Sherry Samuels and I recently visited the Carolina Alpaca Celebration to learn a bit about alpacas. Neither one of us really knew what to expect. We learned about their husbandry, their birthing needs, their food requirements, and just how many things you can make out of alpaca wool. I learned they are part of the camelid family (and yes, they can spit like camels and llamas, although I didn’t see one spit the whole day). But the best thing we learned is that THEY ARE DARN CUTE and THEY TALK TO YOU (well, sort of). In short, we like them. In fact, I even learned how to kiss an alpaca.
Isn't that an adorable face? We were surprised by the size of these camelids. They were smaller than we anticipated.
I told you I learned how to kiss an alpaca. This is "Overture" and he is one friendly alpaca.
This one looks like a hipster alpaca. There are two types of alpacas: Huacaya (wha-ky-a) and Suri. The Huacaya has the dense, fluffy fleece and the Suri has the dreadlocks look going on. Both types of fleece are extremely soft.
As soon as we walked into the building, we were greeted by the most surreal and sweet sound– an alpaca humming. They seem to talk to you, but in a quiet, hum.
A while ago, we were at Bald Head Island, NC and spent some time on the beach. I enjoy walking on the beach and looking for interesting shells, etc. Something unusual caught my attention this time. A moist, brown/grey lump, roughly oval, covered with sand.
I kept walking. Then I saw another, and another. Most people ignored them, or thought they were probably some kind of animal feces. I’m just too curious, and besides, I didn’t think it was fecal material (there were no flies). So, I picked one up. It had more weight to it than I thought by just looking at it. I broke it apart and saw uniform texture and what appeared to be clay inside the sandy coating. I started to gather these “clay” blobs… much to some other visitors’ stupefaction.
I’ve been poking around some geologists’ blogs and found this terrific post about a mystery rock. Diego wrote to Evelyn Mervine about a rock he had found. He wanted to know if she could tell him what kind of rock it is. The great thing about her response is the list of questions that she would ask of the rock.
Head over to Google+ and put Liz Krane in a circle. Or subscribe to her YouTube channel. Or put her blog in your RSS reader. I think this will be an interesting project to follow! After all, anyone who is curious about everything is a kindred spirit.
There we sat. Twitter users. No special badges saying we were “tweeps,” No special seating gallery. No instructions to just “observe” the “real” media.
The New Media Corp
NASA decided that this time, from the get-to of the FY2013 budget briefing at NASA HQ (2/13/2012), everyone in the room was media and was important. From the podium, Bob Jacobs (@bnjacobs), NASA’s deputy associate administrator for Communications and the moderator for the event, explained:
This year we’re trying something a little different, as well as traditional media representatives, for the first time we have invited members of the social media community to be a part of today’s presentation and we’ll be taking questions via Twitter using the hashtag #askNASA.
Bob Jacobs (@bnjacobs), NASA's deputy associate administrator for Communications tweets a pic of the Media Corp at beginning of the Budget Briefing.
NASA acknowledged that social media is a valid means of media communication and should be included in briefings alongside the AP, Nature, Orlando Sentinel, and the other traditional media outlets represented. We were allowed to ask questions, to talk to Administrator Charles Bolden, Chief Financial Officer Elizabeth Robinson, and the other NASA officials just like anyone else in the room. In short: no second-class citizens in the media corp.
It was a very special time–not just for those of us in the room–but for the army of social media journalists who have waited for recognition and validation of their status as “real” media.
Lindsey Mastis recorded Bob Jacobs’ thoughts on the relationship between NASA and social media. You can read her report of the briefing here.
I went away this past weekend for a private retreat after ScienceOnline2012. During some of the time I worked on balancing some rocks. These rocks are smooth, round, river rocks and are much more difficult to balance than the rocks I usually try to balance. I love the focus that it takes. I close my eyes and “feel” the weight of the rocks, move them until they “sink” into balance with gravity. Simple pleasures. Fleeting works of art (the wind or other vibrations will knock them over soon enough).
