Thursday, October 22, 2015
60% of WI disapproves of Walker’s job performance in WPR/St. Norbert poll
This comes from a poll with a small sample: 603. Notables: 57 percent of those polled say that Wisconsin is headed in the wrong direction. Russ Feingold leads against Ron Johnson. 51 percent to 40 percent. 60 percent of Wisconsinites disapprove of the way Scott Walker is doing his job. In fact, 40% of Wisconsinites more »
Sunday, October 18, 2015
How AP and the WI press does damage control for Governor Drunken Sailor
Yet again I get the impression that Associated Press does whatever it can to protect and/or repair Scott Walker’s image. Compare the headlines and stories on Walker’s recent FEC filing: From Washington Post (author – Jenna Johnson): How Scott Walker spent $90,000 a day to lose an election From U.S. News and World Report more »
Saturday, October 17, 2015
Everybody didn’t have access to the Democratic Party debate
The editor of Buzzflash at Truthout recently wrote that, “By offering the debates on television only to paid subscribers of television packages that included CNN and Fox News, the most important political interaction between candidates for president of the United States was, essentially, privatized.” If you’re living with a net-enabled digital device seemingly glued to your more »
Thursday, October 15, 2015
The Ultimate Guide to FAST Homemade Pizza
You need to get dinner on the table in 20 minutes! You’ve got one kid heading to scouts, another has practice and they’re both STARVING. What’s a tired mom to do? Da-ta-ta-ta! Pizza to the rescue! But put down that phone, mom! You don’t need to order delivery because I have a few awesome fast Hacks for Fast Homemade Pizza that you can use right now!
- Crust in a Flash! There is nothing quick or easy about homemade crust. Instead of kneading dough, grab prepared pizza crust from the store! I really like Target’s Market Pantry Fire Roasted crust because it’s thin and crispy like a St. Louis style crust.
- Personal Pizza Power! There no fighting over toppings when you let each kid make their own pizza on bagel “crusts”! Use 100 calorie bagel thins for a crust that’s not too thick or too thin.
- Tortilla Tins: Here’s a twist on the personal pan pizza! Line a muffin tin with circles of tortillas and stuff to the brim with pizza toppings!
- No Sauce, No Problem! BBQ sauce, Alfredo, salsa and many dips can stand in for ordinary sauce to make extraordinary pizza flavors!
- Meaty Matters: Keep pepperoni in your pantry for super fast pizza nights! Or head to the fridge for leftover grilled chicken, meatballs or even lunch meat like ham and salami for super fast toppings!
Fast Homemade Pizza Recipes
BBQ Chicken Bacon Pizza: Drizzle your favorite BBQ sauce on a prepared crust, and spread with a spoon. Top with leftover grilled chicken, bacon bits and mozzerella. Bake at 375° for 10-12 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly. 
Alfredo Pizza: Spread White Pizza Sauce or Alfredo sauce on naan bread. Top with leftover grilled chicken or diced meatballs. Add tomato, spinach and diced onion (optional, of course). Layer on mozzarella and feta cheese. Bake at 375° for 10-12 minutes or until the mozzarella cheese is bubbly (the feta won’t melt).
Mexi-Pizza: Spread refried beans on a crust (like Bagel Thins) and smear with salsa. Top with leftover grilled chicken or taco meat and cheddar cheese. Bake at 375° for 10-12 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly. This is an great use for those leftovers from Taco Tuesdays.
Gyro Pizza: Spread Greek Dip on a pizza crust (excellent on naan bread) and top with grilled chicken seasoned with Greek seasonings. Add diced red onion and tomato. Bake at 375° for 10-12 minutes — warning, the feta won’t melt! You can also use red sauce and drizzle the Greek dip on top.
Baby Pan Pizza: Cut circles from tortillas and use them to line a muffin tin. Stuff with a mix of sauce and Parmesan cheese, a handful of mozzarella and top with pepperoni. See the full recipe here from Dashing Dish.
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Tuesday, October 6, 2015
Brush Bot Monsters: Halloween STEM for your Mad Scientist
Electric spiders! Flapping bats! Jittering ghosts! What happens when you mix Halloween spooks and a young mad scientist? Why, Monster Brush Bots, of course! Brush Bots are a super simple way to introduce kids to robotics. The hardest part is finding the tiny little motor to drive them, but I’ve got a few ideas to help you out there…more on that later!
