MOONFEST! and the Semi-end of Procrastination

If you didn't know, today is the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing, when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin first stepped foot on our lovely moon. Significant lunar activity = lots of things to do at Ames! We had a special speaker two weeks ago, a gentlemen who has speialized in writing about the Apollo missions, and yesterday was MOONFEST! (And yes, it has to be in all caps, that's just the way it is.) 

MOONFEST is a day full of lunar activities for the young and old. The picture on the right shows just part of the crowd that showed up to Ames on Sunday; the organizers expected 8,000 people. I am not sure how many actually showed up, but there was a traffic jam all the way down Moffett Boulevard, and it backed up into Hwy 101. That never happens on a normal day. I decided to voluenteer for this event (I got a free t-shirt!) and I worked the Speaker's Tent. For part of the day, my friend Hannah and I guarded the door behind the speaker's platform from people who might ignore the 'KEEP OUT' signs and try to slip in. We also acted as direction and general information givers, as our bright blue shirt labeled us as people who know something about the event. 

For the other part of the day, I got to sit in on the speaker's talks and then pass the microphone around during the Q&A afterwards. My, but I didn't know how pushy people were about getting their questions heard and how challenging it is to coordinate mics! However, I did enjoy listing to Dr. Wooden, who I had met at lunch one day, speak about future NASA missions to the moon. She was engaging and had great videos and visuals on her powerpoint. She also has an asteroid named after her. And then, at the end of the day, an astronaut named Dr. Donald Pettit, who has a doctorate in ChemE from Oregon State, and has flow into space twice, and invented a zero-gravity coffee cup that he uses on the International Space Station. He talked about what he learned in space, about how things like iPod cords and heavy equipment behave in ways previously unimagined, and how ever since NASA invented a zero-gravity printer, they've had to constantly be doing paperwork (It is the government....) He has also been to Antarctica, studying meteor rocks, but that wasn't nearly as interesting then the ISS information. He was actually on the last mission that came down, STS-126 (STS-127 is up on the ISS now, after a month and a half of launch delays), which also installed the waste-water recycling set up that a gentleman who works in my building designed and built. I heard a talk on it a couple of weeks ago, it is very interesting how they are making drinking water. 

Today, I decided to leave Ames a bit early and just find a place off base where I could work. I would get distracted in the lab and at Sayre's, so I found a Peet's Coffee and Tea to do some work. I really wanted to find a place like the TeaCup in Seattle, but apparently all they really have is Starbucks around here. Starbucks doesn't serve great tea, but I remembered my friend Sarah said she enjoyed Peet's when she went there, so I decided to give it a try. It was surprisingly good, even though it lacked the teapot and cup service, and the friendly people of the Teacup. I got my work done that I needed to for today (abstract and poster draft) and will probably continue procrastinating on the rest of it (poster final version is due next Monday and the final paper is due in three Fridays). Thus, this is only the semi-end of my procrastination. 

Next time, I want to try this place in the picture, Le Boulanger, which sounds like they might have good French bread!!

Also, you all should google (which is a verb now, according to Dr. Reinsma) the Hubble telescope pictures, they are amazing! I used one for my poster background and placed one on my computer desktop, even going so far as to clear all my icons off so I could see all of the picture. 

And tomorrow, you all should go to Starbucks and get a free pastry!! Click here for the coupon! You should try the Chonga bagel (toasted) or the Traditional Coffee Cake, they are both delicious!

96.34 Hours

The number in the title of this post? That is the number of hours I spent at NASA Ames Research Park over the course of the last two weeks. Not only was I there every weekday, but I went in for a bit last Sunday, today (Saturday) and will go in tomorrow. I am doing my best to get as much experimental data in before I have to write up my abstract, poster, and paper, of which, the first two are due on Monday (the 20th!) by midnight...

And of course, I don't really want to write the abstract or finish my poster, so this post is one glorious form of procrastination. I have been majorly procrastinating on this project, partially because it feels to much like school (a 10 page research paper?!) and I don't feel like I have enough data to draw conclusions. What do they expect, I've only been here for 6 weeks! 

So, I decided to tell you about non-NASA stuff, to take a break for a moment. When my parents were visiting, on morning on my way to work, what did my and dad and I see? ....an older couple walking their goose! Yes, I am telling the truth, they were walking with what looked to be a Canadian goose in between them, prodding it along with a stick. It was quite funny and pretty much made my day that Tuesday. 

