October 21, 2022
What better a place to bring kids than to New York’s iconic American Museum of Natural History! The agenda for their maiden visit, the ocean hall and the dinosaurs. Ok, first some space… This was a neat presentation on the Big Bang. 💥 I kind of have a thing for Read more…
April 18, 2022
I first visited Very Large Array, a National Radio Astronomy Observatory, in February of 2018. My goal in 2022 was to get better shots of the many radio telescopes at the observatory and appreciate it a bit more since my first visit I kind of went in blind. I also Read more…
July 21, 2021
Did you know there is a National Radio Quiet Zone? The National Radio Quiet Zone restricts Earthly radio transmissions to maximize radio data from outer space. This means NPR wasn’t coming in too clear on my drive to Green Bank Observatory in Green Bank, West Virginia. Similar to the field Read more…
October 21, 2020
Of all the things that you might encounter lying about abandoned, a nuclear particle accelerator would be my last guess. And yet… the 65-foot Westinghouse Atom Smasher reclines on its side outside Pittsburgh, easily accessible for mind-blowing pictures. Once a symbol of pride for residents and the industrial science community Read more…
September 15, 2020
I’ve learned that quarantining when you really had close contact with someone who is confirmed positive for Covid-19 is very different than sitting within a “courtesy” quarantine. This post contains scenes from my post-Utah courtesy quarantine, a brief stint of freedom after testing negative within that quarantine, returning back to Read more…
June 29, 2020
The Knightridge Space Observatory in Bloomington, Indiana is a simple observatory built in simpler times. But since that time the city of Bloomington and telescopic technology have grown. And the two-room structure with a rotating dome ceiling has been left alone in the woods since. Functioning only for 30 years, Read more…
June 28, 2020
In 1919, when East Cleveland was not a source of distracting ambient light, the Warner And Swasey Company gifted an observatory to the Astronomy department of the Case School of Applied Science. Though they manufactured a variety of machinery and tools, Warner and Swasey was best known for its giant Read more…
August 30, 2019
Day 18 would be my last adventure… the Assateague Island National Seashore, the barrier island shared by Virginia and Maryland where feral horse roam freely. Wild horses. If that is not enough, the beach is beautiful and washes up a slew of shells. I hit the shoreline early as the Read more…
April 19, 2019
My second astrophotography excursion would be in Western Texas, within the deepest and darkest sky of the state–inside Big Bend National Park. As important as packing is some advance research regarding dark sky conditions at the time of my visit. I am sharing my resources here to help make the Read more…
August 29, 2018
For budgetary reasons, I haven’t traveled much at all this summer. So it was a delight to find so many means of escape right here in New York City. The Greek‘s place in Broad Channel, Queens on the Rockaway Peninsula offers a retreat from all of the city’s bustle while Read more…
March 14, 2018
As a math teacher, I am obligated to make a big stink about Pi Day (3/14). I made two pies from scratch last night after work while eating a PB&J sammy for dinner. Today, I incorporated them into the day’s activities. (For more, see my work blog here.) Now, I’m Read more…
February 18, 2018
Though I’d love to say that I joined Fox and Scully in the New Mexican desert to discover a mysterious and striking field of giant radio antennae pointing to our dear sky–emitting, absorbing, tracking… The possibility of an intricate and expansive government conspiracy is alluring. But the truth (which is Read more…
August 11, 2017
This little Italian girl always loved lasagna. Even though lasagna uses the same basic ingredients as other Italian dishes (noodle, sauce, cheeses), it’s the structure of lasagna I love. It is organized. And I am a big fan of things being organized. I always was. As a child I remember Read more…
August 20, 2016
For a gal who always sees the first a.m. showing of movies in the theater to avoid people, going to Yellowstone National Park in August is a little counterintuitive. However, crowded in Yellowstone Country is far different than crowded in, say, the New York City subway. It’s 2.2 million acres. Read more…
April 30, 2011
I wrote this ode in August of 2009. I’m “reprinting” it today as I am struck by the realization that I’ve grown to need Radiolab… for support, for inspiration, for a connection–in a world where the homogenized, trite and shrill voice of mainstream culture succeeds in alienating me. In my Read more…
August 31, 2010
I’ve spent all week so far setting up my fifth grade classroom and haven’t cooked a darn thing. I entered my classroom mid-year this past January and didn’t have the opportunity to imprint the room with any of my own pizazz. But this year! Vintage fabric is strewn about and Read more…
August 19, 2010
Figs are a lovely and fascinating fruit. They are internally-flowering. In fact, they’re not really a fruit at all but flowers. Their innards, so chock full of life and movement, are rows and rows of inner-flowers, like eating a sweet, sweet bouquet. Besides playing a role in many faiths and worships, Read more…
November 3, 2009
A must-see in Guanajuato is its mummies. Museo de la Mumias is sure to creep and fascinate. The very popular attraction had a huge line on our first visit and so our second attempt was timed to beat the rush on the morning of our departure. Here’s the draw: The Read more…
October 2, 2009
It is all the rage but what is Daiya? What’s in it? Here I go, deconstructing sunshine. Purified water Ground cassava: a starchy root from the tropics you may know as yucca. It’s related to tapioca. Arrowroot: another tropical starch related to tapioca high oleic sunflower oil: sunflower oil that Read more…
August 18, 2009
A friend of mine recently asked me if I ate Good n’ Plenty, the pink and white coated licorice candy. I had to tell her no and why and, in doing so, managed to help push her finger down on the “w” key, as in “Ewwww…”, long enough to maybe Read more…
September 29, 2008
When I was a kid I was confused by beer. I remember not understanding Strange Brew. I remember my parents taking me and my siblings to an Oktoberfest carnival, going down a tall and smooth plastic slide with my legs in a potato sack and hearing my Dad complain everyone Read more…