05 December 2014

Interesting things

Here are some interesting things from around the internet.

1. One of my friends runs a sandwich blog in which her and another friend are making all the sandwiches from the Wikipedia list of sandwiches in the order that they appear in the list. The writing style is amusing and I am in awe at the commitment to go through all the sandwiches.


2. Earth has a space shield! A friend of mine is on the paper that found, using Van Allen probe data, there is a "glass wall" keeping out killer electrons. Pretty neat-o.

I tried to find an article with the most ridiculous comment section and I think this might be it, although the Fox News comments didn't load for me, so I could be wrong.

"the thing the worries me is haarp messes with the atmosphere and there is no guarantee our shield is not being effected or damaged by this. If this planet loses its shield to solar storms are particles we will all cook before we even have time to scream."

"And yet US astronauts apparently just closed there eyes and put on sun tan lotion while cruising through the belts whilst traveling to the moon, haha yeah I buy that theory!"

"Its God who protects us. God's shield."

Gold, my friends. Pure comment gold.


3. A former labmate is in Antarctica doing some fieldwork on instruments down there. His blog is interesting and I have been enjoying the daily penguin updates (none seen as of yet). I'm jealous that I never got to experience time out on the ice!


4. Are you listening to the Serial Podcast, a spin off from This American Life? If you aren't, you really really should be. I found out this week that Slate is doing a podcast about the podcast and I am excited to start listening to it. I love hearing theories on who committed the murder based on what we are told.


5. I no longer identify as Mormon, but much of my extended family does, so I like to check in on what happens in that realm occasionally. One of the things I dislike about the church is how women are not treated as equals to men and they are told they should just be happy with their special roles as wives and mothers. This past summer Kate Kelly (founder of Ordain Women) was excommunicated for advocating for gender equality in general and more specifically allowing preisthood ordination of women. Around the same time as her excommunication, John Dehlin (who runs a popular Mormon podcast that talks about "tough" Mormon issues) was facing his own possible excommunication but it never happened. Kate Kelly wrote a blog post on why she thinks she was ex'd and he was not. SPOILER ALERT: Four of her reasons are "He is a man". As a person (not just as a woman!) it pains me to see people being treated differently based on their sex. A woman should be able to do the same things a man does and vice versa. I have so many thoughts about Mormonism that I usually only voice to my lovely husband, but I might write a post soon addressing some concerns that won't stop bothering me.


6. Recipes that I want to try: Pumpkin Chili (substitute jackfruit for the pulled pork); quinoa bowl with gravy, mushrooms, and sweet potatoes; and a new way to serve the carrots hanging out in the back of your produce drawer.


7. Happy December! I get to see Space Science friends in a bit over a week, give Matthew his awesome Christmas presents in a few weeks, and enjoy the non-snowy days here is the lovely PNW all month long. It is going to be a great end to 2014.


Thank you, Auto Awesome, for making our Christmas tree last year twinkle.


1 comment:

  1. You should tell the guy in Antarctica to visit the Autoplot website!

    https://groups.google.com/forum/#!searchin/autoplot/overplot/autoplot/cs90X93kTnY/S9OaPmY-71cJ

    ReplyDelete