Shadows and Ice

It's been too long since I posted an image from the Saturn system - Enceladus, rings, and Saturn, from Cassini

Conflict

Static tranquility and glowing change - aurora over Alaska, by Daryl Pederson

Dull and Duller

This semester is chaotic and busy and stressful. I feel like I do nothing but work. And I'm excited that Spring Break is in a week so I can catch up on grading. I bore even myself.

Reaching Out

I was invited by the city of Scottsdale's Parks and Recreation Dept. to give a presentation at a family stargazing night this past Saturday. Despite the partly cloudy skies, a few dozen people showed up. Had a lot of fun, met some interesting people, got to see Saturn. All in all, a good time.

Students nominated me for an award at the university where I teach part-time. I'm not eligible for the award (due to the part-time status), but I was touched to be nominated. The award would have meant participating in the Last Lecture Series, which enables the faculty member to give the lecture that they would want to give if they only had this one last chance to speak to the public. (And I'll take it on faith that students just wanted to hear what I had to say, instead of just hoping I'd give this last lecture and then shut-up forever.)

So, I've been wondering...what would I say? It is a provoking thought. Sure, I could give a decent talk full of pretty astronomy images, but freed from the educational objectives of a traditional lecture, really, what would I say? I'm not sure, but it's something I continue to think about.

What would you say if you had one last chance to sway or move or motivate an audience?

New Moons Confirmed

Dammit! - two new moons for Pluto, from Hubble

Quantifying

Wow, time does fly...

Over 50% of my caloric intake today was chocolate of some form. That's a good day, I say.

Today was a holiday for me. I took the morning off, but worked the rest of the day. I made chili for lunches and a decadent pasta dish for dinner. I wrote eight physics quizzes. I wrote one astronomy midterm. I wrote half of a new astronomy lab. Whew.

I had to work today because I had a glorious weekend hanging out with friends. This weekend marked the twentieth anniversary of the college science fiction club where I've made so many friends. It's also where I met Greg over sixteen years ago. Some of the new members weren't even born when the club started! It was just lovely seeing all the geeks, many of whom I hadn't seen in years. I'm very glad I let Kirsten drag me to that first meeting so many years ago.

Hmm...if I go to bed now, I might get six whole hours of sleep! Good night, all!

What to do?

I just haven't reached my classes this semester. I wonder if it's because I was sick the first week and didn't make a good impression? I don't know, but the vibe in the classroom isn't as pleasant as it usually is. With one lecture in particular, I find myself stumbling for words at places where the complete lack of reaction catches me off guard. I think of teaching now almost as performance art, and I feed a lot off of my audience. This feedback loop is an unfortunate cycle this semester, and I can't figure out how to break out of it. It's a shame in so many ways - the students are not getting me at my best, and I'm not having the fun I normally do at work. I feel like the more I try to reach them, the more distant they become.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Enough with the whining...

...let's look at some comet dust! -cometary dust particles and trails, from Stardust

$1200.03

I know I only have to pay the $500 deductible (only $500 - sigh) , but the fact that some assholes inflicted $1200.03 worth of damage on my car in a random act of vandalism has upset me very much. And it isn't just the money - it's going to take about a week for the repairs. I have a rental, and it's covered by my insurance, but it isn't the same. Some worthless jerks have robbed me of time, money, and the little car that's taken me to friends and freedom and ragey music and peaceful vistas.

I don't understand meanness, but if your goal was to make me very sad, it worked.

Poopy

There are many times when I quell my baser instincts. I don't say the mean thing that pops to mind or perform the inappropriate action that would be immediately gratifying. Nope, I bite my tongue and try to do the right thing because I do believe the vast majority of people deserve no less.

So imagine how I felt this morning coming out to the car after breakfast to find two big shoeprints on the passenger side, one accompanied by a big deep dent in the door.

People are poopy.

:(

Stardust Mission Webcam

I've added a link to the Stardust Mission Cleanroom Webcam over in my "Favorites": http://stardust.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/webcam.html

Oh, to be there!

Tidbits

David stopped by for a few days on his epic cross-country roadtrip. (Jealous.) I think it's exciting that David is moving to Switzerland. Sounds so romantic and adventurous. (Jealous.) Best of luck to David! And wish him well getting over his evil sickness! (Not so jealous.)

I have not done any significant grading yet this semester. I am so screwed.

If Arcosanti weren't so cultish, I could totally see myself wanting to retire there. But, no.

It occurs to me that I should ask the chemistry lab tech if he's washed his hands before I accept the piece of chocolate, but for 73.5% cocoa content, it's so worth the risk.

We all know the dream is better than the reality, but do you ever wonder if you might just be wrong about that?

The green laser pointer I purchased for the astronomy labs kicks ass. I'm gonna get in trouble with that thing. :)

I think I shall eat a peanut cluster now.

Ahhhh!!!!!!

The Stardust mission is the coolest mission EVAR!!!! - cometary dust impact in aerogel, from Stardust

Tiny!

