UV, W, X, Y, and Z -- Mysteries of Science Explained by Electricity

UV, W, X, Y, and Z, the last days of the A to Z April Challenge.

Yes, obviously, I failed a little at the challenge, but at least I failed with flare! This last installment includes fascinating links from around the web! Since I'm a huge fan of speculative fiction, specifically science fiction, I thought I'd share some of my research links with y'all. These articles/videos are a great way to kickstart your imagination if it's been dormant (like while line-editing) for a while.

From the sun to water vapor to ancient artifacts to futuristic bandaids, electricity rules the world

Electric Currents Create Magnetic Fields in the Sun 
(okay, this doesn't start with u or v, but UV rays... from the sun... get it? 



Let it Rain - how electricity governs our Weather


Robot finds mysterious spheres in ancient temple in MeXico < See what I did there? (This discovery is beneath the Temple of the Feathered Serpent, which is connected with electric plasma theory/unified theory of myth/ancient cosmology)


ElectricitY Can Help Heal Wounds (Dnews video) 


The Mysterious NaZca Lines video (More photos here) These are also possibly lightning-related



Hope you enjoyed the science and archaeology tour! Be sure to head over to Operation Awesome tomorrow morning bright and early for our Mystery Agent one-sentence pitch contest.

Family Reunion - Labor Day 2011

This is me (in my pajamas) after four days camping in San Diego. I'm sunburned and blonder than I've been in years. My 2-year-old, the brunette one, also looks almost blond. Fortunately, nobody got sunburned quite as much as this, but the littlest guy did get red-nosed. We're both slathering on the aloe now that we're home, and healing very fast. 

These little changes in our appearance are just a reminder of all the outdoor fun we had over Labor Day weekend. We set up tents, cooked food in foil and on roasting sticks, played at Mission Bay Park at a mini-beach, visited the Festival of Sail, toured a submarine and a couple tall "pirate" ships (I told my 4-year-old they were pirate ships),

played with animals at a petting zoo, sang songs around a campfire (took requests from the people camped next door, who just happened to be Mormon, too, so they requested hymns by the hymn number), went to Balboa Park, rode the trolley, saw the Botanical Gardens, visited the International Cottages, watched a lame street magician, walked through Old Town California, listened to awesome wood instruments playing Mexican music while our toddlers and preschoolers danced, drank exotic slushies, saw the Mormon Battalion visitor's center (very cool if you're into California/Mexican/American/Mormon history, or even if you're not), panned for gold, and had our own talent show by the fireside. By the way, my brother's amateur magic show was way better than that street magician in Balboa Park. :) All in all, it was a fantastic time. We were never bored, and we were frequently outside, which is an awesome place to be when you're in sunny California. 

The flowers! Oh, the flowers. And the trees... It's just an amazing, beautiful place.

If you ever have a chance to visit San Diego in all its artsy, historic, natural glory, I definitely recommend it. Our camping reunion was made a little more glamorous because of it. 

What did you do over Labor Day weekend? Did you get sunburned?

Wordle Word Cloud Fun

Here's my middle grade novel, Drats! Foiled Again! summed up in a wordle blurb.




Guess who the main character is. :-) I guess I'm saying his name quite often, so as not to confuse him with his evil twin. I love writing paranormal superhero stuff!

And here's this blog summed up in wordle, as well (in pink, of course):



Pretty easy to see my main topics here!

Alright. I'm off to butcher another brilliant idea in its execution! Wish me luck!

Blissful reading, and happy writing!