The Golden Compass

I’ve just been to visit the upcoming movie’s website and I like it! It reminds me of the site the Davinci Code movie had up before its release–interesting graphics, fun things to look around at, a little bit interactive, etc. For those of you who haven’t read this book, it’s a good children’s fantasy adventure novel, and the first of three in the His Dark Materials series. It’s controversial because many have deemed this series as being antithetical to the Narnia stories. I really enjoyed them (that is to say, accepted them for what they are, children’s fiction) and think you’ll just have to read for yourself and decide.

Oddly enough, the cast for the film nearly match the characters as I imagined them while reading the books, with the exception being Lord Asriel (to be played by Daniel Craig of Casino Royale). Somehow, I imagined this character as having a darker, more severe appearance, such as that of Michael Fassbender (who played Azazeal on BBC’s Hex).

I’m looking forward to the movie (out in December, I think); here’s hoping it won’t disappoint

 

Random Stuff

The semester is coming to a close, and I’m thinking of plans for the summer. I haven’t been to visit some members of my extended family in a long time, so taking my triennial swing through Georgia this year will also most likely include Arkansas and Louisiana. Taste of Buffalo, Shakespeare in the Park, Allentown Art Festival, and the summer regattas down by the Marina are also calling out to me from deep within Buffalo’s West Side. There are several friends there I haven’t connected with in a while, and many of them have since gotten married and had children. It would be nice to see them again.

Come June, here in Colorado, I’ll be looking to move again. I knew this was a temporary living situation when I moved here (my housemate is getting married in July and moving in with her fiancé), but seven months has gone by very quickly! I’m looking for a change, and for a while I’ve considered connecting with a new community. I’m eager to move forward with some of the social policy work I’ve gotten into, as I feel strongly that our country is in need of “techies” who have a deeper understanding of social consequences. While I look forward to the prospect of being an engineer upon graduation (who at times puts on a scientist’s hat), I feel I would be just as content giving policy advice to other engineers and scientists lest we continue to build systems that omit the human factor. I’m hoping to carve a deeper niche for myself within that community. Here’s to hoping and succeeding.

Ursa Major

On Saturday night I had a wonderful time star gazing! I made my way up as far as I could into the mountains without getting too “lost” (yes, I am still a city girl…) and was just amazed at the canopy of stars I saw once I cut the head lights off. So beautiful… I’d brought my laptop along to use the SkyGazer software that came with my astronomy textbook, and I found it easy to navigate through after a few minutes of playing around. While observing the Milky Way through my binoculars, I saw a shooting star! Wow. My photography bug is itching again…I’ve been looking on the web at lenses for night shooting.

For my class, I have a project that requires me to map out five constellations, one of which had to be Ursa Major (The Great Bear, whose seven brightest stars form the “Big Dipper”). Given the horizon I faced and the time of night, it was directly over my head, upside (cup-side) down and very bright. If I can find a good picture of it I’ll post it here.  The nights are getting clear again, and I found a nice lookout point not too far from my house.  I should get out again before the moon gets too full.

In Solidarity

To those suffering from the violence at Virginia Tech, our hearts are with you…

Saturday

It’s gorgeous outside–the sun is out shiny and bright, it’s a balmy 60 degrees and there isn’t a cloud (that I can see) in the sky. I woke up early and feeling tired this morning, but the thought of all the astronomy homework I have to get done this weekend snapped me out of bed pretty quickly To alleviate some of the foreboding gloom of doing school work on such a beautiful day, I decided I would treat myself to breakfast at the local tea house. Yummy.

After eating, I walked over to the library and reserved one of their study rooms–they’re gorgeous, have floor to ceiling windows that fill two walls, and are on the second floor (which means you can see most of downtown). The rooms are also sound-proof! The one I got this time also happens to face the train tracks, and it’s fun to watch the cars when they go by–lots of people gather around to see them. Unfortunately, despite the great view, the library’s wireless internet connection wasn’t working (grrrr) and I needed it to do some research. After muddling through limited or no connectivity for about an hour, I walked over to the librarian and told her about the problem. “Oh, yeah,” she said, “a few others have come to me about it in the last couple of days. I should probably report that to someone.” Huh?!?! I walked back to the room, gathered my things and went home.

Although we’ve got internet at home, the last thing I wanted to do was be in the house all day, so I considered other options. As it just so happens, days like this make me want to either open all of the windows and doors in the house and get to scrubbin’, or get under the hood and work on the car. Since I felt lazy this morning, I opted out of the cleaning bit and drove over to the nearest Auto Zone to check my fluid levels and buy a few things. I’m glad I did because the power steering fluid level was nearly bone dry (something I thought I could feel while out driving yesterday, so I checked it first). After topping that up and checking for leaks (there were none), I added a bit of washer fluid to the reservoir, checked the tire pressures and topped up on coolant. Everything else was in good shape. With a smile of mechanical satisfaction, I pulled off and headed to campus to get busy on astronomy.

Right now I’m working through a tutorial and a short essay on Io, one of Jupiter’s moons. I’ve been pretty surprised at how much I’m feelin’ this class. I always thought star-gazing was cool, but learning the deeper aspects of what we see when we look up at the sky has been very satisfying. Tonight I’ve work to begin on a constellation project, so I’m probably gonna head out after dark and find a mountain top somewhere. With the moon nearly new, it’ll be a perfect night for viewing.

Keeping busy.

A bit of frivolous, middle-of-the-work-week fun…

Which Super Villain are you?

