Thanksgiving on Cape Cod

 

  

Charlie, Rudy, and I spent the evening walking down Main Street.  All the shops have their Christmas storefronts.  We found a YoBaby! in one shop, Rudy decided he likes the Pampered Pooch, there are tables in the Bean and Cod, and our favorite way to make a Christmas window is to put twinkle lights under cotton - tah dah! Twinkle snow!

Oh and we learned that Kaleidoscope toys does NOT follow the rules.  Their tree - hanging upside down from the ceiling! AND it's covered in toys!

And on a gross note - Rudy stepped in dead bunny on the walk home.  Ugh. (Bless you Bunny.)

The Boy with the Monster Tattoo

In an effort to keep this rated G - this will be the only photo posted...

Holiday Faire at the Waldorf School of Cape Cod - the Sword in the Stone

A man in a purple cloak offered encouragement to young lads who were not sure they were strong enough to draw the sword from the stone.  At first Charlie fell dramatically to the floor after attempting this feat.  Upon hearing the man's advice he was able to succeed.  His words to young squires - think of someone who gives strength to your arms and heart.

Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus

Or SCUBA for short.  Thanks Nico!  Thanks Talia!  We love the SCUBA set!

Picture Day

Remember Picture Day?  Thankfully I remembered it.  Attempted to get a haircut on the weekend but activities won precedence.  A few weeks before Charlie decided he wanted to wear this button down shirt for the occasion.  Mimi ironed it and Charlie managed to keep it clean despite the fact that the photos were being taken AFTER recess - risky business for kindergarteners.  Although he does not look the way he did when I sent him out the door that morning, he looks pretty darn cute!

And the pose?  You actually get to select from a variety of poses, backgrounds, and of course packages.  What an industry!

And the infamous "class picture" that will inevitably appear on Facebook in about 20 years.  Will there be Facebook in 20 years?  Maybe it will be like Atari - or Pong.

The Today Show on Dynamite

This morning the cast of The Today Show got a chance to show off their voices a capella.  If you scroll to the very bottom of the Charlie Bean blog you will get to the video I embedded - it isn't of the today show - but the man who sparked the story, Mike Tompkins doing a cover of Dynamite by Taio Cruz.

Take a listen if you get a chance - pretty amazing - nothing but his voice, layered and layered on top of itself.

I give it a thumbs up.

Atomic Theory

Dalton, John (1766-1844)
Link to Biography

English meteorologist who switched to chemistry when he saw the applications for chemistry of his ideas about the atmosphere. He proposed the Atomic Theory in 1803 which stated that (1) all matter was composed of small indivisible particles termed atoms, (2) atoms of a given element possess unique characteristics and weight, and (3) three types of atoms exist: simple (elements), compound (simple molecules), and complex (complex molecules). Dalton's theory was presented in New System of Chemical Philosophy (1808-1827). This work identified chemical elements as a specific type of atom, therefore rejecting Newton's theory of chemical affinities.

Instead, Dalton inferred proportions of elements in compounds by taking ratios of the weights of reactants, setting the atomic weight of hydrogen to be identically one. Following Richter, he proposed that chemical elements combine in integral ratios. Despite the importance of the work as the first view of atoms as physically real entities and introduction of a system of chemical symbols, New System of Chemical Philosophy devoted almost as much space to the caloric theory as to atomism.

Berzelius, Newton, Richter

© 1996-2007 Eric W. Weisstein

Color blind.

See WHAT Charlie Sees - Color Blindness ... NY Times Article AND Photo

With Genetic Gift, 2 Monkeys Are Viewing a More Colorful World

By NICHOLAS WADE

Published: September 22, 2009

Dalton and Sam are male squirrel monkeys, about a foot tall. Their ancestors lived by eating fruit and insects and dodging falcons in the forest canopy of Central and South America. Dalton and Sam lead a more protected life in the laboratory of Jay and Maureen Neitz at the University of Washington, Seattle. Recently, the Neitzes endowed them with a new genetic gift: the ability to see the world with full color vision.
 
Male squirrel monkeys have only two of the color pigments known as opsins, unlike people who have three. The Neitzes, with Katherine Mancuso and other colleagues, used the technique of gene therapy to introduce the gene for the missing red pigment into the cone cells of the monkeys’ retinas. Several months after the therapy, Dalton and Sam were able to see a world in which red hues were visible and oranges no longer looked like lemons, the researchers say in the current issue of Nature.

Although the monkeys could not report that they saw the world with new eyes, their ability to do so was judged by their performance on a color-vision test with a reward of fruit juice.

For the REMAINDER OF THIS ARTICLE please follow link to NY Times. 
Link to NY Times Article

Cape Cod Afternoon

Remember Back When Leaves Were Fun?

This morning while Charlie and I were at his friend Luca's Birthday party, Grandpa was busy raking leaves into big, huge piles.  This was a first for Charlie - jumping into a pile of leaves!  He didn't even complain about me taking pictures so he must have been having fun - though Rude wanted nothing to do with leaf fun WHAT SO EVER.

Sitting on the Bird Feeder

While I was working on my blogs, a hawk swooped in and landed on the birdfeeder.  Too cool!  That is good luck.  Wonder if Ninjaya wanted to grab those tailfeathers.

Bet he wasn't looking for seed.

Kung Fu Birthday Party Pictures

What a busy day it was!  But the kids had fun.  The opening of the presents was kind of like a tornado.  Here are some of the shots my brother got...I was too busy to even pick up my camera.

Kyle read, Dinosaurs Love Underpants.  Super cute!

Thanks friends for making Charlie's big day special.

p.s. Wes - You are the BEST.  :)