Over the past week, a lot of blogs have revived a venerable scienceblog tradition: inviting those who “lurk” on the blog (read without posting) to de-lurk and say “hi”! I’ve never tried to do that, but it seemed like a nice idea to fill some time while I’m working on my next science-y post.
I’d love to hear from you! Feel free to post a comment saying a little about yourself, how you found yourself at this blog, and what sort of topics interest you. Heck, even if you’ve posted comments somewhat regularly here, you should also feel welcome to say hello!
(Title of post comes from here, if you’re wondering.)
Skulls in the Stars 
Hey 🙂
So, I’m aimee. Originally South African, via London, and now resisting hibernation in Wellington (New Zealand).
I actually work in science communication, and blog for/help run Sciblogs, the NZ version of scienceblogs. Which is awesome.
How I came across this? Through the Research Blogging awards earlier this year, actually, when we were both nominated.
And topics – ah, well, everything’s interesting. That’s why we’re science geeks, right?
“And topics – ah, well, everything’s interesting. That’s why we’re science geeks, right?”
Indeed! 🙂
I have no idea why or when I started following haha. It must have been awhile back when I decided to start following a few “intelligent” blogs along with my blogs filled with humor and entertainment news.
I recently graduated from Harvey Mudd College with a B.S. in Physics (they only offer general degrees at Mudd, but I focused in Biophysics). I’m taking 2 years to work in a research lab before heading to grad school (which will probably be for Biomedical Engineering).
My main physics interests relate to biomedical imaging techniques. I’m big on Optical Coherence Tomography and Diffuse Optical Spectroscopic Imaging.
Keep up the good work,
Rob
I suppose location is interesting 😀
Harvey Mudd College is in Southern California and the lab I’m working in now is at the Beckman Laser Institute at UC Irvine.
Thanks for writing! Taking time off before grad school is always a good strategy — I did a year of high-energy physics lab work before taking the grad plunge.
Hey, no idea how I originally found the blog but I’ve been reading it for a long time. I’m studying for an MSc. in physics at University of Waterloo. My interests are chemical physics and computational biophysics. Keep up the good blogging!
Thanks!
Hi,
I’m Patrick, from outside Boston, MA. I went to school for mathematics, and now am working on a masters in education, to become a high school teacher. I found your blog from your twitter account, and i think I found that through someone retweeting you. I work currently making eyeglasses so have some very basic optical knowledge.
Thanks for writing! I’m glad to see good people going into teaching.
I’m a graduate student in physical chemistry at a school in the ivy league. With any luck at all, all finish with my phd in another 6-8 months. My work doesn’t have anything to do with optics, but if you’re looking for topic ideas I’d love to see some posts on the use of non-classical photon states for precision measurement.
I think I came here originally from [url=http://scienceblogs.com/principles/]uncertain principles[/url] but it might have been from somewhere else.
Hi! I’m Blake, I live in and around Boston, and I’ve commented here before now and again.
Blake? Blake? Doesn’t ring a bell. 😛
Hi, I am your sister-in-law. 🙂
Hi stranger!
Mark here, formerly of Buffalo, part of your old Rochester gaming group at house of Bramon.
I still work on wound healing and cancer biology: currently at Vanderbilt, but I’ve been recruited to USC so Marg and I are heading to LA-LA-Land in August. Woo.
Nice to hear from you — it’s been a while! Good luck with the move; say “hi” to Marg and drop me an email sometime.
Hello from San Francisco. I appreciate your postings.
Thanks Nick!
I’m a flea in the coat of a mongrel dog. I came for the optics and stayed for the history of science.
“I’m a flea in the coat of a mongrel dog. ”
You sell yourself short — you’re at least a flea in the coat of a purebred dog! 🙂
Hey, we here at RM are founding members of the Pack for the Abolition of Artificial Breeding! Free F*#%ing for Dogs!
*Gasp*! You said the %-word! 🙂
Yes, but my use was semantically correct 😉
Hi, I’m Thomas. I’m currently a graduate student in Lund, Sweden, doing atomic physics and spectroscopy and stuff. I think I found your blog at Uncertain Principles, and since I have this fetish for the history of science – and especially the 1800s – some of your posts on that subject caught my eye.
Thanks for writing! I’m glad to hear from others who have an interest in the history of science.
