Great British Bakeoff! But American! Wednesday, March 26, 2025

[heroic_jawline]

There weren't any Easy Bake Ovens in the tent today because Steve was a hater of joy and also theirs had caught fire three times this week.

Minor technical difficulties! Nothing at all to worry about, though. This week was different.

"So custards," Tony said. "Something that can taste like sweet screwed eggs if you're not careful."

Had he made any? No. But he'd had it plenty of times at a restaurant.

Steve wrinkled up his nose. "Those are not great, but I'm sure you will all be fine!"

"We'll start off easy with the signature being boxed pudding pies. Whatever you think would be the best flavor combination, let us see it," Tony said.

"And then you'll have to make creme anglaise," Steve said. "And I don't know what that is."

"It's like a custard that you can pour," Tony said oh so helpfully. "Or something."

Well, at least they won't know how to judge it correctly. "And your take home assignment is flan!" Steve said excitedly.

"Three tiers!" Wait, what?

"That'll be amazing!" Steve said, smiling enthusiastically. Or a huge mess. One of those. "But first, let's see how your Easy Bake...bakes...went!"

Bettering your Community and Yourself, period 3

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

Jon met class at the Danger Shop today, looking a bit ragged. "We're bettering ourselves today," he announced curtly.

He opened the shop, punched a few buttons determinedly, and created a lounge full of pillow nests, bean bag chairs, and all manner of comfy places to sit or lie down.

"It's nap time."

He marched to a nest in one corner and dug himself in.

Introduction to Paleontology - Period 1

[itsananomaly]

“Good morning,” Cutter began that week’s class as he held onto his usual cup of coffee, “this week we’re going to be looking at Vertebrate paleontology and this is an area of paleontology that seeks to discover, through fossilized remains, the behaviour, reproduction and appearance of extinct vertebrates, which is animals with vertebrae and their descendants. It also tries to connect, by using the evolutionary timeline, the animals of the past and their modern-day relatives. The fossil record shows aspects of the meandering evolutionary path from early aquatic vertebrates to modern fish as well as mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians with a host of transitional fossils though there are still blank areas.”

“The earliest known fossil vertebrates were heavily armored fish discovered in rocks from the Ordovician period about 485 to 444 million years ago with jawed vertebrates emerging in the following Silurian period about 444 to 419 million years ago with the placoderms and acanthodians. The Devonian period from 419 to 359 million years ago saw primitive air-breathing fish to develop limbs allowing them to walk on land, thus becoming the first terrestrial vertebrates, the Stegocephalians,” he finished, smiling over at Connor for him to continue the lecture.

Connor set his coffee down and picked up his note as he stood for his part of the lecture. "Studying fossiled vertebrates can go a long way in helping us to link the Past to Modern Problems. Here are some of the parallel phenomena we can see evidence of from the past. Climate Change: Paleontological data can help us understand how past climate changes have affected life on Earth, providing a long-term perspective on the current climate crisis. Biodiversity: Vertebrate paleontology helps us understand the history of biodiversity and the factors that have led to its decline or increase, which is relevant to modern conservation efforts. Geologic Correlation: Vertebrate fossils are useful for correlating geological formations across different regions, helping us understand the history of continents and their movements. Tectonic History: Vertebrate fossils can provide evidence of past geographic connections between continents, contributing to a better understanding of tectonic history. These and other clues can help us understand where species came from, how they became what we know today, and can even help us make scientific theories about what the next evolutionary step might be for some species." With a small nod and a smile at Cutter, Connor handed the lecture back over.

Cutter smiled as he continued the class, “for the rest of the class I would like you to go over your moddable worksheets and as always myself and Mr. Temple are here to answer any questions that you may have,”