Relax and Recharge, Monday Period Three

[doubleohblonde]

Today Bond had his students meet him in Fast Eddie's, where he stood by one of the pool tables.

"Good to see you all again," he said, once they'd arrived. "Now last week we looked at a fairly low-effort, no equipment needed way to relax, but human nature being what it is, there have been numerous forms of relaxation created that have required specialised equipment, systems of rules, and the development of a level of skill that if one were to attempt to pursue them either professionally or competitively, which many have, which create a level of stress that would require taking up entirely different hobbies to recover. Irony aside, when played without any serious stakes involved, these activities are legitimately enjoyable, and if an excuse is needed to engage in them, a person can always claim that they are working on their hand-eye coordination."

Bond nodded around the room. "You have the run of the place for the rest of the afternoon," he said. "Do try to have fun."

History of Earth - Tuesday, Period 2

[wandering-stone.livejournal.com]

When the class showed up at the danger room today they would find that it had been programmed to simulate a rather humid environment with a dense forest surrounding a riverbank. Furthermore they would find it teaming with life... specifically dinosaurs. Lots of dinosaurs. For the most part they seemed to be ignoring Jones who stood in the middle of the riverbed.

"We are going to skip over the development of amphibians to reptiles and dinosaurs. I find that most students tend to get bored easily though dinosaurs provide ample entertainment," Jones began. "Suffice to say that when plant life began to grow, animals evolved to get to food outside of the water. This evolved into lungs and feet and arms. Eventually this brings us to the Triassic period which occurred 250 million years ago."

She gestured at the riverbank as if it was a showcase of some sort. "Most plant and animal life were commonly along the banks of rivers and the sea. There was also a semi-desert environment which was made mostly of scrub brush. During the Triassic period the Earth had mostly one landmass known as Pangaea. When the Jurassic period started, roughly 200 million years ago, Pangaea began to break up allowing rift valleys to form which increased the amount of water inland. Former desert areas changed climates and caused more growth of vegetation. Seasonal rainfall began and produced forests of tree ferns and ginkgoes providing a large feeding ground for herbivores. As these dinosaurs proliferated the natural order change and carnivores left the water to feed upon the herbivores. As Pangaea further began to break up, climates continued to change and dinosaurs became strongly differentiated by landmass.

"Approximately 66 million years ago the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event occurred. It is theorized at this time a massive comet or asteroid crashed into the planet causing a catastrophic effect on the environment. This caused a mass-extinction of approximately three-quarters of plan an animal species at the time. Most non-avian dinosaurs were effect however certain mammals, lizards, reptiles and insects were able to evolve. Many groups underwent remarkable and prolific divergence into new forms and species with the disrupted and emptied ecological niches left by the extinction. That however will be covered more in the next class."

She then began to pass out another set of handouts. "I've programmed the environment to display various types of dinosaurs throughout the various periods. Historically this is inaccurate but in terms of education I will make this allowance. Please tour the area and identify as many dinosaurs as you are able. You will find the brontosaurus is listed. Please do not try to correct me with the name apatosaurus. Recent research have shown that the brontosaurus did truly exist. Please be careful while approaching the dinosaurs. While safety protocols are in place, I'd rather not have any carnivores' instincts kick in to prey upon you. You may begin."

Popular Mechanics, Tuesday, May 12, 2015

[momslilassassin]

An exhausted but happy Ben was mainlining coffee in the Danger Room today as he waited for the students to arrive. "Hello again," he said with a bright smile. "I was glad to see how much technical experience most of you already had last week--that'll make this class a lot more fun when we don't have to slow down and explain why touching hot metal with your bare fingers is bad."

He rolled his eyes at that example, then smiled again.

"As you might have noticed, there are a lot of hills on this island, which makes it completely perfect for Soap Box car races," he said. "These are cars powered only by gravity, so no engines to muck with this time, but you do have to work to make it as aerodynamic as possible. I've put out all of the supplies you'll need to make your cars, so work on it for the class period and we'll race them next week once the paint's had time to dry, okay?"

He grinned over at Barry. "The TA and I will participate, too. If you can come up with a good prize for the winner, come talk to me. I'm thinking ice cream, but I could be persuaded."