Where do humans come from?

A man walks into a bar (ouch!) and adamantly declares that. "Man came from monkeys. it's called evolution"

Actually it happened more like this... A man of science and business with two masters degrees, holding up the newest edition of National Geographic with a neanderthal like image on the cover boldly told my daughter that man came from monkeys. I was quite speechless, but my daughter just looked up, blinked and went back to her music game on the ipad. Not quite a disaster and I don't quite feel the need to quote scripture and start thumping my bible and saying what I know is true, that God created the heavens, and earth and space, and plants and animals and man blah blah blah. We're not having an argument about that but I just feel the need to rant a bit about people who just boldly declare that monkeys turned into man, but they don't have the facts or knowledge to back that up! Nor anything else to expand on that.

Image source: Amazon

It is clearly a simplistic view because I tried to ask him what he meant by that, but I was really the only one talking for five whole minutes and I'm not even a real scientist or an anthropologist, but I have a heart and I have words!

It's not a simple jump from monkey to man; well which monkey? There are so many species of them. And which man or stage of man? Lucy? Ice man? Homo erectus? Hominids? Homo sapiens? O by the way did you even know that humans as we know them today are called homo sapien.

Have you even read the Origin of Species? How many times was the word "evolution" actually used by Darwin? Totally a trick question. Yes there is enviromental adaptation and the observation of the survival of the fittest, and diversity. This cannot be disputed, you see this in bacteria with genes mutated to be immune to the strongest antibiotic known to mankind.

The whole point of this rant is not about monkeys morphing into humans, like over millions and millions of years, which in fact isn't even the measurable age of the earth. Modern Man or Prehistoric man? There is the matter of Anthropology - the study of man or the origins of man (mankind for those who prefer this word). Where did the first "man" come from? Was she a man or woman? Did they eat a paleo diet? (do you even know what is a paleo diet, then why are you telling me about cavemen. And are you talking about monkeys or cavemen? Big diff here!) Are you talking about the first common ancestor in Africa, who moved to different regions of the earth by migration by land or sea to settle independently? What form of transportation did they use? Is he the final iteration of man as homo sapien or the model before us?

And after this monkey-man evolved into a human, did he learn to grow crops? Did he learn to form a community or a government? Nomadic or agricultural farmers? What did he eat? Did he learn to build empires and colonize uncharted lands?

On the topic of plants, is there any other species on earth that grows crops, nurtures plants? That is by definition, colonization,  when you grow plants on the new soil. Just like in the movie Mars, about the astronaut accidently left behind on Mars and managed to grow plants on Mars. Humans on Mars, and humans meeting Martians. Will there be battles, war? Who is more evil, what is evil?

What defines evil? What makes someone feel bad or feel bad about doing something bad or feel bad about doing something bad to someone? Can empathy be measured or observed? Why, because we have a soul? What is a soul, how long does it last? Does it live on? Where did it come from?


Is a soul connected to a body, if yes how long does the soul last after the body dies? What happens to a body, after a proper burial, whether it's cremation or after decomposition... we are returned to atoms and dirt. Ashes to Ashes, what does that actually mean?

I wasn't made from a monkey, I was indeed made from cells and protein and carbon. You can't just tell a child that Man came from Monkeys,

Open Up Battleship Periodic Table Style

Whether you played the game as a kid, like an armchair Admiral or you watched the recent movie that makes Art of War seem like a good book (well it is!); well here is a really new twist on this game to learn the Periodic Table at the same time!

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Get the rules here:
http://laughingsquid.com/periodic-table-battleship-a-scientific-twist-on-the-classic-game-to-teach-kids-about-the-elements/

Get your printable Periodic table here:
http://sciencenotes.org/printable-periodic-table/

Now head to your local stationary store to buy the file folders, wipe-clean markers and do your lamination on the spot. But if you just want to see the beloved Periodic Table everywhere...

You wont have to walk far for a nice hot shower...

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Or a nice ride home from the Science lab...

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How Do You Say Happy Birthday?

Just going through my boxes of old mail and random birthday cards while preparing to pack for a big move! I found a few diaries which I quickly tossed in the garbage or recycle bin, cuz who wants to read old diaries anyway (well not my life anyway). The journal with the most attractive cover of Pablo Picasso Irises caught my eye and I happened to open it up the page about some old friends setting up a surprise birthday party for me!

