“Dear Dr. Colleague…” Well that’s a new one.

oh my god, when I get pinched nerves in my neck it causes my shoulders to itch uncontrollably and I am absolutely dying today. I would so much rather have pain than itching, why is this my life.

Sunday

Somebody is so happy to be home on her own couch after such a long time away 💜 (Hint: It’s both of us.)

Yes, it was a very big dust storm, but we all survived. Hell of a week! But it still brought all the joy, creativity, community, whimsy, possibility, and love we go out there every year to be a part of.

Well, it’s not Burning Man if something doesn’t go wrong. Always nice when the crisis happens before you leave instead of after 🙃

PHEW. Finished my manuscript JUST in time to send to coauthors to review while I'm on vacation :) Glad I won't have it hanging over me. I'm excited about the paper! On work I've been doing modeling fatigue fracture formation in returned samples from asteroid Bennu.

We did brunch and a tour of the Gamble House yesterday for Ian’s birthday (today). It was cool! It’s huge, incredibly beautiful woodwork and art glass. Doc Brown wasn’t at home.

I got my work inbox to zero ahead of my trip but my personal inbox is full of a thousand to do list items 😅

Meanwhile the latest Covid surge is in full swing. We are being extra cautious before we head to the desert, don’t want to spoil our vacation.

I was able work out keeping Cassiopeia in the mix and it’s looking a bit better now I fixed the spacing ⭐️ The paper you see hanging is one of my handy reference diagrams. #SciArt #FrameOfReference

Ahhh, Scorpius looks much better too! The problems with its shape were subtle so I couldn’t place it at first, but now it looks just 🤩 Sorry don’t mind all the reflections- figuring out how to take good photos of lights is on my list?!

Ok I should wind down now, full day tomorrow 😴

Cibo Matto keeping me company 🎵

Coooool! I love scorpions! But definitely not when they’re inside my house and it’s dark! 🦂😨😮‍💨

OMG Ian just randomly brought this home from the card shop for me and it’s amazing 😂😂😂😂 I love that “Crime” is a skill and that all classes have both Life Points and Drama Points. A+ description of LA, dreamy photos of David Boreanaz. I can’t stop laughing 😂😂

First time walking this route with my dog since the Eaton Fire, strange to see the empty lots. They are cleared now, so at least they are less grisly to behold, but they still bring sadness.

I’m extreme analog programming right now, the downside to using plug-n-play timers lol. You set an OFF and ON time per cycle, and I’m exploiting the fact that you can force it to begin during the OFF segment by unplugging it partway through. Using four timers I’m able to cycle three sets of lights 😂

I’ll never forget a favorite Twitter moment when I complained that it was 100 deg and 100% humidity immediately after a monsoon storm and a friend responded “But it’s a dry humidity!” 😂

I opened my weather app and thought good lord, 105?! Then realized it was still on Tucson lol. I don’t miss that part of living there 😅

sandstone, water and wind worn, like some submerged skull watching the fools that find themselves lost here xxyxxy.com/blog/ouRimN8N #desert #sketch #poetry

Today is my 10-year PhD Defensiversary! I guess I’m “officially” mid-career now :) I always like to reflect on my thesis dedication on this day, though I’ll note that if I wrote it today the language would be more non-cis inclusive.

We hung Scorpius, I am in love ⭐️ I’ll take some more pics and video later once it’s fully dark. #SciArt #FrameOfReference

Headed home from the Planetary Science Institute annual retreat 🪐We’re a primarily remote research institution, so it’s always wonderful to talk science with colleagues in person. Having a strong and close culture despite our geographic diversity is part of what sets us apart in our field.

[NEW IN THE SHOP] Rover wheel necklaces to satisfy your relentless #Curiosity 🤖 Inspired by the wheels of the Curiosity rover, including the secret JPL Morse code 😎 Available in brushed silver and matte black: 🔗 sciencesocks.co/coll...#Curiosity👈 Please repost! ✨🔭🐡🧪🎨

Back in grad school stomping grounds this week, in Tucson for a work retreat. I always like visiting and I’m looking forward to seeing friends.

The Lonesome Crowded West indeed.

