Bolder

Since I visited for the first time two years ago, I've dreamed of returning to Rocky Mountain National Park. I spent today there. So lovely. Green meadows, wildflowers clinging to the barren tundra, frozen lakes, waterfalls of snow runoff, rivers, glaciers, elk, snow...I wish I had more time there. So much I haven't seen yet! On the way back to the hotel, I headed to Pearl St. in Boulder. Ate dinner at the Boulder Cafe. Hung out at the Boulder Bookstore, which is a fine bookstore, if a little lacking on the science fiction. Walked past High Crimes, the mystery bookstore, but it was closed! Too early! Grabbed some candies at Belvedere Chocolates. All-in-all, a lovely day.

This is the third year in a row I've spent time in this area. Returning to Boulder now feels a little like coming home. My first trip to the Boulder area corresponded with my first long solo roadtrip. I remember being so nervous about it! I remember even hesitating to go up to RMNP by myself. Now I think nothing of jumping in the car and heading out for a few days. I'll always think of this area fondly, not just because of the natural beauty, but because it is a place where I learned more about myself.

Red Rocks

Ever since I saw the U2 concert video "Under a Blood Red Sky", I've wanted to go to a concert at Red Rocks in Morrison, CO. Check that one off life's to-do list. Tonight I went to Red Rocks - Nine Inch Nails (with TV on the Radio and Bauhaus). Gorgeous scenery, a waxing crescent moon, stars, planets, great acoustics, and my favorite band. Just what I needed. And to Trent, about what you said to the audience after "Hurt"? Right back at you, a millionfold.

(For those of you keeping track, that's one year, five NIN concerts in four states.)

Mutants

We went to see "X-Men" today. I must say that I enjoyed a movie where I could listen to the voices of Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellan, and Kelsey Grammer. If only there were a role for Christopher Plummer...

I haven't determined what superpower I'd want for myself, but I did enjoy using the motion-activated paper tower dispenser after the movie.

Slab

I know this image came out a few weeks ago, but it's been my desktop wallpaper ever since. When I was a little girl, I had a scrapbook of all things Mount St. Helens, and I'm still fascinated. - growing rock slab in Mount St. Helens, from APOD and USGS

Sleep, precious sleep

I crawled into bed at 10 pm last night and crawled out of bed at 10 am this morning. I think I needed that.

I spent the past few days in the cooler climes of Flagstaff, hiking and snacking and soaking and watching basketball playoffs and giving into my new sudoku addiction. Now I'm back in sweltering Tempe, decidedly enjoying the A/C and still giving into my new sudoku addiction.

Indy

I enjoyed being a judge at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair last year so much that I immediately knew I wanted to do it again. This year, it was held in Indianapolis. I dragged Carl along with me, and we were both assigned to the Space Sciences division. We arrived in Indianapolis late Monday night, and as we were checking into the hotel, I noticed a woman wearing an ISEF badge. Turns out that she was the mother of one of the students competing and she thanked us for volunteering our time. This had already been an amazing experience for her daughter, and she'd decided to become an engineer because of the competition. Nifty!

On Tuesday, after registering at the Fair, Carl and I walked about downtown Indianapolis for a little bit.

Looking down a side street:

The State Capitol is pretty:

I don't know how much more American you can get:

One of the perks of being a judge is attending a panel of Nobel Prize winners, who show up to the Fair to interact with and inspire the students. Jocelyn Bell Burnell was on the panel, although not a Nobel Prize winner. (But she should be!) Hers is a story I relate to my classes, and I was surprised at how emotionally affected I was by her. Another thing that struck me about the prize winners overall is how normal, but extremely competent and confident they were. They reminded me of astronauts. (As a side note, all of the folding chairs had "Hoosier Dome" embossed on them. Definitely in Indiana.)

Wednesday was devoted to judging. All the kids look so young, although you have to be a high schooler to compete. Many of the international students wear their national dress. Most of the projects are so far beyond what I could have done at their age. One student I interviewed had already submitted his work to a professional journal and was partway through the peer-review process. My most entertaining interaction was with a student who noted that I was the "second aggressive female astronomer" who had asked him a specific question. I smiled all friendly-like and said, "Excuse me?" To which he responded, "I meant, you're just so on top of things." Hmm...methinks he doesn't speak much to people with breasts.

