Why Leaves in the Fall Change Color

Have you ever been asked, "Why are leaves brown, orange, yellow, and red during the fall?" Are you curious yourself?

Well, here's your scientific answer!

Leaves contain pigments in them, which give them color. The most prominent pigment is chlorophyll, which is green, and therefore makes the leaf green. There are still other pigments in leaves, such as brown, red, yellow, orange but the chlorophyll usually conceals them.

In the fall and winter, less chlorophyll is produced in the leaves and the other pigments show up. Tadaa!

Next time a friend asks, you can proudly answer you know the secret.
Like olden times, "Keep on Smelling!"

Poem: "Bare Bear Hrothgar"

Bare bear Hrothgar
Found a juggling ball
But without another ball,
He couldn't juggle at all!

But with two juggling balls,
Then three,
Then four,
Then five,
Bare bear Hrothgar feared his success
Would take a dive!

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

So bare bear Hothgar sat alone
On a log
With nobody else,
But the bugs from the bog

They asked,
Why so glum?
You're clearly not a lazy bum!

Bare bear Hrothgar replied with a sigh,
Banana heavens, I'm ready to cry!
I'm afraid from their laughter I'll die!

The critters and crawlers answered,
Well, why don't you try?
And so what if they laugh,
So what if you fail?
After all, if you love your failure,
Even if it doesn't rhyme,
Or fit the time,
It's pure success!

Poem: "Up Late"

Up late, all night
Without a fright
Sitting at the screen,
Lazy as a bean

Like a vampire,
But lose time for sun
With lack of sleep,
The whole day is done.

Poem: "Pumpkin Bread"

Pumpkin bread
Tastes so dead

If pumpkin bread
Tastes so dead,
Does pumpkin bread
Taste like lead?

If dead lead pumpkin bread
Tastes bad, not rad;
Then was it baked by an
Inexperienced lad?

Dead lead pumpkin bread, bad (not rad), baked by an inexperienced lad...
Is it clever? This long-named endeavor?
It's a novelty! Write a novel!

Dead lead pumpkin bread, bad (not rad), baked by an inexperienced lad, is clever as a long-named endeavor and deserves a novelty novel.

Autumn-Winter Haiku Poem: "Colder"

Spider bites thy toe
River freezes solid ice
Fall turns into snow

The Conscious Breathing Magic Trick

This is not exactly the everyday "magic trick" with cards and fooling the audience, but it's amusing and worth trying!

1. Find a friend ask them if they'd like you to perform a magic trick.

2. Then ask, "Are you conscious of your breathing?"

3. If they say no, tell them, "You are now!" Your friend will now be aware of their inhale and exhale for a few moments. Tadaa!

Origami Ninja Stars!

As we all know, origami is the "(awesome) art of paper folding." I found this sheet of instructions hiding between two novels on my bookshelf a while back. Although I can't read Japanese, I was able to follow the diagrams and arrows. The product: two ninja stars!

If you'd like to make some stars yourself, here's this video I found relatively easy to follow.

Poem: "Cow"

I was born in the darkness,
Fed some strange-looking hormones.
Cramped in a single slot,
With mountains of corn to force feed.

My neighbors tell me,
"Once upon a time:
Us cows were free to graze,
And we could eat fresh grass as we please."

But now they tell me,
"Forget that point.
We are here to be sold to some
Burger joint."

That's right-
Fast food, steakhouse, BBQ ribs;
Our life is just fibs.

I am your burger,
I am your steak.
I am your cow.

Lego Thanksgiving Turkey

Happy Thanksgiving! To commemorate this holiday, Lego stores offered a "free build" on November 6th, where visitors put together a Lego turkey model.
These promotions occur the first Tuesday of every month, so don't worry if you missed this one because the next one is on December 4th.
                                                                      
Because I stood in line for an entire hour, I came to appreciate the design of the rather small model. The ease of assembling yet complexity of visual appeal taken into consideration and brainstormed by those creative Lego engineers is simply remarkable.  

                                        
Should you still like a Lego turkey, the Mini Models are available on the shelves (but not for free). "Gobble gobble!"

5 Things to Do on Thanksgiving

1. Attend or host a Thanksgiving feast/party with friends and family.

2. Tell someone or make a list of things you're thankful for.

3. Learn about the history of Thanksgiving so you can share some brainy facts; the first Thanksgiving didn't even have a turkey or any forks.

