Enduring Astronaut

GROUND CONTROL: It has been waaaaay too long since we've hung out with an astronaut.

Seriously, our astronaut deficit stretches back months and months.

We righted that wrong last night, thanks to an appearance by Scott Kelly in Seattle. 

 He's on a tour promoting his book "Endurance." 

I'll let the kids tell you a bit more about the encounter, with CJ up first. ... 

Scott Kelly recently held an event titled “An Evening with Scott Kelly” in the University Temple United Methodist Church in the University District. The event was a small interview about what being in space for a year was like; It was somewhat of a paraphrased version of the book that was available signed with your ticket. Scott Kelly’s interviewer seemed to be doing a lackluster job during the event. He was very quiet despite having a real microphone (someone in the back of the church asking for him to be louder was actually louder than the interviewer himself) and started asking Kelly about things like the air from different countries instead of going to the ISS for a year. Scott Kelly has a good sense of humor, but he also seemed rather disappointed in the interview questions.

He talked a lot about parts of his book and how he thinks it’s amazing that even when in politics our connection with Russia is unstable, we’ve worked together and will continue to do so in the name of science and space exploration. He talked about how he made good friends with all his crewmates despite speaking different languages, having different customs, and even different emergency procedures. At one point, a Russian satellite was on a collision course with the ISS. The US procedure is to close and seal all internal hatches on the ISS, so if one part was hit and collapsed, the others would be ok. Scott Kelly’s Russian colleagues, however, were having lunch and just decided that if it hit them, they could escape in the Soyuz. The satellite miraculously missed the ISS, and while his teammates resumed lunch, Kelly spent the rest of the day opening the hatches again.

He told a few other stories, most of which can be read in his book “Endurance”. He has also released a children’s book titled “My Journey to the Stars”. Although the event was only ok, Scott Kelly is a remarkable human being and I highly recommend learning about him.

I have to give CJ props. He is totally right. The interviewer was OK at best. 

Astronauts are not created equal (thank goodness, because missions require all sorts of different skill sets.)

While Scott Kelly was a great story teller once prompted, he's not the Chris Hadfield/Garrison Keillor type natural 'let's sit by the fireside and swap stories' at ease storyteller some others are, so the event was somewhat dependent on the interviewer.

Despite the interviewer on Thursday night, it was a wonderful event. Annabelle has this to say. ... 

Scott Kelly is a NASA Astronaut who is best known for having spent nearly a whole year in space (340 consecutive days) from 2015 to 2016. Scott Kelly was chosen for NASA's experiment because he has an identical brother, retired astronaut Mark Kelly, who spent the entirety of Scott Kelly's year in space on land. Both Kelly brothers will continue to be NASA test subjects for the rest of their lives.\

Yesterday, I got to see a presentation by Kelly, accompanied by Andrew McIntosh, at the University Temple United Methodist Church. The event, officially known as "Scott Kelly in conversation with Andrew McIntosh", was an hour long, and was part of a promotion tour for Kelly's latest book, "Endurance".

During the event, Kelly read the first few pages of Endurance to the audience (a full audiobook narrated by Kelly can be purchased on Amazon). The first pages of Endurance describe how Kelly felt upon returning to Earth from his year-long trip, as well as some of the things that led to Kelly becoming interested in becoming an Astronaut (For example: Seeing the Moon landing on TV, and reading The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe while in college). We were able to get two signed copies of Endurance prior to the presentation.

 The lighting in the venue for the talk was terrible (from a photography standpoint). I apologize for the crappy photos. In the one below, Kelly was describing hunkering down, waiting for a maybe collision of a satellite while on the International Space Station.

Kelly imparted many interesting anecdotes and factoids, but one of  the things he said that sticks with me most was that he was in the bottom half of his high school class. He said he would have been diagnosed with ADD had he been in school these days

He said after reading "The Right Stuff," he was moved enough to upend his everything and the result was he became a NASA astronaut. 

Quite the reboot!

One More Time

ROAD SHOW:  This afternoon, we took our "Empty Bowls" show on the road, to the retirement community next door to the school where the event was held on Tuesday.

