Tom Senior demonstrating the use of his Light Fluctuation Detector (solar cell inside a cheap pen barrel). It works beautifully!

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Our PTRA host this year

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Mountains surrounding Salt Lake City, Utah

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YOU'VE PROBABLY SEEN EXAMS LIKE THIS

On the Common Sense and Wonder blog, I found an exam. According to the blogger:

This is what happens on your final when you drink beer and party instead of studying all semester

SUPRISING SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND MATH PEOPLE

Winnie Cooper, the girl from The Wonder Years, is grown up and working as an actress. But, did you know Danica McKellar is also a math whiz?

Danica took a hiatus from acting for college, and she graduated from UCLA with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics! While she was there, she even co-authored a math proof - new research proving an original math theorem - highly unusual for an undergraduate. In fact, she was the only undergraduate invited to speak at Rutgers University's biannual Statistical Mechanics conference a few years back. Although she has returned to acting full time, she still retains a passion for it, and likes to stay active.

Another surprise in his diversity of interests is Dolph Lundren, the action film actor.


Lundgren attended the Royal Institute of Technology. Spending time abroad in the United States on various academic scholarships, he attended Washington State University and Clemson in South Carolina. In 1982, he received a scholarship to complete his Masters degree in Chemical Engineering at the University of Sydney in Australia. The following year, he was awarded a Fullbright Scholarship to the world-renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

BEAM ME UP

It's been an eventful summer.

First, for all those trekkies out there, the man known as "Scotty" has died. The Canadian-born James Doohan, the Enterprise's engineer, passed away at age 85 of pneumonia and Alzeheimer's.

Mr. Doohan's life was not uneventful, apart from the Star Trek series.

He was among the Canadian forces that landed on Juno Beach on D-Day. "The sea was rough," he recalled. "We were more afraid of drowning than the Germans."

The Canadians crossed a minefield laid for tanks; the soldiers weren't heavy enough to detonate the bombs. At 11:30 that night, he was machine-gunned, taking six hits: one that took off his middle right finger (he managed to hide the missing finger on the screen), four in his leg and one in the chest. Fortunately the chest bullet was stopped by his silver cigarette case.

MID-SUMMER UPDATE

It's been an interesting summer, so far. I took a temporary job, which brings in immediate cash, but leaves me unable to take advantage of many summer workshops. OTOH, I do get to spend the day in air conditioning. The last few weeks, that was a definite advantage.

I am keeping busy, however. I've been posting to my other blog regularly. With all the activity happening in current events, there is much to comment on.

I've been learning how to draw Manga - it's a Japanese cartoon style. It's kind of fun to learn something so removed from other aspects of my life. I'd really enjoyed drawing when I was a kid, but, like so many of us, once I'd decided that I wasn't talented enough (how much is "enough"?), I gave it up. This time, the point isn't to satisfy someone else, it's just to make me happy.

Have a wonderful summer!

CREATE YOUR OWN LEGO FIGURE

If you click on the titel of this post, you will find a page called Chris Doyle's Reasonably Clever.Com. He has an application there to create a customized Lego graphic, just like the one below.

My Lego Figure

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Don't have room to store every poster? Try taking a picture of the end project.

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Escher picture

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When good chess pieces go bad

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JUNE SITE OF THE MONTH

You have absolutely GOT to try this new game I found - it's the most addictive thing I've found in years.

Some of you will remember 24 - the math game that became very popular, both as a teaching tool, and because it's fun to play. Eventually, educational uses of the games led to tournaments.

This game is even better. Many of the puzzles can be completed in 10-30 minutes, so it's nice to have some puzzles available in the classroom for those students who finish a lab or project early. It doesn't require a partner, although students can team up to solve more challenging puzzles, so it lends itself to use in home schooling as well as classrooms.

According to the developers of the software version (pictured above),

Lots of puzzles and games teach you some kind of math. Such as simple arithmetic in parchisi, calculating the odds in backgammon, or combinatorial theory in poker.

Sudoku is different. It's not mathematical. It's one of the few puzzles and games that rewards Applied Logic. It encourages you to apply principles of deduction and induction – skills which you don't often get to exercise. It sharpens your powers of concentration and reasoning.

