Of Space and Turkey

UP AND AWAY: We started our day by watching a rocket launch. This time, it was in Russia - a cargo mission to the Internation Space Station.

This launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan was even more important than the typical launch, as it is kind of a reassuring test flight that systems are in working order before the Russians attempt to launch humans into space again. Last time they tried that, back on , one NASA astronaut and one cosmonaut would up making an emergency landing back on Earth after 

The capsule launched today is carrying almost three tons of food, fuel and supplies. It's set to dock with the ISS on Sunday. 

The crew on board the ISS is going to have lots of unpacking to do, as yet another cargo mission launches tomorrow. Saturday's launch will be a Northrop Grumman Antares rocket with a Cygnus cargo spacecraft. It will launch at 1:01 a.m. (Seattle time) from Pad 0A of Virginia Space’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, located at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. If you're a night owl, you can watch NASA TV  coverage online beginning at 12:30 a.m. The Cygnus capsule is scheduled for berthing on Monday, Nov. 19.

SAVE THE DATE: Circle November 26 on your calendars. That's the day that NASA's Mars lander is scheduled to touch down on the Red Planet. InSight is scheduled to land on Mars at about 12:00 p.m. PT (3:00 p.m. ET).

Short for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, the InSight lander is designed to look for tectonic activity and meteorite impacts, study how much heat is still flowing through the planet, and track Mars' wobble as it orbits the sun. "InSight will help answer key questions about the formation of the rocky planets of the solar system," according to NASA.

We received an email from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory today letting us know how the team will know when InSight makes its touch down.  As it's happening, NASA's InSight team will be monitoring the Mars lander's radio signals using a variety of spacecraft, and Earthbound radio telescopes, to track what's happening 91 million miles (146 million km) away.

These signals will be relayed to Earth in different ways, at different times. Due to this fact, NASA reports the mission team "may know right away when InSight touches down, or they may have to wait up to several hours."

As InSight descends, the lander will broadcast radio signals called "tones" back to Earth. Engineers will be listening at the National Science Foundation's Green Bank Observatory in Green Bank, West Virginia, and the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy's facility at Effelsberg, Germany. Results will be relayed to Mission Control at JPL and engineers at Lockheed Martin Space in Denver.

The tones aren't much more than a "hello," but radio engineers will be able to use them to track key events during InSight's entry, descent and landing. For instance, when InSight deploys its parachute, there will be a shift in velocity, changing the frequency of the signal. Signals like these will let the team to know how InSight is progressing.

Interestingly enough, InSight isn't alone during its journey. A couple of MarCo CubeSats are flying behind it. These briefcase sized spacecrafts will attempt to relay its signals to Earth. NASA says the MarCOs are being tested as a way for future missions to send home data during atmospheric entry, descent and landing. 

After a safe landing, InSight is scheduled to send an "I made it!" signal, using a tone beacon that the radio telescopes will try to detect. Seven minutes later, it will send a "beep" from its more powerful X-band antenna, which should be pointed at Earth. This beep includes slightly more information and is only heard if the spacecraft is in a healthy, functioning state. It won't be until hours later that engineers find out if InSight successfully deployed its solar arrays.

In this video, Rob Manning, chief engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, explains the critical steps that must happen in perfect sequence to get the robotic lander safely to the surface.

For more information about InSight, go to its mission page: https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/

TURKEY TALK: While folding laundry this afternoon, we watched an episode of a PBS series, "It's Okay to be Smart." This show is about science, the universe, and the pleasure of finding things out. The topic of the video we watched today: The Dinosaur on your Thanksgiving Table.

It was really interesting. We encourage you to check it out!

Forward, Backward

THE FIRST:  This morning, after listening to a couple of algebra lectures and finishing a test, the kids and I tuned into the National Air and Space Museum's Facebook Live event for our history lesson. 

The talk featured Dr. Peter Jakab, National Air and Space Museum's chief curator, talking about the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I this month.

I asked the kids to write about two things they learned from today's webinar. 

Annabelle's insights are up first. 

Today I learned that during World War 1, the Fokker tri-plane was one of the most popular planes at the time in Europe. The Fokker tri-plane used three short wing sets as opposed to one or two longer sets, granting it greater maneuverability and control. This came at the cost of making the plane much slower, though it made it especially convenient in tight conditions or close-range dogfights. It also became the Red Baron's plane of choice, due to its accuracy.

Also, today I learned that plane engines in World War 1 were only rotary engines, meaning the entire engine spun around a central shaft. While this did get the planes off the ground, it also had the rather unpleasant side effect of frequently hurling engine parts off itself. This would frequently be a problem during dogfights, which eventually lead to the production of the Radial engine.

CJ's takeaways are as follows. ...

Today I learned that World War I was often referred to (especially before the start of World War II) as "The War to End All Wars," in reference to its virtually unprecedented scope and level of destruction. In contrast to the vast majority of previous wars in human history, where spanning multiple continents was a rare occurrence, nearly every continent was involved in World War I in some way. In addition, World War I saw the first significant usage of tanks and aircraft in warfare, which enabled vast amounts of destruction and death to occur in battlefields.

I also learned today that women were involved in World War I to a larger extent than is widely known. For one example, many women worked in factories, assembling parts needed for machines in the war. A notable branch of an army that employed women was the British Empire's Royal Air Force, notable for employing Florence Green (the last known World War I veteran to die.)