Another interesting observation about this area (and also tells you how much I have adapted to Seattle): There are so many SUVs and big trucks around here. Now, I'm used to them in Ellensburg, because they usually serve a purpose as a farm truck or for hauling things, but I was very surprised to find so many in a state that is striving to be green and save energy. (On another note, there are these really cool stickers that let single-passenger cars use the diamond lane if they are hybrid cars that pass a clean air emissions test. There are so many days when I wished I had a Prius) The following are a few pics from my phone that I couldn't resist snapping when I saw these trucks. These are both trucks that have been jacked up and ride real high off the ground. In Ellensburg, we'd call them red-neck trucks, but I'm not sure what you'd call them here....

Something fun Alina and I did today was travel to the Willow Glen farmers market. I was kind of expecting a market like Fremont's in Seattle, but this was surprisingly like the one in Ellensburg. There were local, fresh-picked fruit and veggies, flowers, handmade jewelry, a guy singing classics with his guitar, a local bakery and a local jam/jelly maker. 

It was pleasantly uncrowded, and we purchased some delicious fruit. 

Here is a picture of part of the market, this was only about 2/3 of the booths. I forgot to bring my camera, so this is a shot from my phone. 

Well, I'm going to leave procrastination station now, eat some ice cream and get back to work. Before bed I am determined to have a 250 word abstract written and emailed to my mentor!

Also, funniest thing I've seen at NASA, this is a sign in the bathroom in the cafeteria area. Jesus reminding people to wash well with his "Repent! Wash your germs away!" sign.

Wow. Two Weeks

It has been two weeks since I have last posted, sorry for the long delay :) I will however, not aim to post all of what has occurred in that time in one post, but will tell my tales over the course of a few. My family and my chemicals have been keeping me from writing lately. That, and I lost my camera for a time and thus was unable to take or post pictures. I found it in a bag of yarn in my room, of all places!

Well, for the whole week leading up to the fourth of July, I did nothing but sit in a chair and read scientific literature the whole week. However, that has paid off, as now I am prepared to do more and have a better grasp of the reactions I am running. That thought doesn't, however, make those 40 hours I spent staring at my computer any easier in my memory....

Also during that time, my family came into to town from the great state of Washington! I was really excited to see them, and it has seemed to break up the time I am here into nice chunks. I have now been in Cali for exactly 5 weeks and have less than 5 weeks to go. Eek! So much to do! I was nice to hang out with the have have a mini-vacation of sorts: we traveled down to Bakersfield, CA for the fourth. Now what is in Bakersfield, you ask, that would induce a normal person to visit such a hot, smelly land? Well, I have relatives down there that we like to visit about every other year (or so it has been for the last few). They actually have air conditioning, which is great, seeing as it was nearing 100 degrees F before nine o'clock in the morning. They also have a rather large pool, which my family availed themselves of constantly. The picture above is from the 4th, the girls sat and watched while guys lit off the fireworks, which consisted of mostly fountains that sparkled. And then we watch the show from the country club over the hill, where there were bigger and better fireworks, and they were free!

Also, the other best part of visiting Bakersfield - the meat. My great-uncle cooks really good meat. We had delicious chicken the first night, pork the second, and some beautiful beef the last evening. Of course there were other things along with it, but I have not had good meat for a while now, probably since my birthday, when I was home in E-burg. 

While I was there I was able to really relax. With no agenda, a pair of knitting needles, new yarn and a new pattern, coupled with a little second-cousin (I think that how we are related anyway...) who loves to watch the Disney channel. And deep down, I really enjoy that channel too, especially when I find Scooby Doo on...I love Scooby Doo and could watch it all day...but please, don't tell anyone ;) Though I seem to do nothing but relax when I am at the Sayres, home from work (I am not taking French classes this summer and no one I know lives close enough for me to visit) but at my relatives I got to stay up til midnight and still get 8+ hours of sleep! 

This is what what the nightstand next to my bed looks like. And yes, it does get cold enough here in the evenings to merit a nice hot cup of tea. Tonight, I believe it was mint.

I have, this summer, read many books. It has been almost 2 years since I got to properly read a novel for pure pleasure, and I have been taking every advantage of my lazy summer days. This is the reason I will not come back from Cali with a tan, as I spend much of my time inside, reading my books. I do however, have a slight Tom's tan line, which I will sport with pride when I meet up with my friends from the south US. (aka Kali and Charis). 

And with that, my friends, bon nuit! for I am heading to bed.