4. Draw a turkey by tracing your hand.

5. Pardon a turkey and be a vegetarian!

Poem: "Impenetrable Castle"

Dudley Castle Manual HDR (Photo credit: Lee Jordan)

Sturdy, hard, unyielding, I stand.

Nothing can break me. My flag waves proudly.
Even the creeping moss cannot outdo me, for my cracks are more patient than thee.
The archers light arrows, the mighty dragon stands guard.
They protect me, or
Do I protect them?

Alas,
I stand alone.
I am the impenetrable castle.

Pretend "Ice Pond"

Check this out! Some artistic fellow probably felt the early holiday spirit and created this decoration.

They did this by coloring the rocks in the middle light-blue, giving the illusion of a frozen pond.
Tell us what you think!

Minecraft Survival Journal Entry 2: "Iron Age"

Minecraft Survival Journal Entry #2.

Here we go!

Here's a look inside our base to check on progress. I have to cover the entrance at night because we don't have a door yet.

This is our "kitchen and counter." Unfortunately, no beds yet because no sheep have been sighted within the region.

Taking inventory of what we have.

Food, grow faster! Dying of starvation, here!

I was making a ladder to go downwards when I fell into a cave. My weakness from malnutrition caused my character to die after the fall. Death count = 2.

On the way back, I notice some mossy cobblestone coming from a cave. Could it be? A dungeon?

Yes! It is! Check out the loot: Redstone, a bucket, an iron ingot, and a saddle. The bucket will be useful, and the saddle can be used to ride some pigs (a far better idea than bacon). Yay!

Oops! Almost forgot that it's a dungeon. I'm attacked by a giant spider, so I'm forced to flee. I grab and run with my new goodies. I guess I'll come back when I'm more prepared.

Sugarcane off in the distance!

I plant the sugarcane. Sundown.

Later…

 I return to the cave below our base, and I discover iron. It's a bit hard to see because there aren't any torches.

There's the light from upstairs. Still not enough.

There we go! We've got torches! And iron!

I finish the ladder. I guess now we advance from Stone Age to Iron Age.

Back at the top, I place a trapdoor to make sure nobody seeking brains accidentally comes up. Now, let's start smelting and go deeper!

Poem: "Carsick"

Down the road we go...
Traffic, ugh! So slow.
I feel sick...
Ick! My vomit is thick.

Can't read on the bumpy road…
Pass by an endangered toad.
What to do?
Play with my shoe?
I'm bored, that's true.

But then! There it is! As far as the eye can see...
We stop at the world's last tree!
I fill with glee.
I am as happy as can be!

Minecraft Survival Journal Entry 1: "Hello, World!"

To celebrate the recent release of Minecraft update 1.4.2, or the "Pretty Scary Update," I've decided to make a survival journal of the colonization of an Earthy, large-biomes world on Minecraft along with its brand new features. This includes new blocks, food (pie!), and a very special anvil. Additionally, there are more evil creatures to battle and slay, including sluggish villager zombies, wicked witches (say that ten times), and deadly withers!

The texture pack I'll be using is the 16x16 OCD Texture Pack. It simplifies the graphics of Minecraft even more, yet does not seem archaic at all. Instead, it has a more modern feel to it. This is done by removing the "graininess" from the original look of Minecraft, which makes everything compare to Pac-Man.

Daylight Savings Ends Today!

Quick reminder that you "fall back" today (except Hawaii and Arizona!~). Well, we were supposed to at 2:00 AM, but not everyone's got that kind of willpower.
Remember the motto: Stay up, sleep in, fall back. What do you plan to do with your extra hour every day?

Of course, your "extra hour" will eventually disappear when the time change synchronizes with your normal schedule.

Minecraft Library Sunset Picture

An interesting shot of a sunset in Minecraft. Sometimes the sunsets actually look better without Minecraft's tacky sun.
On the right is the "library." You can see some books in the window.

Did you know? If you type "When does the sun set" in Google, they'll tell you the exact minutes from now and the time when it'll take place.

Daylight Savings November 4th: Fall Back!

Daylight savings is this November 4th (technically, it's actually ending because it started on March 11). Set your clocks back one hour! Fortunately, most electronics will do this for you automatically.

Image credit MOI.

Happy November!