foofernarfie

That is a sunrise on Mars.

Isn't it beautiful?


(Look at the link at the bottom, you'll see it animated!)

I saw Wall-E last night. It was preachy, but I enjoyed it a lot, because it revolves around two of my favorite things: garbage, and outer space. Seeing the nebulae and spiral galaxies was wonderful. Plus it involves robots, and I don't think those are shabby either.

I'm writing a senior thesis in environmental studies called "Post Consumer Food Waste at UC Santa Barbara: A History and Recommendations", and I get NASA updates to email. I wouldn't recommend signing up for the NASA updates unless you're hardcore interested in their affairs, because every time they open up a contract for bid or hold a press conference they'll send you a short blurb, but they also tell you about amazing and beautiful things, like snowfall on Mars.

I wrote the following as a thank you email to a professor. I don't update this blog enough though, so I'm throwing it up here. Have fun reading someone else's mail!

It's Dead Week, and so I've already spent a couple of sleepless nights and been awake for
a few sunrises while studying and writing papers. Today as I was working on the final
paper for your class, I remembered the passages about Leopold sitting on his sand farm
with his dog and a pot of coffee, watching the sun rise, and I resolved to do the same
thing. So this morning found me in my front yard, sitting next to the fire pit, with a
cup of shade-grown organic coffee from Trader Joe's and a Mexican pastry from Santa Cruz
market, listening to the birds and watching the sun rise.

It's really true, what Leopold said, about how you can hear the individual birds sounding
off before the sun rises, and while the sky is still grey. Then the chorus gets
increasingly complicated and it gets harder to pick out the individual bird voices, but
the overall volume increases until there's a whole symphony of birds greeting the
sunrise. Unfortunately, this symphony is foreign to me - I can recognize the sounds of
viola, violin, flute, or clarinet, but I can't identify any of the musicians in the Isla
Vista morning chorus. I feel as an environmental studies student here at UCSB, spending
four years in this community, I should learn to identify at least one of these players
before I go. So I guess this summer will find me outside the firepit at dawn with my
"Birds of North America" handbook.

There's one bird in particular that I want to identify. It's been my own personal demon
the whole school year. I call it "the squeaky thing." It sounds remarkably like a doggie
squeaky toy, and I always hear it very late at night. I don't know if it starts at 3am or
2 or 4, but once I hear the squeaky thing, I know that I am up too late. I've learned to
associate it with sleepless nights and insomnia or assignments I've procrastinated on.
Also, nobody else in my apartment complex seems to hear it, increasing the feeling that
it lives in the backyard to tell me specifically that I am up too late. However, this
morning, when I listened carefully to the morning chorus, I heard the squeaky thing
sounding off among the other, friendlier sounding morning birds. Hearing it as a normal
bird un-demonized the squeaky thing. It's now a bird among other birds, and as
non-hostile as any of the rest. I hope to identify it, and in doing so turn it into
something familiar and even friendly.

Seems like some things stay the same, right?

Newman co-op still has chickens. We just had another one stolen. We gave away the last chicken from the batch mentioned in the last post about chickens. So Newman was chickenless for a few months, then someone raised a new batch of chickens. We had two chickens until last Friday, when someone stole one. It was stolen and not lost because the coop was still locked, no one had let the chickens out recently, and we found someone had peeled up the chicken wire in one corner and then replaced it. The coop's been reinforced and the lock changed, so hopefully no further thieves will get our remaining chicken.

If you see a black chicken that lays speckled brown eggs around, please call the co-op office at (806)685-6964. Thanks.

http://www.dailynexus.com/article.php?a=13441

Hey, look at that person interviewed! She's awesome! :D

Just thought more of the world needed to see this article. Found here.
http://mfrost.typepad.com/cute_overload/2006/06/you_pig.html

After strong rainstorms in the area, the sidewalks weren't bubbling anymore, so that points to the reason being some sort of protein that got washed off in the heavy rain. If it had been shoes, they'd have still been bubbly. I never went out and tested it (I'm klutzy enough without heels on slippery pavement), but the shoe hypothesis has been disproven!

Still curious what actually makes the bubbles, though. If it's proteins, where are they coming from? Eh, I'm not fixated on it anymore though.

Here's a question for all you physical science majors out there. I was going to post this to UCSB Livejournal, but after further thought, it'll be more fun to test it myself.

What makes bubbles appear in your footprints after a short rain? Is it leftover spit, soap on the pavement, fertilizer residue, or some chemical interaction between wet asphalt and wet sneakers?

I think it might be the bubbles are formed by water entering all those little cracks in our sneakers, and then keeping enough surface tension to form a bubble in the shape of the crack once our foot has lifted. Or could it be those cracks push air down into the water covering the pavement?