This project is part of #CampSCI and my pals at Monsanto sent us the parts to make our first Brush Bots. We did a little modifying of our own…but that’s what good engineers do, right? At the end of this post is a video from a Monsanto scientist to show you how to make a Brush Bot and more on what you can do with them.
What’s a Brush Bot Anyway?
A brush bot is a very simple “robot” that moves by vibration! They are often made of tooth brushes, but any brush will work if the motor is big enough! The bristles act as the legs of the bot and the motor vibrates the whole bot. They have no directional control, but that’s half the fun!
You might be familiar with Hexbugs, which are a commercially made brush bot.
Stuff you need to make a Brush Bot
- Small motor with two wires
- Button cell battery
- Toothbrush
- Pliers/wire cutter
- Double stick foam tape
- Tiny rubberbands (like for tiny braids)
- Wire cutter, wire stripper (if needed)
The motor is the most interesting–and critical–part of the brush bot. These are usually pager motors, which you can find online at places like Evil Mad Scientist or on eBay. You can also buy a whole Brush Bot Kit from MakerShed, a great resource for your kid’s STEM projects. If you’re handy enough, you can also salvage the motors from any (no longer used) device that vibrates!
I wonder if Doofenshmirtz shops at Evil Mad Scientist?
Make a Brush Bot!
First, cut MOST of the handle off the tooth brush. A pair of wire snips works well for this. You might want to do this bit yourself, unless you’re working with an older kid.
If the wires of your motor are covered, you’ll need to strip the ends so about half an inch of the metal wire shows. Test the motor and battery by touching one wire to each side of the battery–you won’t get shocked. The motor should spin quickly!
Use the double stick tape to attach one wire to the battery, then use the other side of the foam tape to stick to the top of the brush. Use a tiny rubber band (or more tape) to stick the motor to the brush handle. (not shown) The weight on the motor’s shaft should be able to spin freely.
Use a second piece of foam tape to stick the OTHER wire to the top of the battery.
Unfortunately, there’s no on/off switch with a home made brush bot. To turn it off, you’ll have to pry the tape off too. But now is a good time to test your bot. Does it streak across the table? Spin in circles? Fall over?
If it falls over, you can make the bot more stable by smashing the bristles into the table–this will push the bristles out and give it a wider stance. If you want to make the bot travel in one direction, try smashing the brush in a heavy book for 5-10 minutes. My favorite smash-stuff-flat book is my 1996 Unabridged Webster’s Dictionary!
At this point you have a functional brush bot. But it’s kinda boring looking, don’t you think? Now you need to decorate it!
Spook up your Brush Bot for Halloween
Mitch and I decorated our brush bots with spiders, bats and one eyed monsters! You’ll need black construction paper, googly eyes, glue and pom poms to make monsters like these! We also made one weird little monster bot by gluing eyes and antenna right to the brush.
You can also make a fun Ghost Bot by placing your bot inside a small white cup decorated with ghostly features. Use a permanent marker to draw the face! I found these plastic bathroom cups (like Dixie Cups) at Walmart in the paper aisle.
Monster Bots Habitat
Make your monster bots feel at home by creating a habitat just for them! We let our spiders wander around this spider web we drew on piece of black paper with a white pencil. It’s placed in a cheap-o frame without glass.
Here’s more science stuff about Brush Bots from my science pals at Monsanto. Watch to see how to make a brush bot and a little science lesson on batteries!
BrushBots from Monsanto STEM Education Outreach on Vimeo.
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The post Brush Bot Monsters: Halloween STEM for your Mad Scientist appeared first on StLMotherhood.
Monday, October 5, 2015
Al Jazeera America feature on Madison, Wisconsin homelessness
A friend of mine had shared this story on facebook and I idly clicked it not knowing what I was in for. I saw the string of cars and vans along a curved street and thought, “Hey. That looks sorta like that area by Milwaukee Street.” Oh. That *IS* that area by Milwaukee Street. The more »
Al Jazeera America feature on Madison, Wisconsin homelessness
A friend of mine had shared this story on facebook and I idly clicked it not knowing what I was in for. I saw the string of cars and vans along a curved street and thought, “Hey. That looks sorta like that area by Milwaukee Street.” Oh. That *IS* that area by Milwaukee Street. The more »
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