Coincidentally, tonight is the night before my old friend's birthday who had passed away suddenly on Christmas Eve about five years ago. I don't have too many good friends who have passed away; there are many I've lost touch with. Memories are precious, I feel bad sometimes that I've moved on or life happens and you just forget about something neat that happened, like staring at an old photograph. I just want to remember about him a little bit longer, a friend who helped me pack boxes and move, or listen to me ramble about bad dates or breakups, introduced me to the music of Bon Jovi and the sport of hockey (watching hockey games that is) and hockey pools. A friend who wrote a software program to analyze the players stats from the regular season and choose a purely statistical estimation just for me because I didn`t official watch hockey and I really didn`t know who was who, but I just wanted to be in the hockey pool with the others at work. A friend and mentor who guided me through my first step into a career in the public service in the aerospace industry which I'm not longer a part of, but it lead me to a path I never thought of before. A friend who planned a fantastic surprise birthday party for me, and I wish that I could just do the same for him, or just to say Happy Birthday to him, again.

On a lighter note, here is my entry, word for word because it's fun to play "truth or dare" and read from any page in your dairy!!

dated 8 April
"Trevor and JF threw me a surprise birthday party! They're so smart. They just invited Anny and Alex and I for Chinese food. Trevor had a big box in his hand when I went to pick him up.  Well after we took a few detours to get to the right bridge, we finally found our way. Thx to Anny and Trevor!  JF listens to some pretty serious Rock & Roll.  He's got the ugly Iron Maiden posters everywhere.  Takeout Chinese food was ok.  Hey it was their treat! We watched Women's International Hockey, Canada vs. USA.  Well Canada kicks ass 3 - 2.

And when they brought out the cake, I was so surprised. 24 candles on a black forest cake! Wow. I was so happy!  How did they guess that was my favorite? haha. " happy face icon.

Happy times! Well among the many interesting things we used to talk about, Trevor told me about the Cayman Islands being the place where rich people go because there were no taxes and such. He told me about Lear Jets and navigation and all that.  In fact we completed one year of flight training together because of the nature of our work. All of these are unrelated facts to the uninteresting career of Geomatics Engineers lol. Anyway, that Christmas five years ago when I saw his photo splashed on the news that he was missing, my first thought was that he finally did it! He finally decided to disappear. We had previously read books and randomly talked about how people can disappear... I mean back in the day before the Internet was such a permanent digital record. I really felt deep in my heart, a bit of wishful thinking that he had just slipped away on a private jet, left the world behind and was enjoying an ice cold coffee on the beach somewhere on the other side of the world... But that`s not where they found him.  Regardless, it`s not about how somebody died but how they lived, and the moments with friends that your friends may still remember.  Even the children`s book he gave my baby girl was about the planet earth and navigation and where we are.

I don`t know where you are, but I know you`re in a safe place now, in the arms of Jesus. I creeped your facebook page again like most of your friends might every September or December. I just wanted to let you know that I still remember it`s  your birthday, Happy Birthday Sept 21.

Mission Trip to Guatemala 2015

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I'm going on a mission trip to Guatemala in November this year, in support of the Hogar Luz De Maria orphanage in Antigua, Guatemala. The team will be delivering bunk beds to families in the area and also providing toys (50 dolls, 50 superheroes), books, personal care products, and 100 backpacks filled with school supplies and materials for arts and crafts for the children.
Each of us has committed to personally raising money to fund the programs at the orphanage for this trip and beyond. As well, I have personally committed to bringing 10 of each filled backpacks, dolls and superheros, if you would like to donate for the purchase of these itemsl! Any amount you give from your heart would be so appreciated. Thank you!


COPY, PASTE & SHARE: http://www.gofundme.com/6p7fm56py4


The organization is called "For the Love of Mateo" and you can find information about the project at www.fortheloveofmateo.com


I feel so blessed to be part of one woman's dream to go back and make this happen for the children in the poorest region where she adopted her son.

Dr Brainy's Spring Break Mission 2015

Once again, the long awaited Spring Break puzzle game at McDonald's! I managed to bring the kids to the Play Place location in time to catch the clues and pick up this year's game board - a playbook! I am immortalizing these posters online because I picked up extra copies of the game and my oldest still has not completed the quest yet. Voila!

YOUR MISSION:

Travel to space with Dr. Brainy to help him and his sister decode the message.

Clue #1 Match the Aliens

You've just landed at Commander Brenda Brainy's space lab. Travel to planet Limeturn and solve the puzzle for clue#1 then write the answer below.

hint: six letters

Clue#2 Space Maze

Put on your spacesuit and head over to planet Swirlto and solve the puzzle for clue #2, then write the answer below.

hint: five letters

Clue #3 Connect the Stars

Talk about star power. Hop over to planet Blupitor and solve the puzzle for clue #3. Then write the answer below.

hint: two letters

Clue#4 Milky Way Maze

You've almost solved it! Head over to planet Pars and solve the final puzzle for clue #4, then write the answer below. 

hint: six letters

Now it's time to complete the secret phrase! Arrange the words by clue number below to decode the alien message. 