I'm going to test this out by walking around in pointy heels. I've been walking around in my Adidas sambas, and I did leave bubbles in my wake. Those have textured soles with ridges and crosshatching, so according to my theory those textured soles were causing all the bubbles. The bottom of the heels on my test shoes are smooth, and the main base of the sole only has shallow crosshatching. So, they shouldn't leave bubbles behind them! I might be risking falling on my ass by walking on wet pavement with shoes that can't grip the sidewalk, but it's worth it for science!

I'll report back later, if I'm motivated enough to test out this experiment. Or lady friends, you could test this out for me! :D That'd be awesome.

Edit: Well, the rain stopped, and I got lazy, so no testing for me. I do have some fancy business meetings coming up, though, so I might get the opportunity to test heels in the rain.

I'm discovering that I'm more likely to get blisters from a day's walking in fancy shoes than from two weeks of heavy backpacking and hiking. And by fancy shoes, I only mean one inch heels.

I guess that tell a lot about what sort of shoes I wear.

Fark.com is awesome. Pet rats are awesome.

http://forums.fark.com/cgi/fark/comments.pl?IDLink=2253264

Also, the picture came from the lj community ratties, which I'm a member of. Also cool.

My friend Amy and I saw a falcon flying by my house last Friday! I spotted it overhead as we crossed the cement car bridge near the Tassajara Creek Trail. It was definitely falcon-shaped, and white with dark bars on its chest. I think they were brown. It's exciting to see a falcon in our area! I know the eucalyptus grove near our house is home to a red-tailed hawk and great horned owl, along with a colony of ground squirrels, some deer, and a pet shelter that probably loses a few cats to the great horned every now and then. It would be great if a falcon was added to the cast. I hope it's a peregrine. My brother and I both want to watch a peregrine catch a bird - it's supposed to be amazing.

According to http://www.whatbird.com, it was either a peregrine or a prairie falcon. That's good website, its key is very useful. But it's only good for North America.

This morning the albino raccoon of Isla Vista tried to eat the co-op's chickens. My roommate Tiffany and I were awakened at 7am this morning by frantic squawking and clucking. When we went outside to see what was wrong, we found one of Isla Vista's local transients keeping an eye on the chickens; he pointed out the albino raccoon in a nearby tree. So we spent our early morning attempting to secure the chicken hutch. A lot of the chicken wire wasn't even fastened down, so we stapled it. This is the same method apparently used by the people who built the hutch. At least we used big outdoor staples and a staple gun. We also nailed a piece of flimsy wood over the gap above the chicken gate - a gap that a cat or raccoon could have easily slipped through.

I think we've just been lucky so far; the only reason the chickens haven't been eaten already is that the dumpsters around IV are easier targets than living animals. One chicken was lost last year. The more senior co-opers claim some meddler let the chicken out before it got eaten by a raccoon, but after seeing how shoddy the hutch is I question that story. I think the raccoons could've gotten into the hutch much more easily than the chickens could have gotten out.

The chickens are awfully jumpy now, and keep squawking at nothing I can see. The albino raccoon left while we were working on the chicken hut. Tiffany got a few pictures. That raccoon really does look like a cat. Hopefully it won't come back. It's pretty late for raccoons to be out now, so the chickens are probably safe for today, but I think more hutch repairs are in order before nightfall.

I live in Newman Co-op now, for those of you who didn't know already. I'll be here during the school year too.

I just spent my afternoon selling produce at Chilla Vista. It was indeed very chill. We sold lots and lots and lots of strawberries and other fruits, and I took home a few baskets and a bunch of those crazy looking organic carrots with the greens still attached. I was selling vegetables for awhile, and I had to ask a friend who's good at cooking how those veggies were best prepared. People kept coming up to me and attempting to swap sunburst squash recipes, or asking how to cook rainbow chard, and all I could do was smile and make lame excuses. ^_^ But apparently all veggies can be steamed, sauted, or put in a soup! Boil 'em, mash 'em, stick 'em in a stew. ^_^ It was fun hanging out with EAB people and talking to everyone who came by. I heard Blue Turtle Seduction play, too; they're pretty good, better than I expected. Actual music with a violin and stuff, not screaming young men.

That's all, folks. Come over for strawberries if you wish!

Don't burn your couch - some poor student out there wants it!



Donate couches, clothing, furniture, kitchenware, non-perishable food, and pretty much anything reusable that's not electronic.

Drop these things off at the Embarcadero Hall Parking Lot from Wednesday, June 14 to Friday, June 23 from 12 noon to 8pm.

Embarcadero Hall turns into a giant Isla Vista-wide garage sale on Saturday, June 24th, 8am to 2pm. All the stuff that's been collected and/or donated is sold for cheap. Proceeds from the sale benefit Isla Vista non-profit organizations.

So if you're planning on chucking your couch into the ocean, think twice - the fishes won't appreciate a new seat as much as your neighbor would!