Only 5 earth masses! - the smallest extrasolar planet,with artist's representation, from Hubble

Whew!

For a moment, I thought this CNN headline was about me: Student: Teacher humiliated him over Broncos jersey

Uphill Battle

A lot of people have basic misconceptions about astronomy and science in general. Many seek out information, whether it be by reading magazines and newspapers, watching science programs on TV, or attending talks, like the symposium on religion, intelligent design, and evolution that I attended last night. The majority of Americans may be scientifically illiterate, but sometimes I think it's not due to an unwillingness to learn, but rather lack of ability to filter out the crap.

Case in point - this last weekend, the USA Today Weekend Magazine supplement, which appears in many papers nationally, published an article on how the newly discovered possible tenth planet "Xena" might affect your horoscope. Not tongue-in-cheek. Devoid of sarcasm. And listed under the subject heading "Science". So let's say John Doe wakes up on a Sunday morning and decides to educate himself in current events in science, so he opened up his newspaper, and pulled out this article. Didn't he do his part? Didn't he try?

Or he could sign up for a class at his local community college and walk into a room where a mousy mid-thirties chick attempts to debunk astrology as the pseudoscience it is. Who carries more sway - the nationally syndicated newspaper or me? I'm not claiming that this has happened, but rather use this example to illustrate my point. Misconceptions are being perpetuated by what we consider to be legitimate information sources. Sigh. I guess this is why I do what I do.

Rambling

I napped for almost two hours today. I think the stress of the first week of classes caught up with me. Or it could be the overeating. When I'm not feeling well and still have to work, I eat everything in sight to keep up my energy. Oof.

So I'm wondering, what would be your reaction to someone sitting on a bench in Scottsdale who was barking and growling softly at passersby?

Congrats to Greg and Tim Pratt for the selection of their story "Robots and Falling Hearts" for Kathryn Cramer's and David Hartwell's Year's Best Fantasy 6. Yay!

I've developed a crush on Kevin Garnett, due to his new Adidas commercial. Yup.

Just the first week of classes, and I'm already behind. Sigh. This is going to be such a long semester.

Getting By

Lack of sleep and a long flight conspired to put me under the weather this weekend. Raging ear infection, to be precise. I'd have been completely miserable without the gentle ministrations of Greg, who brought me hot cocoa in bed, made a doctor's appointment for me, and settled me on the couch with hot tea and Empire Strikes Back. I am once again reminded how lucky I am in my friends and family. Did I mention Mom sent chocolate chip cookies and Sis brought us her famous peanut clusters? :)

But as you can imagine, being sick and still wishing I was on my D.C. trip made the first day of classes a little rough today. I was feeling down and uninspired, but then I received my course evaluations from last semester and my day started to improve. I work really hard at what I do, so it feels good to have my efforts be appreciated. Then I had a visit with Charly, who always brightens my day. (And dare I say he's a physics major now, hmm?) My physics lecture went a little rough, in part due to a lack of misunderstanding of the word "prerequisite" by many students. But tonight's astronomy lab had some friendly faces in it, and I just ate two chocolate chip cookies, so the first day of classes wasn't so bad after all.

A few pix

My photos from my D.C. trip sucked, but here are a few I liked (and I had to do something while watching Colts-Steelers):

I'm old enough to rule the world from here now.

However this building is much more impressive.

Here's the Lincoln memorial as seen from the WWII memorial.

I became obsessed with the Washington monument, which looks so gleaming white in the distance...

...but shows such beautiful texture up close.

So much, yet not enough

The problem with such an amazing trip is that I don't even know how to begin describing it. I spent last week in Washington, D.C. at the American Astronomical Society winter meeting. I had tremendous amounts of fun. The conference itself was impressive - over 3100 astronomers in attendance. There were many good talks and posters presented. I attended a talk by the NASA administrator - he painted a realistic picture of the future, but the budget next month is going to be very, very ugly.

In the past, I've generally attended conferences all day long and didn't explore the cities much. This time, however, I decided to follow my New Year's resolution, which is to not be such a good girl anymore. :) So I cut out of the conference in the afternoons and explored D.C. My explorations actually began the day before the conference started, when my beloved Philip and his lovely Faith took me to the National Air and Space Museum. Ah...heaven on Earth. I touched a Moon rock! And saw the Columbia module from Apollo 11! And the Wright Flyer! And the Spirit of St. Louis! I returned there again the next day when I cut out of the conference, and then I headed over to the Natural History Museum to check out the Gem and Mineral exhibit. Oh, so lovely. Especially the meteorites. Oh, the meteorites. I've never seen such a beautiful selection on display. There was a piece of Nakhla out to touch - I've touched Mars! I saw snippets of some of the other museums on the other afternoons, with my friend Kevin, and I must say that every other museum I've been to previously looks like a bad museum gift shop next to the Smithsonian museums. And the monuments and buildings are all remarkable. I took tons of pics, but they all suck compared to reality.

