TMT - Back in 26-100 with MIT Mommy

Although I live not to far away in Massachusetts, I rarely get the opportunity to visit my alma mater, MIT. The real MIT Mommy came by to visit last month, and I longed to walk the hallowed hallways again. After a nice lunch at Legal Seafoods in Kendall Square, we first headed to the new and unusual Stata Center, which we both had not seen and longed for the familiar creaky floors of the old Building 20.

We tried to take a photo of ourselves in the round reflective surfaces that cut across the structure.

Obviously this is a little to obscure to be the obligatory blog friend shot. And what is that strange headless version of me standing next to myself???

So we took to leaving our mark on the blackboards.

But how many people would see that? We suddenly thought of a better idea. Why don't we write on the blackboards of 26-100, the largest lecture hall where MIT undergrads have most of their freshman and sophomore classes? I was a freshman in this very lecture hall in 1983. And true to form, it has not changed a bit. MIT Mommy brought some chalk along just in case we needed it (she's a smart one!).

Here she is drawing the gear head kid that appears on her logo. She can even draw! I tried and tried to draw a hippie flower next to my blog name but failed. They kept looking like amoebas. We wrote in the blackboards in the dark to avoid attracting attention, but that didn’t make for good photos. Then she figured out how to turn on the lights from the console in front of the blackboard. She’s a genius, I tell you! She even put up her post the DAY AFTER we met. Prompt to boot!

But it was I who snagged someone wandering into the lecture hall to take pictures of us together. I’m good for something!

It was great to meet you, MIT Mommy!

Visit Tell Me Thursday for more secrets behind Wordless Wednesday.

13 Things I Learned About Carbon Footprint

The Pocket Idiot's Guide to Your Carbon Footprint: Nancy S. Grant

I had planned this post long before Thursday Thirteen went away and old habits are hard to break.  I consider myself pretty savvy when it comes to all things green, but there were definitely things that I learned from reading this book.

1. The three main greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide.  Their main sources come from fossil fuels, mining and fertilizers respectively.
2. SHGC is the "solar heat gain coefficient" for windows.  Depending on your climate, you may need a higher or lower coefficient.  This is different from the U-factor which measures how well a window stops heat flow.
3. Add a water bottle filled with sand to your 3 or 5 gallon toilet tank to reduce the amount of water per flush.  I also learned from wrestling with my mom's toilet that you can reduce the amount of water by fiddling with the screws on the float.
4. Burning local wood in a wood stove reduces greenhouse gas emissions because it uses less transportation and distribution networks than other fuels. It is also considered part of the natural carbon cycle.
5. Green roofs use soil and plants to insulate and moderate temperature of buildings.  Doug and I saw lots of houses with grass roofs in Norway on our honeymoon, and I was completely fascinated by them.
6. Ethanol produces less greenhouse gases than regular gasoline.  Ethanol from cellulosic plant material (stems and leaves) can reduce greenhouse gases up to 100%. Ethanol from corn starch (the majority produced in the US) can reduce greenhouse gases 25%.
7. Electric and hybrid cars have up to 72% fuel efficiency rating compared to gas powered cars at 20%.
8. Turning a fluorescent light on and off within 15 minutes can shorten its life.  This fact has been driving me bonkers because I'm always switching off our CFLs only to flip them on a few minutes later.
9. Low pressure sodium lamps are the most energy efficient lights that are readily available.  They are used mostly for street lamps.
10. More than half of the energy to power a large data center is used for air conditioning as opposed to powering the equipment.
11. Heat islands occur where there is a large expanse of asphalt or concrete and can be mitigated by planting grass and trees through the space or using planter boxes.
12. Xeriscaping is the practice of using drought resistant plants for landscaping in dry climate areas instead of grassy lawns.
13. The average food travels 1500 miles before reaching customers.  Lower the carbon impact by buying local foods in season.  This time of year, I see lots of fruits coming from South America!

If you also have a lot to learn about carbon footprint, check out The Pocket Idiot's Guide to Your Carbon Footprint.  If you live in the US  and would like to win my review copy (used but acceptable condition), please leave a comment saying so.  The winner will be picked on February 20th at 11pm.

