Eight is Great

MOVING ON: This evening, CJ and several classmates who have completed eighth grade, are aging out their learning co-op, had a sweet, personalized ceremony at a lovely assisted living facility.

It might sound funny that their graduation party was at a retirement community, but it's right next door to the kids' learning center, and the two places have a nice, cooperative relationship, so it worked out nicely.

We contributed dessert to the party. Specifically, cupcakes and cookies. The theme of the event was the logo for the learning center, which is a crayon-like drawing of four mountains (yellow, red, blue and orange), flanked by evergreens. 

We decided to make mountainous cupcakes and Color Mist their icing with the logo's mountain colors, and flank them with white cupcakes with royal icing 'trees.'

We also decided to make some Cascade logo cookies, and some letter cookies.

It was a fair amount of work (especially because half of the cupcakes were gluten and vegan), but it wasn't particularly hard, and it was totally worth it. :)

The ceremony itself was short, sweet, and very personalized. 

CJ had an opportunity to perform, and he decided to take full advantage of it, by "rick rolling" the audience. The audience didn't seem to mind too much. In fact, they sang along!

LIGHTS OUT: Have we mentioned there's a TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE (squee!) coming up this summer?! The morning of August 21, to be specific. 

Check out this video from "Smarter Every Day" with tips about how to watch the eclipse.

https://youtu.be/qc7MfcKF1-s

Skits 'n' Stuff

ACTING OUT:  This afternoon, we spent an amusing hour watching CJ's improv drama class go through their paces. Lots of fearless and funny kids who are fortunate to have a great teacher who gives them confidence and inspiration. Well done, one and all!

WHO TURNED OUT THE LIGHTS?: We're gearing up and geeking out about the upcoming total solar eclipse this summer. It happens on the morning of Aug. 21, and we're still plotting our best bet for witnessing it. 

We were happy to discover a sneak preview tool of sorts today. On the Eclipse Mega Movie site, you can type an address into a simulator and see what the eclipse will kinda sorta look like from where you are. 

The following address will give you a view of what it will look like from Seattle's Space Needle. 
https://eclipsemega.movie/simulator?lat=47.6204232&lng=-122.34935519999999

You can type your own - or any - address into the website and see what you can expect come 8/21.

NAME CHANGE: Anyone who visits us regularly knows that we love heading to Safeco Field for Mariners games. Imagine our surprise today upon learning that after the 2018 season, there will be no more Safeco Field!

Fortunately, the stadium will still be there, but Safeco is giving up naming rights. I can't help but wonder what the new name will be, and I wonder how long it will take us to get used to the new name. Time will tell. 

Game Day

ANNUAL EVENT:  This past weekend, we headed south for what has become an annual pilgrimage for the family - attending he Northwest Pinball and Arcade Show.

The first game that greeted us upon our arrival was a sweet Batman 66 machine. It was the featured new pinball machine at the expo, coincidentally, the weekend that Adam West, the original live action Batman, passed away. 

Super cool game, and a lovely tribute to a man who brought the Caped Crusader alive!

As always, there was much to see and do at the show. 

Following are Annabelle's highlights. ...

The Northwest Pinball and Arcade Show is an event held in the Tacoma Convention Center every year. This year we visited on Sunday, the last day of the weekend-long show. The very first thing we did when we arrived in the morning was work our way back to the arcade machines towards the end of the exhibition area. The machine that immediately caught my eye was a large screen with two chairs in front of it labeled “Space Invaders FRENZY”. The game had room for two players to each control a cannon as they shot at dozens of extremely fast space invaders.The most interesting part is that some invaders are larger and split into smaller ones as you destroy them.

After playing that game, we wandered the expo and played a variety of games, from a classic Joust machine to an old “Space Shuttle” pinball! The old pinball machines were in amazing shape and some were on sale. There were also multiple tables around the expo with people selling video game memorabilia and arcade or pinball machine parts. My favorite game that I played at the expo was a version of Donkey Kong in a pink and purple cabinet. The different colors drew me in, and I realized that in this version you play as Pauline, the “Damsel in Distress” of the original Donkey Kong, and you try to save Mario! The game has the same stages but it was really fun to see a “Flipped” version! I can’t wait to go to the expo next year!

Below, the kids play Space Invaders Frenzy.

I looked it up online. We could buy the unit for around $14,000 :0

We'll take a pass, and enjoy having played it once, for kind of free (with show admission).

The back half of the exhibition hall had old arcade games, including my fave, Tempest.