The socializing was excellent. Got to meet new people, including Jackie M.! Nice to see you in person. Got to catch up with the old UCLA astronomy crowd (Robert, Steve S., Suzi, Deborah, Brant). Hung out with the ASU astronomy crowd (Sam, Steve B., Paul, Kevin, Joe, Katie, Greg S., Hu, Ravi, Jason A.). Spent a lot of time, although not enough, with Philip.

As much as I was glad to come home, where Greg had a beautiful piece of azurite waiting for me from his road-trip, I was sad to leave D.C. There is still so much to explore there. I shall have to return soon.

Look at the pretty colors

I slept for one hour last night, before catching an early flight from D.C. to Phoenix. Greg very kindly picked me up at the airport and brought me straight to work. I spent some time curled up on Carl's office floor and have been getting work done very slowly. I'm at the point where I just want to look at pretty colors. Oooh... - the Orion Nebula, from Hubble.

Satisfaction

I'm at the AAS meeting in Washington, D.C. this week. (Blog entry about that when I return.) This morning as I walked around the exhibit hall, I heard someone call my name. I turned to see one of my former community college students presenting a poster. I have to say that it was one of the most gratifying moments of my life.

Tadpoles

Gotta love it when one of my former TAs gets a big press release. Go Amber! - galaxy mergers, from Hubble

So pretty

Couldn't you just weep at the beauty? - Saturn, through a methane filter, from Cassini

Roses

USC lost the Rose Bowl, lost the national championship and ended their 34-game winning streak all in one game. Happiness seldom comes in a tidier package. :)

Book Reviews - 2005

I've been keeping track of how many books I read each year since 1997. 2005 marks a new low in number of books read - only 39. Methinks I spend too much time on the interthingie. Here are the notables from my 2005 reading, in the order I read them:

• Perfect Circle - Sean Stewart: Lovely writing and a beautifully developed main character that ya just feel for, so much.
• Burger Wuss - MT Anderson: This man remembers what it's like to be a teenager. And the social commentary is hilarious.
• Alphabet of Thorn - Patricia McKillip: The world is so lush and beautiful and magical and you never doubt the magic can work.
• Whales on Stilts! - MT Anderson: Makes me giggle just thinking about it.
• Olympos - Dan Simmons: I did not like this one as much as its predecessor Ilium, but the daring and scope and joy of the writing makes this one a winner.
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J.K. Rowling: Alright, I don't agree with everything she did, but it's a measure of how much I enjoy these books and characters that I can form such opinions. Snape...ah, Snape.
• The Complete Calvin and Hobbes - Bill Watterson: Pure brilliance. The part of me that is glad Watterson retired while still in his prime wars with the other part of me that weeps for more C&H.
• Peeps - Scott Westerfeld: I didn't find the ending to be very satisfying, but I loved the scientific explanation of vampirism. That construct alone makes the book worth reading.

Happy Reading in 2006, everyone!

Good-bye 2005

Like all years, 2005 had its highs and its lows, but instead of dwelling on the bad, I'll concentrate on the good:

• Starting the year off with Greg and gently falling snow in Flagstaff.
• Roadtrip to Minnesota and all the friendship.
• Three Nine Inch Nails concerts. Three!
• Central California Coast with Greg.
• Avalon Ball with Greg, Kirsten, and Aaron.
• The huge amounts of appreciation I was shown by my students.
• Cozy birthday and Christmas.
• Another 31 lbs lost, bringing my weight-loss total to 56 lbs since August 2004.
• Ending the year here in Flagstaff with Greg and warm beverages and coziness and love, closing the loop..

Here's to hoping we all have a peaceful, fulfilling, and happy 2006.

Aurora Galleries

SpaceWeather.com has compiled all of their aurora images into a gallery, finally. There are some magnificent images here, contributed by people all over the world. Here's a current favorite of mine:

Enjoy!

King Kong Hurt Me

My neck hurts. It's hurt ever since I craned it up at a movie screen watching "King Kong" yesterday. Ow. I didn't like the LOTR movies much in their theatrical release forms, but I adore the extended versions. Therefore, I wasn't too cowed by the thought of seeing a three hour-long Peter Jackson movie. Was I ever wrong. The movie was incredibly boring - I think my neck hurts so much because I was trying not to nod off. It had some good moments, but I think I come firmly down on the side of this being a bad movie. The most interesting characters disappeared too soon (being a flaw that the major characters were not the most interesting), there were racist overtones up the wazoo, the special effects were wretched in many parts, and this movie provides more evidence that digital animation enables filler when storytelling is needed. The most interesting aspect for me was looking for all the product placements in the New York sequences. I'm glad that I saw it on the big screen, but it's definitely a movie I'll never need to see again.

Oof

Yesterday was a lovely relaxing day. I was spoiled rotten by friends and family - thanks so much for all of the gifts and gift cards. I will now go buy all the clothing I need! I received socks and clothes and books and chocolates and a tackle box and sea salt and cocoa and much more. I'm a spoiled brat!

