...is good for the environment! on Elective Hall

Professor Dione

April 29, 2005 11:39 PM

The truth about terrestrial planets (pt 1) by Professor Dione

After posting the answers on the board by the questions, she turned back to face her class. The last thing she wanted was another bit of mischief, not because she was against any sort of amusement, but simply because she would have hated to set up two detentions in one day.

“As I looked around, I noticed that nearly everyone was able to get at least the first two correct. The third one happens to be elliptical, not round, though some planets’ orbits are so close to circular, it is a common mistake. The fourth answer is not Mercury, but Venus. Venus has a great amount of carbon dioxide in its atmosphere, trapping the heat. So even though Mercury is closer to the sun, Venus is hotter. The rest you either knew or not. Make corrections on those pretests as those questions might pop up again. Now to discuss those terrestrial planets…”

With a swish of her wand, the four glittering planets that orbited closest to the Sun floated down and started to orbit Dione herself, the glow of the crystalline planets illuminating the professor with the colored light. Slowly, the planets halted their orbit with a small gray planet looking similar to Earth’s moon.

“Starting with the one closest to the Sun, Mercury. The planet is .38 AU from the Sun, or 57,910,000 kilometers. The distance is really of no importance. The temperatures on Mercury, though not the hottest, are the most extreme in the solar system. They can range from 90 K to 700 K. In ways, it is very similar to our Moon; it is very cratered and very old. However, it is much denser, the second densest major body in the solar system. Mercury has a very thin atmosphere that consists of particles blown off by solar winds. Because it is so hot, the atoms quickly escape, so Mercury’s atmosphere is constantly being replenished.”

The planets rotate, and a new planet sits in front of Dione; this one is a tannish color covered by clouds.

“On to the hottest planet in our solar system and the second planet from the Sun, Venus. Other than the Sun and the Moon, it is the brightest object in the sky. From the perspective of Earth, Venus shows phases when viewed with a telescope; Galileo’s discovery of this proved Copernicus’ heliocentric theory-the model where Earth and the planets revolve around the Sun. Its rotation is both slow and retrograde; a Venus day is actually somewhat longer than a Venus year. Venus is considered to be Earth’s sister planet due to its similarities in size, lack of craters, density, and chemical composition. However, Venus has a thick cloudy atmosphere that consists of carbon dioxide and sulfuric acid. This greenhouse effect is what keeps Venus at a high and steady temperature.”

After briefly describing the first two planets, she paused in her lesson to allow the students time to take any needed notes as well as a brief break so the class would not be too strained by a constant flow of information.\n\n

0 Professor Dione The truth about terrestrial planets (pt 1) 0 Professor Dione 0 5

Asher Tallow

April 30, 2005 7:44 PM

...is good for the environment! by Asher Tallow

It felt strange and sort of heavy, and Asher knew intuitively that she hated to feel that way. When her little brother Sams would turn pale after she yelled at him, or when her dad would sigh and start clearing off the table when she refused- it always felt the same: like she was the lowest of the low and inescapably bad. Her temper was always getting her in trouble, as well as her mouth. She just...reacted sometimes, and the end result was always something far worse than what she intended. She was mad at Earl Valentine, definitely, but Robbie's quietly said words made her feel positively horrible.

Her eyes darted carefully in the boys' direction, her hands mechanically flattening a few of the parchment pieces that had formally been bunched up into fist sized balls. Earl had cleared his area of debris and looked down right frightened. Robbie had a pile of wrinkled parchment on his desk and was ineffectively trying to smooth out the folds. She cast a quick glance toward Dai Oni; she was heading to the front of the class. Right, so Asher had a bit of time left before the lesson resumed. She grabbed a handful of parchment from inside her satchel- she had loads still in her trunk- and flitted up to Robbie's desk.

Purposely ignoring Earl still (she was mad at him, after all), she pointed to Robbie's pile of crumpled parchment and held out her own. "Trade you for it- I plan to stock up for next time." She let her lips break into a small smile. "Never know when another paper war will break out."\n\n

0 Asher Tallow ...is good for the environment! 1466 Asher Tallow 0 5

Fawn Summers

May 01, 2005 10:46 PM

Sorry, the above post is mine. Forgot about the boxes (nm) by Fawn Summers

0 Fawn Summers Sorry, the above post is mine. Forgot about the boxes (nm) 0 Fawn Summers 0 5

Zack Dill

May 03, 2005 10:29 AM

still writing by Zack Dill

In deference to the subject, Zack did not take his notes in Sindarin. Instead, he used Vulcan, Kling-on, and a few smatterings of other alien languages that he'd picked up from Babylon Five, Star Wars, and several other science fiction shows. When none of them were able to provide a word he needed, he used his own made-up language.

The notes, had anyone but Zack been able to read them, would have appeared not just detailed and complete, but he was adding in a few factiods that even the teacher wasn't mentioning. Zack had gone through a phase where he studied outer space the same way other kids memorized baseball statistics.

