Catechesis and the Water Cycle

Me: Your teacher sent a video about the water cycle.

Sleeping Dragon: What's the water cycle?
Me: Water goes from water to ---

Sleeping Dragon: Wine?

Me: No.  Water goes from water to ---

Sleeping Dragon: Blood?

Well, we have succeeded in catechesis.  

FTW

Today, I made a child do chores because she was complaining of boredom.  Friends, I have arrived.

Dilemmas

Preschooler: I have to blow my nose, but then I will have to wash my hands! I don't know what to do.

She is learning something from the times.  But also, why is washing hands so terrible?  #PandemicProblems #5yearolddilemmas

It's Been a Bit

It's been a while, folks.  Chances are that I have lost most of my 3.14 readers; I'm probably down to 0.14 by now.  However, my family is currently isolated due to Virginia's "stay at home" order, and I have decided that now is the time to re-emerge on the internet.  Just for the time of crisis, when events like finding a mostly-full container of Clorox wipes hidden in the basement cause excess amounts of joy.  When my greatest triumph is successfully getting a twelve-pack of toilet paper shipped to my house.

Science, Society, and Entertainment

I came across this story from NPR earlier this week. It's about the beginnings of incubators for premature babies.  Here's a teaser: it does not involve hospitals and does involve a sideshow.  Science has come a long way and gotten some help from unexpected places.


(Photo by Bonnie U. Gruenberg (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons)

Seven Things with Names

In some cultures, names are thought to give one great insight into the one being named.  While many in our culture want their names to express their selves (have you seen that Facebook “quiz” that splits names into blatantly false root words), I would argue that our names say more about the namer than the named.

And so, I thought, for today's quick takes, I would share seven of the names in our household, for your insight into my mind and the Captain’s:

1. Elefantiles (Eh-lih-FAHN-tih-leez) the Elephant
   

Seven Baby Takes

1. I originally wrote this short story to say that the little one does not yet have a blog name.  Then I realized what it should be.  The newest member of our household is, of course, the Princess.  The Captain will disagree, as he swears she will never hear the word “princess” and only have nun dolls.

Math and Whales

Following an index reference to whales will lead you to this picture, though no discussion of whales:

And following a reference to a large-eared mathematician will lead you to this one:

I never thought of indexes as places to have fun, but this quick read made me think again.

Return of the Short Stories

--- 1 ---

I’m back!  At least one of my 3.14 loyal readers has noticed that I have been MIA lately… I’m touched!  Work and life have been full lately and blogging had to take the back burner.  And look -- I came back on a Friday, so you get seven short stories for the price of one.

A Tidy Lawn, But No Food

--- 1 ---

So many people are away from the office today, that my normally quiet corner is eerily still.  Do you know what this means?  (Hint: you should check back today for another post.)

Things to Click On

Rather than short stories, you are about to get seven fascinating links:

--- 1 ---

I take too many BuzzFeed quizzes, but this one is necessary: which play does the Shakespeare quote come from?

Flowers and Soda Fountains

--- 1 ---

Spring is here at last and to celebrate, I planted green things!  I have been claiming for eight years that I want a house so that I can have a garden.  Well, I have garden boxes now -- I added mint and mixed greens to the sage, rosemary, thyme, oregano, and chives already in our herb box.  I also put a tomato and some basil in a pot on the backporch, so we should have a good summer.  I still need a teeny tiny house plant for a teeny tiny teacup flowerpot that Ana gave me.  Previously, it had dried flowers, but they did not survive the final move.

The Universe

--- 1 ---

The excitement of my week(end) came mostly in the form of a clogged sink.  Noticing it was draining slowly, the Captain decided to snake our bathroom sink.  This resulted in a sink that refused to drain at all.  So he plunged it.  This resulted a sink filled with black, smelly water.  Apparently, it is called

Seven Interactive Short Stories

Well, only four of them are interactive.
But that's still a high percentage.

--- 1 ---

I am on a medication that makes me a little groggy when I first take it, so thoughts are not exactly free flowing right now.  Well, actually, they are, but they are way too deep and personal to become seven short stories, and I am having a hard time switching modes.  The Captain called this medication midi-chlorians, which apparently give one The Force.  I loved this idea, but he then ruined it by telling me that Star Wars fans don’t like midi-chlorians.

Belated Pi and Other Short Stories

--- 1 ---

I missed my short story session last week and for this I apologize.  I had long stressful days at work due to a series of Very Important Meetings.  Even if I had time to write, I would not have been able to put words together to communicate more complex ideas than the one post I did manage.

Short Stories from a Quick Week

--- 1 ---

I am slightly amazed by how quickly this week has gone by. Having a snow day helped. I am constitutionally suited for four-day work weeks and six hour work days. The two-hour delay was magnificent. The Captain and I used the extra morning time to hash out all the issues involved in the Boy Scout’s stance on homosexuality and women in combat situation. During these discussions I realized the immense temptation of the ad hominem (quite literally) argument. I kept wanting to protest, “But you don’t get it! Everything about you says PRIVILEGE!”

Quick Takes and Short Stories

--- 1 ---

At various times throughout my past of spilling writing on the internet, I have thought to myself, “If I were a good blogger, I would…” One of these “if”s that appeared more frequently is “be on top of things enough to link up with other bloggers at the proper time.” Several blogs I read link up with Jen at Conversion Diary for Friday Quick Takes, and I tend to think on many Saturdays (or Mondays if I ignore the internet all weekend), “Wow, that would have been a good idea.”