Science – …on the B.L.

The Ice at the End of the World by Jon Gertner

January 31, 2020 RaeAnna

Worth A Read YES
Length 448
Quick Review Greenland is more than ice. It’s even more than a history of the world and a predictor of the future at the top of the world. It is a call to action.

wp-1580503729772 — The Ice at the End of the World by Jon Gertner in Minnesota. | Skirt | Sweater | Boots | Socks |

I love science. I love history. I love when they intersect, and intersect they did in Jon Gertner’s Ice at the End of the World. It’s more than a book on science and history; it’s a call to action. I read it and my emotions were on the scale of in awe and on the verge of an existential crisis.

For much of history, Greenland has been an impenetrable ice sheet. The Norse settled it in the 1400s, but the settlement disappeared with no trace. The Inuits were the only people to survive there for an extended length. Over the last two centuries, it has become a location of great interest. At first, it lured explorers aching to discover and conquer what lay beyond the coast. Over the past hundred years, it has become a hub for exploration of another kind. Deep within the ice, the world’s secrets are locked away for scientists to discover and explore. Jon Gertner makes the knowledge of Greenland accessible in The Ice at the End of the World.

Split into two parts: Explorations and Investigations. Gertner chronicles the explorations and discoveries of notable Greenland explorers: Fridtjof Nansen, Robert Peary, Knud Rasmussen, Peter Freuchen, Alfred Wegener. They all made great discoveries, but not all of them were good people. Fridtjof Nansen was the first to cross the ice sheet in 1888 “The crossing, he would later joke, was “just a little ski trip,” but it was a ski trip that could demonstrate humanity’s ability to overcome nature’s most formidable obstacles.” He had the genius to go about it in a way no other explorer had, which is why he was the first success story because he was not the first to attempt an ice sheet crossing. Knud Rasmussen was the first ethnographer to explore the people of Greenland. He made quite the impression on Greenland and vice versa, but he would go on to be a world wide phenomenon. Alfred Wegener lost his life on an expedition in Greenland. He was more than an explorer, he was one of the greatest minds of the twentieth century and penned the theory of continental drift, which is more popularly known as Pangaea, between trips to Greenland.

Gertner has an amazing way of making complicated exploration and scientific processes accessible to all readers. He pulls the reader in with feats of humanity and tales of darkness while also delivering a deeper message of earthly desperation. Weaving facts with excerpts from the diaries and published accounts of explorers and scientists, Gertner brings the reader along on a wild adventure. It is simultaneously logical and profoundly emotional.

wp-1580503729868 — I do love snuggling animals of all kinds and sizes.

The Ice at the End of the World is a story of the stark and uncomfortable realities explorers and scientists face every day on the ice sheet. Gertner has an uncanny ability to reinforce the atrocities of the Arctic by separating the worst case scenarios into one sentence paragraphs to drive home the difficulty of survival.

Greenland is melting. Scientists have been marking this change for decades. As the ice sheet melts into the ocean, sea levels will rise. Slowly and then at increasing rates. Until the past fifty years, it was believed climate does not and cannot change quickly within one lifetime or even many lifetimes. As research progressed, the results did not always agree with this belief, and “The scientific community tends to respond to unanswered questions about research results with a call for more research.” As scientists continue their research on ice cores taken from Greenland, it has become obvious: climate can and has changed drastically in a matter of years. It happened about 117,000 years ago, and it’s happening again today. The world’s climate is changing. And it’s changing quickly. Greenland is melting, and it affects the entire world.

The Ice at the End of the World may not be the ice at the end of the world for long. As climates warm, the ice sheet is disappearing at unprecedented rates. Not enough is being done to combat it. Gertner points out, even if there is a drastic change, it might not be enough.

I loved reading Gertner’s The Ice at the End of the World. I devoured it, but it also left me with a sense of hopelessness. I also have a new found desire to go back to school to become a glaciologist. If you are at all interested in history, science, climate change, or the urgent state of affairs, this book was made for you.

Memorable Quotes
“This book is mainly about Greenland’s ice sheet – the vast frontier that “conceals a thousand secrets” and is among the most remote and inhospitable places on earth.”
“Was he more an explorer than a scientist? The distinction – largely a contemporary one and often used to distinguish men of ego and obsession from men of research – is perhaps beside the point.”
“Ice scientists are detectives at heart.”
“Breakthroughs don’t necessarily happen because of one big technological jump. More often it’s because a cluster of new technologies and ideas suddenly coalesce around a difficult problem, along with a headstrong person.”
“It seems as though history becomes scenery, and scenery becomes data.”

bisous und обьятий,
RaeAnna

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Title: The Ice at the End of the World
Author: Jon Gertner
Publisher: Random House
Copyright: 2019
ISBN: 9780812996623

In My Own Words, Lifestyle

I Will Say “Tampon”

June 18, 2019June 23, 2019 RaeAnna

I recently saw this jar of tampons in a unisex bathroom in a Houston restaurant. I got to thinkin’.

