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#AAS241 ever wonder why Penn State is one of those schools that has separate departments for physics and astrophysics? Me, too - and...

#AAS241 ever wonder why Penn State is one of those schools that has separate departments for physics and astrophysics? Me, too - and that’s part of why I made poster 158.04 with the answer. If you want to know, come on by!

If you want to learn more about an amazing scientist and a wonderful woman I was privileged to know, here is one blog with more information...

If you want to learn more about an amazing scientist and a wonderful woman I was privileged to know, here is one blog with more information about her work with the Chandra X-ray Observatory. https://chandra.harvard.edu/blog/node/831

I’m at #AAS241, the 25th anniversary of the first time I attended one of these meetings. Still experiencing firsts, which includes a talk...

I’m at #AAS241, the 25th anniversary of the first time I attended one of these meetings. Still experiencing firsts, which includes a talk session memorializing a colleague who passed away young. So thankful to folks like Ann Hornschemeier and Matt Povich for helping us celebrate Leisa’s life at this meeting.

I missed #caturday, but I took this on Saturday, so does it count? Here's our big, rescued, partly feral tomcat participating in one of...

I missed #caturday, but I took this on Saturday, so does it count?

Here's our big, rescued, partly feral tomcat participating in one of his favorite hobbies -- trying to eat the rainbows projected on our wall through the window in our front door.

At least those don't add to his waistline, which is something we are working on. It's hard to convince a past stray that there really is more food coming each day, so he doesn't need to scarf it all at once whenever it is available.

Today I did the ceremonial closing of all the tabs in my browser window from teaching all semester. No more Astronomy Picture of the Day,...

Today I did the ceremonial closing of all the tabs in my browser window from teaching all semester. No more Astronomy Picture of the Day, random youtube videos and google image searches for bipolar jets from black holes, the antennae galaxy, or the Hipparcos HR diagram. Until next time!

So my 9 year old has discovered grunge, and he is getting into all of the bands I loved in college. I love it and encourage it. He has...

So my 9 year old has discovered grunge, and he is getting into all of the bands I loved in college. I love it and encourage it. He has eclectic music taste from his mom and grandmother sharing other bands and songs, too. He is hearing these songs for the first time, which has led to some interesting connections I never would have made. He pointed out to me that the riff in Alice in Chains' "I Stay Away" sounds very much like Abba's "Suzy-Hang-Around". Now I hear it, too. Mind = blown.

Great, gritty 4 set win. It was so much fun to watch this group pull together to make it to the sweet sixteen.

Great, gritty 4 set win. It was so much fun to watch this group pull together to make it to the sweet sixteen.

Loving watching this Penn State women’s volleyball team - they just gritted out a big set win against a really tough UCF team. This team...

Loving watching this Penn State women’s volleyball team - they just gritted out a big set win against a really tough UCF team. This team has a lot of heart. Now they need to finish the match!

Today's totally unanticipated challenge -- I dropped off my car for annual inspection & service, and put the insurance card &...

Today's totally unanticipated challenge -- I dropped off my car for annual inspection & service, and put the insurance card & registration card in the envelope at the dealership. They called me and said my registration was expired. Turns out when I bought the car, the dealer only registered it for 6 months, not a year, like I assumed, and I somehow missed seeing that I have been driving a car with expired registration for 6 months. Thankfully, PA lets you renew online and emails you a PDF.

I’m a sucker for things like #7FilmsToKnowMe so…The Big LebowskiStar Wars A New HopeReturn of the KingThe WarriorsSerenityMonty Python...

I’m a sucker for things like #7FilmsToKnowMe so…

The Big Lebowski
Star Wars A New Hope
Return of the King
The Warriors
Serenity
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Tombstone

Honorable mentions go to:
The Princess Bride
My Cousin Vinny
Singles
The Little Mermaid
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

Don't know if folks on here have plans for #GivingTuesday, but here in Central PA, I will be giving to #THON at Penn State...

Don't know if folks on here have plans for #GivingTuesday, but here in Central PA, I will be giving to #THON at Penn State (https://thon.org/) and our local science center / maker space - #DiscoverySpace (https://discoveryspace.org/) -- if you are looking for good orgs, I can highly recommend both!

To elaborate on the one sentence in my bio and my introduction post, I love #collegevolleyball, in particular, the #bigten and #pennstate. ...

To elaborate on the one sentence in my bio and my introduction post, I love #collegevolleyball, in particular, the #bigten and #pennstate. If anyone in this community wants to talk about this leading into this year's #ncaa tournament, I would love to follow!

So, for my second ever toot, I can say that after 13 years, I just deactivated my twitter account.

So, for my second ever toot, I can say that after 13 years, I just deactivated my twitter account.

I figure it is time a few days in to post an #introduction. I'm an astronomer who loves #teaching, #outreach to young and old,...

I figure it is time a few days in to post an #introduction. I'm an astronomer who loves #teaching, #outreach to young and old, #scicomm, and working with undergraduate students.

I'm Gen-X, and crack jokes about walking in to our student center and hearing the radio still playing the top hits from my undergrad days in the early 90s. I will talk grunge with anyone.

I walked in to Rec Hall in 1990 to watch Penn State women play #volleyball, and 32 years later still make every home match.