Thursday Thirteen - Carousel of Progress

One of Doug's favorite attractions at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom in the Carousel of Progress. It chronicles the state of technology from the 1900's to "today". I, of course, take the opportunity to practice my low light photography. Here are thirteen photos and videos of the ride.


The 1900's without electricity. They did have gas lamps and a kitchen pump.


The ice box of the 1900's was just that, a box to hold a big block of ice and some food. My question is where exactly did they get blocks of ice in the summertime? Good thing I live in the 2000's and there are Yahoo! Answers.


The collapsible ironing board was invented in 1892, but hadn't come to this family yet. This scene was behind a cloth screen which was lit for a few moments.


In the 1920's, houses began to have electricity, but it was not very reliable. This kitchen was strewn with wires everywhere which kept shorting out.


Jimmy and Grandpa listened to the radio.


I barely captured Uncle Orville in the tub as the lights were going down.


The 1940's brought much modernization and the beginning of the rat race.


This video shows the transition from the 1940's stage to today's. And we get to hear that song, There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow.


The kitchen of today is full of high-tech conveniences. But I guess pots and pans are still here to stay.


Grandma plays a virtual reality space game. In my reality, grandmas love Bejeweled.


Here's Christmastime of today. The rear entry ski boots are hopelessly 80's in my opinion.


The turkey got burned at 975F because of mistaken voice commands.


Last but not least is this video at the end of the ride. I tried to capture Doug's rapt expression, but it was too dark. Bye-bye, see you real soon!

Yes, I know I've drunk the Disney Kool-Aid.

Post note: Just found out that Thursday Thirteen is no more. Oh well, just one last one from me!

TT #53 - Family language

In our family, we've misused or developed our own words that we use as everyday language. Some have come from the kids, and some just from total silliness. Here's a sampling:

1. Hanatizer - Hand sanitizer. This indispensable tool has become a contraction in our family.
2. Gril - girl. Adam said girl wrong once, and it stuck.
3. Jas - yes. In some languages, ja does mean yes, but it is prounounced "ya" and not bastardized the way we say it.
   
4. Burpies - Burp cloths which were my old cloth diapers. Both kids used them as lovies, and Dova, who is nearly five, still needs one when she is upset or when she goes to sleep. I realize that this is a pretty universal term, but not everyone understands when I say it.
5. Cheese Nachos - This means, "do you understand me?" There was a quote in Newsweek about 15 years ago where someone was searching for the name, Henry Cisneros, former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. The quote was something like, "I can't remember his name, it sounds like Cheese Nachos." How this managed to morph into "do you understand me?" I have no idea. Sometimes it is shortened to just "nachos".
6. Sna Sno Snuts - Pistachio nuts. When Adam was 2, he asked for some pistachio nuts, but we just couldn't understand him. Sna Sno Snuts? What the heck are those? When we finally figured out what he meant, the name stuck.
7. Guacamole Cheese - Block of moldy cheese. Doug once asked me what the ingredients of my famous chili were and one of them was "block of moldy cheese." He heard that as "guacamole cheese" and it has stuck ever since. I cut the mold off first of course!
   
8. Hot and Sweaty Chicken - Rotisserie chicken. Every time Dova sees rotisserie chicken at the grocery store, she calls it hot and sweaty chicken and that name fits it perfectly.
9. Fresca - Refreshing. That's where the name Fresca comes from right?
10. Winkle - Somehow wee wee and tinkle got mixed together as winkle. It started from a rhyme Doug made up, "If you sprinkle when you tinkle, please be neat and wipe the seat." Wait, that doesn't explain where we got winkle from. Oh well!
    
11. Kitty Gak - Cat hair balls. Hopefully outside but inevitably on our rugs. I know that gak is a real term for gooey stuff for kids and I won't go near it because I think it's a front for hair balls.
    
12. Lavash - Normally a flat bread, but in our case, we use lavash to refer to the drool stains on pillows. Gross, I know!
    
