A Myth with Aliens

I hold certain beliefs that many people find to be a bit "out there". (I try not to blast them on the blog.) But one thing I do not believe in are cryptozoology creatures.

Nope. Don't exist. Most have been proven to be hoaxes. (I'm sure I can find other links, but I'm not going to spend much more time on this.)

So, the other day, as I contemplated what I was going to write for my next what if, a thought occurred.

Imagine seeing such a strange creature. Something you've never seen before. It doesn't fit into any category of creature that you've heard of. Although, perhaps it seems like a mythological creature or something that you heard a snippet about on some random show.

What if you encountered this alien creature (as in an alien being observing Earth), and because it was so foreign, you assumed you saw a Bigfoot, Loch Ness Monster, etc...?

Final Review?

The lesson plan was a bit vague:

Work on review for final. Continue reading and outlining chapter 25. 

Good enough.

I explained this to the class: "Ms. G would like you to review for your final and/or continue outlining chapter 25."

Hand in air: "Can we review for our final?"

Okay, seriously? I mean, it's not like I haven't encountered this sort of thing before. But I expected better of them.

It was an AP class.

Had a Very Shiny Nose

Passing before 6th period. Middle school--likely 8th graders. (The student wasn't coming into my class, but the teacher next door also taught 8th grade. I think.)

"♫ ♪ ♫ Rudolph the red nosed reindeer... ♪ ♫ ♪"

Um, it's January...

And then I remembered what I look like.

I woke up on Sunday with the ugliest big red zit on my nose. It discolored my entire nose, making that feature look a bit like W.C. Fields'. (I'm not posting a pic of this awfulness. You're welcome.)

I hadn't spent much time thinking about it. No one said anything to me about it. I only remembered when I looked into a mirror, or when someone sang about red noses...

Gee, thanks, kiddo. Way to be subtle. 

Plotting, Planning, and Designing

I get these strange ideas sometimes.

A couple years ago (longer?), I saw this pillow thing in a catalog. I thought it was a clever idea, but it only came in green, and I didn't really want to buy it. Interesting, but not interesting enough to go to all the trouble of ordering.

But it got me thinking.

At any one time, I have several ideas stewing. And I wondered if I could knit a pillow like that. But wondering is where it stayed until last weekend.

I'm not sure what brought it to life. I had some time in class to ponder how I could knit an equilateral triangle. And once I solved that little problem, I knew what I should do.

In my head for 2+ years. On the needles for two days...

And to the use for which it was intended...  

I'm not sure. It works fine on a level surface. But when I'm lying in bed (where I do the bulk of my reading), the angle is wrong.  

Perhaps I need to make a bigger one.  

Ah well. Back to the proverbial drawing board.  

Iteration of the Grandfather Paradox

A student wanted to ask me a hypothetical question. Well, I'm game.

"Assume that someone invented a time machine. Then I go back in time and kill him before he has a chance to invent the time machine. Did I go back in time?"

I'm well-versed in science fiction tropes. So, I went with the parallel universes response--the universe created by killing the time machine inventor would be different than the one the student originated from.

This was not the response the student wanted. Apparently, she'd been asking various friends this, convinced that the only solution was that then she never would have gone back in time. The friends found my answer amusing, saying that I'd "schooled" her.

I hadn't intended to shame her or "school" her. She asked a question that I had an answer to.

So, I introduced her to the grandfather paradox. It was pretty much what she had come up with, just in a slightly different form. And that one blew her mind as well.

Deep thoughts are good things. (Even if it was a history class, and this was not history.) I posed some other questions that were just as mind twisting, and we got into an interesting discussion about physics and science and science fiction and...

BOOM!

We both jumped when the student's shoe hit the ceiling. What he was doing that made it fly off his foot...

So, back to work. I glared at that boy. Asked him what the blank? (I was good. I didn't swear.) He was more chagrined than anything. He didn't expect the shoe to do that. (Although what he was doing that made this possible didn't seem to be an issue to him.)

Sigh.

The class got back to the study guide that they were working on. And another student asked me if I watch Doctor Who. Well, as a matter of fact...

A Fictional Life

Last week I covered a class that watched A Beautiful Mind. (Psychology. Teacher had a last minute family emergency, so the lesson plans were a bit thrown together. Understandable, considering the circumstances.)

Should I put in a spoiler alert here? You've seen this one, right? Well, if you haven't and you don't want a spoiler, skip this post.

Anyway, we got to the point where we learn that it had all been a delusion, and the class went silent. (They're weren't talking that much to begin with, but at this point they were riveted.) And then Christopher Plummer's doctor says something to Jennifer Connelly's wife character, and I knew I had my what if for the week.

(Yes, this has been done in movies before. Ignore that. Just ponder the thought.)

What if you discovered that a part (or all) of your life is a lie? A fiction? A delusion? Not real?

Crocheting for Peace, Final Post

A couple weeks ago, I wrote up the pattern for my crocheted peace patch, promising to do a post with photos. I finally got around to taking the pictures...

(I made six of these things for my photo session, and since many of you don't crochet, I thought some of you might want them. I will send one to each of the first six commenters who want one. Just make sure your profile links to your email or leave your email in the comment and I will contact you.)  

Peace Patch Instructions

Gauge isn't important as a thicker yarn will make a bigger patch and a thinner yarn a smaller one. I used worsted weight yarn and a size I hook, but just match hook size to yarn weight.  

Into a magic loop, chain 3. Then work 11 more double crochets into that loop. Tighten. Slip stitch into first chain 3.

Round 2: Chain 3. Then work 2 dc into each dc of previous round, counting the chain 3 as the first dc. Slip stitch into the first chain 3 and cut yarn. Wind in ends.

Completed disc

Fold disc in half. (I found it easier to use a hook one size smaller--in this case a size H--to do the detail work in the center.) Using a different color yarn, single crochet into a double crochet, then work a row of single crochet along the face of the disc. Two single crochets per double crochet post seemed to work.

Just get the hook in there as best you can

Work to the other side of the disc, making sure to work into the top of the double crochet on the other end.

Go ahead and leave the ends loose. They're easily hidden in the final step.

Start at the center, leaving one double crochet on the disc between where you're starting and where the center line was. Pull up a loop and single crochet from the center to the edge.

You can kind of see what's happening here. Click on any image to make it larger.

There is a gap. We'll take care of that in a moment.

Repeat for the other side--the other "leg" of the peace sign.

All ends are still there. I just tucked them under for the pic.

Using a tapestry needle (I used a smaller crochet hook, but that's just how I roll), take the ends at the center and thread them through the first stitch of the "leg", through the center line, back to the "leg" (through the top of the stitch), and then wind that end through that "leg".

You can kind of see how the ends go through the center line here.

This connects the "legs" to the center line, making it all look like one piece.

And here the center ends are all wound in. It sort of looks like there's a stitch there, but really there's not.

Next, I switched back to the larger (size I) hook. I used the reverse single crochet (or crab stitch), but a round of single crochet would work just as well. Start anywhere, and work a round around the outside, making sure to trap the ends under the reverse single crochet as you work the round.  

It's so much better to catch the ends this way. If I had to wind in all those ends, I would hate this project.

Cut yarn, bind off, and wind that last end through. Finished product...  

And now that I figured out how to make them, I have absolutely no use for them. Ideas?