We didn't take 20 pots of soup or any bread (they have a nice dining room and meal program of their own there). What we did take were dozens of art pieces students had crafted (decorative fabric, ceramic and glass vessels), some showy tissue paper flower centerpieces, a few informational posters, and some enthusiastic young singers.

Annabelle, the art teacher and I set up in the facility's grand living room (complete with a grand piano, a bistro and a gift shop, might I add).

Annabelle kicked off the introductions, telling the special audience a bit about Empty Bowls.

Then, students shared facts about hunger and homelessness, and some songs. 

It was a wonderfully heart-warming event, with lots of handshakes and hugs between generations.

Near the end of the event, the senior center residents were invited to write notes to share with local homeless youth. 

Annabelle and I helped collect the notes afterward. I couldn't help but peek, at a couple of them and was so touched by the sentiments.

It was a lovely hour.


SUPER DUPER: An email from NASA this morning let us know something extraordinary is about to happen. Specifically, December 3 will mark the first of three supermoons in a row. 

Naturally, the rare event makes now a great time to learn about what causes supermoons. 

For the occasion, NASA is introducing an entry in its "Teachable Moment" all about the topic, featuring education specialist Lyle Tavernier explaining the dynamics behind supermoons and how to dispel common misconceptions among students and adults so they can fully enjoy one of the sky's most phenomenal sights.

*NEW* Measuring the Supermoon (Grades 5-12) – Students take measurements of the Moon during its full phases over multiple Moon cycles to compare and contrast results.

NASA's new lesson plan outlines how students can take measurements of the moon over multiple cycles and through its phases. https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/teach/activity/measuring-the-supermoon?utm_source=iContact&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=NASA/JPL%20Edu&utm_content=edunews_20171116

Bowled Over

SOUPER EVENT: I am behind in blogging, which seems to be the new normal, unfortunately. We have had a series of event requiring extra hours and attention, it seems. The latest: Helping host a fund raising banquet for a hundred plus guest.

I think this is the third year we've helped out with "Empty Bowls" at a local learning center. Our helping out involves making art, helping others make art, marketing the event, coming up with a soundtrack and a PowerPoint presentation, a few planning meetings, making three huge pots of soup, making about 5 dozen muffins, setting up the room, cleaning up afterward, making sure the $ raised gets to the right folks, and that leftover food goes to a homeless camp. Naturally, and thankfully, there are a number of others who pitch in to help.

We went with pops of bright colors on white. It looked very festive!

The fan folded napkins were inspired by ones we saw on our trip to Europe in September. We were in a restaurant  near Utah Beach in France where napkins were done up that way, and Annabelle figured out (and remembered!) how to do it when we got home. She taught other kids at school, and they folded up dozens of them!

During the event, there is a 'sale' of art bowls (which is really just donation based). This year there was also a donation based bake sale. Some students and their great choir director performed a few great songs, and we had 20-plus pots of soup for people to sample, as well as several kinds of bread.

We had four soup stations around the space. In the pink bowl above was one of our contributions, Berry Good Fruit Soup!

It was an amazing array of soups, with flavors from around the globe, and lots of vegan and vegetarian options.

We also took hearty lasagna soup (that always disappears lickety split!).

And CJ's Loaded Baked Potato soup, another crowd pleaser.

All in all, it was a fun afternoon, and we raised nearly $700 for Teen Feed, a local organization working "with the community to offer support to meet basic needs, build strong relationships, and ally with homeless youth as they meet their future off the streets. With the tremendous support of the community, Teen Feed responds to the most basic needs of homeless and at-risk youth in the following focus areas: healthy meals and lives, youth support coordination, street outreach, healthcare access, and engaging the community through service. Teen Feed responds to the most basic needs of homeless youth with three (3) integrated programs: Teen Feed Meal Program, Street Talk Outreach Program (STOP), Service Links for Youth (SLY). Youth Access to Care (YAC), formerly a separate program, has been integrated as a component into all existing programs." (Excerpt from their website.)

Soup left over after the event went to the people living in Tent City near the school. They were thrilled to have all that homemade soup, still warm from the pots!

Remembering

AD ASTRA: This week, humankind lost one of its best. Apollo astronaut Dick Gordon.