I'm also a stuffed brat - I cooked all day. For our holiday breakfast, I made sausage, roasted potatoes, scrambled eggs, and banana walnut pancakes. For holiday dinner I made chicken cordon bleu and pasta, because it's really all about the decadent cream sauce. Mmm...for snacking, well, there was a chocolate incident. Maybe several. That's all I'll say. It was a good day.

I hope that everyone is having happy and peaceful holidays!

35

Got up early and went to the gym. Headed over to Starbucks with Greg and had hot chocolate and a pumpkin cream cheese muffin. Treated myself to an hour-long massage. Greg and I had a late lunch at our favorite brewpub. We also went to the Phoenix Suns/Washington Wizards game. (Good game, even though the Suns lost.) Raked in lots of loot from friends and family. (Thanks, guys!) All in all, not a bad way to spend my 35th birthday. Except for finding that gray hair - I could have done without that. :)

Dover Decision

The latest ruling in the Dover, PA Intelligent Design case should make me happy, but it doesn't. My fear is that this will now get played out on a much larger stage. The judge's ruling that ID is a religious movement, rather than a scientific model, is correct, but now some proponents of ID are citing this as religious persecution. A couple of quotes for you, from a Washington Post article:

"This decision is a poster child for a half-century secularist reign of terror that's coming to a rapid end with Justice Roberts and soon-to-be Justice Alito," said Richard Land, who is president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission and is a political ally of White House adviser Karl Rove.

The Discovery Institute, a Seattle-based think tank, wrote that the judge has a "pernicious understanding of what intellectual and religious freedom in America means."

So, my friends, the battle is far from over, and in many ways may have moved even further away from being a scientific battle than it was before. If you want more information on how the Discovery Institute is waging this war, go to http://www.evolutionnews.org/. It's good to understand the strategy of your opponent.

Standing Still

Today is the winter solstice, when the Sun stands still before beginning its trek back towards the north. The Sun appears to hover, thinking about its next move before continuing on.

Kinda how I feel right now. I'm at a bit of a loss. I keep feeling like there is something I should be doing. Comes from always having tons to do during the semester, I suppose. I feel pretty useless when school isn't in session. Teaching is satisfying and meaningful and it enables me to (hopefully) contribute to society in a positive way. Without it, I am a loser. Blah.

Finals Week Tally

Received: one homemade pumpkin pie, 10 frosted sugar cookies, chocolate hazelnut candies, and 0.4 lb Valrhona extra-bitter chocolate

Graded: 56 astronomy term projects, 69 astronomy lab finals, 68 astronomy lecture finals, and 122 physics finals

Total hours of work: 60

Goal for the weekend: no work (except to answer student emails - just can't help myself)

And now I shall sleep.

Ah, yes, I remember it well.

Finals week brings out all of our hopes, fears, and quirks. I see the students struggle and remember being them. I remember doing so many of the same things and asking the same questions.

Will flash cards help? Um, if they're good flash cards. Not if you attempted to write an entire semester's worth of notes on five cards. (I still have the flash cards for my undergraduate astronomy courses.)

Will there be a curve? Dude, the class average is an 81%! (I think that makes me the easiest physics teacher ever.)

What is my grade currently so that I can calculate what I need to get on the final to earn (insert grade here)? I'll tell you, but don't you think it would be better so spend your time studying? I mean, it's a great time suck - feels productive and involves math - but studying would actually serve you better on the exam.

You professors just don't know how stressful finals are. Sadly, I am more busy during finals as an instructor than I ever was as a student. (Let's see...I've written and have to grade four astronomy lab finals, two astronomy lecture finals, and one physics final.) Maybe I work too much now, or maybe I didn't work hard enough then. Either way, I'm glad I'm not taking the tests anymore.

(PS. A student brought me a homemade pumpkin pie this morning, still warm from the oven!)

On a related note

A few of my astronomy students have voiced their surprise that not only do I correct their grammar and spelling, but I will also dock their grade. I've heard "This isn't an English class, you know." I like the implication that proper English usage is only necessary for their English courses, which have no bearing on the rest of their academic and personal lives, of course.

Don't worry. Next week is finals week, and then my petty griping will slow down somewhat. Until I hit the malls, that is.

Insight?

Can anybody tell me why so many students think the plural of "scientist" is "scientist"? No "s" at the end, or if on the rare occasion they do put the "s", it's as in "scientist's". Is this a typo or a misunderstanding? Just something spell-check doesn't catch? As I sit here grading papers, I find it to be annoying.

Strangeness

After almost the entire semester has passed, one of the students in my physics lecture told me that, not only does she live in the apartment across the hall from me, but another of my students lives in the apartment upstairs! Aaiiee! It also says something about the way I go through life ( head down, not making eye contact) that I didn't recognize these chicks. Sigh.

