Catoctin and Cunningham Falls

Just prior to write this blog post, I wrote a simple poem one about the scene from my office window and plan for the day. Do you see the title down the middle?

It sets the stage for my collection of images from Catoctin Mountain Park and Cunningham Falls State Park - now about 2 weeks old.  We stopped at the Catoctin Mountain visitor’s center as we usually do and then walked across the street to the short Blue Blazes Still Trail. There was a tree riddled with woodpecker holes and several kinds of shelf fungus (one fungus group had a slug feasting) that I include in the slide show below. The trees still had quite a few leaves. There was lots of color.

We drove over to Cunningham Falls State Park and took the steeper trail to the falls (I was sore for the next few days from that scramble).

As usual - there were a lot of people at the falls….and they were crawling all over the falls. It was hard to get any waterfalls without people!

I settled for the smaller scenes of moss, leaves, and fungus. Enjoy the slideshow!

Coursera Experience - November 2014

There are a lot of courses that are continuing into November from September and October.

Modern & Contemporary American Poetry. The most time-consuming of the courses. The close reading videos of the instructors and TAs are worth the time. I may not like all the poetry styles but the course has broaden by awareness of poetry that either had not been written or was not presented when I was in college in the 1970s.

What future for education? - I am enjoying the interviews that are the core of the videos for the course but the big item I’ve learned from this course is about the importance of reflection before and after learning experiences. I’ve changed by behavior to include reflection before and after Coursera videos for each course. Sometimes the instructors have prompting questions that make it easy and sometimes I have to invent my own. I’ve also incorporated the idea into my nature hikes for children: asking what they know about the topic of the hike before we set out….and then prompting question about something new they learned or why it was important.

Childbirth: A Global Perspective - This course has a very good mix of summary statistics and case studies for individual countries around the world. The big take away for me has been how linked childbirth issues are related to other issues like the status of women in the society, the medical infrastructure, and obesity (the overabundance of food) or malnutrition (too little food).

Water: The Essential Resource - There is a lot of interest in water around the world - and where the amount of water is changing either because of climate change, pollution, or depletion. The class focuses on a curriculum for California schools but is broadly applicable. There are great resources for case studies.  I’ve already been able to apply some of the ideas in nature hikes for school children about soil/erosion and water runoff around schools.

Philosophy and the Sciences - I’m always impressed with the way University of Edinburgh brings together instructors with complementary backgrounds to present the material in their MOOCs. The course is divided into two sections to demonstrate the relationship between philosophy and the sciences: cosmology and cognitive science. We are still in the cosmology part of the course. Last week half the lecture was done with the instructor writing on a white board….just like in a physical class (but without having to peer around the head of the person in front of you!).

Fortunately - three of the courses will be ending in November because two more are starting!

Recovering the Humankind Past and Saving the Universal Heritage - This one is just now posting materials.

Origins - Formation of the Universe, Solar System, Earth and Life - I didn’t realize when I signed up that this course would mesh with the Philosophy and Sciences course!  It will be starting about the time the segment on cosmology ends.

Ten Days of Little Celebrations - October 2014

Noticing something worth celebration each day is an easy thing for me to do. The habit of writing it down reminds me to be grateful for these and a myriad of other things in my life. This month has been full of ‘little celebrations’ - as had been the usual for the past few months. Here are my top 10 for October 2014.

Nature hikes for elementary school students. The hikes I guide for groups of kindergarteners, 1st graders and 2nd graders are all celebrations - of nature, of fall, of being young and outdoors exploring. It is a near perfect volunteer gig! Yes - sometimes it rains and sometimes it is cold….but even with those challenges, something interesting and memorable always seems to happen.

An afternoon volunteering at my daughter’s high school. My daughter graduated 7 years ago and this was my first time back at the school. I celebrated that the building has been renovated, the crew of students picking up trash that had blown onto grounds (it was a windy day), and that it still seemed to be a well-run school! All the changes I noticed were positive.

Interesting elders. I celebrate the older people I volunteer to drive to their appointments or shopping. They are independent and savvy and full of life experiences. I get all kinds of ideas of how I want to be 20 or 30 years from now!

