I'm a "dirt-ologist". I love studying the interface of human and environment interaction, often asking the rather rhetorical question: "Do we change the landscape, or does the landscape change us?"
I also captain the ISS Insanitekian, a startup adventure of a lifetime.
Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife by Mary Roach My rating: 4 of 5 stars I’ve always liked Roach’s sarcasm when writing books, and Spook was no exception. I had wondered how she would approach the topic of the afterlife with her unique mix of sarcasm, non-academic style of demanding reason. It was quite informative while …
The Philosophical Breakfast Club: Four Remarkable Friends Who Transformed Science and Changed the World by Laura J. Snyder My rating: 4 of 5 stars Summary The Philosophical Breakfast Club is a very good history of science book. It is a story about 4 men, William Whewell, John Hershel, Richard Jones, and Charles Babbage, who strived …
The little red writing book : 20 powerful principles of structure, style, & readability by Brandon Royal My rating: 4 of 5 stars This is actually a pretty good reference book. I found it quick, easy to read. This is particularly good since I don’t really dig reading how to write books, but this little …
Imagination Station is a delightful little hands-on children’s museum that specializes in science and technology. It’s special because it is completely run by volunteers. To make this happen, it takes the right kind of person to balance the needs of the museum with the people that work there.
The Link: Uncovering Our Earliest Ancestor by Colin Tudge My rating: 3 of 5 stars In my area of study of archaeology and geology, I’d like to say that I have a shallow grasp on the subject of palaeontology. Tudge’s writing of the subject definitely widened my grasp, if not deepened it a little. Here …
In the field of R&D and invention we often come up against the question of “how do we want to share this?” There are many things to take into account from copyrights to trademarks, trade secrets to industrial design rights. And that’s just scratching the surface. Take a look at the list below for a …
I have mentioned before that I’ve worked with bored teens and university students alike. I’ve even been a bored student in any given class. However, I’ve noticed that the way the material is delivered can make a huge difference. Presentation can make an already difficult class even more so, or it could make it far …
Patently Ridiculous by Richard Ross My rating: 3 of 5 stars This book is short collection of wacky inventions that passed the through the patent office. All descriptions come with a minimum of an abstract and a diagram. Some come with more diagrams and descriptions. Sometimes they are clear as to what the item is …
A tradition in my family is to sit around in the evening with your favourite beverage and tell stories. We often gather with tea, coffee, Scotch, or something else that we might be fancying that day and trade tales about our day, our past, and older stories from the past. My favourite stories to listen …
Author’s note: This research accompanying this piece has been in process since Oct, 2013. This write up and research publication was delayed because we first offered it to the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences Member Central site. However, it took them a while to announce it wasn’t something they were interested in. The …