Pic Today 4/30/11

FUTURE ENGINEERS OF THE WORLD

Day two at the World Robotics Championship

student competition in St. Louis.

School teams from around the world

compete in age categories, K to 12th grade.

Very young students built models and robots

in the LEGO competition, while teams in grades 5-12

spent the day fine tuning and adjusting

more complicated robot designs

(VERY complicated designs!)

Countries advancing into the final rounds

of the high school competition include:

Canada

Chile

China

Israel

Malaysia

Mexico

Saudi Arabia

United States

(Some teams seemed confident enough

to spend time in more leisurely activities!)

Pic Today 4/29/11

ROBOTS TAKE OVER ST. LOUIS

580 student teams

throughout North America

have brought their robots to St. Louis this weekend

for the 20th Annual F.I.R.S.T. Robotics Championship Competition.

Students compete in 4 categories, grades K through 12,

and design radio controlled remote robots

who perform in competitive arenas through Sunday

at the Edward Jones Dome in downtown St. Louis.

There are junior categories for students 6-9 years of age,

and even a LEGO League for grades 4-8.

Prestigious colleges and universities,

as well as corporate sponsors (IBM, Google, Apple, Rolls Royce)

support the competition with funding and scholarships.

Top competitors apply for $20-million in scholarship funds.

Teams have been working on their robot entries all year,

with the help of their science teachers, sponsors and parents.

The Championship Competition is expected to fill the stadium

and is free to the public to attend.

Pic Today 4/28/11

APRIL SHOWERS BRING . . .

may flowers, flooded rivers and

lots of green in the forest and woodlands.

Despite a Spring full of rainy days

and stormy weather,

the woods are quickly greening up . . .

with groves of tulip trees, fat snails,

overnight mushroom crops,

lichens covering soggy branches

and the sweet smell of the wet forest floor.

A walk through the wilderness shows

a promise of a healthy summer ahead.

And they say the peach crop will be good this year.

That's good. That's very good.

(Got to stay positive.)

Pic Today 4/27/11

TWO INCREDIBLE FORCES

1. An F-4 Tornado.

With winds in excess of 230 mph,

these powerful cyclones can lift semi-trailers

like toy trucks, and tear houses from their foundations.

This St. Louis house lost its roof,

and incredibly its garage and kitchen

were totally blown away . . .

while its refrigerator was left standing,

door wide open with all its food left inside.

2. A community's helping hand.

An equally powerful force,

neighbors and church groups teamed up

to help those in need . . .

opening their doors to those left homeless,

providing food, shelter, clothing and a helpful hand.

At Zion Lutheran Church, the congregation

accumulated clothing, blankets, food and money

at an emergency shelter in their neighborhood.

Shelters and emergency help centers have

sprung up around the damaged communities.

It's hard to say

which force is most powerful.

Pic Today 4/26/11

WHAT NEXT?

Ever since our 'tornado weekend'

it's been raining . . . raining hard.

The forecast calls for rain all week.

It's too much for the earth to absorb.

Rivers are breaking their banks . . .

flooding the fields, the roads, where we live.

Levee gates are closing.

Sand bags stacking . . . makeshift dams, and hopes.

Flash flood warnings throughout the state.

People are evacuating . . .

wondering . . . praying!

Relentless rains . . .

shouldn't someone start building an ark?

Pic Today 4/25/11

ST. LOUIS RECOVERS

FROM WEEKEND OF TORNADOS

Three tornados ripped through northern

neighborhoods in St. Louis, including a direct hit

on St. Louis International Airport.

According to the U.S. Weather Bureau,

of the 300 tornados in the U.S. so far this year

-- and that's a record --

the most powerful (rated an F-4) took its toll in St. Louis . . .

taking the roof and windows off part of the airport

and destroying 1,000 homes in Bridgeton & Maryland Heights.

Some homes were totally leveled, down to the foundation.

A week of rain and thunderstorms is predicted to follow.

Thanks to a network of tornado warning sirens,

there were no reported fatalities!

God bless all the displaced and distressed families affected.

(Aerial photo: Courtesy, St. Louis Post Dispatch)

Pic Today 4/24/11

HAPPY EASTER

In my hometown, Kirkwood, Missouri,

we celebrated Earth Day and Easter together

at our Farmers Market and Train Station.

In between thunderstorms and tornados,

it stopped raining long enough for neighbors

to share in the celebration . . .

with music, "green" demonstrations and train tours

while we shopped for plants for our gardens,

fresh fruits and vegetables for the table,

and cute bunnies and Seeds of Happiness

for Easter Sunday morning.

Pic Today 4/23/11

IN HONOR OF EARTH DAY

Help Robert Redford stop a crime

"against our planet" in the Alaska wilderness.

The mining giant, Rio Tinto, is planning

their largest excavation in Bristol Bay, Alaska,

just like the one they put in Robert Redford's home state

at Bingham Canyon Mine, Utah.

Redford paid for full page newspaper ads on Earth Day

so we could stop this travesty before it's too late.

The above ad is probably too difficult to read,

so please help by visiting

www.StopPebble.org.

It's the least we can do for Earth Day.

Mother Earth thanks you!