FEED Validator

for Atom and RSS and KML

Congratulations!

This is a valid RSS feed.

Recommendations

This feed is valid, but interoperability with the widest range of feed readers could be improved by implementing the following recommendations.

line 64, column 0: content:encoded should not contain data-attachment-id attribute (33 occurrences) [help]
line 64, column 0: content:encoded should not contain data-permalink attribute (33 occurrences) [help]
line 64, column 0: content:encoded should not contain data-orig-file attribute (33 occurrences) [help]
line 64, column 0: content:encoded should not contain data-orig-size attribute (33 occurrences) [help]
line 64, column 0: content:encoded should not contain data-comments-opened attribute (33 occurrences) [help]
line 64, column 0: content:encoded should not contain data-image-meta attribute (33 occurrences) [help]
line 64, column 0: content:encoded should not contain data-image-title attribute (33 occurrences) [help]
line 64, column 0: content:encoded should not contain data-image-description attribute (33 occurrences) [help]
line 64, column 0: content:encoded should not contain data-image-caption attribute (33 occurrences) [help]
line 64, column 0: content:encoded should not contain data-medium-file attribute (33 occurrences) [help]
line 64, column 0: content:encoded should not contain data-large-file attribute (33 occurrences) [help]
line 64, column 0: content:encoded should not contain sizes attribute (22 occurrences) [help]
line 290, column 0: content:encoded should not contain loading attribute (20 occurrences) [help]
```
<a href="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/fall4ravines-co ...
```
line 424, column 0: content:encoded should not contain data-shortcode attribute (2 occurrences) [help]
```
<div data-shortcode="caption" id="attachment_878" style="width: 310px" cl ...
```
line 424, column 0: content:encoded should not contain aria-describedby attribute (2 occurrences) [help]
```
<div data-shortcode="caption" id="attachment_878" style="width: 310px" cl ...
```
line 486, column 0: content:encoded should not contain iframe tag (7 occurrences) [help]
```
<iframe class="youtube-player" width="625" height="352" src="https://www. ...
```
line 687, column 0: content:encoded should not contain decoding attribute (10 occurrences) [help]
```
<a href='https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/02/25/pajama-scientists-cobra-weave-stic ...
```

