3 Things - God I love science stuff

1. Water Bears. Alien or mother-effing awesome animal?
Thanks to a fellow nerd (but less so, as I believe she is a tad bit cooler than I am) Natalie, I have discovered Water Bears...otherwise known as "Tardigrade".

Water Bear

(I have also discovered the BBC magazine "Knowledge" thanks to Natalie. It's bloody brilliant.)

Water Bears. Let me tell you a little bit about these things....if they were our size, they would fuck us up. They aren't. They are like... .006 inches big.

Fact 1: Water Bears can withstand heat and cold...
how high? 303 degrees Fahrenheit
how low? absolute zero...or ...−459.67 degrees Fahrenheit

Fact 2: Water Bears can survive 1000 times more radiation than any other animal.

Fact 3: Water Bears can survive in the low pressure vacuum of space. And more than 6 times the pressure of what is down at the bottom of the ocean. For 10 DAYS.

Fact 4: Water Bears don't have to drink water for one decade and won't die, and will get re-hydrated in just one drop of water.

So let me ask you then, Water Bears: alien or just a mother-effing awesome animal?

2. Did I tell you how much I love science fiction?
Well, did I ? Because its not even funny how much I've immersed myself into this world. I should have long ago really, but unfortunately it's just happened in the past couple of years. Actually you know what? I lied. I took a freaking sci-fi literature class in college. Not just anyone takes that class.

But more recently I've noticed that I've read more books, watched more movies, wrote short stories, dreamed about robots, and wished I was in sci-fi shows. I think about Sci-fi all the freaking time really. And ask you, dear reader, to please give me recommendations of more sci-fi I can obsess over. Oh especially comic books. I wanna get into comic books.

My recommendations for you?
1. Book: Night Watch, Day Watch and Twilight Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko
2. Movie: Serenity (and Firefly the tv show) if you haven't seen them already
3. Tv Series: Doctor -freakin- Who. All of them. All of them from 1963 to today. Not kidding. They are all good. But, if you're just starting out...go with the 9th Doctor (2005) first and then move around...like I did.


3. I wish I could get cable and choose my channels.

Did you know there is a Science Channel? And an awesome show is on it...its called "Sci-Q".

As I was happily watching cable at Dans parents house during Thanksgiving, we stopped on the science channel. Which I proceeded to freak out about. And then that freaking, Sci-Q, preview came out and I peed my pants a little.

Yes. I wish I could choose my channels for cable.
I wouldn't choose sports. Probably only choose like...CNN or something for news, and then proceed to choose this line up.

a. Discovery Channel
b. Discovery Health
c. TLC
d. Animal Planet
e. Science Channel
f. History Channel

and of course

g. Cartoon Network
h. Bravo
i. VH1

Hey, is that too much to ask? Really? IS IT?

But, that'll never happen. Comcast, RCN and other expensive crappy providers wanna give me what they think I'll like.

I know what I like thanks.

I like Science stuff.

Things I've learned while working

It's not what you think. I haven't learned any office secrets. In fact one thing I've learned that pertains to office work is...basically ....I'm pretty good at learnin new databases. I've worked with so many different kind of databases that you just show me how to use your database once and I got it.
But this is not about work. And in fact, I should get BACK to work instead of writing this blog...but... I can multitask.

1. Accuradio - this website offers radio station type music for free. Whats better than that? It has already put it in ready made genres for you. It offers everything from Broadway to Reggae to Classic Rock. And it has a new channel, which quickly became my favorite: Modern Rock Classics.
a. Classics makes it sound OLD. This is not the case. It is in fact all the awesome alternative music I listened to in the 90s. And believe me the 90s isn't old.
b. Usually when you run across a music station that plays alternative, it plays the crappy songs that you can't remember by the bands that weren't even popular. Or they play N'Sync.
I have found only 2 places that did no such thing... one is Q101 the alternative radio station here in Chicago and the other: Accuradio's Modern Rock Classics.

To give you an example of the music I listened to as a snotty teenager and the music Accuradio plays so awesomely, here is a list of songs that have just played....

block rockin beats - The Chemical Brothers
poprocks and coke - Green Day
soul to squeeze - Red Hot Chili Peppers
pain lies on the riverside - Live
el scorcho - Weezer
Sugar - System of a Down
Rock and Roll Lifestyle - Cake
My own summer - The Deftones
The Way - Fastball
Doin Time - Sublime
Sober - Tool

I won't bother you with any more listings, but you get my drift. And...now you know what kinda music I love. (though this list isn't even touching the surface)

Wat Rong Khun - Thailand

2. Neatorama

This wonderful website has, as it's so cleverly titled, "neat" stuff. I proceeded to find the top most beautiful churches in the world. For those of you do who know me and for those of you who don't : I love churches, cathedrals, temples, synagogues, but I am not religious.

No. I'm not religious. But if you build a stupid looking church to worship in, I question your faith. For example, in Albuquerque there is a plain white square building with 2 windows and painted on the side is Faith Church (or something like that). It has a crappy parking lot with no trees and it is located on Central and...like...wyoming.. (well, above or below wyoming). Now you may be thinking:

"Leslie! What? People should be able to worship anywhere! It doesn't matter where they do it, just as long as they believe and have faith and have a heart...blah blah blah"

Yes, well I agree...to a point. Wouldn't you feel it more if you were in THIS?

Las Lajas Cathedral - Chile

Rather than a poopy white dumb building with no windows? I know you might also be thinking
"Leslie, these places are in other countries"

Yeah well, there are SO many more beautiful churches in Albuquerque you could go to. And to those of you who are now thinking...

"It's not just the place, it's the people you worship with"

I have this to say: Poop then, go ahead and get in your white, no windowed, building that probably has leaks, just go.

3. Science. <----if you click on that link you will see a pretty cool article about how time is actually 2 dimensions, instead of the previously supposed one dimension. This all practically blew my mind. Well, as much as one mind can be blown from science...

...which in my case..is pretty much A LOT. I've always loved astronomy and biology and such, not to mention physics and quantum physics (though I never got much into those two things more than watching videos and movies, etc).

I've also been freaked out about other dimensions, time itself, and things "not of this world". That is to say, some things existing without humans knowing and all that fantastical fun type stuff.

4. List of little things I've learned while here :
a. Ladies that wear healed shoes seem to be the LOUDEST walkers on earth
b. Heath Ledger died.
c. I like Mac's
d. I need new headphones
e. I miss the summer
f. We need to take Japan's game show ideas and do them

Well...enough of that...I need to get back to work.....now YOU have some learnin to do. :)