Monday, July 30, 2012

Duct-tape dilemma


Can one make a duct tape wallet that isn`t bad??? Can they?!?!?!

Equipment:
·         Duct-tape (duh.)
·         Scissors (possible adult supervision required)
·         Ruler or other measuring tool
·         (optional) Marker/pens

Procedure:
1.       Make eight pieces of 7-10 inch pieces of duct-tape, and lay them on top of one another in groups of four, with a quarter of an inch overlap. Take one of the groups and lay it on top of the other to make a “fabric”.
2.       Fold the new piece in half, and take a new piece of duct-tape the same length as the short edge of the fold. Cover said fold, and then tape other fold in the same manner.
3.       (Extra) to make a pocket, take two pieces of tape, on larger than the other. Place the small piece on the sticky side of the large piece, with the sticky parts together. Then, trim the edges of the large piece so that it can fit on the inside of the wallet.

Conclusion:
Livi didn`t make a too bad wallet, although she didn`t have pockets. She then proceeded to attempt to shove it off on me.

Friday, July 27, 2012

Olivia's book review


The thieves of Ostia
The thieves of Ostia is set in 79 A.D., in ancient Rome. The main characters are a Christian boy named john, a ship captain’s daughter, Flavia, a mute boy called lupus, and a slave girl named Nadia. It is a mystery, and the first book in a series.  Someone is killing watch dogs and taking the heads. Also, someone stole from a very important man in Rome. Could the 2 be connected? Flavia must find out.   
      This book was really good and the second book is called the secrets of Vesuvius. Also, I liked how every place in the book really existed, like Ostia was really in Rome and is a town, and Pliny really is a person.

Luke book review


Struts and Frets
                This is the high school life of Samuel Bojoer, a guy whose full life probably sucks in the extreme. His mother is a therapist, the frontman in his band, Joe, is a total meat-head who is only in because he can beat the other three members in  a fight (or in that case, massacre) can`t sing for his life, and Sam`s beginning to have “feelings” (Note: this is not the words used. There IS a reason this book was put in the young adult`s section.) for his oldest friend, Jen5 (It`s because there were 4 other Jennifer).
                This book was pretty amusing, namely because the characters seem to have an almost “real” feel, (although some things the author probably didn`t know about now modern teens/high-schoolers) with the random emotions, and also because one of Sam`s friends, Rick, is homosexual, which is actually more or less a lot more common in today`s society (and to those of you who are anti-gay/don`t like gay people/find it “blasphemous” (in case you`re religious), shut it. It`s their choice, jerks.) And it adds a bit more depth to the relation Sam shares with Rick, because he had never known that Rick was homosexual before.
                I also felt that it was a good story because of how Sam and Jen5 grew over the course of the book (well, grew together, as a couple, y`know?) because both were discouraged by their parents (sadly) to quit what they wanted to be most (which was an artist and musician, respectively.) and become doctors or lawyers (I hate lawyers, they`re the ones who become politicians, and I`ve never been too fond of visiting doctors/health agencies in general) instead, which I found to be dumb as heck.
                It wasn`t a bad book. That`s the most honest thing I can say about it. I can`t say it was the best, but I liked it.

Monday, July 23, 2012

Luke's science experiment-written up by Liv


HOT! HOT! HOT!
Why do peppers burn our mouths? Peppers contain an acid called capsaicin, oil in the pepper’s flesh. This acid in the pepper causes your mouth to ‘burn’, which is actually the pain sensor in your mouth telling your brain this is hot. We wanted to find out what cure works best: water or milk?
       Luke tried a jalapeƱo pepper, and for him, milk worked best. Why? To relieve your tongue, you have to get the oil off. When there is oil on pans, we use soap, which breaks down the oil, to clean them. Although soap isn’t good to put in your mouth, milk also emulsifies [breaks down] the oil, while water doesn’t. Therefore milk is a better choice when eating hot foods.

Friday, July 20, 2012

Olivia's review. . .

 . . .and no they did not know that they did it on the same book.  Guess this is a trilogy worth checking out.  They read at least 10 books a week so for them to pick the same one, it must have made an impact.