I want to talk about tampons. I get to talk about tampons because this is my blog, and I can talk about anything I want. Today, it’s tampons. You do not have to be here or read this or care about my opinions.

It’s not that I love talking about tampons. It’s more of a need. There’s a need to talk about them. Tampons make people uncomfortable. Tampons make women uncomfortable. Talking about them; we wear them just fine. Tampons make men uncomfortable. Tampons completely bewilder men. How is it that half of the population has almost no clue how tampons work? I have dated a handful of men, and none of them knew how a tampon worked. (I once showed my college boyfriend how they worked.) There are girls out there who don’t know how tampons work. Insanity! Do not make girls wear the mini, sticky diapers, I mean, pads. Unless that’s their choice. Then, I’m just in disagreement with their life choices.

Periods, in general, elude men. I found out recently a whole section of men think women can just hold it. “It” being our periods. I’m pretty phenomenal and impressive, but I can’t hold my period. I don’t know any woman who can. It shows up whenever it wants to. It’s like a hurricane or an earthquake. There are signs, but once it’s on its way, there’s no stopping it. Mother nature is miraculous. Periods differ from pee. They come out completely different holes. Spoiler the urethra and the vagina are different. One is for pee. One is for babies and sexy time. There is bladder control, but there’s no such thing as uterine lining shedding control. That’s why women NEED tampons or pads or diva cups or Thinx (I had to google “magic period underwear” cause I couldn’t remember what they’re called) or whatever other weird invention is out there.

I don’t blame men or women for not knowing about tampons or periods. The education system is failing us. This is a basic bodily function like peeing or shitting. It happens. It’s nature. Everyone should know about it. Everyone should know about tampons and the other contraptions. Tampons make it easier for women to carry on with our lives. It’s far better than being sent to a tent outside the city for a week. (Although, there are times when that doesn’t seem half bad. Especially if the tent has a spa or pool boys.)

In April, my period showed up unexpectedly while I was at to Axpona, an audio expo, with my dad. My dad, bless his heart, is immune to period talk because I grew up in a house where it was normal!!!! Periods happen. My dad never had a problem buying tampons or grabbing one from the bathroom for me. It’s life; he’s a good dude. During the unexpected visit from my underwear demon, I had no tampons with me. I was at an expo made up of 98% men, and the only place with tampons was a CVS kiosk. I bought the box; it was the only option. My mom tried to make me hide the box in my tiny purse. I didn’t. I walked through the many, many men, who were all around my dad’s age, with a box of tampons on full display. My mom was embarrassed. I was not. The men either didn’t notice or didn’t care. Either way, the only person who cared was my mom. Periods happen. Tampons help. We should never be embarrassed by either one.

I always get excited when I see unisex bathrooms. I think they’re great. What makes me even happier is when I see tampons in a bathroom. Recently, I was in a unisex bathroom with a counter. The only thing on the counter was a glass jar of tampons [pictured above]. This seems small, but it’s really not. It’s kind to the women who need tampons. More importantly, it’s a step in the right direction towards normalizing the female body and all that goes with it. Like tampons.

There are so many things I could talk about when it comes to tampons. Tax. Diva cups. Stigma. Education. Toxic shock syndrome. Plastic. Chemicals. Fertility. The list goes on. I have opinions, obviously. My biggest issue surrounding tampons is the stigma. I want it to disappear. Until a doctor will give me a hysterectomy (I keep asking), I will have a period and a need for tampons. I’m going to say “tampon” and “period” with as many decibels as is necessary. Never will I speak in hushed tones or try and hide a tampon to make other people feel comfortable.

This is life. Periods, literally, help bring life into this world. So… yep!

Experiences, Travel

Axpona

April 14, 2019September 8, 2019 RaeAnna

My dad has an obsession with stereo equipment to the point he builds his own to my mother’s dismay. (Watching Deadpool with those speakers is definitely cool.) Last year, he went to Axpona in Chicago. He called me the night after and gushed for an hour about all the amazing stuff he saw. It was obvious to the deaf and blind he couldn’t wait to go next[this] year. I’m a little bit obsessed with my dad (if you knew him, you would be too), and I told him I would go with him. I have always liked spending time with him at activities he’s passionate about because he shares his wealth of knowledge with me. I know a bit about cars, and now I’m learning about sound systems. I made plans for this weekend a year ago.