A whole pumpkin.  I bought a pie pumpkin - cooked it whole - ate a serving with butter and cinnamon as soon as it came out of the oven - made the rest into pumpkin/ginger scones and pumpkin custard.  I’m still celebrating the goodness…and hoping they still have some pie pumpkins at my grocery so I can buy another later this week.

Kohlrabi. This is my first season with kohlrabi and I like it so much that I celebrate every time I eat it. It is still new to my list of ‘normal’ foods.

Fall foliage. I have always liked the colors of fall ---- and October is the month for them in Maryland.

Cooler days. Along with the colors - cooler days make it easier to enjoy hikes. We’ve already enjoyed a trek in Catoctin Mountain Park and Cunningham Falls State Park in Central Maryland. Being in motion outdoors surrounded by trees and lakes and streams is a great setting for celebration.

Newport. I always include vacations as celebrations…they always turn out that way. There is always something that makes a place memorable. Newport is quite a collection of house tours...worth celebrating.

Coming home. After each week or more away - I always celebrate coming home. This time was no exception. It took me almost week to get caught up on processing the veggies from the CSA shares, course work, and laundry!

School. October is probably my favorite school month because classes are well underway and the upcoming holidays are not detracting. October always seems to be a peak learning month of the year…and I’m celebrating that realization.

Gleanings of the Week Ending October 25, 2014

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

You Probably Never Realized How Marble Is Harvested, but It's Beautiful - A short video, with big equipment cleaving very large blocks of marble from the mountain (in Italy).

Klyde Warren Park Wins Open Space Award - I walked through the Klyde Warren Park in downtown Dallas last spring (posted about it here). It is well deserving of the award --- and a visit if you are in the area.

Smart List: 50 Great Blogs & Blasts - There are a lot of great places where education topics are presented, discusses, argued….there is a lot going on. I try to take a couple of education courses per year in Coursera; I have been surprised at the wealth of materials available, how tech savvy teachers are becoming and the ability of student to utilize the online tools in a focused way. Learning expectations for K-12, college and throughout life are increasing because there is a blossoming of learning opportunities!

Olive oil more stable and healthful than seed oils for frying food - I was glad to see the results of this study since there is so much confusing information out on which oils are best at high temperature. I have always used olive oil as the primary oil for all my cooking.

Positive subliminal messages on aging improve physical functioning in elderly - I liked this finding that positive subliminal messages on aging led to individuals’ positive age stereotypes which then strengthened their positive self-perceptions….and then improved their physical function.  Perhaps what we learn most from this kind of research is a recognition of how often negative stereotypes appear in our media; older people have to intentional either avoid or supplant those negative messages about aging.

Air New Zealand's New Hobbit Video Is Greatest Flight Safety Film Ever - What fun!

The Sun Is Beautiful When Its Magnetic Field Is Angry - I had to include at least one solar related post this week. We tried to see the partial eclipse on Thursday but it was cloudy in our area.

Which States Have The Most Restrictive Voting Laws? - I included this post since the mid-term elections are coming up; early voting has started in a lot of states. There is quite a lot of variability in voting laws.

In East Coast Marshes, Goats Take On a Notorious Invader - Evidently, goats have been used to control kudzu in the south but this study extended to marshy areas with different invasive species.  What a great way to reduce the use of herbicides (which have broader negative impacts on the environment while they kill the invasives).

Birth season affects your mood in later life, new research suggests - Some the descriptions of the statistically significant trends are so general that they sound like horoscopes. Do you fit the trend for the season you were born in?

Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk

The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk, Connecticut was a very short distance off the highway along our route from Newport, Rhode Island back to Maryland. It was well worth the stop. I’ve already highlighted the jellyfish in a post earlier this week. It’s hard to choose my other favorites from the few hours we spent at the place.

Of course there were lots of fishes.

I found myself more intrigued by the frogs. What a variety! The colorful poison dart frogs were very active in their habitat.

The freshwater turtles were active too. Some would stay on the rocks but others were constantly climbing up on to the rocks and moving around to slide back in the water much as children do if there is a poolside slide available on a hot summer day.

On particular sea turtle seemed to like the way I looked and swam back and forth in front of me - and right up to the glass! I wondered what the turtle's perception was of the situation. 

The meerkats were very active - and fun to watch. They seem to love the hammock in their habitat.

