Feeling old

So the other day Justin is trying to make a timeline of important events in the history of our concept of "what is history". I'm thinking a pretty important event is the invention of the printing press, because all of a sudden a lot more stuff could be written down for posterity and stick around for a while, instead of perishing within a century because there was only one copy of whatever historical thing someone had wanted to preserve for posterity and somebody else used it to line a parrot dove cage with.

I'm trying to lead Justin to this idea. It... doesn't go quite as planned.

Me: OK, where do you learn history from?
Justin: From you!
Me: Right. But from where else?
Justin: Books?
Me: Right! And how do those books get written?
Justin: I know! I should look up the invention of the typewriter!
Chris: No, that's too modern.
Justin: I'm not talking about this ::he points at our keyboard:: I’m talking about the old ones, that... you know...
Chris: That didn’t have monitors?
Justin: Yeah! Those ones! Old stuff!
Me: ::cracking up:: Typewriters! Old stuff! Like the dial phone!
Chris: The dial phone! I remember those! The ones where when you forgot something, you had to dial to call your friend and ask, When is our typing class again?
Me: And you had to hope they were home, ‘cause there weren’t any answering machines--
Justin: What?!
Chris: And then if you were late for class, you had to get on your dinosaur and ride it all the way to school!!
Me: Saying Giddy-up, boy, giddy-up!!

Bless this mess

The haps around here in the last week or so:

• Final science paper for Superhero Science (last Tuesday)
  
• Book report for Daniel's English Literature class (last Thursday)
  
• General Choi Memorial Cup Taekwon-Do Tournament (last Saturday)
  
• History Fair (Tuesday)
  
• Final day at Dulude (Wednesday)
  
• CanGames (where Chris is running a kids' game that requires him to build a small model of downtown Ottawa) (today & tomorrow)
  
• Chris's birthday (tomorrow)
  
• Re-tiling our kitchen (this weekend)

There are issues of Canadian Medical Association Journals (showing how scientific papers are formatted), editted and highlighted printouts of reports and scripts, TKD uniforms, sparring gear and medals, bristolboard, tape, scissors, edges of trimmed papers, a trilobite, a crystal, and a number of children's history novels, bits of cardboard, glue sticks, foamboard things, dowel, little cars, spray paint, tempra, paintbrushes, an ice-breaker, instant cement, and 121 sq ft of kitchen tile.

I would like my house to be a bit more presentable. Perhaps I shall go set it on fire.