For the second year, just got back from my volunteer teaching at Maui Community College. The students were pretty good this year, although some assumed they knew a bit more about optics than they actually did. :-)

Just found The Phantom Tollbooth on YouTube. Now that was a good cartoon.

"Henceforth, and forthwith,
Let it be known by all,
Rhyme and Reason reign once more!"

Ever wish the lyrics of a song would actually match what goes on in the music video? Now your wish has come true:

Total Eclipse of the Heart (Watch out for spinning ninjas!)
With Arms Wide Open (My band is magic!)

Well, I figure it's about time I start looking for employment. I think I'll aim to start around the fall of 2010. That should give me enough time to finish up in Hawaii and then take a break for a couple months. I figure I can take one to sit around and catch up on writing projects since I never took a break between college and grad school.

Speaking of writing projects, got offered another chance to work on a short film script, so that should be fun. :-)

If any of you out there hear about any employment opportunities for an Astronomy PhD (i.e., teaching, research, planetarium, etc.), let me know. I'll probably give most things a shot at this point. :-)

Well, it's May. This month I will be sending off my Taurus paper to be published and start prepping for my summer teaching stuff on Maui. Wish me luck, it's gonna be brutal. ;-)

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir always does the best covers of traditional hymns, in my opinion.

Be Still, My Soul

God of Our Fathers

O Come, Let Us Adore Him

As a child, I loved the old Rankin-Bass Middle-Earth cartoons, especially the songs that incorporated Tolkien's poetry.

As an adult, I loved the visual look and epic scale of Jackson's LOTR Trilogy.

Now someone has been kind enough to combine them:

The Orcs Are Very Decent Singers

The first, refereed astronomy paper on which I am a co-author is now out:

Behold... Science!

It's about the activity of distant comets, and is based on researched I helped out with back in 2005. Next up, my first... first-author paper!

Look what I found!:

The Land Before Time Soundtrack

I'd almost forgotten how amazingly beautiful the music was to this simple but touching film. I nearly tear-up during certain parts of it. It reminds me how much I loved dinosaurs as a kid.

For those of you out there like me who grew up with the Legend of Zelda video games, I've found a site with a wide selection of re-orchestrated versions of all the memorable tunes. Starting from the original game all the way through Twilight Princess, it's a great nostalgia trip, plus quality music in its own right. There is also a collection of original soundscapes inspired by the games. Check it out!

The ZREO Project - Zelda Re-Orchestrated

So, got back from Colorado and GhengisCon 2009. Just like last time it was a blast: old college friends, no computer, and three days of beautiful board games. Also like last time, I found some games to buy and added them to my Amazon wishlist. Now just have to wait till I start getting my summer pay. :-)

I also brought back a cold, but oh well. :-P

A bunch of events upcoming this spring:
March -> Observing on UKIRT, Outreach classroom lectures
April -> IfA Open House, Planning for Maui Short Course
May -> Annual PDP Workshop in Maui
June -> Observing on IRTF

For those of you who have heard me praise and rave about the adventure game "The Longest Journey", here is you chance to see what all the fuss is about. I should be adding new videos once per week at the very least if not more often. Enjoy!

Let's Play The Longest Journey

So my friend Tiantian and I went on a hike this past Saturday on the Bowman Trail into the Ko'olau heights. This is considered one of the most difficult hikes in the area due to the narrow trail and the amount of climbing required. Overall, not a bad journey, but definitely the physically hardest hike I have ever done. Due to safety concerns (and for me exhaustion), we didn't make the entire 12 mile round trip (more like 80-85% of the full trail). However, Tiantian managed to get some nice photos of the surrounding valleys. I didn't bring nearly enough water as I should have, so shame on me. Fortunately, the weather was pretty much perfect, with partially cloudy skies, a nice breeze, and no rain. The path is so narrow and high-up that it would be suicide to try the trail when it's wet. Needless to say I put my work-boots and hiking staff to good use. Also, sure enough, I could barely walk on Sunday due to my muscles cramping up. But now on Monday I'm about at 60% of full mobility and had no problem doing my usual 2 mile walk into work. While according to the official medical record, I am at a weight that is considered "obese", I find it hard to believe given the amount of walking/hiking/climbing I can do. Maybe just the top half of me is obese. :-)

Pictures and a couple short videos of the event can be found here:
The Bowman Trail Hike

I love Mystery Science Theater 3000. I love video games. Now, someone has blended the two together exquisitely. Click the link and prepare to laugh. ^_^

Unskippable

If you spend enough time with me you'll inevitably find out how much I love Pachelbel's Canon in D. My personal view is that any song under which you can hum the Canon is a good song. Here is a funny rant by a guy who agrees with me about the prevalence of the Canon, but has a slightly different response to it. :-)

Pachelbel Rant

I was recently listening to some video game finale music and got to thinking about the video game endings that were really satisfying (and sometimes even brought me to tears). Here are the ones I could think of off the top of my head:

-> The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - The graphics are now pretty out-dated and the MIDI music is a bit cheesy. However, the first time I saw the Master Sword placed back into its hallowed resting place as Link walks away to the sound of cathedral bells, it was an epic moment.

-> Crono Trigger (remake) - When I saw the newly-animated version of the Crono Trigger ending, it brought back the good memories I'd had playing the game. It was such a treat to see Crono and Marle's wedding and Frog's knighting, all done to orchestrated versions of their respective themes.

-> Final Fantasy VIII - As I've mentioned before, I think this was the first ending that brought me to tears. To see Squall and Riona together at last was a very beautiful moment.

-> Syberia II - The ending of the Syberia story was very heart-warming as Hans finally finds the giant mammoths that he has spent a lifetime pursuing. The scene has a short but absolutely amazing musical track with it. (You should look it up on YouTube)

40 years after humans first walked on the Moon, and 400 years since Galileo first pointed a telescope towards the heavens, 140 nations will simultaneously celebrate the discovery of the Universe as one....

The International Year of Astronomy (2009)

It is 10pm local time, and the weather is bad up on the mountain, which means no observing for Vexus. :-(

So with time on my hands, some random statements of personal philosophy:

-> Conflict stems from a sense of injustice. A sense of injustice comes when selfishness strangles your empathy.
-> To accept how unimportant you are to the world and how important you are to God is to live a life without fear.
-> The more you are capable of recognizing yourself as a purposeful creation of God, the more good things will seem desirable and bad things will become detestable.
-> The shorter your list of things you must fight for, the more certain you can be that such things are actually worth fighting for.
-> Three things will define your life: the stories you were told, the stories you told to others, and the story you decided to participate in.
-> Money is the fruit of your labor, and like fruit, it spoils when kept instead of used.
-> If life ends in death, nothing is of value, but if life is eternal, only relationships are of value.
-> Good deeds done for bad reasons remain good deeds. Bad deeds done for good reasons remain bad deeds.
-> Hate is justice too early. Revenge is justice too late. Justice in due time is in the purview of God alone.
-> The most virtuous of actions will never provoke indifference from those around you. They will be amazed or they will be offended.
-> Action in spite of doubt is faith. Action in spite of fear is hope. Action in spite of self is love.
-> The land is sacred, but it is just dirt. The creatures are sacred, but they are just the fruit of the land. The body is sacred, but it is just the house of the soul.
-> Many paths to God lead to the same, narrow gate. Motion for others to follow you in the right direction, but be cautious in heralding a single path, lest you cause them to turn back.
-> The biggest failure is not worth lamenting. The smallest victory is not worth ignoring.

The peace of Christ be with you all.

It's refreshing to feel proud to be an American, and to know that hope stirs a nation more than fear.