Shopping Made Easy

Black Friday was not the adventure I thought it would be, today. Perhaps, I have grown immune to the rude, pushy, Christmas shoppers. Oh well, did not buy a thing, yet. Wifey and I are going out, again, later.

I was not in school on Wednesday, spent the entire morning at Geisinger Medical Center, getting a shot and surrendering blood. I am anxiously awaiting the results of the tests to ensure I am on the road to recovery and ensure I will be around for a few more years teaching students there are no black or white answers, that science dwells in the realm of grey.

The son is working, today, at Circuit City -- 3 a.m. to 3 p.m. He was so worried about Black Friday he did not sleep, last night. However, he seemed alert when he dashed out the door at 2:30 this morning.

The daughter is off to Mexico, today. She went with a friend to spend Thanksgiving with the friend's grandparents in Donna, Texas -- That thar is 10 miles from the Mexican border. You can still drive into Mexico without a passport, until January 2008.

We spent Thanksgiving with my father and sister, they are neighbors and live about a hour from here. My sister cooked up a wonderful feast -- however, I was limited to butternut squash and sweet potatoes. My son piled-up his plate, twice, so I know he enjoyed the food.

So, my dear students and their parents, how did you spend Thanksgiving? Did you do the Black Friday ritual? What are your plans for the rest of this vacation? Who's going huntin'?

How Do You Spell, TEST?

I'm not here, tomorrow. However, when you come back to school on Tuesday, Nov. 27, be certain to bring all the stuff from Section 3-1 in your science notebook. We will review the vocabulary paper, and the handouts "Fresh Water on the Surface of the Earth," and, "Frozen Water on the Surface of the Earth," and, "Running/Standing Water on the Surface of the Earth."
On Wednesday, you will be taking a test on all these packets. Forget about trying to memorize this stuff. We spent so much time with it all, that you should be able to write common-sense answers to all the questions.
Here's a hint to one question. I had to throw in at least one multiple-choice:
A huge mass of moving ice and snow, is a(n):
a. snowman b. Mr Z c. glacier d. iceberg.
No blog tomorrow. Have a great vacation and watch out for the Triptophan. Huh? Triptophan? What's that? It's the enzyme in turkey that makes you sleepy after eating your Thanksgiving Day meal. Just watch dad and gramps fall asleep in the living room, while the women folk clean-up after cooking all morning.

Please be safe, this weekend. See you all on Tuesday. P.S. -- I love venison.

Tennis Balls and Lakes

How could they not know about potential and kinetic energy? They were taught, I'm certain. Anyway, we used a tennis ball to explain energy transfer. We also discussed lakes, giardiasis and methane pollution. We will finish the packet, "Running Water/Standing Water on the Surface of the Earth," tomorrow.

Have a good evening.