Morpheus Road: the light
    Morpheus road is about a boy named marshall seavers.his mom died in a accident and his father is away a lot. He lives in stony brook, Connecticut, and works at a trophy shop with mark dimond. [ pendragon references!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!] marsh’s best friend is a trouble kid and is sent to spend the summer at his family’s lake cabin. He goes missing. Marshall needs to find him, and along the way get some answers
       Morpheus road: the light is the first ina trilogy by D.J McHale. The second book is the black, and the third is the blood. I don’t know if the blood is really the title of the third book but its my guess. The story contains some intresting twists and imposing obstacles.i liked the story and if you are a scary story lover, you will too. 

*                     
                                                                                                 

Luke book review


Morpheus road
(Note: this is a basis of the two-out of three books I`ve been able to obtain)
                It all starts when Coop, Marsh`s best friend and Sydney`s brother, disappears when he goes up to his family`s cottage for the whole summer. Marsh begins to be haunted by a character he made himself, a freakish ghoul that tries to kill him. He also starts seeing a Celtic, triple swirl pattern, which eventually leads him to Sydney.
                Meanwhile, Coop is in the Black, which some call… no, never mind I don`t want to spoil it. He repeatedly helps Marsh in the Light, trying to help him figure out his fate, while trying to avoid a total border-war against Damon the Butcher, a thousand-year old commander of Alex the Great`s, who wants total domination.
                I found this book series to be really good, mostly due to its unique perspective on a very daunting aspect of life, which some of us may have had a hard time contemplating. It does have its parts though, where it may be more for an older group (sorry kids) because of absolute idiocy and freakish events inside the storyline and minds of the characters.

Thursday, July 19, 2012

In honor of Fern,

Instead of blogging about an article in news, I asked the kids to respond to the big news in our house-the addition of Fern Stielstra to our extended family :)


Dear Nate,
There are some things you should know about having a little sister. (I would know. I actually have a little sis.) I hope you take this advice seriously (at least when you can read this.) and know that I mean all of the things in this letter.
1.       Little sisters can be ANNOYING. They usually figure out how to push your buttons at an early age, and they also steal all the attention with something “cute”. (It`s not even close)
2.       Your little sister will also have a tendency to do evil things, like steal stuff from your room, mostly because it goes along with the first point, but sometimes it is just because they want it.
3.       Do not let your little sister copy you. This not only leads occasionally to the first point, but it may also cause sibling fighting later on, which it is likely you could end up getting blamed for.
And now for some better stuff!
1.       Little sisters can actually be (sometimes) fun! They may have some of the same likes/dislikes as you, and that can lead to enjoyable conversations/games/etc.etc.etc.
2.       You will now have a playmate/friend, when you`re both older (and, let`s face it, almost everyone besides Fern is older than you by quite a margin.) so you can do things with her.
3.       If it`s allowed, SHE`S THE PERFECT PRANK SUBJECT!!!
4.       You officially have another family member.(YAHHHOOOO!!!!)
From your unofficially adopted cousin (With best regards),

Luke E. Melville
Official artist and semi-manga writer

Dear Fern,
10 things you should know about having a big brother.
10)              You have to compromise
9) Your brother will not comprehend when you say I don’t have anything to wear, but he will sometimes suggest something that is wearable
8) Piggyback rides are always worth it. ;)
7) Sharing = good, greedy = no no
6) He will annoy you. Be prepared. Have a bull horn.
5) He must knock to come in your room. Unless you share one. Then he has to knock and ask.
4) He’s not that much older…..
3) If you play a game, bargain.  You want this, he wants that, you play yours first and his some other time.
2) He might let you borrow things if you ask nicely.
1) No matter what, he loves you.