Preliminary test with the frame went well, though I need to adjust the heights and tweak some things. I ordered some matte black spray paint to see if I can reduce shine off the cables, I’m aiming for 3 constellations on a rotating timer if they aren’t too visually messy. #FrameOfReference #SciArt

Date Night ;)

I was anxious the constellation wouldn’t come across. One thing about #SciArt is that when working within the constraints of data it’s hard to know what it’ll look like until it’s done and you have limited control over the outcome. The whole point is to see the data in another way. #FrameOfReference

The hawk pair that lives in the eucalyptus next door are out and wheeling about today. They hover just feet above the yard—wish I could capture a photo for you but they’re too fast for a phone camera. I love watching it! Sometimes the crows harass them and I’m honestly surprised they put up with it.

Ahh, Scorpius is my favorite constellation! It hung just perfectly in the sky right above our back porch in my childhood home during summer, so it connects me to that feeling of the wonder and whimsy of being a kid.

I was anxious the constellation wouldn’t come across. One thing about #SciArt is that when working within the constraints of data it’s hard to know what it’ll look like until it’s done and you have limited control over the outcome. The whole point is to see the data in another way. #FrameOfReference

Damn, sometimes art in the middle of the night requires a headlamp and where the F is mine.

A good science lol today was mistyping asymmetric and assymetric.

"ROSES" is the annual NASA grant solicitation. This year it's 5 months late and about 1/3 the size for Planetary Science. How/will this change if Congress rejects the NASA cuts? No way to know. In a normal year, maybe, but this is not a normal year, & for now this is a ROSES that will end careers.

Good news: the committee's markup restores NASA funding to FY2024 levels Bad news: the bill hasn't actually passed out of committee because of a fight about the FBI HQ. New ask: If you called your senator about this, call and thank them for their support Next steps: Watch this space... Thanks all!

Well, will you look at that, NASA finally released the FY25 call for research proposals that we all expected would never come. It still basically skips an entire year of the funding cycle and it reduces the number of expected awards to….20% of last year 😵

Since work on the #SkyhorseCarousel is on hold for a few more months, I’ve started another #SciArt installation bc I can’t seem to help myself. It involves some 4x4's, a lot of light bulbs, a solar panel, and a variety of timers and dimmers. Updated star chart now with three constellations.

Doing art math alone in the middle of the night is my happy place. It is safe from the troubles of the daytime hours, those are tomorrow Jamie’s burden.

Happy #DisabilityPride! My fav icon is Sailor Saturn, with both the power to destroy worlds and punishing physical limitations. Her story is sad but realistic in many ways. So my #Disabled friends- destroy worlds, be unapologetic, and demand access but also set boundaries and prioritize your needs 💜

Fable says hello *boop*

*sigh* Feeling sad today about the complete destruction of science in the US. But like, in a personal way--the dismantling of the science field is bad in every way, but it is also the dismantling of my community, my friends, my people, my life.

Always looking for good girl rock to add to my list, I'm digging the combination of decades flavoring this song by Say She She: www.youtube.com/watch?v=BN6L...

Toying with an idea for a #sciart piece and looking at constellations from different angles. I think the middle panel looks like a drawn bow, or maybe a long-necked bird? What do you think about the right panel?

Oh, I love getting emails offering me money. Yay.

What a sign of the Anthropocene that even though a lot of cars don’t even have alarms anymore, the mockingbird in my yard still sings their songs every day.

Want to see NSF–DOE Rubin Observatory's Cosmic Treasure Chest for yourself? Explore using Rubin's Skyviewer! There are billions of pixels to explore, and you might be the the first to lay eyes on a small, distant galaxy! #RubinFirstLook #CaptureTheCosmos skyviewer.app

Wake up nerds, the first images from the Rubin Observatory just dropped! Rubin’s specialty: a wide field of view and speed. This gorgeous image of the Trifid and Lagoon Nebulae combines 678 exposures taken in 7 hours. 📸: RubinObs/NOIRLab/SLAC/NSF/DOE/AURA

That familiar anxiety of being at a medical appointment hoping they find something wrong with you so that you can stop feeling gaslit by the other doctors you’ve seen.