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Sunday, October 6, 2013

Silver Liningness Sunday

Greetings on this lovely Sunday!  Nothing like bad things to make us appreciate the good.  Friday was sooper dooper windy, so today's calm is all the more sweet.  But also on Friday, as I was fighting a 30 m.p.h. headwind during my bike ride home, I was thinking about this local bicyclist who got lost and bumped her head and... and... well, "difficult rides" are also relative.

I mentioned yesterday's Cool Science Festival.  It was a fun geek fest!  When I got the e-mail reminding me that I'd volunteered to represent the UCCSTeach display, I was briefly, "why did I do that?"  But it really was a fun thing to be a part of.  Cute kids of all ages.   Also, it was kind of nice to hang out with a few instructors and fellow students and get to know them a little better.

My favorite mirror layout was probably from this one guy - clearly post-pubescent judging by his beard - who arranged the mirrors in a Stonehengian circle that led the laser beam right to the target.

But the little kids who struggled and then overcame the thing were equally fun.

And this Praying Mantis showed up and obviously took a shine to one of our microscopes:




He wins the "Most Popular Geek Fest Volunteer" award for our group anyway.  

It was a nice day for it, and it was well attended.  Chaco stopped by for a while - he needed Magnum for an errand - so it was nice to literally bump into him.  Meego ended up helping volunteer at our booth after making the rounds.  

In other silver liningness news, I got my new glasses yesterday.  As the technician fitted them to my face, nose, and ears, she commented that I'd gotten the best lenses they sell.  Yeah, tell me about it --> $$$.  I figured after five years, I'm worth the upgrade.

Happy October!  
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13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hard to complain about 30 mph headwinds after the "local bicyclist" story. Sheesh. How lucky was she?!
Congrats on the upgraded specs! With all this scholarliness going on, you deserve 'em.
And Happy October to you too! Hubby's north of Denver right now and is gushing about how beautiful and breathtaking it is this time of year. But SO COLD. Can you do something about that? I'm trying to talk him into moving there.....

Anita said...

I clicked on the Cool Science Festival link. Looks like the real deal; not some amateur setup, though that would be okay, too. Anything entertaining to keep the kids interested and aware. You get an A+ for volunteering!

Abby said...

When I first read the lost bicyclist story (when she was still lost), I hoped she'd be found, but at the same time I was sort of chastising her for being careless. Then when I read her own account after the rescue, I realized how easy it is to get lost like that. Scary!

Going to turn the Colorado thermostat up a notch!

Abby said...

It's a pretty big deal, lots of high-powered displays and workshops, etc. Then there was always our table - come make some bubbles or whatever...

terri said...

What a scary ordeal for that poor biker. So glad to know she came through it alright in the end.

Isn't that the way it always goes with volunteer stuff? You sign up. You wonder why you did that. It ends up being a really great experience.

That Praying Mantis is icky! But kinda cool!

agg79 said...

Maybe the Mantis was a geek fan as well. Sort of a Sheldon Cooper of Mantises?

The poor biker - that was one bike ride that took a bad turn.

CiCi said...

The Praying Mantis doesn't look real.

Are you going to have to get used to the new glasses? It took me a couple weeks to adjust to my last pair. But I like them so much now.

Abby said...

I had a feeling the festival would be fun, just didn't know if I should make the time to volunteer. Glad I did.

Abby said...

I don't know if he was a science geek or just felt we needed a prayer. And we can all learn from bicycle girl. At least it had a happy ending!

Abby said...

Maybe you're onto something! The PM was really a robotic spy!

My eyeglass prescription didn't change all that much. I mainly upgraded to the polarized-transition-even-in-the-car lenses. I still find myself taking them off more than usual though, to get a fuzzy fix.

Riot Kitty said...

I am all for geek fests and celebrations of nerditry!

LL Cool Joe said...

That looks like a very large Praying Mantis, mind you I've only seen one before in AZ and thought it was a stick insect. Hey what do I know, I'm a Brit, we don't get that kinda bug here!

Rebecca S. said...

I like your silverlingingness Sundays...did I ever tell you that?
Sounds like a good day! I am also upgrading in the eyewear department - to progressive lenses. Hubby needed new ones, too and we got a 2 for 1 deal. Yeah! The fancy optical place was going to charge us over $600 for each pair. So we went to the humbler but perfectly adequate optical place.