I saw a monarch butterfly happen upon our red roses a few weeks ago. And I have seen also a butterfly with glossy silky sapphire wings, and one with lemon-yellow wings. And we have a hummingbird friend that comes at least once a day, or several times a day, to our red roses. I know… Continue reading Hummingbirds and butterflies
grass in North Carolina
It is almost noon and the grass is still wet with soft, shiny pearl-drops of dew, at least on the slope over which the shadow of the heavy forest had lingered till just a bit ago. The sun has already warmed that grass, but not enough to siphon off the dew. Walking through the warm,… Continue reading grass in North Carolina
People and their word
During our wrap-up in Washington DC, we had several interesting panels. One of them was about science videos. I asked two of them afterwards (a person from NPR and a person from PBS) if I could send them some of my science animations to get their feedback. There was a third person there, a lady… Continue reading People and their word
Cardinal bird in Blender
The cardinal is the state bird in North Carolina. I made one in Blender last night: First, I started off with a cube and shaped a little beak. Then the crown and the rest of the head and torso: The rest of the bird emerges! Still doesn't have wings here, and maybe looks like a… Continue reading Cardinal bird in Blender
How fast is U.S. mail delivered?
This summer (2018), I had a letter arrive from a town in England to Berkeley, California in 10 days. I didn't know they can do it that fast! I mean, I thought it was weeks and weeks. A letter left Washington DC on Friday, August 24, 2018, and arrived in rural North Carolina the next… Continue reading How fast is U.S. mail delivered?
How the WIRED summer went
After our fellowship was done, we were all flown back to D.C., and we had a "poster fair". All of us fellows who had been placed at newsrooms pasted and arranged our articles on posters, and then we had some very nice and supportive guests tell us what a good job we had all done.… Continue reading How the WIRED summer went
Ninth piece for WIRED
This was an article about an Arabic science show I'd had my heart set on writing, but when I talked to my editor about it, she seemed a little skeptical. But somehow during my last week, I did the research to convince her otherwise, connected with whom I needed to connect, interviewed who I need… Continue reading Ninth piece for WIRED
Sweden in Berkeley
All the Swedish things you can find in Berkeley, California: 1. Bokmärken: Bokmärken are little pictures that little kids collect. They're like stickers, without the sticky part on the back. They can be flowers, or maybe toys, animals, angels, and during Christmas you can get Santa Claus ones. If you're lucky, you can find glitter… Continue reading Sweden in Berkeley
Behind-the-scenes: animation
In June or July, I finished up an animation called "The tale of the Bristlecone pine." It's three minutes long, and it's about drought and tree rings. Someone asked, 'how do you make all the 3D landscapes?" So I thought I'd give a behind-the-scenes tour! First, I use a free, open-source software called Blender3D, which… Continue reading Behind-the-scenes: animation
Eighth piece for WIRED
I wrote about a meteor camera network that NASA uses to track fireballs through the heavens. Those cameras will see lots of meteors on the night of the Perseid showers. It was a quick story, and what I liked was I got to interview people from North Carolina. I was looking at the map of… Continue reading Eighth piece for WIRED
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