Thanksfooding

Hi.

I was hoping to post this around the time of thanksgiving, but unfortunately I wasn't so on the ball :P.

But I remembered this morning when I finally sat down and actually made some food. Not leftovers or things in the freezer or basics or snacks or things I picked up from outside. I finally did some cooking - It really felt like it had been awhile.

So before I get into my own Thanksgiving awesomeness - let's share some stories shall we?

All about that Space

Hi.

So as I've mentioned I've been super busy with work. And of course a lot of that time was for taking measurements on the imaging system my company has developed. So it would only be natural that I have caught up on several episodes of Science Friday (both old and new)! And since there were just so many I wanted to share,  I've grouped them into separate batches for easy digestion ^_^.

The first category I have for you is all about space. It's one of those topics that you just can't think about without a bit of wonder - after all, most of us grew up with stories and movies of flying through the stars. So I've put together a few of the stories that caught my wonder below!

Quasars

Hi.

Quasars, the oldest remnants of our universe and the furthest things from us that we've been able to detect. Totally cool.

Doubly cool, cuz my brother had a physics course in which he got to calculate ways to track quasars that we can no longer see or something about their life spans, or something. Ok that was a bad explanation. What can I say, physics is not my strong suit. But dude, it was kinda awesome.

Right so, on with the listening!

Listen HERE.

Hoppy Cephalopods?

Hi.

I recently downloaded the Science Friday app on my phone. We recently acquired a bluetooth speaker in the lab, and realized that it would be nice to play these podcasts on the speaker. Unfortunately, I don't have bluetooth capability on my ipod, hence the downloading of the app. However, I can't exactly pick up where I left off - I think it only loads a month's worth of podcasts.

Here are the first two that I listened to (as in the ones that I thought were the most interesting from the recent podcasts)

Hoppy

As a very novice beer enthusiast, I'm just really confused about how to understand beer. I mean I get wine, but for some reason I just don't get beer.

Maybe because there are too many complexities to understand compared to wine - at least according to the microbiologist's claims during this podcast. There are different micro organisms, different ways to add in ingredients, and well, there are just a whole lot of different ingredients.

At least now I get that I'm not really a fan of super hoppy beer - I'm actually more of a medium to low hops kinda gal. And the odd coffee flavor in some porters? Well, that's actually from the juice of dandelion roots, which is kinda similar to a cocoa bean extract.

But you don't need to take my word for it - Listen HERE.

Cephalopods

So you may or may not recall one of the first SciFri videos I shared (Badass). Well it turns out, that on Science Friday, instead of celebrating shark week, they decided to celebrate Cephalopod Week! They decided to return to this awesome creature, and of course share more videos - cuz I mean, what's the fun just talking about it when you can see the awesomeness, right?

But first let me start you off where I began my cephalopod appreciation this week: Listen HERE.

One of the most fascinating things about these animals is that they are ridiculously smart, and therefore ridiculously adapted to their surroundings. They are basically the humans of the water - but actually they're quite older than we are (it might have helped that the oceans were more stable than the land throughout the ages... but still, they came about waaaaaaaay before we did).

After sharing the octopus video from above, I heard a ridiculous story about one in a lab. This lab had two separate tanks - one for this octopus and the other for a bunch of other fish they were studying. After situating the creatures in their tanks, everyone left for the night. However, upon returning the next morning, there was a suspiciously empty tank (I'll assume you know which). Not sure how this happened, the scientists re-situated another school of fish in the tank. Of course, the next morning they discovered that once again the tank was suspiciously empty.

So after refilling the tank's population, they set up cameras and left for the night. Upon discovering the same loss of the days before, they reviewed the camera's footage to discover something ridiculously incredible. The octopus had climbed out of its tank, clambered down to the floor, across to the other side of the lab, up the table and into the tank of fish for a huge buffet dinner. But of course the journey was not finished. It made the return trip to its own tank, to chill, digest, and act like it had nothing to do with anything at all.

Like woah, seriously intelligent creatures. Seriously Intelligent. Literally the brains of the ocean, but with awesome camouflage and a whole bunch of extra appendages.

But let me not spill the beans and ruin all the surprise for you. You can go and watch the videos HERE.

But since I know there are a few of you lazy bones out there, so I've embedded them for you below.

And I really do hope that you take a look at the videos, cuz well, they are awesomely ridiculous and make me really excited about science and stuff - and I just want to share that with you all ^_^.

