Since moving to the city this past year, I've been observing my weight slowly but steadily increasing, and noticing some bulges where there was mostly muscle before. I've been thinking about what might have changed in the past year. My diet hasn't drastically changed. I'm generally pretty active — dancing, biking, running, etc. The biggest…
Take a #ReindeerSelfie in Honor of Cal Academy’s Holiday Exhibit on Reindeer!
The California Academy of Sciences is focusing this year's "Tis the Season" holiday programming on one of the coolest winter animals around: the reindeer / caribou. As part of our promotion of our new exhibit, which opens this week, we are encouraging people to take a #reindeerselfie, using the printed reindeer antler sillouettes at the Academy,…
Watch Pharrell’s Epic 24-hour “Happy” Music Video
Stop what you are doing, turn up the speakers on your computer, and prepare to get happy! Producer / musician Pharrell Williams has released this epic "24 Hours of Happy" music video that will take over your week, if not longer. Not only is the song damn catchy, but it features literally 24 hours of fantastic dancing,…
The Cal Academy’s Elizabeth Babcock on Digital Learning
I love this interview with the Cal Academy's head of public engagement and education Elizabeth Babcock on the website "Spotlight on Digital Media and Learning." Elizabeth speaks eloquently about the bigger vision of injecting digital learning into this august science institution: Basically when I came, I had a vision of a digital learning department with…
Caravan Palace + Quest Crew = RIDICULOUS
What happens when you put the best electro-swing band – Caravan Palace — and one of the best dance crews around — Quest — on the same stage? Crazy craziness.
Morning Meditation on Meditation
Meditation or prayer has been a daily part of my life since at least my teen years. In my most fervent days, I sought to be "praying at all times," even when just walking from place to place or waiting for an elevator. I had little alarms set on my watch and planner to remind…
Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings: Tell Those Wolves to “Retreat”
This is Sharon Jones' warning to anyone who would stand in her way: "Retreat." What a fantastic music video for my favorite soul artist (and dance partner.) Reminds me of an aphorism I heard: "Be the kind of person that when you wake up the devil says, 'Oh shit, he's up.'" BTW Sharon Jones…
James Turrell’s “Three Gems” at the DeYoung: A Portal to the Sky
I feel so blessed to work literally across the street from one of the incredible art installations by Quaker artist James Turrell. At the DeYoung Museum of Art, in the sculpture garden, is a commissioned installation created by Turrell he calls "Three Gems." Like all of his work, it is minimalist to the extreme, with…
3D Scan of African Hall at the Cal Academy of Sciences!
Check out this fantastic 3d scan of an exhibit in African Hall at the California Academy of Sciences. Created by the company Matterport during our first Science Hack Day in September. [Link]
Math Saves Lives: Polymath Couple Create New Systems for Organizing Organ Tranplants
Dorry Segev and Sommer Gentry are two of the smartest people I know. Dorry is a transplant surgeon at Johns Hopkins University and Sommer is a math professor at the United States Naval Academy. Individually that's admirable, but together they are a force to be reckoned with. Dorry and Sommer are doing remarkable work combining their…