Icing and More

GROUND FLOOR: Yesterday morning, the kids and I were working three computers and at least four browsers, targeting the Ticketmaster website. Our goal? Potentially getting in on the ground floor of a National Hockey League team coming to the Emerald City.

Our efforts paid off, and within 10 minutes of the opportunity going on sale, we were "in."

In fact, a whole lot of people were in. Within short order, more than 10,000 season ticket deposits were made.  

What comes next remains to be seen. The NHL has not awarded the city a team. It's just speculation at this point. And the deposit means nothing, really, other than the maybe chance to get tickets. 

Oh well, at least we have maybe supposedly have a chance if we want. And they couldn't possibly go as long without winning a championship as the Mariners, right?

BTW, Seattle was the FIRST U.S. team ever to win the Stanley Cup, way back in 1917. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in the States.

By Alex Goykhman - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=44669468

YOUNG ACTIVIST: Yesterday, CJ called the office of the governor of the state Washington twice. Why?

I'll let him tell you. ...

Yesterday, it came to my attention that a bill withholding information about various state legislators from the public was at Governor Inslee's desk. Specifically, the bill would have exempted the legislature from the Public Records Act, which, according to the Seattle Times, several members of the legislature have long claimed they are not bound by.

After I learned about this, a family friend and I agreed to call Governor Inslee's office to request that he veto the bill. After dialing the Inslee office's number, I was told to wait for a representative to respond to my call. After waiting, I was greeted by the voice of a representative and asked what I wanted to say.

I introduced myself as a constituent of Governor Inslee, and asked that he veto the bill withholding information about state legislators from the public. I was promptly told that a recording of my request would be played to Inslee later that day.

After walking around the field by Cascade with our friend and her dog Penny,  our friend asked if I wanted to call Inslee's office again. I agreed, and repeated the same requests made in my previous call to the Governor's office.

Later that day, Inslee vetoed the bill, in (what I consider to be) a victory for concerned Washingtonians like (our friend) and me. Reportedly, Inslee's office had received thousands of calls regarding the bill by the time he had vetoed it.

CJ clearly felt good about trying to do something positive for our state, and I'm proud of him for doing so.

FAR PARK: This morning, we resumed our Japanese studies. Some of the things we'll be working on in our next unit include important words and phrases for getting around. Here's a screen shot of the Mango Languages goals for our present unit. We were happy to see we are finally going to ask where the bathroom is. (We kind of thought that might be in the very first unit, and this is unit 14!)

FYI, おてあらい is a polite Japanese word for a restroom, and it literally means "a place where you wash your hands." We learned that when in Japan, the English characters "W.C." (water closet) or pictographs of a male and a female are often used to denote restrooms.

Another topic that came up today was Tokyo's  うえのこうえん, or Ueno Park. Curious, we quickly hopped away from Mango and onto websites where we could find maps and pictures of the park.

Turns out the sprawling urban oasis was established in 1873 on lands formerly belonging to the temple of Kan’ei-ji. 

Park grounds include major museums (including the Tokyo National Museum, the National Museum for Western Art, the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum and the National Science Museum), a zoo, historic buildings, a zoo, and a 100-plus year old statue of Takamori Saigo. Saigo was a statesman credited with playing a pivotal role in the birth of modern Japan.

The park's northern part features over 8.800 mature trees, including a thousand cherry trees lining its main path. The Japanese National Tourism Organization has a video about those trees and their blossoms.

Overall, the park looks like a must-see if we're ever lucky enough to get to visit Japan.

Up and Over

Photo Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

THERE IT GOES-S: This afternoon, we made a kind of unscheduled stop at Annabelle's learning center. We were there to install the monthly birthday bulletin board. Whilst there, Christian texted, reminding us of a NASA launch at 2 p.m. 

That was a bit of an 'oh no!' moment, as we've had trouble tuning in to NASA TV at that location before, troubles stemming from a combination of old software, child safety filters, and such. Ironic, given that nothing on NASA's channel is anything but educational, but things don't always make sense. ... Anyway, today we were happy the librarian was around, and she was able to help us get the launch coverage up and running.