He was thankful when she paused in her lecture for a little while, because he was still writing about Mercury at that point. It didn't help that he was trying to remember half-forgotten and rarely used sci-fi dialects to take his extensive notes in. But he hadn't taken notes in English since the third grade and he wasn't about to restart now.

He continued his diligent writing, trying to catch up again before she moved on.\n\n

1 Zack Dill still writing 40 Zack Dill 0 5

Arista Thornton, Teppenpaw

May 03, 2012 2:04 PM

Communication, interesting (with a lil Addi) by Arista Thornton, Teppenpaw

Arista, being the oldest of the Thorntons, felt responsible for all of the younger sisters, brother and cousins. She was no mother-like person, that was Addison. Arista, was kinda there as a buffer. The voice of reason and stupidity. The voice of ‘Are you kidding?’ was more commonly found in her vocabulary than, ‘It’s going to be alright.’

If I don’t go to class, the girls won’t go to class… she thought as she poked at Addi in her bed. “Come on, get up. We’ve gotta go to class.” she said to her slightly younger sister. Addi moaned and turned over in her bed, covering her head with her comforter.

“Don’t wanna… Addi said slowly and pulled her blanket tighter around her larger frame.

“We have to. Come on…” Arista said as she pulled the blanket right off of her sister, exposing her pajamas which were a pair of blue feetie pajamas with white stars and moons all over them. “Are you kidding?” she said to Addi. “Feeties?”

“Whatsamatta with feeties?” she argued as she wiped at her eyes to try to wake up now that she was without her blanket.

“Just get dressed…” she said as she pulled her sister up off the bed so she would actually get dressed instead of go back to sleep. “Now. Or we’ll be late.”

Addi moaned, but did as her older sister said. Arista left the room and headed down to the Common Room to wait for Addi to be dressed and she smiled and waved at her housemates as they went passed her for their classes or breakfast. Finally, Addi came down to join her and the sisters walked to Muggle Studies.

Arista had to pull Addi most of the way, like usual, but she pegged it all on the early morning rather than her sister’s excess weight gain or asthma. Addi wheezed slightly as the girls came upon a doorway which had brightly colored lights flashing with the words Muggle Studies on it. “Cool!” Arista said as she pulled her sister inside the room along with herself.

A few students had beat the older two Thorntons into the room, which didn’t surprise Arista because of how long it took to wake Addison up. The oldest sister pushed her younger one down into a chair gently and sat down in another one altogether. This way, maybe, just maybe I don’t have to deal with her? she thought as she looked around the room.

The room itself looked quite modern and technological. Arista smiled at this because of what a change it was to the previous room for this class. The chairs were executive style, what looked to her like black leather. The desks too, were black. At the front of the room, she spotted who she assumed was the Professor, sitting in a nice chair at the front and she smiled at him. She wondered what they would be doing this class.

0 Arista Thornton, Teppenpaw Communication, interesting (with a lil Addi) 0 Arista Thornton, Teppenpaw 0 5

Addison Thornton, Teppenpaw

May 03, 2012 2:23 PM

Wheezes (with a little Arista) by Addison Thornton, Teppenpaw

Addison disliked a few things. The first and foremost thing was that Arista felt responsible for her. Addi believed she was old enough to take care of herself and she wanted so much to change who she was to be a better person. The second thing was that she REALLY disliked early classes. She’d much rather sleep than be poked and prodded by her sister (who, incidentally was MUCH more of a morning person than she EVER would be) to get up.

Sleeping still, she felt a poke and heard. “Come on, get up. We’ve gotta go to class.” from Arista’s voice. Addi moaned and turned over in her bed, covering her head with her comforter.

“Don’t wanna…” Addi said slowly and pulled her blanket tighter around her larger frame.

“We have to. Come on…” Arista said as she pulled the blanket right off of Addi, exposing her pajamas which were a pair of blue feetie pajamas with white stars and moons all over them. “Are you kidding?” she said to Addi. “Feeties?”

“Whatsamatta with feeties?” she argued as she wiped at her eyes to try to wake up now that she was without her blanket.

“Just get dressed…” she said as she pulled her sister up off the bed so she would actually get dressed instead of go back to sleep. “Now. Or we’ll be late.”

Addi moaned, but did as her older sister said. Arista left the room and Addi knew she was headed down to the Common Room to wait for her. Addi stumbled out of her bed and put on a pair of black sweatpants and a long sleeve black tee-shirt. She slipped her ballet flats on her feet because she hadn’t the desire to tie those pesky shoes of hers when it was hard enough to see her feet sometimes. Addi came down to join Arista and the sisters walked to Muggle Studies.

Arista had to pull Addi most of the way, like usual, but even when Addi begged for her sister to slow down, she didn’t. The fourth year wasn’t sure what else she could try to get her sister to slow down when finally they reached the classroom. Thank goodness… she thought as she wheezed slightly as the girls came upon a doorway which had brightly colored lights flashing with the words Muggle Studies on it. “Cool!” Arista said as she pulled her sister inside the room along with herself.