The Zen of Jellyfish

On the way back from Newport RI, we stopped at the Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk Connecticut. I particularly enjoyed the tower tank of jellies with LED lights. It is in an area that is dimly lit otherwise so the jellies glow as they move gracefully through the water. I sat and watched them…letting the outside noises and strains of the day fade into the background. I took quite a few pictures and selected some for the slide show below.  Even with their motion frozen, the forms are soothing. Enjoy!

The aquarium has a Jellies Web Cam here if you want to see the jellies in motion.

Gleanings of the Week Ending October 18, 2014

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Corruption of health care delivery system?  - Most of us probably realize - at least occasionally - that the US healthcare system is a profit-driven service industry, where commercial interests overcome just about everything. I know that I don’t trust my doctor as much now as I did 20 years ago! Unfortunately - this study was more about documenting the problem rather than suggesting a solution.

Video Proof That Cats Are Furry Work Saboteurs - Fun! Anyone that has a computer and a cat can identify with the antics in this video.

These Are the 100 Most Interesting Geologic Spots In The British Isles - From the Geological Society.  The site that the article highlights is here.

Two posts about things Tucson….where I may travel later this year: Rehabbing Trails in Saguaro National Park and Surpassing Expectations Tucson Streetcar Ridership Enjoys Great Beginning

These Mirrors Are Part of the Biggest Space Telescope - The silver and gold mirrors for the James Webb Space Telescope

Conservation and Food Security: The $115 Billion Question - Increasing focus is on crop wild relatives (CWRs) - plans that are closely related to domestic agricultural crops. Over the past 30 years, at least 60 CWRs have contributed more than 100 beneficial traits to 13 major crops such as wheat, rice, tomato, and potato.

Yosemite Nature Notes: Monarchs and Milkweed - A short video about milkweed and all the insects (and birds) that come to it.  Are you ready to go out and plant some milkweed?

South Australia Achieves 100% Renewable Energy for a Whole Working Day - So - it can be done. How long will it be before some part of the US is able to do this?

Photo Break: America Puts on Its Fall Colors - I couldn’t resist at least one ‘fall’ post this week. Our area of Maryland is quite colorful.

Gleanings of the Week Ending October 11, 2014

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Grandchildren—The Dessert of Life - I loved the sentiment and phrase ‘dessert of life’!

Three Technological Innovations that Could End Asphalt as We Know it - Solar roadways and glow-in-the dark paths - very clever.

Haunting Cave Paintings in Indonesia Are the Oldest in the World - Symbolic expression developed in Asia and Europe about the same time (almost 40 thought years ago). A new dating technique using the mineral deposits on top of the paintings was used for dating the Indonesian paintings.

Active aging is much more than exercise - Think broadly about what ‘active’ means. It’s all about everyday lives, quality of life, and general health. Older people are not homogenous. Being interested in something other than illness and aches seems to be an important component too.

Are we hard-wired to doodle? - I hope so!

5 Festive Pumpkin Recipes for Fall - I like pumpkin and am always looking for new recipes this time of year. There is something dramatic about cooking a whole pumpkin and then using the bounty in old and new recipes. Last year my favorite recipe was Pumpkin Ginger Scones. This year I will try the Pumpkin Bread Pudding in this post….although I am thinking maple syrup rather than caramel sauce! I already make pumpkin soups (sometimes with peanuts…sometimes with other nuts).

The History of the English Language in One Chart - Lots of additions along the way. No language is completely static.

The expert guide to space colonies - A preview to a topic of the BBC Future’s World-Changing Ideas Summit that will be held later this month.

Watch Over 100 Baby Turtles Make It to the Sea - Just a little over a minute....worth a look!

10 research tips for finding answers online - We all have techniques we have developed over time - but tips like these give us a chance to benchmark what we do and perhaps do some refresh. Often judging the quality if what we find is the hardest part.

Gleanings of the Week Ending October 4, 2014

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Gender barriers: History of discrimination against women in engineering - Much has changed….but there are still challenges to overcome for women in engineering programs (that are cultural rather than intellectual).

Brilliant Idea: The Green Benefits District - New way to facilitate community investment in new tree-lined streets, parks, and gardens.

The Most Important Animals You May Never Notice - Mussels!