My favorite part of watching launches in public places like that is that it's an instant outreach opportunity. There were three kids and one adult in the computer lab, and each one of them, ages about 3 to 50+, gathered 'round the monitors to watch the launch. 

They had questions, including, "Where is that?" (Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, in Florida.)

"Where is it going?"

It will be positioned in a geostationary orbit 22,300 miles above Earth, in approximately two weeks, 

"What are they launching?"

It's carrying the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, or GOES-S. The satellite will provide faster, more accurate and more detailed data, in almost real-time, to track storm systems, lightning, wildfires, coastal fog and other hazards that affect the western United States.

It wasn't the biggest rocket or splashiest mission, but still, four people got to see a rocket launch live today (via the web), and I think it's something they'll remember. 

CAN YOU DIG IT?:  Meanwhile, on Mars, Curiosity has been having a bit of a challenge.

Turns out the Mars Science Laboratory's drill has been broken for awhile now, its drill motor out of order.  

However, skookum engineers on Earth have been troubleshooting work-arounds. And on Feb. 26, Curiosity drilled into Red Planet rock for the first time in more than a year.

The hole bored was about 0.5 inches (1.3 centimeters) deep into a target rock during the trial run of a new, technique, NASA officials said.

"We're now drilling on Mars more like the way you do at home," Curiosity deputy project manager Steven Lee, of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, said in a statement. "Humans are pretty good at re-centering the drill, almost without thinking about it. Programming Curiosity to do this by itself was challenging — especially when it wasn't designed to do that."

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

Points of Light

PHONE HOME: This afternoon, Annabelle and I were back to work at the Helen B. Ratcliff House on First Hill. A friend introduced us to the transitional home for women between prison and their family home, and we've been volunteering there since December or so.

Today, we updated their big wall calendar for March, and we made over another phone booth.

In a dark corner and wrapped in simulated wood grain before, it's much better and brighter with the butterflies!

TEEN FEED: Saturday we were extra super busy. The kids spent a few hours at the local library test driving a few food-related board games, and then that evening, we were in the University District, heading up a meal to 40-some hungry, homeless youth and young adults.

Annabelle made a super cute menu poster for the event. The shelter's directors loved it!

I had to do a write up about it for the Points of Light website, so I'll just share that recap here. 

On a cold winter night, families from our group gathered for a common goal: We came together to provide a warm, hearty, healthy meal to dozens of homeless youth and young adults in our city.
The evening of the meal service, volunteer families met at the shelter, a modest space in a basement in our city’s University district. The night was just the culmination of many hours of planning and prep, including formulating a functional and fun menu, tapping into people who could donate money or food, and offsite prepping in volunteers’ homes. 

The evening of the event, we met on-site, ready for the challenge, complete with poster-sized “to do” lists on the wall and tasks assigned to our small army of compassionate volunteers! Our hours of preparation paid off; When the doors opened to let the hungry, homeless youth inside the dining hall, we were ready to serve!

The 40-plus diners who joined us that evening were so hungry – and so grateful! They were thrilled when they saw that it wasn’t a one-size-fits-all dining experience. Rather, it was more restaurant-style, with multiple, nutrition-packed entrée options, including vegan and gluten free choices. The majority came back for seconds, and many opted for thirds – or more! And the hungry young adults were stoked to have more than a half-dozen different home-made dessert options. 😊

We found the “many hands make light work” adage to be true. All told, the people who made this happen ranged in age from 5 to 70-plus. Watching the students in our group engage the homeless youth was especially inspiring. So many smiles were shared that evening. The experience didn’t just fill bellies – it warmed hearts.

What made this project a success for our organization was the fact that so many helped in so many ways. Some contributed food toward our effort. Others made monetary donations. Others spent hours planning and coordinating volunteers, and on the night of the event, multiple families showed up to prepare and serve the meal at the shelter. It was the epitome of a team effort.

