I have spent the day gorging on science. I am thrilled. I even had two questions answered!!
I’m participating in the Mars Society Conference “Taking Flight” and it feels awesome to hang out with science people. I dig science, especially in relation to space and earth science. To hear from these people who describe what their plans are for Mars just blows my mind.
I’m pretty much self taught so that can give you a good idea of my knowledge base. I am no degreed individual however, I’ve learned enough I can follow much of the details of speaker’s presentations.
It thrills me.
Due to my years of laboratory experience, I understand certain processes about which I would normally be clueless, but this has provided an understanding edge in scientific terms and definitions. I am currently reading “Black Hole Blues” by Janna Levin about the discovery of gravitational waves.
Like I said geeking here!
I subscribe to several science oriented YouTube channels that give me fascinating problems and solutions in astronomy and astrophysics, geology, meteorology. I can’t resist the information.
When I am writing, whether its blogging or fiction writing I have a second monitor that is always playing YouTube science videos, primarily space videos. The images are so amazing, brilliant in their composition and striking in the thought of how distant these objects are from our little planet.
The video narrations stir my mind with observations of the surface of Venus or the formula for a black hole. I love this stuff and it gives fuel to the muse. I would love to get a narration gig for science videos.
So I sit at my desk,
MY WORK DESK
my coffee on the warmer, the dog and cat are resting, my hubby sleeping after his 4pm-4am shift, and the magnificent creation of the universe pushing my writing mood.
I will be doing some VO auditions this afternoon, but right now my fictional characters are calling out to me with more of their story to be told. Since this is my place, inhabiting the story this morning, so it means I am in Coastal Maine. How fun it is to travel anywhere I want, and live an exciting, adventurous, and romantic life vicariously through my fictional people.
I’m still trying to get some freelance clerical and/or writing opportunities to work from home, along with the VO work. If you know of someone who needs a virtual admin assistant, proofreader, copy writer, or a voice artist send them my way!
I am a meteorology, geology, astronomy geek. Yep, and proud of it.
Last Wednesday I went to a presentation at the University of Arizona by the folks who helped get the image of the black hole M87. I had chills. It made my mind fly with excitement, and frustration.
The frustration was because I was never encourage, pushed, or helped to do well in school. My folks were not those kind of parents. I was never asked if I had homework, much less if I did my homework. If I got a good grade that was nice, if I didn’t (math specifically) I was told I probably wasn’t good at it, instead of working with me to improve.
My father was in the Air Force, and we lived lots of places. This gave me the chance to experience every kind of meteorological and geological event. Hurricanes in the Philippines and earthquakes in Japan. Tornadoes in Texas and monsoon flooding in southern Arizona. I’ve chased storms in tornado alley, and sat on a cliff in Hawaii watching the lava flow into the sea.
When I came back from helping my son move to Florida I took a side trip to Pass Christian MS to see where storm surge of Hurricane Camille washed the coast clean back in 1969.
I get notifications from NASA whenever the ISS is visible in my area and I watch for it. I’ve learned parts of the sky with my star charts. I eagerly followed the courses of Voyager 1 and 2 out of our solar system, kept track of the arrival of Osiris Rex at asteroid Bennu, watched the images of New Horizons when it flew by Pluto, and set my alarm to wake up so I could watch live the reveal of the first images of a black hole the Event Horizon Telescope captured.
I dig this stuff.
I want to know how they did this stuff. How do scientists figure out the way to image a black hole with six telescopes around the planet? How do geologists measure the movement of the plates? How did meteorologists come up with the CAPE measurement?
I mentioned in a previous blog about observing the damage done by Hurricane Michael in the Florida Panhandle back in October 2018. The damage six months later gives the evidence why this storm was recently upgraded to a category 5. All of these photos were taken on I-10.
I know I have a science leaning. I worked in a cell culture lab for seven years where I was taught how to grow cells, titer antibodies, and make tissue blocks used in cancer diagnosis. I used high school algebra I thought long forgotten, and learned the same sterile technique for a biological safety hood taught to freshmen biology students at the University of Arizona. I had my own projects, and developed procedures I taught to incoming staff with PhD’s. With just a high school diploma.
What more could I have done with the proper encouragement in math and science?
Woulda, shoulda, coulda – physics.
So I still try to learn, my curiosity is as strong as ever.
