Posted by barb on Mar 20, 2005 in
Pictures,
Random Thoughts 
Spring arrived this morning at 7:33 AM EST.
I’ve noticed Spring creeping up over the past couple weeks. The sun has been coming up before I leave for work. Friday I opened the windows in the house for a little while, and heard birds singing in our backyard. For the past half hour I’ve been hearing distant rumblings (thunder, maybe?) and the sky has gotten very dark. A thunderstorm would be the best way to welcome Spring!
Tags: comfort
Posted by barb on Feb 28, 2005 in
Random Thoughts Things are likely to be quiet around here for the next week or so. I’ll probably post a few silly, inane things, but don’t really have time for any “intelligent” posts. I’m working on two presentations for a teacher focus group next week, and I don’t know much about one of the topics that I’m presenting (all of the presenters would have needed to do some serious brushing-up on the topic, so I volunteered). It’s coming along, but I need to find some good pictures or make some of my own, which is time consuming.
In the meantime, talk amongst yourselves.
Tags: admin
I gave the talk last night at the UMD Observatory, titled X-ray Astronomy: Frequently Asked Questions.
The forecast called for snow and icy conditions, which probably kept a lot of people from the observatory. The group was small — about ten people were there for the talk. I had planned for several children to be in the audience, and feared that with only the one there, my talk might be at too low a level. However, at the end, three people asked questions, which suggests that it was at an accessible level. Overall a good experience for me, and hopefully for the attendees as well.
Felicia came with, and gave her talk, too, as shown in the picture below.
She also went down to the telescopes, and adjusted the pointing on one:
And checked out some of the astronomy posters there:
Tags: build-a-bear, grad life, science
Posted by barb on Feb 18, 2005 in
Science Musings,
Thesis/Grad Life Andrew announced this weeks ago, but I forgot. I’m giving the talk on Sunday at the University of Maryland’s observatory open house. The talk is titled “X-ray Astronomy: An FAQ” (contrary to what it’s listed as at the observatory site…I wasn’t certain what the talk was going to be when I signed on). Basically, it’s a broad overview of what X-ray astronomy is and why we do it. So, if you’re in the DC area this weekend, come join us.
Tags: grad life, science
Posted by barb on Feb 18, 2005 in
Random Thoughts Proof that you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to work at NASA:
Building Management Service Desk Worker: Service desk, how can I help you?
Me: I called earlier this morning about the heat in my office.
BMSDW: What building are you calling from?
Me: Trailer 6
BMSDW: And what room?
Me: 13
BMSDW: Is it still cold in there?
No, I’m calling again because I’m happy as pie that the thermostat seemed to have fixed itself.
No, my teeth always chatter when I’m warm.
No, these bricks of ice I used to call hands accidentally dialled this number.
Yes, you freaking moron. Why else would I be calling?
Me: Uh, yeah. (very sarcastically)
BMSDW: Well, sometimes it takes a while for the temperature to rise.
That’s only if you send guys out to deal with the problem.
Me: The thermostat display is still dim and says ‘replace battery’.
BMSDW: Is says what?
Me: REPLACE BATTERY.
BMSDW: Oh. I’ll check to see the status.
Tags: suckitude, work
Posted by barb on Feb 16, 2005 in
Random Thoughts Don’t wear my clogs on days that I’m going to be walking much!
They are very comfortable for shuffling about the office, but I just got back from walking first from the office to the main gate, then from building 26 back to my office, and I’ve got the beginnings of blisters. Ugh.
Tags: mental note
Posted by barb on Feb 15, 2005 in
Random Thoughts,
Travels A couple weeks ago I was perusing the Astronomical Society of the Pacific website for information on their upcoming meeting in September and I stumbled upon this page. It’s an announcement of a tour of Egypt next spring (2006) that will coincide with the solar eclipse.
Solar Eclipse? And a tour of Egypt? Drool!
The tour includes visits to the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities, the Great Pyramid and the Sphinx, Alexandria, Luxor, and 4 nights cruising the Nile. Originally Andrew and I had planned on taking a trip to New Mexico this fall as a first anniversary celebration, but this is just too good to pass up. So, we’ve decided to postpone the New Mexico trip and put all our time, effort, and (especially) savings into this Egypt trip.
We were a bit concerned about the safety of travelling to Egypt, but according to the US State Department’s travel advisories, Egypt is relatively safe, except for a few select areas (like up near the Gaza strip), which the tour will be avoiding. If anything changes before the tour, we’ll re-evaluate the risks.
Now to scrimp and save… oh, and read up on Egypt!
Posted by barb on Feb 11, 2005 in
Thesis/Grad Life Met with Chris today. Yup, just Chris — Kim had a family emergency earlier this week, so she was catching up in the office. I decided to keep our meeting, though, since we hadn’t met since December.
It was a good meeting. We clarified a few things that we had discussed last time, and decided that I really am ready to just chug through the data. I have a few tweaks that I’d like to make to the pipeline, but should be done with those this coming week, and then I’m going to just let’er rip.
Since Kim was unavailable, we decided to meet at Chris’ office at the University instead of GSFC. I hadn’t been to campus since last fall when I had to set up my funding again, and that time I was able to escape without talking with anyone besides the human resources person. This time I ran into a few people, and had a chance to catch up. Very few of the grad students I knew are still there — that’s what happens when you take a year and a half off — so I didn’t recognize many of the faces in the grad offices.
Tags: grad life
Posted by barb on Feb 11, 2005 in
Random Thoughts Ugh. I ended up staying up late last night (midnight, which is late for me, since I get up at 5:30 AM) to get a few things finished for today, and now I’m just a walking zombie.
The worst part? I forgot my purse. I work 35 miles, at least a 45 minute drive, from home, so I can’t really go home and get it. I feel so discombobulated without it….
Tags: suckitude
Posted by barb on Jan 29, 2005 in
Thesis/Grad Life For the last year and a half I have known, without a doubt, that I don’t like doing science. I love astronomy, but I don’t love doing astronomy. This means that every time I sit down to work on my thesis, I wonder to myself why I’m doing it? Why am I wasting my time? Why don’t I just quit?
I know the reasons I’ve kept going: I’ve wanted a PhD for as long as I can remember, I know that I can do it, and I’m already this far along, so I might as well finish. They might not be good reasons, but there they are. Frankly, they haven’t been enough. And along with the messages of “Why am I doing this?” that I’ve been feeding myself, I’ve found it very difficult to muster any enthusiasm for my work. This means that I’ve been getting very little done, and subsequently is going to prolong my grad work.
In addition, I’ve been finding that I don’t take myself seriously at all. I feel like I’m “just a grad student”, and at 33 that makes me a nothing. At least that’s how I’ve been feeling. It’s not good, it’s not true, but it’s going through my head continuously.
Enter my epiphany.
Read more…
Tags: grad life, science