Monthly Archives: September 2010
scientists are also people
Another nice blog post by Sarah Zielinski at Smithsonian about my work – in this case, about my wacky idea that scientists are also people. I know! It’s a crazy idea, but I think it might be true!
I know everybody: husbands of acquaintances
This afternoon the phone rang and the caller ID said it was “T. Szymanski.” Well, that’s a pretty unusual last name, and I thought, that’s odd, is the T. Szymanski I know from college calling me for some kind of … Continue reading
how meerkats work
Meerkats are adorable little mongooses that live in the Kalahari Desert in tight social groups. Each group is dominated by a female who does most of the reproducing. Others help raise her pups, even lactating so they can nurse them. … Continue reading
primordial soup
Over at Smithsonian magazine, blogger Sarah Zielinski has written about my Origins of Life story and the concept of primordial soup. I said in my story that it wasn’t exactly a chunky beef stew, more like a few molecules scattered … Continue reading
geology walk
On Saturday I went on a geology tour of D.C. – Callan Bentley, who teaches geology at Northern Virginia Community College, took a group of science writers around the bottom of the zoo, through a bit of Rock Creek Park, … Continue reading
museum tourist: hope diamond
I unfairly maligned the Hope Diamond in my last post. It really is lovely. I mean, I like sparkly rocks as much as the next girl. To make up for my slight, here are some people looking at the Hope … Continue reading
CHON CHON CHON CHON CHON CH CHON
A friend asked if I referenced the CHON movie in my story about the origins of life. I did not. Which is tragic, really – the CHON movie is an absolute classic of science cinema, and for more than a … Continue reading
origins of life
A story I worked on for nearly a year is finally out in Smithsonian. It’s about the origins of life. We’re talking way, way, way back, billions of years, to the time when Earth was rock and water and a … Continue reading
how I get good quotes
A month ago, Dave Grimm, my editor at ScienceNOW, e-mailed me about quotes: “as you know, i hate to flatter you. but you do tend to get awesome quotes for your stories. also as you know, i’m teaching a science writing class at hopkins … Continue reading
science in my kitchen
Earlier this week I needed to keep a sandwich cool for a few hours, so I took an insulated lunch bag down from the top of the fridge. Since I work at home, I don’t have a lot of use … Continue reading