science wedding coming right up

my very favorite science couple just got engaged! Jonah researches dinosaur fossils (no joke) at the museum of natural history in nyc, and Kelsey introduced me oh so long ago to the wonderful world of molecular biology research when I was a young undergrad at GW.

jonah's famous fossil

Kelsey, me and Karine taking a break from the Evolution conference in Idaho two years ago. Naturally, we went for a hike and looked for plants we could identify.

 I wonder what they'll decide on for the wedding... Knowing them, I imagine it will involve the outdoors, delicious cheese, and a sustainable means of celebration.  I'm having lunch with kels this week, so hopefully I'll get the inside scoop on their plans!

outrage!!

Feast your eyes on this awful, ignorant, witch hunt of a plan called "YouCut" conjured up by the creepier and getting creepier republican members of congress.  The idea is for you, the tax payer, to "vote" on NSF grants you do not think should be awarded funding. 

I did have the video up, but it was too large and loud to see on my pretty blog... the photo gives you a good enough idea.

What if tax payers of the past decided studying cow pus was "not worthy of tax payer dollars"? soooo long smallpox vaccine.  They've suggested terms for you to search for that include "museum," "culture," and "leisure"... because those are all clearly useless.

Help! when did scientific discovery come under attack? Where is the cast of west wing when you need them.

stargazing

the veil nebula...more info

Lucy has become an expert at stargazing lately.  We pulled out the start charts a few nights ago, and she cleverly identified the mysteriously bright ball on the southwest horizon as Jupiter.  How neat! If you are also an aspiring astronomer, you can actually take classes or simply stop by for public viewing times at the observatory in Sugarloaf state park in Kenwood, CA just a short drive north of San Francisco.

hella prepared

 

Finally, please enjoy this awesome website = Astronomy Picture of the Day

smart octopus!

 an adorable octopus making a clever coconut-shell home... I didn't realize the academy of sciences webpage had all these fun science videos. enjoy!