I'm not a player of most math games. I've never been very proficient at mental math, preferring to use pencil & paper to solve problems. I'm more of a visual processor, and need to literally see the problem laid out to get a handle on it.

But, this number game, I'm good at. Because it doesn't require me to juggle numbers in my head, it works with the way I think.

THE TRUTH HURTS

I was checking out a favorite blog, Critical Mass, a blog devoted to education. The question arose, how should writing be taught to ensure that students will become competent writers?

My belief, based on my experiences, is that nothing beats practice, practice, practice. You have to slog through the process of assigning the initial writing, marking it for errors, and helping students go through the correction and re-writing process.

It takes time. It takes effort. It takes some knowledge of the English language.

I have a small suggestion how teachers whose subject matter isn't English might approach the matter. Make an agreement that, each week, you will assign a short essay (3-5 paragraphs). You will provide the expertise about your subject (including spelling and usage), but the English teacher will correct for syntax, organization, and the like. If you share the load, students could get credit for both classes.

Too many students dash off the first draft, and assume that one pass at the assignment is sufficient. The essence of writing is re-writing.

ANOTHER USE FOR LEGOS

I found this cool use of Legos and CDs on Natalie Solent, a blogger who sometimes posts about technology issues.



The completed sextant

What can this sextant be used for? It fulfills the state objective for teaching about the early history of science, as well as giving students the opportunity to make an instrument that they can use to locate their position on Earth.



An early sextant

A good follow-up activity is to show them how to use GPS units.

DON'T BE SHY - TELL US WHAT YOU REALLY THINK

WARNING - THIS LINK IS NOT WORK-SAFE. THE LANGUAGE IS OLD-FASHIONED, ANGLO-SAXON, AND VULGAR. IT ALSO IS HIGHLY INFLAMMATORY.

But the link is also funny, pointed, and from the heart.

The subject?

Have you ever wondered why colleges and universities have to offer remedial reading, writing and math classes?

The obvious answer is because your precious little gift to mankind is an idiot. That is the primary reason.

After that shot, the post gets REALLY straightforward. You may not agree, in full or in part, but I think it's worth reading.

MEETUPS

I'm waiting for a Meetup of the Cleveland Webloggers group. I just checked the site, I'm early - it's not until 7 pm.

So, I'll be using the time before the others arrive to update my blogs.

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I'm still waiting to hear about the job, but, as it's 2 1/2 weeks since my interview, offhand I'd say that I didn't get it. They did say that they would be interviewing for 2 weeks, but my experience is that when you're the chosen one, you hear sooner.

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I've been working on another business deal, involving ads for blogs. The idea is to aggregate many blogs, so the lesser-visited ones can also benefit from the arrangement. If you have a blog, and would like details, email me, and I'll send you information about it.

SOME NEAT ANIMATIONS

I've been doing sound lately, and I found several sites with animations and information on the topic:

• Interactive Sound Ruler (Flash version)
  
• Fundamental Frequency & Harmonics
  
• The Physics of Sound
  
• Sound Site - some hands-on activities

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Have you ever found a site that irritated you? Made you wish you could wipe it off the face of the planet?

Well, now you can.

Netdisaster - Destroy the Web! is the answer to your problem. You enter the web URL, and select the disaster you want to befall the site. Among the choices are:

• Slow burn
  
• Dinosaurs
  
• Nuke
  
• Meteor shower

Have Fun!

THE GREATEST USE OF TECHNOLOGY YET

OK, I know you've gotten used to the hyping of great technology from me, but trust me - this is ABSOLUTELY the greatest invention yet.

INSIDE THE SAUNA

This is the time of year that I HATE teaching.

Nothing to do with the kids, the job, or the parents - it's the fact that schools never seem to get the temperature level correct!

If the building doesn't have windows that can open, you can bet the air conditioning won't work.

If the windows should open, they'll be stuck shut. Or, like some at a school my husband taught at - fall out if you try to open them.

Worse, I was treated to display of skin that I didn't want to see - and that was just the student teachers!

I'm hoping that tomorrow is cooler.

When lab partners go BAD!