Growing up with one of the geekiest mothers in the world, I think it's safe to say that my brother and I have visited our fair share of science museums. While I love science and can appreciate its usefulness and general awesomeness, I'm not quite as into it as the rest of my family (where did I wrong? Both of my parents have science-related degrees! Weird...). However, I've always had fun at science museums and I still seek them out now that I'm all grownup and adult-like. But I do have to say something that will probably make my mother's head explode...My favorite part of any museum visit is almost always getting a bag of free-dried astronaut ice cream! Yeah, I said it. I have a feeling I'm not alone in this since ThinkGeek.com basically agrees with me. It's so delicious and weird! Who doesn't love that awkwardly dry sweetness that turns to neopolitan goo in your mouth?! Sooooo yummy. But the bag is always so small and unsatisfying. Like they're just mocking you with a spaceman's diet. Anywho, last Christmas I noticed that Paper Source (because all good things can be found there) was selling Dippin' Dot-esque bottles of the stuff! YES! I kid you not. It's not as good as the larger chunks of it but it'll do in a pinch. Also, Thrive makes lots of freeze-dried goodies. I didn't realize this was a thing but I'm 100% on board. There's this tutorial on how to make your own...It looks fairly complicated but I'm not Madame FancyPants like my mother so I think I'll show her and we'll see if it's doable. There's also this version...Which seems a little less intimidating: HowStuffWorks Has anyone else made it before? I'd love to know if it ACTUALLY tastes like the real stuff or ya know, actually works. The Maker in the video is fairly convincing but he could just really like ice cream in general (who doesn't?). Also, BONUS: Learning AND sweet treats! So we just got back from a long weekend in San Francisco where we sold our geeky goods at the American Chemical Society's conference at the Moscone Center! It was quite the eventful trip and we had a lot of fun. We even met some of our ETSY customers who came over to our booth to check it out and to say "hi", which was awesome! It's such a surreal experience to meet people I've spoken to through "convo's." I get probably way too giddy when they say what personalized items they requested because I usually remember making them! It's a really nice way to feel connected in a world that can feel so disconnected what with the wonderful world of the interwebs. Here's a sneak peek at some new items coming soon to our shop! Our booth at the show! It was small but we made it work! We also debuted our new name-signs that we were able to personalize for customers right there at the show so that was VERY exciting! Working with people on how to spell out their names was really fun because most people think they can't because the available elements do seem so limiting... But then we show them our method and they're like kids in a candy store! Oh the possibilities!
How sweet is this? This is the Ivanpah Solar Generating Station looking like aliens have landed...108• at Stateline. For more info about Ivanpah go here: Check out our new pillow which will be in the shop VERY soon! Us Gibberish Girls LOVE the bacon so we thought these 10 reasons would help justify it being part of our regular diet!
10. Nestling super-healthy vegetables in flavorful bacon makes them even more appealing! 9. A company in the UK is actually transforming bacon fat and grease into a powerful, low emission, environmentally friendly, all-natural, bio-diesel fuel that can be used to effectively and inexpensively run anything from motor vehicles to turbines. 8. If it is NOT charred or burnt (Jenavieve's favorite way to eat it!) OR you cook it in the oven you can avoid the concern over nitrates/nitrites. Also, if you partake in some milk or OJ with your bacon, the vitamins A, D and E work to effectively prevent conversion of nitrates and nitrites into dangerously toxic “nitrosamines” in the stomach, rendering them harmless to the body. 7. It’s considered a mood elevator because it makes you insanely happy when you eat it. 6. It is filled with essential vitamins and minerals: Vitamin B1, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B12, Zinc, B6, Vitamin B2, Phosphorus, Pantothenate, Magnesium, and Iron...making it practically a health food! 5. Full of choline which helps with memory and intelligence. 4. Moderate amounts lower blood sugar and blood pressure. 3. It has less total fat, saturated fat and cholesterol than many popular cuts of beef and chicken. 2. Even though bacon has gotten a bad rep over the years, bacon contains Omega-3 fatty acids. Unlike the Omega-3 Fatty Acids supplements derived from fish sources, the ones that come from bacon aren’t chock full of poisonous mercury, like most of the popular fish oil versions are. So bacon Omega-3′s can not only help prevent heart disease, as well as lower your cholesterol, reduce inflammation and improve circulation, but also help you to avoid mercury and other toxic poisons being regularly spewed into our planet’s oceans. 1. Lots of protein, little carbs. (This info was gathered from http://bacontoday.com/). "Early in her career, it was Rosalind Franklin who painstakingly conceived of and captured "Photograph 51" of the "B" form of DNA in 1952 while at King's College in London. It is this photograph, acquired through 100 hours of X-ray exposure from a machine Dr. Franklin herself refined, that revealed the structure of DNA." - Rosalind Franklin University
Happy belated birthday to Rosalind Franklin! She was an amazing woman and such an inspiration! I.Q. (1994) directed by Fred Schepisi. We're both pretty big fans of Meg Ryan's work pre- Against the Ropes (2004) and we love a good romantic comedy. And who doesn't love Tim Robbins? The chemistry (pun intended) between Catherine, a nerdy mathematician, and Ed, a car mechanic, is fueled by none other than Catherine's adorable elderly uncle, Albert Einstein, who is played by scene stealer, Walter Matthau. Matthau's Einstein is probably the best part of the film along with his fellow partners in crime who all add the silly, nerdy repartee that every good rom-com needs. The plot is fairly simple but what makes this film worth multiple viewings is Matthau's depiction of Einstein. Him and his goofy scientist friends are determined to play cupid for Catherine who is in a relationship with a man (Stephen Fry) they deem unworthy. It's true, Fry's stuffiness and lack of imagination seem like a poor match for the quirky and spirited niece of one of the world's greatest minds. His thinking is too inside-the-box and by the book. Enter Ed. The kind, creative car mechanic with a heart of gold and an exceptional mind. Einstein and his buddies think Catherine wouldn't be happy with someone who wasn't as smart or smarter than herself so they devise a plan to set the two up by providing Ed with a scientific theory that impresses even the President of the United States (Dwight D. Eisenhower played by Keene Curtis). True to romantic comedy form, their plan starts to fall apart and soon Catherine discovers it was all a hoax. Her happiness is in the stars, with fate. It's corny but hey! most good romantic comedies are. This film is packed with all sorts of fun facts and anecdotes (true or false) about some of history's greatest minds. Sure, the creators of this film took some creative licenses in bringing Einstein back to life but most of it is forgivable thanks to Matthau's stellar performance. While some of the issues of gender and relationships are problematic, Ryan's character is mostly an independent, clever mathematician who can and does have discussions with other characters in the film about topics other than her romantic life (not a common occurrence for this type of film). It is frustrating that we're supposed to believe that Ed's character has a comparable intellectual mind, fostered by the School of Life, with the Princeton PhD candidate whose heart and mind he is trying to win. But it's a forgivable incongruity that is in part mended by Einstein's insistence that his niece learns there is more to life and love than a shared interest in academia and continuing the family line of geniuses. I.Q. is a movie with heart. It would make a perfect mother-daughter pick for movie night! (BTW, it's currently available on Netflix!)
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Julie and JenavieveA geeky mother and daughter working to bring science and art together. To get to know us better, check out our about page! Archives
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