---

During an in-class discussion, one of my astronomy students raised his hand and asked very seriously, "Why are there so many songs about rainbows? And what's on the other side?" I told him that I've obviously lost control of the class when the kids start quoting "The Rainbow Connection."

---

A former student came to visit me this week. He's heading home to the deep South where he means to go to law school, which was always his goal. His plan has been slightly modified, however, by the fact that his family struck oil on their property. Now instead of pursuing law in part for the financial gains, he hopes to open a family law practice benefiting underprivileged folk. Wish him luck!

---

A student I hadn't seen since September emailed me to ask me if I could withdraw him from the class, because he forgot to withdraw before the deadline. I told him I didn't have that option on my final grade roster. He then emailed back saying that he learned that I could instigate an administrative withdrawal removing him from my class for "disruptive behavior" and would I please do so? If by disruptive, he meant making me laugh til tears streamed down my face, I have been so affected. Otherwise, I'm not going to lie to make up for someone's laziness. Egads.

Couldn't choose just one

A couple of images for your enjoyment - too beautiful to choose one over the other

New composite image of the Crab Nebula, from Hubble - Jeff is famous for his many Hubble images (for example, the Eagle nebula), and congrats to Allison for her great work.


Many moons, from Cassini - I want this spacecraft to send back such images forever.

Eruption

Fountains of material soar above the surface of one of Saturn's medium-sized moons - Enceladus, from Cassini

In the sunlight

Herschel crater catches rays - Saturn's moon Mimas, from Cassini

Thankful

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, here's a view to be grateful for - Saturn and Dione, from Cassini

Mathigoths

Last Friday, I was a speaker at Math Club. My talk was "Predicting the Fate of the Universe - Using Trajectories to Understand the Universe." It was a basic derivation of Newtonian cosmology, which is cool because it gives the general relativistic answers without all the tensors and pain. I quite enjoyed myself - several of the students were past/current students of mine, all were very smart, and many of them were "gothy" - dressed in all black, dyed purple hair, heavy eyeliner. I think it's interesting that Math Club has become an intersection of different outsider groups, and I think that's a good mix...geeky goths.

But Mercury Moves Quickly!

Favorite headline from CNN today:

Bad horoscope prompts PM to ban reporters' questions

Favorite quote - "He added that Mercury moves slowly and will not steer clear of his star until next year." Mercury actually moves pretty quickly on the sky, so I think he's trying to get away with something. Hmm...

Many Things

Whew. Busy. Very busy.

My mother and sister visited this weekend! I had not seen either of them in over a year. My own mother had difficulty recognizing me because of the weight-loss - nifty, I think. I converted them to the cult of IKEA and drove them around Northern Arizona. We had a lot of fun, and I was sorry to see them go.

The end of the semester is rapidly approaching, and I have so much to do! Grading, writing exams, applying for travel funding, preparing a talk... there are 84 things on my to-do list, and I'm positive that I'm forgetting something important.

Aaiee!

Three

Dione, Pandora, and Tethys seen against a backdrop of darkness and rings, from Cassini

All about me

With Greg off at the World Fantasy Convention, I spent the weekend in Flagstaff. Completely hedonistic. I left work on Friday and went immediately to my massage therapist for an hour-long massage. Then I drove to Flagstaff in the late afternoon. The sun was setting as I drove into the Verde Valley, highlighting the red rocks of Sedona in the distance. So lovely. But my goal was at the base of the San Francisco Peaks.

My time in Flagstaff involved soaks in the jacuzzi, hiking in the beautiful sunny crisp weather, and eating at some of my favorite places. I watched Revenge of the Sith and What The #$*! Do We Know?! I drank cocoa and window-shopped for hippy clothing. I managed to spend only $2.70 at the bead shop. I have arrived home completely relaxed, and the mountain air has helped my lingering cold tremendously.

As much as I love my students, teaching means I'm forced to be more social on a daily basis than I would typically prefer. It was nice to spend some time focused on indulging myself and enjoying some solitude. Mmm...purr...

Feeling Better

Mmm...mexican food...the perfect comfort food. Warm, soft, spicy...mmm....

I had warned a few students over email to be wary about attending office hours today, because I'm sick. One of the students showed up to my office with a thermos of hot tea and honey and a mug. That and a dose of DayQuil got me through the day.

I must say I receive much more support and affection from students than I ever would have anticipated. There's been hot tea and thank you cards and flowers and chocolates. There's been Star Wars discussions and magic tricks to cheer me when I'm blue. Visits from former students. Nice emails and hugs. Friendship. If you'd told me before I started teaching how much warmth I'd feel from students, I would have laughed at you. Now I know better, and every day I'm grateful.

Pesky Pluto

Pluto might have two more moons, bringing it to a grand total of three. The whole "is Pluto a planet?" debate just gets more and more interesting - from Hubble

New Things

Wow, time flies. I can't believe it's Friday already, although I'm grateful.

