Update: Enjoying DNA; Traveling Through Time in the Tardis

Concordian and DNA expert Gwen Acton filled the house, or more accurately, the Periodical Room of the Main Library, at the Thursday Author Series on May 19. Audience members, ranging in age from 8 to mid-70s, listened carefully as Gwen discussed DNA, recent discoveries in biology and cloning. She practically closed the place, as guests peppered her with technical questions long after her comedic speech was over.

Gwen wrote “The Bluffer’s Guide to Genetics,” which was published last year. As a member of the Friends of the Concord Free Public Library, which sponsors the Thursday Author Series, it was a pleasure to see so many people enjoy the program.

Next month, another Concordian will take the podium for the Thursday Author Series. Ilie Ruby will speak June 9 on her work of fiction, “The Language of Trees.” I’ll write more on that as the time nears.

The Tardis

I’ll admit. I have seen as many episodes of the cult classic Dr. Who, as I have of the pop smash Dancing With The Stars. And that number is zero. So when Tom Doucette started yabbering on about the Tardis that he and his family had built, I had not the foggiest idea what he was talking about. (Now highly educated in such matters, I have learned that the Tardis is a time-travel machine, actually a phone booth, and that Tardis is an acronym for Time And Relative Dimension In Space, but all of you already knew that.)  

Here is a brief summary of the paraphrased conversation, as I was not taking notes at the time:

Tom:  You have to see the Tardis my kids and I built.
Me:  See the what you and your kids built?
Tom:  The Tardis.
Me:  The what!?
Tom:  The Tardis!
Me:  (Blank stare [Note of emphasis: This stare was more blank than usual])

We went on and on, with me getting no definitive answers about what a Tardis is and Tom getting patiently annoyed. He finally bridged the communication gap by asking me if I had Internet access, and he referred me to this link: http://www.wheresthetardis.com/show-us-your-tardis/2.

Of course, this was still of little help and only made me feel more in the dark of pop culture. Tom went on to explain, though, that a Tardis is a time machine made famous by the Dr. Who series, and currently, there is a contest here on earth - and all the other planets where Dr. Who fans live and build time machines - to see who can create the most unique Tardis.  

For the contest, you rack up points on Facebook, by posting a picture of your Tardis on the official Tardis website, (see the link above,) and getting people to view and “like” your Tardis. I anticipate that all our Patch readers will “like” the Doucette Tardis best and will click here now. The winners get to go to a private screening of “Dr. Who” and a whole pile of other stuff Dr. Who fanatics go gaga about.

The Doucette family had a great time building their Tardis, pictured here. Meg, 14, and a freshman at CCHS, kept a blog of all the steps. Click here to read Meg’s excellent blog. Meg’s sister Kate, 11, helped with the construction and lettering. The Doucettes hitched a trailer to their vehicle and towed their Tardis around Carlisle, positioning it in various locations around town. (Tom let the police know first to screen calls on the mysterious blue time machine popping up around Carlisle.) This is about all the traveling the Doucette Tardis has done so far. No travels through time as yet.

Tom said the Doucette Tardis, which the family estimates at 500 pounds, (that includes the empty artichoke jar)  actually is not yet equipped to zip you around from one time period to another. Factoring that portion in requires a little more time and technology than the Doucettes had available, he said.
Well, the Doucette Tardis may not travel, but it will multitask. Once the contest is over in June, Mom Kari Doucette will get to keep it as her new garden shed.

Do you have something you would like to share? Contact me at mcb23@comcast.net or Stefanie at stefanieac@comcast.net, and we will be happy to help you share the good news.