On the Horizon: Mission to Planet Earth

A few months ago I was invited to travel with some teachers from Oklahoma down to the NASA Johnson Space Center. Since I had never been there before, I was excited to go even though it meant giving up a weekend, I didn’t care. And I wasn’t disappointed.

The teachers were going as part of the Oklahoma NASA Space Grant Consortium’s Mission to Planet Earth training that happens each summer. It’s an eleven day intense training to enable teachers to teach the STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, math) in their every day classrooms. As part of that training, the teachers go to NASA Johnson Space Center to see how NASA does STEM. The teachers love it!

I wish that some of my teachers would have had the same opportunity when I was in school. Who knows, I may have gone into a different field of work. I’m not the greatest at math and only a little better at science but if I’d had hands-on training like these teachers are now doing, I may have understood it better and enjoyed it enough to maybe have made a career in one of the sciences. But while I may not be in a STEM field I can certainly showcase it.

In this week’s video blog, see how NASA is training teachers in the attempt to create a new NASA workforce.
Alisa Hines

Comments

comments

On the Horizon: Einstein for a Day

As the world progresses and things become even more technical, it is vital for our youth to be well versed, not only with computers, but in sciences. They will be looking for jobs where skills in science, technology, engineering and math are necessary. I was not the best in those subjects so I focused on English. But it’s now at a point where these subject areas are no longer an option.

In today’s video blog, we take a look at an organization that leads students through the STEM fields in an interactive, hands-on approach.
Andy Barth

Comments

comments

Hubby Walks

20121202_170233

“See that cracked asphalt?”

“Yeah. The road’s starting to break down, isn’t it?”

“Well, maybe. But I was just thinking it looks like my facial skin feels after I get out of a hot shower in the morning.”

“Oh. And it also looks like my lips when they get chapped.”

Mick and I were walking and when it’s just you, a country road and 1.5 hours of time together, these are the kinds of conversations that happen.

For the past two days, we’ve walked 4.5 and 4.0 miles respectively. Our paths have been different four square mile routes and we’re discovering quite a bit of brand new information about the area in which we’ve lived for the past eight years. For example, someone close to us sells goats. That was brand new information.

20121202_171204

There is a “Two Bears Creek” on Coffee Creek Road and the owners of the land adjacent to the creek put two baby ceramic bears out by the road, in case anyone needed a smile.

We identified at least three different kinds of animal poo, decided the neighborhood association needs to sponsor a “trash pick up day,” saw some rats, took a peek at the police firearm training facility, checked out some Angus cattle, found a perfectly good sun protector (those kind that fold out and keep your car from turning into a convection oven during the summer), and yelled at a couple of bluejays.

One other thing…I think I asked to stop at least twenty times because for the past two days the sunsets have been amazingly, outrageously, incredibly, georgeously lovely… Continue reading Hubby Walks

Comments

comments

On the Horizon: Can we move forward?

This past summer, I was able to drive through the Midwest and was shocked and saddened by the vast amounts of corn, soybean and wheat fields that were already dried out in early summer from no rain. Having experienced the severe drought the previous year, I knew what farmers and ranchers were going through. I spoke with one gentleman in Illinois who was feeding his cattle in a feedlot because there wasn’t enough grass to last the summer.

This story is the same for most producers up and down the Midwest. Now that the election is over, agriculturalists hope lawmakers will begin focusing on issues facing their industry. The big two are the drought and the lack of a new farm bill.

In this week’s video blog, we take a look at those two topics and how farm broadcasters feel about them and what they are doing to speak up for agriculture.
Andy Barth

Comments

comments

A Sweet Secret for your Sweet Potato Fries

20121201_191942

I’m an Oklahoma local cook through and through.  Tonight I made locally grown sweet potato fries to go with our teriyaki grilled beef and cucumber salad.  I roast them by brushing the pan with olive oil, then brushing the thinly cut fries lightly with olive oil once they’re “single-layered.”  I roast them for about 15 minutes, then turn them and sprinkle them with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.  When they’re nicely toasted (about 25-30 minutes at 425 degrees), I pull them from the oven.

Then I usually eat about five of them.  And so does Mick.

So I THEN sprinkle the remaining fries, made for our DINNER, with a light dusting of maple sugar.

The sugar sprinkle is a perfect complement to the savory salt/pepper flair they already possess.  In fact, the sprinkle will make your eyes twinkle when you eat them…probably really fast. Like, I’m talking SCARFING them down because they’re that good.

Like I said.  I’m an Oklahoma local cook through and through, but I’m incredibly glad Vermont gives us maple sugar.

Thank you, Vermont.

Comments

comments

Showcasing Red Dirt culture ~ authored and managed by contributors with connections to the great state of Oklahoma.