First thing to report, though everyone probably knows it because of Google, turn off your lights from 8-9 your time tonight. Make that tiny dent in your power bill and feel like you're part of a movement. There's no way that can be bad. Well, possibly if you're in the middle of surgery, but if you're at home, heck, turn out the lights. I'm sure you can find something to do in the dark for an hour.
This past week we had nephews #1 and 2 down since it was their Spring Break. The original plan was to take them to a LEGO Mindstorms exhibit at the Saint Louis Science Center, but all the sessions were sold out by the time we got there. I had assumed that a Friday afternoon when the schools were still in session would've given us a pretty good chance; apparently no.
Luckily, they thought the science center was pretty cool. Were I their age, I would've thought it was pretty lame, with the exception of the DNA extraction project. There was a British guy leading a project to extract DNA from wheat germ. For some reason, DNA was something my science classes pretty much skipped until I was in high school. It seems to be almost the only thing these two boys have learned anything about.
So, that was cool. However, I was struck dumb when they asked me what wheat germ was for. Literally the only thing I've ever heard it used for is various science experiments. Wikipedia tells me it appears in cereals and protein drinks, so my lame guesses were pretty close.
In spite of not having Mindstorms to play with, I did manage to teach the younger boy the principles of binary, learn HTML, and he played with my K'Nex kit all week. (I've got the set with the motor.) The older one's 15 and wasn't interested, he was enchanted by Guitar Hero.
I got to make the eight hour drive to take them back and drive in the snow for a couple hours. Nothing stuck around and the roads weren't bad, but it was nice to get back south of Hannibal, MO, where the grass gets green again.
Also, I checked out Neil Gaiman's Stardust from the library. As well as some of the Laura Ingalls Wilder books I can't find right now.
I'm liking Stardust but more and more I think that someone ought to write the "Behind the Music" story of Mrs. Wilder's family. We know she sees her life through her own bias, I'm just interested in finding an account from someone else's perspective. I'm not really even looking for dirt, I'm just looking a little less for an account of life at the turn of the 18th century, and more about who these people actually were. It seems a little strange to read seven books about an entire family and still not really know anything about them.