13. Googly-goo - Baby drool. We even have a song for this one. It goes to the tune of some song or advertising jingle we can't remember. The song transforms and ends with, "Ask any mermaid you happen to see, What's the best tuna? Chicken of the Sea". I tried on Melodyhound and Tunespotting with this entry to no avail.
    
    
    

Thursday Thirteen - Things I didn't have ten years ago that I can't live without now

Here are thirteen things that I didn't have 10 years ago that I can't live without.  Some are sentimental, some are geeky, some are gadgety.  That pretty much sums me up!

1. My husband Doug - He just squeaks under the wire as husband because our 10th anniversary is coming up next July.  He's been in my life for over 14 years now.
2. Adam - Turning 8 on Saturday!  How did he get to be so big?
3. Dova - Turning 5 in December.
   
4. Central air conditioning - We put this in when I was pregnant with Adam because I refused to deal with the heat.  Now we are all spoiled in the summertime.  It has actually helped me enjoy summer more than I have in the past (usually comes last with me in terms of seasons).
   
5. Garage - We built our 3-car garage in 2000 while I was pregnant.  I sure don't miss digging my car out of the snow and scraping frost in the morning.
6. My 15 minute commute - I was able to zip to Adam's school in 7 minutes because he was having asthma problems once.  Can't imagine having another job further away.
   
7. High speed internet - We've had it since around 1999 through cable and now through fiber optic.  Loving FiOS, not a single glitch since it was installed in June.
8. Podcasts - It is extremely rare that I listen to radio anymore with tons of podcasts available (including radio shows like This American Life, Radio Lab and NPR).
9. iPod - I gotta take the podcasts with me, can't sit at a computer and listen to them.
   
10. iPhone - Still loving my slow first generation Edge iPhone.  Just wish my company would grant me external wi-fi access because I can't get reception at work.
11. DVR - Kids shows, car shows and one knitting show for mom.  I don't watch as much TV as the rest of my family, but I wouldn't watch without the DVR.
    
12. GPS - Can't imagine taking a vacation without it now.
13. Blogging!- Didn't even exist 10 years ago and now it's such a big part of my life!
    

Thursday Thirteen - BlogHerBoston Edition

Here are some of the fabulous bloggers I met at BlogHer Boston (Burlington, but let's not split hairs). I was a bit nervous and tentative about going, but after arriving, I suddenly felt like I belonged amongst the hundreds of Twittering, passionate blogging women! I even put up two posts delayed by travel last week during the first session. Check out the twemes of the event (Twitter and Flickr!).

1. Sandy at Momisodes. We live in the same state and we finally got to meet! And yes, she really is that pretty in real life.
   
2. Christine Koh (center) of Boston Mamas and Posh Peacock. Christine liked this photo for the Asian girl power.
3. Candelaria Silva (left) of Good & Plenty and Susan Getgood (center) of Marketing Roadmaps (new URL). I've worked with Susan before with HP Photo Books and it was great to finally meet her in person.
4. Tania of ChickyChickyBaby. The one and only!
5. Catherine at Her Bad Mother. Another famous blogger with baby in tow.
6. Katie aka MotherBumper, fellow kirtsy editor.
7. Meredith at Picket Fence Post among many other blogs, who I met previously at her book signing.
   
8. Charlene at Crazed Parent.
9. Annette at Catnip and Coffee.
10. Megin at GNMParents.
11. Megan at Megan's Minute.
12. Alice at Do the Yak. She works at MIT!
13. Lydia at The Perfect Pantry. I know nothing about food blogging, so if you're interested, go check her out.
    

View more Thursday Thirteen participants.

Thursday Thirteen - Pictures from CN Tower in Toronto

Here are some pictures from my late night trip to the CN Tower using my iPhone.  I totally missed having my real camera because there was an awesome shot of the moon rising next to the tower that the phone refused to capture while I was driving.  Next time!


The CN Tower at night.


The stripe of light going up the side.


High tech security arch which puffs air to sniff you out.


View of the Blue Jays game below.


