#EarthDayThanks and Earth Day Resolutions

Some truth about me as a person?  I'm horrible at New Years resolutions.  Don't get me wrong, I love them.  I plan them.  I hoard them, coming up with way too many and getting overly excited about all of them.  I make lists, and timelines, and mini-goals.  Unfortunately, it seems the outcome 98% of the time is a few months of triumphant, self-improving activity, followed by a slow shift back into my normal pattern of existence.  But, over the past 5 years, each Earth Day I have made a second batch of resolutions.  With this set of commitments, I've experienced an almost unprecedented success rate.  Over the years, I've greatly reduced my plastic consumption, I have committed to the concept of reusing pretty much everything, and I cut all animal derived products from my diet.  As someone who is really used to failing and having to restart as part of her daily life (because, scientist), I've started to wonder why my Earth Day Resolutions stick, while so many other intentions (I'm doing all the dishes everyday starting tomorrow!) seem to fall to the wayside.  After some reflection, I believe the reason is twofold.  First, I have strong examples of conservation champions, and, second, Earth Day Resolutions aren't actually about global impacts for me.

This is an essay in two parts.  The first part is a love letter to to the people in my life who made real for me the importance of conservation and preservation of the Earth.  The second bit contains my 2015 Earth Day Resolutions and explains why I think you should make some too!

True Confessions: I probably have enough pictures of myself hugging trees to fill an entire photo album

Part 3 - And Now for Something Completely Different

How We Came to be Here - A Story in Three Parts

This week STS will be sharing stories of coming to careers in STEM fields.  We hope we can offer three different perspectives on finding your career path, navigating higher education, and deciding how and when your journey needs to change.  We’d love to hear any and all of your stories about finding your calling or your struggles/victories if you’re still trying to figure it out right now.  Please share!  It’s important for all of us (especially those in high school and undergrad) to know that there is no single, best way to approach this crazy adventure.  For Part 1, which is Rachel's story, click here. For Part 2, which is Chelsea’s story, click here.

Can I do it on my own? 

I have some impressive posts to follow! I am very lucky to have two wildly inspirational best friends that are both doing such amazing things with their lives. I suppose it’s time for my story. Unlike Rachel and Chelsea, after graduating from WKU in 2009 I took an academic year off to reconsider my options for moving forward. I’d had lots of wonderful experiences during my undergraduate years thanks to my mentor, Dr. Albert Meier. At that point I had done research, internships, studying abroad, an honors thesis, but even with all of this involvement, I still was terribly intimidated by the prospect of graduate school. Albert often reassured me that I could go straight into a PhD program, but to me that seemed like rushing the process. During the time I was working on applications to different programs I was living at home and working at a Red Robin to save money. A lot of my friends had already been accepted and moved onto graduate programs while I still had a giant pile of uncertainty in my future. This was a pretty bleak time for me.

2014 Reflections, Resolutions, and Round-Up

Hello, 2015! Rachel and I are living it up with our lovely friends in Boston. This year has been wonderful thus far, but we wanted to take a few moments and reflect on the great things that 2014 brought to us.  One of the most rewarding things for us, in the last year, was starting this blog.  From the launch of our Tumblr blog in January of 2014 to occupying this space in May, we feel so blessed to have this space to share our experiences as travelers, learners, and burgeoning female scientists!

Starting the new year sharing the same physical space is always a blessing for us as a creative duo.  We've been discussing our ideas/hopes/dreams for the future of Sweet Tea, Science, and you can rest assured that we are cooking up some exciting content for 2015!

Assess the Stress

This is it guys. Two more weeks and then FINALS! Wow, two sentences into a blog post and I’m already about to reach for the stress chocolate I have stashed in my desk right next to the stress tea. Admittedly, the rest of the semester is going to be non-stop GO, GO, GO, for me and a lot of y’all out there. We’ve all being kicking ass this year and nothing is stopping us now. Even that crippling fear of ending the semester in a horrific crash and burn finals extravaganza doesn’t stand a chance. Not going to happen, folks. Why? Because we are going to keep our stress in check. Rachel and I have both been through our fair share of finals weeks (not to mention Rachel’s COMPS are tomorrow! GO WISH HER LUCK) and we’ve gathered up our top tips for finishing the semester with minimal freak out moments.

