Put to the Test

MISSION TO MARS: On Wednesday, midday, CJ and Annabelle went to The Museum of Flight for a special Mission to Mars event. 

There were a couple of different related activities. I'll have Annabelle tell you more about them. 

On April 24th, My brother and I attended a "Home School Day" event at The Museum of Flight. The event was held in the upper great gallery, and consisted of a few tables spaced around the floor with ample room for working. There were two activities at the event, and we were able to do both in the time allotted.

The first activity was creating a "space suit" for a marshmallow that would keep it from shrinking in the small vacuum chamber an attendant had for the demonstration. We were given latex gloves, plastic bags, tape, and a number of other things for use in the space suit. My brother and I wrapped the marshmallow in the glove, tied it tightly as possible, and put that into a plastic bag that had been taped shut. In both tests, our marshmallow survived with little to no harm or shrinkage. 

The second activity involved LEGO Mindstorms robotics, using the pre-built rovers to go through various commands such as picking up only certain rocks or pushing them to designated zones. It was interesting to play with the block coding system and find the different ways each mission could be completed, as there was no wrong or right answer - there was, however, much trial and error. Since I had used LEGO Mindstorms before, I had a bit more experience, though my brother was also very useful in suggesting how to solve certain issues or tweak the code.

Below is a conceptual design of the spacesuit exercise. 

 And here are a few of the process photos.

The kids were glad their marshmallow astronaut stood up to the vacuum test. 

The robotic test was super challenging, based on the many videos I viewed that CJ shared with me. I only shared these two out of about ten. 

SCIENCE SURVEY: Recently, in my online travels, I came across a story about a science knowledge quiz conducted by Pew Research Center. It's a short, 11-question, multiple choice quiz that Pew Research gave to 4,464 randomly selected U.S. adults in January of this year. 

If you like, you can take the quiz and see how you stack up vs. the average American.

A full analysis of the findings can be found here: 

https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2019/03/28/what-americans-know-about-science/

I won't share any spoilers, but let's just say the kids (who each went 11-for-11) were mortified by the percentage of people who scored a 0 or 1 on the quiz. 

News-y

GROUNDED!: We finally got some great news today that is about a month in the making. CJ and Annabelle have both been accepted in Private Pilot Ground School via the Highline School District at The Museum of Flight this summer!

This program provides the opportunity for students who will be in grades 9-12 next fall "to explore the world of aviation while creating a base of aeronautical knowledge that pilots need to successfully pass the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) private pilot exam," per the program's website. 

To get them eligible to participate required a mountain of paperwork, visiting multiple different offices at multiple locations, a flurry of emails and a few phone calls. But the work paid off, fortunately. It's just such a great opportunity. The program only costs $35 out-of-pocket apiece, and the if they successfully complete the class, the kids will each earn 5 college credits for it. Sweet!

NASA NEWS: Today, we checked in on a couple of NASA missions we've been watching. 

First up was news from the Mars lander InSight. In the photo below, you can see InSight's wind and thermal shield, which covers the probe's seismometer, or Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS). 

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/CNES/IPGP/Imperial College London

As you might recall, among other things, InSight's equipment is designed to record "marsquakes" on the Red Planet. On April 6, 2019, SEIS appears to have recorded trembling that appears to have come from underneath the planet surface, as opposed to being caused by forces above the surface, such as wind or the lander's moving parts. 

This video shows that event.  


NASA notes that audio from InSight's sensors have been sped up by a factor of 60 in the video as the actual vibrations on Mars would not have been audible to the human ear. More about the InSight mission can be found here: https://mars.nasa.gov/insight .
Meanwhile, asteroid Bennu continues to be studied by OSIRIS-REx, a spacecraft that arrived in the asteroid's area back in December.

Just released is this technicolor GIF. It's made from over 11 million measurements of the asteroid.
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/oxkbEkiuSSUPo5odNKbDXf-970-80.gif
The space probe continues to orbit Bennu, and it's still scoping out the best spot for a sample collection from Bennu's rocky surface. 
Here's a cool photo of Bennu's south pole.

 After the sample is collected from Bennu, the probe is set to head back to Heart in March of 2021.

ACTIVE: This afternoon, our bees were as active as I've ever seen them. Dozens and dozens were buzzing about the hive, coming and going. Here's a short video. 

It's amazing how much noise they make. What you hear in the video is not traffic or wind, it's them. I could actually hear them from inside the house through a closed window today.

Sweet Sixteen

BIRTHDAY BOY: We were busy celebrating CJ this weekend.

On Friday, we did the traditional birthday breakfast at Easy Street, a record store in West Seattle that happens to have a little cafe in it.

