baby birds are called bee's

i was just feeling a bit nostalgic and thought i'd share an old time favorite. what is your favorite line?

touching lamps

last friday becca, kyle, katy, alan, and i spent an embarrassingly long time conducting some experiments. it all started when kyle discovered that a werther's original was enough to activate the vaughn family touch-lamp. Not knowing the principles on which touch lamps are founded we set off on a science safari where we found more questions than answers. What follows is a summary of our disappointments and triumphs.

for a complete list of what works and what doesn't wait until alan fixes his scanner and then check out his blog.
for now...
wisk. no. frosted flakes. no. sperry topsider. no. muenster cheese. yes!
frozen eggo waffle. no. toasted eggo waffle. no.
kyle's pancakes (which he made specifically for these clinical trials). yes!!!

so by now you are probably all wondering how in the world a touch lamp knows what is touching it. well, i'll tell you. it has to do with a little something i like to call capacitance.
i've done some research, and in non fancy talk pretty much a capacitor stores up an electrical charge and holds it until something comes along that can absorb or change said charge-but not all house hold items have this special power...as we have clearly demonstrated.

also pictured: becca mcsquinty eyes, standing kyle, doing citric acid alan, and egg on coaster katy. sorry that this post has been a formating nightmare. i am shamefaced.

the children are our future

this is how my 13 year old nephew celebrated labor day.

steve jobs

at the end of walle we were all watching the credits-when the special thanks part was rolling, my brother noticed "steve jobs." this prompted him to say to me "hmmm...steve jobs" and then i said, "who is steve jobs?" and then he said, "(stared at me for a long time with a dumbfounded amazed type look) you don't know who steve jobs is?" and i said, "no- i have never heard that name before in my life."
after a little lecture about how i need to be more aware of the world around me and how my ignorance to the media needed remediation, he explained to me who steve jobs is. and now i know.
so thanks steve jobs- for "emphasizing the importance of design while understanding the crucial role aesthetics play in public appeal." and for, " driving forward the development of products that are both functional and elegant."
and thanks karl- for being a great big brother and for doing your part to give the public access to scholarly journals in an easy to use wiki-format.

robots

today my logan fam and i went to see wallE. it was great. i would highly recommend it- especially if you have an inclination towards robots or love. and especially especially if you have an inclination towards robot love, as my closest friends know i do. i learned a lot about humanity and robotity and the potential for the peaceful and productive unity of these dichotomies. wallE is a good reminder that robots should be acknowledged for their sincere kindness, not just their utility.

here are some of my other favorite robots:
this is kevin, screech's robot/best friend (besides zack)and this is "marvin, the paranoid android." he is a gpp (genuine people personality) model from hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy.and i'm sure you all know johnny 5and lastly...the classic (and classy) rock-um-sock-ums

venn diagram

what ever i want to do

due to my recent involvement in the management of my three young nephews, the amount of children's television i am exposed to has significantly increased. it is interesting to see how much the kidos pick up from shows...especially from their theme songs. some examples- from my friends tigger and pooh -"if you have a problem think think think" or from go diego go "discovering together yeah we're always having fun, helping out each other is good for everyone." these are useful tools when it comes to behavior modification. one of my favorites, even as an adult, has been blues clues. unfortunately it's not perfect. while it does inspire curiosity and problem solving- it's theme song is not quite as helpful. "with me and you and my dog blue, we can do anything that we want to do" out of all the naughty things the kids say, "i want to do whatever i want to do" is probably the most common. i just think it's funny that with all of the child development research that went into producing blues clues (see link) that they couldn't have said something like "we can do anything that our parents tell us to do" also, it's not ok to paint your hand and then leave "clues" on random (and sometimes expensive) house hold items. Maybe i will write them a letter.

for realsies though- i don't care how naughty they are. my little nephews are great and i will miss them so so much. both my california and logan nieces and nephews have taught me so much. i'm glad that all of the plans i made for this summer didn't really work out. nannying was thee absolute best possible situation for me. i will be such a better speech pathologist and especially a better mom.
it's good to be back in logan. i'm excited for school to start on monday. and for new school supplies and crunchy leaves and overcast afternoons. things are good and settled.