Weird Science

I live with a bunch of GEEKS! (See photo). My 3 boys think things like math, science, computers, electronics, and science fiction are cool. (Actually, don't tell anyone, but I also think all of the aforementioned items are also quite groovy-minus the science fiction, of course.)

Q: How can you tell an extroverted scientist (one could sub in mathematician or computer scientist or electrical engineer)?
A: When he talks to you, he looks at your shoes instead of his own.


Badum dum. . .

But seriously folks, I love all 3 of my geeks and have become one in many ways myself by virtue of constant exposure.

If you, too, are a fan of Geekdom, you may know that tis the season for SCIENCE FAIRS. William attends a school that rarely to never encourages any type of competition. They don't even believe in grades! However, when it comes to science fairs, judgment and competition are sanctioned. William shocked us all this year by thinking of a topic, picking out a partner and working out all the details for this years' fair, even before he made it home with the information sheet. He wanted to know why magnets screw ups TVs. Ah, grasshopper (wait-- what does a grasshopper have to do with it?), you are interested in the intricacies of the magical picture machine that resides in our living room-- we must go to your father for the answer to these questions. For your mother only knows that when you push "power" on the remote control strange things light up, move around and speak.

William, Bill, William's friend Oskar, and his father worked for a month together doing experiments to help the boys understand why magnets are like cryptonite for a TV picture. They (and I) learned about electron guns and pixels and negative and positive charges and a plethora of other things that astounded and amazed the woman who knew nothing of the inner workings of the "magic box". They bought a TV from the DI and attacked it with many sizes of magnets, turned it upside down and wondered if the pull of the earth's own magnetic field would have the same effect as the magnets themselves. It was amazing to watch (and learn) as the process unfolded it's mysteries to two eager to learn boys and their fathers.

So make jokes if you must, but here is one final one for you to ponder:

The graduate with a Science degree asks, "Why does it work?"
The graduate with an Engineering degree asks, "How does it work?"
The graduate with an Arts degree asks, "Do you want fries with that?"

Love Is In The Air

And on my refrigerator.

Valentine's Day. Can you feel the love? 'Tis the season of Cherubs and Chocolates. Our day consisted of Science Fair display board fashioning in the morning. A trip to IKEA at noon. A surprise encounter with Scott and a trip to the comic book store in the afternoon. And Happy Sumo takeout and an uninterrupted movie alone together on the couch.

Our gift to our boys: Yo-yos.

Their gift to us: Uninterrupted time alone together on the couch!

I, for one, am feeling the love!