Axpona, Audio Expo North America, is a three day convention for audiophiles. Read that as middle-aged men with money to spend on stereo equipment. The price tags range from ouch to holy shit. There are $50,000 headphones; no they are not gold plated or diamond encrusted. The stereos, amps, DACCs, etc. can be exponentially more expensive. I love music. I love making music. I love listening to music. But… How could these men* part with tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of dollars on stereo equipment? I would have to have a gazillion dollars to even contemplate buying the high end stuff. (I’m also very cheap and contemplate if the coffee I want will actually bring me $4 of joy.) There is huge variation in style, engineering, function, aesthetic, and so much more. It is incredibly science driven and very interesting. The more you listen, the more nuanced and differentiated it all becomes. At the same time, they’re all pretty high quality. Most people would be happy with anything there. Still…. why?

We’re here for all three days. Half way through the second day, I started deep diving into what could make people spend that much money on a stereo. I have come up with two reasons. They have more money than they know what to do with. So instead of wiping their asses with $100 bills, they spend it on stereo systems. Fair. If I had a never ending supply of money, I would be going home with a specific system. A girl can dream. I don’t think many people fall into that category, though. Looking around Axpona, the population is predominantly middle-aged. I don’t say this disparagingly. They have more money than the young, and more time to enjoy the expensive stuff than the old.

I love this weird picture. It’s very us.

My life has a soundtrack. At almost 28 years old, there are songs that immediately transport me. Fergie’s Big Girls Don’t Cry takes me to the summer I turned 16. Chopin’s 24 Preludes is a rollercoaster of 12 year old feelings at being frustrated and angry at my hands and mother for making me fail at piano and eventually the love I have for piano because I practiced so much I’m still not terrible to this day. Elton John’s Your Song will forever be the image of my parents dancing on their anniversary in the living room of our bungalow in the last millennium. Vivaldi’s Four Seasons is the pride I had at having my first duet en pointe. S&M by Rihanna is a sarcastic college song I share with one of my close friends. I fell in love to Lonely Island’s I Just Had Sex. I always smile thinking about the time my dad taught me an inappropriate song at five with one line “it’s wrinkly and it’s crinkly.” I made my abrasive grandpa proud at eight playing Bluebell Waltz during my first piano recital. My life has a soundtrack. The songs are not all winners, but they immediately take me to memories, people, emotions of years gone by.

Wandering around Axpona, the music was primarily of yesteryear. I heard very little current music, which was fine by me. Genres and songs of all kinds. There was a lot of music rooted in the youth and young adulthood of the attendees, who were in their 40s, 50s, and 60s predominantly. When certain songs came on, they would all start bopping along a little more enthusiastically than before. Not just because it’s a good song, but you could see in their eyes a recognition of something personal not just great chords.

People aren’t buying stereos. They’re buying time. Years go by so quickly, and life is always shorter than we think. Music is a time machine taking us back to the time we first heard that song, what we were going through, the people we were with, or any number of things. Music, like smell and taste, is intrinsically linked with memory. We, as a world, do everything we can to stave off aging and death trying to grasp at what we had before. It was always better than it is now, it seems. Music doesn’t change our age or health or the fact we will die someday. It does have a profound impact on our souls. People aren’t just buying stereos. They’re buying a high quality time machine conveniently sized to fit in their living room. Not only does it look nice, it is the gift giver of history. Music is intimate and personal. Can you really put a price on hearing the song on the radio the first time you got behind the wheel without your parents or your first kiss or watched you child walk or won a trophy? Youth has a lot of downfalls, but those emotions were so powerful. Being able to throw back in surround sound from your very own couch can be absolutely intoxicating.

Axpona is an incredible experience. I didn’t think of myself as an audiophile when I began the weekend. I still don’t know a percent of the science or information that goes into the equipment. I learned a bunch, and I can impressive my friends with my rudimentary knowledge that is now a gazillion times more in depth than theirs. I realized my deep love of music makes me a novice audiophile. I found speakers I can afford, and I will probably be the proud owner of. I have a new obsession with a particular sound system I can’t fathom to afford. More importantly, I spent time watching my dad geek out over his passion.

I added a few more songs to my personal soundtrack.

*I say men because it is truly almost completely men. I honestly don’t think I saw a single woman there that was not there because of her husband. Truly 98.5% of the people attending are men.