Our group participates in this meal service for the homeless monthly, but having this opportunity to participate in the Disney Parks, Points of Light, All for Good and generationOn program made this month’s go-round extra special, as our non-profit has the chance to benefit from the generous donation of Disney Theme Park tickets for our community service. Talk about a win-win! 

I know some of our blog readers supported the cause. Thank you so very much!

Steam Rolling

DIALED IN: Last Friday morning, we were fortunate to be part of a group on a private tour of the Georgetown PowerPlant Museum.

It's not just any museum; the whole building used to be a working steam plant. The whole place is so picturesque (in a steam punk kind of way), I was so mad at myself for not having a real camera along. And so, these crappy cell phone photos will have to do for now. 

Fortunately, the museum is open to the public the second Saturday of every month (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.,  with free guided tours at 11 and 1). Admission is free and no reservations are required, so I do hope to return with proper gear in the not-too-distant future.  In the meantime, the Library of Congress has dozens of great steam plant photos online: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/wa0169/

Anywho, I'll let Annabelle tell you a bit more about our visit last Friday. ... 

The Georgetown Steam Plant was first built in 1907, where at the time it bordered the Duwamish River. The plant used oil and coal to heat the water and create steam, which would spin a turbine and create electricity. The use of water made the electricity very cheap due to the large amounts in the area. The lead engineer and designer, Frank B. Gilbreth, was a pioneer in efficiency and put his and his wife Lillian’s innovations to work, allowing the factory to run quite smoothly. Sadly, as the plant was followed with others being built in the region, less and less power was required from the Georgetown Steam Plant. It was kept barely operational by the city until the 1970’s.

Today, the plant is classified as a historical site.

It has two of the only generators of their kind still in their “original home”.

The plant is worth a visit if you can stand the cold- there’s almost no heating! If you plan to visit in colder months, I’d recommend bundling up in multiple layers- even with coats, hats, and gloves, most of our group was absolutely freezing!

And CJ had this to say. ... 

Friday morning, I visited the historic Steam Plant in the Seattle neighborhood of Georgetown. Constructed in 1906(!), the plant provided power for Seattle-area residents for most of the twentieth century, before being decommissioned in 1977. The building was designed by Frank Gilbreth Jr., who was partially known for being one of the subjects in the 1950 film Cheaper by the Dozen (a movie about him raising twelve children along with his wife, Lillian Gilbreth).

While driving to the Steam Plant in our car, my family noticed the steam clouds coming from the plant's general area. Annabelle and I assumed that the steam clouds were coming from the Steam Plant, unaware that the plant hadn't produced steam in decades.

In 1904, two years prior to the Steam Plant's construction, Georgetown had incorporated as a city, in retaliation to King County's plan to become "dry" (alcoholic beverages were to become contraband). Perhaps unsurprisingly, the superintendent of the Georgetown Brewery was elected the city's first mayor.

The Georgetown Steam Plant is home to two of the six known remaining Curtis Steam Turbines in the world, designed by renowned engineer Charles Gordon Curtis. The two Curtis Steam Turbines present at the Georgetown Steam Plant are the only known ones in their original locations.

The place smelled like old submarines and large ships we've toured in the past. Very distinctive.

I loved all the dials and valves everywhere. It would be so interesting to hear someone who worked there talk about what it was like and how all those parts worked.

If you want to learn more about the Steam Plant and see some video from inside, check out this CityStream story about the Georgetown Steam Plant, now officially called the Georgetown PowerPlant Museum. The video below actually won an Emmy in the historic/cultural segment category!

http://www.seattlechannel.org/explore-videos?videoid=x57291



WHAT HE SAID: I love this video AARP recently released. It's an interview with one of my favorite astronauts, Leland Melvin.

Melvin has the distinction of having been both an NFL player and a NASA spaceman!

He's also a dog lover, very much into outreach to youth, and just an all 'round nice guy. I had a chance to meet him when I got to see Mars Science Laboratory's launch s few years back. If you have five minutes, give this a look and listen.

Much Ado About Something

WINTER WONDERMENT: Thursday morning sparkled plenty. We awoke to a couple of inches of snow. So pretty!

