Learning Turkish

Merhaba.
It's funny how learning one new language can trip your brain into remembering other languages. In Turkish, where is translates as "nereye". But in my head I keep repeating "doko deska?" which is Japanese for where is. My mind is playing tricks. What these two languages have in common is that I can't for the life of me hear the break between words. Japanese was a slurry of syllables. Turkish sounds to me as if the speaker has marbles in his mouth. How are you? sounds like nashulsuhnhuz. My ear for language is hardening and I've had more difficulty with these two than with any other, including Nepali. In fact, I'm recalling words in Nepali as I learn new words in Turkish. Kalo chia dinos. I'll take that tea, iced, in the Mediterranean.
Gorusuruz.

The Low Carbon Commute

Yesterday was the first day of the 2007 Bike to Work Commuter Challenge. I head up a team from school again, where this year I've doubled the participation of staff. So, wearing my team captain t-shirt I pushed off from school yesterday at 3 o'clock to bike 15 miles north to Bothell's NorthShore School District office for an Earth Charter Global Climate Workshop for teachers. The sponsors were a great set of organizations: Yes! magazine, Facing the Future, and World Affairs Council. The keynote speaker was the renown Dr. Richard Gammon of UW's Program on the Environment. What a way to kick off the low carbon commute. Do what you can to reduce your carbon footprint. For us in the Northwest, with hydropower, transportation is the number one cause of carbon emissions.

Today was another reason to bike to work. The University Bridge was closed all day due to a water main leak that created a sink hole. Traffic, including bikes, rerouted over other bridges. I nearly had an entire, normally busy street, to myself! Bike on!

Force of Friction

Force of Friction
(more weight equals more friction)

In the week before opening day
of the baseball season
I review friction with my students:
If an elephant slides
into home plate
or a mouse
slides into home plate,
who
gets the worse turf burn?

The catcher,
one student says.

Matt’s thrown the best of curve balls
from the back row,
and doesn’t even bat an eye.

I take a victory laugh
on this home run.

Dark; Basement

Yesterday, the president stole the sun from my morning bike ride. Daylight savings this early in the season covers my favorite cherry treed street with darkness, instead of sun drenched crisp air and a petal fall that makes my wheels spin. Damn. There will be nothing but leaves by the time the light returns to that ride.

Today, I climbed down the six rungs through the circular hole in the floor to reach the crawl space basement at school. I walked West ducking my head to avoid pipes, one of which must have burst, as the building hadn't had heat for since yesterday. I exited in the main science department store room, up the rusted rungs and out into another teaching day!

The ambassador of Kale

It seems I've become an unofficial advocate for Kale.

Two weeks ago when discussing a lab on the properties of elemental oxygen I mentioned antioxidants. Antioxidants slow the aging process that occurs every time we breathe (and oxidize our cells). The secret to a long life, I told students, could only be whispered. They hushed and leaned forward on the end of their chairs.

Three words: Green. Leafy. Vegetables.

The ensuing moans and giggles are delightful. I shared a recipe for Kale Crispies (thank you Helsing Junction) both outloud and on my classpage on the web. Let them eat Kale!

Within a week I've heard the following feedback:

• "Even my little sister liked it!"--Student
• "By the way I really like kale, and my son loves it. He used to walk around saying " Kale! Kale! Kale! I love kale". It was really weird, but I was very happy that he liked it so much."--Email from the Tech Support guy in the district who observed and helped arrange my class page at the change of the semester.
• and this:
  

The note came with a gift certificate.
The gifts of getting kids to eat kale is rewarding enough.

and today's Science New York Times essentially hails my efforts for the consumption:

Nutrition: Adolescents Aren’t Eating Their Vegetables

Eat food, not nutrients

There are only a handful of writers whose every word is worth hanging on. Michael Pollan is one of those greats. I enjoy his quick style, his well researched discoveries, and his subject matter. He writes about food. More importantly, he writes about the culture of food, relationships with food, and the connection to the ecology and soil. In his most recent New York Times article, Pollan criticizes "nutrionalism", not nutrition. He offers nine suggestions for healthy eating. I've been following them for years. I'm glad he's sharing these simple and important ideas with others. I'm glad you can get a glimpse of my philosophy of living through his fine words.

Meany Lodge Weekend

Photos are here.