A graduate of the University of Washington, Richard (Dick) Francis Gordon Jr. (October 5, 1929 – November 6, 2017) was one of only 24 people to have flown to the Moon, as the Command Module Pilot for the Apollo 12 mission. Gordon also flew in space in 1966, as the pilot of the Gemini 11 mission.

A U.S. Navy Captain, aviator, chemist and test pilot, Gordon definitely had the "right stuff." He was born in Seattle on Nov. 5, 1929. In his 88 years, Gordon had 2 hours and 41 minutes of space walk time. 

That's 2 hours and 41 more than the VAST majority of humanity.

Gordon graduated from North Kitsap High School in Poulsbo, Washington, in 1947, and earned his Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from the UW in 1951. He's pictured center, below. 

Unfortunately, we never had the opportunity to meet Gordon. However, I have a number of friends who have met him, and they all rave about what a nice, friendly guy he was.

To the stars, Astronaut Gordon!

SWEET CELEBRATION: This afternoon, the kids and I attended a small Veteran's Day celebration. We brought a few dozen cookies for the occasion. 

It would have gone a lot faster if I had made royal icing and piped the cookies, but I went the slow route and did fondant, which meant rolling out stripes and placing each dot as a star. It was worth it seeing the octogenarians make a beeline for the cookies after the assembly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrIefWtQBZ0

White Weekend

THE WHITE STUFF:  The last few days have brought a bit of a surprise ... in the form of snowflakes!

We had snow Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Friday was not in the forecast. A quick drop in temperature thanks to a change in the wind in the early a.m. along with some precipitation made for some surprises.

And then Sunday morning, ea-Tac Airport measured 0.4 inches of snow, the second-most snow measured this early in Seattle's "winter" season since weather records began being kept in 1892. That's a long darn time!

Only Oct. 27, 1971, had more snow earlier in the season in Seattle, when 2 inches fell at the airport. There was also 0.2" measured on both Nov. 6, 1975 and Nov. 3, 1973.'

Not only was there snow, but it was cold. The three day period of Friday through Sunday each set records for coldest recorded high temperatures of their specific date: 43 degrees on Friday, 41 on Saturday and just 40 on Sunday.

Here's the National Weather Service tweet confirming the unusual state of affairs. 

NWS Seattle 

✔@NWSSeattle

In 73 yrs of records at Sea-Tac there has only been 8 days w/highs 43° or less in the 1st week of Nov, 3 of them in the last 3 days. #wawx

6:35 AM - Nov 6, 2017

DID NOT THROW AWAY MY SHOT: So, in case you haven't heard, there is this musical called "Hamilton" that has become a bit of a deal. 

It has won multiple Tony Awards, and it has worked its way into mainstream, not 'normal' for most Broadway shows. 

The show is finally going on the road and it's the hottest ticket in the country. It's coming to Seattle and we want to see it, of course. A couple of weeks ago, it was announced one possible pathway to a ticket was the new Ticketmaster "Verified Fan" program. Supposedly designed to help battle 'bots snatching up tickets, one had to go online, enter some info and then hope they were selected in a lottery for a chance to buy tickets (it was no guarantee you'd actually be able to buy a ticket).

So, once we got an email saying we had a shot, the next step was waiting for a text message with how to log in for said shot. That made for some interesting dreams/nightmares last night.

I was awake about 6 a.m. waiting. The text came a little after 7. I had my computer on at 8, already on the page and its countdown. I waited until 8:45 to wake Christian, handing him a laptop, his phone (with his code), and blaring "My Shot" from my computer's speakers. :)

There were many tense moments, but in the end, we got our tickets. Hooray!

To help celebrate, afterward, we watched this carpool karaoke with Hamilton's creator, Lin Manuel, and friends: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YshgmStEZh0

BOARD: Every month, the kids and I put up a birthday bulletin board at their learning center. It was Oct. 31 before we realized the next day was Nov. 1. And that meant we needed a birthday board. Oops.

We started brainstorming. I refuse to do the obvious stereo types, like turkeys in November. Just no! 
So what to do, what to do?  I had a couple of thoughts but they were too hard to execute in, oh, and hour or two. My mind turned to birds other than turkeys, and I thought, "Whooo doesn't like owls?" So, we went with an owl board.