I snapped the photo above at about 7:30 a.m. A few hours later, I saw our neighborhood's Facebook page put out notice of a photo contest, and asked readers to share. I posted the photo above and ended up winning the contest. My 'prize' is the photo is featured as the neighborhood's cover photo for a week.  Not 'get rich' type winnings, but a nice nod.

FANCY PANTS: Thursday night we did something very sophisticated. We went to the opera! :)

A friend helped secure us seats to a full dress rehearsal of Seattle Opera's production of "Beatrice and Benedict" at McGraw Hall, on the Seattle Center campus. 

We had great seats just a few rows from the stage. The sets were impressive, the staging first rate, the acting was on point, and the script and show were entertaining. 

The photo below is from much further away than our seats. I had a coughing fit during the second act and had to step out for awhile, and finally snuck back in to the back row until I was sure it subsided.

The opera is based on Shakespeare's play "Much Ado about Nothing." The program we got at the show noted that in the title, the final word was pronounced 'noting' in Shakespeare's time, and referred to eavesdropping. So it's not truly nothing after all, it's just the kinds of things you might misunderstand if you're eavesdropping!

CJ and Annabelle have a bit to share regarding the show. I'll post CJ's thoughts first. ...

Last night, my family drove through a snowy night near Seattle Center to visit the Seattle Opera's first dress rehearsal. We visited for the Opera's first dress rehearsal of the 1862 play Beatrice & Benedict, written by French playwright Hector Berlioz. Beatrice & Benedict is heavily based off of William Shakespeare's 1599 play Much Ado About Nothing.

The program given to guests at the opera describes the plot as follows:

The titular Benedict and Beatrice are the main characters of the play. Beatrice is "A young woman who hates men (and Benedict most of all)." Similarly, Benedict is "A young soldier who hates women (and Beatrice most of all)." The play was in two acts (with a short intermission), and was two and a half hours long.

For the entirety of the play, there was a large set resembling old Italian buildings on stage. Much of the dialogue was difficult to understand, but thankfully, there was a screen above the stage that often had subtitles of the speech on it.

And Annabelle has this to say. ... 

“Beatrice & Benedict” is the Seattle Opera’s adaption of the classic Shakespeare play Much Ado about Nothing. The story begins when a troop of soldiers returning to the town of Sicily from a successful battle. While a celebration begins, the two titular characters begin to square off on how they would never be married to anyone, and how much they hate the other’s guts. On the other end of the spectrum, Claudio, one of Benedict’s fellow soldiers, falls in love with Hero, Beatrice’s cousin. This angers Don John, the army general Don Pedro’s brother, and he devises a plot to ruin their plans for marriage. Meanwhile,Beatrice and Benedict’s acquaintances plan to make the two realize they’re in love by pretending to gossip and willfully letting them overhear it. Beatrice and Benedict fall for it and each other, but Don John’s plan is about to succeed in splitting apart Claudio and Hero! As the two relationships reverse,there’s only so much time before Claudio and Hero’s wedding is called off! 

The play, while having a bit of spoken dialogue, tells most of its story through song. The songs, however, would be almost unintelligible if it weren’t for the “supertitle” lyrics displayed on a screen at the top of the stage. The acoustics in the theater are horrid, but the Seattle Opera will soon get their own opera house. The play itself was rather entertaining, and the translators did an excellent job with some of the songs that were originally in French. I would recommend the show to anyone who loves Shakespeare and romance, as some of the language and jokes are rather dated. It was a fun experience and I’d be open to seeing the Seattle Opera again, perhaps not in that venue.

Here's the Seattle Opera's trailer for the show. 


There are many more audio and video files about the production on the Seattle Opera's website. And they even have the entire dialogue to the play in a PDF on their site. Cool!

Reviewing

SEEING IS BELIEVING: Wednesday morning, the kids and I spent some time learning about a collection of Depression-era photos called the Osborne Images.

The photos were often taken by forestry students in the 1930s using a 75-pound panoramic camera lugged to a fire lookouts or other scenic perches. 