Love,
Olivia



Monday, July 16, 2012

Can Onions and a Sports drink Charge an iPod??-submitted by Luke


Can Onions and a Sports drink Charge an iPod??
Supplies:
·         Onion
·         Electrolyte-enhanced sports drink (PowerAde, Gatorade, etc.) PowerAde in our case, of 20 ounces, or enough to cover the onion
·         Screwdriver or other thin, pointy objects (No swords for this kids, sorry) (parental supervision possibly required)
·         Charger cable (USB port and part you put in media player)
·         Dead or low battery level Media player (iPod, MP3, etc.)
·         Large jar or deep container
·         Timer (optional)
·         Cloths to dry off wet instruments
What we did:
1.       Take the onion and screwdriver, and poke two holes on opposite side of the onion
2.       Place the onion  in the container, and then pour the sports drink so it covers the onion (Perfectionist`s note: the onion may float, so this is fine as long as the holes are close enough to the drink that it can soak the onion`s tissues. And no, I don`t mean Kleenex.)
3.       Wait thirty minutes…. (This is the most boring part. I actually wrote most of the post during this time… ZZZZZZ)
4.       Take the onion out, and place the USB part in the onion.
5.       Place the charger part into the media player
6.       Wait (AGAIN?!?? NOOOOOO!!!!!!) For a few minutes (oh.) to see if anything happens.
7.       State your result and finish a report.
I honestly thought this wouldn`t work in the least. I know that a lemon could be able to do something like this, but that had something to do with its electrolytes and its acidity.
And… I was… Right!! The onion-juice mix doesn`t work at all, and all my sis got was a USB full of Onion!
(Author`s note: To those of you who find the 2nd video annoying, I apologize. I think that the conclusion should be at the end of an experiment, not said in the mid-end-non-finish. I am sorry if it was annoying hearing us.)
Mom's note-I can't post the videos because they are too long!  I do have them saved if you are ever interested......
Best regards to all those willing to put up with our experiments,
 Luke Melville

Friday, July 13, 2012

Olivia book review


The Ruby Key
      The ruby key is part of the moon and sun series and it is the first book. The main characters are a girl named genna [14] and danith [12] genna and dan live in a world where there 2 types of people. The day people, the humans, and the nightlings. The humans are allowed out from the rising of the sun to the setting. As you may have guessed, the nightlings rule the night. Once a year there is an offering night. The humans give the nightlings what they have and the nightlings do likewise. It is offering night. Genna and Dan’s father is missing and has been for a while. Their father was the caer, the leader of the village. When their father caught the saku, the disease, he wandered into the forest. Now their mother has caught the sickness and banris, the new caer is trying to get her to marry him. Genna and Dan’s mother is also the yihanna, the medicine woman. Dan and Genna sneak out to collect sap to help their mother. Along the way, they meet someone who starts the journey of their lives.
      I liked this book, because the main character isn’t smart or magical. She’s just a farm girl who wants to save the life of the ones she loves. She is just determined. Also, the world in this story has many hidden corners and niches. The plot is complicated, but anything could happen, especially with a certain cat. 

Luke's review of Camp Mirage


Camp Mirage
                This week was the only week I was getting to go to a FUN summer camp (and if you think Geometry is fun, try being Me.) at camp Mirage. It was pretty enjoyable overall, with only a few minor issues.
                At first my team had a harder time working together (Grant, you nut.) because of some people`s oddities. We didn`t do half bad later, although we did have a traitor (Mihere… Why? Answer me, WHY?!) Who eventually was just transferred to the other team? We all did well with individual challenges, although the team ones were the more difficult ones, due in part to an individual (there were more than one) in each challenge who rushed ahead and didn`t think for the team (like the time I forgot we ALL had to go through the net).
                It wasn`t total rivalry, though. I made friends with Jason, who was on the other team, and we had a pretty good time at the top of the Flytrap each day (he preferred guns instead of swords/knives/b-ball bats against zombies though. I don`t know why.) talking about anything that caught our minds and didn`t let go, albeit it was mostly zombie survival. So I made friends and enjoyed myself this week, and I think this stay for a while with me.

