“Is That My Tooth?”

loose tooth

So, one of Nick’s top teeth in the front is loose, as in really loose. He’s been playing with it more and more this past week but it’s still hanging in there. We even tried to tie some dental floss around it and have him pull it out. But a little bit of blood later, that sucker was still in there. It’s only a matter of days (or hours, or even minutes).

The same tooth on the same side but on the bottom has also been loose. It doesn’t get as much attention however because the top one has been loose longer. At the kid’s first dentist visit a couple of week ago, the dentist told Nick that there was no root under either of his loose teeth and that they both should be coming out any day now. But tonight, as Nick was was brushing his teeth and after he spit, he asked me, “What is that? Is that my tooth?”

He picked the little object up and held it so I could see. Pinched between his finger and thumb was his tiny little bottom tooth that none of us were really even paying attention to. It had come right out on its own while Nick was brushing. He was pretty proud about it and very excited. He was telling me he could put his name up in his class at school where they keep track of everyone that’s lost a tooth, and he also was excited to tell his dentist. We shall see what the Tooth Fairy brings him tonight!

lost tooth

Animated Harmonics

Mathematical representation of music, in an interesting and graphical example. Of course, I haven’t the slightest clue as to what I’m talking about. But it is pretty intriguing to see the representation at coverpop.com.

If I just made things totally confusing, here’s a quote from the website…

“a musical realization of the motion graphics of john whitney as described in his book digital harmony

Be sure to check out the display, and make sure you read a more detailed description of what’s going on.

COLOR box

I’m not hip on color theory, afterall, that’s Becky’s specialty. I couldn’t tell you what Orange’s opposite is. Still, here’s an interesting game to test and improve your color related skills. Heck, you might even learn that red and blue make purple in the process (something you would have learned if you let your kids watch Blue’s Clues).

COLOR box: a color theory game

You Decide

Check out the Wired article below. It’s in choose your own adventure format. You read a section, make a choice, and it takes you to another section of the article depending on your choice.

Wired 14.06: START

And what is the article about? It’s about the return of Choose Your Own Adventure books! Woo-hoo! I loved these books when I was in my youth. And if they make a come-back, I’ll be trying them out on Nick to see if he likes them. After all, he’s just about read every Captain Underpants book at least 3 or 4 times. So bring on the Choose Your Own Adventure. Oh, and does anyone know where my Choose Your Own Adventure library ended up?

The Golden Snitch

In aiming to create the USA’s first Quidditch team, some engineering students at BYU have made an interesting device called an “ornithopter”. What could almost pass as a golden snitch, this smaller than 6 inch flying device could also be an insight on things to come in remote control or unmanned surveillance. Be sure to check out the QuickTime video linked in the article (the indoor practice facility sure looks nice too).

BYU News Release

Now if we could only get the flying broom thing going.

Congrats Ti!

Congratulations to the baby of our family (that’s Tianna for those less inclined to common sense) as she graduated, oops, my bad… was promoted from 8th grade to the ranks of the high schoolers. That noble and lofty goal has finally been attained, but not without its own rewards along the way. First and foremost, those of you who were lucky enough, got to hear Tianna speak at her promotion this evening as she represented her class as their Valedictorian (hopefully someone recorded this momentous occasion). But that honorable title of class Valedictorian wasn’t enough for our Ti, she was also the top Language Arts student in the eighth grade this year! As a result, her name and one of her stories get to take their place among those who’ve gone before her on Mr. Wisniewski’s Wall of Fame! So a giant congratulations to Tianna and her accomplishments! I for one am extremely proud of you and wish we could have been there tonight to hear your speech and to help celebrate. Now, party on!

Firefox Facts

So I’m having a hard time settling on what is my main browser. I really like Firefox, and that is for sure what I use when I’m developing web pages. But, if I’m posting to our blog, I’m usually using Safari. You can’t beat OS X’s built in spell check as you type feature. But for general surfing, I’m stuck at about 50/50 between Firefox and Safari. Speed between the two is not an issue. There are a couple of other odd little quirks with each browser that keeps me from using it all the time. However, if Firefox is your main browser or at least you use it as much as I do, you’ll find Firefox Facts to be a helpful read. It’s a free ebook you can download at firefoxfacts.com. Not only will you get some tips and tweaks on how to improve your surfing experience, you’ll also get reviews of some of the more popular extensions. And hey, you can’t be free!

Firefox Facts

Printable Maps

Need a quick general map? Check out the nationalatlas.gov Map Maker. There are tons of options as far as what type of map to build, location to include, what you want shown on the map, etc. Want to see the average rainfall in Monroe, LA? Or how about the average energy consumption in Fresno, CA? How about the average three point percentage among hoopsters? OK, probably not that one, but the previous two for sure among other things. It’s a great little utility for building a map to your specifications.

Printable Maps – Reference

Happy Trails…

Safe travels to the Freeman’s of Flagstaff as they head out from the cozy confines of the shadow of the San Francisco Peaks for a place actually closer to San Francisco, sunny Fresno. So everyone plan their summer vacations for that trip down highway 99. I’m sure Trish, Will, and the Kiddies will be happy to take us all to Yosemite and Sequoia.

Have a safe trip! And unlike helping move Melissa and her 20 tons of books, I really wish we could be out there to help with the move. And one more thing, be wary when you stop to take a nap in Bakersfield, make sure you scan the area for nearby train tracks!