Dear Extropes,
I like the concept of introducing oneself to a group of people with
whom one is having an email conversation. We learn about that
person's view of themselves, as well as gaining knowlege about the
faceless person whose text graces our computer monitor occassionally
(or more than occassionally).
After I read scecir's introduction (and samantha's before that), I
looked in my (very) old extropian archives to learn if I had ever
introduced myself.
If I had, then I couldn't find my introduction. It I had, then it
doesn't matter because I'm 8 years different anyway from the person
that initially encounted the extropians mailing list in 1991 (and
some of the people here I've known for many more years longer than
that).
Here then is a snapshot of Amara Lynn Graps, on this day, Autumnal
Equinox, year 2000. (Autumn is my favorite season)
Amara Graps, born in Honolulu, Hawaii (1961 March 28) spent her
childhood in mostly in Hawaii, her teen-early20s years mostly in
Southern California, her 20-and-partly-30-something-years mostly in
Northern California. In 1998, she packed up her household (which
primarily consists of books and some photo and bicycling gear) and
returned to school, moving to Heidelberg, Germany, where she will
finish her astrophysics PhD in March 2001 (at about the same time as
her 40th birthday). Her current research interest is cosmic dust
dynamics in planetary magnetospheres.
[My PhD topic took a sharp turn these last weeks ... Cassini and
Galileo dual spacecraft dust observations started 3 months before
Cassini's December Jupiter flyby... yowza..! it's fascinating data]
During most of my adult life I've spent learning about the Universe,
by working in the astronomy field from almost every possible angle
from scientific programmer (mostly) to teacher, research,
consultant. I've worked in astronomy since 1979. I'm a generalist,
rather than a specialist, which is a hindrance in the scientific
community. Therefore, I seek and usually find my niches for general
science (popular science writing, teaching) in my work environment.
In the mid-90s I decided that I would have problems in the future
pursuing science in the way that I wanted without a PhD, so I
decided to return to school, choosing a place and an advisor where I
was sure I would be challenged, and where I was reasonably sure that
I could succeed. Presently single and dating, no children yet.
(... and so busy :-( )
The things that stimulate Amara's inner world are an intellectual
conversation, a week bike trip through sunflower fields or a snowy
mountainrange, calculating an answer to a physics problem, writing a
computer simulation to run her own universe, exploring her sense of
touch and smell, reading a tasty book, writing a story or a poem,
learning something new on her dulcimer, learning a new topic and
then writing about it, having music in her ears, spending hours
printing in a darkroom, catching the ideal moment through her camera
lens, and finding a new pattern or synthesis for understanding how
the universe works.
More here
http://www.amara.com/
and here
http://galileo.mpi-hd.mpg.de/~graps/
I hope that you find a way to celebrate the start of Autumn.
And while you're at it, find a way to celebrate your life.
Happy Autumn,
Amara
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Amara Graps email: amara@amara.com
Computational Physics vita: finger agraps@shell5.ba.best.com
Multiplex Answers URL: http://www.amara.com/
********************************************************************
"Sometimes I think I understand everything. Then I regain
consciousness." --Ashleigh Brilliant
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Mon Oct 02 2000 - 17:38:41 MDT