1. Hang on to your favorite mantras for dear life until it’s all over. My personal favorite currently is “Stay ahead of them game, or at least don’t fall behind”, while I’m pretty sure Rachel’s is “All my tasks are accomplishable”.  I used to think mantras were a little silly, but I am a full fledged believer now. Sometimes just taking a moment to remind yourself that you are capable really helps.

Share a Science Documentary Day

Science documentaries. I’ve got a sneaking suspicion that you love them. You’ve watched both iterations of Cosmos; you’ve joined Stephan Hawkings on an exploration of the universe; you’ve learned about the rovers, landers, orbiters, and space stations exploring our solar system; you’ve experience Sr. David full-on gushing over a hedgehog. If I were to write a blog post trying to convince you to check out some of Sweet Tea Science’s favorite science documentaries, you would scoff because you are so on top of that. And that’s awesome! Seriously, let’s take a moment to appreciate our collective thirst for knowledge!

However, let’s not get so ahead of ourselves that we forget to share this excitement, enthusiasm, and thirst with others!

Making Time for Nature

One of my favorite environmental quotations goes as follows:

“One final paragraph of advice: do not burn yourselves out. Be as I am — a reluctant enthusiast... a part-time crusader, a half-hearted fanatic. Save the other half of yourselves and your lives for pleasure and adventure. It is not enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it. While you can. While it’s still here. So get out there and hunt and fish and mess around with your friends, ramble out yonder and explore the forests, climb the mountains, bag the peaks, run the rivers, breathe deep of that yet sweet and lucid air, sit quietly for a while and contemplate the precious stillness, the lovely, mysterious, and awesome space. Enjoy yourselves, keep your brain in your head and your head firmly attached to the body, the body active and alive...”  ~Edward Abbey*

These are the words of wisdom I try to remind myself of when I am having a moral crisis over what sort of salad dressing to buy at the grocery store (Plastic vs. Glass??  High Fructose Corn Syrup vs. Palm Oil??  Too many decisions!).  While I absolutely want to work as hard as I can to understand and conserve the natural world, I also want to take time to walk around in the woods!  When I am working out in the field, I try and remind myself to stick my toes in the water or gush over a particularly adorable weevil.  This helps keep the balance in my life.  

Lett Lake, Snow Mt. Wilderness Area, 

Not everyone is fortunate enough to have a job that requires as much outdoor time as mine does.  Heck, even for those of us that work outside, having unstructured outdoor play time is really important.  Remember, just because you are playing, doesn't mean you aren't learning or growing.  How do you think kids learn?  Through play, naturally.  Playing in nature, whatever play means to you, is a great first step to exploration, questioning, and eventual understanding.  The question becomes, how do we fit hours into our busy schedules for outdoor recreation and soul-feeding fresh air?  I am currently on a quest to answer this question in my own busy life.  In an effort to make it happen, my partner and I (editor’s note: Meridith and her partner, too!) have committed to hiking once a week every week.  The life experiment is set to run for the summer (May thru August).  For us, there are no rules aside from “get outside and walk!”  I’m hoping to see some new places and explore spaces nearby that I have under appreciated or overlooked.  As of today, we have gone on a walk-about all but one of the weeks we intended! Not bad overall, and we are only getting started! Would you like to get your outdoor adventure one?  Here are my strategies for making it happen!

     

STS Guide to Making Time for Nature

I Won't Miss You and I'm Fine With That

I always get very anxious right before a big trip. Lately, (read: since graduating from NMSU with my master's and becoming a happy basement bum at my parent's house) I haven't had any stress in my life and I generally try to not be one to borrow trouble. But something about the few days prior to leaving on a major journey really winds me up. 

The excitement of everything to come. 

The concern that I'll forget something. 

The fear that I'll make a huge mistake and ruin part or all of my trip. 

The pressure of packing, moreso for this trip than any other. 

I thought I'd lost my beloved Nalgene bottle and carrier the other day. Assumed I'd left it somewhere and it wasn't there! Made me abnormally anxious. I got that bottle and carrier from my friend Cabrina when we graduated together at WKU. She knows I'm not capable of drinking from a wide mouth one, so she got me the narrow mouth. I started texting different people asking if I had left it in various places. No luck. 

Of course it was just in my car. In the back seat instead of the front. 

How embarrassing (yet relieving)! 

