Sky in Spring

Before sunrise, glimpse of lunar eclipse.
Post sunset, a long look at the ISS.

Hope you got to enjoy your space this Saturday.

Starry Night II

This morning I awakened a bit earlier than norm (not much because the alarm did start with a four) so I could stand outside and try to see the Perseids.  My backyard is a little sheltered from light pollution; the morning was cool and the sky dark.  My neck crane was rewarded and as I spun around gently under a cover of stars, I was reminded that this is an amazing universe.

Hope you have a great Wednesday.  

There's a Chair in My Shower and Would you Pass the Salt

Tonight's journey was the time equivalent (and in this order) of the last 17% of The Book Thief, 47% of Love Poems, and A-S on the iPod alphabet self-DJ-ed song list.

It has been a real treat the last two weeks to be able to devote a bit more time to leisure reading.  

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand.  Just read it.  Then tell me you read it so I can talk with you about it.  If I've seen you lately, I've probably already told you about it.  I am in awe at Louis' journey (and at the various WWII statistics gleaned from the book that I did not recall from pre-science days).  Ms. Hillenbrand does a very nice job with the novel and serious props to her reference list.

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion.  This was a fun read after the more somber novel above.  Geneticist seeks wife.  Must answer screening questionnaire in order to qualify.  If you have a series of questions you pose to potential suitors [Do you live at home?  Do you have a job?  Do you think it's appropriate to have a concealed weapon at the dinner table?* ], then I think you'd enjoy this book as a light spring/summer addition to your list.  I won't speak to the Genetics portion of the novel, because well, I tend to do that anyway.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.  I've already admitted that I had a difficult time at the beginning of this novel but I read the last half of the work in large sections, uninterrupted.  Despite the fact that I really knew better than to finish it in a public space, I did anyway.  I was desperate to know what happened, even if the price was a public tear down the cheek.  Liesel, Max, Hans, Rosa, Rudy, I loved you all.  

So, I'm not sure what's next though I am due for the We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves GBC selection for March.  Hope you are enjoying the weather and stealing away a few moments for a book.

*Author's Note:  Some questions appear after very awkward moments at the dinner table.  

What's that? You eight.

Now that the temps have dropped below freezing periodically I might finally stay in and finish This Book is Full of  Spiders.  

I'm sure my dreams will thank me.

California Dreaming

Sunny skies. 

Peach pies.

Letterpress.

Ramen best.

A long weekend with friends, reading water, and just the right amount of time to read. 

Feynman is pretty phun-y.

DC / AC

After chastisement by a chemist, my next read had to be Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman (Adventures of a Curious Character) by Richard P. Feynman.  I've managed the first chapter and already know I'll like it.  "He fixes radios by thinking!"

Hope your week is off to a fine tuned start.

A Little Quarky

I have managed to live nearly sixty percent* of my life (statistically speaking) without knowing this book existed.  I've even dated two physicists.  How is this possible?  [Note: the rhetorical question applies to the book, though admittedly this is rather a high percentage of physicists in one lifetime.]

In swapping book lists this week with a chemist, he suggested Surely You're Joking, Mr.Feynman! (Adventures of a Curious Character) by Richard Feynman.  In mentioning, he had assumed I had already read it.  When I admitted I had not, he emphatically said that I must read this book at once.  In my defense, this book was published in 1985.  At that time, in true nerd form, I was reading through a suggested college prep reading list, alphabetically by author, as one does.

This NYT review from 1985 will give you a bit of an overview so you can decide if you'd like to add it to your reading list like I did.    I expect it to be a phun read.

*Don't calculate your "lived" span; it can be a little depressing.  If you choose to do so anyway, have at least one two glasses of reading water or a plane ticket (or both).

Starry Night

I ended the weekend star-gazing.  It was a nice cool respite before the week ahead.  While this website is a little heavy on the purple text, it's a good guide to astronomy resources if you feel like things are looking up.  The Fourth edition of Peterson Field Guide to the Stars and Planets by Jay M. Pasachoff and Donald H Menzel is currently available and I'd recommend this text as a staple.

2nd & 3rd Editions
August 2013

My bookshelf holds the 1992 Third Edition and tonight's astronomer host has a well-worn second edition that was used to guide our small party through the Nebula and beyond. 

Don't Panic

25 June 2013

Dear Banana Republic,

I am a big fan of your Non-Iron Fitted Long Sleeve Cotton Shirt.  For the 2014 Spring Collection, might I suggest that you consider including a water absorbent option for the career-minded female who after an eleven and a half hour day would head to the pool for her Endurance workout only to discover that she was not quite equipped for her long swim session?  I think this would be a very big seller, particularly in pink.

Sincerely,

A voracious reader who was clever enough to reference Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy to a forum of 107 yogis under a rocket but didn't manage to remember her towel*

*"A towel, it says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have. Partly it has great practical value. You can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea vapors; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon; use it to sail a miniraft down the slow heavy River Moth; wet it for use in hand-to-hand-combat; wrap it round your head to ward off noxious fumes or avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (such a mind-boggingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can't see it, it can't see you); you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough."
― Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"  http://www.towel.org.uk/

Star Struck

Tonight I stood outside on the cool grass and scanned the night skies looking for movement and trying to recall long-ago learned constellations and star names.*  For a brief two to three minutes, I also watched the International Space Station speed over Earth.  From my vantage point, this tiny, bright moving "star" represented dreams of childhood, dreams of humanity, and I felt at the same time both large and small in this Universe.  It was magnificent.

I hope your weekend has provided inspiration and joy in unexpected ways.

Aside:  I took college Honors Astronomy so I could share class with a cute physicist.  

Quantum Leaps

Two of my most engaging conversations yesterday included references to quantum physics.  Dark matter, alternate universes, and the concept of time can be a little more interesting than a series of spreadsheets...even if we don't know the formula.  These talks remind me it's okay to dream big (and to not know all the answers).

Anything is possible.

Hope your Wednesday is a good one.

Physics is Pfun

I'm excited today that I'm guaranteed to spend time with another GBC member catching up on life and books (with a side of reading water).  I hope you have something lovely planned for today.

If you're left with a bit of time on your hands, I'd recommend Alan Lightman's review of "Time Reborn" from last week's NYT book review.  I loved this snippet from his opening paragraph:

There is no order to the moments, no sequence, no cause-and-effect relationship. We exist only from moment to moment. If we experience time passing, it’s because this particular moment has memories of another moment woven into it.