Emme built and programmed her first Mindstorms robot this past weekend.
She worked for hours on the construction of the Roverbot and finished all 7 of the introductory and advanced workshops in the Robotics Invention System 2.0 series.
The Bravest Man in America
BLIMP
Yesterday, P, B, the kids and I sallied forth to IKEA to check out storage units for Bob and James, whose room is in a state of perpetual chaos.
Random Thoughts on Illegal Aliens
There are supposed to be massive walkouts and protests today by groups that support amnesty for illegal immigrants, proof, they say, of the country’s dependence on the 9-12 million in the underground economy.
Supposedly, all of us benefit from the subpar wages without benefits paid to illegals, whether it’s because we stay in hotels that employ chambermaids to clean up after us, or eat chicken, pork and beef processed by companies like Tyson, Cargill, Hormel, and Seaboard.
This and That
Remarkable article in today’s NYTimes.com on depression in adoptive mothers, a widespread phenomenon (77% reported such feelings in a survey): http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/25/health/25adop.html
The only thing wrong with this article is that it didn’t even acknowledge the potential (this area is largely unstudied) impact on adoptees of being around a depressed mother for up to a year of their early childhood.
As it says, society puts adoptive parents on a pedestal. Look at the number of liberal politicians (Hillary Clinton and Mario Cuomo, for example) who blather on about adoption as a noble solution to family problems. Anything that could potentially crack the pedestal by telling even the partial truth is radical, so more power to the researchers.
Weekend
Seems like everyone at the office was looking forward to the end of the work week, including me.
Maybe it’s because Thursday turned out to be a work at home day, due to a power outage caused by a semi that had knocked down the power lines the night before. It was a beautiful day, and a gift to be able to spend it outside, or at least in a place where you could open the windows.
Grand Cat
I’ve been minding Max the cat this week while P, B and the kids are in Florida.
Procrastination
Because the 15th falls on a Saturday, and Monday is a holiday in Massachusetts, I have until next Tuesday, April 18, to file my state and federal tax returns. It says so, right on irs.gov.
Gardener’s Diary
Daffs have been appearing around town for at least a week, and the are finally showing up in my yard as well, along with the little deep blue flowers that are my favorites.
The crocuses are pretty much gone, done in by some cold nights, I suspect, and what we hope is the last snow, a brief flurry earlier this week.
Word of the Day
As I get older and my brain ambles in funny ways, I’ve become intrigued by the connections between different meanings of the same word.
Take “court”, for instance. It can mean a courtyard, a place to play tennis, or more ominously, the judiciary.