But even with all of that going on, I cannot properly express my excitement for this trip. I am often asked if I am scared. Fear is not what I'm feeling. I will learn so much about myself and the world. I will be careful and safe, yet open to so many possibilities. Usually people would tell their friends and family "I will miss you." But for some reason that phrase just doesn't sit well with me. It doesn't reflect the excitement and positivity involved and is really more sad than anything. Perhaps that sentiment is better suited for when someone or something is truly gone. I'll be so connected via the marvels of technology that I won't actually be removed from everyone's lives. And then I'll be back in a few short months. I've given some thought on a more adequate parting phrase. Right now I am really digging "I will be happy to see you".  Just as short and sweet, but, to me, conveys more excitement. 

Of course, when you aren't sure about how to say something with words, music will be glad to help. Been a while since one of my super hip 8tracks mixes, but here's one for those of us that will be happy to see each other again in the Fall. 

Fanny Packs On and Thumbs Out from dr.awesome.bartley on 8tracks Radio.

Question of the Day:

How do you feel before a big event? Excite like Christmas Eve or nervous like meeting your girlfriend's angry dad?

Eco-Inspiration 6: Confession

Alright guys, I have a confession to make.  I have never actually finished reading A Sand County Almanac.  Those of you who know the book are, I'm sure, instantly scandalized.  The much acclaimed work by visionary and Land-Ethic developer Aldo Leopold has been inspiring conservationists and green warriors since 1949.  I have owned not one, but two copies of this book.  I leaf through it and sort of treat it like poetry.  It is, after all, beautifully written.  But for some reason, I have never read it cover to cover.  I am always so moved and uplifted by Leopold's words, and I have decided that this spring I will read this book!  So, with blog as my witness, I will finish this book by the end of the spring quarter (June).  Once I have finished, I will report back with my feelings about the text and how reading it straight through differed from my cafeteria style readings of the past.  Anyone else want to read along?

In keeping with the theme, I thought I would share with you all one of my favorite passages from the book.  This is equal parts sad and inspiring to me, as it really sets into clear context what we stand to loose if we do not make concerted efforts at conservation.  I hope you enjoy it.

The last Passenger pigeon. Crd. Wikipedia

"Our grandfathers were less well-housed, well-fed, well-clothed than we are. The striving by which they bettered their lot are also those which deprived us of [Passenger] pigeons. Perhaps we now grieve because we are not sure, in our hearts, that we have gained by the exchange. The gadgets of industry bring us more comforts than the pigeons did, but do they add as much to the glory of the spring?

It is a century now since Darwin gave us the first glimpse of the origin of the species. We know now what was unknown to all the preceding caravan of generations: that men are only fellow-voyagers with other creatures in the odyssey of evolution. This new knowledge should have given us, by this time, a sense of kinship with fellow-creatures; a wish to live and let live; a sense of wonder over the magnitude and duration of the biotic enterprise.

Above all we should, in the century since Darwin, have come to know that man, while captain of the adventuring ship, is hardly the sole object of its quest, and that his prior assumptions to this effect arose from the simple necessity of whistling in the dark.

These things, I say, should have come to us. I fear they have not come to many.

For one species to mourn the death of another is a new thing under the sun. The Cro-Magnon who slew the last mammoth thought only of steaks. The sportsman who shot the last [Passenger] pigeon thought only of his prowess. The sailor who clubbed the last auck thought of nothing at all. But we, who have lost our pigeons, mourn the loss."

Aldo Leopold, from A Sand County Almanac 

Last Word:  As I said, I find this rather sad quotation inspiring.  Perhaps you don't agree, but this is exactly the sort of situation I strive to avoid.  If you would like some more information about the Passenger pigeon, start with this pretty good Wiki article.  It is a truly sad story, but one worth knowing.  In related news, there are a few classic, popular ecological novels I've been meaning (literally for years) to read.  Silent Spring and the Sea around Us are at the top of that list.  Anyone interested in a book club via the blog?

What do you think?  Have you ever heard the story of the Passenger pigeon?  Have you ever read A Sand County Almanac?  Would you have any interest in an ecologically themed book club?  

Eco-Inspiration 5: Music

Music has always had a big impact on my life.  I first heard this song in a yoga class in Long Beach, CA.  The instructor (who I had a huge friend crush on) explained that by trying to improve ourselves we could improve the world.  I couldn't agree more, and I think that is part of what I'm trying to do with this blog.  Not only to I want to educate you all on how to make conscious, thoughtful decisions, but I want to do that in a way that is both encouraging and empowering.

