Oklahoma: May 2008 Archives

There's an educational games website called PurposeGames. It provides a framework for setting up simple quiz and multiple choice games. In about 10 minutes, I created a quiz for identifying Oklahoma's 77 counties. As a background, I uploaded a public domain outline map of Oklahoma (created for Wikimedia by Scott Nazelrod), then placed a dot and a label over each county.

When you play the game, as each county name is shown, you click on the appropriate dot. You get three guesses before you're shown the answer. It's fun, and a great way to memorize geography. During storm season, it pays to know where Oklahoma's counties are.

Toll on the Muskogee Turnpike: $1.20.

Tank-full of gasoline: $52.50.

Tickets to the Oklahoma Renaissance Festival: comped.

Digital camera: $329.

Having that digital camera handy when you run into a co-worker in full Renaissance Festival costume?

Priceless.

###

I don't have much for you tonight because we spent the day at The Castle in Muskogee, and we had a great time. My two older kids completed their "quests" -- scavenger hunts that take you to all parts of the grounds. They both tried the rock wall -- the seven-year old made it to the top; the eleven-year-old tried the more difficult "jackpot" path, but didn't quite make it. We saw the joust and a falconry demonstration. My eleven-year-old son decided he wanted to go in costume. He looked like young Wart in Disney's The Sword in the Stone.

There are some new linkblog entries on your left. Stan Geiger has a bunch of new posts up about Tulsa Community College's spending habits and doubtful enrollment figures, things to keep in mind for Tuesday's TCC property tax hike election, so be sure to pay him a visit.