Source: https://chrisnolan.ca/feed/

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0"
xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/"
xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"
xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/"
xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/"
xmlns:georss="http://www.georss.org/georss" xmlns:geo="http://www.w3.org/2003/01/geo/wgs84_pos#" xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/"
>
<channel>
<title>I Am Chris Nolan.ca</title>
<atom:link href="https://chrisnolan.ca/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
<link>https://chrisnolan.ca</link>
<description>Imagination Shapes Reality</description>
<lastBuildDate>Thu, 18 Apr 2024 21:04:01 +0000</lastBuildDate>
<language>en</language>
<sy:updatePeriod>
hourly </sy:updatePeriod>
<sy:updateFrequency>
1 </sy:updateFrequency>
<generator>http://wordpress.com/</generator>
<cloud domain='chrisnolan.ca' port='80' path='/?rsscloud=notify' registerProcedure='' protocol='http-post' />
<image>
<url>https://secure.gravatar.com/blavatar/2012622951e0accde7a5f54ae786cbed5b3b39114d8c576ead366b2aef050b96?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fs0.wp.com%2Fi%2Fbuttonw-com.png</url>
<title>I Am Chris Nolan.ca</title>
<link>https://chrisnolan.ca</link>
</image>
<atom:link rel="search" type="application/opensearchdescription+xml" href="https://chrisnolan.ca/osd.xml" title="I Am Chris Nolan.ca" />
<atom:link rel='hub' href='https://chrisnolan.ca/?pushpress=hub'/>
<item>
<title>Journeying Through Grief</title>
<link>https://chrisnolan.ca/2024/04/18/journeying-through-grief/</link>
<comments>https://chrisnolan.ca/2024/04/18/journeying-through-grief/#respond</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[ChrisNolan.ca]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Thu, 18 Apr 2024 21:04:01 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Diary]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[grief]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[healing]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[living]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[nature connection]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://chrisnolan.ca/?p=930</guid>
<description><![CDATA[I was squatting on the soggy edge of the creek contemplating the discussions from the day when out of the corner of my eye I spotted a flash of movement which I quickly turned toward]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[
Last week I took part in a retreat that was described thusly:
<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
Today you are invited to explore the dynamics of your grief journey through the lens of “narrative disruption”, seeing how your life-story has been changed through a loss you did not want.
</blockquote>
This new to me way of thinking about my grief was like a punch in the gut, I cautiously went outside of my comfort zone and arranged to attend. It was <a href="https://ignatiusguelph.ca/loyola-house/about-loyola/">hosted on 500 acres of land</a>, including a tract of dense forest being restored, and I found myself in this area in the afternoon portion where we were encouraged to let the land heal us.
I was squatting on the soggy edge of the creek contemplating the discussions from the day when out of the corner of my eye I spotted a flash of movement which I quickly turned toward. Scanning what was before me, I didn’t immediately identify what pulled my attention. If they weren’t already my favourite bird I doubt I would have been able to pick it out from the background wash of forest and misty creek, but there was a great blue heron now standing completely still in the water, patiently awaiting what would come next. I then noticed the creek, the shape of the water between myself and the heron. The main creek had, in the parlance of the day, been disrupted by a fallen tree. Accumulating around the fallen tree was other detritus and materials that were becoming tangled and obstructed and this interruption to the flow of the creek further impeded the water’s path. But this didn’t stop the water. The water level had risen, providing a haven for the heron. The water was given new opportunities and found a way forward. It took a new, unexpected path off to the side and was re-joining the creek downstream, past the disrupted area. It endured.
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img data-attachment-id="933" data-permalink="https://chrisnolan.ca/2024/04/18/journeying-through-grief/p4111963/" data-orig-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/p4111963.jpg" data-orig-size="4000,3000" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"2","credit":"","camera":"TG-6","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1712849383","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.5","iso":"200","shutter_speed":"0.0125","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="p4111963" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/p4111963.jpg?w=300" data-large-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/p4111963.jpg?w=4000" width="4000" height="3000" src="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/p4111963.jpg?w=4000" alt="Photograph of an interrupted creek and water flowing around it finding a new path forward." class="wp-image-933" srcset="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/p4111963.jpg?w=4000 4000w, https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/p4111963.jpg?w=128 128w, https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/p4111963.jpg?w=300 300w, https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/p4111963.jpg?w=768 768w, https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/p4111963.jpg?w=1024 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 4000px) 100vw, 4000px" /></figure>
I continued on my way, thanking the heron for guiding me to that comparison, as I envisioned where the creek would meet the river ahead. Again though, I was caught unawares. My mind had determined that the river would be flowing to my left where the creek joined it, how or why I don’t know, it was just the way I saw it. When I got to the confluence, to my surprise the river was flowing to my right. The “wrong way”? No, not wrong, just unexpected. But this I realized was fine, it was not what I had imagined or foreseen it was going to be as I approached, but it was what it was and the greater reality of the direction of the stream was not something I could change, just by imagining it was different. And it didn’t matter in any way either. The river was speeding along as it had always done, with or with out me.
At this point, with the rain which had been falling the entire time, I was wet. And the river was plenty wet. And…so… I shed my footwear, rolled up my pants, and entered the water. It was cold, early in the spring with a hint of melted snow, but not uncomfortable. It was difficult to see where I was stepping as the soft silty bottom was stirred by my passing and plumes of darkness arose from the depths. But I wasn’t in a rush, and I waited. Patiently like the heron. I watched the swirling silt, the unclear water, trying to see a pattern, searching for a reason. I looked away for a moment, off in the distance, distracted by a bird call, and when my gaze returned: the water had cleared. I could see unobstructed to my feet. They were embraced by the river bed and my path forward, when taken slowly, was there for me.
]]></content:encoded>
<wfw:commentRss>https://chrisnolan.ca/2024/04/18/journeying-through-grief/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
<media:content url="https://2.gravatar.com/avatar/28d161fa293bd3dc2311ee71f1f79f85868fed06a149947d677379ba313509a4?s=96&d=retro" medium="image">
<media:title type="html">chrisnolan</media:title>
</media:content>
<media:content url="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/p4111963.jpg?w=4000" medium="image">
<media:title type="html">Photograph of an interrupted creek and water flowing around it finding a new path forward.</media:title>
</media:content>
</item>
<item>
<title>Unmasking on Halloween</title>
<link>https://chrisnolan.ca/2023/10/31/unmasking-on-halloween/</link>
<comments>https://chrisnolan.ca/2023/10/31/unmasking-on-halloween/#comments</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[ChrisNolan.ca]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Tue, 31 Oct 2023 20:18:01 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Diary]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Acceptance]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[ActuallyAutistic]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Halloween]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Masking]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Tolerance]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://chrisnolan.ca/?p=919</guid>
<description><![CDATA[It was a relief, because on a day where so many people would be putting on a mask, I was taking mine off. I’m autistic, but for most of my life I “masked”, hiding myself behind socially acceptable appearances and behaviours...]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[
Halloween used to be my favourite ‘holiday’. I understood it to be secular, so everyone could participate. A day where you could act silly, be weird, do unexpected and sometimes surprising things and it was all ‘ok’. Allowed. Accepted. Expected even. What a relief that was!
It was a relief, because on a day where so many people would be putting on a mask, I was taking mine off. I’m autistic, but for most of my life I “masked”, hiding myself behind socially acceptable appearances and behaviours, and it takes tremendous energy and effort to pull that off in a world unaccustomed to allowing neurodiverse people to be themselves.
Halloween now unsettles me. As I become more empowered to accept my differences as just that, differences, and not deficiencies or a disease, I get sad when I think that I only had one day a year where I could be tolerated being myself.
Over a decade ago I read a piece on how <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/1998/10/14/whats-behind-halloween/7b3c5a23-884c-4dcc-8ead-362f9a2f7e94/">Halloween is an ‘inversion ritual’</a> allowing a sort of ‘social-pressure release valve’. To quote:
<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
“During rituals of inversion, people can violate otherwise solid social codes. Less powerful people can break the rules, reverse the order of expected actions, flaunt otherwise unacceptable ways of dress or behavior or reverse the usual roles of parent-child, boss-worker, male-female.”
</blockquote>
This had helped me think about why Halloween was such a strong day for me and gave me new insight. But to think that violating social codes is such an offense. To think that my behaviour, if I was myself in public, is acknowledged to be unacceptable no longer sits well with me.
I took a seminar this past summer where the message was stressed that everybody has the “<a href="https://righttobe.org/upcoming-free-trainings/">right to be</a> who they are, wherever they are” and I like that message. I repeated that message to myself a couple of weeks ago when I “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stimming">stimmed</a>” in public for the first time since I was a child.
In a crowded, noisy, bright, unaccommodating government office waiting to renew my identification documents, I had brought a novel along with me to distract myself. That novel happened to be <a href="https://ellemcnicoll.com/books/a-kind-of-spark">“A Kind of Spark” by Elle McNicoll</a>, a novel targeted to “middle schoolers” (so an unusual read being a middle ager myself) written by an actually autistic author featuring strong autistic characters making an appeal to be accepted in their small Scottish town, and as they say: “representation matters”. Having tears well up in my eyes from feeling the representation in the story, I put the book away. I couldn’t be seen to cry in public. I couldn’t be me when surrounded by others… but… but… I then took off my ‘mask’. I had gained the confidence to flap a little, and rock a little, and just allow my body to do what it needed to do (I did hold back from moaning to be honest) in order to reduce the stress I was experiencing from being in that harsh, unusual, space. Was I thinking about what others might think of me? Of course! That had been my default thinking for decades. In that moment I felt enabled enough to put those worries aside, and allow myself to be who I am, where I was, and not prioritize the comfort of everyone around me over my own comfort. I had to trust that either they’d ignore me, I wouldn’t be too obvious to raise alarm, or most hard for me to fathom: that they would accept me for me and allow me to be.
You’ll find plenty of posts online about how you can make Halloween a more accepting space for autistic children, how to help with their sensory processing issues etc on this non routine day, but I’ll posit that what we can all use on this day of inversion is instead more tolerance and acceptance every day of the year, so we don’t feel like we have to wear a mask, making ourselves perpetually uncomfortable, just so the neurotypical dominant culture doesn’t get “spooked” when we reveal ourselves to be in your midst year round.
If this sharing helps you, and you aren’t sure how to help yourself, I recommend you track down a neurodiversity affirming therapist to help you continue on your journey of self acceptance.
Happy Halloween.
]]></content:encoded>
<wfw:commentRss>https://chrisnolan.ca/2023/10/31/unmasking-on-halloween/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
<media:thumbnail url="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/creepy-pumpkin-man.jpg" />
<media:content url="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/creepy-pumpkin-man.jpg" medium="image">
<media:title type="html">creepy pumpkin man</media:title>
</media:content>
<media:content url="https://2.gravatar.com/avatar/28d161fa293bd3dc2311ee71f1f79f85868fed06a149947d677379ba313509a4?s=96&d=retro" medium="image">
<media:title type="html">chrisnolan</media:title>
</media:content>
</item>
<item>
<title>Slow Down, Look Closer Photography Exhibition</title>
<link>https://chrisnolan.ca/2016/03/14/slow-down-look-closer-photography-exhibition/</link>
<comments>https://chrisnolan.ca/2016/03/14/slow-down-look-closer-photography-exhibition/#respond</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[ChrisNolan.ca]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Mon, 14 Mar 2016 18:27:39 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Announcements]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Art]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Happenings]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Projects]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[art]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[events]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[gardening]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[nature]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[north york]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[photography]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[toronto public library]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[willowdale]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://chrisnolan.ca/?p=913</guid>
<description><![CDATA[I have my very first solo photography exhibition running this month at the North York Central Library, 5120 Yonge St. entitled SLOW DOWN, LOOK CLOSER. Please check it out if you’re in the area and see Willowdale from a “bee’s eye view”. Details over at http://slowdownlookcloser.chrisnolan.ca/]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[I have my very first solo photography exhibition running this month at the North York Central Library, 5120 Yonge St. entitled <a href="http://slowdownlookcloser.chrisnolan.ca/">SLOW DOWN, LOOK CLOSER</a>. Please check it out if you’re in the area and see Willowdale from a “bee’s eye view”.
Details over at <a href="http://slowdownlookcloser.chrisnolan.ca/">http://slowdownlookcloser.chrisnolan.ca/</a>
]]></content:encoded>
<wfw:commentRss>https://chrisnolan.ca/2016/03/14/slow-down-look-closer-photography-exhibition/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
<media:thumbnail url="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/slow-down-look-closer-x6401.png" />
<media:content url="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/slow-down-look-closer-x6401.png" medium="image">
<media:title type="html">Slow Down Look Closer x640</media:title>
</media:content>
<media:content url="https://2.gravatar.com/avatar/28d161fa293bd3dc2311ee71f1f79f85868fed06a149947d677379ba313509a4?s=96&d=retro" medium="image">
<media:title type="html">chrisnolan</media:title>
</media:content>
</item>
<item>
<title>Signs don’t equal Safety – Don’t support the All Way Stop at Ellerslie & Tamworth</title>
<link>https://chrisnolan.ca/2015/01/31/signs-dont-equal-safety-dont-support-the-all-way-stop-at-ellerslie-tamworth/</link>
<comments>https://chrisnolan.ca/2015/01/31/signs-dont-equal-safety-dont-support-the-all-way-stop-at-ellerslie-tamworth/#comments</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[ChrisNolan.ca]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Sat, 31 Jan 2015 19:56:30 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Open Letters]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[biking]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[community]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[north york]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[opinion]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[pedestrian]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[petition]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[safety]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[stop signs]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[toronto]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[traffic]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[ward 23]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[willowdale]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://chrisnolan.ca/?p=902</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Sign, sign, everywhere a sign Blockin’ out the scenery, breakin’ my mind Do this, don’t do that, can’t you read the sign? The lyrics of Signs by Five Man Electrical Band always pop into my head when someone starts talking signs for safety: be they speed limit signs, stop signs, or shoes required signs. I […]]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<blockquote>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzaZkRnrQA8">Sign, sign, everywhere a sign</a> 
Blockin’ out the scenery, breakin’ my mind 
Do this, don’t do that, can’t you read the sign?
</blockquote>
The lyrics of <a href="http://www.oldielyrics.com/lyrics/five_man_electrical_band/signs.html">Signs by Five Man Electrical Band</a> always pop into my head when someone starts talking signs for safety: be they speed limit signs, stop signs, or shoes required signs. I do not support signs, and the <a href="http://ellerslieave.chrisnolan.ca/">neighbourhood</a> is currently <a href="https://www.change.org/p/councillor-john-filion-implement-an-all-way-stop-at-ellerslie-av-and-tamworth-rd">petitioning to get some new stop signs installed down the street, to convert a two-way stop to an All-Way stop</a>, so here is my argument against this instance. As a “long haired freaky people“, it seems to be<a href="http://ellerslieave.chrisnolan.ca/post/109697050658/reasons-for-signing-posted-on-the-implement-an"> the minority view</a>, but I think with a little bit of consideration and research, you may change your mind.