What can you do today to make the world just a little bit brighter?  

Happy Wednesday everyone!  Check back on Friday for the beginning of a new series on the blog, which I am super stoked about!  Oh, and I am now also coming to you via Instagram!  Follow me if you like.    

Eco-Inspiration 2

Stream in Yellowstone NP.  I am so grateful
these places have been preserved for me to enjoy!

It’s that time of the year!  Oh my goodness, how I adore the holidays.  I love hanging out with my lovely family and seeing all my friends from home.  I can’t wait to take another ramble in the woods with my dogs, and bundle up as I walk down the hill toward the creek with my little sister.  I want to drink coffee with my parents while my brother plays guitar and my sister-in-law sings.  These are my holiday memories.  And I have a lot to be thankful for, and so do you!  Feeling a little holiday stressed?  It happens.  So, I thought I would take a few minute and remind you of 5 things for which you should be very thankful!  I know the official holiday of giving thanks has passed, but I thought we could always use a little more gratitude.  Don’t you?

1.       You have immense creative power!

“Acts of creation are ordinarily reserved for gods and poets, but humbler folk may circumvent this restriction if they know how. To plant a pine, for example, one need be neither god nor poet; one need only own a good shovel. By virtue of this curious loophole in the rules, any clodhopper may say: Let there be a tree--and there will be one.” ~Aldo Leopold

2.       It’s never ever, not ever, too late to start trying to make a difference (thank goodness!)

“It is almost too late to start, but tomorrow is even later.” ~Slobodkin and Dykhuizen

3.      Everyone is just trying to find their own path, and we should be thankful for those people in our lives who let us struggle, and wander, and wonder.  Those are the people who really have our backs.

“…It is not the only or the easiest way to come to the truth.  It is one way…” ~Wendell Berry

4.       For just as long as cynics have existed, people like you have been making a difference!

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead

5.       We live in a world of staggering beauty and immense possibility.

“As many know, the Chinese expression for “crisis” consists of two characters side by side. The first is the symbol for “danger,” the second the symbol for “opportunity.” – Al Gore

Double Arch in Arches NP

FINAL WORD:  For those of us trying to live simply and in line with values slightly different from the main stream, the holidays can be a stressful time.  Try to remember why you choose to be where you are this holiday season.  Be present, be patient, and be joyful.  After all, what the world always, with out a doubt, needs more of is joy.

What do you think?  What do you give thanks for this holiday season?  

Guaranteed to Lift You Up

No long post today. My thesis needs some undivided attention.

However, in an effort to not leave you empty handed, please enjoy this video as much as I did.



If I'm ever lucky enough to have such an experience I hope it's caught on tape so I can share it.

Question of The Day:
What are some of your more memorable experiences to date?
What are some you hope to have?

Scale Matters: What is Big?

If you haven't checked out yesterday's blog post, it'd be best to start there! This week we're having a series of posts discussing scale and size. I'm hoping you all have your imagination hats handy. I never leave home without mine.

Earthrise - by William Anders

After discussing the tiny, microscopic aspects of our world yesterday it's easy to see ourselves as these giants towering over these minuscule particles. In fact, when consider our role and impact on this planet, it's hard not to feel big, brave, and onto of the world. We've explored the deepest trenches of the oceans, climbed to the top of the greatest mountains, and blasted to the moon and looked back at our planet.

And then, once more, we realized once more how small we are.

“The vast loneliness is awe-inspiring, and it makes you realize just what you have back there on Earth.” - Jim Lovell

Cloudy skies lend to the view. Looked like a painting.

My most recent 'OMG - I'm tiny' moment was the moment I walked up to the edge of the Grand Canyon and looked out at the natural wonder that stretched before me. I thought I had seen some pretty awe-inspiring, gigantic things in my life. Whales off of the South African coast. Giant Sequoias in California. But they all paled in comparison to  the giant painted canvas that is the grandest of all canyons. It's important to note that the Grand Canyon is not the largest, longest, or deepest canyon, but is still rightly so the grandest.