This week flew by in part because last weekend was full of fun. Greg and I joined Kirsten, Aaron and two other couples for a trip to Catalina Island to celebrate Kirsten's birthday. This was my first trip to Catalina, and it was wonderful. The trip involved eating seafood, seeing dolphins, and dancing all night! It was so much fun. And many congrats to Kirsten's sister and her new fiance!

Heard a new one this week. I received a message from a parent saying that her son, one of my students, had suffered memory loss in a pole vault accident and that he wouldn't be in class the rest of the week. Here's to hoping he recovers quickly!

Another new thing - word verification for comments. Hopefully it isn't too annoying for my gentle readers and commenters.

Noisy Daze

Last night, I could hear U2 being blasted from one of the chemistry lab rooms. Not quite sure why, but it's true. And earlier in the day, someone was making Chewbacca noises in the halls.

I ran into my favorite student from last semester yesterday. He's excited to be moving on to a major university next semester. Of course, he greeted me by asking me if I used my Jedi sense to note his presence and told me he'd seen Revenge of the Sith at the dollar theater the night before. My geekiness is known far and wide.

So is my reputation as being the prof who got a substitute so that she could see Nine Inch Nails. Students who weren't even in those particular classes give me grief about this. Such is my teaching legacy - I cut out for NIN. I wonder when that will show up on ratemyprofessor.com?

My random student stories for the week - I had a young woman stop working in lab for about 20 minutes while she had the hiccups. Just completely debilitated her. These seemed like ordinary enough hiccups to me, but I guess she seldom has them and she freaked out on me. So odd. And then there's the young woman in my lab on Wednesday nights who always leaves really early. I figured that it was due to work obligations or being tired from a long day. No. She goes home early to watch "Lost". Sigh.

This semester is wearing me down, between working long hours and getting up early to go to the gym. Yesterday I was almost crying in my office, I was so tired. But I got a lot of grading done - I'm caught up or ahead in all my labs! I'm on schedule in all my classes. My students are doing well. Another of my favorite students from last spring will be taking a class with me next semester. And last night, Mars and the Moon were a pretty sight in the sky on the way home, and I had a mug of hot chocolate before going to bed, so I guess it's all worth the effort.

Superposition

It's just hard to believe that views like this could exist - Dione and Saturn, from Cassini

Pattern Recognition

From today's Astronomy Picture of the Day, a very nifty way to watch an eclipse, by Philippe Haake:

Scents

I'm in a lab room near some chemistry labs, and one of the chem labs is performing a stinky experiment. Blah!

One of the geology classes brought back a bunch of halite samples from a field trip, lending a rather sulfurous aroma to the stockroom. The samples sure are pretty, though.

One of my students asked me the name of my perfume. He says he can always tell when I'm around due to my scent. I'm hoping it's at least a good scent.

During the physics exam I gave yesterday, one of my students was sniffing her wristband. She said it had a nice associative scent - reminded her of Christmas - to keep her positive during the exam.

Bread and chocolate chip cookies. Cinnamon and nutmeg. Mmm...

Cozying Up

Spent a big chunk of my weekend cozying up to The Complete Calvin and Hobbes. It is beautiful. All of the strips are produced larger than they were originally and on high quality paper. The color is gorgeous. The books themselves are huge, but you get the sense of reading an important tome while flipping through the pages.

I remember reading the first strip in the newspaper, after my brother pointed it out to me. I was immediately hooked. Calvin and Hobbes has helped me through many rough days, and I typically reread the entire collection once each year. I was ready for this new edition, and I'm enjoying it very much.

Sponge?

The Solar System continues to laugh at us - Saturn's moon Hyperion, from Cassini

Anger Management Therapy

I drove out to Los Angeles last Friday afternoon. It was mostly an uneventful drive, but the fires in L.A. made the Sun an amazing blood red as it set. It was one of those times that I had to chant "don't look at the Sun" over and over, because I really wanted to look for sunspots. Then I arrived at my beloved Kirsten and Aaron's abode, where they took good care of me all weekend.

One of the highlights of the weekend was meeting the new twins! Brian and Amy welcomed twins into the world a few weeks ago. I spent a pleasant hour holding Tristan and Kirsten held Gwendolyn and we had a pleasant conversation with Amy. Tristan was so strong! Babies are so much fun to watch, especially at that early stage. They make little cooing noises and I like to cuddle and coo back - so soothing. I was so happy to meet the new kids and look forward to seeing them again.

But the most glorious part of the weekend was the Nine Inch Nails concert at the Hollywood Bowl with Kirsten and Aaron. Yes, I know, it was the third time this year I've seen them in concert (and it should have been the fourth!). It just gets better and better. Mars rose over the trees during "Only" and from our seats I could see thousands of people responding to the music. I could dance and scream and sing at the top of my lungs - so therapeutic. I don't have any more NIN concerts planned - what will I do now to channel all my rage?

