Archive for March, 2012

R U Smarter than a 5th Grader?

Wednesday, March 28th, 2012

Remember last year? The 2011 5th grade Science Fair? It seemed it was all about moldy bread and corroded metal coins. I was beginning to worry about the local science teachers but now I’m convinced it was just a phase.

Exploding anything

OK, there were just a few of these exploding soft drink container experiments. 5th grade boys need this kind of action and I was glad to see that this year’s fair was limited to about three entries.  This one showed some imagination by choosing root beer instead of Coke.

My favorite Food Science experiment

In the wake of the recent  Pink Slime scandal it’s good to see that some budding scientist is on top of the real problem.

Energy conversion experiment

A fairly large portion of the American adult population wouldn’t have a clue about this. This kid still has about 7 years before learning about electrochemical half-cell potentials; And what about the use of LED’s to show that electricity is produced? I wonder.

Somehow a 4th grader got into the show

This little girl found this HUGE snail that was in a head of lettuce purchased at a local grocery store. She has kept it for a pet for nearly a year! Whatever. If she included a detailed notebook I would have attempted to make sure she made it to the regional’s in two weeks. Speaking of which, I will be judging the regional science fair in two weeks, so it will be interesting to see how it goes. Stay tuned.

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Saturday Night @ Avo’s

Saturday, March 24th, 2012

With belly dance company Tribaltique:

Tribaltique  from Fort Collins

From a show called “Revel Me! A Music and Belly Dance Extravaganza” which featured a musical group from Portland, Oregon called The Underscore Orkestra:

With dancer Danielle and fiddle player Jorge

And Joe on the sousaphone and someone I can’t identify on guitar.

We haven’t been to Avo’s in a while and now that the weather has been improving the patio at Avo’s will start to look appealing again. This was a good time to get back to enjoying some fine entertainment. Just don’t get enough of that Gypsy Jazz Klezmer type of music in the Foothills!

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More Observing

Tuesday, March 20th, 2012

In the past we have visited Sunlight Peak just to make fun of it’s short stature, and historically there was John Bunyan’s little garage he used for viewing the heavens. Usually on the third Saturday one can visit the Stargazer and on the third Friday of every night at the Little Thompson there is something to see if there are no clouds.  Of course these are observatories and most are identified by the dome shaped roofs apart from everyday architectural constructions we have seen (Pantheon, Hagia Sophia, St. Paul’s, most capitol buildings, etc.) plus they have some sort of telescope inside. Turns out there is another observatory nearby on the campus of CSU and it’s open on Tuesday nights:

The Madison-Macdonald Observatory (someplace behind the big bush)

Named after Marion Leslie Madison and Stewart Lincoln MacDonald who were department heads of Mathematics and Astronomy at CSU (not at the same time).  These days there is no “Department of Mathematics and Astronomy” at CSU.  OK, there is a department of Mathematics, but any astronomy courses are under the Department of Physics at the College of Natural Sciences.

Telescope at the Madison-Macdonald

Another view

It seems there is a Pierre Auger Observatory that has some support from CSU but apparently it is located in Argentina.

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Seed Storage

Monday, March 12th, 2012

And quite possibly the safest place to hide on End Of Days?

The NCGRP

or National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation where scientists acquire, assess, preserve and provide genetic resources in the form of plant seeds; not as large as the Vavilov collection in Leningrad, but still quite impressive. It is a very secure building as you might have guessed.

The national seed storage vault

is a self-contained section of the building that was constructed to withstand the bombardment of a 2500 pound object traveling at 125 miles per hour and/or whatever floods or perhaps an F5 tornado. Maybe an earthquake too? Or volcanic activity from Yellowstone?

Some seeds on display

but the rest are stored at or near liquid nitrogen temperatures in the vault. The seed storage lab changed its name to the National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation when the mission changed from just storing seeds to preserving all life forms important to US agriculture in 2002.

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Bug Art

Monday, March 5th, 2012

As part of the Art in Public Places Program (APP):

Designs for storm drain markers

I somehow missed this one. The APP requested drawings from local residents for new designs of the city’s storm drain markers.

Featuring aquatic insects

to help educate the public regarding the maintenance of water quality in local streams.

The Order Plecoptera

While other orders like Odonata and Ephemeroptera were represented above, its the Plecopterons or stoneflies that have the most to tell about the quality of our water.

Finally, the Order Coleoptera

These winning entries were shown at the latest “2012 Residential Environmental Program Series” sponsored by the Fort Collins Utilities and Natural Resources Department.

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Crank ‘N’ Jam

Friday, March 2nd, 2012

At CrankNStein’s Bar and Bike Shop:

The was Beer here

And Bikes here

The Black Sheep came for the evening

Here you could park your bike INSIDE the bar next to your table and not have to worry about having your custom made bicycle ripped-off.

And a Banjo or two

Apparently just having a bar isn’t enough in this town. They combine a bike shop and a bar/coffee house and then have an open bluegrass jam on Tuesday nights. The last straw was to invite square dancers. (It was too hard to move bikes in and out while people were dancing so they don’t do it anymore)

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