We can move on to even more expressive depths. By stroke of luck, this week the man behind XKCD penned an impressive array of the depths of lakes and oceans. I was shocked to see that the Deepwater Horizon oil well went even deeper than James Cameron's epic journey to the deepest trench in the ocean. Even a blue whale, the largest animal to have ever lived (that's right, larger than all of the dinosaurs) is a mere blip on this scale. 

Click to enlarge.

What I've found is that there is always something bigger that serves to make me feel like a dust speck on a pretty blue marble. Even as far as our own solar system goes, we're on the petite side. Jupiter dwarfs us and is promptly dwarfed in return by the Sun.

Our solar system to scale.

Well, at least we can rest assured that the star in our solar system is quite a whopper, right? I mean, the Sun, she's pretty big. Look at her! No? Really, are you sure?



So there are suns that make our Sun appear to be a tiny dot. And THOSE ginormous suns are themselves dots among a giant expanse of galaxies. And those galaxies are specks in the great, vast, really, really, REALLY large expanse that is the universe.

And to think, that at one point at the very beginning of time, all of this (all the planets, stars, galaxies, etc) began at one unimaginably dense, infinitesimal point from which everything expanded.

It boggles the mind to try and comprehend these vast scales, but I suggest that you try. Go outside tonight and look at the stars, if you can, and think about the sizes and distances involved.

Remember from the video in this post, Neil DeGrasse Tyson, talks about how when most people think about the size of the universe that it makes them feel small. But when he thinks about the universe he feels big, huge even, as he is (as we all are) made of and are part of everything.

This website touches on some of the biggest objects in the universe. Can you try and guess what these structures are?

Questions of The Day:
Did you guess the biggest objects correctly? What were your guess and what surprised you about the answers?
Are you enjoying this weeks series on scale?
What is the biggest thing you've seen on our lovely planet?

If you still haven't had enough of this topic, then I highly recommend the following video. It's 45 minutes long but it can help you visualize and provide additional information and astounding facts.

Cool Stuff Sunday 5

Another beautiful New Mexican Sunday has come and is spoiling me with its warmth and sunshine. These are the types of days that I need to appreciate and remember if I end up participating in the Mars Analog Food Study. I'll just have memories of the sun's warmth and the fresh air's breeze. So enjoy the post and the content I've compiled, but then get off of the internet and go outside! And not just because there might be candy hidden.

Before you check out the videos and links, perhaps you can take a minutes to sign a petition to raise the allotment of tax money to increase NASA's funding?

This guy is not quite as cuddly as the Easter Bunny

A very cool NPR story that I heard on the radio about using music to teach math
 and fractions!. Creative education that works is so wonderful!

A really creative fix that may allow us to utilize brown seaweed for biofuel! I wouldn't
mind going to the coast and helping with that research!

I'm afraid some of the sound clip links may not be functioning, but an interesting article nevertheless
about how things sound on different planets! The thunder clips are my favorite!

I came across this video series (The Feynman Series) which serves as a compliment to the Sagan Series. Richard Feynman is another notable scientific communicator. This Nobel Prize co-winner was invaluable to the field of physics and made contributions both within his research and passion for teaching and popularizing the subject. What I really love about these series of videos is that they serve as such unique tools for inspiring interest in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). I want to soak up as many of these as possible so I can understand what I love about them most and try and use that to inspire my own attempts. I've found both more visual and awe-inspiring videos, such as the one above, and more silly attempts:

Another cool TED talk (can you tell I'm border-line obsessed with these?) by the author of Eat, Pray, Love. She talks about the notion of having your 'greatest achievement' accomplished and behind you, as well as the concept of 'being' a genius vs. 'having' genius. 

Question of The Day:

What are you going to do OUTSIDE this week?

Dance Party in Space

We've already established that being a grad student is a time consuming job. If you have already managed to find time for research, writing, food preparation, and sleep then you're doing better than a lot of us. But what about exercise? Or having fun?

Here on Earth, we can go outside for a jog with no more trouble than convincing yourself to go outside and jog. We have the gym, swimming pools, mountains to hike, and lot's of space in general to move about in. On Mars, astronauts aren't afforded these spacious luxuries. The research habitats are designed to maximize the use of limited space, and may not allow adequate room for the exercises you are used to.

I have a solution.

Super Awesome Dance Parties in Space. 

You can boogie in a small personal space, or shake it around the habitat.

 I've complied a little mixed tape so that everyone can take 15 minutes out of their day to dance like a crazy fool, which is the best way to dance. Consider it this week's challenge!

