No distractions from science
by Anton Zuiker on January 26, 2017
Last Friday was Inauguration Day, thankfully full of distracting work and family activities. I didn’t remember until this morning that January 20 was also the tenth anniversary of the first North Carolina Science Blogging Conference. That annual event later became ScienceOnline, and over eight years and 11 conferences, we explored myriad ways to do, share, support, and defend science using the tools of the World Wide Web. Sadly, with this new president, it seems science will be under assault. The ScienceOnline organization and our activities have stopped, but the drive to use blogs, podcasts, videos, social media, and other online tools to advance science and the public engagement in science carries on.
If you are a communicator of science living or working in North Carolina, please take this survey for the Science Communcators of North Carolina. Your input will help us plan our activities for the next year (or 10).
Transition
by Anton Zuiker on January 20, 2017
Thank you, President Barack Obama. You have served this nation well and admirably. I look forward to your next endeavors and successes.
And I wait, and hope, that our next president will be up to the task of leading the United States of America.
The City of New Orleans
by Anton Zuiker on January 5, 2017
Malia one night mentioned she’d love to get a “modern record player” for Christmas. That made us chuckle. So we got her a simple Victrola, and Nick, her godfather, sent a handful of new LPs (Foster the People, Walk the Moon, Chvrches, Taylor Swift).
Now, for her birthday, we’ve just given her the Hamilton musical 4-LP soundtrack. Malia’s godmother, Mary, is an Alexander Hamilton expert — she worked at the Massachusetts Historical Society on the Adams Papers — so we’ve paid attention to the Hamilton phenomenon for the last year. And on our trips to St. Croix the last few years, we visited the Christiansted fort where Hamilton’s mother was imprisoned, and we strolled the streets where Hamilton would have walked and worked. So we’re fans. Not surprisingly, as we drove home from seeing the Carolina Ballet perform The Nutcracker last month, Malia, Anna and Oliver impressed us with their flawless Hamilton singing.
Anna has her driver’s permit, and just before Christmas I had her drive me to Mebane, where we visited the outlet mall, then went for coffee at the newish Filament Coffee & Tea. A few doors down is Quirks, a fun “outpost of the odd” where I discovered a corner stack of old LPs. I bought Springsteen’s Darkness on the Edge of Town, and The Wild, the Innocent and the E-Street Shuffle. We listened to those on Christmas morning, as the skillingsboller were rising and Oliver was putting together another LEGO set.
And last week, in Cleveland, at the Loop coffee and record shop, Malia bought me Arlo Guthrie’s Hobo’s Lullaby, for 50 cents. On that vinyl disc is one of my all-time favorite songs, The City of New Orleans.
I like this modern record playing. All that’s old is new again.
End-of-the-year blog post
by Anton Zuiker on December 31, 2016
The Zuikers on Cleveland
Our annual end-of-year sojourn to Cleveland, to visit with family and friends and to explore the city’s culinary and cultural hotspots, has been mostly a bust, with all five of us down with miserable head colds for most of the week. But here’s what we were able to get in:
- Our regular pilgrimage to Little Italy for pizza at Mama Santa, then over to the Cleveland Museum of Natural History to view the Our Global Kitchen exhibit and the cool outdoor Perkins Wildlife Center.
- I took Malia and Oliver for a drive in the Metroparks, with a stop at the Rocky River Nature Center and a climb up the new Fort Hill Steps (155 in all).
- We met up with the cousins for a cold afternoon of tobogganing at the Metroparks Chalet.
- Oliver and I visited the West Side Market this morning, eating our donut and bagel up on the observation bench; then the family met our good friend, Butch, for brunch in Rocky River; on our meandering way home, we popped out at Edgewater Park for a photo with the Cleveland sign.
- Later, I stopped into Breadsmith in Lakewood, and my best friend, Joe, was on his way out. I’d canceled our breakfast earlier in the week, and here fate had brought us together, if only for a minute of conversation.
The years
I wanted to take some time this week to visit the Phoenix Coffee Shop in Ohio City — which roasts coffee beans imported by my friend Badi and his company, Caravela — to sit and write about all that 2016 was and some of what I hope 2017 will be. So here’s a shorter version:
- 2016 was a good year, an active year, a challenging year, a depressing year, and a celebratory year. I’m glad it happened, and I’m glad it’s over.
- 2017 is here, and I’m planning to spend it playing as much soccer as my body can take, visiting the gym to build strength, and finally getting my storytelling project off the ground. There’s also a work trip to Puerto Rico and spring break on St. Croix; a Zuiker Family Reunion in the mountains; a brother’s wedding in Mexico; big goals for my job and plenty of family priorities and projects. And whatever else comes my way.
Jumping at the beach
by Anton Zuiker on September 16, 2016
Malia, Tybee Island
Whenever we are on a beach, we take photos of each of us jumping with joy.