CJ had a stack of "Blueberry Hill" pancakes, and selected a Slayer album as a birthday present. A nice way to start a day. ;)

Saturday, we went to an arcade in Ballard called The Ice Box. There, CJ spent handfuls of quarters on classic games, including a rare machine, F-Zero AX. Afterward, he chose to go to Yard House for dinner, as he's a big fan of their "Carnivore" pizza. He also got a special dessert. 

Overall, CJ got some cool gifts and had a good day. Happy #16, CJ!

CHECK UP: At the end of last week, we cracked open our beehive for the first time since setting it up a couple weeks prior.

 Annabelle donned a beekeeper's suit and helped with the check up.

In the photo below, you can see a few bees returning to their hive, a couple of them weighted down with lots of pollen.

 Inside, you can see they have been busy bees, making brood comb and honeycomb.

 Christian used a special tool to life one of the racks up and out.

 On one of the racks, we spied our queen bee. She's marked with a green dot in the photo.

You can see there are already eggs in some of the comb they've made!

Waterway Walk

HISTORICAL STROLL: This afternoon, while Annabelle was tending to other business, CJ, the dogs, and I went for a little walk. We drove down the hill a mile or two to our west, down to the Duwamish River. We found a place to park along its east bank, and set off on foot.

One of the first things we did was cross this curious footbridge (above). It looked old and rickety, but surely it's safe or it wouldn't be open, right?

We were starting to rethink that 'right?' about a third of the way across, when the bridge started swaying and bouncing underfoot. That felt pretty darn sketchy. 

We were happy to be across, but realized, of course, that we had to turn back and cross it again to get back to our car. 

Obviously, we lived to tell about it. ;)

After that adventure, we walked south, along the waterfront. Along the way, we encountered an itty bitty church tucked between an old house and a manufactured home. I couldn't help but notice its simple cross looked like it was crafted from two Home Depot 4x4s.

Interesting that the church's weekly service is at 6 on Saturday evenings. Given that, I thought perhaps it was Seventh Day Adventist, but when I got home and did the Google, it appears the church is Presbyterian. According to an archived article on the Tukwila Reporter website, apparently services have been held here since 1905, and before that, the structure was in another part of town.

Beyond that, it's hard to find much out about the church. They don't appear to have a Facebook page or a website at all. Guess I could show up on a Saturday night for more info. It would be fun to peek inside. 

Just past the church, we came to a park - specifically Duwamish Park. Right away, we spied a labyrinth with a marker in the middle.

We walked the entire labyrinth, taking nary a shortcut. In the center, we saw this memento.

Turns out the park was the site of Duwamish Grade School for decades.

I found a cool old photo (circa 1920) of the actual school on a UW website. I didn't want to post it here, because it looks like image's usage rights are on lockdown, so to speak, so you'll have to follow this link to see it for yourself: 

https://digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu/digital/collection/imlsmohai/id/5075

The park had a decent sized play structure, a nice, big open field, and a good sized-barbecue. It also had a BIG bulldog for a neighbor, which delighted CJ, who loves dogs who are smoosh-faced and wrinkly.

SIGN OF THE TIMES: While driving through Tukwila, WA, a couple of days ago, I couldn't help but notice this sign (below), warning drivers about a no racing zone. 

I find it funny that if you take this sign literally, I guess it's OK to race there between 5:01 a.m. and 9:59 p.m.?

Wednesday Wows

Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

UP AND AWAY:  This afternoon, we watched Northrop Grumman launch its Antares rocket carrying a Cygnus cargo spacecraft. Lift off from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia was at 1:46 our time, and everything appeared 'nominal' during and after the launch. The capsule is headed to the International Space Station. On board are 7,600 pounds of research, crew supplies and hardware. The Cygnus Cygnus spacecraft, the SS Roger Chaffee, is set to arrive at the ISS on Friday, April 19, at  2:30 a.m., West Coast time.

Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

ZOMBIE PIGS: A headline caught my eye this morning. It read: 

Scientists Restore Some Function In The Brains Of Dead Pigs

It was from NPR, so I figured it was almost certainly true, and read the story. And then I asked the kids to read the story. Here's what CJ had to say about it. ... 

According to an NPR article with a clickbaity headline (it implies that scientists have somehow brought pig brains back to life), recently, scientists at the Yale University research team have announced that they have been able to restore and/or preserve cellular activity in the brains of dead pigs, just a matter of hours following slaughter. BrainEx, the technology developed and used to restore cellular activity, is (currently) incapable of restoring life, though the scientists are kidding themselves if they don't think it's going to be developed and (ab)used to actually restore life in the future.

The possibility of restoring cellular activity in and of itself is filled with potential for previously-unthinkable experiments, and raises ethical questions about the difference between life and death. Perhaps needless to say, I don't think it will be terribly long before human brains start being subject to BrainEx experimentation. One can only wonder if religious fundamentalists will declare BrainEx to be satanic, in the same vein as stem cell research. 

