The Art of Honesty, Tuesday 4th Period

[jedigrammarians]

Aphra once more had the holoprojector set up, because she was a terrible teacher. "Look, sometimes lying is just more glamorous than dull, boring reality."

Also she really wished her last heist had involved more hot women. Or any at all.

Shop Class; Wednesday, Third Period [03/27].

[special_rabbit]

Up until just a little bit ago, Amaya had been a rabbit for just about nearly a week now, which put her in an odd spot for her class, as she hadn't really had the chance to prepare as much as she'd have liked, but she still couldn't help being a little grateful for the timing, since it would have proven rather difficult tot ry to communicate just what to do about the class to either Fjord or her TA in the event that she was still small and furry and generally not very useful.

Turns out it wasn't anything to worry about after all. And, after a week of being small and furry and generally not very useful, Amaya was feeling ready to get out there and do something before she went crazy.

"Alright, class," she greeted them with a nod and a punch of her fist into her palm to show that she was really raring to go, "we're getting toward the end of our time together for this semester, which means time to start focusing on our final project. We've used a lot of different machines here in this class, and now we're going to work on making some of our own. There's something real satisfying about getting an idea about something, figuring out how it works, then putting it all together and making it do something. But before we get to that, we're going to take today's lesson to really understand machines on a simple, fundamental level, though the six kinds of simple machines that'll help make more complex ones along the line.

"Now, a machine is basically just a mechanical structure that uses power to apply forces and control movement to perform an intended action, and a simple machine is what you use to change or direct that force and movement, a.k.a. all the little moving parts that make up the big moving machine."

And here, Amaya lifted up the examples of each simple machine that she had on the worktable in front of her as she went through them. "You've got your levers, wheel and axle, pulley, inclined plane, wedge, and screw. Basic stuff you see every day, but the key to making machines is understanding how to do them right and understanding how to put them all together effetively.

"Which is pretty much what we'll be working on today. You've got full run of the whole shop and the materials available to you to try things and experiment and really get to understand these simple machines and how they work...especially together. If you have questions, of course, I'm here, but I really want you all to just try thing out and really use the class period to get a little creative with these basic elements. See how they work together in combination; find out what works and what doesn't. Try to see if you can put together a way to make all the elements work together in one machine by the end of class. Find out if some materials work better than others. Find out what the limits for pressure and force might be for this machine or that one. And keep all these things in mind for next week, when we'll expand on these concepts a little further.

"Sound good? Good! Remember: safety equipment when needed, don't hesitate to ask questions if you got 'em, and let's get to work!"

An Excuse for Field Trips, Wednesday, 4th Period

[furnaceface]

Once again, Hannibal and Jonothon had their class meeting on the Causeway. This week they'd been told to dress for warmer weather, and to bring good hiking shoes, if they had them.

"Welcome back," Hannibal greeted them. "We can get to our trips again now that the island seems to have given up on...whatever that was last week."

He opened the large pack he had with him and passed out large bottles of water to everyone. "You will want to drink as much as you can. We will be visiting a high-altitude site, and this will help you adjust. Don't overexert yourself, and let us know if you're experiencing any ill effects."

//And you'll want to wear sunscreen,// Jono added, opening his own... rather less large pack. He hadn't been put on water bottle duty, it was fine. He handed out the little travel-sized bottles of sunscreen for the class to take. //Gets sunny up there.// A pause. //This week, we're going to Peru. Into the Andes. There are the ruins of an old citadel up there that a few of you from Earth might have heard of, and we're going to be doing a bit of exploring, there.//

"Machu Picchu," Hannibal said. "It has been designated a world heritage site for its extraordinary architecture and historical value. We'll be able to walk through the ruins, which have been partially reconstructed over the years, and there will be guides if you have questions. The local language is Spanish, but most will speak at least some English. If you need more, please ask." Because he spoke Spanish, too. Of course.

The Future Is Swell! - Wednesday

[imafuturist]

Steve and Tony were back to their normal (for given value of...) selves today, which meant...movie day! For research!

And because Tony really loved some semi-hilarious sci-fi movies.

"Today we're going to discuss teleportation," Steve said. "Something that should totally exist and not just because I hate airplane travel."

"He jumps out if planes and complains," Tony mock-whispered to the class. "Teleportation using science instead of magic. It's an important distinction."

"Because he doesn't like magic," Steve mock-whispered to the class, smirking.

"Magic is cheating!" Tony really didn't like magic. You know. In case the class was wondering.

"Yes, Tony," Steve said, looking visibly amused. "So watch the movie, take notes on the fake science and tell us how you'd really do it."

"Without cheating," Tony added with an annoyed huff.

"Without cheating," Steve echoed, turning on the movie.