Hello, my name is Alyssa, and I would like to welcome you to my new blog: Way Oort West [Edited to add (Sept. 6/09): Initially the title was “It’s Not Rocket Science”, but due to another well-known blog having a similar name, it has been changed.]
I recently (July 2009) received my PhD in astronomy. Specifically, my thesis focused on searching for the link between comets and asteroids (objects called main-belt comets, or activated asteroids), and studying the gas and dust production from regular ol’ active comets. I am now working as a post-doc for my PhD supervisor for the time being.
During my graduate career, I was also very involved in science outreach. I coordinated a general science program (Let’s Talk Science) at both my masters and PhD universities. For the past three years, I also developed and coordinated an astronomy outreach program called Exploring the Stars. I have since passed these programs on to other graduate students, but they both fostered in me a great love and passion for public outreach.
I’m in the midst of deciding in which direction to take my career. If I were to create an ideal job for me, I would spend about half my time doing science education research, and split the other half between teaching and public outreach.
I also have a life outside of work (!!) – I have a wonderful husband (who I will refer to as DH), and two cats (Isaac & Isabella). We are currently in London, Canada, but DH is in the midst of searching for a job and we might end up moving soon. I also like to golf, play soccer, knit, read, nap, and probably spend way too much time on the internet or watching TV.
I have been blogging for about a year now, and have recently decided to “come out” and blog under my real name. I began to contemplate starting another blog for just science, and that’s when Cath Ennis recommended the Nature Network to me - and here I am! I plan to write about astronomy, outreach, education, my career, and anything else that is science-y related.
So, welcome to the new blog! I hope it’s as enjoyable for you to read as it is for me to write!
hey!
awesomeness, astronomy! sounds far-out.
can’t wait for your next posts ^^
Welcome! Cats are always popular around here.
Should your husband start blogging here, may I suggest “It’s not Brain Surgery Either” as a title?
Hello and welcome to NN!! Hope you’ll have a nice time around here and… read you soon!
;-)
Hello! Cool subject! Looking forward to hearing about where your career takes you
Hi everyone – thanks for the warm welcome!
Bob – funny idea for a title! And it even fits because he’s in medical physics (involved with MRI technology).
w00t! Welcome!
Welcome, Alyssa…we share some common interests, so I’ll be following your posts here.
A warm welcome to the Network, Alyssa. You (and Bob) might enjoy this recent offering from the talented Mitchell and Webb! You have to watch to the end…
I don’t want to rain on your parade, but did you realise there is a pretty well known blog by Ed Yong with a very similar title to yours?
Stephen – thanks for the heads up on Ed Yong’s blog. Hopefully he doesn’t get too upset with the similarity :)
um .. i dunno. it seems that the blog name is already taken?? how would you feel if the situation was reversed?
Damn, I was trying to think where I’d seen it before!
Hi Alyssa! Welcome to Nature Network. I’ve volunteered for LTS a couple of times (at UofT), it’s fun =)
I guess the title could be a delicate issue for some (Ed?). At the end of the day, it’s entirely your call but (taking my cue from Grrlscientist), if I was starting out on a new blog, I’d want to have a distinctive name.
Welcome, Alyssa! I don’t know the first thing about astronomy, so am looking forward to picking up some of the titbits :-)
All – I am researching the blog title thing. I apologize if this has offended anyone, but I had no idea about Ed’s blog, and didn’t intend to copy him or get some of his traffic. I will keep you posted.
Eva – that’s great that you’ve volunteered for LTS before! It’s such a great way to fall in love with science again!
And welcome from over here in
the centre of the UniverseToronto.Your blog currently appears to be called Title Under Construction, which I thought was awfully clever, until I realized it was, um, er, “under construction”.
Maybe you could go with Bob’s “It’s Not Brain Surgery” theme after all? ;)
It’s not rocket surgery?
It’s not brain science?
Something clever about comets? Um, comet chameleon?
Ello. My two cents: it feels a bit like poor form but I’m not offended. At the most, I’m “mildly vexed”. Can’t help but feel a bit protective over the name but I’m aware that there are other blogs out there with similar-ish titles, it’s not like I have any trademark on the name, and I’m not in the business of telling anyone else what to do.
I think Stephen’s right on a few counts – in that distinctive names would be better for everyone in the long run, but also in that it’s entirely your call.
Whatever you choose, welcome to blogging and I hope you enjoy it. ;-)
Actually, I think ‘Title under review’ or similar might be suitably mistfit-ish, not to mention whimsical and accessible. It’s been done already, of course. And we can’t all have witty titles.
You could always call it “Alyssa’s blog” but I’d be tempted to go for “Yet Another LaTeX User”.
Well, there is no copyright on titles! Look forward to seeing how it comes out, but there are loads of examples of books, blogs and articles with the same or similar titles.
“Rocket science” is a very well-known expression, try googling it. Someone even wrote a pop song including the phrase (Sheryl Crow?).
Very warm welcome to Nature Network, anyway, look forward to reading your posts.
“Rock it, scientist!”
Ed – thank you very much for your two cents. I will be changing the title, mostly because of the originality factor (I want people to be able to find my blog easily).
Richard – as much as I’m starting to like my current, utilitarian, title, I have a feeling it will be changed :)
Maxine – thank you for your supportive comments!
Cath – LOL Keep ‘em comin’ (although my favorite of yours so far is “comet chameleon” – hehe!).
All – Hey, at least my first post has generated a lot of interest and comments, right? Haha! Stay tuned – I will be feeding the fire again soon.
Given your research topic, how about:
“Dust in the (solar) wind”
…?
Though you probably have to be at least forty-five to get the joke/allusion..
For those that missed the feeble joke, try this. Be warned, though, if you have a coffee cup or similar to hand – the dress sense displayed in the video may induce “drink-keyboard critical incidents”.
‘Way Oort West’?
Austin – I’ll be completely honest…I had to Google that to find the reference! But now that I know, it is rather witty :) But that does open up a whole group of choices that have “wind” in it!
Austin, “This video is not available in your country due to copyright restrictions.” (And I’m in the same country as Alyssa, so she can’t see it either)
But you don’t have to be 45 to know Dust in the Wind. I was -1 when it came out, and I know it.
Richard – I literally laughed out loud with that one (Way Oort West) – I’ll have to put that on the potentials list (with your permission of course!)
Welcome Alyssa. Looking forward to reading your posts.
A Star is Born? ;-)
Eva – apart from anything else, I guess everyone with an older sibling/cousin that owned an acoutic (but not classical!) guitar has probebly been forced to listen to a whole bunch of renditions of the song.
Alyssa – I can see how you might worry about the “wind” connotations…
Naturally, Alyssa :)
What about “Launchpad”? Fits with the theme, has a nice outreachy feel to it, and it reminds me of the awesome kids play area at the Science Museum.
I like the “under construction” concept. How about “Universe Under Construction”?
@Ed – gosh, I didn’t realise quite how young you were! ;-)
Alright everyone – thank you for all (okay, some! :D ) of your suggestions for a new title. I have taken them all into account, and have posted a survey. Please vote for your favorite option, and I will post the results and the new title soon!
Wow, I missed all of this. Welcome to NN, Alyssa!
Thanks Steffi!
work, research, interest, we have to balance them.
actually, i like “Dust in the Wind” and “A Star is Born”.
I’m with Grrl. I think A Star is Born has a nice ring. Regardless of the name though, I’m looking forward to reading.
Nice blog…thanks for sharing the link…I will visit regularly.