Dance in Space Mix from dr.awesome.bartley on 8tracks.

Questions of The Day:
What is your favorite song to dance to?
What are some other ways to get your body moving and to have fun in a small area?

A Challenge for Creative Minds

Scientific research is very rewarding. You are on a quest for that little bit of knowledge that has, to date, evaded others. Your hard work and investigations could potentially lead to advancements in your field. Notoriety. Articles in Science AND Nature! Fame. Nobel Peace Prize!

Even so, there is only so long that you can count algae cells under a microscope before needing a break.

Crew-members of the Hi-SEAS study need to be prepared to provide their own fun and frivolity during their time spent in the habitat. Space and resource limitations could put a damper on options, but once more we'll just have to accept the challenge and get creative!

Here are just a few of my favorite games:

Liars Dice
A great bonding game that requires only dice and a piece of paper. Since this was a pirate game, it's not surprising that the objective is to out sneak, lie, and trick the other players to be the last one standing. Each player starts with 5 dice and a cup, after an initial roll, they takes turns 'bidding' on the number of a certain die value that exists in all hands. (e.g. "I believe there are six 2's") The next player can either change the bid ("I believe there are seven 2's/I believe there are six [other value]") or CHALLENGE. Then all dice are uncovered and the true liar is revealed. The game becomes trickier when "1's" are considered wild. More rules and explanations can be found here.


Paper Rock Scissors
Perhaps the greatest of all games. Ever. You never know when a challenger may approach. I am a firm believe in the skill involved in PRS. Play often enough with an opponent and you start to pick up on some of their tricks and patterns. Watch out though, I can play with my left OR right hand! I challenge you! Best 2 outta 3, 2 outta 3, one-two-three-SHOOT!


Photo Booth Music Videos
Perhaps one of the sillier of my creative fun and frivolity suggestions, Photo Booth Music Videos may also be one of the more hilarious things you will ever do. All you need is an Apple computer or iPad with Photo Booth and danceable music. I recommend turning on the mirror effect. Then put your dance hats on and record an extra special home video to your favorite songs.

I'll add a video later, so come back for my own ridiculous example!


Popcorn Reading
With the rise of the e-reader, it's never been easier to cart around a small library of good reads. I don't know if you were the type to be overjoyed to be chosen to read aloud to the class as a youngster, but I've found that it has gotten more and more amusing as I age. Road trips with my friends often includes at least a few chapters read by all.

I've been saving a few books on my e-reader apps for a time when I can read without worrying about what grad student responsibilities I'm supposed to be focusing on. Any strike your fancy?


The Time Machine - H.G. Wells
You are NOT so Smart - David McRaney
Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved
     the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time - Dave Sobel
A More Perfect Heaven: How Copernicus Revolutionized the Cosmos - Dava Sobel

Young Adult Sci-Fi books would also be perfect. Who else enjoys creating lots of different voices for the characters?


Knitting
This may not be the most mind-blowing activity, but it certainly can relax and sooth. I picked up this craft in college and have phased in and out since then. Currently I'm in. I even have a special treat planned to create for all fellow crew-members and associated people should I be selected to participate. I could also teach others how to knit and follow a pattern, or create their own. 

Ninja
This game may require a bit more room than available, but I'm sure we can create a similar game for when we are space suited up and traveling out of the habitat. Any ideas for the rules for 'Astronauts'?



Dreamatorium 
It could be anything.



Card Games
With the vast number of games possible with simply a deck of cards, this section could probably fill its own blog post! In fact, I think I'll just make this our...


Question of the Day:
What is your favorite card game? (And if it's unique, how do you play?)
Any other game suggestions that meet our space and resource limitations?

Words to Keep Handy

Six strangers.

It's always a bit intimidating to head towards a new experience. In a new place. With new people.

Maybe you're starting a job, heading off to college, or traveling to a different country, either way you're going to run into 'strange' people. While that may seem daunting and scary, it is a wonderful opportunity to open yourself to a unique experience or connection.

Growing up in suburbia outside of Louisville, Kentucky, I wasn't exposed to much cultural diversity. Even Louisville's famous Kentucky Derby Festival opening ceremonies, Thunder Over Louisville, turns the Waterfront lawn into a live People of Walmart, but with more fireworks and beer.

