Ponderings of a Scientist

A new law to take effect on Feb 10th, 2009 will make it illegal to buy or sell second hand children’s clothing or toys unless you can proof they are lead and phtalate free.  This mean no more selling on ebay and craigslist and no more buying from consignment shops.  Crap this means I’m going to pay a lot more for Addie clothes and not recoup the cost in reselling items!

See here for more details.

2009 has been officially named the year of science!  Not only will science begin to regain its proper place in society (thanks to our new Administration), but also some major science anniversaries will be celebrated - 400 years ago Galileo first used a telescope, 200 years ago Charles Darwin was born and published “On the Origin of Species…” 150 years ago, and the list goes on.

To celebrate, we’ve launched our own scientific experiment testing whether our 19 month old can successfully master the toddler bed.  So far we have one night under our belt in which she 1) did not end up on the floor or 2) end up stumbling around the house.  Let’s hope it is more than beginners’ luck and we have equal success tonight and beyond.

I took some photos of the crib to toddler bed conversion process and will post them on shutterfly some time soon (i.e. in the next week or so).

Also, to celebrate the kick off to the year of Science (being held in Boston tomorrow), we are headed down to the New England Aquarium.  Addie is most excited to ride the Coo - Coo Tain (the subway) and show Curious George (the stuffed animal) the penguins (she has the book “Curious George at the Aquarium”).  Now if only we had a yellow seer-sucker suit and broad brimmed hat for Daddy to wear….

The pictures I took are up on Shutterfly.

Thanksgiving pictures from Auntie Nikki!  I’ll have more pictures from my camera and others in a few days.

Hi All - New images at henninger.shutterfly.com and a new movie on YouTube

So we’ve been dealing with a stomach virus at our house.  Addie was ill Tuesday and Wednesday, so by Saturday am when us parents were still feeling ok we figured it would be safe to have our scheduled Friend’s Thanksgiving dinner party that night.  Dinner went well - we enjoyed lobster - supporting our local fishermen - but after dinner Mike was suddenly hit by the stomach virus.

He ended up passing out and hitting his head on the bathroom tile floor.  That secured him a trip to the ER via ambulance.  He was in and out of consciousness and seemed ready to throw up so I decided not to drive him myself.

After a few hours at the ER - thank goodness Hefe and Chris were still at our house and could baby/dog sit - Mike came home plus four stitches, three staples, a bag of IV fluids, anti-nausea meds and some bruises.  He has been out of work since, still recovering!

DON’T FORGET TO VOTE TOMORROW…the popular vote might even count this year.

“The scientific research vessel “Polarstern” returned this morning from the Arctic to Bremerhaven (northern Germany). It was the first ship to have crossed the Northwest and Northeast passages” without having to break any ice reported an institute spokesman according to the French news agency AFP.

The Arctic ice cap, which in August saw its largest seasonal melting since satellite observations began 30 years ago, completely disappeared in the Northwest and Northeast passages in September, the European Space Agency confirmed on October 7.

According to the United States National Snow and Ice Data Center, Arctic sea ice coverage during September was at its second lowest extent since satellite records began in 1979. Average ice extent during September was 1.80 million square miles, which is 34% below the 1979-2000 average and is part of an 11.7% decline in extent per decade over the past 30 years. The record lowest extent, set in 2007 was 1.65 million square miles. ”

citation
SCARY

More pictures - lots of playing in the leaves.

Addie’s dancing escapade has spawned a “cutest baby contest”.  Check out one of Addie’s favorite bands and the contest here.

Check out the pictures and a movie.