Oh and here's a song for you too!

with a little Football spirit, cuz it's world cup yo!

Curious

Hi.

Sometimes I just wonder. And sometimes I am in wonder. I mean think about it, how long did it take to go from a single cell organism to a microscopic organism, to finally get all the way to something the size of the blue whale? Or from the small organism to something so crafty as the cephalopod?

And then you realize that we are now speeding the forces that evolve the environment of the planet, at a rate that would have normally introduced newer species, but instead is outpacing the rate of evolution, and I think again to the beginning and how fast that evolution takes.

And when we discover new environments that hold species of these single cell organisms I wonder - how long would it take for a more complex organism to evolve from these little guys?

Then I think about how once a single cell organism evolves into a multi-cellular organism, the multi-cellular organism more often than not feeds on the single cell organism... and I remember that nature is quite harsh.

Dude. Seriously.

Anywho... Listen HERE.

We live on a floating shell

Hi.

Hello.

Hi.

During the hours I spend at work in front of a system just taking measurements or doing repetitive analysis, I had started to get very annoyed at any and every station of music I'd been listening to. Then, realizing that I have been slacking on keeping up to date with the piling lists of podcasts on my computer ('Wait wait don't tell me', 'Science Friday audio', 'Science Friday video'... yes there clearly is a theme), I figured that I could use that time catching up. And since I was catching up, I figured I might as well share the ones that catch my attention in the mean time.

Of course sometimes I can't listen to podcasts, because I need to use my brain for what I'm working on... sometimes I can't multitask... it's horribly sad, and obviously a sign of a decaying mind... sigh...

Regardless, here's the first for you all to enjoy

Listen HERE

(in case you're wondering how long I've not kept up to date, well, let's just say the dates correlate to late 2012... in my defense, I was a lot better with the videos - until I wasn't obviously)

Bounce baby bounce

Hi.

So, dancing makes people feel happy... Huh. Who woulda thunk? ^_^

The Big Gulp

Hi.

So the past week's SciFri video actually freaked me out more than impressed me. I mean there was some science to it, that was a bit interesting. But the actually subject of the episode was on the immediate repulsion list >.> .

Anyways, I decided to jump back into the past videos to something much more enjoyable. As you know, I have been going through the older videos. I probably wouldn't have noticed these normally, but because I was shuffling through the videos and browsing the titles, I came across two very similar videos talking about, well, very large eaters.

  

Artfully Programmed

Hi.

Ok. So this last video from Science Friday didn't really pique any real interest or thoughts, but I just thought it was a little quirky and well, I guess I'm really posting it as a sharing method for my friend Codeduck.

Like I mentioned, I'm not really intrigued by this, I just thought it was cool that this artistic display was integrated with programming. It's kinda neat that the animated doll is moved using a sensor that monitors movement in 4 quadrants. And the histogram of the amount of movement controls how much a certain body part of the doll will move (of course the actual movements are not being controlled, but I guess they weren't going that far).

But aside from that, I mean, how do you get into this field of art? I didn't even know it was considered a separate category... Anyways just a look at me sorta video :P

Crowded

Hi.

So odd thing this week - there is no new video post on Science Friday - so I thought I'd post on an older one. But after checking out the site, I found a short video, a "snack", from Thursday:

It seems that for once following the crowd is a good thing. Of course following the majority isn't always right, but there is a sense of safety that does come from following everyone else. There are tons of historic examples where people do the wrong thing because it means that they won't stand out (like the fish do when in lighted areas) - which means they will live for another day in peace.

Just like these fish, there is a higher chance of survival when sticking with the majority, because in many ways going out on your own means you have no guidance and makes you a target for all kinds of predators. But those people are kind of amazing. [Big picture: underground railroad, those who helped hide Jews during the Holocaust; Smaller picture: geniuses whose ingenuity leads to amazing progress and fun things to play with, rock stars]

But it's not easy.

If you think about it, we are told all of our lives to stand out, make an impression, be unique - all in pursuit of snagging an interview, acceptances to higher education institutions, promotions, honors - even finding the person you'll spend the rest of your life with. It's because that first bang of individuality makes a lasting impression.