 I encouraged the kids to play games they'd never played before. "Space Demon" fit that bill. 

 After the show, I looked it up and learned it was released only in Japan. That explains why we hadn't seen it before. 

Following is CJ's take on the Sunday event. ...

As my family has for the past multiple years, we attended the annual Northwest Pinball & Arcade Show, down in Tacoma. According to the event's official website, the show draws between 2,500-3,000 collectors and fans each June. The festival began as a small annual event held by Washington pinball collectors, but in 2008 became a full-fledged regional convention featuring hundreds of pinball machines, arcade games, electro-mechanical games, speakers, vendors and tournaments.
According to Q13 Fox (linked below), the event this year featured over 400 pinball machines, some of them almost seventy years old. There were also arcade machines, though they were mostly located in the back of the building.
An example of a game I never played before that was at the NWP&AS was an unusual version of Donkey Kong, the Nintendo classic. In this new version of Donkey Kong, you actually played as Pauline (a character who is the damsel-in-distress in the original), while trying to rescue Jumpman (the iconic player character in the original). The cabinet for this version of Donkey Kong was colored pink and purple, contrast to the original's red and black.
Next weekend, my family will go to the Seattle Retro Gaming Expo at the Fisher Pavillion, in Seattle Center.
http://www.nwpinballshow.com/http://q13fox.com/2017/06/09/pinball-wizards-turn-out-for-northwest-pinball-and-arcade-show-in-tacoma/

Mr Do! was another one that was new to us.

 As they played it, Annabelle reported, "It's like Dig Dug." 

And sure enough, reading reviews online after the show report that fact.Mr. Do! was created by Universal in 1982, and is a Dig Dug replicant, of sorts. 

There were many stand up Donkey Kong arcade cabinets at the show. We passed this one a couple of times before stopping to play. 

The purple and pink colors on the cabinet caught my eye, as they are not the traditional Donkey Kong colors.

Annabelle eventually hit the 'start' button on the game and squealed with delight.

 It turned out it wasn't Mario trying to save the princess - the princess was the hero!!!!!!!!!!!

I wish *SO* many video games featured girls as the rescuers.

In other news, below, CJ tucks himself into a Buck Rogers game.

 And Annabelle, below, attempted to take out some 'clay' targets in the confounding "Clay Champ." I'm guessing the game hadn't been properly calibrated since the 1980s. 

While arcade games were a big draw, most of the show was actually pinball machines. 

We've been to so many shows, and have seen so many machines, but this year, we saw a number that were new to us, including Egg Head. 

 I'd seen this machine before, but have to laugh that Eight Ball didn't mention anything about
"Happy Days," but the characters on the screen are clearly modeled after Fonzie and Pinkie Tuscadero. 

 One machine we'd never seen before was  Guys Dolls beauty by Gottleib.

From 1953, the machine has no flippers but six moving posts. 

Fast forward to 1980, and you find a Roller Disco beauty.

 This Gottlieb machine has amazing graphics and color!

We also stumbled across this awesome "Teacher's Pet" pin from Williams. 

 It dates back to 1965. 

This Gottlieb Top Card machine from 1974 was an eye catcher. 

 And I absolutely loved this Bally Capt. Fantastic machine.

 Below, the bumper looks like Elton meets Where's Waldo?

News of the Day

NEWS OR NOT?: Over the past few weeks, CJ has spent many, many hours researching "fake news." What is it? How can you identify it ? That sort of thing.

Early this morning, an email popped up in my inbox from the Newseum (a fun hybrid name of news and museum). 

WIth a subhead of "There's more to every story," Newseum is a wonderful resource. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., Newseum promotes, explains and defends free expression and the five freedoms of the First Amendment: religion, speech, press, assembly and petition.

It turns out Newseum has been producing a weekly series about fake news, per a post from their Media Literacy Maven. https://newseumed.org/idea/the-media-literacy-maven/

The email I received today reminded us "NewseumED’s Media Literacy Maven is your resource for teaching the importance of being critical news consumers. Periodically, she takes viewers through her favorite media literacy moments from the past week, providing tips that teachers can give their students on how to tell real news from fake news and navigate the current media landscape."

And it listed a whole bunch of short Media Literacy Maven episodes we've missed to date. Fortunately, they're archived. 

Following is a list of what we missed. We watched the first two episodes today, and shared their content with the kids' social studies club. 


It's not the flashiest presentation, but the content is so important. Check a couple of them out!

