January 21, 2019

Today is January 21, 2019.
Always a good start to a blog/journal entry.

So, today is Martin Luther King, Jr. day which means we do not have school. This is pretty new for Stafford County Public Schools. I'd need to go back into their calendars, but I am pretty sure that this day is a day off for all of us, for about 5 years now.

Ok, so, that given, Beckett and I took to the courts this morning. We played DUDE instead of PIG and ended up playing a 2 v. 1 with Jay. He is a good dribbler and really good at gauging Beckett's ability. It was a friendly match where I was the 1, not the 2. We also played a bit with William. He is a P&R basketball player who is really good in most aspects. His dad is a police officer at UMW, Bill. He sat the sidelines, then instructed William during this 'practice.' Strangely, he had William sit against the wall to strengthen his legs, after jumping next to the wall to see how high he could jump. Outstretching his arms, he showed decent ups. But, his dad felt like he could go higher. So, William was prodded to jump, then wall squat, then jump again. His dad said that he was not trying that hard anymore...I was thinking that he was tiring out. I mean, wall squats, then jumps. You are building strength, and maybe in two days, better results will be observed. But, to think that wall squats with jumps in between will get immediate results is nuts.

After the gig with Beckett, we walked across the way to Parrish's office. He was there, as expected and we chatted. It was great. You know, having the time to idle and ponder. In fact, Parrish was going to write a bit as I am trying to do here. He does plan on running tomorrow. Today is super cold and yesterday was super windy. It's so cold that our bathroom is drained and closed, and the water that runs down William Street is frozen all the way down the gutter and into the sewar.

Ok, tomorrow I shall see five rough drafts of investigations. I hope that they have some mustard. If not, I cannot review and edit them. As well, we're finishing the data collection on the zip line lab. That lab is super cool. Change the mass on the zip, the angle of the line, or the tension on the line and observe the acceleration. I am hoping that this lab sparks some ingenuity for decent and interesting investigations as these students head into year 2. Also, I am hoping that they realize that the lab must be altered...that the method may need to be adjusted, that is.

In other news, I am trying to read 4 books by March 31st to earn a CRRL mug. That means that I need to step up my reading game. I just finished a book on SETI and am now reading The Planet Factory. Elizabeth Tasker just informed me of the finer points of pulsars and how the star next to the pulsar may be in this region where its material will be sloughed off to the more massive pulsar. And, how maybe some rocky planets could form nearby, but rarely will. I am intrigued and ready to get back to reading.

Beatrice plans on making some granola bars of the S'mores flavor. And, Niki may go buy some second hand clothes while I read and enjoy the day. Thank you Martin Luther King for the inspiration to keep kindness in our backpacks, and to distribute that generously.