Standing on the glass floor. That's the tower support directly below (behind) me. I thought I would have trouble walking out onto the glass floor, but apart from some sweaty hands and feet, it was fine. The fact that it was nighttime helped because there were a lot of reflections off the glass, so it didn't seem like I was stepping out into thin air. There were definitely people who were crawling on the floor next to the window, unable to step out.


Sitting on the glass floor over the Blue Jays game.


On the observation deck. It was pretty windy, but the tower didn't sway at all.


Moon over Lake Ontario.


Sitting at my table at Horizon's cafe. The 360 Restaurant was all booked, but there were plenty of tables here. I believe they use the same kitchen, so the food was just as good!


I got a salad for dinner because I was still stuffed from an Indian buffet at lunch.


And dessert of course, creme brulee. There were crystallized ginger pieces with the blueberries and crystallized orange peels in the whipped cream. These accompaniments were much better than the creme brulee itself. Chai tea had a stir stick the shape of the CN tower. Didn't keep it because the kids would just use it to poke each other's eyes out.


Glass sculptures of the CN Tower in the gift shop.


I considered buying a snow globe, but they were all too much. Cheapskate! I did have to pay $23 just to take the ride up. This sparkle lava lamp was pretty cool but a lot smaller than they look here, about 8" tall.

Thursday Thirteen - Over-Scheduled!

For whatever reason, I have the compulsion to fill the summer days with non-stop activities. Here are 13 activities that I packed back-to-back in August:

1. Saturday, August 16th - Canobie Lake Park. We go to our local amusement park every year and this year, I picked a day with 30% chance of thunderstorms. Of course this meant that a most severe thunderstorm had to roll through, complete with hail (about 1/2 hour after this picture). BTW, Doug refused to wear a tie-dyed shirt along with his hippy family.
   
   
   
2. Sunday, August 17th - The beach at Westport, MA. I had taken Dova to the beach twice this summer, but this was the first time I took both kids. I caught up with an old friend and waded hip deep with my good camera to catch this shot. Adam accidentally threw sand on my camera and now the lens has a nice crunchy feel at the end of the zoom range. It was worth it for this shot right? I also woke up early to bake banana bread.
   
   
   
3. Monday, August 18th - Whale Watch. I woke up at 5:15 am to drive the kids out to Gloucester, MA for an unbelievable whale watch with their summer camp.
   
   
   
4. Tuesday, August 19th - Fly out to Toronto for work. I moved my alarm up a whole 15 minutes to 5:30 am to catch this morning flight. Sorry no picture, I was busy being detained by customs and losing my wallet in a rental car.
   
   
5. Thursday, August 21st - After three long working days, I went to Canada's Wonderland. None of my family likes rollercoasters, with the possible exception of Dova, although she can only ride kiddie ones now. So I graciously took this opportunity for "employee appreciation" to get back on a some real rollercoasters. I didn't know whether I had my sea legs after not riding one for over 10 years, but after five rollercoaster rides, I couldn't get enough. Here's the video of this ride.
   
   
   
6. Friday, August 22nd - Fly back from Toronto. At this point, I'm getting yet another chest cold.
   
   
7. Saturday, August 23rd - Visit with friends who live in central MA. I was so sick that I forgot my camera and crashed on their brand new futon for 2 hours.
   
   
8. Sunday, August 24th - Travel to The Berkshires for vacation. It took nearly all day to pack everything up and we don't arrive till dark, especially with all the traffic!
   
   
   
9. Monday, August 25th - The kids enjoyed the beautiful pool.
   
   
   
10. Tuesday, August 26th - Alpine slide at Jiminy Peak. I finally started to feel better by this day.
    
    
    
11. Wednesday, August 27th - The Norman Rockwell museum.
    
    
    
12. Thursday, August 28th - Chesterwood. We had an idyllic picnic lunch.
    
    
    
13. Saturday, August 30th - Berkshire Scenic Railroad. The kids had no interest in the antique railroad cars, because at this point they "hated" museums.
    

The next day we headed back and the kids were back at school by Wednesday. Whew! But with soccer for both and lots of work travel planned, it's looking like a busy fall as well.