Thursday, July 12, 2012

B-ball BFF battle-Luke



                Adam Jones of the Orioles, and Quintin Berry of the Tigers… The two have been friends since high-school, and are going to play their first game against each other in the majors. Wow. That`s actually slightly touching and exciting at the same time. (Is that even possible, anyways???)
                I personally think it is rather neat that two players have known each other for so long (twenty years straight!!!), and are even celebrating at the prospect of playing each other again. For me, I don`t think I`d be all that excited to play my friend, because one of us would have to lose, so I`d feel a little bad. Unless my relationship was more bro-rival-friends, where it was a bit more competitive, and we would purposely trying to best each other. (I think b-ball buddies would be more like this, though.)
                Both men are saying that they are wildly excited to play each other, (namely because they never have before, somehow) and can`t wait. I think I`m actually a little excited, and I`m waiting for the results pretty expectantly (I`ll bet Bumpa`ll actually watch it too, if only because it`s a Tigers game, if not because of the Rivalry-thing, like I might. I think.)

Dog fights-Olivia


Dog fights
The humane society and the police raided a home in Detroit where a man had showed off roosters and dogs he claimed to use to dog fight. A online video was shown  and went viral this week. The man was identified  as a rapper named young calicoe. On wendesday at about noon, investigators brought animals out of the house including roosters and some dogs looking like pitbulls. People had been questioned but it looks like no one was arrested,  police spokes woman says.The humane society is the lead investigator in this case but didn’t release details. They don’t know if dog fighting really happened at the house. The video was just a home tour showing off his animals he claimed were in dog fights.
          Dog fights are cruel. They in jure the dogs, as well as teach them not to trust anything.  Dogs that were in dog fights are usually too violent to be in a family and have to be put down. That is a waste of a dog. Who knows what that dog could have done if it hadn’t  been forced to fight. It could have been a rescue dog or a loved family pet.  That’s the truth of vile dog fights. I don’t see why anyone should even think about having one. They don’t even have them fight for a reason. Just the fact of entertainment is their modus operandi. I hope that the supposed dog fights didn’t happen so no dogs were ruined and neither were the roosters

Monday, July 9, 2012

science project posted by Liv


It’s raining, it’s pouring!
This week’s science experiment was wet, and rainy. The supplies were quite easy, two almost exactly the same t-shirts and… [Drum roll please,] rain?
The question is whether walking in the rain gets you less wet than running. I believe it is true because when you run you are in a hunched position and you have more surface area exposed to the rain. When you walk you are upright and less area is exposed. When Luke did the test of running and walking down the driveway, we found that as he ran down the driveway he also ran into the droplets as well as them hitting his back. Then while he walked, he kind of walked through the water. If you look at the pictures and compare the shirts, the shirt from him running [light grey] is wetter than the walking shirt. Drawing from our results, I conclude that if you’re stuck in the storm, walk and don’t run to shelter


Saturday, July 7, 2012

Liv book review


Miss               Home for                       children
     Peregrins                 peculiar
      Miss Peregrins home for peculiar children starts out with a character named Jacob. He is talking about a event in your life where after it, everything is referred to as Before and After.then, it begins as his grandfather telling his stories. He escaped Poland to get away from the monsters, and found refuge in a magical island guarded by a bird with a pipe, where the children had special powers.His grandfather would then show him his pictures. A unhappy contortionist, a boy with a puppy’s body,a girl in a bottle… 10 years later, Jacob is working at a drug store. He receives a call from his grandfather and his grandpa is frantically searching for a key, the key to his shed where he keeps his guns.”the monsters are coming for me” he screams. Jacob goes home to check on him and finds the house ripped apart .he ventures to the woods and finds his grandfather almost dead. His last words are cryptic and vague.’find the bird. In the loop. On the other side of the old mans grave. September 3rd,1940.emerson- the letter.’ He sees a face with multiple toungues in the woods right after and  has nightmares for months. Him, his father and his aunt also have to clean out his house.his aunt finds a book, a book by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Tucked inside is a letter and a photo. The photo is of a miss peregrine, the headmisstress  of the orphanage he really went to, instead of the fantasies he made. The address was in the wales and he convinced his parents to let him go there. He discovers the orphanage, and what happens next is anybodies guess.
          I thought this book was really cool, albeit a little scary.the plot is interesting, but what I  thought was awesome was the fact that instead of describing the photos they actually have them in the book. Fact is, the photos are all real ones that people found. You should read this book.  