Heck, you can give your couches to me, I need a new one. ;)

After delivering baked goods, coffee, and controlled substances to the boyf at a late study session in Engineering II, I decided to explore the engineering side of campus. It's got some beautiful sections, especially at night. I've already seen how cool the different levels of the Marine Sciences Institute are when lit up at night, but this was my first time seeing the Courtyard of the Courtyard Cafe, and to get a close up look at the Kohn physics building, which is terra cotta colored and has an octagonal tower that looks like a wizard's study. The courtyard looks especially neat, with rows of saplings and well-lit archways that look like they extend for miles - into science! The views of labs through the glass walls were a nice aspect. Heh, even the fact that one of the buildings was just a parking garage didn't mar the view. :) I really enjoy wandering UCSB at night. Maybe I'll use the courtyard as a study location in the future.

I'm currently taking ES 118: Industrial Ecology. One thing we've been studying is biodiesel. That's taking used cooking oil or other vegetable oils and using them in place of diesel, or (more likely) as a 20% biodiesel 80% diesel mix. (Different from bio-ethanol.) It's good for the engine, reduces emissions, yadda yadda yadda. But it also presents a whole new opportunity for marketing.

Biodiesel made from cooking oil smells like whatever was cooked in the oil. Imagine the possibilities! A delivery truck drives past your door, the smell of donuts drifts into your apartment, and now you have a craving for deep-fried doughnutty goodness. It'd be so cool! Sure, there might be complaints about indian food or greasy diner scents soaking into your couch, but it's better than the smell of gasoline in my opinion.

I hope somebody takes this idea. I already said it in ES 118, and had 1 person repeat it as their own idea (in my own group!) so I think it'll catch on. :)

"Tomorrow, I believe I should wear a bloody lab coat and alarming goggles, in order to prove my credentials in the groundbreakin' field of playing fuckin' god.
I will also kill a puppy.
For science."

http://themidlands.net/victoria/index.php?title=Page_383

Unfortunately, I didn't get to see MC Frontalot on the mike last night in San Francisco. He was performing at a pub, so it was 21+ only. I got silence instead of him fronting into the amplifier. Too bad. Stuck around at home instead and watched Good Night, and Good Luck with the boyf instead. Was a good movie.

I'm a strange environmental studies major. I'm allergic to grass, so I don't like sitting outdoors without benches, pavement, or large stones. A friend had to physically threaten me (jokingly, of course) before I went swimming for the first and so far only time off Campus Point. The only time I've really been camping was for a field study class. I like working indoors, computers, videogames, and the Internet. I think technology's done more good than bad, and I'm optimistic about the future of humanity. Also, I don't like organic food, partially because I think genetically modified organisms hold some real potential. Bt corn, anyone?

I'm still living in the co-op next year, so maybe not all the stereotypes are wrong.

Been writing emails to professors and former employers asking for letters of recommendation all afternoon. It gives me knots in my stomach to ask for these favors. Also I dislike writing about myself for these scholarship applications. But hey, I'll be in a good position if I get this scholarship, and if not it's practice for other ones I'll be applying for. Still, I can't imagine what it'd be like asking for something like a research grant. Gives me shudders.


...Okay, and I also learned that the crescent moon button on Dad's new keyboard triggers standby. That gave me a scare, thought I lost this whole entry. Better post it now before I get distracted by more shiny buttons on the silver keyboard.

A - Age: 19

B - Band listening to right now: The Phenomenauts

C - Career in future: Environmental studies related - environmental engineering?

D - Dad's name: Christmas in French

E - Easiest person to talk to: SkOink, probably.

F - Favorite song at the moment: "Gravity" by the Phenomenauts

G - Gummy Bears or Gummy Worms: Sour gummy bears>Sour gummy worms. Chocolate covered gummy bears are good, chocolate gummy worms don't exist. Plain gummy worms>plain gummy bears. Final score: Bears 2, Worms 1

H - Homestate: California

I - Instruments: Viola

K - Killed?: many ants

L - Longest car ride ever: 14 hours

M - Mom's name: Beautiful in Spanish

N - Number of siblings: 2

P - Phobia[s]: Heights, occasionally large crowds

Q - Favorite Quote: “It's as dirty as you want it to be.” -Nick Spinelli

R - Reason to smile: Ridiculous pets, boyfriend (who possibly falls under the same category :P)

S - Song you sang last: "Sassafrass Roots" by Green Day

T - Time you wake up: 8:40am ish.

U - Unknown fact about me: I secretly enjoyed MaiHime.

V - Vegetable you hate: Napa cabbage. Prepping 20 pounds of it at work will do that to ya.

W - Worst habit: Being late

X - X-rays you've had: my teeth

Y - Yummy food: rice

Z - Zodiac sign: Virgo