High speed photography

This looks like a lot of fun, I wonder if one of us might give it a go one day?

Mythbusters

Today I watched Mythbusters and they were putting 1500 pound (3000 horse power) rockets on a car to answer "Can a '67 Chevy turn into a 350-mile per hour road warrior "

They were also testing to see if pop rocks + cola can cause your stomach explode (it didn't explode the dead pigs stomach until they added bicarbonate of soda).

How is capsicum spray made?

How is capsicum spray made?  Annotated

• this answered Mr14's question: how is capsicum spray made? - post by moonflowerdragon

Puzzle Pirates

It was Lucas who introduced Cricket (and thus Fish and I too) to Puzzle Pirates. Thank ye very much ye little blaggard ;-)

We had begun to tire of the grind ('kill' lots and lots of monsters to achieve the quest) on Silkroad and this much lighter game offered a less violent, more amusing form of play.

Both offer the opportunity to explore social issues particularly in the online world. That other players may be real people on the other end means that what you do makes a difference to someone else - if you don't keep up your end of the pirateship tasks your character could be planked (and I think I witnessed recently robbed into the bargain). I think also that how well you do your task impacts on others' tasks (though I don't know that for sure in puzzle pirates). And when it comes to melee when one ship grapples another to plunder - your skill (and luck) may affect the consequence for the whole crew.

Curiously we have found beggars in both games - players who ask other players for game-money. How we feel and what we think about the begging is also interesting to observe. Fish can totally relate to the desire to have someone just give him the money so he can get the thing he wants NOW (a wolf in Silkroad, doubloons to play different games in pirates), and so he is inclined to give people the game-money they ask for because he would like to be given for his own asking. Me: "getting money in this game is quite straightforward and easy, if time-consuming... if you want the game-money play the game".





Enough of each begins to feel as monotous as bouncing a ball against the wall but Cricket loves another opportunity to play poker.

Silkroad Online

Which friend do we have to thank for the introduction to Silkroad?

It has kept us happily busy for the last few weeks. It is contributing wonderfully to Fish's reading and Cricket's spelling as we party up with game-friends (and strangers) to quest and try to survive trading on a fantasy silkroad.

Fish has enjoyed Trader and Thief jobs and I've tried out Hunting.

Issues we've explored have been: balancing such games with health and family needs; world-wide timezones; comparing virtual with real-time behaviours (what do we ever know about other people's motives).

I want to expand on that last one first. We discovered (although the game discussion forums did warn) that clever thieves are undetectable while they mark traders out... a new young trader trusts this friendly player who offers to escort you with your carefully loaded trade horse (which is such a low level it may not be attacked by player-thieves) only to be killed by strong npc thieves spawned in the area by the 'helpful' guy's thief friend, after which the 'helpful' guy now in his thief suit and his friend make off with your trade gear.

Watching Fish discover intricacies of the game first hand, despite the warnings, I was reminded that his learning style is very much to leap in and give it a go. It is a huge emotional challenge to support such learners. He is of an age where "it is just a game" is not comforting or consoling, mind you he is also of an age where not winning is almost intolerable. Having said that, it occurs to me that my own style of playing (reading about the strategies, watching others) reflects my own distaste for losses.

Update: 17 February 2008
This post has attracted advertising comments for bot services - please don't make such comments, I will only delete them. If you wish to pay for the advertising space I guess you could make us an offer.

Moonflowerdragon: Scenarios for Internet Ethics

Moonflowerdragon: Scenarios for Internet Ethics

I just blogged over at moonflowerdragon:

Thanks to my Bloglines account, and Francey from Gargoyles Loose in the Library, I now have a bunch of new scenarios to raise when discussing internet issues with my boys.

Our local library gave us material from the government's initiative to promote internet safety (can't remember what it is called), which didn't really address anything we hadn't already discussed ... but finding the material prompted a refresher discussion in a timely way for our exploration of Silkroad (about which more later, right now I want to PLAY).