Books, NonFiction

Brief Answers to the Big Questions by Stephen Hawking

November 29, 2018 RaeAnna

Read Yes
Length 256
Quick Review Stephen Hawking isn’t an anti-social genius. He’s brilliant, no doubt. He’s also witty, sarcastic, charming, and completely relatable in his book Brief Answers for the Big Questions, published posthumously.

*Brief Answers to the Big Questions* is probably one of my favorite books of the year | Watch | Jeans | Socks | Boots | Sweater

I had a wonderful time reading Brief Answers for the Big Questions by Stephen Hawking. This is the first book I’ve read by Hawking. I read it on airplanes on Thanksgiving day, so the only break I took was walking between terminals. It’s a book that pulls you in and keeps you even if science isn’t your thing.

I was under the illusions Stephen Hawking was a one of those scientific geniuses who I’d be unable to have a conversation with because he’s that much smarter than me. Except that’s exactly what feels so wonderful about Brief Answers for the Big Questions the intimacy of it. It’s a conversation between Hawking and the reader. He doesn’t shove science and math down your throat; instead he is warm, funny, charming, and absolutely relatable.

His sense of humor is evident from the very beginning. The forward is by Eddie Redmayne, who played Hawking in the movie The Theory of Everything. Hawking is funny, blunt, and very self-deprecating “Eddie Redmayne plays a particularly handsome version of me…” It makes him even more admirable in his humility. The word “surprised” was used far too often when Hawking discusses his successes. Even though he was brilliant and earned everything he had, he seems completely shocked looking back at the things he accomplished.

There are very few things non-sciency people will need to look up because Hawking does not drown the reader in things they probably are unfamiliar with or equations. He wants Brief Answers to the Big Questions to be accessible to all. He talks about theories and equations with a sense of humor because he’s talking to people not scientists. M-theory – I did look that up- and Einstein and quantum mechanics and The Big Crunch “In Britain, people don’t seem too worried about a possible end twenty billion years in the future. You can do quite a lot of eating, drinking and being merry before that.” are all there but understandable. It’s not just science, though. He constantly references everything from history, science, philosophy, literature, and pop culture ie: Jurassic Park, Star Trek, etc.

I truly giggled to myself often while reading *Brief Answers to the Big Questions.*

Has funny little Q&A’s throughout the chapters. They usually sum up in a sentence or two his personal feelings about the overarching question being asked in the chapter. My favorite being the Q&A on page 141 when he mentions throwing a party in 2009 for legitimate time travelers. It culminated in him sitting alone in the college hall because he sent out invitations after the party was over to ensure there would be no phonies

I learned that Non-Euclidean geometry exists. Had I known this before, I could have been a total smart ass in formal geometry in high school. I found out triangles do not have to add up to 180° in flat three-dimensional space, but space would be curved and therefore non-euclidean. New information!

I highly enjoyed the small little jabs he made throughout including, “If there are beings alive on Alpha Centauri today, they remain blissfully ignorant of the rise of Donald Trump.” I don’t have to wonder too hard how he felt about the election.

Brief Answers to the Big Questions is highly entertaining. Hawking answers the questions, but really he’s just posing more. He is FULL of huge ideas. It’s absolutely amazing all the things he accomplished in spite of the obstacles he overcame. One of my favorite quotes is in the last pages of the book, “Opening up the thrill and wonder of scientific discovery, creating innovative and accessible ways to reach out to the widest young audiences possible, greatly increases the chances of finding and inspiring the new Einstein. Wherever she might be.” I love his inclusivity and call to action while simultaneously empowering the young women and men of today.The last two paragraphs are inspiring and a call to action and empowering.

Lucy Hawking, his daughter, summed up the sentiment of who he seemed to be through his own words in her own afterword, “He was a surprisingly modest man who, while adoring the limelight, seemed baffled by his own fame.” Reading Brief Answers to the Big Questions was an absolute pleasure. Professor Hawking will be greatly missed for generations to come.

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Memorable Quotes
“Although, if there were such a God, I would like to ask however did he think of anything as complicated as M-theory in eleven dimensions.”
“We don’t expect the universe to end in a brick wall, although there’s no logical reason why it couldn’t.”
“This is a pity because, if they had, I would have got a Nobel Prize.”
“The producers of Star Trek even persuaded me to take part, not that it was difficult.”
Particle Accelerators: “They would have to be larger than the solar system and they are not likely to be approved in the present financial climate.”

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Title: Brief Answers to the Big Questions
Author: Stephen Hawking
Publisher: Bantam Books
Copyright: 2018
ISBN: 9781984819192