Hi, I’m Adrien from Nantes (France), doing research in material science. Don’t remember how I found out about your blog, but I really appreciate it, and keep on forwarding posts to friends and colleagues.
Thanks for the support!
Hi, I’m James and I’m from your town and your university, so it’s probably not surprising that I read you. Curiously, I found this blog and read it occasionally before I found out who you were (which I won’t reveal). I’m a science writer myself (not a blogger though), which leads me to read a wide variety of science (and other) blogs. I’ve particularly enjoyed two things in this blog — the diversity of material (especially the history of science material) and the willingness to dip down and do explanatory writing. Wish more scientists would take as seriously the job of public education!
Thanks! I decided pretty quick writing the blog that I wanted to try and explain things on a non-specialist level.
Cheers from Argentina! Found your blog months ago searching on Google about infinite series. I graduated on Computer Science and my interests are advanced lineal/non-lineal algebra, malware analysis/visual representation and basic optics.
I like the effort and spirit I perceive on your posts, you bet you’re doing the right thing, man.
Thanks! Sounds like you’ve got a nice diverse set of interests.
Hi, I am your wife and I live with you and I found out about this blog because you told me about it and made me read it. 😉
I deny forcing you to read the blog! And if I did, it’s because you need some science education! 🙂
Science is hard.
Thanks for the comments, all — they make me feel useful! 🙂 Keep ’em coming; I’ll try and give some individual responses to folks later in the day.
One great thing about doing something like this is seeing how diverse a group of readers one can have, both in background and geography. It’s really an amazing era of connectivity we live in.
It’s really an amazing era of connectivity we live in.
I’ll second that emotion!
Ooooh – maybe I’ll get an individual response later today. Yippee!! (I crack myself up)
Hi, I’m Staffan from Stockholm, Sweden. I’m a graduate student doing theoretical research on quantum dot photonics and related stuff. Not sure how I came across your blog, but there’s so much of it that gels really well with my interests, scientific historical and literary, that I would have found it sooner or later.
So just keep writing in your current style and topics – I’ll perhaps even delurk a bit more often – no reason to be shy 🙂
Please do — I always appreciate feedback!
Mary here. I post periodically, but I’ll say hi anyway. I’m a recent (~1 year ago) AMO PhD who started reading your blog in grad school, probably thanks to some link from Chad Orzel. I work for an R&D lab in industry now, still grubbing for grants. But I read you for the pulp horror and personal (skydiving! romance!) posts. 🙂
Actually, I read this blog because you have a very likable narrative voice, if you don’t mind my saying it, and because I nearly always agree with your opinions, which makes it a very relaxing read from my point of view. And occasionally I learn something new about optics, which is great, even though it sneakily sneaks something suspiciously like work into my blog-reading loafing time.
“I read this blog because you have a very likable narrative voice, if you don’t mind my saying it…”
I don’t mind at all! Thanks for commenting!
Hi. Been looking in for a year or two now I guess. I enjoy the mix of science exposition and old sci-fi book reviews. Please Keep it up!
Thanks! You’ve reminded me that I’ve got a few book reviews to catch up on…
I am a radiotherapy physicist living in the UK. My undergraduate physics is quite a while back now. I enjoy your blog as I can get some proper physics dispensed in a convenient form.
I think I found you because Tom linked to you. http://blogs.scienceforums.net/swansont/
Thanks for the comment! I don’t know why you ended up in the spam folder initially — I SWEAR I didn’t put you in the spam filter! 🙂
Hey Skull,
I’m not at all a scientist, I’m a scriptwriter for animated series who was looking for a good article about Archimedes’ burning mirrors, and found yours just a few minutes ago. Great article, BTW.
I plan to read your blog from now on, as I’m interested about science history. Oh, And there are at least two French guys reading your blog now, as I’m writing this from Paris. Instead of writing my one-week-late script, which I should return to right now.
Bye!
Welcome, and thanks for commenting!
That’s not too bad — my textbook was about a year late on its due date! (Only in academia can one get away with such extreme tardiness.)
Well, I’m me and I read you 🙂
I enjoy the physics you discuss, photons are a slippery subject that never stops amaze me, or waves 🙂
And you write about in a very concise and understandable fashion too 🙂
And I too love books 🙂
Keep on writing.
cheers
Yoron.
Thanks for the comment!