Eighteen

The kids with a photo of Kyle Lewis, the 2020 American League rookie of the year. Lewis  had been injured, and made his first start of 2021 on CJ's birthday.

BIRTHDAY BOY: And suddenly, CJ is an adult. Well, at least on paper. On April 20, he turned 18. That means he's old enough to vote, and that he has to register for the 'selective service.'

We planned a day of fun for him. (Well, as much fun as you can have during a pandemic.) Fortunately, the Mariners had a matinee game, and we were able to get tickets.  In order to allow for social distancing, attendance is limited to 9,000 for each game, a fraction of stadium's capacity. 

If you're wondering why CJ is wearing a Dodgers' jersey instead of one for the home team, it's because the Ms were playing the Dodgers, and the jersey is a Jackie Robinson jersey. And the way we figured it, any or every day is a good day to rep Mr. Robinson. 

It was a beautiful day at the ballpark - about 70 degrees and clear blue skies. It was a pitchers' duel. Only three hits total were given up in the game, which took only about 2.5 hours to play. The Ms came out on the short end, losing 0-1 to the 2020 World Series champs, but they split the series and are still tied for first in the American League West as of right now.

The balance of CJ's day involved a sundae from Full Tilt, takeout dinner from Thai You Up and presents back home. All in all a memorable 18th birthday. 

VERDICT: While at the ballpark, just about as the first pitch was thrown, we learned that the verdict in the case against former Minnesota police officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd Jr. was in. Kennedy began monitoring news via his phone, with earbuds attached. Initially, the verdict was supposed to be announced at about 1:30. At that time, between innings, the Mariners played a video skit on the big screen called "Justus Served." It features pitcher Justus Sheffield 

I think this verdict will become one of those "Where were you?" moments, as in "Where were you when you heard Chauvin was convicted on all counts?"

I mean, sure, you would HOPE that a guy who knelt on the neck of handcuffed, prone man and brutally choked the life out of him over the course of nine minutes, all the while being exhorted to get off the poor guy by several frantically concerned onlookers, would be found guilty. It was a brutal killing in broad daylight with multiple witnesses, video recorded from several angles.

BUT ... it was a cop doing the killing, and the victim was a black man. History has shown us that deed all-too-often goes unpunished. 

Fortunately, this case was an exception, and the jury returned a guilty-on-all-counts verdict in less than 24 hours of deliberation.

There was a little buzz in the ballpark when people began learning about the verdict. 

CJ reports being in the bathroom and hearing a guy in a stall yell, "Guilty on all counts!" and the men in the bathroom erupting in cheers.
 

Of course, there's nothing to really celebrate here. George Floyd Jr. is dead. But it would be great to think that perhaps this case might be a turning point and lead to some meaningful,  sweeping police reform. Time will tell.

NASA NEWS: You've likely heard already, but the tiny helicopter on Mars has made its maiden flight! After a delay due to software issues, Ingenuity took off for a successful test flight on .

It was an amazing feat - the first time a flight has taken place on another planet.

Per NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, "The rover [Perseverance] was parked at Van Zyl Overlook, about 211 feet (64.3 meters) away in Mars' Jezero Crater and chronicled the flight operations with its cameras. These images from the rover’s Mastcam-Z cameras show the helicopter hovering above the Red Planet's surface. During this first flight, the helicopter climbed to an altitude of 10 feet (3 meters), hovered, and then touched back down on the surface of Mars. Ingenuity is a technology demonstration. The 4-pound (1.8-kilogram) rotorcraft will help determine whether future explorations on Mars could include an aerial perspective."

The milestone has been compared to the Wright Brothers' triumph at Kitty Hawk back in 1903. On board Ingenuity was a postage-sized stamp piece of fabric from the wing of the Wright Flyer. Pretty cool!

We're also monitoring the latest with Crew-2, the joint venture between NASA and SpaceX to deliver supplies and four astronauts to the International Space Station. It is just the second manned flight for SpaceX to the ISS. Predictions of unfavorable weather meant a scrub for the original launch date (Thursday, April 22). The launch now is targeted for 5:49 a.m. EDT Friday, April 23 (2:49 a.m. Seattle time).

Crew-2 will carry NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet.

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the company's Crew Dragon spacecraft onboard is seen on the launch pad at Launch Complex 39A as preparations continue for the Crew-2 mission, Tuesday, April 20, 2021, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky

On the Hunt

DRAGON PURSUIT: This past week, CJ started his latest and final quarter at South Seattle College. The first week of the quarter is always a bit much. It's learning the expectations of the new professor, figuring out what's due when, and so on. So that has kept CJ busy, along with those of us who are trying to help him navigate it all. 

This weekend, we worked hard, Hard, HARD around the house and yard. So many projects. Come Saturday afternoon, we were ready for a break. Going on a dragon hunt seemed like a nice diversion.

Renton, the city just a few blocks to our southeast, is the home of Dungeons & Dragons, a wildly popular game, first published by Wizards of the West Coast. 

Three years ago, a big ol' dragon was installed atop a building downtown to mark the city's tie to dragon lore. This weekend marked the three-year anniversary of that installation, and the city hosted a dragon spotting hunt in conjunction with that anniversary. 

We parked in the city's parking garage and followed dragon footprints painted on downtown sidewalks in hopes of spying at least 10 dragons.  It didn't take us long to spot our first. 

We had scorecards upon which to write down dragon's names. We were a bit surprised (and, frankly, disappointed) that the dragon's names weren't creative or cutesy. They were just a couple of letters and numbers. Oh well. It didn't interfere with the hunting fun. 

Some dragons were hidden among foliage. Others were saddled up to public art.

Some were on street signs, and others were in business windows. 

We found a dozen dragons within about a half hour. (Ten were needed to enter a drawing for fabulous dragon prizes.)

We made sure to go say "Hi" to Erasmus, the rooftop dragon.

We noticed a number of other people on the hunt, so I'd guess the event was a success. It drew a number of people to downtown Renton who wouldn't have otherwise been there on Saturday afternoon.

SPRINGY: Our springtime campus beautification efforts continue. Some of the beauty comes easy, like these tulips that offer themselves up every spring. 

Other projects take a LOT more work, like planting three dozen or so tomato and tomatillo starts around the yard today, which included loading in 32 cubic feet of soil to help our efforts. 

Most all of the starts went into pots all over the property. We'll see what blooms and grows. ... 

RESTOCKED:  Last weekend we finished our kitchen/pantry floor. After Christian and Annabelle took off for Bend, I spent a couple of days putting our pantry back together. It was a *lot* of work, but it was well worth it. 

Now, we're working on getting the south cabinets reconfigured and that countertop finished. It's starting to feel like the longest kitchen remodel in the history of the world. Hopefully it will be worth it!