First off, we are not traffic engineers. I don’t necessarily <a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/features/wisdomofcrowds/">put faith in ‘experts’</a>, but if you want to play the role of considering traffic flow, then consider traffic flow in the entire neighbourhood, not just at a single intersection. Changing an intersection will have impacts many intersections away in a variety of ways. What if your support for a change at this intersection, resulted in an accident nearby? <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NIMBY">NIMBY</a> is a slippery slope to go down. All-way stops are put in place to assist with negotiating right of way, when the intersection has near-equal traffic in all directions. This intersection as one of its four directions is a dead end, you can assume right off the bat that it will not have equal traffic in all directions. Studies have also shown that drivers will increase their speed between intersections to make up for their ‘lost time’ of having stopped. Whoops?
I don’t like pollution. Asking the majority of motorists approaching this intersection to increase their emissions and noise produced are two forms of pollution I’d rather keep out of the neighbourhood, not to mention the increased fuel consumption compounding over the next few decades that the sign would be there. Oil doesn’t grow on trees (anymore). If this isn’t obvious, when you accelerate from a stop, you use a lot more fuel, your engine is louder doing so, and when you are idle at the stop, and when you are accelerating there are many more emissions in the area.
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risk_compensation">Risk compensation</a> is a theory which suggests that people typically adjust their behavior in response to the perceived level of risk, becoming more careful where they sense greater risk and less careful if they feel more protected. Pedestrians and cyclists at the intersection could end up crossing in a more risky fashion, assuming the competition at the intersection will be stopping. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shared_space">Shared Space</a> in urban design pushes this edge considerably and I lean towards this when ever I discuss traffic signs and road conditions with people.
The attention this has gotten in the neighbourhood shouldn’t be ignored, but let’s not knee-jerk our support for the All-Way stop, but rather channel the concerns into looking at the larger issue of how can we make our community a better one for people traveling with-in it, and through it, on a larger scale.
Please also consider <a href="https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/07/18/risk-obtuse-and-danger-perception/">how well you are perceiving the ‘danger’</a> here. Risk Perception is a funny thing.
Some more traffic related links if you’d like:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.vaughan.ca/services/residential/traffic_services/all_way_stop_requests/Pages/default.aspx">City of Vaughn’s All-way Stop info</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.portlandoregon.gov/transportation/article/166034">Portland Oregon’s document</a></li>
<li><a href="http://books.google.ca/books?id=JuTAZmIseeAC&lpg=PA430&dq=all-way+stop&pg=PA432&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=all-way%20stop&f=false">The Handbook of Road Safety Measures pgs 432-433</a></li>
<li><a href="http://nacto.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Fajans-J.-and-M.-Curry.-2001..pdf">Why Bicyclists Hate Stop Signs article</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www1.toronto.ca/wps/portal/contentonly?vgnextoid=80c7a84c9f6e1410VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD#f02d62ca69902410VgnVCM10000071d60f89____vtabs1collapse0">City of Toronto’s Traffic Control FAQ (click ‘Other Traffic Control Devices’)</a></li>
</ul>
]]></content:encoded>
<wfw:commentRss>https://chrisnolan.ca/2015/01/31/signs-dont-equal-safety-dont-support-the-all-way-stop-at-ellerslie-tamworth/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
<media:thumbnail url="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/stop1.jpg" />
<media:content url="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/stop1.jpg" medium="image">
<media:title type="html">Stop1.jpg</media:title>
</media:content>
<media:content url="https://2.gravatar.com/avatar/28d161fa293bd3dc2311ee71f1f79f85868fed06a149947d677379ba313509a4?s=96&d=retro" medium="image">
<media:title type="html">chrisnolan</media:title>
</media:content>
</item>
<item>
<title>LoveTheRavines Fall4Ravines photography exhibit at Patagonia</title>
<link>https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/11/17/lovetheravines-fall4ravines-photography-exhibit-at-patagonia/</link>
<comments>https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/11/17/lovetheravines-fall4ravines-photography-exhibit-at-patagonia/#comments</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[ChrisNolan.ca]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Tue, 18 Nov 2014 04:40:38 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Announcements]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Happenings]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[autumn]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[exhibition]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Fall4Ravines]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[greenbelt]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[LoveTheRavines]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[ontario greenbelt]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[parkTO]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[patagonia]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[photography]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[toronto]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://chrisnolan.ca/?p=895</guid>
<description><![CDATA[LoveTheRavines has their Fall4Ravines photography exhibit on display at Patagonia Toronto (500 King St W) until the first week of December, and four of my photos are on display. Please take a few minutes to consider signing their petition to add the Don and the Humber Rivers to the Ontario Greenbelt. I wanted to give […]]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<a href="http://lovetheravines.com/">LoveTheRavines</a> has their <a href="http://www.greenbelt.ca/love_the_ravines_photo_contest_2014">Fall4Ravines</a> photography exhibit on display at <a href="http://www.patagonia.com/ca/patagonia.go?assetid=57164">Patagonia Toronto (500 King St W)</a> until the first week of December, and <a href="http://tumblr.chrisnolan.ca/post/101459502376/some-of-my-photos-were-selected-for-a-special">four of my photos are on display</a>. Please take a few minutes to consider signing their <a href="http://ravines-greenbelt.nationbuilder.com/">petition to add the Don and the Humber Rivers to the Ontario Greenbelt</a>.
I wanted to give a shout out to the other photographers (in no particular order) who had their images selected. I look forward to meeting you Dec 3 at the evening reception at Patagonia.
<a href="http://instagram.com/nczorny">Nicole Czorny nczorny </a>, <a href="http://www.siklosphoto.com/">Jacquelyn Sloane Siklos</a> (ig: @<a href="http://instagram.com/sloanesiklos%20">sloanesiklos</a>), <a href="http://www.joannacjohnston.com/">Joanna Johnston</a> (ig: @<a href="http://instagram.com/joannacjohnston%20">joannacjohnston</a>), <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sammy-Tangir-Photography/365703663525067">Sammy T</a> (ig: @<a href="http://instagram.com/sammytangir">sammytangir</a>), Ashley Therriault (ig: @<a href="http://instagram.com/ashtario">ashtario</a>), @<a href="http://instagram.com/lisarobertsonpics">lisarobertsonpics</a>, <a href="http://jonathanscottduder.tumblr.com/">Jonathan Scott Dude</a>r (ig: @<a href="http://instagram.com/jonathanduder">jonathanduder</a> ), Jeff Coussin: aka <a href="http://luciditydesign.com/">The Life & Adventures of Lenny Dawg</a> (ig: @<a href="http://instagram.com/luciditydesign">luciditydesign</a>), <a href="http://troutatemyhomework.wordpress.com/about/">Gabriel Bizeau-Régis</a> (ig: @<a href="http://instagram.com/atroutatemyhomework">atroutatemyhomework</a>), Gary Wallenwein ig: @<a href="http://instagram.com/totemblaze">totemblaze</a>, Dan Berman ig: @<a href="http://instagram.com/scriptdr%20">scriptdr</a>.
Here is my collage of the images as arranged to match those hung and curated by Phil Anderson, Executive Director of <a href="http://g1313.org/" target="_blank">Gallery 1313.</a> I had excepted image titles and instagram ids at the exhibit, but there wasn’t any when I checked it out Nov 15 (update: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152412158542213.1073741843.195842512212&type=1">the Official Facebook album</a> had captions/titles for the images so I updated below (only 17 of the pics are there though)). I’ll included them as I searched around below.
<a href="https://chrisnolan.ca/?attachment_id=896" rel="attachment wp-att-896"><img data-attachment-id="896" data-permalink="https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/11/17/lovetheravines-fall4ravines-photography-exhibit-at-patagonia/fall4ravines-collage-1/" data-orig-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/fall4ravines-collage-1.jpg" data-orig-size="1920,1920" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Fall4Ravines Collage 1" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/fall4ravines-collage-1.jpg?w=300" data-large-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/fall4ravines-collage-1.jpg?w=1920" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-896" src="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/fall4ravines-collage-1.jpg?w=300" alt="Fall4Ravines Collage 1" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/fall4ravines-collage-1.jpg?w=300 300w, https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/fall4ravines-collage-1.jpg?w=600 600w, https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/fall4ravines-collage-1.jpg?w=96 96w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><a href="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/fall4ravines-collage-2.jpg"><img data-attachment-id="897" data-permalink="https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/11/17/lovetheravines-fall4ravines-photography-exhibit-at-patagonia/fall4ravines-collage-2/" data-orig-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/fall4ravines-collage-2.jpg" data-orig-size="1920,1920" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Fall4Ravines Collage 2" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/fall4ravines-collage-2.jpg?w=300" data-large-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/fall4ravines-collage-2.jpg?w=1920" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-897" src="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/fall4ravines-collage-2.jpg?w=300" alt="Fall4Ravines Collage 2" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/fall4ravines-collage-2.jpg?w=300 300w, https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/fall4ravines-collage-2.jpg?w=600 600w, https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/fall4ravines-collage-2.jpg?w=96 96w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a>
<a href="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/fall4ravines-collage-3.jpg"><img loading="lazy" data-attachment-id="898" data-permalink="https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/11/17/lovetheravines-fall4ravines-photography-exhibit-at-patagonia/fall4ravines-collage-3/" data-orig-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/fall4ravines-collage-3.jpg" data-orig-size="1920,640" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Fall4Ravines Collage 3" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/fall4ravines-collage-3.jpg?w=300" data-large-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/fall4ravines-collage-3.jpg?w=1920" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-898" src="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/fall4ravines-collage-3.jpg?w=300" alt="Fall4Ravines Collage 3" width="300" height="100" srcset="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/fall4ravines-collage-3.jpg?w=300 300w, https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/fall4ravines-collage-3.jpg?w=600 600w, https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/fall4ravines-collage-3.jpg?w=128 128w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a>
Collage 1, top left to bottom right are:
<ul>
<li>sloanesiklos <a href="http://instagram.com/p/utLr-Eo-XT/" target="_blank">“End of Season” – Queen Anne’s Lace</a></li>
<li>scriptdr “<a href="http://instagram.com/p/utazC1S-rV/" target="_blank">Metropolis” – Powerlines and CN Tower</a></li>
<li>totemblaze <a href="http://instagram.com/p/t_WznHmwP9/" target="_blank">Little Rogue Creek</a></li>
<li>luciditydesign <a href="http://iconosquare.com/p/369156304_1081335" target="_blank">“Ben’s Bird Sanctuary“</a> (note link isn’t instagram because it is an old photo which isn’t easy to find on ig)</li>
<li>luciditydesign <a href="http://instagram.com/p/uRQcu9lOKx/" target="_blank">Lenny in the water</a></li>
<li>jonathanduder <a href="http://instagram.com/p/uWJdAuhZR-/" target="_blank">Man and Child at Brickworks</a></li>
<li>chrisnolanca <a href="http://instagram.com/p/uYE_8uBXpK/" target="_blank">Autumn by the Pond</a></li>
<li>chrisnolanca <a href="http://instagram.com/p/uTHq_vBXlW/%20" target="_blank">Leaves Fall Down, Don’t You Too</a></li>
<li>joannacjohnston <a href="http://instagram.com/p/urDuD-Prod/" target="_blank">Double Exposure of Autumn Forest</a></li>
</ul>
Collage 2, top left to bottom right:
<ul>
<li>sloanesiklos <a href="http://instagram.com/p/ufmITJo-fi/" target="_blank">Fallen Maple Leaf</a></li>
<li>chrisnolanca <a href="http://instagram.com/p/uq19BMhXhN/" target="_blank">Fungi</a></li>
<li>lisarobertsonpics “Taking in the View” <a href="http://instagram.com/p/uVq5I3suy0/" target="_blank">Autumn is a Second Spring</a></li>
<li>sloanesiklos <a href="http://instagram.com/p/uWnbJWI-Rx/" target="_blank">Fall in the Park</a></li>
<li>chrisnolanca <a href="http://instagram.com/p/tkchDbBXg5/" target="_blank">Toad</a></li>
<li>ashtario <a href="http://instagram.com/p/uoP9CXDAZA/" target="_blank">“Road Less Travelled” Milkman’s Lane</a></li>
<li>lisarobertsonpics <a href="http://instagram.com/p/uWQ8bDMu-V/" target="_blank">“Prelude to Fall” Cedarvale from above</a></li>
<li><a href="http://instagram.com/nczorny">nczorny</a>, <a href="http://instagram.com/p/uQ7Weiwdf3/" target="_blank">“Flowers of Fall” Evergreen</a></li>
<li>atroutatemyhomework <a href="http://instagram.com/p/t-QyGroQFK/" target="_blank">“Large Mouth Bass” – Catch and Release</a></li>
</ul>
And the final collage are three by sammytangir:
<ul>
<li><a href="http://instagram.com/p/uohQQlhhEr/" target="_blank">Humber Bridge</a></li>
<li><a href="http://instagram.com/p/ufwesPBhBt" target="_blank">Fall in Sherwood Park</a></li>
<li><a href="http://instagram.com/p/uemKFehhFf/" target="_blank">Over the Bridge</a></li>
</ul>
Here is a link to all the #Fall4Ravine tags on instagram via <a href="http://iconosquare.com/tag/fall4ravines" target="_blank">iconosquare</a>.
]]></content:encoded>
<wfw:commentRss>https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/11/17/lovetheravines-fall4ravines-photography-exhibit-at-patagonia/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
<media:thumbnail url="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/10687399_10152788716951023_1765049171149311975_o.jpg" />
<media:content url="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/10687399_10152788716951023_1765049171149311975_o.jpg" medium="image">
<media:title type="html">Fall4Ravines at Patagonia Exhibit</media:title>
</media:content>
<media:content url="https://2.gravatar.com/avatar/28d161fa293bd3dc2311ee71f1f79f85868fed06a149947d677379ba313509a4?s=96&d=retro" medium="image">
<media:title type="html">chrisnolan</media:title>
</media:content>
<media:content url="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/fall4ravines-collage-1.jpg?w=300" medium="image">
<media:title type="html">Fall4Ravines Collage 1</media:title>
</media:content>
<media:content url="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/fall4ravines-collage-2.jpg?w=300" medium="image">
<media:title type="html">Fall4Ravines Collage 2</media:title>
</media:content>
<media:content url="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/fall4ravines-collage-3.jpg?w=300" medium="image">
<media:title type="html">Fall4Ravines Collage 3</media:title>
</media:content>
</item>
<item>
<title>Risk Obtuse and Danger Perception</title>
<link>https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/07/18/risk-obtuse-and-danger-perception/</link>
<comments>https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/07/18/risk-obtuse-and-danger-perception/#comments</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[ChrisNolan.ca]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Fri, 18 Jul 2014 04:48:31 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Kids]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Open Letters]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Rant]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[adventure]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[advice]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[chance]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[culture]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[danger]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[danger perception]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[im often right]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[parenting]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[references]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[risk]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[risk compensation]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[risk perception]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[society]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[urban]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://chrisnolan.ca/?p=887</guid>
<description><![CDATA[If you’re reading this, you’re in danger. Look out! Caution! Beware! DANGER! OMG YOU’RE GOING TO DIE! Overwhelming, isn’t it. Our minds and our bodies are great at filtering risk and processing danger — if we let it. Most people raised in a modern urban environment have very little experience with actual, immediate, personal danger. […]]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[If you’re reading this, you’re in danger.
Look out! Caution! Beware! DANGER! OMG YOU’RE GOING TO DIE!
Overwhelming, isn’t it. Our minds and our bodies are great at filtering risk and processing danger — if we let it. Most people raised in a modern urban environment have very little experience with actual, immediate, personal danger. They just don’t grok it.
David Ropeik in his <a href="http://www.dropeik.com/how_excerpt.html">HOW RISKY IS IT REALLY?</a> book talks about a ‘Perception Gap’ to try to balance actual risk with what people are afraid of and tries to get to the underlying causes of those fears. Maybe what is dangerous for you, isn’t dangerous for me and vice versa?
Jeffrey Rosenthal in <a href="http://probability.ca/sbl/">STRUCK BY LIGHTENING: The Curious World of Probabilities</a> tries to help people get a better grasp on statistics and appeals to the math behind actual risk to see if that will make sense to people. If you run the numbers, how bad is it really? Do you know you’re most likely putting yourself in danger daily which far far exceeds any perceived threat you’re worried about?
Richard Louv in <a href="http://richardlouv.com/books/last-child/">LAST CHILD IN THE WOODS: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder</a> devotes Part III of the book to “The Best of Intentions: Why Kids don’t play outside anymore” and gives many examples and descriptions of how parents have meant well, and inadvertently have done much more harm to their children.
Don’t be risk obtuse. My advice? Do something you feel is dangerous. I didn’t say life-threatening, I don’t mean be careless, I want you to think about something you feel is dangerous, think about how you can mitigate the risk, and try it. ‘Baby steps’ at first, but do some research and try to wrap re-define your baseline for danger.