I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to travel to Italy, Greece, and Spain during a few weeks of my last two summers of high school. However, being shuffled around by teachers and parents did not provide many chances to really interact with the people able to offer real insight into the magnificent locations we visited. More recent trips abroad have allowed me to truly interact with the people and culture of my destinations.

College was a hub of strangers, eager and waiting to find and make new connections. It was here, in the small city of Bowling Green, KY, that I really learned about the importance of enjoying the 'new' parts of life. I transformed from an unknown freshman to being unable to walk across campus without running into someone to chat with. During my years at WKU, I was lucky enough to have a stable job working in the Ecology Lab, but to also have a boss/advisor/mentor that encouraged me to explore my options each summer.

So I did:

Summer 2006 - Chicago Botanic Garden
Summer 2007 - Kellogg Biological Station
Summer 2008 - South African Study Abroad
Summer 2009 - H. J. Andrews Experimental Forest
Summer 2010 - NMSU Algae Research
Summer 2011 - Kellogg Biological Station

And they were some of my best experiences to date.

I promise to share stories from my summer adventures and tales of some of the fine people I've met in later posts, but what I really wanted to share today is a poem that has stuck with me and inspired me (posted after the jump - click 'Explore the Beyond'). It brings up some other aspects of talking to strangers that may not apply to the circumstances I focus on above, but I still enjoy the overall message.

Hopefully, I will be able to put these experiences to work helping me adapt to the unique group dynamics of an isolated Analog Habitat.

Question of the Day:
How would you deal with meeting and living with 5 others for 120 days?
Do you have any 'ice breaking' tips/tricks?

Also, you can find my answer to yesterday's QOTD here.

Also, also, check out my new flag counter at the bottom of the blog. What an appropriate addition on Talk to Strangers day! Welcome all! Thanks to Timothy for the idea and help.


Talk to Strangers

By: Bonny Bonfiyah

Oh no little bitty Joe’s momma told

him not         to talk         to strangers.

Don’t talk to strangers, no don’t Joe, no, so

Little Joe didn’t talk to strangers, no,

Didn’t talk to the blind girl       at school

Didn’t talk to the janitors          eeyyoo

Didn’t talk to the mailman        mmm mmm.

Then he grew and he grew and he grew,

          didn’t talk to strangers.

Talked to aunts and cousins and friends of the family,

goin back n forth between big       houses, then frat       houses,

theeeeeeeen whaddya know Joe Schmo became CEO

          keeping strangers—

way up in the tippity top, glass office, what not.

Hey, he’s in the business of keeping strangers!

         Cuz he knows:

I might be mad at Mr. Joe,

(you know, for selling frankenfood for a huge profit whilst layin off half the staff to buy a convertible and a summer home in France with a Jacuzzi bath?)

Yes, indeedy, I might be mad,

but as long as I don’t know you or you or you,

what am I gonna do?

So for as many times as it has been told to you

I mean to undo I mean to undo it

Talk          to            strangers!

As long as Ms. Thousand Dollar Rent keeps Ms. Scrounging 50 Cents a stranger,

Ms. Extravagant won’t get Ms. Disadvantaged

is working hard for just barely enough

and has a true love too and reads good books too and here’s what’s true:

They know if we start talking we might start sharing

and sharing is scandalous; sharing is a solution

that starts with (you know)

talking to strangers.

Talk to strangers;

share your books, your food, your complaints,

your magazines, your movies, your worries, your stories,

your solutions.

Talk to strangers so we can share our STUFF!

FIVE, TEN, TWENTY-FIVE people livin in a building--

Do we ALL need a blender? 

Do we ALL need a subscription to Netflix? 

Do we ALL need a car? 

We HAVE BEEN TAUGHT TO GO IT ALONE

SO MR. JOE CAN SELL US ALL

WHAT HE STOLE

FROM THE LABOR OF STRANGERS STAYIN STRANGE.

Divide and conquer, friends, look at it, there it is:

they keep us strange from each other so they can sell us shit separately. 

That’s it.  No mystery.

Sister starts making some money, they HOPE

she enters that big ole ongoing stuff contest with her

neighbor-strangers.

Instead of sharing it, she wears it. 

People: 0, Aeropostale: 2.

The only way to protest is to not participate. 

Share your stuff so you can shop less.

Shop less to protest and

Talk

To

Strangers

‘bout the revolution

growing in your bones

the dis-chord among the formerly alone.

