It can be difficult to imagine how vast the Internet really is. We’re often caught up in our local circles of social networking and email, so we’re not always thinking how much bigger the Internet is than us. Now a great many of us know it’s a world wide phenomen (largely because we know www = world wide web), but once you’re reminded of all that goes on in a second, a minute, an hour, or even more it makes you take a second look at what you are a part of. It’s not the cozy little online network you thought it was and the need to be Interent savvy becomes that much more apparent once it’s all put into perspective.

What surprised you the most with this social media counter? Did you click on “1 day” or “1 month” to see how the numbers change? When you watch the counter numbers add up quickly, does it make you think of your time on the Internet and what you spend time doing there? Has it prompted you to make any changes about how you act online?

I don’t know about other classes out there, but my class seems to love the word “random”. We have student blogs devoted to randomness and a random thought or idea is often met with great enthusiasm from them. To tell you the truth, I actually feel quite at home with all the randomness since I’ve been accused of it a time or two myself.

So here amongst the assignment instructions and showcases of what we do in class, here is a story that may seem very random, but it did end up connecting back to our class today.

Have you ever tried to improvise (make unexpected changes) while creating something in the kitchen? This might be because you ran out of ingredients or what you expected to find, or you were just bored. And while you might have doubted the outcome in the beginning it ended up turning out better than anything you intended to create?

Nothing really sticks out in my mind that I’ve done, but I continue to make something my dad created when I was in Grade 5 or 6.

My dad enjoyed making Rice Crispies squares (and eating them too). One afternoon, he melted the margarine in a pot and added in the marshmallows. When the marshmallows were melted as well, he went to the cupboard to get the Rice Crispies and was surprised to find that we didn’t have any! So now he had a melted pot of marshmallows and nothing to put in it. Looking in the cupboards he found a box of Shreddies and decided to pour them in instead – my dad was no stranger to improvisation. He mixed them up as usual and pressed them into a pan just like you would the Rice Crispies. Now they don’t press quite as nicely, but it sort of works.

Now when my sister and I saw these, you can imagine our surprise! Marshmallows should only be mixed with Rice Crispies. In the end, though, I tried it and surprisingly I ended up liking them more! I found that the Shreddies didn’t become soft or a bit soggy like the Rice Crispies did and I actually liked the taste much better. So to this day, given the choice, I prefer making Shreddies & Marshmallow every time. Now, I’m still trying to convince my husband that they are the better option, but I think my kids are sold on it.

You might be wondering, so what’s the connection to my class? Well, I recently made a batch a couple days ago and I started to think about how it all got started. Then, when I brought them to school in my lunch there was a lot of curiosity about what they were which led to a number of impromptu ”taste tests” and even a few declarations that some were going to go home and make some!

So aside from inviting you to try making these yourself, I’m wondering if anyone else has a crazy surprise food creation that has caused a bit of a stir with people, but you’re sticking to the idea that it is in fact delicious!

Yes … I guess I can be a little bit random …

image: Marshmallows by John-Morgan released under Attribution license

Here’s wishing everyone a safe, relaxing, and fun Winter Break. Have a great 2 weeks off and we’ll see you in Januray 2010! I’m looking forward to hearing about it all when we get back.

images

• Snowman Neighbor by MGShelton through Creative Commons
• christmas decoration – birch stars & ornaments by himmelskratzer
• Snowflake by mammamia through Creative Commons