This sporadic posting thing is just not good. It gets in the way of the creative process that is both writing and my research- which definitely needs to stay on track. So I'm putting myself on a schedule beginning next week. Tuesdays are dedicated to finishing the NYT editorial piece, and when that's finished I'll use that as the real creative outlet and general blogging day. Wednesdays will be dedicated to "Picturing Chemistry"- bringing art into the lab and onto your screens. And late Friday is dedicated to a "Tweet Round-up", as I realize that many followers of this blog don't have Twitter and I don't deluge this site during the week with my 140-character musings. I'll round up some of my favorite posts by myself and others for you to enjoy!
Of course, "Quotes from Chemistry" will be updated as I find them and more interesting but time-sensitive news posts (think WV chemical spill) will update as I can get them on the site. I missed a big break this week which I'm sad about but hey- I was dealing with "snowpocalypse!"
I hope the new schedule keeps me on my toes and keeps you all thoroughly entertained!
Alright, now the bigger stuff.
When I was in Pasadena for the NASA trip, I sat at my group table with a very nice lady. Her name was Karyn and I didn't happen to catch her occupation at the time but we all had a lot more on our minds. Fast forward to the end of the conference and I was speaking with Veronica McGreggor, one of the people in charge of the NASASocial conference. I mentioned to her that it was because of a group called Science Online [1] that I found out about the social in the first place. Veronica says to me "Well Joe, you do know you were sitting at the table with Karyn Traphagen, the Executive Director of Science online- right?"
My jaw dropped. I had no idea that I had been exchanging small talk all weekend with the person basically responsible for my participation at NASA JPL. I resolved to rectify that and sent a nice email to Karyn bascially gushing like a fanboy thanking her for what she does and offering my assistance if ever I could be of help.
Well I got an email from her last Sunday that absolutely blew. my. mind.
She was inviting me to be an attendee at the Science Online Together conference in Raleigh, NC from February 26th-March 1st. The Executive Director HERSELF reached out to invite little ol' me. So over the course of the next month I'll be working my butt off to get together the necessary materials for the conference and bring The Crimson Alkemist to a wider crew. Celebrities like Veritasium [2] and MinutePhysics [3] (who was quoted recently in Part 6 [4] of Quotes from Chemistry) will be there. This isn't entirely devoid of chemistry though- even Carmen Drahl [5] of Chemistry and Engineering News will be there. I'll get the chance to meet people who have helped inspire me in keeping this blog running beyond its original purpose.
I'm sure I'll have a story or two to tell when I make it back from that. I know I'll learn plenty from the people who have been-there-done-that before me.
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| Seriously. Visit these guys and get excited. |
[1] http://scienceonline.com/
[2] https://www.youtube.com/user/1veritasium
[3] https://www.youtube.com/user/minutephysics
[4] http://jsphmeany.blogspot.com/2014/01/quotes-from-chemistrypart-6.html
[5] http://cen.acs.org/static/about/staff_landing/biocd.html
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