Episodes:
April 28, 2017: If your reaction to a news story is, “Aha, I KNEW it all along!,” you might be exhibiting confirmation bias. Watch the Media Literacy Maven explain how we tend to look for information that confirms our beliefs and ignore information that challenges them. Download a PDF of links cited in Episode 11.

WATCH EPISODE 11
April 14, 2017: They say that seeing is believing, but can you always believe what you see? The Maven discusses how fake news stories use the power of image to make their stories seem more credible, and how your students can avoid getting tricked by this tactic. Download a PDF of links cited in Episode 10.

WATCH EPISODE 10
April 5, 2017: The substitute Maven provides tips and resources to debunk fake science stories, including that bananas are bad for you and Pluto gets planet status again. Download a PDF of links cited in Episode 9.

WATCH EPISODE 9
March 24, 2017: The Maven discusses how fake news can move quickly through the fake news ecosystem, whether publications with fake news should be prominently displayed at grocery store checkouts, and how you can’t always trust primary sources. Download a PDF of links cited in Episode 8.

WATCH EPISODE 8
March 17, 2017: The Maven discusses defamation in the news — what content is and isn’t protected by the First Amendment. Learn the difference in defamation laws between public and private figures, and dig into a current defamation case involving a well- known celebrity. Download a PDF of links cited in Episode 7.

WATCH EPISODE 7
March 10, 2017: The Maven discusses how to analyze polls being cited in the news. Learn how to dig deeper into poll results by evaluating four key factors: timing, sample size, method and participants. Download a PDF of links cited in Episode 6.

WATCH EPISODE 6
March 3, 2017: Using newspapers from the Newseum’s Today’s Front Pages exhibit, our Media Literacy Maven highlights press choices in different local papers’ coverage of President Trump’s address to Congress. Learn how to identify a news outlet’s potential biases or preferences based on things such as article placement, headline and image selection. Interpreting the values of different publications based on their coverage can be a valuable skill in assessing media bias. Download a PDF of links cited in Episode 5.

WATCH EPISODE 5
Feb. 23, 2017: The Maven discusses the wide variety of motivations behind fake news, how easily it can be spread, and how the backlash caused by it can even be used as a promotional tool. For example, 20th Century Fox’s advertisement campaign for the new movie “The Cure for Wellness” involved creating several fake news websites that were very realistic. Download a PDF of links cited in Episode 4.

WATCH EPISODE 4
Feb. 15, 2017: Enter the throne room of our Media Literacy Maven as she delves into some tricky issues in the media today, such as the pros and cons of anonymous sources, distrust in the media, and fake Twitter accounts. As any journalist worth their salt knows, you gotta verify verify verify! Download a PDF of links cited in Episode 3.

WATCH EPISODE 3
Feb. 10, 2017: The Maven tackles the balance between freedom of speech and privacy, phony news sites, Photoshop manipulation and deception, and the dangers of sloppy reporting. Part of becoming media literate is learning to recognize the distinction between regular news outlets and truly fake news outlets. Download a PDF of links cited in Episode 2.

WATCH EPISODE 2
Feb. 3, 2017: Katharine Kosin premieres as our Media Literacy Maven, as she shares some of her favorite media literacy moments from the week! Parody accounts, jumping the gun, voter biases and more — it’s happening all around us, all the time. Watch as our Maven separates fact from fiction. Download a PDF of links cited in Episode 1.

WATCH EPISODE 1

MEANWHILE, ON MARS: So, the amazing Mars Science Laboratory continues to crank out the data. 

For instance, NASA's Curiosity Mars rover examined a mudstone outcrop area called "Pahrump Hills" on lower Mount Sharp in the not too distant past.

"Below, these view shows locations of some targets the rover studied there. The blue dots indicate where drilled samples of powdered rock were collected for analysis.

The rover drilled a sample of rock powder at "Confidence Hills" in September 2014 and analyzed it with internal laboratory instruments. Then the mission conducted a walkabout survey up the slope, along the route indicated in yellow, stopping for close inspection at the red-dot locations. Observations from the walkabout were used to choose where to take additional drilled samples for analysis during a second pass up the slope. The "Mojave 2" sample was collected in January 2015 and the "Telegraph Peak" one in February 2015.

This view of the outcrop and other portions of Mount Sharp beyond is a mosaic of images taken by the rover's Mast Camera (Mastcam) in September 2014. A larger version of the mosaic is at PIA18608.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages the Mars Science Laboratory Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. JPL designed and built the project's Curiosity rover. Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, built and operates the rover's Mastcam."