Class Notes

Dear Students,

This is college. That means you should know better than to write notes to each other during class on the exercise you're going to hand in. I don't care that Roger is sweet or that you want to buy flowers for Becky. I am curious, however, if you noticed that the spectra of air and nitrogen are almost identical. Please check your high school behavior at the door, or at the bare minimum, write these little notes on pieces of paper that aren't to be graded. Or do what the rest of your classmates are doing, and text each other.

Thanks,

Bemused Teacher.

No longer

Hopped on the scale this morning and saw good news. As of this morning's weigh-in, I have lost a total of 50 lbs since August 2004. Even better, this puts me in the healthy weight range for my height. I am no longer overweight. Woo!

Relaxation

Today was a very pleasant and relaxing day. I slept in and then lounged around in my huge robe all morning. We went to see "Corpse Bride", which was quite a lot of fun. Me being me, however, I got the most giddy over seeing the "Harry Potter" trailer. Woo! Much good food was eaten, and with the exception of answering two student emails, I didn't do any work! Yay!!! I hope that all of you had as pleasant a Saturday.

Catharsis

I seldom take any personal time off from work. Let's see...I think one time a few years ago I took a Friday off so we could to go Los Angeles for the weekend, and I took off the Friday before the Nebula Awards last year. Two days off in over five years of work - I think that's pretty good, so why do I feel so guilty about getting a substitute to cover two of my classes last night so I could go see Nine Inch Nails?

My guilt did not impede my fun, however. We had floor tickets and we got to the arena early enough to be really close to the stage. Close enough for a short person like me to see Trent up close! Two hours of glorious aggressive music. They played the three songs I've been binging on recently - "The Line Begins to Blur", "Beside You in Time", and "RIght Where It Belongs" from "With Teeth." Somehow we ended up on the edge of the mosh pit, and I have to admit I enjoyed pushing people back into the pit and supporting the other people around me. We started off closer to the stage, but Greg chivalrously extracted me when the pushing got too furious. Not before I elbowed some pushy chick in the jugular, allowing her momentum to drive me into a back strike to her face, where my diamond ring left a lovely gouge in her cheek.

I hadn't felt that good in months.

I have bruises.

Kirsten, Aaron - I'll try to behave when we see NIN in the genteel confines of the Hollywood Bowl, I promise.

Slight Change in Plans

I woke up to news that NIN's drummer had to stop the show last night in San Diego and be hospitalized with heart problems. That meant that the show tonight in Tucson, which I merrily had tickets for, was cancelled. However, the hotel was booked and good mexican food restaurants had been scouted out, so Greg and I drove to Tucson, where I now type this at a pleasant little coffeehouse with WiFi.

We hadn't been to Tucson in years - it's so much bigger now! Every chain store the average American demands populates the 'burbs. Still an ugly city, but we had sublime mexican food (Cafe Poca Cosa), and later we'll head to Bookman's and the Frog and Firkin. A very nice way to spend the day, all in all.

Frustrated

Just had a student in my office, crying because she has to fly home where her brother is in the hospital. Hospitalized because he was beaten up pretty badly, probably because he is gay. All I could do was give her a hug and some tissue and reassure her that I'll make certain her astronomy class won't be an additional area of stress.

Doesn't feel like enough.

Polarized

Polarization isn't just good for sunglasses - the Boomerang Nebula through polarizing filters, from Hubble

Happy Thoughts

One of my students, a young single mother who wants to be an astronomer some day, is in the hospital with a blood clot in her lung. Please direct happy thoughts her way - aim toward central Arizona. Thanks in advance.

Unlearn

I love astronomy. It seems every day there is a discovery which says we must unlearn what we have learned.

Case in point, the first discovered asteroid has some planetary characteristics - just how many "planets" do we have? - Ceres, from Hubble

Fun with Students

I'm in lab currently, watching my students do a kinesthetic exercise. They are the Earth, a light in the center of the room is the Sun, and they each have a Styrofoam ball representing the Moon. They are rotating and moving the ball to mimic the phases of the Moon.

They are also paranoid that, because I have my computer in the room with me, I'm webcasting their antics. Now that they've mentioned it, I think it's a great idea. Hmm...

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For those of you keeping track, one student has a Tad Williams novel with him and another has a David Drake book with her.

Update: Another student is reading I, Robot by Asimov. Out of the nineteen students in lab today, at least three are reading SF in their time between classes.

Katrina

There's really nothing more to say. The images leave words lacking in power, in any case. I just wanted to mention that you should check the websites of your local colleges and universities. Along with the many displaced students of the New Orleans colleges, students in your own towns have been unable to reach loved ones back home. These students will also be lacking in the emotional and financial support they need to continue in school. Local schools in your town will be working to support these students as well as accomodate ones who've lost their schools on the Gulf Coast. Do what you can where you can.

Again!

Yet another semester. Yet another discussion of the Earth's precession and long-term variations on the sky. Yet another young woman with her astrological sign tattooed on her ankle asking me if her sign is still "correct".

In front of the whole class, no less. And I'm a horrible liar, so I spoke the truth.

