at all. It reminds me of the famous quote associated with NASA: "Failure is not an option."
IN THE DRIVER'S SEAT: We had to be in Seattle proper on Monday afternoon for a presentation the kids were part of, so we went up to the Fremont neighborhood early to check out a place we've been curious about. Called "The Ice Box," it's a relatively new arcade right behind an old Allied Ice Company building. Walking in, it felt like home for us. We just love the sights and sounds of old arcade games and pinball machines. Ice Box had a nice assortment of games, including a couple I'd not seen before, including a "Strange Science" machine, made by Bally in 1986.
The main attraction for CJ was the fact that the arcade has an F-Zero AX game. Apparently it's pretty rare. I'll have him tell you more about it.
F-Zero AX is a racing video game released to arcades in Japan (and, to a lesser extent, in America and Europe) in 2003. F-Zero AX is the arcade counterpart of the GameCube game F-Zero GX, also released in 2003. GX and AX represented the first major collaboration between (previous long-time industry rivals) Nintendo and Sega, and is/are widely regarded as the last "great" installment(s) of the F-Zero franchise (which has been dormant since the Japan-only release of F-Zero Climax in 2004.)
Less than a month ago, a post appeared on the F-Zero subreddit advertising the appearance of a "deluxe" (meaning it has a tilting seat) F-Zero AX cabinet at The Ice Box, an arcade (named after an Allied Ice business it is connected to) between the Ballard and Fremont neighborhoods of Seattle. I've wanted to play F-Zero AX for around three years now, so this annoucement was very exciting.
On 5 November 2018, my family went to the Ice Box, and I spent all of my quarters playing F-Zero AX. Somewhat worryingly, the machine lacked the seatbelt that it came with, but I played it anyway. The machine takes three quarters per play.
F-Zero AX deluxe cabinets are notorious for inspiring motion sickness in players, even those wearing seatbelts. At one point while I was trying to navigate through a racetrack, I felt like I was about to fall out of the seat (I didn't, thankfully.) According to the man working at the desk, F-Zero AX's memory card functionality (allowing it to connect with F-Zero GX) was not currently working, but they had gotten to the point where they purchased a GameCube from a local thrift store in order to cannibalize its Memory Card workings.
PLANNING AHEAD: One week from today, we'll be helping host a luncheon for over 100 guests. Called "Empty Bowls," the event is a fund raiser, where dozens of different soups are donated and people donate to sample one or more. Leftover soup will go to Tent City near the school where the event will be held. Money raised will go to the Ballard Food Bank and Teen Feed. One of the things we're doing ahead of time is making decorations for the tables. Those include folding a couple of hundred paper napkins into hearts. It takes some time, but it's kind of a relaxing activity.
FAMILIAR FACES: The latest newsletter from Birthday Dreams, a Renton, Wa., based business that provides birthday parties for homeless children, appeared in my inbox today. Imagine the surprise when I saw a photo of CJ and Annabelle included. It was taken when we dropped off a cake for a 17 year old girl who had requested a Pokemon cake.
Dawn mission image of giant asteroid Vesta. The asteroid's towering mountain at the south pole is more than twice the height of Mount Everest. Also, the set of three craters known as the "snowman" can be seen at the top left. COOL!!! Image from NASA, obviously. :) NASA NEWS: There has been so much going on with our nation's space agency, it's hard to keep up. A few big stories over the past week or so include the end of the Dawn mission. On Nov. 1, NASA announced the spacecraft, whose travels included orbits around the two largest objects in the asteroid belt, Vesta and Ceres, has run out of fuel and died. In announcing Dawn's end, Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington, D.C.said, "The astounding images and data that Dawn collected from Vesta and Ceres are critical to understanding the history and evolution of our solar system." Dawn launched in September of 2007, with the goal of studying the protoplanet Vesta and the dwarf planet Ceres, which are about 330 miles (530 kilometers) and 590 miles (950 km) wide, respectively. The reason those destinations were chosen is because scientists regard them as relics from the solar system's planet-formation period (hence the mission's "Dawn" name). If you're wondering what will happen to Dawn now that it's 'dead,' NASA expects it will remain in orbit around Ceres for at least 20 years, and likely much longer. Space.com reports "some mission team members have said there's a greater than 99 percent probability that the probe won't spiral down onto Ceres' frigid, battered surface for at least five more decades."
This photo was one of the last views NASA’s Dawn spacecraft transmitted before it depleted its remaining hydrazine fuel and ended its mission. This south-facing view was captured on Sept. 1, 2018, at an altitude of 2,220 miles (3,570 kilometers) as the spacecraft was ascending in its elliptical orbit of Ceres. It features a key landmark, Ahuna Mons. . Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA And just a couple of days prior, NASA officials announced that the remarkable Kepler Space Telescope, had run out of fuel and is in the process of being decommissioned. Launched in March of 2009, the Kepler Mission was designed to survey our region of the Milky Way galaxy to discover hundreds of Earth-size and smaller planets in or near the habitable zone and determine the fraction of the hundreds of billions of stars in our galaxy that might have such planets. I'd say the telescope lived up to its mission: Kepler is credited with discovering 70 percent of the 3,800 known alien planets to date.
Also, the world now has its first 8k video from space. A new video from NASA and the ESA have released a new high-definition video from International Space Station. The footage shows astronauts working on their experiments, recorded in 8K imagery so sharp, it seems like you're floating right alongside them. TEACH THE TEACHERS: Last night, CJ and Annabelle were part of a student panel during a graduate level class in the school of education at Seattle Pacific University. They were invited to participate by a former teacher of theirs who is now teaching a course about inclusion and diversity in education at Seattle Pacific. She wanted some of her former young students to tell her adult students how to more effectively teach about those important topics. Instead of telling them about some of the projects they did in their former 'social issues' class, CJ and Annabelle decided to demonstrate with the students.
The kids were demonstrating what separate and very unequal schools were like in Virginia in the era of legal segregation. One group of students was at an all white school, which had plenty of supplies and a comfortable classroom. The other group of students had to endure leaking roofs in their tar paper shack and inadequate materials to work with - that was the school for blacks back in the day. The exercise was inspired by the real life story of about Barbara Johns and her fellow students from R. R. Moton High School in Farmville, Virginia. The aspiring teachers all seemed engaged by the exercise, and CJ and Annabelle explained that they think a lot of kids learn better by DOING rather than just listening to a lecture or reading an article. BTW, if you haven't seen it already, I'd encourage you to watch this 12 minute video segment from PBS' The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow about Johns and her classmates.They were brave souls and pioneers. https://kcts9.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/bf10.socst.us.global.farmville/barbara-johns-of-farmville-virginia/