Critically ill ICU patients lose almost all of their gut microbes and the ones left aren't good - Another reason to minimize excessive use of antibiotics….and better understand gut microbes.

Whipsnade Zoo Has A Baby Elephant With The Tiniest Little Trunk - A short video.

Stain Solutions - From the University of Illinois Extension

Foodie Bees: Insects Head Downtown for Dinner - There are many kinds of bees…they are versatile…and gardens everywhere can become better habitats for them!

Immune system of newborn babies stronger than previously thought - Hurray! Newborn immune systems are different….but they work effectively in many instances.

Enjoy the Fall Migration: Your Guide to Bird Observatories - Thinking about birds in the fall…maybe something to combine with a fall foliage trek over a long weekend.

Sweet Potato Chocolate Chip Cake - The cake may not need any icing at all. I am going to harvest my sweet potatoes this weekend….so I am looking for something special to make with my small crop!

Coursera Experience - October 2014

Several courses ended in September (Social Psychology and The Camera Never Lies). I still have some items in the ‘to read’ pile/list from the Social Psychology course. More importantly - I find myself looking at media - particularly visual media - very differently; both courses increased my awareness of overt and subtle changes that happen with our exposure to real and virtual experiences. Are we ever fully conscious of all the ways we are being changed? 

Beauty, Form & Function is just about finished. I watched all the videos about enjoyed most learning about symmetry in tiles and crystals…and the bonus video about how nano-manufacturing is done.

The first weeks of Modern & Contemporary American Poetry have introduced me to the thorough reading of poems. The videos are panel discussions of each line in selected poems. My initial reaction to modern poems (too intentionally lacking context to the point of being evasive and not readily understandable….always a puzzle) has not budged but I am gaining a better understanding of the poems included in the discussion.

There are 4 courses starting in October….it’s going to be a busy month for me with these and the peak in fall volunteer naturalist activities and some travel.

I like the variety of topics in these new courses: education, health (childbirth), resources (water), science/philosophy. The global perspective should be well reflected because of the topics themselves and the institutions offering the courses. This will be my first course from the National Geographic Society. The previous courses I took from the other organizations were all excellent. 

Bluebirds

There are a lot of bluebird boxes in our area of Maryland. Sometimes they house swallows or other birds that are similar size and nesting habit to bluebirds - but it is probably true that there are a lot more bluebirds around these days than before the nesting boxes.

I was on a walk along a long driveway recently - and managed to get a picture of a male and female bird on a telephone wire looking out over a grassy field with mowed edges.  There were many others about but I was not coordinated enough to get close enough to capture better images with my camera.

A few days later I saw more of the birds but was guiding a nature walk at the time…..no time for photography.

On another walk with a group we started finding blue feathers - three in all. The color of the feathers changes as they are moved. It turns out that almost all blue feathers are produced with structural color rather than pigment!  The Cornell AllAboutBirds site has a page about it.

I am celebrating the beauty of bluebirds today!

Gleanings of the Week Ending September 27, 2014

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

An Astronaut’s Guided Video Tour of Earth - Worth the 3-4 minutes to watch!

Toxic “Toupee”: Explaining the Most Venomous Caterpillar in the U.S. - I’m glad they don’t live in Maryland!

Do wearable lifestyle activity monitors really work? - The Fitbit has certainly caused me to increase my level of physical activity since I got my first one in June 2010. For the first few years I used it to monitor my sleep; I sleep consistently and well so I no longer wear it at night….but the steps and floors measurements are still something I check every day!

Nine fats to include in a healthy diet - A list from the Institute of Food Technologists.

This Is How You Make Art from Microscopic Forms - Diatom art….and video about how it is done!

6 Ways to Work Smarter, Not Harder - A list for educators….but the suggestions seem valid for other professions as well.

Sugar Substitutes, Gut Bacteria, and Glucose Intolerance - Artificial sweeteners may have an unexpected - and not positive - effect.

American Farmers Are Growing Old, With Spiraling Costs Keeping Out Young - The average age of principal farm operators is now 58 years old in the US. I’m thrilled that the farmer at my CSA is young and seems to have a successful enterprise.

The secrets of the desert aircraft ‘boneyards’ - A few years ago I took the bus tour of The Boneyard at the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base near Tucson. The aerial view was a different perspective than we got from the bus window!

