Drink 134: Unblogging

Last week I was trying to measure the distance between two latitude/longitude pairs. Luckily I learned trigonometry in school so I knew that the formula was:

     R * cos^-1(cos(long₁-long₂)cos(lat₁)cos(lat₂)+sin(lat₁)sin(lat₂))

Be sure to convert your latitude/longitude pair to radians before you plug them into the formula!  Or just use Google maps.

That is a fine looking drink

I learned trigonometry not because I wanted to, but because it was required in my school.  It’s a good thing I wasn’t unschooled (and that my Internet was working) or I wouldn’t have been able to make my calculation.  In unschooling, the kids not only do not attend a traditional classroom-based school, they don’t learn anything they don’t want to.   It is like home-schooling to the n^th degree (that is a math term in case you happened to be unschooled).  I have a feeling that left to my own devices I wouldn’t have learned trigonometry.  On the upside, I probably would have been the greatest Atari player in the world.

I heard about unschooling from a story Mrs. Bottle told me about. The kid in the story didn’t learn how to read until he was 10 because he didn’t have a reason to read before then.  I guess up until that point they used a lot of Mr. Yuk stickers and that  game nights were limited to Candyland.   I definitely wouldn’t want someone who can’t read giving me clues in Password.

Honestly, I don’t think his story makes a very convincing case for unschooling.  His 12-year-old brother “is bored a lot because he's in between interests.”  You know what, when I was 12 I was bored a lot, too, but at least I was still learning stuff.  One thing I distinctly remember from science class when I was around that age is that the six simple machines are the wedge, the pulley, the inclined plane, the screw, and two other ones.  I certainly wouldn’t know 67% of the simple machines if I had been left to only learn what I was interested in.  That kind of simple machine knowledge would be really handy if I ever did work around the house.

My favorite part of the article is where the mom makes the case that you shouldn’t force a child to do something the child doesn’t want to do.  There are a lot of kids in my neighborhood, and based on the number of basketballs abandoned in my yard, I’m thinking maybe sometimes they should be forced to do something they don’t want to do.  Like pick up their basketballs.  Consarn it!

This 50ml
bottle is the max
amount of
coconut rum
allowed at the
estate

Enough about that, you are probably anxiously awaiting our review of today’s drink, the Heat Wave. The Heat Wave is made from coconut-flavored rum, peach schnapps, pineapple juice, orange juice, and grenadine.   It was a bit sweet, but overall pretty tasty.  I was surprised since it has both peach schnapps and grenadine, which are two unwelcome ingredients.  Mrs. Bottle dislikes coconut rum as well, but she liked the Heat Wave anyway.  It probably had something to do with the fact that there were 6 ounces of juices to wipe out the less attractive flavors.  “Volume” and "ratios" are also concepts I learned in school.

If you made it this far, I would like to congratulate you on your ability to read and your ability to do something you don’t want to do. You may also be wondering what unschooling has to do with today’s drink, the Heat Wave.  The answer is “nothing.”  That is because I am unblogging today.  I don’t have to write about anything that I am not interested in, and I am not interested in making a connection between the drink and the rest of the post.

Overall Rating for the Heat Wave

 

Taste: 4

Presentation: 5

Ease of Preparation: 4

Drinks Until Blackout: 15 –  5% Alcohol

Ingredients

1.5 oz Coconut-flavored Rum

0.5 oz Peach Schnapps

3 oz Pineapple Juice

3 oz Orange Juice

0.5 oz Grenadine