Just registered for #scio11 — ScienceOnline2011 and am thinking about where I am in terms of my own blog. I don't think I've ever really decided if this is a completely personal blog, or part science & part personal, or something else. I started with an explanation of the title: Dragonfly Wars. My most detailed post came on 27 March, discussing a New Scientist article: "Food, not flab, is the real killer," by Andy Coghlan. This post combined science and personal experience. Another post I am particularly proud of is my 4 April entry, "Branding Bhutan — or the story of a 'Trek through Time'." This post again combined science (in particular, an article in the 19 Feb. 2010 Science magazine, "Improbable partners aim to bring biotechnology to Himalayan Kingdom") and personal experience — that of my grandmother's trek in Bhutan with Tenzing Norgay back in 1975.
After that, the blog has become a little more personal, while still touching on topics of interest to a wider audience. "Sugar: I've cut it out" (28 April) is my take on how to cut sugar out of a person's diet. I have yet to go into greater detail as to how that has helped me in several arenas to become a more balanced person. An 8 August post, "Cleaning up," reacted to the book Nickled and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich, going off on tangents about my life as a maid, a housekeeper, and a group-home counselor. I'm also proud of this entry, but don't know if anyone has read it — maybe the picture of a dirty mop at the top of the story puts people off.
The "myth" that only your mother reads your blog is really a myth — I'm pretty sure my mother has never looked at it. But I know my father has. His favorite entry is from 26 May: "Thankful, Part I." I guess dads like to know their kids are happy. I haven't gotten to "Thankful, Part II" yet, but it'll come.
My saddest and most personal entry is "Memorial to Buddy, a good dog." This post got the most "reads" and comments. Buddy was a golden retriever whom I had the pleasure of calling my "best friend" for almost 10 years. He died suddenly (of a burst hemagiosarcoma I didn't even know he had [stoic to the last]) on 11 June 2009. Conversely, another of my favorite entries is about our other dog, Blue Aroo, whom we adopted from the MaxFund Shelter in Denver in 10 June 2009.
I tried doing the "What I linked to on Twitter this Week" thing I saw other blogs doing (particularly "Highly Allochthonous") but have found that that takes up a lot of time I don't have — and those who read my tweets (@Colo_kea) are far greater in number than who might actually look at my blog anyway.
My most recent post was for Blog Action Day 2010. I kinda took the lazy way out (or maybe not lazy exactly — I showed off what I do best with water, and that's as a photographer, not as a scientist). The post is called "Water shots." I announced once on Twitter a while back that water was my favorite thing in the whole world, and I meant it. Of course, the best of the best is a golden retriever and water at the same time.
So now — this is a nice summary of the blog so far. What's next? Do I dive into the more personal, or do I stay above that fine line? My professional expertise is as a journalist, editor, social media manager, former community college instructor, and former 9-year sheriff's department employee. I'm no scientist; I just work for a science organization and read a lot of science blogs. My skill set includes amateur Web design (see my current Web site, which will transition soon to become keagiles.com to be consistent with my chosen married name; see also the Web site I built for my brother's bookstore, Applegarth Books) — no bells and whistles on these, but I do like the images and design elements. That leads to my other amateur calling — that of a digital photographer. I've sold a couple of photos but haven't put much effort into getting them "out there." Another artifact of the "not enough time" syndrome.
I think that's enough of summarizing myself. You can always get more from LinkedIn for Twitter or even from my profile on this blog. That's not what this post is about. This post is asking you, the reader, what you'd like to see here. It's also helping me to get my thoughts together regarding what I want to write here and what I'm bringing to the table at ScienceOnline 2011. Comments? Appreciated.
12 November 2010
15 October 2010
Water Shots
I've decided to take part in Blog Action Day 2010 because it's about water. Just so happens, water is my favorite thing. It's everywhere. You can't do much without it. In fact, you can't do anything without it. It's our life's blood, more a part of us than the air we breathe.I'm no hydrologist, but I do love a good picture of water. Here are a few water shots as tribute to what is good and beautiful and vital to us all. (Note: Pictures copyright keasmus; if you want to use one, just let me know.)
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| You can see the veins of this leaf magnified in the water drops. |
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| Water cushioned in a geranium leaf. |
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| A cup of raspberry. |
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| Water drops caught in a spider web. |
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| Water frozen on a dandelion. |
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| Water reflections in glacial silt, Skagway River, Alaska, USA. |
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| The cool blue water of Glacier Bay, Alaska, USA. |
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| Glacier Bay, Alaska, USA. |
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| Snake River, Idaho, USA. |
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| South Boulder Creek with golden retriever. |
10 October 2010
Of Note • Colo_kea on Twitter 2–8 Oct. 2010
New Scientist: Honeybee disappearance mystery may be solved
http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2010/10/jessica-hamzelou-reporter-norm.html
Hilarious pictures: Who's really your best friend?
http://www.hilarious-pictures.com/files/picture/watermarked/50097473.jpg
Physorg_com: Adobe shares surge on Microsoft acquisition report
http://www.physorg.com/news205690867.html
Wired Science: Exclusive: First Autistic Presidential Appointee Speaks Out (via Lynne Soraya)
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/10/exclusive-ari-neeman-qa/all/1
ESRI: New podcast explains how GIS can be used to assist green building
http://www.esri.com/news/podcasts/podcasts.html#user_pyke (opens podcast)
Boulder Daily Camera: Survey: Boulder fourth-most educated in nation
http://www.dailycamera.com/news/ci_16272555
Wall Street Journal: In Boulder, Colo., Bring Your Dog (via
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703859204575526401618847176.html?KEYWORDS=boulder+co#
Associated Press/Google: George Clooney in Southern Sudan over war worries (via Ann Curry)
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jKqAvXCf1iergGVoN2HN65Ba5EdgD9IM9D000?docId=D9IM9D000
Ann Curry from UN Security Council Hearing in south Sudan
http://ping.fm/p/kGUcv
The Guardian: The Lay Scientist: Why I spoofed science journalism, and how to fix it
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/the-lay-scientist/2010/sep/28/science-journalism-spoof
Schneier on Security: Monitoring Employees' Online Behavior
http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2010/10/monitoring_empl.html
Tucson Citizen.com: Wry Heat blog: Saguaro National Park and Climate Change
http://tucsoncitizen.com/wryheat/2010/10/04/saguaro-national-park-and-climate-change/
BBC News: Why companies watch your every Facebook, YouTube, Twitter move (via Chris Rowan)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11450923
Guardian.co.uk: Malaria threatens 2 million in Pakistan as floodwaters turn stagnant (via Anne Jefferson)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/03/pakistan-malaria-floods
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