There were a few students in the room already. The oldest sister pushed her younger one down into a chair gently and sat down in another one altogether. Good, maybe I don’t have to deal with her anymore today? she thought. Addi tried to get her breathing back to normal, but it wasn’t working so much to her advantage that morning. I hope this isn’t another one of those asthma attacks waiting to happen? she thought as she spotted the teacher at the front of the room.

Wheezing still, albeit quieter, but still wheezing, the Teppenpaw girl looked at him, wondering what they’d be learning today.

0 Addison Thornton, Teppenpaw Wheezes (with a little Arista) 0 Addison Thornton, Teppenpaw 0 5

Jeremy Reddington

May 05, 2012 1:47 AM

An introduction if you please... by Jeremy Reddington

Jeremy had quietly been sitting pretending to be engrossed in the schedule below him, but his eyes raised and looked around the room.

At first when he saw only two, he was nervous...but the room filled quickly. He found the small group before him now were looking around curiously and rather than have them wait in case more students joined them, he thought he would have their voices be heard.

Standing like a sleeping lion ready to pounce, he gave them all a warm smile.
"Rather than have you all fall asleep on me before anyone else arrives, I reckon we could introduce one another to me and explain why you have taken my class, and what you would like to obtain from this class?

Now... I'm not really one to enjoy having Professor added to the front of my name, so therefore you may refer to me as Mr Reddington. But you may all be too accustomed to professor so I wouldn't be upset if you had to use it.

I'm too British, so ladies first, if you please..."

0 Jeremy Reddington An introduction if you please... 0 Jeremy Reddington 0 5

Katrina (Kitty) McLevy - Aladren

May 09, 2012 10:07 PM

It’s mine! by Katrina (Kitty) McLevy - Aladren

It was curiosity more than anything that caused Kitty to sign up for the Muggle Studies class. After all, as a muggleborn she was quite familiar with the subject, but she wondered how much the magic world would get wrong. When she was younger, Kitty read a book about people from the distant future unearthing a perfectly preserved home and coming up with all sorts of ridiculous ideas for what the different household objects were used for. Depending on the Professor it would either be deeply entertaining, or an easy O. Kitty hoped he was a Pureblood, it would be neat to see what the lessons would be like when given from that perspective.

All of that tumbled though Kitty’s mind as she skipped into the room. Her short stature might lead some to believe that the small girl was a lost first or second year, but she didn’t care. The fact that she was vertically challenged didn’t bother the muggleborn much. Her mom was barely five foot and it didn’t seem to be a big problem for her, in fact Anita was the boss of the house, and often proved the old adage that dynamite comes in small packages. The famous temper her mother was known for wasn’t something that the short Aladren inherited. For all that she looked nothing like her father, Kitty was more like him personality was than she was like her mother.

The classroom didn’t look anything like the usual classrooms and Kitty’s grin flared to life. It wasn’t likely that a muggleborn teacher would decorate their classroom like this. Snuggling into one of the comfy black chairs, she glanced around at the piles of technology on the tables against the walls. Nothing looked terribly unfamiliar, so Kitty turned her attention to the Professor.

“Hi! I’m Katrina, but you can call me Kitty. Um, well mostly I was just curious. I’m a muggleborn so I just wanted to check out the class and see what’s being taught.” Kitty said with a bright smile.

0 Katrina (Kitty) McLevy - Aladren It’s mine! 0 Katrina (Kitty) McLevy - Aladren 0 5

Kitty

May 16, 2012 7:01 PM

The strength of communication by Kitty

The soft tap of the toe of her shoe on the floor caused her smile to brighten. This was the first term that Kitty was able to touch the floor while sitting instead of her feet dangling just shy of it. She still had to stretch a bit, but it was the principle of the thing that mattered. Being able to touch the floor proved that no matter how it might seem like she hadn’t grown at all, she had. Which was nice to know, some day she might even be able to reach the stuff in the cabinets without having to pull a chair into the kitchen. The thought of her as a tiny old lady carefully tottering on a chair as she reached for a glass made Kitty giggle before she could stop herself.

She gave the boy next to her an apologetic look and tried to swallow the rest of the giggles that tickled in her throat. Getting the giggles at times like this, when nothing funny was actually happening, was so embarrassing sometimes but she really couldn’t help herself. Her friends quickly learned to live with her random outbursts and most of them figured out that trying to get her to explain the convoluted strands of logic that lead to the laughter could provide hours of amusement or bring on eye squinting headaches.

Listening to the different reasons for why people were taking muggle studies was fun, even if the whole concept still seemed sort of silly to her. Then again, life in the regular world was different than the magical so she supposed they would want to study those differences. “I wonder why they don’t have a magic studies class.” Kitty mused out loud. That would have been super helpful when she was a first year. The magic kids wanted to learn about muggles, it only made sense for there to be a class to teach muggleborns about magical culture.

0 Kitty The strength of communication 0 Kitty 0 5