At my work, the scientists are invited to share our knowledge with the youth that comes through our doors to study the X-fish. You could say that we are hounded to break up the everyday presenters monotonous routine with a few minutes of something 5th graders might find interesting or exciting. After a while of procrastinating about this, I decided it was time to share my exciting life of science with these kids (plus, then I could add it to my resume). One of the reasons I procrastinated so much was because my job is so boring - I had a hard time figuring out how on earth could I make it seem exciting to 5th graders. So, instead of telling them the truth about being an everyday scientist, I told them about the exciting things I have gotten to do, like go out on boats, catch fish, collect water samples and the like. I showed them cool pictures of a fishing net full of fish, the gross eggs and babies of a dogfish that had died, and a cute baby blowfish. It was actually pretty fun and I think the kids thought it was interesting. By far, the picture that for the most oohs and aahs was this one:
Thanks Endeavor!
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Shaping Young Minds
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Annual being sick sucks post
Well, I have a cold again. I feel slightly better than yesterday but not much. I just have a cold - and no, it's not GT's fault, I'm pretty sure I was sick before the football game, it was just in the incubating stage at that point. So anyway, short and sweet - being sick sucks and we have a organization dinner tonight with members of our board, where I'm pretty sure my husband will know more of them than I do - ironic, eh? Whatevs, at least there will be good food.
Oh yeah, and the Pats are going to kick Eli's ass all the way back to Giants Stadium from AZ!
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Good Dog, Happy Dog
A black and white ball of energy
Who loved the outdoors and his family.
He had a great appetite
and would never bite.
Playing in the snow
he ran to and fro.
With an extra-long tongue
he'd chase the frisbee far flung.
He was very well loved
and got lots of pats and rubs.
In the greener grass you now play
and we are dismayed
Because now you are far from us
and we will have to adjust
To being apart
while keeping you close in our hearts.
We all loved Bailey!
Friday, January 11, 2008
Sir Edmund Hillary
Today, the first known person to climb and summit Mount Everest passed away. I don't know much about climbing, but know that summiting this impressive mountain is quite a feat. Most of the articles I've read make him sound like a pretty decent guy, giving back to the Everest community, building schools and hospitals. It's always nice to read about a decent human being. Even the things that he did that were controversial seem to be so because he was fighting for humanity. To read National Geographic's take, click here.
Monday, January 07, 2008
Funny lyrics
So, I think we have all had that moment where you and your friend are riding around in your car and you are singing along to a favorite song and belt out the impressively wrong lyrics. I think there are many websites dedicated to the exact phenomenon of misheard lyrics. Today, the one that I came across for myself was from the song "Sample in a Jar" by Phish. I will admit that Phish is not one of my favorite bands, despite my dedication to the Dead. But, I enjoy the light-heartedness of "Sample in a Jar" and "Bouncing Round the Room." As I was listening to SIAJ, I realized that I didn't really know the words to one of the lines - in fact, in my mind, the words were: "Dancing with a legume, up on Leroy's bed." Who doesn't like to dance with legume's, right?? :) For the correct lyrics, click here.
Friday, January 04, 2008
Congrats!
Our group has a new baby! The wife of one of my best friends just had a baby! Everyone is healthy and resting, getting ready for the next phase of their life. I'm so happy for you and can't wait to meet your new addition.
The Plastic Ocean
Today I read this article about plastic. It is a bit long, but worth the read if you care about your health and the environment. I consider myself among those who are concerned about the planet. Plastic is a material that has many benefits and many harms. The invention of useful plastics has lead to the invention of life-saving medical devices, bulletproof vests, and silly putty. However, it seems that the harms are far outweighing the benefits: we breath toxic gases released by melting plastics during the recycling process, we breathe dust particles containing small bits of plastic, and huge volumes of plastic are polluting the oceans (one area in the Pacific contains a gyre full of debris the size of Texas.) Some food that we ingest (even if it is wild, organic - whatever that means) probably contains some sort of plastic, whether it be the sushi you had at lunch or the shrimp cocktail you had as an appetizer.
This information is disheartening on many levels. Plastic seems to be great since it can be recycled, however, the recycling efficiency levels are still so low, it hardly seems worth it; and the recycling process releases toxic fumes into the atmosphere. Alternatives to plastic are starting to get mass-produced, but some of those materials are made from corn, a crop when grown for food isn't so bad, but if we start to grow it for products other than food, land will become less available, the cost to process it will go up, more soil for other crops will be destroyed, and prices of most products will continue to increase.
I am having my own personal dilemma today. I received an email from the Body Shop informing me of a huge sale they are having. Many shower gels and body lotions are 75% off. This is a great deal. I love the body shop and everything it stands for. My issue is that most of their body gels are only 8 oz. They are on sale for $3 which, considering they are usually $12 is a great deal. Herein lies my problem. I know I can get 24 oz. of St. Ives body wash for $3 at Target. So here we go - one plastic bottle at 24 oz vs. 3 plastic bottles at 8 oz. each. The product inside is fairly similar: natural ingredients, never tested on animals. The one bottle is less plastic that the three bottles and is cheaper. Which of my morals do I go with? Less plastic? Community trade? I would just give up and go back to plain old soap, but every soap box is coated in some sort of waxy coating which probably has some sort of plastic base also. Maybe I should learn to make soap, with all my free time (yeah right).
Finally, I thought it was weird that this article was in the Men's Lifestyle section of MSN. I found it from the msn.com cover page. Shouldn't it be in the overall health section?
Thursday, January 03, 2008
Two jobs?
The other day someone asked me why I have two jobs. I guess it's a fair question. I am lucky in that I don't need the second job for monetary reasons (although it is nice to have a little extra every week). Really, I have the job to connect with people. My 9-5 job is usually me and my computer. Sometimes I get to call someone or occasionally talk to my boss or officemate, but usually it's just me. My second job, which I only work 2 days a week, allows me to help people find what they need and sometimes I get to have interesting conversations about a book I haven't head about or a topic in general someone is interested in. Now, if only I could get paid as much as I do at my second job as I do at my 9-5 job.....