The images are being revisited by people now as they can offer an important comparative perspective on how things have changed in the last 80 or so years.

For instance, the Seattle Times published an article recently showing a new view of ecological change across the Pacific Northwest, including the dramatic disappearance of glaciers on Mount Rainier. 

One of the photographers who has revisited Osborne Images sites is Wenatchee-based photographer John F. Marshall. For instance, he re-created the same image seen above with modern equipment. You can see that 83 years later, the valley in front of Rainier stretched out bare and empty of ice. 

Marshall became involved in recreating Osborne Images in 2010, when asked by Richy Harrod Ph.D, fire staff on the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, and Paul F. Hessburg Ph.D of the Wenatchee Forestry Sciences Lab, of the Pacific NW Research Station to re-take the panoramas at selected lookout sites in order to get a perspective on landscape change.

You can read and see more about the project on Marshall's website: https://www.wildlandnw.net/osborne-panoramas-historic-and-modern/. It's definitely worth a look!

Also, for The Nature Conservancy in Oregon, Marshall scanned and uploaded more than 1,200 images, now available through an online archive. Check them out here: http://maps.tnc.org/osbornephotos/about.html

More than 3,000 Osborne images,  are stored in the National Archives in Seattle.

IN REVIEW:  Annabelle recently completed reading "The Last Kids on Earth" by Max Brallier. The book is described on the author's website as being "DIARY OF A WIMPY KID MEETS THE WALKING DEAD IN THIS HILARIOUS SERIES FILLED WITH WISECRACKING KIDS, CRAZY GADGETS, AND A LIFETIME SUPPLY OF ZOMBIES AND GIANT-SIZED MONSTERS" (all caps his, not mine).

Here's what Annabelle had to say about it. ...

The Last Kids on Earth is a book by Max Brallier about Jack Sullivan, a teenager in the small town of Wakefield, before it was suddenly overcome with a monster apocalypse 42 days ago in-story. His goal? Find his friends (if they’re alive), complete the “Feats of Apocalyptic Success” (an achievement system he made up), and defeat the huge monster that overlooks Wakefield known only as Blarg. His first run-in with Blarg (which he wins or at least escapes from) is at the local CVS while attempting to retrieve an eyeglass repair kit. He doesn’t wear glasses, he just needs a really teeny tiny screwdriver to repair his Walkie Talkie, the only form of communication he has with his best friend Quint Baker.  After narrowly avoiding the Blarg and being shocked multiple times as he replaces the battery, he makes contact and the two friends construct their home base- a treehouse in Jack’s yard. So begins Jack Sullivan’s journey of ultimate apocalyptic conquest.

The Last Kids on Earth, while rather short, does have its funny moments. The illustrations are well done and the characters feel well-rounded. It turns out that this is a series, though I’ve only read the first book. The book is said to intrigue the 4^th through 6^th grade group, and this seems like a fair suggestion. If you’re into monsters, graphic novels, and comedy, this is the book for you.

The book even has its own trailer, which you can see here. ...


OCEAN HUNTERS: As you may know, CJ and Annabelle have a penchant for vintage video games. Recently, they gave an old 'gem' named Ocean Hunters a shot. 

One night, while visiting the 8-bit Arcade (a local arcade) in Renton, my sister and I noticed a rail shooter (a genre of games that used to be prevalent in arcades) titled The Ocean Hunter. Intrigued, we went to the machine with our cup of quarters, proceeding to sit down and insert our quarters into the cabinet.
Simply put, The Ocean Hunter is a game that revolves around, as its title implies, hunting fictional creatures in bodies of water located in various different places. Strangely, only a few of these bodies of water appear to be oceans, while others are lakes.

In The Ocean Hunter's levels, your objective is to make your way to the end of the levels, where the bosses reside. Between you and the bosses are a fascinating and terrifying variety of deadly enemies, headed straight your way. In the halfway point between the start of the level and the boss, there are often "mini-bosses", foes that, while larger than the standard enemies, are not as formidable as the bosses at the end of the levels.