__ __ __ __ __ __   __ __ __ __ __   __ __   __ __ __ __ __ __ 

MISSION COMPLETION!

Looking for more space-based ideas for Brainy parents? These were printed on the game card.

* Search for the stars with a homemade telescope made out of a paper towel roll

* Create your own galaxy mobile from painted styrofoam balls, a paper plate and strings

* Create an alien hat

* Play a space name game. Start a word with the last letter of the previous word, making sure every word is space related. Like Mars -> Star... 

"We're not Chinese kids we're English!"

Twelve years of my childhood were invested in weekly Saturday Chinese School lessons. I missed all the Saturday morning cartoons and whatever normal kids do on a Saturday morning - sleep in. At age 17 at the height of my maximum knowledge of written Chinese vocabulary, I could read the newspaper in Chinese (very slowly), read the Bible and write a lengthy note or birthday greeting to my Grandma and maybe even a short story or essay with some clever puns. Two years after that, I think I still retained most of the reading but the writing was fading fast. Gradually after 10 years, I can still sing the hymns at church, read the menu at a Chinese Restuarant and write out the order, as in copy the words by hand, write a christmas card, birthday card and thank you note in Chinese. But today, 20 years later, it shocked me that I had to think really hard about writing my own name in Chinese!! Do I want the same fate for my children?

My son doesn't quite believe that he is a Chinese person (though made in Canada eh?) and would call himself English or French. In fact, when I speak to him in Chinese he usually responds in French.  We have alot of languages in our household given that my husband and I are both fluent at the same level in Cantonese and English, but he is officially bilingual in French and English to federal standards. The kids go to a full time French School and I have to admit that while my daughter reads in both language, I'm sensing that French is the more dominant phonics when it comes to reading and writing.

We inadvertently decided it would be more important for them to be completely bilingual in French and English, that I almost let Chinese completely slip away. But miraculously, it has not. They can watch the Disney, Barbie and Batman movies in Chinese (official editions on DVD or VCD).  As well, then can ask for food and drinks and things related to cooking and transportation, or even how the moon goes around the earth, and the earth around the sun - in Chinese. However when it comes to matters of the heart or more complex scientific explanation or math, we slowly shift to English. I'm ok with that!

Today I had a proud moment though, when little Lincoln saw me writing a Christmas card in Chinese  that he started making some individual squarish spiny fishbone sketches and boasted that he was writing Chinese!!  He even asked me to teach him! I showed him how to write man or person, and he drew... you guessed it, Elsa in a dress. Well it's the same basic shape! Alot of my friends who are just like me, born and raised in Canada, who may or may not have attended Chinese school have sent their kids to Chinese school on Saturdays too! One friend's son the same age as Lincoln can recognize about 70 Chinese characters even though he only knows about 7 alphabets!! That just blows my mind, but it is indeed true that kids are capable of absorbing and retaining so much information if you teach them.

I also believe that they can also choose to learn to read and write Chinese at the university level in a three or four years' time just as easy as the other university students who might choose Chinese for a foreign language course or art credit. I've see this with my own eyes, a Westerner writing an essay or short answers on a Final Exam. I suppose it is the same way I learned Beginners and Intermediant Russian as a non-Science credit during my Engineering studies.

But most importantly I just want my kids to know that they are Chinese. A few years ago, when kids at a McDonald's play place approached Maggie and AJ to point out that they're Chinese, Maggie was furious! All night she kept telling me, "We're not Chinese kids, we're English! Someone should tell them that ok?"

In a way it's good that "race" is not an issue to them. Lincoln (he's four) just pointed out to me the other day that my hair is too black so I'm not like Elsa.... regardless, I just want them to know about being Chinese and be comfortable enough about being Chinese and Canadian at the same time.  I bought him the book published by Usborne Books "100 First Words in Chinese" Can't wait to read that with him.

Our Top Stories in 2014

Just a recap on the big things that happened this year, and to say "Merry Christmas 2014"

1. Indoor Snowball Fight

One of the "Reindeer Games" we played at Mary's birthday party.  12 kids lobbed giant-marshmallows through two Christmas wreathes. Highest record was 26 marshmallows, lowest number was 3. Kids got hit in the face but nobody cried. 30 giant marshmallows were consumed within 5 minutes of the game completion.