The unknown? Unh-unh!

Talk to strangers

let them know:

We don’t wanna be strangers       any mo

We don’t wanna be allowing        Joe schmo

to feed the rich by stealing from the poor.

Talk to strangers, y’all, talk,

tell ‘em it’s time.

Walk the streets, talk to strangers,

haunt the bookstores, the coffee shops,

bring your literature and your reserves,

talk to strangers, peace warriors, spread the word,

talk y’all, talk, yeah,

let those former strangers know:

To must emerge from the strangeness placed upon us,

we must be louder, to be louder, we must come together,

to come together, we must SPEAK together,

we must go, get out there, go, let each other know, go, now, please, go!

Gizmos and Gadgets a Plenty?

Since today's earlier post was quite the doozy, I wanted to start the morning with something a little lighter for you, oh reader.

In concurrence with the unveiling of the new iPad yesterday, Space.com this article revealing that while no iPad has ventured into space yet, they would certainly be appreciated.

That's not to say that some pretty cool things haven't ventured into space. Take a look:







Don't forget the iPhone 4!

Packing limitations are standard when traveling into space. On a manned mission to Mars, the crew will need to bring everything they will need for the entire journey all at once. Food, water, clothes, research materials, etc. This brings us to our....

Question of the Day:
What would you absolutely want bring with you into space, or even to an analog habitat?


I'll reveal my answer  in tomorrow's post!

20Zing! or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Listen to my Heart

Travel, explore, learn.

If I were one to have a mantra, I suppose that might be a contender. It certainly sums up a lot of what I have done in my life, and what I want to continue to do with my future. Since many of my closest friends follow a similar life approach, we moved forward from a tightly-knit Kentucky community to a nationally scattered support group. However, we've agreed that once a year we will re-join forces to bring in each new year together.

2010 - We kept warm with positivity, love, and cheer in Chicago, IL.

2011 - We kept cool with adventures, mountain hikes, and green chilies (ok, not so cool with that one) in Las Cruces, NM

 In lieu of new years resolutions, during our time together we complied the following list of phrases that we wanted to incorporate into our year. They became our 2012 Zing! Phrases.

1. Upfront & Flawless

2. No repeats

3. It's a lot, but I like it

4. Experience the experience

5. Be a better person

6. No fear in the New Year

7. Elevate (AltiTUDE!)

8. Dark and Dirty!

9. Advance the night

10. Respect the process

11. Loose/Lucid/Limitless

12. One step ahead

13. Graduation or Death!

If this year was to have 13 mantras, I suppose these would be contenders.

I am trying to lead this post towards the eventual answering of the inevitable question on your mind:

"Why on Earth would you want to do such a thing?"

Short answer: so that one day people will be asking, "Why on Mars would you want to do such a thing?"

Why did I feel so inspired to apply? In yesterday's video post, Dr. Tyson speaks about how we want to feel connected, feel relevant, feel like we are participating by just being alive. To add to this, I propose that we also want to able to make impacts, make changes, make things different by working hard and devoting our lives to doing. 

When I read that first article introducing me to the concepts of the study, my initial response was: I would be perfect for this. Close article. Back to thesis writing. Reopen article. This would be perfect for me. Close. Write. Reopen. I could help send a manned mission to Mars. It's a lot, but I like it. Repeat. It'd be difficult, but this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to make a lasting impact. No fear in the New Year. And so, exactly one month ago, I decided to apply.

2013 - We will be together once more in a currently undetermined location. Perhaps it will be my last hurrah before traveling to Hawaii and entering the analog habitat for the first of 120 days. Travel, explore, learn.

Questions of the Day:

Fellow applicants, what prompted you to apply?
Readers, is this project something you would consider? Why or why not?

We Are Made of Star Dust

I am trying to limit the number of daily posts so that I don't overwhelm readers, and also so that I don't run out of ideas! However, since inspiration and passion are important tenants of this blog, I must share this video.



Neil DeGrasse Tyson is gifted with an eloquence that I admire and strive to attain. He is currently the world's most recognizable astrophysicist. Perhaps you have seen his meme or presence in pop culture? Along with Bill Nye (the Science Guy), Dr. Tyson is a commendable and entertaining science communicator. I will discuss the importance of scientific dialogue in subsequent posts, but spoiler alert: it's vital.