She didn't cry, though. I must admit I'm grateful.

All in the Family

Borg, Oliphant, Doom, Laser - great last names.

I survived the first week of classes. Hectic, even more so than usual, but I survived. It helps to be surrounded by such supportive students - many ready to learn, many returning from other courses with me, many referrals. My long first day ended with a hug and kiss on the cheek from a former student, whose girlfriend is taking my class. He's referred cousins (including my padawan Carlos) and friends before. My classes have become quite the family affair, actually. There's a sister of a former student, a mother of a former student. One woman asked me if I remembered her husband and, recalling her last name, I shuddered. Remembering her husband, I knew she had to have a good sense of humor. :)

And then some classes just seem like family. For example, my physics course at the university. There are almost 150 people enrolled. Not a problem - I like big rowdy classes. It's just that the course was scheduled in a room with 120 seats. I had students sitting in the aisles! But they were all good-natured about it, and the close quarters facilitated the group exercises I had planned. I'm almost disappointed that they're looking for a larger lecture hall to put us in. This class has the strange feel of an overcrowded family gathering, not something normally associated with physics classes.

Anyways, that's what the first week brought me. All in all, not too shabby.

Just one more!

I know, I already posted one image today, but this is so pretty and I have so much work to avoid! - first quarter Mimas and ringshadows against Saturn, from Cassini

Whoa!

I'm pretty certain I've posted this image before, but so many of my students exclaimed "whoa!" when they saw it this week, I had to share - aurora and volcano in Iceland

Anxiety

Last night, teaching anxiety dominated my dreams. Showing up late to class. Not having enough copies of my syllabus. Students out of control. General lack of preparedness. Missing a class altogether.

Sigh.

Every semester, I have nightmares before school starts. During the day, I look forward to getting back into the classroom again. I'll be teaching my community college students about the solar system and I get to torment university students with physics! Sounds like fun to me. And last semester, I had a great crop of students, but each semester involves new people and new challenges. Will they like me? Will I like them? Will I do a good job?

I wonder what this semester will bring?

Sparklies

Have I posted this image before? Will I post it again? Both are likely, as I love to lose myself in crowds - the core of globular cluster Omega Centauri, from Hubble

Fascination

Mars is too beautiful and strange to believe - sand dunes on large crater floor, from Mars Global Surveyor

Before and After

On August 10, 2004, I decided to take control of my weight. One year and 47 lbs later, you can see the results for yourself:



All Hail Weight Watchers! And, many thanks to Greg for all of his support.

Losing It

Earlier this week I found myself exposing parts of my underwear in public. It was all very innocent, really. I was being fitted by a tailor who is taking in several of my skirts. It's just that she works out of a dry cleaners and as she was pinning my skirts sometimes the top of my underwear was visible as people were dropping off their cleaning. It was surreal. Almost as surreal as the fact that one of my skirts is being taken in almost 2 inches...on each side! And yesterday I purchased a skirt and blouse, each three dress sizes smaller than I was wearing this time last year. Woo!

Galactic Zoo

Many of these galaxies had not been seen previously - the latest release, from Hubble

Refraction

Rings bend - atmospheric refraction, from Cassini

My California

Just got back from a blissful few days with Greg along the Central California coast. The Monterey/Carmel/Big Sur area is a special place for me. It's where my father would take us if he really wanted to splurge to make my mother happy (she loves the ocean), and Greg and I have had some amazing trips there. It's also the region that most represents California for me. I'm a California native, and whereas some people think of Hollywood and traffic as best describing my home state, the following images are of regions that evoke it best for me. Hope you enjoy.

Pt. Lobos



Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park





Pfieffer Beach

A New Place

I've decided to make this site my blog for now. Oh, trust me, there'll still be plenty of space images. It is me, after all.

X-ray vision

Before the boom - Comet Tempel 1, from Chandra

Misfit

Not very well-rounded - Saturn's moon, Mimas, from Cassini

Flash!

Quite a bang - heat generated by contact, from Deep Impact

Fireworks

Hitting a comet causes quite the show - aftermath of Deep Impact, from Hubble

So close

...yet so far - Europe meets Africa, from Terra

Defrost

Defrosting carbon dioxide leaves dark spots behind - south polar sand dunes, from Mars Global Surveyor

Grand

Part of the real "Grand Canyon"- Coprates Chasma and Coprates Catena, from Mars Express

Crabby

I still don't see the shape - the Crab Nebula, from Spitzer

Rorschach

What does the dark blot look like to you? - possible lake on Titan, from Cassini

Eye of Sauron

Greg thinks this image looks like the Eye of Sauron - dusty ring (and spiky image artifacts) around Fomalhaut, from Hubble

Early Fireworks

Exhibiting a jet, one week before Deep Impact is scheduled to smach into the comet - Comet Tempel 1, from Hubble

Alignment

Sometimes, everything just lines up - Saturn, Dione, Epimetheus, from Cassini