All the coverage of the tenth anniversary of 9/11 has brought back many memories for me. On September 11, 2001 Karalee, Jocelyn, Kevin, Allen, and I were living in a farm house near Lanmerin, Brittany, France. We were travelling by car, visiting Northern Europe, home schooling our three kids, while getting ready to go sailing in the Mediterranean for two years.
Earlier this year our son Allen and his friend Jasper Kim won a silver medal at the Vancouver Regional Science Fair. Their experiment involved using magnets to see if magnetism affected plant growth. To the surprise of Allen and Jasper magnetism did affect plant growth positively. They called their experiment “Magnetotropism”.
I am often surprised at how strongly I react to the physical form factor of things that I buy and use. My wife does the toothpaste buying in our house and she recently bought Crest toothpaste that came in new packaging. At first it seems like a good idea — toothpaste that will stand up on the bathroom counter.