All-in-all, I enjoyed judging again and found it very rewarding. Next year's fair will be in Albuquerque - all the fun, plus green chile!

Done

I just submitted the last of my grades. This semester, this nightmare of a semester, is finally done. Tomorrow, I shall commence my life again. Hmm..maybe I'll get a haircut, as I had to tie my bangs in a unicorn-like fashion to finish grading. Hmm...perhaps I shall go shopping for summer clothes that fit. Maybe I'll even download the pix I took in Indianapolis. The possibilities are endless!

Just plain screwy

It was halftime of the Suns-Clippers game, and it was already midnight. The Eastern Time Zone is all screwy.

I'm in Indianapolis, where I'll be a judge at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair again. The next few days will be hectic, but rewarding. Should I be grading? Oh, yes. Perhaps I should do a bit of that before turning in. Of course, the Suns game is still in the third quarter, so I'll be up awhile longer anyways.

On Edge

The end of the semester is upon me. Too much, too soon. I've written ten exams so far this week, and I still have one to go. I haven't even had time to grade. For the first time, I think I might not be able to get grades in on time. I have aggravated my neck and haven't been going to the gym. I keep telling myself there's just one week left, but it freaks me out instead of soothing me.

On the other hand, I received a lovely note from one student and a box of chocolates from another. Walking across campus this morning, I was joined by a student who wanted to chat about the Sun. And have you seen this pic of Saturn, from Cassini?

Alphabet Meme

I got this meme from Mike: "Write ten words beginning with that letter in your journal, including an explanation what the word means to you and why, and then pass out letters to those who want to play along. " He gave me the letter N.

1. Nice - this is typically how I'm described. Not that it's bad, but it is boring. Whenever I try to break the mold, though, I fail. Guess I'm doomed to be nice.

2. Niche - thought I'd found mine; turns out I haven't. That's a good thing, I believe, because I'd hate to think that life couldn't change after the age of thirty-five.

3. NASA - from Mercury to Apollo, Hubble to Cassini, grad school funding to E/PO grants, NASA has had an effect on my life that's almost impossible to describe. Perfect? No, but where would our understanding of the cosmos be without NASA?

4. Nebula - birthplace of stars, birthplace of dreams. The cycle of life and death playing out on an unfathomable scale. Seeing this image of the Vela supernova remnant when I was a young girl marked the beginning of my journey towards being an astrophysicist.

5. Nerd - gee, ya think?

6. Nature - you might be sensing a theme here. Taking the time to appreciate the universe around me is very important to me - looking through a telescope, touching a moon rock, sitting on an cliff overlooking the ocean, pressing my nose against the airplane window to peer at volcanoes, hiking in the cool mountain air... It isn't that I don't appreciate man-made works of art and literature, but nature awes me.

7. Night - I love the darkness, the cool air, the silence. I love the stars, Moon, and planets all shimmering above. I love moonlight streaming through the window and the last lingering stars before dawn.

8. Never - I never thought I'd fly alone on a plane. I never thought I'd lose 60 lbs. I never thought I'd drive across country alone. Never is a word that I will attempt to use more judiciously in the future.

9. Nine Inch Nails - the last few years been rough, and I don't know what I would have done without Trent Reznor - new album, concerts, and lyrics that speak to me like no others.

10. Next - mmm...the possibilities are endless.

Sights

• The Grand Canyon illuminated by the early morning Sun
• Nevada reminding me of Mars
• Mt. St. Helens ominously steaming
• The Space Needle looking tiny in the distance
• The Tacoma Narrows Bridge and its "strong winds" sign
• The Port Washington Narrows while eating a chocolate chip cookie
• Mt. Rainier so pristine, so close, illuminated by the setting sun
• Night-time Phoenix, reminding me of Coruscant, because that's just how I am

All in one day...it's an amazing world.

