Geek chic

At last! Welcome to the age of the geek. I love it.

And yes, my boyfriend is a huge geek. As am I. We try to out-geek each other...usually I win. =)

"Actual" correctness

Hehe, I love this! Take that, Lawrence Summers.
I remember when I was a little kid I took a "science in the summer" course at the local library. At the end of the session, our instructor said, "Some day you may hear someone saying that girls aren't good at math and science. I want you to know that that's absolutely UNTRUE." At the time, I couldn't understand why he even bothered to tell us that; I couldn't imagine anyone actually claiming that girls can't do math and science. But as I've grown older (and immersed myself more and more in engineering), I'm so glad that the first time I ran into that stereotype was when I was told it was false.

Leaking Electricity

Well I knew that many electrical devices consume energy even when turned off (some up to 40% of their active energy use!) And now the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory has compiled a chart of various devices and the amount of energy they use while in standby mode. It seems like audio compact systems, cable boxes, and tv's are the biggest culprits...may I suggest unplugging these when not in use?

Susan Calvin

I've found that of all fictional characters, Susan Calvin is the one I relate to most. Which is kinda sad, because she's not really a totally likeable character. But she is very strong, very motivated, and very intelligent, so I can't complain too much. :-)

According to Asimov's stories, she was born in 1982. I was born in 1983.
She's a roboticist. I'm a roboticist.
She's often cynical and bitter. I'm often cynical and bitter.
She tends to spaz when things go wrong. I tend to spaz when things go wrong.
When she feels strongly about something, she has no problem being blunt. I have been known to state my opinions pretty bluntly...
She looks to technology as a fitting and comforting legacy for mankind. So do I.

And I found this description on wikipedia, which I think (hope?) might also apply to me. In the words of Harlan Ellison:
"She is a small woman, but there is a towering strength in her face. Tensile strength, that speaks to endurance, to maintaining in the imperfect world. Her mouth is thin, and her face pale. Grace lives in her features, and intelligence; but she is not an attractive woman. She is not one of those women who in later years it can be said of them , 'She must have been a beauty when she was younger.' Susan Calvin was always plain. And clearly, always a powerful personality."