Hydrogeologist. B.A., M.S., earth science.
Note: This was written for a school project. It will be featured as a chapter in an Apple iBooks textbook released by Duke University about Beaufort marine invertebrates. Image from Wikimedia Commons.
Latin Name: Mnemiopsis leidyi (Sea Walnut)
Taxonomy: Animalia (Kingdom) > Ctenophora (Phylum) > Tentaculata (Class) > Cyclocoela (Subclass) > Lobata (Order) > Bolinopsidae (Family) > Mnemiopsis (Genus)
Note: This list will be updated as we visit more restaurants during our time on the coast, as I attend the Duke Marine Lab during summer of 2013.
I picked up Super Mario 3D Land on release day a few years ago, and I while I remembered that I loved it, I didn't remember just how much -- until last week at Best Buy, I found on sale a red 3DS with the game pre-installed. I've not had my 3DS for quite some time, so I snapped it up. Read more →
With the sequel to Marvel's blockbusting Thor due in theaters this November, interest in Norse mythology is bound to explode. Watching that original Thor certainly kindled the desire in me, and on top of ordering a Mjolnir necklace pendant (a replica of an artifact found in Sweden) from Viking-Shield.com, I took to researching the mythology. This culminated in my purchasing Gods of Asgard: A graphic novel interpretation of the Norse myths by Erik Evensen, a fortuitous decision for anybody interested in not just learning, but really experiencing, the tales.
One of my secret guilty pleasures in life is a fascination with tugboats. I blame my grandfather for infecting me with the tug bug. One day while we were out on his bass boat, he pointed to a huge barge. "What do you think pushes that big, heavy barge?" he asked. No older than ten, I replied, "A humongous gigantic ship!" He laughed, and then the tug boat, dwarfed in size by the barge, came into view. This unexpected sight made quite the impression on me, I was thoroughly amazed with the tug's power. They quickly became mythologized in my mind as tireless, hard-working, under-appreciated folks of the boat world, while useless divas like yachts got all the attention.
Last month we decided to finally buy a truck, but Eric and I had very different ideas about what to get. His last truck was a banana yellow GMC with pink-and-blue pin-striping (an unsightly purchase justifiable only because he claims it was a "good deal" - but it thankfully got traded in when he bought his FR-S), so I was worried when he found a retired school systems GMC that guess what, was a horrible nacho cheese yellow. Fortunately, the taco sold before we had a chance to snag it, which sent our quest back to Craigslist. As we searched, I kept my mouth shut when Eric looked exclusively at large heavy-duty trucks, passing over the smaller nimbler ones I liked; after all, the truck was mainly for him. However, when I saw an ad for a Jeep truck, I couldn't resist; I grabbed the mouse and opened the ad in a tab. I fell in love immediately, but Eric merely grumbled while I played up the truck's features: we wanted a manual and a four wheel drive, at $1650 it was much cheaper than the behemoths he was considering, and as a 4-cylinder, it would be easy on gas*. Plus, it was a Jeep.
Note: This entry was originally posted on a blog I created for my History of Medicine class final project during December 2012.
I can't praise this game enough. Let's start at the beginning. I'd never played Tomb Raider before. When the series really hit its heyday, I was in my early teens and actively avoiding any game centered around large breasts (even though this was probably an inaccurate assessment, this was what 13-year-old me ascertained based on what the males my age were praising in the game). However, when I saw the Tomb Raider advertisement in GameStop, I was intrigued. Lara seemed like a bad ass, and her body had believable proportions - but don't get me wrong, the new Lara was still sexy as hell, just in a more intelligent, capable way. I dug it. Enough that I immediately shelled out cash to buy the game.
Like most anybody, I enjoy driving fast on occasion and I get excited by the sound of a big aggressive motor, but the finer details of fast cars do little for me. As a straight woman, large perky breasts and jiggling asses do even less, except make me feel mildly inadequate. Let's face it, the Fast & Furious series was not designed with me in mind, but to indulge my gearhead husband; I have watched them all, and I agreed to watch the sixth installment. (Our original deal was that he would buy me a dual sport motorcycle if I watched them all, after I sold my old less-than-perfect 2001 Super Sherpa when he expressed safety concerns. I've held up my end... [Update: He held up his!]) The experience was a lot less painful than I expected -- enjoyable, even.
Most of these softwares are pretty well-known, but I want to give them some extra publicity. They are all free, but if you can afford it, I recommended taking a small percentage of the money you save on licensing (or irritation) and donating it to the developers.