There is a scene in the 2009 Australian film <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0926380/combined">The Boys are Back</a> that I often use as an example for people. The movie stars Clive Owen as a widowed father trying to find his way raising his kids. The <a title="Zipline scene in The Boys are Back" href="http://www.traileraddict.com/the-boys-are-back/high">scene</a> in particular is when he hosts a kid’s birthday party and installs a high zipline for the kids to swing on and the mothers attending the party are agog. “But what if he let go?!” one mum exclaims. “That is why he is holding on so tight” replies Owen’s character.
“Better a broken bone, than a broken spirit” I’ve been fond of saying of late.
]]></content:encoded>
<wfw:commentRss>https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/07/18/risk-obtuse-and-danger-perception/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
<media:content url="https://2.gravatar.com/avatar/28d161fa293bd3dc2311ee71f1f79f85868fed06a149947d677379ba313509a4?s=96&d=retro" medium="image">
<media:title type="html">chrisnolan</media:title>
</media:content>
</item>
<item>
<title>3rd Place – Flora in the SCB-Toronto Photo Contest</title>
<link>https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/05/27/3rd-place-flora-in-the-scb-toronto-photo-contest/</link>
<comments>https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/05/27/3rd-place-flora-in-the-scb-toronto-photo-contest/#respond</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[ChrisNolan.ca]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Tue, 27 May 2014 14:55:56 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Announcements]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[magnolia]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[magnolia tree]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[photography]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[prize]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[society for conservation biology]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[spring]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[toronto]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[trees]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[winner]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://chrisnolan.ca/?p=877</guid>
<description><![CDATA[A photo I took of a neighbour’s magnolia tree won 3rd place in the SCB-Toronto Photo Contest. The Society for Conservation Biology (SCB) is an international professional organization dedicated to advancing the science and practice of conserving the Earth’s biological diversity. SCB has local chapters across the globe that provide opportunities for members to engage […]]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<a href="http://www.scbtorontophotos.com/photos/53718d1134636100022d0000">A photo</a> I took of <a title="Magnolia tree is full bloom" href="http://ellerslieave.chrisnolan.ca/post/85904751118/232-ellerslies-magnolia-tree-was-in-full-bloom">a neighbour’s magnolia tree</a> won <a href="http://www.scbtorontophotos.com/winners">3rd place in the SCB-Toronto Photo Contest</a>.
<div class="row">
<div class="col-xs-12">
<a href="http://www.conbio.org/">The Society for Conservation Biology</a> (SCB) is an international professional organization dedicated to advancing the science and practice of conserving the Earth’s biological diversity. SCB has local chapters across the globe that provide opportunities for members to engage in conservation at the local level.
<a href="http://scbtoronto.com/">SCB-TO</a> is one of these local chapters, we strive to build a network of active conservation biologists from the three local academic research universities – University of Toronto, York University and Ryerson University, as well as government, non-government and private agencies operating within the Greater Toronto Area. Our goal is to facilitate the discussion of and solutions to urban conservation biology issues that threaten the function of Toronto’s local ecosystems.
</div>
</div>
<div data-shortcode="caption" id="attachment_878" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="http://24.media.tumblr.com/7e24db219cee2f78463fe162f3061ac0/tumblr_n5nyszwfGo1sjmb7do5_1280.jpg"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-878" loading="lazy" data-attachment-id="878" data-permalink="https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/05/27/3rd-place-flora-in-the-scb-toronto-photo-contest/magnolia/" data-orig-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/magnolia.jpg" data-orig-size="960,720" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":""}" data-image-title="magnolia" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/magnolia.jpg?w=300" data-large-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/magnolia.jpg?w=960" class="wp-image-878 size-medium" src="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/magnolia.jpg?w=300" alt="magnolia" width="300" height="225" srcset="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/magnolia.jpg?w=300 300w, https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/magnolia.jpg?w=600 600w, https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/magnolia.jpg?w=128 128w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a>Winning Magnolia Tree Photo</div>
All the winning photos are being exhibited all week at <a href="http://www.bakacafe.com/">Baka Gallery Cafe</a> near Runnymede Subway Station in Bloor West area, and the award ceremony will take place Friday evening.
<img loading="lazy" data-attachment-id="880" data-permalink="https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/05/27/3rd-place-flora-in-the-scb-toronto-photo-contest/flora-3rd-gift/" data-orig-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/flora-3rd-gift.jpg" data-orig-size="304,344" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":""}" data-image-title="flora 3rd gift" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/flora-3rd-gift.jpg?w=265" data-large-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/flora-3rd-gift.jpg?w=304" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-880" src="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/flora-3rd-gift.jpg?w=265" alt="flora 3rd gift" width="265" height="300" srcset="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/flora-3rd-gift.jpg?w=265 265w, https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/flora-3rd-gift.jpg?w=85 85w, https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/flora-3rd-gift.jpg 304w" sizes="(max-width: 265px) 100vw, 265px" /> <a href="https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/05/27/3rd-place-flora-in-the-scb-toronto-photo-contest/flora-3rd/" rel="attachment wp-att-881"><img loading="lazy" data-attachment-id="881" data-permalink="https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/05/27/3rd-place-flora-in-the-scb-toronto-photo-contest/flora-3rd/" data-orig-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/flora-3rd.jpg" data-orig-size="599,421" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":""}" data-image-title="flora 3rd" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/flora-3rd.jpg?w=300" data-large-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/flora-3rd.jpg?w=599" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-881" src="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/flora-3rd.jpg" alt="flora 3rd" width="599" height="421" srcset="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/flora-3rd.jpg 599w, https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/flora-3rd.jpg?w=128&h=90 128w, https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/flora-3rd.jpg?w=300&h=211 300w" sizes="(max-width: 599px) 100vw, 599px" /></a>Thanks to <a href="http://www.sheridannurseries.com/">Sheridan Nurseries</a> for my prize.
You can also view a version on <a href="http://instagram.com/p/n7J5bQBXrL/#">Instagram</a>.
]]></content:encoded>
<wfw:commentRss>https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/05/27/3rd-place-flora-in-the-scb-toronto-photo-contest/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
<media:thumbnail url="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/10358456_142987262538429_1937547327_n.jpg" />
<media:content url="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/10358456_142987262538429_1937547327_n.jpg" medium="image">
<media:title type="html">Instagram version of Winning Magnolia Photo</media:title>
</media:content>
<media:content url="https://2.gravatar.com/avatar/28d161fa293bd3dc2311ee71f1f79f85868fed06a149947d677379ba313509a4?s=96&d=retro" medium="image">
<media:title type="html">chrisnolan</media:title>
</media:content>
<media:content url="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/magnolia.jpg?w=300" medium="image">
<media:title type="html">magnolia</media:title>
</media:content>
<media:content url="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/flora-3rd-gift.jpg?w=265" medium="image">
<media:title type="html">flora 3rd gift</media:title>
</media:content>
<media:content url="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/flora-3rd.jpg" medium="image">
<media:title type="html">flora 3rd</media:title>
</media:content>
</item>
<item>
<title>NYCL Scratch Day Diary</title>
<link>https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/05/19/nycl-scratch-day-diary/</link>
<comments>https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/05/19/nycl-scratch-day-diary/#respond</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[ChrisNolan.ca]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Mon, 19 May 2014 16:04:20 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Diary]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Kids]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[events]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[homeschooling]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[learning to code]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[learning to read]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[north york central library]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[programming]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[proud papa]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[scratch]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[scratchday]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[toronto]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[toronto public library]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://chrisnolan.ca/?p=868</guid>
<description><![CDATA[We’ve been looking forward to Scratch Day for a couple of months now, and am happy to say it went off wonderfully.It was five months ago today that we checked out No Starch Press’s SUPER SCRATCH PROGRAMMING ADVENTURE from the library, and it was this past Saturday that Xander revealed Scratchy to 15 more kids, […]]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[We’ve been looking forward to Scratch Day for a couple of months now, and am happy to say it went off wonderfully.<a href="http://instagram.com/p/oGtJmLBXn_/"><img loading="lazy" data-attachment-id="870" data-permalink="https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/05/19/nycl-scratch-day-diary/10342490_10152389526316023_2845435936630729267_n/" data-orig-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/10342490_10152389526316023_2845435936630729267_n.jpg" data-orig-size="640,640" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":""}" data-image-title="Facepainted 7 Year Old ready to lead his first Scratch Day" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/10342490_10152389526316023_2845435936630729267_n.jpg?w=300" data-large-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/10342490_10152389526316023_2845435936630729267_n.jpg?w=640" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-870" src="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/10342490_10152389526316023_2845435936630729267_n.jpg" alt="Facepainted 7 Year Old ready to lead his first Scratch Day" width="625" height="625" srcset="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/10342490_10152389526316023_2845435936630729267_n.jpg?w=625&h=625 625w, https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/10342490_10152389526316023_2845435936630729267_n.jpg?w=96&h=96 96w, https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/10342490_10152389526316023_2845435936630729267_n.jpg?w=300&h=300 300w, https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/10342490_10152389526316023_2845435936630729267_n.jpg 640w" sizes="(max-width: 625px) 100vw, 625px" /></a>It was five months ago today that we checked out No Starch Press’s <a href="http://www.nostarch.com/scratch">SUPER SCRATCH PROGRAMMING ADVENTURE</a> from the <a href="http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/detail.jsp?R=2925153">library</a>, and it was this past Saturday that Xander revealed <a href="http://scratch.mit.edu/">Scratchy</a> to 15 more kids, ages 7 to 12, as the culmination of his hard work.
After we <a title="ScratchEd weekly roundup" href="http://scratched.media.mit.edu/discussions/scratched-weekly-roundup/scratched-weekly-roundup-012514-013114">shared</a> his <a href="http://tumblr.chrisnolan.ca/post/74733327800/my-son-is-a-big-scratch-fan-this-was-his-request">Scratchy themed birthday cake</a> (he turned 7 in January) with the <a href="http://llk.media.mit.edu/">Lifelong Kindergarten Group at MIT</a>, I learned of <a href="http://scratched.media.mit.edu/">ScratchEd</a> (thanks <a href="http://scratch.mit.edu/users/TwilightDreamWolf">@TwilightDreamWolf</a> for the heads-up) and their role in helping to bring Scratch to more kids. From their group, I learned of <a href="http://day.scratch.mit.edu/">Scratch Day</a> and looked into where we could go to meet other Scratchers in Toronto, only to find there wasn’t anything already organized. Thinking about possibilities of organizing something to help foster his passion, I mentioned the idea to him and he said he’d love to teach kids to do it — which cinched it, this was going to happen if he was this keen about it.
There is an amazing technology vibe in Toronto, so I knew there would be many ways to go about the event. Part of me wanted to see if people at UofT would want to be involved, to keep the university feel of Scratch, but I didn’t have any current contacts there to work. Working the start-up vibe was another angle I considered, but was a bit wary of the sponsorship angles inherent with that culture. When I was at an early <a href="http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/using-the-library/computer-services/innovation-spaces/programs-classes.jsp">Maker Series event at the Toronto Reference Library,</a> in connection with their new <a href="http://tpl.ca/innovate">Digital Innovation Hub,</a> I saw they had the new version of the SUPER SCRATCH book in their collection (which isn’t available in the Library’s main collection). I inquired asked about the possibility of doing Scratch Day there, and they declined saying they didn’t have a kid friendly space. This brought me to our local library, <a href="http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/detail.jsp?R=LIB01">North York Central Library</a>, which we have a good rapport with.
I introduced the idea to them, and they did some research to see if it might be a good fit. We arranged to meet and Xander shared his enthusiasm for Scratch and we discussed some of the ideas for what the day could be. We settled on a small introductory class for kids aged 8-12 accompanied by their parents as a trial run. Coordination with the Learning Centre in the Teen Zone/Hub at the library, outside of the Children’s Department usual dealings and recruitment within the <a href="http://torontopubliclibrary.typepad.com/teens/volunteering-at-tpl/">Teen Department’s Youth Advisory Group</a> to find volunteers to help mentor during the class was done. Much thanks to Sharon Andic, and Kathryn Copeland for their work in preparing the program, and to Chantee, Charles, and Wendy for their work during the class helping the kids out.
We announced the class on a <a href="http://scratchdaynycl.tumblr.com/">blog setup for the event at ScratchDayNYCL.tumblr.com</a> and the library put it in their <a href="http://scratchdaynycl.tumblr.com/post/81536798010/images-of-the-spring-has-sprung-flyer-available">Spring Flyer of events</a>. Registration quickly filled up with positive comments from parents. Xander practiced his instruction skills with a friend, going early to our Homeschool Group at the library for a few weeks. We also arranged to tour the Learning Centre space to get a feeling of the room and what was available there and discuss the format and layout of the pairs. Everything was set — I was more nervous than he was.
The biggest hurdle was going to get through introductions, as he was really struggling with that part in our practice session. Kathryn agreed to <a title="7 Year Old Scratch Day presenter introducted at North York Central Library's Scratch Day" href="http://youtu.be/Vy32MRit4o4">introduce</a> him which worked out great.
<iframe class="youtube-player" width="625" height="352" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Vy32MRit4o4?version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en&autohide=2&wmode=transparent" allowfullscreen="true" style="border:0;" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox"></iframe>
The class went very well. We managed to squeeze in two extra groups who arrived morning of to see if anyone didn’t show-up. Many smiles and much enthusiasm from the kids gathered (and a few handstands from the leader). We made a <a href="http://scratch.mit.edu/studios/434616">NYCL Scratch Club Studio</a> on the Scratch website to help encourage the kids to collaborate and build their skills together going forward. We ran over our time estimates (of course) so we didn’t get to do the maze program he planned, and we didn’t get to show some of our ‘Connecting to the Physical World’ projects as we had hoped. His response? “We’ll just have to have another class.”
<a href="https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/05/19/nycl-scratch-day-diary/10309218_10152390237031023_2773089618971829538_n/" rel="attachment wp-att-869"><img loading="lazy" data-attachment-id="869" data-permalink="https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/05/19/nycl-scratch-day-diary/10309218_10152390237031023_2773089618971829538_n/" data-orig-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/10309218_10152390237031023_2773089618971829538_n.jpg" data-orig-size="960,720" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":""}" data-image-title="Naxder and his Dad leading Scratch Day" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/10309218_10152390237031023_2773089618971829538_n.jpg?w=300" data-large-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/10309218_10152390237031023_2773089618971829538_n.jpg?w=960" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-869" src="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/10309218_10152390237031023_2773089618971829538_n.jpg?w=300" alt="Naxder and his Dad leading Scratch Day" width="300" height="225" srcset="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/10309218_10152390237031023_2773089618971829538_n.jpg?w=300 300w, https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/10309218_10152390237031023_2773089618971829538_n.jpg?w=600 600w, https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/10309218_10152390237031023_2773089618971829538_n.jpg?w=128 128w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a>Not only that, he came home and asked to start to write a book about Scratch, for his “55%”ers, those we know a bunch of scratch but want to do more advanced things. When he started Scratch, he didn’t read and he learned so he could do more Scratch. I guess it will also be his gateway to writing too!
A very proud Papa.
 
