Knitting, Botany, Mycology, Nature, Adventure, and Life... in no particular order.
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Nerd Fun in Montague →
It’s a LARP based on Changeling: the Lost. Knowing one of the 3 people setting it up… it is bound to be fun, adventurous, and spirited.
Note: My sister may be the biggest nerd I know and I wouldn’t have her any other way!
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Botany Stamp Excitement
2011 USPS postage stamps have been announced and Asa Gray is on the docket! I am more than a little thrilled that the “father of American botany” is getting recognition in his 201 year.
(Taken from http://www.usps.com/communications/newsroom/2010/pr10_125.htm)
American Scientists
The third American Scientists stamp issuance honors chemist Melvin Calvin, botanist Asa Gray, physicist Maria Goeppert Mayer, and biochemist Severo Ochoa. The stamps go on sale June 16.
Melvin Calvin was the first scientist to trace in detail the process of photosynthesis and conducted pioneering research on using plants as an alternative energy source. He won the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1961.
Asa Gray, one of the first professional botanists in the United States, advanced the specialized field of plant geography and became the principal American advocate of evolutionary theory in the mid-nineteenth century.
Maria Goeppert Mayer developed a theoretical model that helped explain the structure of the atomic nucleus; for this work she became the only woman other than Marie Curie to win a Nobel Prize in physics.
Severo Ochoa, a biochemist, was the first scientist to synthesize ribonucleic acid (RNA) and competed in the race to decipher the genetic code. Ochoa won the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine in 1959.
For each stamp in this block of four, art director Ethel Kessler collaborated with Greg Berger of Bethesda, MD, to create a collage featuring a photograph and signature of the scientist, along with items such as equations and diagrams that are associated with the scientist’s research.
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PAX report
So, last month I went to PAX. I went with friends, with family, and with strangers. It was very different from my first time going to PAX in Seattle a few years ago. Then I really knew nothing of gaming culture and played pretty much only Dr. Mario on occasion. I used it as a great excuse to go on vacation in Seattle with friends (which worked out great as I had lots of time on my own to explore) and did spend some time at the convention having fun and being totally overwhelmed.
This time was different. This time I knew a lot more going in, and I had some plans. I wanted to do some console gaming (and I did! played a Wii for the first time), I wanted to learn how to play D&D (which I also did, rolling a d20 for the first time and now knowing what “roll for initiative” means) and I wanted to meet up with other knitters who were also PAX attendees.
The last of those is one of my favorites. Many of us worked through the PA forums and Ravelry to spread the word. The most difficult part was that the place we chose was very crowded so not everyone found us. However, we had a great time and I met some great knitters & crocheters (or hookers if you prefer). There is a great post by Rows Red over here with more pictures of PAX. Playing D&D and other games with friends, getting a Castle Crashers t-shirt, having Will Weaton walk by (and then later take a pic with my sister while I was learning to play D&D… the irony), going to panels, and hanging with my sister really made the whole weekend awesome.
So, here are some pictures, since detailing the convention isn’t going to be interesting for anyone. However this summer I am totally going to the classic arcade museum up in NH, so feel free to join me!
The Beginning! (Gateway to PAX)
KN1TT3RS!
Saturday Night Concert
My first D&D final dungeon!
Nerd Sisters!
And in a couple weekends the DM there is going to teach our parents to play!
That’s all for now. Next big summary: St. Louis!