2. Blade number one

Daddy came back from work one day with a shocking new haircut, bald to the bone which shocked the kids so much that Lincoln had to ask, "You're still the same daddy right?" While the older kids pointed and laughed, Mary ran away screaming in terror and fear.

Reminds me of the time Lincoln's hair got shaved during a heated discussion between two parents about which blade to use, caught on video "Well it's too late now!"

3. Star Wars Duet

Finally recorded live in front of a captive audience (baby sister), AJ and I played the Star Wars theme as a duet on two pianos. We've played it for months since the summer, flawlessly but it was the first ever recorded. I've always dreamed of playing a duet with my kids

5. To Walk in Fields of Lavender...

A great navigational feat for me, to find my way through wine country and sandy beaches without GPS (I have onboard GPS but no map data in this whole region). We also discovered the largest annual gathering of asians outside of Toronto, at the annual Lavendar Festival in Prince Edward County. (This is a noteworthy fact to me because it is not often that I see too many asians here if any) The kids loved running free in fields of purple, while seeing infinity in a wildflower... o wait here's the real quote

“To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour.”
― William Blake, Auguries of Innocence

5. All I want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth
Maggie finally lost her fourth tooth shortly after Halloween. The weather got too foggy for two nights it seems, for the Tooth Fairy (to remember) to come to collect it. Good thing she never lost faith in the magic of the Tooth Fairy. The third tooth was lost right before school photos, while fishing at the docks of Rice Lake (or while chewing a BLT sandwich). The first two teeth were lost months earlier around Valentines day. However, the first tooth was actually lost down the drain while brushing her teeth, but was recovered quickly by Daddy taking apart the sink!

6. Great Wolf Lodge

A most memorable and action packed 24 hours of campfire stories, wave pool, arcade games, bowling, and bunk beds. The kids got to view Niagara Falls right at the side of the falls but not being able to see it... because of nippy cold frost and ice in April.

Other "big" trips this year include - four days in NYC, another overnight shopping trip to Syracuse and my own three day business trip to Montreal kid free!

7. Two Wheelin' 

In June, both Maggie and AJ successfully learned to ride their two wheeler bikes in under 20 minutes first time trying. I understand they are much older than the other kids learning to ride, but it is still a noteworthy childhood milestone and accomplishment. They've been biking non-stop since that day. Oddly ever since the big snowfall last month (before it melted away) they've been playing outside in the snow for much longer than any other day this summer.

8. Pleased with Cheese

It took nearly 7 years but Maggie finally started eating cheese! You know in the baby books, when they talk about introducing a new food and sometimes needing to offer it 22 before they'll even try it? Try 2000 times! Probably it's a bit of peer pressure, seeing little Mary tear part those cheese strings!

9. Superman Drawings

Lincoln draws about a hundred Elsa's, Ana's, mermaids and fairies a day or quite possibly per hour! I especially like the drawings in colour with eyelashes or extra makeup on the girls. This is an amazing feat considering at the start of the school year, I actually asked his kindergarten teacher if that is a problem that my son can trace mazes, but does not draw or write anything!. She told me not to worry because they would be starting "Handwriting without tears" Then, just weeks in he started drawing Elsa with her ice-powers and splti in her blue dress, or Ana with a cape, and Olaf made with a high stack of snowballs. After nearly 2,000 Elsas, he finally drew one Superman and Green Lantern for once, which made me very happy.

10. Double Double

During the entire month of March I gave up coffee, treats, gluten, dairy, soy etc lost over 5 pounds and many inches as part of the detox bootcamp and clean eating program with my company. That was the same month I also (got) promoted to the first level of management in my home business. From May till October I doubled the size of my team, including independent consultants and preferred clients

I've cut down from three or four cups of "double-double" to one Fizz Tab energy drink per day. I've been so energized that I decided to launch a second home business to promote reading and French books for my kids, and to fuel my own personal addiction to books!

11. Magic of Christmas

The legend of the Elf on the Shelf lives on despite the skeptism and "truth" revealed by the other kids at school who probably don't have an Elf on the Shelf. Each morning at breakfast, the kids discuss if the Elf is real or not; every night they warn me not to sleep too late so that the Elf can leave on time to get to the North Pole and back.

They met Mrs Claus at Conon Nurseries and were very convinced she was the real deal. They've been writing to Santa Claus and Maggie just received her letter from H0H 0H0 yesterday!

Here's wishing you all a very happy Merry Christmas and the best for the holiday season; good times with your family and friends.