 
]]></content:encoded>
<wfw:commentRss>https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/05/19/nycl-scratch-day-diary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
<media:thumbnail url="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/tumblr_n2whqv0mot1twz228o1_1280.png" />
<media:content url="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/tumblr_n2whqv0mot1twz228o1_1280.png" medium="image">
<media:title type="html">Scratch Day Logo</media:title>
</media:content>
<media:content url="https://2.gravatar.com/avatar/28d161fa293bd3dc2311ee71f1f79f85868fed06a149947d677379ba313509a4?s=96&d=retro" medium="image">
<media:title type="html">chrisnolan</media:title>
</media:content>
<media:content url="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/10342490_10152389526316023_2845435936630729267_n.jpg" medium="image">
<media:title type="html">Facepainted 7 Year Old ready to lead his first Scratch Day</media:title>
</media:content>
<media:content url="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/10309218_10152390237031023_2773089618971829538_n.jpg?w=300" medium="image">
<media:title type="html">Naxder and his Dad leading Scratch Day</media:title>
</media:content>
</item>
<item>
<title>Homeschooler Catapult Exhibition, June 2014</title>
<link>https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/03/23/homeschooler-catapult-exhibition-june-2014/</link>
<comments>https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/03/23/homeschooler-catapult-exhibition-june-2014/#comments</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[ChrisNolan.ca]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Sun, 23 Mar 2014 21:52:31 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Activities]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Announcements]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Kids]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[ballistae]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[catapult]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[diy]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[engineering]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[exhibition]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[homeschooling]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[kids]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[makers]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[mechanics]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[mini weapons]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[north york]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[physics]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[science]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[toronto]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[trebuchets]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[willowdale]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://chrisnolan.ca/?p=856</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The kids & I thought it would be fun to revive the catapult exhibitions we attended a few years ago, when they were too little to build any themselves. So, here we go: Catapult Exhibition June 11, 2014 11AM Location: TBA green space near North York Centre Participants: Children educated at home in and around […]]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[The kids & I thought it would be fun to revive the catapult exhibitions we attended a few years ago, when they were too little to build any themselves. So, here we go:
Catapult Exhibition 
 June 11, 2014 11AM 
Location: TBA green space near <a href="https://www.google.ca/maps/@43.769204,-79.4134258,16z">North York Centre</a> 
Participants: Children educated at home in and around the Greater Toronto Area 
Comment here or send me a message (iam at this domain) and I’ll build a roster of participants
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catapult">Catapults</a> go by many names: ballistae, trebuchets, onagers, hsuan feng, mangonels, petraries, scorpions, tormenta, and others. What we’re looking for here is a ballistic device used to launch a projectile a great distance without the aid of explosive devices. Put your thinking caps on, get your tools out, work out the maths and angles, and build away.
We are thinking of setting up a system to measure the distance the objects are thrown, and also an accuracy/target course. Two categories: kid made only, and then the models which the adults helped with. Ammo wise, plan to use something similar to an orange — we’ll update this after we’ve had a chance to test a few things out. Depending on numbers we will either give everyone a chance to talk about their build in front of the group, or a set time where spectators can go from build to build and ask questions about it.
Ideally the space we pick in addition to the missile range will have some playground equipment for families with younger siblings, area to picnic for lunch, and generally hang out to make a day of it for those so inclined. I have a great spot in mind, I just want to test out the range of our builds to get a sense of how much space we’ll need before I settle on it. Don’t want any windows broken or near by roadways interfered with.
<a href="http://www.itsalwaysautumn.com/2013/5/31/easy-marshmallow-catapults-summer-fun-for-kids.html"><img loading="lazy" data-attachment-id="860" data-permalink="https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/03/23/homeschooler-catapult-exhibition-june-2014/catapult-diy-easy-kid-actvity-marshmallow/" data-orig-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/catapult-diy-easy-kid-actvity-marshmallow.jpg" data-orig-size="650,650" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"3.2","credit":"","camera":"Canon EOS 50D","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1369923683","copyright":"","focal_length":"32","iso":"1600","shutter_speed":"0.003125","title":""}" data-image-title="catapult-DIY-easy-kid-actvity-marshmallow" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/catapult-diy-easy-kid-actvity-marshmallow.jpg?w=300" data-large-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/catapult-diy-easy-kid-actvity-marshmallow.jpg?w=650" class=" wp-image-860 alignleft" alt="catapult-DIY-easy-kid-actvity-marshmallow" src="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/catapult-diy-easy-kid-actvity-marshmallow.jpg?w=300" width="180" height="180" srcset="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/catapult-diy-easy-kid-actvity-marshmallow.jpg?w=300 300w, https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/catapult-diy-easy-kid-actvity-marshmallow.jpg?w=180 180w, https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/catapult-diy-easy-kid-actvity-marshmallow.jpg?w=360 360w, https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/catapult-diy-easy-kid-actvity-marshmallow.jpg?w=96 96w" sizes="(max-width: 180px) 100vw, 180px" /></a>Not everyone is as handy with tools and building as they once were, so I hope to see some collaborations between different groups, maybe even some teaming up to share resources and expertise, or some grandparents pitching in. It could be just the opportunity you’ve been looking for to try a maker project? Alternatively you might want to start small and build a <a title="craft stick catapult" href="http://kidsactivitiesblog.com/28871/catapult-for-kids-to-make">simple one out of craft sticks</a>, or <a href="http://www.itsalwaysautumn.com/2013/5/31/easy-marshmallow-catapults-summer-fun-for-kids.html">marshmallows</a>.
<img loading="lazy" data-attachment-id="857" data-permalink="https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/03/23/homeschooler-catapult-exhibition-june-2014/ems-sign-jpeg/" data-orig-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/ems-sign-jpeg.jpg" data-orig-size="14401,5025" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":""}" data-image-title="ems-sign-jpeg" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/ems-sign-jpeg.jpg?w=300" data-large-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/ems-sign-jpeg.jpg?w=14401" class="alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-857" alt="Toronto Tool Library logo" src="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/ems-sign-jpeg.jpg?w=128" width="128" height="44" srcset="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/ems-sign-jpeg.jpg?w=126 126w, https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/ems-sign-jpeg.jpg?w=252 252w" sizes="(max-width: 128px) 100vw, 128px" />A place you might want to check out in the course of your project is the <a href="http://torontotoollibrary.com/about-2/ourlocationandhour/">Toronto Tool Library</a>, they have a variety of tools available, and at their East End location a makerspace. Another makerspace in town that has woodworking capability is <a href="http://site3.ca/">Site3 co-laboratory</a>. Let me know if you are aware of others. Maybe we’ll see some 3D printed designs, in which case maybe check out the <a href="http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/using-the-library/computer-services/innovation-spaces/">Digital Innovation Hub at the Toronto Reference Library</a>?
A site we like is DIY.org, and they have a <a href="https://diy.org/skills/mechanicalengineer/challenges/757/build-a-catapult-or-trebuchet">Catapult or Trebuchet challenge</a> you can submit your project to, or review some of the devices other kids have made.
Some books we’ve found at the library that have designs and plans and ideas on how to get started are:
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/detail.jsp?R=3010585">The Art of the Catapult : build Greek ballistae, Roman onagers, English trebuchets, and more ancient artillery</a> at least 9 different designs</li>
<li><a href="http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/detail.jsp?R=248611">Stomp rockets, catapults, and kaleidoscopes : 30+ amazing science projects you can build for less than $1</a> – single catapult design using easy to acquire materials and few tools</li>
<li><a href="http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/detail.jsp?R=3010585">Miniweapons of Mass Destruction</a></li>
</ul>
<img loading="lazy" data-attachment-id="859" data-permalink="https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/03/23/homeschooler-catapult-exhibition-june-2014/20120808185025toronto_public_library_logo/" data-orig-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20120808185025toronto_public_library_logo.png" data-orig-size="500,124" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":""}" data-image-title="Toronto_Public_Library_logo" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20120808185025toronto_public_library_logo.png?w=300" data-large-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20120808185025toronto_public_library_logo.png?w=500" class="alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-859" alt="Toronto_Public_Library_logo" src="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20120808185025toronto_public_library_logo.png?w=128" width="128" height="31" srcset="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20120808185025toronto_public_library_logo.png?w=128 128w, https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20120808185025toronto_public_library_logo.png?w=125 125w, https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20120808185025toronto_public_library_logo.png?w=250 250w" sizes="(max-width: 128px) 100vw, 128px" />Speaking of the library, maybe you’ll join us at our Wednesday afternoon homeschooler group at North York Central library (1:30-3pm in the storyroom). We plan to cover a few topics in the next couple of months applicable to catapults (levers & fulcrums for example is set for April 9th’s session for example).
]]></content:encoded>
<wfw:commentRss>https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/03/23/homeschooler-catapult-exhibition-june-2014/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
<slash:comments>6</slash:comments>
<media:thumbnail url="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/spikanunkcatapultlg.jpg" />
<media:content url="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/spikanunkcatapultlg.jpg" medium="image">
<media:title type="html">SpikanunkCatapultLg</media:title>
</media:content>
<media:content url="https://2.gravatar.com/avatar/28d161fa293bd3dc2311ee71f1f79f85868fed06a149947d677379ba313509a4?s=96&d=retro" medium="image">
<media:title type="html">chrisnolan</media:title>
</media:content>
<media:content url="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/catapult-diy-easy-kid-actvity-marshmallow.jpg?w=300" medium="image">
<media:title type="html">catapult-DIY-easy-kid-actvity-marshmallow</media:title>
</media:content>
<media:content url="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/ems-sign-jpeg.jpg?w=128" medium="image">
<media:title type="html">Toronto Tool Library logo</media:title>
</media:content>
<media:content url="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20120808185025toronto_public_library_logo.png?w=128" medium="image">
<media:title type="html">Toronto_Public_Library_logo</media:title>
</media:content>
</item>
<item>
<title>Happy Pi Day (3.14, March 14)</title>
<link>https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/03/13/happy-pi-day-3-14-march-14/</link>
<comments>https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/03/13/happy-pi-day-3-14-march-14/#comments</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[ChrisNolan.ca]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Fri, 14 Mar 2014 02:37:07 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Activities]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Kids]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[3.14]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[3.14159]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[3.141592653]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[celebration]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[digits of pi]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[dr benjamin]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[education]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[homeschooling]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[learning]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[math]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[mathematics]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[pi]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[pi day]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[resources]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://chrisnolan.ca/?p=848</guid>
<description><![CDATA[We’ve been celebrating Pi (π) Day for half a decade or so now, but some of you may be new to the idea. At the very least, it is an excuse to eat pie, and on the other end of the spectrum it is a great day to celebrate math and the beauty of nature […]]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[We’ve been <a href="http://www.wikihow.com/Celebrate-Pi-Day">celebrating Pi (π) Day</a> for half a decade or so now, but some of you may be new to the idea. At the very least, it is an excuse to eat pie, and on the other end of the spectrum it is a great day to celebrate math and the beauty of nature in numbers.
For those looking to eat pie, why not try to bake your own? It could be <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pie#Types_of_pies">sweet or savory</a>. Wikipedia has a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_pies">list of pies</a> to get you started, and <a href="http://allrecipes.com/recipes/desserts/pies/">AllRecipes has a lot of recipes on making pies</a> available. Perhaps you want to aim for a Steak & Kidney pie and combine two <a title="Steak & Blow Job Day" href="http://www.steakandbj.org/">pseudo-holiday</a>s into one?
If you’re musical, there are many pi songs and raps out there you can try to learn. My favourite is <a href="http://www.math.hmc.edu/~benjamin/">Dr. Arthur Benjamin</a>‘s version of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guRzSoolhLc">“American Pi”</a>, captured here during a presentation he did at <a href="http://www.archim.org.uk/">The Archimedeans</a> (Cambridge University Mathematical Society). We were lucky enough to participate in Dr. Benjamin’s show last year (thanks <a href="http://www.ontariosciencecentre.ca/">Ontario Science Centre</a>) and the kids still sing his song (and we have a signed copy of his<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mnemonic_major_system"> pi to 60 digits </a>that he wrote out). We will probably also watch at least one of <a title="Dr Benjamin's Great Courses" href="http://www.thegreatcourses.com/tgc/professors/professor_detail.aspx?pid=328">his lectures from his Great Courses</a> where he focuses on pi too.
<iframe class="youtube-player" width="625" height="352" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/guRzSoolhLc?version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en&autohide=2&wmode=transparent" allowfullscreen="true" style="border:0;" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox"></iframe>
There are many crafts and <a href="http://www.exploratorium.edu/pi/pi_activities/index.html">activities</a> to do for those with kids. Drawing and cutting out and measure circles with paper and string is all it takes to get started. Don’t be shy about working in some physical activity too — maybe do a 3.14km hike?
A new discovery for me this year is the <a href="http://www.angio.net/pi/piquery">Pi Search Page</a> which instantaneously finds a series of digits in the first 200 million digits of pi. My 8 digit birthday occurs three times in those first 200 digits, while my wife’s only occurs once. Try it out with any other ‘special’ numbers to you and see what you find. Irrational.
In your pi studies, don’t forget what many mathies consider the epitome of numbers, <img loading="lazy" data-attachment-id="849" data-permalink="https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/03/13/happy-pi-day-3-14-march-14/e-to-the-pi-i/" data-orig-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/e-to-the-pi-i.png" data-orig-size="92,20" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":""}" data-image-title="e to the pi i" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/e-to-the-pi-i.png?w=92" data-large-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/e-to-the-pi-i.png?w=92" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-849" alt="Euler's Identity" src="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/e-to-the-pi-i.png" width="92" height="20" /> (e^π*i = -1) aka <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euler%27s_identity">Euler’s Identity</a>.
<a href="http://www.numberphile.com/">Numberphile</a> has a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4870492ACBDC2E7C">great playlist for all their pi related videos</a> (1h25m worth of content). Last year the kids enjoyed watching <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNiRzZ66YN0">Calculating Pi with Real Pies</a>. And let’s not forget <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5F03A9D6D278C5D9">ViHart’s pi playlist</a> either.
<iframe class="youtube-player" width="625" height="352" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed?version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en&autohide=2&wmode=transparent&listType=playlist&list=PL4870492ACBDC2E7C" allowfullscreen="true" style="border:0;" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox"></iframe>
<iframe class="youtube-player" width="625" height="352" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed?version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en&autohide=2&wmode=transparent&listType=playlist&list=PL5F03A9D6D278C5D9" allowfullscreen="true" style="border:0;" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox"></iframe>
And for the whimsical here is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vp9zLbIE8zo">FlippyCat’s contribution to pi day in dominoes</a>.
<iframe class="youtube-player" width="625" height="352" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Vp9zLbIE8zo?version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en&autohide=2&wmode=transparent" allowfullscreen="true" style="border:0;" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox"></iframe>
Please share how you ended up celebrating this special day, and get ready for next year when in 2015 3/14/15 will be the <a title="Facebook Event to remind you about the Longest Pi Day of Our Lives" href="https://www.facebook.com/events/328804572620/">Longest Pi Day of our lives</a> when it goes to 10 digits at 9:26:53am/pm.
Here are a few additional links to drive your research and insatiable curiosity.
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.exploratorium.edu/pi/index.html">The Exploritorium</a>, where Pi Day was first celebrated thanks to Larry Shaw</li>
<li><a href="http://www.joyofpi.com/pilinks.html">The Joy of Pi</a></li>
<li><a href="http://teachpi.org/">TeachPi</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.nctm.org/resources/content.aspx?id=2147483830">National Council of Teachers of Math Resources</a></li>
<li><a href="http://mathmovesu.com/teachers-and-parents/pi-day-resources">MathMovesU</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.piday.org/">PiDay.org</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.michaelalbert.com/View/Michael-Albert-1000-piece-PUZZLES-The-Number-Pi-2005">Michael Albert’s 1000 piece Pi Puzzle</a> (image used as featured image of this post)</li>
</ul>
]]></content:encoded>
<wfw:commentRss>https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/03/13/happy-pi-day-3-14-march-14/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
<media:thumbnail url="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/albertpi190.jpg" />
<media:content url="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/albertpi190.jpg" medium="image">
<media:title type="html">AlbertPi190</media:title>
</media:content>
<media:content url="https://2.gravatar.com/avatar/28d161fa293bd3dc2311ee71f1f79f85868fed06a149947d677379ba313509a4?s=96&d=retro" medium="image">
<media:title type="html">chrisnolan</media:title>
</media:content>
<media:content url="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/e-to-the-pi-i.png" medium="image">
<media:title type="html">Euler's Identity</media:title>
</media:content>
</item>
<item>
<title>Pajama Scientists’ Cobra Weave Stick Bomb</title>
<link>https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/02/25/pajama-scientists-cobra-weave-stick-bomb/</link>
<comments>https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/02/25/pajama-scientists-cobra-weave-stick-bomb/#respond</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[ChrisNolan.ca]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Wed, 26 Feb 2014 02:19:32 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Activities]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Diary]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Kids]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[cobra]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[cobra weave]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[crafts]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[dominoes]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[fun]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[pajama scientists]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[stick bomb]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[video]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://chrisnolan.ca/?p=832</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Thanks to a post by our friend Lisa, she introduced us to the world of ‘stick bombs‘. Think dominoes but with Popsicle, ahem, craft sticks. Weaving them together to store up the energy under tension, you drop them, or in this case unleash them and away they go. We did up a video showing it […]]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[Thanks to a post by our friend <a href="http://instagram.com/howeylisa">Lisa</a>, she introduced us to the world of ‘<a title="The history of Stick Bombs" href="http://lunatim.com/kinart/stickhistory.htm">stick bombs</a>‘. Think dominoes but with Popsicle, ahem, craft sticks. Weaving them together to store up the energy under tension, you drop them, or in this case unleash them and away they go. We did up a <a title="Pajama Scientists' Cobra Weave 225 Stick Stick Bomb" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiWnCnLheyI">video showing it off</a> and you probably just want to watch that, and only read on if you are ready to build your own.
<iframe class="youtube-player" width="625" height="352" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YiWnCnLheyI?version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en&autohide=2&wmode=transparent" allowfullscreen="true" style="border:0;" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox"></iframe>
<a href="https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/02/25/pajama-scientists-cobra-weave-stick-bomb/tumblr_luko13jn7f1r5kgr2o1_500/" rel="attachment wp-att-839"><img loading="lazy" data-attachment-id="839" data-permalink="https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/02/25/pajama-scientists-cobra-weave-stick-bomb/tumblr_luko13jn7f1r5kgr2o1_500/" data-orig-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/tumblr_luko13jn7f1r5kgr2o1_500.jpg" data-orig-size="500,567" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"5.6","credit":"Graham Clark","camera":"NIKON D300","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1252340655","copyright":"Graham Clark","focal_length":"135","iso":"800","shutter_speed":"0.000625","title":""}" data-image-title="Cobra Snake Spraying Venom" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/tumblr_luko13jn7f1r5kgr2o1_500.jpg?w=265" data-large-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/tumblr_luko13jn7f1r5kgr2o1_500.jpg?w=500" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-839" alt="Cobra Snake Spraying Venom" src="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/tumblr_luko13jn7f1r5kgr2o1_500.jpg?w=264" width="264" height="300" srcset="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/tumblr_luko13jn7f1r5kgr2o1_500.jpg?w=264 264w, https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/tumblr_luko13jn7f1r5kgr2o1_500.jpg?w=85 85w, https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/tumblr_luko13jn7f1r5kgr2o1_500.jpg 500w" sizes="(max-width: 264px) 100vw, 264px" /></a>We had to acquire some wide, or jumbo, sticks as the smaller ones we had were just too stiff of a spring to do the ‘cobra weave’ style of stick bomb run. Why is it called a cobra weave? I’m guessing because it looks like a massive cobra snake is raising up out of the floor and spitting venom at you in the form of sticks. It really is a sight to see.
If you’re going to try it yourself, get about 200 of the sticks (we had 225, but imagined using a box of 500, alas the local shop just had packs of 75) and give yourself an hour or two to get setup. The hardest part is getting it started as all it wants to do it jump up at that point, and you need a bit of distance to get it settled. We started with <a title="Cobra Weave Instructable" href="http://www.instructables.com/id/Cobra-Weave-Exploding-Stick-Bomb/">this instructable</a> we found, but with the challenge of getting it started, and I was a little unsure it was loaded the right way (<a title="cobra weave" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDhLL1rqHi8">their video</a> didn’t have a great cobra shape) I checked around and found a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sssx4CaGhi4">how to make a mini-cobra weave</a> (who knew there is a more <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AO-7HGVx55g">complex cobra weave</a> too) by <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/jayauldenparnell">the domino dude</a> which had you build some of the weave first, and then lock it off, instead of starting with the lock like the instructable did. The kids were also anxious to see if it worked so after 50 sticks or so we set it off, and started again. Warning, you might want to wear gloves of some sort as I found the wood really dehydrated the skin of my finger tips and if you’re really geeky protective eye wear. There are <a href="https://chrisnolan.ca/?attachment_id=845">smaller handheld weaves</a> the kids can do too, this is what happened here as the repetition of building the long chain didn’t hold their interest the whole time.
Here are some photos of our progress as we went. In the video he gives some special way to make a turn… I just grabbed it and twisted it a bit as needed, didn’t feel I needed to do anything special with the laying of the pattern. Also, see how we added a bit of weight to the start of it, the lock was a tad slippy at first so I just stuck that on to keep it all in place until we were ready.
<a href='https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/02/25/pajama-scientists-cobra-weave-stick-bomb/cobra-weave-01/'><img width="128" height="96" src="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/cobra-weave-01.jpg?w=128" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail" alt="" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="833" data-permalink="https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/02/25/pajama-scientists-cobra-weave-stick-bomb/cobra-weave-01/" data-orig-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/cobra-weave-01.jpg" data-orig-size="1024,768" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"3.5","credit":"","camera":"DSC-TX30","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1393326615","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.7","iso":"200","shutter_speed":"0.033333333333333","title":""}" data-image-title="Cobra Weave 01" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/cobra-weave-01.jpg?w=300" data-large-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/cobra-weave-01.jpg?w=1024" /></a>
<a href='https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/02/25/pajama-scientists-cobra-weave-stick-bomb/cobra-weave-02/'><img width="128" height="96" src="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/cobra-weave-02.jpg?w=128" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail" alt="" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="834" data-permalink="https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/02/25/pajama-scientists-cobra-weave-stick-bomb/cobra-weave-02/" data-orig-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/cobra-weave-02.jpg" data-orig-size="1024,768" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"3.5","credit":"","camera":"DSC-TX30","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1393327089","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.7","iso":"400","shutter_speed":"0.033333333333333","title":""}" data-image-title="Cobra Weave 02" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/cobra-weave-02.jpg?w=300" data-large-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/cobra-weave-02.jpg?w=1024" /></a>
<a href='https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/02/25/pajama-scientists-cobra-weave-stick-bomb/cobra-weave-03/'><img width="72" height="96" src="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/cobra-weave-03.jpg?w=72" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail" alt="" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="835" data-permalink="https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/02/25/pajama-scientists-cobra-weave-stick-bomb/cobra-weave-03/" data-orig-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/cobra-weave-03.jpg" data-orig-size="768,1024" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"3.5","credit":"","camera":"DSC-TX30","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1393328386","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.7","iso":"200","shutter_speed":"0.033333333333333","title":""}" data-image-title="Cobra Weave 03" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/cobra-weave-03.jpg?w=225" data-large-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/cobra-weave-03.jpg?w=768" /></a>
<a href='https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/02/25/pajama-scientists-cobra-weave-stick-bomb/cobra-weave-04/'><img width="128" height="96" src="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/cobra-weave-04.jpg?w=128" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail" alt="" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="836" data-permalink="https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/02/25/pajama-scientists-cobra-weave-stick-bomb/cobra-weave-04/" data-orig-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/cobra-weave-04.jpg" data-orig-size="1024,768" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"3.5","credit":"","camera":"DSC-TX30","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1393329230","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.7","iso":"80","shutter_speed":"0.033333333333333","title":""}" data-image-title="Cobra Weave 04" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/cobra-weave-04.jpg?w=300" data-large-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/cobra-weave-04.jpg?w=1024" /></a>
<a href='https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/02/25/pajama-scientists-cobra-weave-stick-bomb/cobra-weave-05-the-mess/'><img width="128" height="96" src="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/cobra-weave-05-the-mess.jpg?w=128" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail" alt="" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="837" data-permalink="https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/02/25/pajama-scientists-cobra-weave-stick-bomb/cobra-weave-05-the-mess/" data-orig-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/cobra-weave-05-the-mess.jpg" data-orig-size="1024,768" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"3.5","credit":"","camera":"DSC-TX30","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1393329684","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.7","iso":"125","shutter_speed":"0.033333333333333","title":""}" data-image-title="Cobra Weave 05 – The Mess" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/cobra-weave-05-the-mess.jpg?w=300" data-large-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/cobra-weave-05-the-mess.jpg?w=1024" /></a>