LUNCH LIFT OFF: I had a medical appointment midday. The kids waited in the car while I was indisposed. I left them with homework, including watching the SpaceX launch just after 12:30 our time today. 

On the pad from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida was the Es’hail-2 satellite. Per a SpaceX press release, "Es’hail-2 also features multi-transponder Ka-band capacity, providing business and government sectors with secure communications across the Middle East and North Africa region. In partnership with leading service providers, Es’hailSat will offer a portfolio of broadcast and VSAT services to support business growth. The spacecraft’s multi-mission architecture will enable Es’hailSat to respond to demand for the fastestgrowing applications in the Middle East and North Africa, including content transfer, broadcast distribution, enterprise communications, and government services."

We learned that the satellite is a geostationary transfer orbit. In other words, it's not orbiting around our planet. It will be fixed in one spot in low Earth orbit.

This mission is another feather in the SpaceX cap, as the first stage of the Falcon 9 in today's launch has been used just months ago, for the Telstar 19 VANTAGE mission in July 2018. And as it went down in July, today, the first stage nailed the landing on the “Of Course I Still Love You” droneship, stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.

You can watch a replay of the launch below. Liftoff launch actually happens about the 22 minute mark in this video.

FRANKIE: An email from the Library of Congress today alerted me to the fact that our national government now has the first Frankenstein movie archived and restored. Go, America! ;)

But seriously, it's a super interesting story about where the film has been for over 100 years prior. I would encourage you all to read a Library of Congress article entitled The First Film Version of Frankenstein, Newly Restored!

Just a couple weeks ago, we went to a fascinating lecture about Frankenstein at MoPOP. One of the speakers there was Leslie S. Klinger, one of the world’s foremost authorities on Sherlock Holmes, Dracula, H. P. Lovecraft, Frankenstein, and the history of mystery and horror fiction.

There, we learned so much about the Frankenstein lore, so when the email today came about the first ever motion picture being available for viewing, we were super interested to see it.  

https://www.loc.gov/item/2017600664/?

The movie's only 13 minutes long. I heartily encourage you to take a look. 

Bowled Over

SOUPER DAY: Today was the day. The day we helped host a fund raising luncheon for we weren't sure how many people with we weren't sure how much food.

That's not stressful, at all. ;)

I'm going to go ahead and guess that we had well over 120 guests - maybe 150 or more. And I know for certain that eventually there were over THIRTY different kids of soup offered up for diners. Wow!

Without a doubt, I will contend we had the best 'restaurant' in Seattle - or perhaps the state or region or country - today between noon and 1 p.m. It was amazing! Something for every palate and dietary restriction.

The kids and I left home at 7 a.m., our car packed to the GILLS with crockpots, soup stock, serving implements and more. It took us 1.5 hours to reach the event site, on Queen Anne hill in Seattle. Seattle traffic is so awful. :(

Once we reached the site, we got busy right away. We had to rearrange most all of the tables in a cafeteria/commons.  Each table got a table 'cloth,' heart cards, a card collection bag, special napkins (in heart shapes), a vase with handmade tissue paper flowers, crackers, and more. 

Fortunately, we had lot of help getting the tables ready from some students.

Meanwhile, parents were tremendously helpful organizing the soup donations. The intake involved labeling each with its name, its donor and ingredients. 

Honestly, the biggest challenge of the day was figuring out how to plug 30 crockpots into about 5 outlets, I kid you not, and to not trip all of the power all of the time. We brought multiple power strips with built-in surge protectors from home. That probably helped some.

We did blow a couple of circuits, but honestly, for an old school with weak wiring, I consider that #winning.

The event ran from 1 to 2. It was standing room only. So many people! 

There was musical entertainment (including a number of young kiddos singing "This Little Light of Mine"), and a nice video about volunteering for Teen Feed (where we help head up serving a hot meal once a month).

All in all, a fantastic day!

This and That

GAMEY:  We've been playing many a board game lately. Lots of UNO, some Sequence, some Chrononauts, FLUXX, and more

One thing we finally did was finish a game of Ticket to Ride. It's a game where you build railroad lines across North America.  It's a BIG board and takes a long time to play, but it's really fun. Especially when you win, like I did last go round. :)

We also (finally!) played another round of Dungeons and Dragons this weekend, with Kennedy serving as our Dungeon Master.

We did fairly well, thanks to Christian having earned a giant elephant (Stampy), which was very helpful in battles.

PREPPERS: We're still in full on getting-ready-for-Empty-Bowls mode.

For the record, Empty Bowls events are held all over the country.  The idea was started in the 1990s by Lisa Blackburn and John Hartom. In an effort to counteract the negative news about hunger and poverty in their community in Michigan, Hartom, a high-school ceramics teacher, challenged his students to make 120 ceramic bowls, which they used at the first Empty Bowls. The even was held at their school, and a suggested donation of $5 per bowl was used to raise funds to fight hunger.

This is the fourth year we've helped chair the event at a local public school in Seattle. In years past, we've offered about 20 different types of soup (thanks to volunteers' contributions), and sold handcrafted bowls made by art students. Usually, in just one hour, we feed about 150 people, we raise around $700 for local homeless- and hunger-focused charities, and we take about 12 gallons of soup to a homeless 'tent city.' 

I'm hopeful that tomorrow will be similarly successful. Fingers crossed and wish us luck. It's going to be a busy day. ...

All About Adam

    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! 

Rising Above

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."

Fun and Games

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.