More information about Curiosity is online at http://www.nasa.gov/msl and http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/.

Picture This

WHILE YOU WERE AWAY: I keep forgetting to post a little fun-with-Photoshop project the kids and I conducted a couple of months ago.

We had some friends go out of town for a bit and they asked us to swing by their place daily to make sure things looked A-OK. That was their first mistake.

I couldn't imagine just sending them a week's worth of "Yeah, your house is still there," comments. So, instead, we decided to make things a bit more interesting. We sent them photos of their house in various states of emergency.

I was a little afraid the first time I hit 'send' with the message about their house. 

The photo showed Godzilla attacking. My friend didn't see the dino, and thought her house was on fire. (It didn't help that we have an arsonist in our neighborhood).) Fortunately, she quickly recovered and saw the humor in it.

Our photo the next day showed her home was for sale. We told her there was good traffic at the open house. 

 Naturally, the aliens had to invade one afternoon. We told her they left when there were no signs of intelligent life in the home due to the family's absence.

 One day, their place went up, up and away, via baloons, like in the movie "Up."

And one day their house got tired of its family having all the vacation fun, so it went for a little trip, too.

 Painters got the wrong house one day, and painted our friends' place pink.

 And one day the Sharpei hive mind invaded the place.

On the last day they had a little plumbing problem. And clowns. Had to throw an evil clown into the mix.

All in all, it was big fun and they got a big kick out of it.

BEHIND THE PURLE MASK: This evening, CJ shared an interesting biographical video with me. It is about a gentleman who played Barney the Dinosaur for ten years.

I really, REALLY deplore that show, but the video was actually rather heartwarming. I'm glad we watched it.
https://youtu.be/fhLN5QUbZAU


HEARINGS: Like many others, we started our morning watching former FBI director James Comey testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee. It made for some interesting viewing over breakfast. 

These are interesting times in our United States of America.

New Kids on the Block

THE RIGHT STUFF: We've been awaiting today's announcement of NASA's latest astronaut class. To say it didn't disappoint would be an understatement.

My oh my, what a phenomenal group of people!

Info and photos below are straight from NASA's website. New astronaut candidates are listed alphabetically. The first one is from right here in the Evergreen state!

Kayla Barron, 29, Lt., U.S. Navy, is originally from Richland, Washington. She graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy with a bachelor’s degree in systems engineering. A Gates Cambridge Scholar, Barron earned a master’s degree in nuclear engineering from the University of Cambridge. As a submarine warfare officer, Barron was a member of the first class of women commissioned into the submarine community. She’ll come to NASA from the U.S. Naval Academy, where she has been serving as the flag aide to the superintendent.

Zena Cardman, 29, calls Williamsburg, Virginia, home. She completed a Bachelor of Science in Biology and Master of Science in Marine Sciences at The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Cardman is currently a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow working on her doctorate at The Pennsylvania State University. Her research has focused on microorganisms in subsurface environments, ranging from caves to deep sea sediments. Her field experience includes multiple Antarctic expeditions, work aboard research vessels as both scientist and crew, and NASA analog missions in British Columbia, Idaho and Hawaii.

Raja Chari, 39, Lt. Col., U.S. Air Force, hails from Waterloo, Iowa. He graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy with bachelor’s degrees in astronautical engineering and engineering science. He continued on to earn a master’s degree in aeronautics and astronautics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and graduated from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School. Chari has been serving as the commander of the 461st Flight Test Squadron and the director of the F-35 Integrated Test Force at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

Matthew Dominick, 35, Lt. Cmdr., U.S. Navy, was born and raised in Wheat Ridge, Colorado. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of San Diego and a Master of Science in Systems Engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School. He also graduated from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School. Dominick was at sea on the USS Ronald Reagan, serving as department head for Strike Fighter Squadron 115, when he got the call saying he’d been selected as an astronaut candidate.

Bob Hines, 42, considers Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, his hometown. He graduated from Boston University with a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering. From there, he went on to graduate from the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School, and then the University of Alabama, where he earned a master’s degree in aerospace engineering. He has served in the U.S. Air Force and Air Force Reserves for 18 years. For the last five years, Hines has served as a NASA research pilot at Johnson.