Oh, and some people will think it makes an incredible mess to clean up — it doesn’t. The kids had the sticks put away in all of 3 minutes. Have fun making your own.
<iframe class="youtube-player" width="625" height="352" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sbm54de9Rw0?version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en&autohide=2&wmode=transparent" allowfullscreen="true" style="border:0;" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox"></iframe>
I also tried a clip of just the <a title="225 stick slowmotion cobra weave stick bomb" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbm54de9Rw0">‘wow’ part of the video</a>, but youtube’s slowmo logic seems pretty sloppy? You can just j<a title="Stick bomb explosion" href="http://youtu.be/YiWnCnLheyI?t=45s">ump to 45s into the main video</a> instead of you’d like.
Check out some other <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnE4VE8klrVZA1KX0iZ3HjF22BuYnNS7k">Pajama Scientists</a> videos too.
]]></content:encoded>
<wfw:commentRss>https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/02/25/pajama-scientists-cobra-weave-stick-bomb/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
<media:thumbnail url="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/cobra-weave-cover.jpg" />
<media:content url="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/cobra-weave-cover.jpg" medium="image">
<media:title type="html">Cobra Weave Cover</media:title>
</media:content>
<media:content url="https://2.gravatar.com/avatar/28d161fa293bd3dc2311ee71f1f79f85868fed06a149947d677379ba313509a4?s=96&d=retro" medium="image">
<media:title type="html">chrisnolan</media:title>
</media:content>
<media:content url="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/tumblr_luko13jn7f1r5kgr2o1_500.jpg?w=264" medium="image">
<media:title type="html">Cobra Snake Spraying Venom</media:title>
</media:content>
<media:content url="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/cobra-weave-01.jpg?w=128" medium="image" />
<media:content url="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/cobra-weave-02.jpg?w=128" medium="image" />
<media:content url="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/cobra-weave-03.jpg?w=72" medium="image" />
<media:content url="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/cobra-weave-04.jpg?w=128" medium="image" />
<media:content url="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/cobra-weave-05-the-mess.jpg?w=128" medium="image" />
</item>
<item>
<title>Vulnerable Toronto Public Library Computers</title>
<link>https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/02/20/vulnerable-toronto-public-library-computers/</link>
<comments>https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/02/20/vulnerable-toronto-public-library-computers/#respond</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[ChrisNolan.ca]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Thu, 20 Feb 2014 15:14:33 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Diary]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Kids]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[disappointment]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[eservices]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[failure]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[firefox]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[it department]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[kidspace]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[mediocrity]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[north york central library]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[technology]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[toronto public library]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[tpl]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[webteam]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://chrisnolan.ca/?p=822</guid>
<description><![CDATA[After 7 years of not letting the children touch the Toronto Public Library‘s computers with a 10 foot pole, yesterday we had made arrangements with another family to introduce them to Scratch and since we were already both going to be at the library later that afternoon I gave it a try. Here, I’ll document […]]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[After 7 years of not letting the children touch the <a href="http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/">Toronto Public Library</a>‘s computers with a 10 foot pole, yesterday we had made arrangements with another family to introduce them to <a href="http://scratch.mit.edu/">Scratch</a> and since we were already both going to be at the library later that afternoon I gave it a try.
Here, I’ll document the issues I had with the experience.
<ol>
<li>One of the machines is in its semi-regular state (I’ve observed over 2/3rds of the machines in the Children’s Department being in this state at once before) of needing to do a forced restart because the timer software has crashed, other is reporting some sort of corruption and requires a reboot.</li>
<li>The<a href="http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/using-the-library/computer-services/rac/rac-faq.jsp"> temporary code slip to get 30 minutes of time</a> included a capital letter in the card #. The terminal would not allow one to enter a capital letter. We finally tried it with the lower case version of the letter and got in.</li>
<li>Upon starting <a href="http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/">Firefox</a> (at least they are no longer calling it Fire Fox), we see a screen where it is checking the <a href="https://addons.mozilla.org">addons</a>, but it just hangs at that screen and didn’t seem to make any progress so we cancelled it<a href="https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/02/20/vulnerable-toronto-public-library-computers/dsc07132/" rel="attachment wp-att-823"><img loading="lazy" data-attachment-id="823" data-permalink="https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/02/20/vulnerable-toronto-public-library-computers/dsc07132/" data-orig-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/dsc07132.jpg" data-orig-size="4896,3672" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"3.5","credit":"","camera":"DSC-TX30","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1392737242","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.7","iso":"80","shutter_speed":"0.033333333333333","title":""}" data-image-title="DSC07132" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/dsc07132.jpg?w=300" data-large-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/dsc07132.jpg?w=4896" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-823" alt="DSC07132" src="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/dsc07132.jpg?w=300" width="300" height="225" srcset="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/dsc07132.jpg?w=300 300w, https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/dsc07132.jpg?w=600 600w, https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/dsc07132.jpg?w=128 128w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a></li>
<li>We were presented with an error-ish screen in firefox warning that <a href="http://www.mcafee.com/">McAfee</a> is trying to install an addon but maybe we shouldn’t trust it. <a href="https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/02/20/vulnerable-toronto-public-library-computers/dsc07133/" rel="attachment wp-att-824"><img loading="lazy" data-attachment-id="824" data-permalink="https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/02/20/vulnerable-toronto-public-library-computers/dsc07133/" data-orig-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/dsc07133.jpg" data-orig-size="4896,3672" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"3.5","credit":"","camera":"DSC-TX30","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1392737252","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.7","iso":"80","shutter_speed":"0.016666666666667","title":""}" data-image-title="DSC07133" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/dsc07133.jpg?w=300" data-large-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/dsc07133.jpg?w=4896" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-824" alt="DSC07133" src="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/dsc07133.jpg?w=300" width="300" height="225" srcset="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/dsc07133.jpg?w=300 300w, https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/dsc07133.jpg?w=600 600w, https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/dsc07133.jpg?w=128 128w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a></li>
<li>Presented with another addon install screen for <a href="https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/928496">Java Console</a>. Again, continue without any action taken.<a href="https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/02/20/vulnerable-toronto-public-library-computers/dsc07134/" rel="attachment wp-att-825"><img loading="lazy" data-attachment-id="825" data-permalink="https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/02/20/vulnerable-toronto-public-library-computers/dsc07134/" data-orig-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/dsc07134.jpg" data-orig-size="4896,3672" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"3.5","credit":"","camera":"DSC-TX30","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1392737261","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.7","iso":"100","shutter_speed":"0.033333333333333","title":""}" data-image-title="DSC07134" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/dsc07134.jpg?w=300" data-large-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/dsc07134.jpg?w=4896" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-825" alt="DSC07134" src="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/dsc07134.jpg?w=300" width="300" height="225" srcset="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/dsc07134.jpg?w=300 300w, https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/dsc07134.jpg?w=600 600w, https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/dsc07134.jpg?w=128 128w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a></li>
<li>One of the three machines we were using wouldn’t open one of the sites saying that the plugin required was vulnerable. Checking the <a href="http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/plugincheck/">Plugin Status</a> reported many issues. For example the <a title="Flash Player version history" href="http://www.snapfiles.com/apphistory/flashplayer_history.html">Flash player v 11.3.r300 was released</a> June of 2012, and 18 newer versions have been released since (here are <a title="Flash vulnerability list" href="http://www.cvedetails.com/vulnerability-list/vendor_id-53/product_id-6761/Adobe-Flash-Player.html">some of the dangers</a> with that). The<a title="Silverlight version history" href="http://www.microsoft.com/getsilverlight/locale/en-us/html/Microsoft%20Silverlight%20Release%20History.htm"> Silverlight Plug-in was using version 5.1.10411.0 which was released</a> May of 2012 and 3 newer versions have come out since (and <a href="http://www.cvedetails.com/vulnerability-list/vendor_id-26/product_id-19887/Microsoft-Silverlight.html">Silverlight’s vulnerability database</a>).<a href="https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/02/20/vulnerable-toronto-public-library-computers/dsc07148/" rel="attachment wp-att-826"><img loading="lazy" data-attachment-id="826" data-permalink="https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/02/20/vulnerable-toronto-public-library-computers/dsc07148/" data-orig-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/dsc07148.jpg" data-orig-size="4896,3672" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"3.5","credit":"","camera":"DSC-TX30","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1392814180","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.7","iso":"80","shutter_speed":"0.025","title":""}" data-image-title="DSC07148" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/dsc07148.jpg?w=300" data-large-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/dsc07148.jpg?w=4896" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-826" alt="DSC07148" src="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/dsc07148.jpg?w=300" width="300" height="225" srcset="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/dsc07148.jpg?w=300 300w, https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/dsc07148.jpg?w=600 600w, https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/dsc07148.jpg?w=128 128w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a></li>
<li>I tried to do a favour and upgrade it so we could continue our project, but of course they have <a href="http://windows.microsoft.com/en-ca/windows7/group-policy-management-for-it-pros">blocked software installation by users</a>.<a href="https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/02/20/vulnerable-toronto-public-library-computers/dsc07149/" rel="attachment wp-att-827"><img loading="lazy" data-attachment-id="827" data-permalink="https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/02/20/vulnerable-toronto-public-library-computers/dsc07149/" data-orig-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/dsc07149.jpg" data-orig-size="4896,3672" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"3.5","credit":"","camera":"DSC-TX30","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1392814589","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.7","iso":"80","shutter_speed":"0.033333333333333","title":""}" data-image-title="DSC07149" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/dsc07149.jpg?w=300" data-large-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/dsc07149.jpg?w=4896" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-827" alt="DSC07149" src="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/dsc07149.jpg?w=300" width="300" height="225" srcset="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/dsc07149.jpg?w=300 300w, https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/dsc07149.jpg?w=600 600w, https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/dsc07149.jpg?w=128 128w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a></li>
<li>The timer software they use is terribly intrusive giving multiple warnings that you need to save your work and be prepared to leave the machine, starting as early as 50% into the time.</li>
<li>There was no obvious volume control on the machines, and the song my son <a href="http://scratch.mit.edu/users/naxder/">programmed</a> was barely audible so we just didn’t bother with doing any sound related activities (our theme for the day was music sigh).</li>
</ol>
The library has a fantastic collection, and wonderful <a title="North York Central Library" href="http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/detail.jsp?R=LIB01">branch</a> staff, but their <a href="http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/contact/management-staff.jsp#it">technology department</a> continues to disappoint. I have such little faith in their <a href="http://torontopubliclibrary.typepad.com/webteam/">webteam</a>, but feel I have little choice but to use their <a href="http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/youraccount">catalogue</a>. I feel sorry for the people who don’t have alternative choices for using computers and are only exposed to such a poor experience when interfacing with this technology.
]]></content:encoded>
<wfw:commentRss>https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/02/20/vulnerable-toronto-public-library-computers/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
<media:content url="https://2.gravatar.com/avatar/28d161fa293bd3dc2311ee71f1f79f85868fed06a149947d677379ba313509a4?s=96&d=retro" medium="image">
<media:title type="html">chrisnolan</media:title>
</media:content>
<media:content url="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/dsc07132.jpg?w=300" medium="image">
<media:title type="html">DSC07132</media:title>
</media:content>
<media:content url="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/dsc07133.jpg?w=300" medium="image">
<media:title type="html">DSC07133</media:title>
</media:content>
<media:content url="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/dsc07134.jpg?w=300" medium="image">
<media:title type="html">DSC07134</media:title>
</media:content>
<media:content url="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/dsc07148.jpg?w=300" medium="image">
<media:title type="html">DSC07148</media:title>
</media:content>
<media:content url="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/dsc07149.jpg?w=300" medium="image">
<media:title type="html">DSC07149</media:title>
</media:content>
</item>
<item>
<title>Learning about Snowflakes</title>
<link>https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/02/02/learning-about-snowflakes/</link>
<comments>https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/02/02/learning-about-snowflakes/#respond</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[ChrisNolan.ca]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Sun, 02 Feb 2014 21:15:37 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Activities]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Diary]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Kids]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[crafts]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[homeschooling]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[kenneth g libbrecht]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[north york central library]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[paper snowflakes]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[resources]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[snow]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[snow crystals]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[snowflakes]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[winter]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://chrisnolan.ca/?p=812</guid>
<description><![CDATA[A couple of years ago we got Kenneth G. Libbrecht‘s Field Guide to Snowflakes book out of the library and I was fascinated. After a few failed attempts at capturing our own flakes and getting them under a microscope we moved on from the topic for that winter. Last winter we augmented our usual kirigami […]]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[A couple of years ago we got <a href="http://www.its.caltech.edu/~atomic/">Kenneth G. Libbrecht</a>‘s Field Guide to Snowflakes book out of the library and I was fascinated. After a few failed attempts at capturing our own flakes and getting them under a microscope we moved on from the topic for that winter.
Last winter we augmented our usual kirigami snowflake cutting by doing up a <a href="http://www.instructables.com/id/Large-Snowflake-Craft/">large 3-d snowflake craft</a> to help decorate for the holidays.<a href="http://www.instructables.com/id/Large-Snowflake-Craft/" rel="attachment wp-att-817"><img loading="lazy" data-attachment-id="817" data-permalink="https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/02/02/learning-about-snowflakes/f5o5moyhagq72ax-medium/" data-orig-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/f5o5moyhagq72ax-medium.jpg" data-orig-size="465,620" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":""}" data-image-title="Large Snowflake Craft" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/f5o5moyhagq72ax-medium.jpg?w=225" data-large-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/f5o5moyhagq72ax-medium.jpg?w=465" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-817" title="Large Snowflake Craft" alt="Large Snowflake Craft" src="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/f5o5moyhagq72ax-medium.jpg?w=225" width="225" height="300" srcset="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/f5o5moyhagq72ax-medium.jpg?w=225 225w, https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/f5o5moyhagq72ax-medium.jpg?w=450 450w, https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/f5o5moyhagq72ax-medium.jpg?w=72 72w" sizes="(max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px" /></a>
<a href="https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/02/02/learning-about-snowflakes/snowflake-necklace/" rel="attachment wp-att-816"><img loading="lazy" data-attachment-id="816" data-permalink="https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/02/02/learning-about-snowflakes/snowflake-necklace/" data-orig-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/snowflake-necklace.jpg" data-orig-size="720,960" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":""}" data-image-title="snowflake necklace" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/snowflake-necklace.jpg?w=225" data-large-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/snowflake-necklace.jpg?w=720" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-816" alt="snowflake necklace" src="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/snowflake-necklace.jpg?w=225" width="225" height="300" srcset="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/snowflake-necklace.jpg?w=225 225w, https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/snowflake-necklace.jpg?w=450 450w, https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/snowflake-necklace.jpg?w=72 72w" sizes="(max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px" /></a>This winter we’ve been participating in a homeschooler group that <a href="http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/detail.jsp?R=LIB01">North York Central Library</a> has been hosting (Wednesday afternoons 1:30-3pm for those who want to stop by — thanks Janet & Sharon) and for our first two weeks we picked Snow and Winter as our theme. A highlight for me was when I made a giant <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirigami">kirigami</a> flake out of some flipboard paper and my daughter wore it as a necklace, and then later as a skirt. It reminded me of this <a href="http://krokotak.com/2012/11/snowflake-ballerinas-for-crafty-moms/">ballerina snowflake craft</a> (note: even though they said the craft was only for Moms, I looked past their discrimination) I had come across (which we’ve done too).
<a href="https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/02/02/learning-about-snowflakes/samplecrystals/" rel="attachment wp-att-814"><img loading="lazy" data-attachment-id="814" data-permalink="https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/02/02/learning-about-snowflakes/samplecrystals/" data-orig-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/samplecrystals.jpg" data-orig-size="877,1142" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":""}" data-image-title="sample snow crystals" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/samplecrystals.jpg?w=230" data-large-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/samplecrystals.jpg?w=877" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-814" alt="sample snow crystals" src="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/samplecrystals.jpg?w=230" width="230" height="300" srcset="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/samplecrystals.jpg?w=230 230w, https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/samplecrystals.jpg?w=460 460w, https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/samplecrystals.jpg?w=74 74w" sizes="(max-width: 230px) 100vw, 230px" /></a>If you haven’t seen any of Ken’s books, or his informative website over at <a href="http://www.its.caltech.edu/~atomic/snowcrystals/">SnowCrystals.com</a>, I suggest you look into them, even if you just hit up <a title="Snow Flake Kids Activities" href="http://www.its.caltech.edu/~atomic/snowcrystals/kids/kids.htm">his kids activity page</a>. I made a <a title="Watch a snowflake form" href="http://tumblr.chrisnolan.ca/post/69797108347/have-you-ever-watched-a-snow-flake-form-see-some">tumblr post back in Dec that included a bunch of animated gifs that their lab made showing the crystals forming</a> too. I’ll include below a list of some other books and resources that can further your journey on learning about snowflakes and the fun to be had with them.
<div data-shortcode="caption" id="attachment_813" style="width: 210px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/02/02/learning-about-snowflakes/snowtypes4/" rel="attachment wp-att-813"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-813" loading="lazy" data-attachment-id="813" data-permalink="https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/02/02/learning-about-snowflakes/snowtypes4/" data-orig-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/snowtypes4.jpg" data-orig-size="720,1078" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":""}" data-image-title="snow types 4" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="A chart of commonly agreed upon types of snow crystals
" data-medium-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/snowtypes4.jpg?w=200" data-large-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/snowtypes4.jpg?w=720" class="size-medium wp-image-813" alt="A chart of commonly agreed upon types of snow crystals" src="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/snowtypes4.jpg?w=200" width="200" height="300" srcset="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/snowtypes4.jpg?w=200 200w, https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/snowtypes4.jpg?w=400 400w, https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/snowtypes4.jpg?w=64 64w" sizes="(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" /></a>A chart of commonly agreed upon types of snow crystals</div>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://snowdays.me/">SnowDays</a> has an online snowflake tool where you can design what you’re going to cut out and see it all un-folded for you.</li>
<li><a title="Anthony Herrera's Star Wars snowflakes" href="http://www.anthonyherreradesigns.com/">Anthony Herrera</a> has some amazing Star Wars themed paper snowflakes</li>
<li>My <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/11249747?shelf=snow">Goodreads snow shelf</a> (and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/11249747?shelf=winter">winter shelf</a>) has a bunch of books on it, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6618257-the-story-of-snow">The Story of Snow: The Science of Winter’s Wonder</a>, and the classic picture book A Snowy Day.</li>
</ul>
]]></content:encoded>
<wfw:commentRss>https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/02/02/learning-about-snowflakes/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
<media:thumbnail url="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/snowflake-books.jpg" />
<media:content url="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/snowflake-books.jpg" medium="image">
<media:title type="html">snowflake books</media:title>
</media:content>
<media:content url="https://2.gravatar.com/avatar/28d161fa293bd3dc2311ee71f1f79f85868fed06a149947d677379ba313509a4?s=96&d=retro" medium="image">
<media:title type="html">chrisnolan</media:title>
</media:content>
<media:content url="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/f5o5moyhagq72ax-medium.jpg?w=225" medium="image">
<media:title type="html">Large Snowflake Craft</media:title>
</media:content>
<media:content url="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/snowflake-necklace.jpg?w=225" medium="image">
<media:title type="html">snowflake necklace</media:title>
</media:content>
<media:content url="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/samplecrystals.jpg?w=230" medium="image">
<media:title type="html">sample snow crystals</media:title>
</media:content>
<media:content url="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/snowtypes4.jpg?w=200" medium="image">
<media:title type="html">A chart of commonly agreed upon types of snow crystals</media:title>
</media:content>
</item>
<item>
<title>Feedback on Changes to Checkout Desk at North York Central Library</title>
<link>https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/01/05/checkout-desk-changes-at-nycl/</link>
<comments>https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/01/05/checkout-desk-changes-at-nycl/#comments</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[ChrisNolan.ca]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Sun, 05 Jan 2014 17:38:47 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Open Letters]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[aesthetic]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[aspie issue]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[change]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[north york central library]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[nycl]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[patrons]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[rant]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[toronto public library]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[tpl]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://chrisnolan.ca/?p=809</guid>
<description><![CDATA[I wanted to share some feedback regarding the checkout desk construction I noticed on Friday at North York Central Library. It might only apply to us, but I imagine others who checkout large # of items (kids books?) and those in wheelchairs might also be affected. Of all the checkout locations available, there is only […]]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[I wanted to share some feedback regarding the checkout desk construction I noticed on Friday at <a href="http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/detail.jsp?R=LIB01">North York Central Library</a>. It might only apply to us, but I imagine others who checkout large # of items (kids books?) and those in wheelchairs might also be affected.
Of all the checkout locations available, there is only one I’m comfortable using and it has been altered. It is only one of two that is low enough for the kids to participate in, and is the only one with enough space to handle the high-volume of items we typically have. The extra wood-type level that has been added to the front section of the circle area prevents me from sliding our piles along the counter as we are checking out. Days when we have 20 or 30 items (picture books for the win!) it is rather involved to pile 8 or 10 on the RFID reader, move that pile over, repeat two or more times, then sort the items so they can then fit well into our bags. The extra bevel prevents the sliding (need to slide far enough away that it doesn’t get picked up again by a switch in <a href="https://chrisnolan.ca/2013/07/22/lifehack-how-to-replace-your-toronto-public-library-card/">card</a>), and I suspect whatever is going to be installed on that space will limit any piling and sorting area.
I imagine that checkout spot is also the designated wheelchair checkout spot and I can’t speak for them but I imagine it might be an issue too, though not as much because there is no knee space in the section covered by the new block.
Plus to me, the aesthetic of the mixed materials (the stone type desk, topped with the almost matching colour non-stone) doesn’t convey the <a href="http://mentalfloss.com/article/51788/62-worlds-most-beautiful-libraries">library as a place of culture and high standards</a> I imagine it to be.
I understand we are an extreme user, and you can’t always take these edge cases into account when extending and improving things for the majority of patrons, but I wanted to share my feedback.
Thank you for your consideration.
[[ A note I sent to the circulation head at my local library ]]
]]></content:encoded>
<wfw:commentRss>https://chrisnolan.ca/2014/01/05/checkout-desk-changes-at-nycl/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
<media:thumbnail url="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/checkout-desk-construction.jpg" />
<media:content url="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/checkout-desk-construction.jpg" medium="image">
<media:title type="html">checkout desk construction</media:title>
</media:content>
<media:content url="https://2.gravatar.com/avatar/28d161fa293bd3dc2311ee71f1f79f85868fed06a149947d677379ba313509a4?s=96&d=retro" medium="image">
<media:title type="html">chrisnolan</media:title>
</media:content>
</item>
<item>
<title>Want to be my neighbour? 5 Options on the block atm</title>
<link>https://chrisnolan.ca/2013/11/15/want-to-be-my-neighbour-5-options-on-the-block-atm/</link>
<comments>https://chrisnolan.ca/2013/11/15/want-to-be-my-neighbour-5-options-on-the-block-atm/#comments</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[ChrisNolan.ca]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Fri, 15 Nov 2013 20:47:58 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Announcements]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Happenings]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[ellerslie]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[for sale]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[neighbourhood]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[north york]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[real estate]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Senlac]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[willowdale]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://chrisnolan.ca/?p=801</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Follow-up to previous post from last year, 5 options are on the market at the moment if you’d like to be my neighbour. Many options on the block at the moment. 2 new builds, 2 existing homes and one for lease. On Ellerslie Ave between Tamworth and Senlac (one is two houses the other side […]]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[Follow-up to previous <a href="https://chrisnolan.ca/2012/09/26/want-to-be-my-neighbour-154-and-176-ellerslie-ave/">post from last year</a>, <a title="Houses for sale on Ellerslie Ave in North York" href="http://ellerslieave.chrisnolan.ca/post/67082275605/many-options-on-the-block-at-the-moment-2-new">5 options are on the market at the moment</a> if you’d like to be my neighbour.
Many options on the block at the moment. 2 new builds, 2 existing homes and one for lease. On Ellerslie Ave between Tamworth and Senlac (one is two houses the other side of Senlac).
From east to west:
<ul>
<li>New build 183 Ellerslie (MLS# C2775924) listing at $1,689,000</li>
<li>New build 188 Ellerslie Ave (MLS# C2783699) re-listed with new agents after <a href="http://ellerslieave.chrisnolan.ca/post/63307362364/188-ellerslie-ave-reduced-in-price-to-1-799-800">months of not selling</a> (MLS#C2639633). New price $1,749,000</li>
<li>For Lease 197 Ellerslie Ave (MLS#C2769820) for $1,800 a month</li>
<li>205 Ellerslie Ave (MLS#C2784832) listed yesterday for $975,000. Lot is listed at 57’ feet, which if split in the future would in theory be less than the previously allowed split size. Nice enough place it might stay to be lived in instead of destroyed like so many others on the street</li>
<li>On the other side of Senlac 274 Ellerslie (C2774630) listed last week and I believe reduced since then but not 100% sure, now $849,000</li>
</ul>