Dreamsong

Last night I had a very odd dream. It started with a discussion with a student, who said he owned a bookstore specializing in history books. (Surprising, because he doesn't strike me as being particularly bookish.) However I was reminded that I had been neglecting the course I was taking on running my own business. So I dragged myself to that class, where we were doing some sort of trust-building exercise by singing solo in front of the class. Everybody else performed lovely renditions of Beatles songs or snippets of opera arias. Me, I couldn't think of anything. No songs, no words were in my head. When it was finally my turn, I burst into the only song I could think of at the time - "Particle Man" by They Might Be Giants. Much laughter ensued. I left the class, but on the way out I did sure take that last chocolate donut.

My dreams are typically straightforward to interpret: student interaction is done on a daily basis, I'm obsessed with books, and I want every bit of chocolate I see. The singing was prompted by chancing upon a student who was demonstrating her singing skills by singing "Country Roads" by John Denver in her best soprano vibrato. Now that's weird.

Good day

Today is the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox. Many people celebrate this day - we did so by preparing a breakfast of bacon, eggs, and banana walnut pancakes. It was a very pleasant day overall, a nice respite from the hectic semester that this has become. Only four weeks left, including finals. I'm not convinced I'll be able to finish all my grading and other obligations. But for most of today, I forgot that. It was a good day.

The Moon!

Alright, it isn't a spectacular image, but it is my first astrophoto, taken after tonight's astronomy lab. Moon!

To Do

Last week was so busy that I didn't even have time to write my weekly to-do list. Now I'm fearing that I've forgotten something important. I'm sure the students will let me know. I did accomplish one thing on my mental list - to have a nice mixture of work and play this weekend. I graded and completed bills/taxes, but I had a massage, and we also ate at two restaurants we hadn't tried and spent part of one evening reading at a coffee house. I feel a little bit better about beginning these last five weeks of the semester, but they're going to be hectic.

Evil M&Ms

They were calling to me, those peanut M&Ms. I usually don't have them around, but there they were, leftover from the Vegas road-trip. I could not resist. All gone now. I guess I'll call this M&M incident "dinner" and move on.

NIN in Vegas

Got back not too long ago from a weekend in Las Vegas with Greg, who graciously escorted me to my fourth Nine Inch Nails concert of the past year. Vegas, as always, was fascinating and repulsive. NIN, as always, was spectacular. Opened with "Mr. Self Destruct" - aaiiee! Performed "Something I Can Never Have" - as a guy behind me blurted out during this song, "God can strike me down now". Saul Williams was an amazing opening act. I'm glad I've been introduced to his work - kind of punk hip-hop. Gotta see if I can squeeze in one of the shows on the NIN summer tour, which Trent says will be the last for the US for awhile. And is there any man who looks sexier with a tambourine than Trent Reznor? I know, it makes no sense unless you see him, but oh my goodness...

Stinky

I'm very glad that the sewer in the faculty office building has backed up into the air handler room. It's a lovely aroma and makes me happy to be in my office.

Saving my semester

I've written previously about how difficult this semester has been. I haven't really noted much improvement. I've made connections with individual students, but none of my classes have a good vibe still. And some of the students have been rough to deal with - the ones who get up and leave without trying if the lab has math in it, the ones who demand to know why they have to take the course for their major, the ones who yell at me because they find the course difficult and I have to bite my tongue and not yell back that this IS the easier version of introductory physics, the ones who are inert in the classroom... Last Wednesday, during the introduction to Mars lecture, my class was almost completely silent. Things that have sparked great discussions with previous classes did nothing here. I kept thinking during that hour, "I'm just gonna go back to my office and cry. Just bawl." Then one of my students approached me after class. He said that he was thinking about becoming a teacher and wondered if he could ask a few questions. Then he asked me, "How do you deal with a class that just refuses to respond, no matter what you do?" And I realized that some of my students were frustrated by their classmates' lack of interaction, too. We chatted for quite some time, and when he left he told me that he appreciated all of the effort I put into our class.

So I'd just like to thank Brian for saving my semester. I was pretty much bottoming out there, and he threw me a lifeline.

New pix from Mars!

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter returned its first images today - resolution on the image below is about 2.5 meters per pixel. Nifty!