How does the weather affect your mood?

It affects me a bit, but not so severely that it rules my ability to do stuff. It’s not so much the weather that can bring me down - although prolonged grey/rainy periods do make me feel sluggish - it’s the darkness. I use my full spectrum light a lot on winter afternoons. 

What are you most fascinated by at the moment?

Finding ways to prove that we should make STEMM subjects more accessible by actually talking about endemic issues with discriminatory language and culture in higher education and industry while teaching technical topics, not as an afterthought or an optional add-on. 

Space debris and space traffic management.

February 12
How would a stranger that met you at a dinner party describe you?

What’s a party? It sounds dangerous. 

Seriously though, I’ve no idea what strangers make of me, and one of the nice things about getting older is that I no longer care.

February 13
How old do you feel?

Most days I feel exactly the same as I have since I reached adulthood. I wake up early and full of energy, I do a load of stuff, I conk out again. I’ve been fortunate with my physical health and have never suffered unduly from periods, joint pain, or acute or chronic illness. My average weight is higher than it was when I was twenty, and I notice it takes me a little longer than it used to for me to recover from a cold or a hangover, but otherwise, going from 18 to my forties has not caused a noticeable difference in my physical being.

What does it mean to you to be spiritual?

On a personal level, not much. I’m not spiritual.

February 9
Do you believe things happen for a reason?

Is this meant to be an oblique way to ask about belief in god(s)? I have none, so no, I don’t think there is a single all-encompassing reason for things to happen.

February 10
What is your take on making mistakes?

It’s inevitable. I believe the wisest and most difficult course is to learn to deal with it with as much grace, dignity, and forgiveness of yourself and others as you can muster.

RANDOM THOUGHT: Today I was reminded that it takes Neptune 165 years to orbit the Sun. Therefore, there is no chance I will live long enough to witness a full Neptune orbit. Uranus, at 84 years, is an achievable target, but who wants to aim for Uranus?

(I’ll get me coat)

What do you think about hunting?

The answer to this question is going to be highly dependent on geographical location, culture, and socioeconomic positioning. As an affluent person who dwells about a mile from the nearest well-stocked supermarket, I don’t need to do it. I don't have livestock to protect and I wasn't raised in a culture that prized hunting skill or ascribed any religious, spiritual, or symbolic meaning to it. If you’re perfectly capable of surviving and obtaining food without hunting, I can’t see the point of setting out on a walk with the sole purpose of killing an animal simply because you can. I definitely don’t understand trophy-hunting. It’s cruel and wasteful.

What responsibilities do you think the media have, if any?

Wow, this is a big question, given the events of the past few years. What happened to all that fluffy cuddly what's-your-favourite-X stuff, meme?!

I think both traditional and social media have a huge responsibility to carefully vett and caveat their reporting. Especially when people in power are consistently and blatantly lying. Don’t just play that clip with the lie in it and then move on to the next topic. Call it out, verbally and visually. Lying to the public should have consequences for the people telling the lies, rather than allowing the public to bear the brunt of them, as we are with the global public health crisis we’re experiencing right now.

What websites did you visit most frequently this week?

Dreamwidth, LiveJournal, the BBC, the virtual learning environment of My University, the search engine at My University which allows me to find peer-reviewed research publications, and the data archives of a scientific space mission.

What are your favourite things in general?

Mochi, whisky (single-malt Scotch, Japanese whisky and bourbon are my top three), Lego, computers, the internet, space, cats, space cats (thank you, the internet).

I'm not sure these question were particularly illuminating. Somehow we've gotten to the end of January. It hasn't been the most thrilling month in the history of ever, but we're still here, marching along in the same routine of the past ten months, hoping there's a future ahead of us with more diverse activities and companionship in it. Also, Humuhumu spent two hours yesterday crafting a cat toy for Telstar. Observe the immensity of his gratitude below.





 

With what are you happy to be done doing?

Moving house. I hope to stay put for a good long while.