The Ocean Hunter was originally released in October 1998 (the dated, polygonal graphics make this clear). While rare in most of the world, the game is apparently common at arcades in Singapore.

Overall, beating The Ocean Hunter made for a mediocre half-hour. Anybody with enough quarters could make their way to the end, and once the novelty wears off, the game becomes rather forgettable. I don't know how much money my sister and I spent beating it.

Iconic

ROCK-in IT: On Saturday, we headed to Museum of Pop Culture, or MoPop (formerly EMP, formerly Experience Music Project). The occasion was two-fold: First, we got to see a cousin of mine who was visiting Seattle. Second, we really wanted to see the "Bowie by Mick Rock," an exhibit of iconic photographs from the 1970s. 

I would have loved to be Mick Rock "just for one day" (to steal a line from Bowie's "Heroes"). Above, my cousin and his friend check out my favorite wall in the Mick Rock exhibit. 

Of course, that was just part of what's at MoPop right now. We had to go pay homage to the Jimi (Hendrix) exhibit. ... Below, is a guitar he played at Woodstock.

 We also checked out the Star Trek: Exploring New Worlds exhibit.

 So much, so good there!

We checked out the always awesome Infinite Worlds of Sciece Fiction section.

Nano nano!

 And we tiptoed our way through the "Scared to Death" exhibit. 

We were there three hours and it wasn't nearly enough time. We didn't even get to see the special Jim Henson exhibit. :( Good thing we bought a membership. We'll be back soon. 

GROUNDED: Yesterday, the kids finally got around to planting our living Christmas tree. It wasn't just any tree. Dubbed "Rocket Boy," this unique little tree had a story to tell. You can read more about it below. 

First up, CJ's version. ...

My name is Abies Koreana. Today, a strange group of humans dug a hole in their yard and set me down, creating a new residence for me. Let me tell you my story:
It all started down in Kent, a peaceful town. I was accompanied by a variety of different trees, few of them from my ancestral location, Korea. I do not recall much else of my brief time at the Kent nursery, though, as humans quickly arrived to take me to their house.
After arrival at their house, I remained in my little black pot for months. Later in December (the month that the humans brought me to their house), the humans put a bizarre collection of figures on my branches. The humans referred to these figures as "ornaments", and had me carry them for several days. During this time, I witnessed red, blue, yellow, and green lights all across the living room.
Come mid-February, and the humans began digging a hole in the corner of their yard. Eventually, they began carrying me to the hole, and finally removed me from my pot. Soon after, the humans piled dirt around me, thus installing me as part of their garden.
My hopes and dreams are to grow into a fixture of the yard, maybe someday attracting new potential homeowners.

And Annabelle had this account. ...

I am an Abies Koreana, commonly known as a “Korean Fir”. I started as a seed, which usually flies down from a pinecone, but was instead planted directly on a farm. Before long, I was put in a small, cramped pot, which didn’t allow my roots to grow very much. The pot was shipped off to Kent Eastville Nursery, where I stood in a back corner waiting to be chosen. My roots grew to one edge of the pot, wishing I had more room so I could grow bigger and stronger. Near Christmas time, I was finally tipped onto a cart and rolled into a Honda CR-V, on my way to my new home in Skyway. While I lay sideways in the car, most of the dirt was tipped out of my pot and all over the seats. My branches were pressed up against the ceiling and the walls. It was a very, very uncomfortable ride.
Once I arrive, I’m dubbed “Rocket Boy” and I stand on a small table in the living room. Covered in colorful lights and science fiction ornaments that weigh me down, nearly tipping me over as I’m covered with a red, green, and orange tree skirt. I stay there for a while, watching multiple people weave in and out of the house as the actual owners are on vacation. After December, my pot is moved outside into the cold backyard. I stand in the corner for what feels like months and months even though it’s just two. Today, I was finally transferred into the soil in a shady corner of the yard. I watched the people struggle to dig through rocks, fabric, and mud just to have a spot for me to live forever. I was finally settled into that spot today, having my burlap bag cut and my roots free to grow. I can’t wait to see how tall I’ll be!