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I just got back from spending 20 hours at the Science Center. Yes. 20 straight hours. A few of those in the middle were actually sleep, but it was on a couch, and I was poised to get up if something went wrong. I had been charged with 72 girl scouts, and the responsibility of keeping them fed, safe, entertained, and educated for an over-night slumber party in the science center event. They had some adult chaperones too, but I was the main man, actually, after about 11pm when the other camp staff went home, I was the only man in the building, even the security for the night was all female. We gave demos, had activities, explored the galleries, ate pizza, and generally had a good time. All the while I put up with a constant swarm of girls all over shouting, “Show us another experiment, Sam!! Sam, we want to build a geodesic dome!! You aren’t gross like other boys, you are funny!!” You can imagine it now. We taught them about geodesic domes, boiling liquids, different gasses, chromatography, and I taught a few girls how to cross only one eye at a time. Cool, huh?

Things began very poorly, because the event was planned by someone who quit a month ago, and no one had taken responsibility for it. So at the last minute my boss and I realized no one had taken any responsibility for things, and that if no one did anything, the event would be utter chaos. So he stepped up to the plate and took over, and I offered assistance, and took over once he left in the afternoon. Everything was done last minute, and I was quite frazzled by about 9pm, since I had already been there for 8 hours setting stuff up non-stop, with hours to go before lights-out. However, with the help of the good camp staff, understanding security guards (who had to bring in overnight staff last minute), the food service staff who were sent orders last minute and other generally under-appreciated people who actually do the grunt work and keep things running when management drops the ball, we pulled everything off, and the kids had a great time. By about 10:30pm, I was feeling like things were finally under control, and I was able to calm my nerves a bit. After getting everyone to bed and settled in the galleries around midnight, I caught a couple hours of sleep on a couch, then woke up, got stuff ready for the next morning, and led the troupes to breakfast, the Planetarium, and through the sign-out stuff. Then all the day staff came in and I wished them good luck, and bid them adieu. Now I’m totally strung out, and about to catch a little more sleep.

However, before I go, I leave you with these two links, the first being via Billy and the second via Johnny Fantastic.

• What do today’s kids think of yesterday’s games? One of my early crowning achievements was beating Donkey Kong Jr. on the 8-bit Nintendo (brand new at the time), using only my right hand (because I had broken my left). Yes, I operated the entire controller by sitting it on the ground and using my hand like a spider over it, and I was so proud. But now, today’s kids look upon our 80’s games with derision. A very funny article.

• A very sad comic...

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