<a href='https://chrisnolan.ca/2013/11/15/want-to-be-my-neighbour-5-options-on-the-block-atm/183-ellerslie-ave/'><img width="128" height="83" src="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/183-ellerslie-ave.jpg?w=128" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail" alt="" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="802" data-permalink="https://chrisnolan.ca/2013/11/15/want-to-be-my-neighbour-5-options-on-the-block-atm/183-ellerslie-ave/" data-orig-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/183-ellerslie-ave.jpg" data-orig-size="1054,683" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":""}" data-image-title="183 Ellerslie Ave" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="New build 183 Ellerslie (MLS# C2775924) listing at $1,689,000
" data-medium-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/183-ellerslie-ave.jpg?w=300" data-large-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/183-ellerslie-ave.jpg?w=1054" /></a>
<a href='https://chrisnolan.ca/2013/11/15/want-to-be-my-neighbour-5-options-on-the-block-atm/188-ellerslie-ave/'><img width="76" height="96" src="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/188-ellerslie-ave.jpg?w=76" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail" alt="" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="803" data-permalink="https://chrisnolan.ca/2013/11/15/want-to-be-my-neighbour-5-options-on-the-block-atm/188-ellerslie-ave/" data-orig-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/188-ellerslie-ave.jpg" data-orig-size="635,803" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":""}" data-image-title="188 Ellerslie Ave" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="New build 188 Ellerslie Ave (MLS# C2783699) re-listed with new agents after months of not selling (MLS#C2639633). New price $1,749,000
" data-medium-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/188-ellerslie-ave.jpg?w=237" data-large-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/188-ellerslie-ave.jpg?w=635" /></a>
<a href='https://chrisnolan.ca/2013/11/15/want-to-be-my-neighbour-5-options-on-the-block-atm/197-ellerslie-ave/'><img width="128" height="80" src="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/197-ellerslie-ave.jpg?w=128" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail" alt="" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="804" data-permalink="https://chrisnolan.ca/2013/11/15/want-to-be-my-neighbour-5-options-on-the-block-atm/197-ellerslie-ave/" data-orig-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/197-ellerslie-ave.jpg" data-orig-size="1168,732" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":""}" data-image-title="197 Ellerslie Ave" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="For Lease 197 Ellerslie Ave (MLS#C2769820) for $1,800 a month
" data-medium-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/197-ellerslie-ave.jpg?w=300" data-large-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/197-ellerslie-ave.jpg?w=1168" /></a>
<a href='https://chrisnolan.ca/2013/11/15/want-to-be-my-neighbour-5-options-on-the-block-atm/205-ellerslie-ave/'><img width="128" height="65" src="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/205-ellerslie-ave.jpg?w=128" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail" alt="" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="805" data-permalink="https://chrisnolan.ca/2013/11/15/want-to-be-my-neighbour-5-options-on-the-block-atm/205-ellerslie-ave/" data-orig-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/205-ellerslie-ave.jpg" data-orig-size="1105,560" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":""}" data-image-title="205 Ellerslie Ave" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="205 Ellerslie Ave (MLS#C2784832) listed yesterday for $975,000. Lot is listed at 57’ feet, which if split in the future would in theory be less than the previously allowed split size. Nice enough place it might stay to be lived in instead of destroyed like so many others on the street (*crosses fingers*)
" data-medium-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/205-ellerslie-ave.jpg?w=300" data-large-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/205-ellerslie-ave.jpg?w=1105" /></a>
<a href='https://chrisnolan.ca/2013/11/15/want-to-be-my-neighbour-5-options-on-the-block-atm/274-ellerslie-ave/'><img width="128" height="64" src="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/274-ellerslie-ave.jpg?w=128" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail" alt="" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="806" data-permalink="https://chrisnolan.ca/2013/11/15/want-to-be-my-neighbour-5-options-on-the-block-atm/274-ellerslie-ave/" data-orig-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/274-ellerslie-ave.jpg" data-orig-size="1153,573" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":""}" data-image-title="274 Ellerslie Ave" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="On the other side of Senlac 274 Ellerslie (C2774630) listed last week and I believe reduced since then but not 100% sure, now $849,000
" data-medium-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/274-ellerslie-ave.jpg?w=300" data-large-file="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/274-ellerslie-ave.jpg?w=1153" /></a>