Here's what Annabelle has to say about the news. ...

With the advent of BrainEx, there are a number of questions about whether the ethics of potentially reanimating dead brains would have an impact on how the technology is used. If the BrainEx program reaches a level where it can truly "revive" a human brain, it would be of extreme use to doctors around the world and could possibly even restore some functions to people classified as "braindead." It would also allow scientists to properly study the brain as a full organ instead of having to dissect and use the already-dead tissue.

On the other hand, there could be a number of cons to this practice such as the aforementioned ethical issues. It could also cost a lot of money to get the chemicals and technology necessary to even start attempting to revive the brains. Finally, it's not even guaranteed that this would revive the brains so much as make the cells begin to function again - and of course there's the obvious fear of "zombies" arising from this.

"AH HA!" MOMENT: We took just a couple of minutes midday to watch this video: "Why There’s No Such Thing As A Good Or Bad Memory" by "brain coach" Jim Kwik. It was really interesting, IMHO.

I found his point about the brain being a "super computer" and that our self talk is how we program it especially helpful. For example, if you tell yourself you're bad at remembering names, well, guess what? You're programming your brain to think that. Makes sense. He also pointed out that something like memory or focus is something you DO, not something you HAVE. In essence, it's a verb, not a noun. 

Good stuff. We watched the video twice and talked about it afterward.

Out and About

BARK IN THE PARK: Sunday, we made our second pilgrimage to Safeco Field, er, I mean T-Mobile Park for the season. CJ was especially excited about the event, because it was a "Bark in the Park" day, where people are encouraged to bring their dogs to the game. 

Even though we didn't have a dog with us, we went and sat in the dog section, in the top row. We saw So. Many. Dogs. Dogs of all shapes and sizes. A pair of brindle boxers sat next to us for several innings, as did some big labradoodles.

We saw a little Dachshund in a sporty Mariners ballcap a few row down from us. The little guy was paralyzed, but it's owners had a chariot-type wheelchair for its back legs.

There were two big 'comfort stations' for dogs to check out, complete with lush sod and plenty of fresh water.

I asked the kids if they thought the dogs were looking down at the ballfield, wishing they could mark some territory down on that expanse of grass

SATURDAY PLAY: April 13 was Record Store Day. It's kind of like an extra Christmas for music enthusiasts. :)  Last year CJ and I waited in line for a couple of hours before opening at his favorite record store, Silver Platters in Seattle's Sodo neighborhood. This year, there was nothing he was 'dying' to get, so we skipped the line thing. Instead, we went to the record store at about 1 or so, and still came home happy.

I found both of the only two items I wanted - a collaboration of Brian May and Roger Taylor of Queen with Taylor Hawkins of the Foo Fighters on a track originally recorded by Dennis Wilson of Beach Boys fame. (Hawkins also happens to be arguably the biggest Queen fan in the world.) 

I also found Brian May's over-sized "New Horizons" single. It was inspired by the space probe of the same name. Far out!

Saturday evening, we headed to downtown Renton for a special festival celebrating a new public art piece, a metal dragon atop a building in the center of the city (It's atop the Old Western Hotel at the corner of S. Third Street and Wells Avenue.) 

One of the festival events involved a Dungeons and Dragons session, hosted at a local web design company, Bloqs. It's worth noting that D&D was created by a Renton-based company, Wizards of the Coast. 

CJ and Annabelle spent about 90 minutes involved in a campaign. The dungeon master did a great job, and it was very entertaining.

 Here's the dragon's head. ...

 And here's a side view. 

 It's a unique addition to the city, that's for sure!

MONDAY SUN DAY: After a series of shades of gray, finally the glowing yellow orb made a reappearance overhead. That inspired us to get our tomato starts outside.

 Look at how happy CJ was to get his hands into the dirt. ;)

Hopefully our tomatoes will thrive. Time will tell.

In closing, here's a gratuitous tulip shot, from our back yard. 

Hive Arrival

NEW NEIGHBORS: It occurred to me today that I forgot to share the photos from when our new 'pets' arrived on the scene last Saturday.

We picked our bee 'nuc' up in Burien. People there had fetched it from Eastern Washington that morning. The bees were in a white cardboard box, on a few manufactured honeycombs.

 Carefully, one by one, Christian took them out and transferred them to their new home.

 We didn't stop to count the bees, but it seems like there has to be thousands of them.

In the photo below, Christian has just placed a little capsule with the queen bee in it atop the hive. 

One end of the capsule was covered in candy, which the worker bees would eat off to release the queen. 

 Little did Christian know several bees were perched on his head during this whole process.

Today, when taking recycling out, I was astounded at how loud the bees were. Dozens were flying in and out of the hive, going about their business. 

We hope they're happy in their new home!