But being unique or different isn't accepted easily. For example, I know a lot of Indian families that came to the US during the Cold War, when different was bad - different meant the enemy. And many of these people changed their names, let go of traditions and culture to be more American. Even for me, bringing packed lunches filled with Indian food was a chore. I'd never be able to eat without at least one person asking me what I was eating, followed by the comment, "Ew." It was only until later in high school that a select few people were actually interested enough to even want to try and enjoy the food (personally, I say that's because of education and maturity - but that doesn't necessarily help).

The thing is, being different takes guts. You need to have the confidence to look and act in a manner that is novel. It takes confidence to put a unique personality out there. You can't be afraid of the judgments of others.

I think the basic part of being unique is just being able to wear your character on the outside. If you think about it, we all are different even though some people try to be the same - we are different (I refuse to go into the whole different experiences lead to different people thing... Ok, I did a little but that's it.). And part of wearing your character on the outside is being confident in yourself. The easiest way to do so is through your appearance (mind you, flashy doesn't mean unique - unless you are a flashy character ^_^).

Unfortunately, we are constrained by society. We are not all afforded the luxury of isolation - we have to cater to interviewers, the law, and our relations. We are held to standards of the acceptable and appropriate. Our ability to be different sometimes is only allowed to shine if it is within those boundaries. Of course I'm not saying that it can't - but you seem to ultimately face the consequences, be what they may.

It's as if most of society accepts different as long as it stays within bounds. It is a paradox that society lives in: you can be unique as long as you are basically the same.

And the irony of everyone being a unique character is that well, if everyone is "unique", then in the end, no one is. It's like being unique is following the crowd. Who'da thunk? Maybe we all are really just fish stuck in schools.

Perception

Hi.

So I guess in an effort to avoid doing work that I need to, I have decided to amaze you with another wonderful post mere days after my previous post. This video is a bit along the lines of the last one - in the sense that it's quite the illusion ^_^.

I wouldn't say this video was as astounding as the last one in terms of the wow factor. But it definitely has a mind boggling factor.

It's more like it's hard to wrap your mind around the way that gravity can be distorted here. And it's like what we perceive - what we assume is right based on our perception of the world - is just wrong.

Badass

Hi.

So it feels like it's been a while. And well I feel like I haven't kept up with my agenda since last week. I do have some pet posts I'm working on, but for some reason I've been feeling too antsy to commit the time and patience to fully write anything.

But I have been watching Science Friday (not quite so good with the audio versions yet) and I wanted to share an older one that I found when I first explored the archive of videos. And man, is it badass.


In case you're lost, double tap or single tap to play/pause these videos

Now of course, you could just watch this, be amazed, and move on with your life. Or you could continue on to read what I thought about it ^_^.

Plans and Stars

Hi

Recently, I came across a new and exciting series of intellectual discussions and reveals. They are the Science Friday series by NPR (national public radio). Every Friday, instead of Market Place, Ira Flatow hosts this show, as a foray into the world of science - from quantum mechanics to cooking, outer space to insects.

In addition, there is also a weekly video post hosted by Flora Lichtman (she occasionally shows up on the radio show too). They add a visual factor to these sneak peaks at the nifty, sciencey, geeky things that exist in the world around us. On occasion the topics overlap with the radio episodes, and sometimes the things you see just blow your mind (or at least they blew mine :P).

I ended up enjoying them so much, that I have downloaded the podcasts and followed them via RSS feed. And I am currently working my way backwards through the episodes - though they go back to 2007, so it might take a while to get through them all...

But the great part is that, unlike current event shows (like Wait wait don't tell me), the older shows won't lose my interest in the fast moving world we live in - science is forever... Well, at least it's interesting forever ^_^.

I guess what I enjoy, is that I not only feel smart when they talk about the things I know, but it's like they found the coolest things that are in our universe, and give you a glimpse of just how science is basically everywhere and makes everything work. And to the nerd in me, well, it's quite heavenly.

So I've decided that I'd like to share these with you (the first of which is continued later in the post). Sure, I could post one a week, with each weekly release. But that might not happen. I'm more keen on sharing the ones that make me excited or get me to think. And with me going through the past episodes, I can't confirm my frequency of posting. But I will definitely be trying to regularly post something, just for my own sake :D.

But before you continue reading, there are a few updates I'd like to mention. I have added another segment to my visual archive of shoes. I have also decided to no longer end my little scratches with a line. The purpose of the line was for my previous arrangement of the little scratches - and well since I don't use that format, the line has no real use other than to make me do more work.

Anyway, onto the first installment of my takes on Science Friday.