Warren “Woody” Hoburg, 31, is originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He earned a bachelor’s degree in aeronautics and astronautics from MIT. He continued on to earn a doctorate in electrical engineering and computer science from the University of California, Berkley. He is a private pilot and has extensive experience with wilderness search and rescue efforts. Hoburg will come to NASA from MIT, where he currently is leading a research group as an assistant professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Dr. Jonny Kim, 33, Lt., U.S. Navy, was born and raised in Los Angeles. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy, then trained and operated as a Navy SEAL, completing more than 100 combat operations and earning a Silver Star and Bronze Star with Combat V. Afterward, he went on to complete a degree in mathematics at the University of San Diego and a doctorate of medicine at Harvard Medical School. Kim is a resident physician in emergency medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Robb Kulin, 33, hails from Anchorage, Alaska. He earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Denver before going on to complete a master’s degree in materials science and a doctorate in engineering at the University of California, San Diego. He has previous experience as an ice driller in Antarctica on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and Taylor Glaciers, and as a commercial fisherman in Chignik, Alaska. Since 2011, Kulin has worked for SpaceX in Hawthorne, California, where he leads the Launch Chief Engineering group.

Jasmin Moghbeli, 33, Maj., U.S. Marine Corps, considers Baldwin, New York, her hometown. She earned a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering with information technology at MIT, followed by a master’s degree in aerospace engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School. She also is a distinguished graduate of the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School. Moghbeli currently tests H-1 helicopters and serves as the quality assurance and avionics officer for Marine Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron 1 in Yuma, Arizona.

Loral O’Hara, 34, calls Sugar Land, Texas, home. She earned a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering at the University of Kansas and a master’s degree in aeronautics and astronautics from Purdue University. As a student, she participated in NASA’s KC-135 Reduced Gravity Student Flight Opportunities Program, the NASA Academy at the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center, and the internship program at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. O’Hara is currently a research engineer at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.

Dr. Francisco “Frank” Rubio, 41, Maj., U.S. Army, is originally from Miami. He earned a bachelor’s degree in international relations at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and a doctorate of medicine from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. Rubio has accumulated more than 1,100 hours of flight time in helicopters, including 600 hours of combat and imminent danger time. He’s currently serving as a surgeon for the 3rd Battalion of the Army’s 10th Special Forces Group at Fort Carson, Colorado.

Jessica Watkins, 29, hails from Lafayette, Colorado. She graduated from Stanford University with a bachelor’s degree in geological and environmental sciences, then went on to earn a doctorate in geology from the University of California, Los Angeles. Watkins has worked at NASA’s Ames Research Center and Jet Propulsion Laboratory and currently is a postdoctoral fellow at the California Institute of Technology, where she collaborates on the Mars Science Laboratory rover, Curiosity.

Here's a super cool 'welcome' video to the class.
https://youtu.be/TKP1chg-xpU

Ups and Downs

IMAGE: NASA

SEDATE DAY: We're trying to get back to 'normal' (whatever that means) post all of our special activities as of late, but we've had a set back due to CJ being afflicted with a bad sore throat & painful ears type of thing. 

He had to skip his drama class today, and his Dungeons and Dragons club, alas.

We marked some time by putting on the NASA channel - always a good choice. They had extensive coverage of the latest SpaceX resupply mission to the International Space Station.It was a monumental achievement because the mission marked the first reflight of a Dragon spacecraft. Specifically, the Dragon previously flew during the fourth Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-4) mission back in September 2014.

The Dragon capsule that launched on June 3 is now safely docked with the ISS. On board Dragon are 6,000 pounds of supplies and payloads, including critical materials to directly support dozens of the more than 250 science and research investigations.

Dragon is scheduled to remain attached to the ISS until July 2, when it will be released and head back down to Earth for a splashdown.

FRUITY: Like so many other things this spring, our gardening efforts have suffered due to our busy schedule.

We usually plant our big garden with plants lovingly nurtured from seeds which we watch over as starts on our kitchen countertop for weeks. Well, this year, our kitchen countertop was donated to grow plants for a community garden, and our personal garden suffered. So, we ended up buying a few starts and planting them.

One of our splurges was a white strawberry plant called the Hula Berry.

Per the marketing materials that came with the plant, its white berries taste like a pineapple. Interesting!

Imagine my surprise today seeing a red berry in the planter!

I suggested the kids pick and cut it in half to see if it tasted like a pineapple strawberry, but Annabelle informed me that it was just a regular strawberry. Apparently the packaging said that the plants were 3/4 "Hula Berries," 1/4 regular strawberries.  

And so, we wait for neighboring plants' white berries to come to fruition. Stay tuned.