A quick check in with Pinterest showed us that owls out of brown paper bags are quick, cute and easy, so that's what we did. Annabelle pointed out that many of the examples had big ol' ears on the owls, and owls in real life don't have big ol' ears, so we opted for a model with little twists representing ears. We didn't have a tutorial, per se, so we had to wing it (pun intended).

Stuffed with recycled paper, they were super fun to create. We used a variety of printed paper for their tummies. I would have *loved* to make owls with stomachs from antiquarian books or sheet music. I think that would look so cool.

While we were installing the board, we visited with a number of families who loved the little owls and told us they would be making some of their own at home. We also had one of the teachers tell us that one of his jobs when he was student teaching many years ago was making bulletin boards, and that his favorite one he ever made had owls.

Us + Them

BOOKENDS: Sunday, we ripped up to another country (specifically, Canada), to catch the Roger Waters Us + Them tour finale. We had the chance to see the show a few months back down in Tacoma. It was so good, we wanted more, and that's what we got.

We left the Seattle area around noon, and made good time to Vancouver. We went to Renee and Jim's place on the University of British Columbia campus, hung out there for a couple of hours, and then made our way to the show. 

We had nice seats - the first row up off the floor.

I never thought I'd get to see "Great Gig in the Sky" performed live once, let alone twice. It was remarkable.

If you're at a Pink Floyd/Roger Waters concert, you have to expect flying pigs.

 This show did not dissapoint.

In the photo below, the pig is just feet over CJ, Christian and Jim's heads.

Roger Waters always has been, and always will be (I'd wager) a political person. This tour is no exception. Common themes throughout were the refugee crisis and his obvious disdain for the current U.S. president.

The concert was a multi-media affair. Huge screens were used dynamically throughout the last half of the show, and during "Dark Side of the Moon," cool lasers were employed.

At the end of the concert, tends of thousands of papers rained down from the sky. 

This was the message ... 

In other news, this much lighter message was on a delightful mousse cake after the concert, back at Renee and Jim's. It was delicious!

 We had a sunny, swift drive home, save the 40 minutes or so at the border.

All in all, a wonderful 24 hours.

On the Run

TRAILING: We are so, SO far behind on MPA posts. I'm not sure how to even start catching up. :(

Just this weekend, alone, is enough to make me need to kneel down to catch my breath.

Saturday night, we were leaders of a crew providing dinner at a youth homeless shelter, Teen Feed. When we started volunteering there (once monthly, or so, over a year ago), we used to have 25-30 guests for dinner. Last Saturday night, we had twice that, at least. 

We were in charge of menu planning and execution of serving the meal. 

We opted for a chili dog bar with all of the fixins. We served up nice, big quarter pound hot dogs and oversized buns, mostly homemade savory chili with mega protein and veggies, with toppings including sour cream, onions, jalapenos, cheddar cheese, hot sauce and such. Naturally, we had to provide vegan and/or gluten free options for the dogs and chili and buns. There were also sides of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Dessert was six different kinds of crispy rice cereal bars, with Halloween influences. 

The diners loved having all the options and ate like they hadn't eaten in awhile (for instance, more than one had four hot dogs).

It was a challenging evening, and we were thanked profusely by many of the diners. 

TREATING: Halloween was all sorts of fun. Abbreviated version: The kids both had award winning costumes. :)

Bee was Taco Belle, a mash up of Disney Princess Belle from Beauty and the Beast, and Taco Belle, one of America's favorite fast food establishments.

I cannot put into words how happy this costume made the general public who saw it. People yelled "TACO BELLE!!!" across stores and parking lots. They just loved it. 

We bought a cheap Belle dress off of Amazon, and made the tacos out of felt, spray insulating foam (the meat/beans), yarn (for the cheese), tissue paper (the lettuce) and tomatoes (red foam). 

Annabelle crafted the famous rose from the story out of hot sauce packets. 

On Monday night, Halloween Eve, we went to our new neighborhood's Halloween celebration, at Skyway Park Bowl. Her costume won first place for funniest costume at the event. 

CJ was also a winner, with his Mario Kart-themed costume.

Amidst all of this, I have left out our trip to Canada this weekend, and a Halloween visit to an amazing Harry Potter themed attraction in Seattle. Tomorrow, hopefully!