Ancient Mesopotamian Waterwheel

Here is my version of an ancient Mesopotamian waterwheel. Archeologists have not yet found a completed and working ancient Mesopotamian waterwheel.

The oxen, represented by a horse, turns the waterwheel. Cups scoop and lift water as the wheel turns.  At the highest point, at the top of the wheel, the cups tip and dump their water into a holding tank.   The tank connects to an irrigation system, which carries water to crops. In my version though, people could also collect the water from the wheel as it dumped water into the holding tank.

The water wheel solved the problem of watering crops and efficiently getting drinking water to town at the same time. People now could grow larger amounts of crops. People may have traded surplus crops for other things. Since they had enough food, they could now focus on thinking.

(If you think there is a way to make this project better, please let me know. Thanks! Also, this project is supposed to be part of a “museum” of ancient objects. It may not end up that way, but that doesn't mean I’m going to neglect it!)

Return of the Tiny T-Rex

Here he is, the tiny T-Rex 2. He's better at catching mice, and he still has no hair!

Editors note: Sorry the pictures are so fuzzy.

The Second Monster and the Maze

It's a little hard to find your way around this sub-tropical labyrinth, but it’s a little harder if you are not used to slime in your shoes and somewhat alien life forms that eat your socks, dissolve your protective equipment, and can possibly even eat you whole! 

Oh, and did I mention what looks like flying kittens? When you pet one though, it puffs up, stinging you with its poisonous barbs in its fur.

But that’s not the real problem! There is a monster in it. It is like a dinosaur in many ways, but it may have a brain that is intelligent as humans, and will likely devour you if you ask it to “roll over”.

Things I am Thankful For

Today I am thankful for poetry, Things I am Thankful For, and puzzles.

1. I am thankful for poetry for being a fun challenge to tackle. Here is some poetry I wrote today:

The chameleon lay around,

Not making a sound,

Despite the baking heat.

Then he heard the beat,

Of buzzing, buzzing wings.

The chameleon looks skyward,

He looks real hard,

And sees with please,

Some bugs the size of peas.

The chameleon flings,

His tongue at the flies,

Which fall out of the skies,

Into the chameleon’s mouth.

This happens in South,

America.

2. I am thankful for “Things I am Thankful For” for showing the world what I am thankful for.

3. I am thankful for puzzles for being a fun and hard toy to play with when I am grumpy or angry.

Things I am Thankful For

Today I am thankful for Pages, good attitudes, and music.

1. I am thankful for Pages for allowing me to digitally count the words on my blog posts and make sure they are each 100... One hundred words.

2. I am thankful for good attitudes for allowing me to be fun around, make friends, play games, and not be fighting and arguing all the time.

3. I am thankful for music for calming me, driving my sister nuts, and being fun to listen to. Music has so types of music, and those types of music have more types of music in them, so you can listen to types of music and never be bored of it.

An Early Christmas Party

 This is the stuff I was talking about in the last post. 1-5 same thing five different ways. 6-6... 6 is the plastic tree. 7 is the whole seen plus several extras.

Things I am Thankful For

Today I am thankful for Lego cats, Lego frogs, and my blog (Stories From the Fossil Bed)

1. I am thankful for Lego cats for being one of the cutest animals I can pick up and put down

2. I am thankful for Lego frogs for being fantastic details on my Lego models but still being interesting every time I look at them. Whether it is the lines or the striking similarity to the real creature I will never know.

3. I am thankful for Stories From the Fossil Bed for allowing me me to share my ideas with the world and put them in beautiful context and frames where they will stay forever more.

P.S. Sorry for not posting yesterday. Here is what I would have written:

Today I am thankful for the Lego Advent Calendar, the Lego Winter Toy Shop, and geometry.

1. I am thankful for the Lego Advent Calendar for revealing new Lego pieces to me.

2. I am thankful for the Lego Winter Toy Shop for being the source of our plastic Christmas tree and new parts I have not had before.

3. I am thankful for geometry for allowing the creation of the plastic bricks that I have been using for the past five years and will still be using for a few years. 

P.S.S. I will be posting pictures soon.

Things I am Thankful For

Today I am thankful for the Washtenaw Community Recreation Center (The Pool), our drawing book, and “A Very Short Story of Nearly Everything”.

1. I am thankful for the Washtenaw Community Recreation Center (The Pool) for allowing me to exercise so I can stay standing longer.

2. I am thankful for our drawing book for showing me how to draw using simple shapes and lines.

3. I am thankful for “A Very Short Story of Nearly Everything” for teaching me what happened on our planet, how we know it, and what its implications were on the scientific and religious world.

Things I am Thankful For

These are the things I am thankful for today: pencils, Dad’s iPhone, and Dad.

1. I am thankful for pencils. They allow me to draw wonderful pictures of people, places, and things. 

2. I am thankful for Dad’s iPhone for allowing me to see “Into the Universe with Steven Hawking: Aliens” and to play games.

3. I am thankful for Dad for allowing me to watch videos on his computer and iPhone as well as putting straws in my drinks.

P.S. I try to make these as funny as I can in some spots. I... I mean, Am I doing a good job? Please let me know. 

Things I am Thankful For

Today I am thankful for Sarah (8 not ate), the dog (Desi), and my “The Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Creatures”.

1. Today I am thankful for Sarah. She is almost always friendly, willing to help, and makes me giggle.

2. I am also thankful for my dog, Desi. He is always there to comfort me in any way and makes me laugh. He also accepts pets when I am stressed.

3. I am thankful for “The Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Creatures”. It helped me design my partially made body, legs, and head of my robotic Triceratops. It also inspires me to be creative but mathematical in coloration and recreation of creatures I build with Lego.

Things I am Thankful For

Here are the things I am thankful for today: pictures, plants, and Mindstorms NXT.

1. Pictures. I am thankful for the pictures on the walls for brightening my room and being a source of inspiration for all sorts of things, including more drawings, Lego creations, reading books, and watching videos and DVD’s.

2. Plants. They clean the air I breath and also produce beautiful flowers which are nice to look at.

3. Mindstorms NXT. It allows me to build what I want to (Like a robot dinosaur) when I want to and to be creative about it.

P.S. I am building a robot Triceratops in my room at the moment! : )

Things I am Thankful For

Here are the three things I am thankful for today: My mom, the fish-tank, and my amazing, awesome, and traversing wheelchair. 

1. My mom. She feeds me lots of yummy food and keeps my home clean as well as transferring me from my manual wheelchair to my power wheelchair.

2. The fish-tank. It inspires me to make all sorts of things and puts me in a better mood.

3.My power wheelchair. It allows me to traverse rough terrain but still be comfortable and fun to be around.

P.S. Oops! Sorry about not posting for a little bit. I hope you can try this!