Introduction

Rainbow Photo credit and copyright: Terje O. Nordvik

Hello everyone! I feel like I should share with you a little about me, so that when reading any posts by me in the future you can have some understanding of the who and the why. I'm currently a 30 year old science student and teacher. For eight years I have taught science (mainly Astronomy) to 5th and 6th grade students all over southern California. I am currently back in school with hopes of obtaining a masters degree in Observational Astronomy. With that degree my goal is to begin a traveling astronomy outreach education program that will hopefully jump start the California science standards. Most 6th graders here in my town of Victorville, CA are moving on to junior high without much preparation in science. Most if not all cannot explain how we have seasons. There are several reasons for this outcome, the first and most important is that classroom teachers are pressured to raise scores in other subjects like math and reading (very important subjects also) while science takes a back seat until junior high. I feel since I have a passion for this subject I might as well use it for good, rather than evil. :-) But fear not fellow readers, while it may seem that my astronomy blurbs might destroy a bit of the mystique and magic of an event or object you see from time to time, it can also bring in more majesty than it had before. Take this picture of the rainbow for instance, it is very beautiful and awe inspiring if you know nothing about how it's created. But, even with the knowledge that it is created by refracted white light from the Sun by millions of water droplets can still be amazing. Especially if you add this: Although light from the Sun is in fact many colors and wavelengths it can't help but be perceived by us as a white light because it is moving way too fast to be separated by our brains. The second that light from the sun hits the falling droplet of water in a rainstorm the light bends and is refracted, spreading it into its many colors. I know, perhaps this is redundant information from our days in 5th or 6th grade, but did you know that that every rainbow on Earth contains all the information about what our Sun is made of, from every specific element to how old it is and how long it has before it dies? A crazy way of looking at it is, the rainbow actually is the Sun's DNA. And when one of those colorful photons of light from that rainbow hit the cone cells in your eye it is literally ending what is on average a million year plus 8.5 minute journey for that photon! More on that journey in another post. ;-)
So in conclusion I can only hope that my blogs at least entertain you, and maybe teach you something you didn't know. I am of course constantly learning and I love to tackle questions even if I don't know the answers. So fire away on those questions and as we say in the Astronomy community, "Keep looking up."

Thank You.

Sincerely,
Todd Gonzales

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Transgendered Dog

I know this is a strange title for a post, but it is not without reason. Today's topic is my dear doggy, Floyd. I realized that 1) I will never think my footage on my dog is good enough for a video (she deserves better!); and 2) you haven't been formally introduced to my "child." So all my readers (all 3 of you), meet Floyd (Canis familiaris). Floyd was an "acquired" dog. Her previous owners did not like her. How could you not like this cute thing?!?!





They didn't even know she was a "she" and named her Floyd. When I (took) got her, I went straight to the vet and everything she could possibly have wrong, she did. Heartworms (Dirofilaria immitis) so bad, she had to get TWO treatments, UTI, severely underweight, and she was afraid of barking or jumping (things I consider normal dog behavior) to boot. The last thing I needed to do was change her name too! She is my Floyd and it suits her.



She's an adventurous sort, like her parents/owners, and goes to all the weird hikes and locations with me. I can't wait to bring her on vacation with me to Utah. I think she would love it.



She is a special breed of dog, known in North America as "mutt" and here on island as "coconut retriever."

She is a bit confused in that she seems to really be a bit of a lesbian and will "mount" other female dogs at the beach. It's quite funny. She doesn't like most men either... though with her previous owner, I don't blame her.



She didn't make a sound the first two weeks we had her and the first time I heard her bark, I thought a bigger dog was trying to eat her. She has a FEROCIOUS bark for a mid size dog. It's cute. It only comes out rarely and when it does, she means business.

Also like me, she is insatiably curios and loves to nap on rainy days. Oh, and she steals fresh baked chocolate chip cookies. I know chocolate is bad for dogs, but try telling her that. The puppy dog face she makes when I scold her for it... sheesh!

Well I hope you have all enjoyed meeting "Pobresita" Floyd (what my husband calls her).

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6 Random Things About Me

Okay honestly I don't normally do these things and I wasn't technically tagged except for a mention from SeaLaura, but I thought I would give it a go since most of my readers don't know too much about me except where I live and the fact that I am a science geek.

Okay, I'm not gonna follow the rules at all, but here is how they're posted...

Here are the rules:
1. Link to the person who tagged you
2. Post the rules on your blog
3. Write 6 random things about yourself
4. Tag 6 people at the end of your blog and link to them
5. Let each person know they have been tagged and leave a comment
6. Let the tagger know when your entry or post is up.

6 things about me...

1. I make myself bento box lunches everyday. I do for my hubs occasionally and I always do for plane rides. I don't know why. It's an addiction to cram a lot of food into a small space and make it visually appealing and nutritionally balanced. I am just glad that there are no places to get bento accessories here and no one really ships down here or I would be in trouble. I am glad I can keep it simple.
2. I am an avid reader and will not eat or answer my phone if it means I can keep reading whatever is in my hand.
   
3. I used to have a serious bug phobia. Not spiders, they don't bother me. Bugs... you know 6 legs and 2 compound eyes. Yeek. I admired them, but couldn't go near them. Got over it at the Butterfly Farm. Except for roaches. I still don't like them.
4. I am as much of an art nerd as I am a science nerd. I just go over board with my lab notebooks and go out of my way to stop at museums and galleries. I am lucky enough to live on the island that was home to Camille Pissaro. Yay!
5. I was a Floridian by birth.
6. I love to learn but I hate standardized educational systems... that is why I am STILL in school at my age.
   

So now I am tagging anyone who wants to do this and if you are really interested in me (don't see why) ask me anything! I will answer.

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