Mum has claimed us at Technorati

We have a few games to post about when we run out of steam on them. In the meantime mum has continued with the 23Things project and is claiming this blog at Technorati with this link to her Technorati Profile

ProtopageWithBlog

ProtopageWithBlog
Originally uploaded by moonflowerdragon.

I've posted at my own blog about maybe changing from protopage as my start page, and in the process have been reflecting that the boys use links from two of our protopages (mostly page 2 {I think} of the public pages). Actually that numbering of pages instead of naming is the reason I'm thinking of changing to Pageflakes.

Inventors

Fish is fascinated by the concept of invention in recent months. So while I was in the library the other day I collected some books that might interest him - about inventions and inventors. The first he perused was "My book of inventions by Jimmy Neutron" "as told to" Lara Bergen. Then he asked me to read to him "Inventions that have changed the world" by Rod Rees

Computer Repair 101

We finally went to fix the CD-Rom drive today, bought a replacement to install ourselves. One screw and the cover came off, unplugged the old CD drive and replaced it - straightforward really.

What is the best use for a disposable rubber glove?

cleaning ... or water bombs?

Fish and friend love the wobbly, feeling of those gloves filled with water. They carry them around enjoying that sensation and the wonderful prospect of a wet explosion when they eventually throw them.

The Rugrats video is playing in the background. If you cannot tell for yourself what "counts" as learning from watching Rugrats cartoons, I cannot be bothered (right now) telling you. And neither lack stops the viewer from learning whatever is relevant for them at the time. {maybe Elise could give some insight)

Can we really blog by email?

If so, our blog will show this report:

Cricket is right now playing "The Sims". Naturally I figure this is an opportunity to begin logging the potential learning streams associated with this activity-choice. But first you get to learn something about me: I usually figure that someone else will have already put thoughts similar to mine into words - and often better than I think I would have - so I often google when I need a well-phrased explanation.

And so I did in this case. (Of course Cricket is best placed to know what he gets out of the game, but the fact that his focus is the fun doesn't impress anyone who thinks that learning is work) So what from google? Criticisms after my own heart (it is so inane) from Douglas Kern at Tech Central Station who appears to have spent a lot longer playing it than I. However Mr Kern has hopes for The Sims 2

"In fairness, it appears that The Sims 2 will introduce levels of complexity that address many of my criticisms. Sims must now confront mortality, divorce, childhood recollections, gene pools, and a sense of inner purpose... Please hurry with the spirituality in The Sims 2, Electronic Arts; some of us need lessons in goodness-budgeting wherever we can find them."

... so perhaps Cricket will be happy next time we are game-shopping.

Still, Mr Kern points me to the positives expressed by Glenn Harlan
Reynolds.

"Thanks to The Sims, they know how to make a budget, and how to read an income statement -- and to be worried when cash flow goes negative. They understand comparison shopping. They're also picking up some pointers on human interaction, though The Sims characters seem a bit dense in that department at times. (Then again, so do real people, now and then)."

The Sims Resource Forum points out that the Sims reminds players (because naturally they will have already learned the following from parents) of such things as the value of personal hygiene, learning to cook, time management, and the golden rule.

There is exposure to home decorating and architecture, hobbies and personal development, career options and the practicalities of keeping a job and getting promotions.

Operating this and every other computer game he enjoys has contributed to Cricket's reading ability.

I like "Blog This"

I was here when I discovered the thrill of Blogging This.

How did I get there? A link in a post to Always Learning that I explored for ideas for the chemistry set I want to compile for Fish's birthday.

I was curious about the What type of homeschooler are you?
quiz - while Marlette & Guisseppe's mum is apparently a Mr Potato Head (eclectic), the quiz results told me:

Salvador Dali Melting clocks are not a problem in your reality. You are an unschooler. You will tolerate a textbook, but only as a last resort. Mud is your friend. You prefer hands-on everything. If your school had an anthem, it would be Dont Worry, Be Happy.