]]></content:encoded>
<wfw:commentRss>https://chrisnolan.ca/2013/11/15/want-to-be-my-neighbour-5-options-on-the-block-atm/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
<media:thumbnail url="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/dsc05168.jpg" />
<media:content url="https://chrisnolan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/dsc05168.jpg" medium="image">
<media:title type="html">DSC05168</media:title>
</media:content>
<media:content url="https://2.gravatar.com/avatar/28d161fa293bd3dc2311ee71f1f79f85868fed06a149947d677379ba313509a4?s=96&d=retro" medium="image">
<media:title type="html">chrisnolan</media:title>
</media:content>
</item>
</channel>
</rss>

If you would like to create a banner that links to this page (i.e. this validation result), do the following:

Download the "valid RSS" banner.
Upload the image to your own server. (This step is important. Please do not link directly to the image on this server.)
Add this HTML to your page (change the image src attribute if necessary):

<a href="http://www.feedvalidator.org/check.cgi?url=https%3A//chrisnolan.ca/feed/"><img src="valid-rss-rogers.png" alt="[Valid RSS]" title="Validate my RSS feed" /></a>

If you would like to create a text link instead, here is the URL you can use:

http://www.feedvalidator.org/check.cgi?url=https%3A//chrisnolan.ca/feed/

Home · About · News · Docs · Terms