More from my Beach Day

Since I had such a lovely day at the beach on Saturday I thought I would post about that again. Mostly because there isn't much else going on with me. Just some reading and writing and exercising. The other stuff that is going on is not at all interesting. I'm waiting for my Navy application results, which should be in by the first week in February. I'm thinking about a possible job in CA. A little cooking... Oh, I'm going night running tomorrow with FERP, which should be fun. And that's really it.

So, the beach was just a wonderful break from mundane for me. I thought I would share a moment with you all from when I was looking at the waves. It reminded me of a recent Radio Lab episode called Numbers.


In this episode the last story (beginning at 43:55) is about a student and his math teacher. They discuss that the calculation of waves is done by using infinity. But to calculate the creation of waves that don't repeat, that die out or that grow, you need a kind of infinity that sits in the space between two numbers; a kind of infinity that isn't just the adding and adding of numbers, but a higher kind of infinity. And when I look at the ocean and I look at waves and the seeming forever-ness that is the sea, I really enjoy the thought that there isn't just infinitesimal space, but that there are infinities which I haven't even imagined yet. Infinities that are so advanced and complex that my mind cannot image them.

ANYWAY, I took a few of the photos from Saturday and entered them in National Geographic's Your Shot contest, which they have every month. They may not win because my camera isn't good enough and because i refuse to digitally enhance my photos, but you never know.

Oh and today I learned something excellent. Platypuses have venom. True story.

Stay safe, don't touch platypuses. And be one with your own infinity.

Thanks for reading and best regards,
Alya

CUTE!

This morning I was meandering around the world wide web today and came across this website featuring "cute food."

I know, you're wondering what hell I'm talking about. Cute food like people who eat kittens? NO.

This is a perfect example: the edible Eiffel Tower with do-it-yourself instructions. The website links in the photo so you can see what the components are made out of. With some fancy knife work, you can make your own fancy French meal. As a side note, you see the fabric on the table under the box the food is in? Yeah... the pajama pants I'm wearing right now, which I made myself, they're made from the exact same fabric. No joke. That Eiffel Tower meal is basically being eaten off my pants.

Enjoy that disturbing or amusing or appealing (depending on who you are) thought as we nonchalantly transition over to the topic of me being out of Radio Lab episodes. Why was I looking at cute food? Because for the past two weeks I have spent all of my waking moments listening to a podcast called Radio Lab. Yes, I admit, this is procrastination from looking for real work to some extent, but some how I still manage to write cover letters and send out resumes so I dunno what the deal is.

ANYWAY, Radio Lab is like... science for dummies. But REALLY COMPLICATED SCIENCE for dummies. And by dummies I mean people like me, and I'm not so dumb I just don't understand quantum mechanics and the intricacies of string theory because I'm not at an IQ of 174. YET. I will increase my brain power. The cute Bento Box Bunnies told me it would happen. I only have like 20 points to go. And when I get there I plan to build the particle accelerator to your left. ;)

Now if you want to know what the hell I'm talking about with this whole Radio Lab nonsense, listen to THIS PODCAST on MORALITY. It's probably the one that has been the most re-broadcasted in different forms, in clips in bits and pieces as parts of NPR or other shows on the radio, so it may sound familiar.

Why I like radio lab is how they edit the sound.

The other part I like is that they take very complex ideas and scientific experiments and make them accessible.

Please take the time to enjoy.

Thanks for reading and best regards,
Alya

New Novel

Yesterday I listened to a podcast called "(so-called) life" from the WNYC radio show Radio Lab.

What I heard on this show blew my freaking mind into tiny little pieces and then as I got up off the floor of the living room and put the pieces back together I decided two things: #1 I was tired of not writing, and #2 I was going to write a new novel about the DNA factory.

While my initial reaction to the episode was "they've found the gene strand that makes things glow in the dark??? I WANT TO GLOW IN THE DARK!! I want to glow in the dark and fly and HAVE SONAR!!! And I will be the GLOWING WOMBAT!"

My SECOND thought was more along lines of "well everyone is going to want sonar... people are going to want to customize themselves and their children to be superheroes..."

And if I don't have the expertise to make the Gene Factory myself, similar to my Black Hole necklace idea... maybe you guys don't know about that... it's another Radio Lab spawned idea of mine... Srsly, don't ask people, I have too much free time.

ANYWAY, if I can't profit off of the ACTUAL gene factory at MIT, then I'm gonna profit off of the novel.

Because, as I see it, someone should because we live in a capitalistic world.

YAY!

Thanks for reading and best regards,
Alya

P.S. Look at the time stamp, ooooooh sad for you my idea is copyrighted. *sadface*