I am phoning it in twice today, but hopefully providing the radula-philic among you with new ways to waste time.
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| "DO NOT stand under this structure in the event of an earthquake." |
Thing the first: Accessible science
People keep telling scientists that they should blog to make their science more accessible to "the public". But sometimes the science blogs I read are really only for scientists - splenic commentary or response to other work that (perhaps rightly) doesn't inform anyone. This is a bummer.
As part of a class I am also writing on "The Bill Nye Effect" a blog by a collective of grad students from different departments across UW who want to be better at talking about science. I think many of us can count Bill Nye as a positive influence, directly or indirectly, on our decisions to do science, so the name is apt. In a way, Bill Nye should be in my academic family tree (maybe as a Godfather?). In any case, the blog seems to be evolving into vignettes of life as a science grad student, and has some very fun things to read.
More on Bill Nye, because once I get started, it's hard to hold back: In all seriousness, this man has done more than almost anyone to convince me that the best way to teach is to let go of ego entirely. His work has been valuable not only in teaching science, but in demonstrating how to teach science. By the way, have you ever looked at how many great pictures of Bill Nye there are? I have! Here, let me google that for you.
Thing the second: 2 videos that will change your entire perspective on transportation:
I have already pointed out how behind the times I am when it comes to most things pop-culture. But this being a gastropod-centric blog, I would be remiss if I didn't spread the gospel of Marcel. Thanks to Mike "I wish my middle name started with a C" Hammer for filling me in on what I should have known about at least a year ago:
