// August 30th, 2010 // No Comments » // Jibber Jabber
Ahoy there!
Just a quick reminder that the most important day in the year is coming up – Talk like a Pirate Day! It’s on September 19, which this year is a Sunday. ‘Tis an excellent day for some serious pirate frivolity, particularly in a drinking-in-the-backyard setting. Start planning yer party now!
// August 16th, 2010 // No Comments » // Jibber Jabber
Just a quick one to say that National Science Week has officially started. If you’re in Australia, there’s tons of awesome science shows and stuff to do this week. Post a comment if you know of something particularly incredible that’s happening.
I’m in Parkes, NSW (home of the Dish) at the moment, so I’m missing out on most of it. I’m feeling pretty FOMO actually. FOMO is a great adjective, isn’t it. Start using it too and maybe it will really take off.
// August 1st, 2010 // No Comments » // Jibber Jabber
A somewhat belated announcement – A Schooner of Science was awarded second place in The Big Blog Theory, sharing the runner up position with Mr Science Show. Huzzah!
Congratulations to the winner, Bec from Save Your Breath for Running Ponies. The blog has a really interesting writing style, a bit like a novel with characters and dialogue. I’m looking forward to seeing her coverage of National Science Week.
Thank ye to all who voted for me, I’m honoured to be Australia’s equal-second-best science blogger and I couldn’t have done it without your support. Let’s dance a merry jig about my ship and down a mug o’ rum in celebration!
// June 7th, 2010 // 4 Comments » // How Things Work, Jibber Jabber, The Realm of Bizzare
In early high school I was told an atom was the smallest piece of matter in the universe. If you divided matter into pieces as small as they could be, the smallest piece would be one atom. Utter BS, according to later high school years. An atom is made up of protons, neutrons and electrons. Protons and neutrons can be further divided into quarks.
When I get to reading about subatomic physics and chem I quickly get confused and frustrated. My love is for the elegant simplicity of chemical reactions, effervescence, fluorescence, quenching and conjugation. Quarks are not so simple.
There are six flavours of quarks, and yes, “flavour” really is the technical word for it. They are called up, down, top, bottom, strange and charm. A proton is made of two up quarks and one down quark. A neutron has two down quarks and an up quark.
The quarks were discovered by particle accelerators. Strange quarks are found in cosmic ray particles with a strangely long lifespan. Charm quarks are charmed because they complete the symmetry of the quark set. Top and bottom quarks are similar to up and down, and were originally called truth and beauty. The top quark has a mass almost as much as an atom of gold, which is pretty dang heavy!
Pictured above, UK band Florence and the Machine has written a new song about love and quarks. It’s called Strangeness and Charm and has only been played live. Here is the best quality audio I’ve been able to find of it, I’d love to see it live. There are rumours that her new album is science-inspired, can’t wait to hear it.
// June 3rd, 2010 // 1 Comment » // Jibber Jabber
Three Quarks Daily are having their second annual blog contest. A Schooner of Science’s Chemistry of Kissing post has been nominated, and you can vote for it. Well, vote for your favourite post by anyone, no pressure. What’s that? Your favourite was the Chemistry of Kissing anyway? Of course it was!
Click through to read the nominees, and here to vote! Voting closes on 8 June.
// May 30th, 2010 // 2 Comments » // Jibber Jabber, Just for Fun
This badge is from Science Scouts, and it’s the I may look like a scientist but I’m actually also a pirate badge. Personally I think everybody should have a scouts-inspired badge of some description. Getting badges is something adults don’t experience enough. Let’s bring back the tradition people! If you’re into science, pick the one that suits you best from Science Scouts.
Hat tip to Disease of the Week, who for their work with bacteria have earned the badge of having to wash their hands BEFORE going to the bathroom.
// April 22nd, 2010 // 1 Comment » // Jibber Jabber, Science Communication
Ahoy!
Today be an auspicious occasion. ‘Tis the first birthday of me blog! A year ago today the first post hit the internet. Since then, A Schooner of Science has grown. With 141 posts, 100 visitors daily and a mere 4 comments away from the 300 mark, the blog is going strong and there’s no sign of it slowing.
I’d like to thank you, my cherished readers. Some of you I know have been reading for the whole time, some have just recently climbed on board. I couldn’t and wouldn’t do it without you, and I hope you enjoy reading me words as much as I enjoy writing them.
With that, I’d like to open the floor to you. I’d like to know more about you, dear reader. Tell me whence you came, tell me what you do, tell me your loves and your hates, tell me how you came to be on board the schooner. The rest of this post is yours to complete, dear reader.
And the fourth person to comment will be the lucky 300th! If that ain’t cause to comment I don’t know what is!
// April 17th, 2010 // 1 Comment » // Jibber Jabber
I be pleased to announce that I have been listed on the 50 best blogs for chemistry students.
Hooray! Joining me on the list are some of my favourite blogs, like The Chem Blog (which originally got me into blogging, though it has now been discontinued), In the Pipeline, and Carbon Based Curiosities.
Unfortunately they also have Science Daily listed, which I find a bit of a dodgy place to get news from. It reads more like a media release, and is really just a gathering up of science articles from around the world. Many of them are not worth their salt.
Still, I be most thrilled to be listed! Have a look if you’d like to broaden your chemistry horizons.
// March 29th, 2010 // 2 Comments » // Jibber Jabber
This is a picture of Corey with a tattoo of fulvic acid, which he studied in grad school. He said he got it “as an homage to the pain of my graduate work.” It’s just one of many wonderful science tattoos compiled by The Loom. The collection is rather staggering.
Tattoos seem a piratey sort of thing. Perhaps a day without a breeze can be spent idly etching your own skin. I for one prefer to keep my eyes to the horizon and peeled for the white whale, which eludes me still. I believe myself to changeable a character to sustain a tattoo, it seems even the ideas I hold most dear can be mutated in the course of a single day. Is it not the way of the scientist to keep an open mind and consider nothing to be set in stone?
As the sun beats down heavily on my brow I feel a headache creeping up from the base of my neck. It must surely be because my sleep last night was plagued by such nightmares that I awoke tied in knots. Sailors should never tie themselves into knots.
Though my skin is unmarked, I feel inked within. Last night the white whale darted palely through the darkest corners of my mind, and the tendrils of the kraken rose up to strangle me.
// January 26th, 2010 // 2 Comments » // Jibber Jabber
Even though exciting things are happening in science, such as slime moulds being used to design railway systems, I have been otherwise occupied. What has harnessed most of my attention of late is my imminent move interstate.
Pirates have a certain inclination to horde treasure, and as such my cupboards are filled with nifty trinkets and almost empty boxes of crackers. No joke, I once had people over for dinner and out of the three boxes of Jatz on the counter, one was a quarter full, one was completely empty and the other had one cracker left. This measly appetizer was followed by a salad graced with a single olive – all I had left in the jar. My kitchen is full of stuff like this. Not cool.
Right now I have seventeen boxes sprawled about, the hallway has become an obstacle course and every single toe on my foot has been stubbed. Thank the stars my other leg is wood. I feel as uncomfortable as this little gingerbread guy looks.
Though the packing is painful, I’m heaps excited about the reason for the move – I’ve been accepted into a course to study Science Communication for the year. Having a chance to do science stuff full time will be in-freaking-credible.
So exciting times ahead! Expect a higher caliber of science posts this year, but until I get a bit more settled in they might be irregular and rushed. It depends on when I get me mitts on some internets. See, I was going to buy a macbook pro before I left, but I’m waiting in hope for them to unveil a new model in their next unveiling day thing, which I heard was tomorrow.
Exciting times ahead! Now where’s that packing tape… dammit all I need a nap.
