Rock, Paper, Scissors

I was reading about the Exploratorium's latest After Dark event -- which focuses on Rock, Paper, Scissors -- and I came across the World RPS Society, an organization dedicated to the promotion of the game.  I definitely have to learn more about the people who run this group: I think it's fascinating.

The Exploratorium recently won yet another design award. Its Tinkering Studio was recognized by Core77, an online design magazine. The Exploratorium is one of my favorite places in the entire world, fusing science, art, design, and the humanities into a breathtaking amalgam of interesting, cool stuff. You can read more about the design award here. To watch some cool Tinkering Studio goodness, click on the embedded video below:

Rods and Mods

The Exploratorium is hosting an event in February of 2010 that will showcase hot-rodded computers and modified computers cases. It should be a fantastic event: I am especially hoping to see a steampunk computer in the mix.

http://press.exploratorium.edu/rods-and-mods-february-2010/

(The image to the left shows a computer created by Jake Von Slatt. Wow.)

Refracted Light

The Exploratorium has mounted large prism filters over some of its skylights, and, late in the day, sun shining through those filters creates very large rainbows on the Exploratorium walls. There is something very satisfying about seeing a spectrum four feet wide and one foot tall splashed on a wall. It's nothing like the pipsqueak spectra that anyone can produce using the standard prism sold in most museums stores. When looking at a very large spectrum, one can clearly see all of the colors, and how they fade into each other. Sometimes, scaling something up can have a huge difference.

After Dark at the Exploratorium

I just got back from the Exploratorium's first After Dark event, which featured D.J. Scientific and avant-garde violinist DBR.  I really liked the mix of violin and house beats: it kind of reminded me of the pleasant sound of monks chanting over a background of techno music.  That combination seems to balance very well.  

What Am I Doing?

Well, I am now thinking about what I might want to do if I leave the Exploratorium. I love the Exploratorium's staff, programming, and general atmosphere, but I have been thinking more and more lately about my financial future, and how I will most likely have to earn more money soon. There aren't many opportunities to advance at the Exploratorium, so I will probably have to leave (though I would like to return at some point). So, what am I going do? I like the idea of applying for a science writing masters program: I enjoy writing, science, and explaining complicated topics. I also recently began considering an MBA program, which would be widely applicable, and most likely allow me to have more opportunities to work at nonprofits, including museums like the Exploratorium. And, I am still thinking about applying to law schools. On the one hand, I keep hearing horror stories about how current lawyers are depressed, don't like their work, and wouldn't recommend their jobs to other people. On the other, I think I might enjoy studying and working in the field of law anyway. I like that style of thinking, and I like logic, argumentation, and especially constitutional law. Plus, for all I know, most of the lawyers in the surveys I have read only become lawyers for prestige, or job security, or family pressure, and were never really interested in law in the first place. Thus, they are unhappy. Those statistics can be interpreted in many ways. Arrrrgh!