Planetary atmospheres and climate: An interview with Dr. Jonathan Mitchell - Interests and adventures in planetary science - there is a lot to do!

Belmont

I’ve participated in several programs at the Belmont Manor and Historic Park as a Howard County Conservancy Volunteer over the past month. September is a good month to see maturing seeds - in the trees: Maple

Dogwood

And sweet gum.

There are other plants going to seed: grasses

And fluffy seed pods in the meadows.

The flowers are mostly done for the year although I did photograph a chicory that was growing at the edge of mowed path.

But it is the very air of the place - looking up to into an old sycamore,

The top branches of other trees,

And starlings swirling - that is the most special.

Belmont is a place with a long history and one looks out from the mansion that is somehow not as important as the vista.

3 Free eBooks - September 2014

It’s time again for the monthly post about eBooks that are freely available on the Internet. The three below are my favorites for September 2014.

Calvert, Albert Frederick. Southern Spain - Painted by Trevor Haddon. London: A&C Black. 1908. Available from the Internet Archive here. I particularly liked the images of courtyards….beautiful outdoor spaces.

Moore, Frederic. The Lepidoptera of Ceylon. London: L. Reeve & Co. 1890. Three volumes from the Internet Archive: one, two, three.  The author was very active in India as well. I’ve looked at all the volumes for Ceylon and have started the ones for India. I wonder how many of the species still exist?

Brown, Leanne. Good and Cheap: Eat Well on $4/Day. New York. 2014. Available from the author’s website. You’ll get hungry just looking at recipes in this book!  I got caught on the first one (tomato scrambled eggs)…made it for lunch before I finished the rest of the book!

Enjoy some wonderful images (and some good food ideas)!

Gleanings of the Week Ending September 20, 2014

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Comprehensive recommendations on care of women at menopause, beyond - From The North American Menopause Society (NAMS). The recommendations are available on the web here; it is well organized and in clear language. What a good reference!

What to Do in Shenandoah National Park Now: Take a Hike into the Landscape - Maybe we should take a day trip!  Shenandoah is the closest national park to where we live in Maryland.

Some great statistics - From Richard Watson…about some worldwide trends - presented as an infographic.

Fracking: Gas leaks from faulty wells linked to contamination in some groundwater - Highlighting the need to improve well integrity, the study showed that where contamination has occurred it was caused by poor casing and cementing in the wells.  Does that mean that the company responsible for the casing and cementing is liable for damages?

NASA Mars spacecraft ready for Sept. 21 orbit insertion - We were in Florida last fall for the MAVEN spacecraft launch…and now is about to enter into Martian orbit!

Top 25 Wild Bird Photographs of the Week #72 - I always enjoy the wild bird photograph posts from The Wild Bird Trust. In other bird-related news - there is new research just published: Bird Diversity Drops from Forests to Farms.

U.N. Predicts New Global Population Boom - The human population on Earth could hit 12 billon by 2100 (not taking into account the effects of climate change, food shortages, disease or conflict). Previously it had been widely assumed that the population would flatten around 2050.

How salt causes buildings to crumble - There are so many ways!

Tree rings used to determine history of geological features, arroyos - This blurb caught my eye because of a recent volunteer naturalist training about using tree rings for looking at climate change from 1400 to now. This is a detailed study of the arroyos in northern New Mexico using burial dates in tree rings of salt cedar and willow.

Jaime Lerner’s Urban Acupuncture - A thought provoking book review. What makes good urban life? 24 hour groceries and delicatessens? Open air markets? Music? What kind of parks, plazas, and square work best? The book is available from Amazon.

Zooming - September 2014

Late summer and early fall is a time of transition…lots of changes to capture in photos. There are seed pods

And seeds.

Insects going about the business of feeding,

Mating and growing large enough to move to the phase of their life to overwinter.

The birds are through their nesting and getting ready for migration. There was a bright yellow mold that emerged from a knot in our deck railing after a rain.

And - last but not least in this collection of zoomed images - the bright colors of flowers and chard stems.

HC Conservancy - September 2014

I took a walk around the Howard County Conservancy’s Mt. Pleasant farm before a volunteer naturalist training session last week. The walk around the meadow started out cloudy and the temperature was near perfect. I took a picture of the dogwood just beginning to turn to fall colors along the drive to the farm house as I walked from the parking lot.