Mrs. Mary`s B-day science museum exhibition by Luke


Mrs. Mary`s B-day science museum exhibition
This. Was. FUN!
It was a pretty enjoyable time at the imagination station. I particularly liked the “Boyo” thing, although it was probably because I got higher than anyone else on it, (at least higher than Maeve, Rory, and Liv) and also I liked watching the uneven Tug-O-War thing (who wouldn`t like seeing a little kid win against a whole group of other kids? It looked almost herculean, it was so funny).
                It didn`t help that some of the exhibits were pretty hands-on, so I basically could do almost anything to examine things allowing me to view it better. The Mind Zone part was especially neat. Olivia and I could actually tell the difference with the optic illusion, so it was a bit fun (Maeve and Rory couldn`t tell though) watching others try and figure out how to see the different things (there was this one illusion, that no matter how hard they looked at the lines in the square, they couldn`t see the circle within the lines because of their thinness. I couldn`t discern the thickness of each of the lines either, but I could see the basic outline if I looked even straight at it.)
                It was even enjoyable when we had to take care of a little one each. (I got Finn) They pretty much had never been here before, or didn`t remember it, because they were as willing as we were to check out anything that moved. (Maeve was a little infatuated with the little kid`s zone, she thought it was cute how all the little kids made a bit of a community in their play.) Finn and I loved the Hurricane winds tester. (They all laughed at my hair going flat, too…)
                So it was fun for me, and I think Mrs. Mary got THREE presents from my family, (the gift in the bag) including my Happy B-Day hug and this blog post. I hope you had a relaxing day Mrs.Mary!! 

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Liv-New particle found


Knowledge is power

What is a particle ? A particle is a speck or small portion of something. But just one particle could unleash the answers to a decades long search. The relationship of why all matter has mass and a new side of subatomic science. That small particle is called the higgs particle, proposed first theoretically in the 1960’s.
       Scientists celebrated as 2 independent teams announced the high tech findings in Geneva, Switzerland. The CERN, [ European center for nuclear usually sedate, burst into often applause and physicists who had spent their career searching for the higgs particle cried. The recently discovered particle shares qualities with the acclaimed higgs particle, and is probably the greatest accomplishment at CERN since its creation. Rolf hewer, the director of CERN, says that the particle is a boson. A boson is a particle that has a even number of protons and electrons. the higgs boson is the key to understanding why matter has mass.
       Inside the CERN’s atom smasher, protons fly around a 17 mile tunnel underground. The protons whiz by at nearly light speed and the collisions aftermath can help  with clues to dark matter, antimatter, and the beginning of the universe.
       I believe this is important because atoms are made up of protons and electrons, which in turn are made of quacks and so on. Scientists were always puzzled as to how they acquire  mass. Higgs’s theory was that ‘ a new particle must be creating a sticky field that created a drag on other particles.’ Now that that particle creating a sticky field is found, scientists can understand the question of why matter has mass 

Farm plan close to reality for Detroit-Luke

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Farm plan close to reality for Detroit
                I honestly believe that this is a very good idea. I learned that of the population of Detroit, most people weren`t getting enough good food, (not starving) and some people were starting to make community gardens, similar to what the Hantz Farming co. is trying to do now. So, this means if it works, people will be getting healthier foods, and Detroit may (I think) get a better economical stand, because it won`t need to keep paying for abandoned buildings, because those will be removed for farmland.
On the other hand, it may cause housing problems if an economic boom happens in Detroit due to the new farms. If people start moving to Detroit because it`s becoming better off, a lack of housing may occur, because the houses the people could`ve moved into are now farms. It seems to be unlikely to me, though, and even if it were to happen, I`d say “And?” because if people from somewhere else are just coming here to mooch off Detroit because it got better, not because they need jobs or anything that they can`t find in their other home, so they can live the high life, the lack of housing kinda would help.
So, all in all, the idea of selling part of the eastern part of the city to make farmland seems to be a good idea to me. I don`t know if the effects will all be good, but it seems to be a good option.