Kim’s results:

You are Dark Phoenix

Dark Phoenix 85% Apocalypse 80% Poison Ivy 75% Venom 75% Catwoman 73% Mystique 71% Dr. Doom 70% The Joker 67% Two-Face 67% Magneto 66% Juggernaut 63% Riddler 57% Mr. Freeze 54% Lex Luthor 54% Green Goblin 51% Kingpin 40%

A prime example of emotional extremes: Passion and fury incarnate.

Thanks, Sonofroman, for helping me understand why, when I was a kid, I wanted to grow up to be a superhero…who ruled the universe…mwahahahaha!

Green Building Design…Day Three

Whew, what a weekend! Today ended what has been an extremely intense, but wonderful, 3-day course on Green Building Techniques, presented by environmental scientist and green builder Dan Chiras at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Our agenda today covered:

• Passive Cooling Design: Principles and Guidelines
• Residential Renewable Energy Technologies: Part 1 (Solar Hot Water – Solar Hot Air – Solar Electric – Wind Energy – Microhydro)
• Residential Renewable Energy Technologies: Part 2 (more in-depth discussion of Part 1 technologies)
• Green Remodeling (Guest Lecturer, Larry Kinney, Synertech Systems Corp., Boulder)
• Natural Building: Why Build with natural materials? (Guest Lecturer, Larua Bartels, GreenWeaver, Inc. , Carbondale) (Straw bale – Adobe – Rammed Earth – Wattle & Daub – Cob – Straw Clay – Natural Plasters)
• Creating Sustainable Communities: Rebuilding Existing Communities

I am extremely pleased with the outcome of this course–we met our goals as a group and enjoyed ourselves in the meantime. Now that the course is over, I’m one step closer to being Green Building Certified (a process I began about 2 years ago). More details on that as it happens later in the year. For photos on some of the other projects I’ve worked on, follow this link.

Perhaps, the most important point I walked away with was this:

“Truly appropriate technology doesn’t make people or their communities dependent on systems over which they have no control.” –David Eisenberg

Green Design (Building, and Technology) is really, for me, about being good to myself, empowering my community and ensuring the prosperity of future generations…all children of all species for all time. (William McDonough) How can I do this? By being mindful and intentional with what is within my control–little by little, today, tomorrow and every day.

Many thanks to Dan, Mark Shueneman (of the Colorado Straw Bale Association, Boulder), Laura Bartels and our guest speakers for an amazing weekend!

Green Building Techniques…Day Two

Day Two of the Green Building Techniques course presented by Dan Chiras was phenomenal!

An outstanding feature of this lecture is that Chiras is teaching us from his proven methods of success, and also from the mistakes he made when designing and building his own home. He often refers to things he didn’t consider at the time and passes along a note of caution on how to avoid danger in the future. That perspective makes what he’s teaching even more cohesive and practical.

Today’s Topics:

• Green Building Practices, Materials and Technologies: Part 2 (Accessibility – Ergonomics – Adaptability – Earth-sheltering – Energy Efficient Design – Renewable Energy – Water Efficiency – Recycling Waste Water – Water Management – Landscaping for Wildlife – Integrated Design)
• Green Building Programs: What are they and why are they valuable? (Earthcraft, Green Built Colorado, LEED)
• How much does it cost to go green?
• Green Built Production Homes (Guest Lecturer, Jeff Medanich, McStain Neigborhoods, Boulder)
• Energy Efficient Design and Construction (Guest Lecturer, Larry Kinney, Synertech Sytems Corp. and SunFlower Corp., Boulder)
• Passive Solar Heating: Design Guidelines
• Passive Solar Heating: Avoiding Mistakes
• Builder Guide for Windows (BGW2004) Software (Guest Lecturer, Fred Roberts, Solaequis, Fort Collins)
• Radiant Heating, Hydronics, Solar Cooking and many more…!

And the main point that Chiras couldn’t stress enough was: DESIGN FOR EFFICIENCY!!!

During one of the design lectures, I brought up the notion that dome structures are increasing in popularity and asked what considerations one should make when trying to design. Chiras mentioned several advantages, such as stability, efficiency, etc., but also pointed out a few concerns around design complications, such as dome structures creating passive solar heating design complications. He also referred me to his book, The New Economical Home, which we all received a free copy of, where he makes mention of building domes. Surprisingly, the gentleman I met yesterday, the one who is designing a vacation home for him and his wife, currently lives in a house that has a dome feature incorporated into the center! Great! We talked at length about why he chose to do this, as dome living has been a passion of his for a long time. He also explained some of the complications he’s had, and recommended incorporating a dome structure into a larger floor plan (part of my observation/viewing dome ideas anyway). Another woman in our group, who’s actually researched dome living extensively, overheard our conversation and approached me afterwards. She gave me all kinds of links and resources for dome kits, monolithic domes, etc., and updated me on some of the benefits of domes when used as a primary dwelling.

Chiras also showed slides of gorgeous, spacious, brightly daylit interiors. I became interested in Daylighting techniques several years ago after learning about how incredibly easy it is to brightly light an office, classroom or home with natural daylight and little or no electric light. I call natural daylight “happy light”–our brain needs natural sun light each day to produce chemicals that promote feelings of health and well-being. Ever suffer from “cabin fever” in the winter? Shorter days mean less exposure to that vital dose of sunshine. Not only are bright, cheery spaces more fun (and much more productive) to be in, they are necessary for sufferers of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). And, as are all green design techniques when well-implemented, daylighting is extremely cost effective. Less money spent on electric lighting means more money in the bank.

A few buzz phrases I’ve been hearing:

“Design is an indication of intent.” –William McDonough

“Air Tight, Ventilate Right!” –Larry Kinney

and perhaps my favorite…

“When we build, let us think that we build forever.” –John Ruskin