The sculpture of the owl in the natural play area for children is taking on a darker patina as is weathers.

I took lots of milkweed pictures; the pods are maturing and beginning to split…and lots of milkweed bugs.

The meadow has some fall blooms. Purple is a popular color (thistles and ironweeds and poke weed)

But yellow of goldenrods are overwhelming.

There was a cut up tree trunk along the stone fence that had quite an assortment of shelf fungus.

Along that same stone fence were two snake skins - one hanging from a tree that seemed to be growing roots into its own trunk and another along a tree branch.

A tidy nest was visible in the very young tree - probably fresh from this summer but now abandoned.

And last but not least - a huge caterpillar of a cecropia moth! I’m glad one of my fellow hikers spotted it!

Gleanings of the Week Ending September 13, 2014

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

The Chemicals behind the Colors of Autumn Leaves - I couldn’t resist including the link to this post about the colors of fall - from a chemistry perspective.

Smithsonian’s Wilderness Forever Photo Contest - A collection of photographs celebrating 50 years of the Wilderness Act.

Doctors Discover a Woman with No Cerebellum - Wow! Evidently there are some other documented cases of this…but not well studied in a living person.

Scientists discover how to 'switch off' autoimmune diseases - Another step forward in systems biology to understand and then treat the root cause of a disease rather than treatment based on symptom relief.. Until recently it was not even possible to gain the understanding. Is this type of treatment going to become the future of medicine?

New Database of Food Policy Resources - From the Johns Hopkins Center for Livable Future.

New digital map reveals stunning hidden archaeology of Stonehenge - And we thought we knew everything that was there….what a difference applying new technology makes!

This Animated Field Guide to North American Butterflies Is Mesmerizing - Expand the graphic and just look at it! How many do your recognize?

It's the pits: Ancient peach stones offer clues to fruit's origins - Using pits to track the domestication of peaches in China….7,500 years ago.

Who Really Declared War on Coal - It turns out that China’s GDP decoupled from coal consumption in the 2008-2010 time frame. It’s a very good thing for China that it can continue to grow even while improving their air quality by moving to other kinds of energy production.

Bacteria from bees possible alternative to antibiotics - 13 lactic acid bacteria are found in fresh honey and they produce many antimicrobial compounds.

The Cat Massage

Cats sometimes hold themselves aloof - walking away when someone calls their name, refusing to make eye contact. They often decide that they are suddenly tired of what had previously been their favorite cat food or treat. But our cats love a good massage!  They lose all dignity and simply enjoy being pampered.  At other times I often wonder what they are thinking. Their reaction to the massage makes their thoughts of the moment obvious.

Then the interlude is over. They decide to end it all by extended their claws - taking a swipe - and walking away.

My Nvidia Shield Tablet - Part 2

I’m continuing today with my initial experiences with my Nvidia Shield Tablet (part 1 was posted yesterday)

The first two apps I used were the Kindle and OurGroceries. There were a couple of library eBooks I had checked out and I downloaded them from the cloud along with eBooks I had purchased. The OurGroceries required authorization from the owner email (which is mine) so that was quickly done and the current grocery list appeared. I didn’t have a case yet for the tablet so I would not be actually shopping with it until the case arrived (as you can see from yesterday’s picture I has arrived now so I am totally weaned from the Kindle at this point).

My next experiment was the camera. It won’t replace my camera - but it did reasonably well with the zinnia at dusk!

iNaturalist was the most substantial learning curve so far. The app is being used for a BioBlitz the Howard County Conservancy is doing in a few weeks at Belmont. We had a training session last week complete with some field time. I learned:

Glare is a problem

How to zoom effectively with the camera

The nuances of the app itself (collecting observations and getting them connected to a project)

Realizing that I was going to be busy assisting the 10 students I’ll have in my group rather than making observations myself!

My most recent app loaded was Cronometer. I’ve use the web site on my PC for the past year or so when I want to take off a few pounds (it was about 10 pounds in summer 2013, right now it is about 3 pounds). Now that it is loaded on my tablet I can tweak the food list for the day from the tablet or the PC!

I’m very pleased with the tablet so far. I’ll plan another post in October since I’ll have some travel experience with the tablet by then.