madame scientist's not-so-mad musings

☼ Ride, Sally Ride! On June 8, 1983, Sally Ride blasted off into space on the space shuttle Challenger, breaking through the gender barrier as the first American woman in space. She passed away today of cancer, at age 61. Former astronaut Charles Bolden spoke of her grace and professionalism and said, “She will be missed, but her star will always shine brightly”.

☼ Sally joined NASA in 1978, as part of the first group of women astronauts. She went on two shuttle missions, served on many NASA review panels and later continued as physics professor at the University of California, San Diego. A Stanford graduate, she earned four degrees as well as a doctorate in physics. She was a varsity tennis player too. Later, she went on to promote young women achieve success in STEM careers.

☼ Source: http://www.nasa.gov/topics/people/features/ride.html

☼ Watch: Sally Ride: 25 Years Later

Your Feel-Good Story of the Day: 83 year old Shila Ghosh is hunched with age but her spirit is feisty. Every day, she changes two buses and finds her way from the outskirts of Calcutta to the busy Exide crossing on Chowringhee Road. There, she sells home made chips for an average of $3 in earnings each day.

24 year old college student Sufia Khatoon watched from across the street. Wanting to do something, she posted her observations on Facebook. Soon, she had mobilized a small group who gave the octogenarian a small cash donation, a shawl, and some warm wishes. They even bought her entire stock of chips for the day! Shila Ghosh is thrilled, but insists that she can continue to earn a living. Meanwhile, the gesture has rallied more young people to come together to make a difference.

Watch Shila in this short clip: Kolkata: Student helps woman raise sales through Facebook

Read her story here: http://tiny.cc/a2kthw

Facebook Page: Our World, Our Initiative.

How to Write Good: I’m working on a research paper and I have to remind myself of these golden rules.   🙂

• Avoid Alliteration. Always.

• Eschew obfuscation.

• One word sentences? Eliminate.

• Don’t repeat yourself, or say again what you have said before.

• The passive voice is to be avoided.

• Avoid cliches like the plague. (They’re old hat.)

• Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.

• Poofread carefully to see if you any words out.

• Don’t overuse exclamation marks!!!

• Take the bull by the hand and avoid mixing metaphors.

• Be more or less specific.

• Understatement is always best.

• Who needs rhetorical questions?

• And always be sure to finish what

More: http://goo.gl/eDTuP

ANAMORPHOSIS: An art form where the image is greatly distorted, appearing only from a specific vantage point or upon reflection in a cylindrical mirror (or reflecting cones and pyramids). The painting (by Julian Beever) on the pavement is fragmented and meaningless to most viewers. But find the sweet spot, and Whoa! A giant snail appears to crawl on the city bench. (www.julianbeever.net)

• Leonardo da Vinci is thought to have made the first anamorphic drawing in 1485, at a time when Renaissance artists were experimenting with perspective (Leonardo’s Eye -Illusion).  Hidden images conveyed dangerous political statements, heretical ideas, and even erotic images.

• The Ambassadors: A famous example is the 1533 painting by Hans Holbein called “The Ambassadors”. When viewed from an extreme angle, a smudge at the bottom in an otherwise conventional painting reveals itself to be a grinning skull. Hans_Holbein the younger_The Ambassadors (amazing skull )

What does it mean? Holbein’s skull – Part one | Paintings | The National Gallery, London

• Medusa’s Head pays homage to the legend of Perseus, who could only look upon the snake headed monster in the reflection of his shield: http://www.moillusions.com/2011/12/an-anamorphic-medusa-painting.html

What are your favorites in illusory art?

Eeek!: The Smithsonian Store offers this acrylic, Glow-in-the-Dark computer mouse with a real spider for $28. Arachnophobic? Try their beetle version (http://goo.gl/sludF) for half the price.

Pros: USB compatible, creeps out co-workers, purple

Cons: Not wireless, creeps out co-workers, purple

H/T HuffPo