BLUE MOON

That one time my roommate couldn't watch Shane's Asagao Academy stream so I live-texted it to her instead.

@didyouknowshaning‘s asagao stream part 1/part 2

Double, double toil and trouble;

Reaction stir and oil bubble.

At Biotech Party, Gender Diversity Means Cocktail Waitresses

Outside the Exploratorium, an airy event space on San Francisco’s waterfront, a long line of mostly male biotechnology investors and executives waited to get into a party.

The ballrooms of the Westin St. Francis hotel were packed with rows of men in blue and gray suits. Outside the hotel, where attendees gather for coffee, was about the same -- of 47 people sitting on one side of the square outside the conference hotel, two were women. Of those, one was in media relations. There was no line for the women’s bathroom.

LifeSci’s McDonald says it’s just reality that the industry and its investors skew male. That’s why he hired the models.

“When you think about going to a party, when you don’t have any models, it’s going to be 90/10, or even greater, male-to-female,” he said. “Adding in some females changes the dynamic quite a bit.”

Moving Through Color

These breathtaking tree tunnels are famous in their perspective countries, standing as a testament to time and beauty:

Wisteria Tunnel, Tochigi, Japan - Ashikaga Flower Park in Tochigi is one of the best places to admire different varieties of wisteria.

Dark Hedges, County Antrim, Northern Ireland - This beautiful avenue of beech trees was planted by the Stuart family in the 18th century, and is one of the most photographed natural phenomena in the country.

Tunnel of Love, Kleven, Ukraine - This luscious green tunnel provides passage for a private train that provides wood to a local factory. The tunnel is also used by lovers to make a wish – it is said that if they are sincere in their love, their wishes will come true.

Ginkgo Tree Tunnel, Tokyo, Japan - Around 65,000 ginkgo trees line the streets of Tokyo; they are known as “the bearer of hope”, since some of them survived the bombing of Hiroshima. This tree tunnel is located in the outer garden of Meiji Shrine.

Jacarandas Walk, Johannesburg, South Africa - The Jacaranda trees explode into full blossom every October, turning the walk into a purple paradise.

Point Reyes, California, United States - Bishop pine, douglas fir and coast redwood are all to be found in this atmospheric part of the Pacific Coast.

Ashdown Forest, West Sussex, England - Much of the tree cover in the South Downs area was razed thousands of years ago, but some thickly-wooded areas remain.

Sena De Luna, Spain - A small Spanish village in the province of Castile and León, Sena De Luna is home to around 450 people.

If there was a sitcom based on my lab it would be a comedy of errors and near catastrophe featuring the Lab Weirdo™, the Confused Undergrad™, the Done With This Shit Fifth Year™, the Fourth Year Who Is The Only Person Who Knows How The Instruments Work But Is Impossible To Find™, the Ever Present Third Year™, and the Exhausted Second Year™

It would be called “Don’t Quench the Magnet”

Gases +  Electric Field 

Click on pictures for more information.

Source

The Academy Awards won by scientists

Did you know there is another set of Oscars devoted to the scientific side of movie making?

Two weeks before the televised Oscars, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences gives out awards to the innovators who make blockbusters like “The Martian” or “Mad Max: Fury Road” possible. 

Combining style *AND* brains, the Scientific and Technical Awards ceremony celebrates technological innovations ranging from camera rigs to software systems to inflatable green screens.  

This year’s recipients included Michael John Keesling, who developed the Image Shake, a remote-controlled lens attachment that creates a jerky, hand-held look without shaking the camera. The tool has been used in movies like “Saving Private Ryan” and the Jason Bourne films to create a gritty, “real” aesthetic seen in a lot of contemporary action thrillers.

Brian McLean and Martin Meunier won an award for pioneering the use of rapid prototyping, a process that allows animators to quickly and exponentially produce replacement puppet parts for stop-motion films like “Coraline.”

Past winners of the awards have also included academics. 

UC Santa Barbara’s computer science professor, Theodore Kim, won a technical achievement award for creating an algorithm that helps simulate realistic smoke and fire effects seen in dozens of movies, including “Super 8″ and “Avatar.”

Curious about the science behind these effects? Check out the video below:

doctor: looks like we'll have to perform a CAT scan. is this something you're familiar with?

me: I've spent my whole life scanning my environment for cats

Day in the life of a scientist

Me, at an art store: I need a paint marker with low toxicity and a delicate tip.

Employee: What kind of project are you working on?

Me: It's for a research project. I just need bright colors.

Employee: What medium are you using? Canvas or paper?

Me: uh....spiders.

Employee: Plastic or felt?

Me: ....live spiders. Like, from the forest.

Employee: ....

Employee: I have to get back to the counter.