Looks simple... but there is only a small area of contact.
Here's the point of contact. Kind of like balancing two balls.
I’m one of the organizers of the ScienceOnline2012 conference. This video (by @DrBondar) gives you a taste of why it’s such a great time and why we love putting it together. I hope to write some behind-the-scenes thoughts soon.
Curious about the process of getting a tattoo? Click on the collage below to go to my Picasa photo album (including video) that documents the process as I got my three snow crystal tattoos this week. Dogstar Tattoo is an amazing studio. Kathryn, the owner, is a graduate of the Carnegie Mellon School of Art. I’m so glad she decided to move her canvas to skin. This is the studio that the ScienceOnline2012 folks will visit later this week as they tour the amazing space, listen to Carl Zimmer talk about the Science Of Ink (and his book Science Ink: The Tattoos of the Science Obsessed), and enjoy some surprises. Several conference attendees will be getting tattoos during the tour (as the others watch!). My tattoo was done early because it took so long and because I will be very busy during the conference (I’m one of the organizers). But, it still counts as one of the #scio12 #SciInk tats and I can’t wait for those who get inked at ScienceOnline to take a group photo!
Posted Under: Beauty,tattoo
This post was written by Karyn on January 14, 2012 Comments Off
This video captures the excitement of Day 2 of the Mars Curiosity NASATweetup. It was such a thrill to be there, and somehow this video (by Lou Braga, @Photog4NY) brings it to life!
This post originally appeared on my blog two years ago, but it deserves another look!
Attention all Tolkien language geeks, my friend, Patrick Wynne, sings “A Elbereth Gilthoniel” (by J.R.R.Tolkien) to the tune of “O Tannenbaum.” Brilliant.
(if you have trouble viewing the video, refresh your browser)
Lyrics:
A Elbereth Gilthoniel,
O Elbereth Starkindler, silivren penna míriel
white-glittering, slants down sparkling like jewels, o menel aglar elenath!
from the firmament the glory of the starry host! Na-chaered palan-díriel
Having gazed far away o galadhremmin ennorath,
from the tree-woven lands of Middle-earth, Fanuilos, le linnathon
to thee, Everwhite, I will sing, nef aear, sí nef aearon!
on this side of the Sea, here on this side of the Great Ocean!
Special thanks to Pat for letting me post this here!
Clearly there is something mesmerizing and delightful about anything that has to do with fractals (at least, that’s what I think). This fractal tree generator is a wonderful way to explore fractal designs.
Original link. Thanks to @GabrielleNYC for sharing with me!
Check out this photo from Chase Clark. He’s got a series of photos from the initial 1.6 seconds of the Atlas V rocket launch (Nov 26, 2011) that is propelling the Mars Curiosity rover to Mars.
Notice the ice on the rocket. Why is there ice? Why does it break off like that? What happens after it breaks off? Be curious and find out!
I am always trying to encourage people to Stay Curious. Sure, I can give you information (and will be happy to), but often it is better for people to be curious about something and discover answers for themselves. However, many folks are out of the habit of being curious, so I will help prod you a bit. I ask you, why should this NASA photo of the Atlas V rocket which launched on Sat., 11/26, make you curious?
Curiosity Rover Lifts Off for Mars (Image Credit: NASA)
What are those billowy clouds coming out from the rocket? It’s not smoke!
Why are the booster rockets on the side asymetrical? There are four. Why aren’t they evenly placed around the main rocket?
What are those towers around the rocket? Why are they taller than the rocket?
What is that “train” track in the foreground?
Do you know what is inside the rocket? Where is the payload? How does it get out?
Hints to help you:
This rocket launched off SLC 41 (that may help you get information about the launchpad configurations)
The group responsible for the rocket was the United Launch Alliance
Here’s a link to the Astronomy Picture of the Day, where the photo was highlighted on Wed, Nov 30th. Read the caption there and you will find links to several aspects of the launch and mission.
