Rainbows, Butts, and Science with The Stepsisters

I was a guest on The Stepsisters last night.  The StepSisters is a collaborative blog by Rae of @FromRaewithLove, Shai of @ShaiUnfiltered, Eva of @SocaMomDC, and Tanisha of @GirlMeetsGlass (shown below).

We talked about my Black Weblog Awards nomination (vote here!) , the awesomeness of science, and rainbows coming out of peoples's butts. Check it out!

Other guests on the show include Erika from Your Chic is Showing, Taya Dunn Johnson from MrsTDJ.com, and Fleur & Elphie from Witches Brew.  Check out the full video below!

An Awesome Poster on Social Media for Space

One of my space geek Facebook friends has recently taken it to the next level. Remco Timmerman put together a poster on social media and the space industry. If my tons of NASA posts haven't let you know already, social media has played a huge impact in furthering the public impact of space research.

Remco's poster,  "Social Media for Space",  was presented at the International Space University ISU alumni weekend poster session last weekend. According to the ISU Facebook page, "ISU provides an interdisciplinary education in the context of an intercultural and international environment to support the development of future leaders." They always have a great YouTube channel chock full of space stuff.

Check out the poster below. A higher res version is available for download here. 

Geeks Are Taking Over YouTube Next Week

YouTube is featuring a ton of great geeky stuff from August 4th - 10th.  A quick view of the video below shows geek heroes such as Bill Nye and Felicia Day. They also give a great definition of the word "geek":

"We're the biggest fans. We're curious about the world. We question what's possible" 

Being a geek is not just about playing video games, reading comic books, etc. It's about being comfortable with who you are and never letting the status quo change something that you believe in.

Check out http://yt.be/geekweek all next week for some pic nerdery

Reefcasting The Google Chromecast

If you want to watch Netflix and YouTube on your television, you have a few options -  video game console, Blu ray player, smart TV, Apple TV, or Roku Box. Google has developed an alternative that is both more affordable and easier to set up  The Google Chromecast lets any iOS or Android device, as well as any computer running the Google Chrome browser, control video streaming on your television. For $35, it's a steal. Check out my video review below!

#ScienceLooksGood Only When You Treat Everyone Equally

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The above video is the sad attempt by the European Commission to promote gender diversity in the sciences.  What were they thinking? How about you just ... show normal looking women participating in science experiments? They don't have to be doing "cute" things like trying to be fashionable, analyzing makeup, or striking a pose every time the camera is on them. Support women by showing women.

Sometimes I think these marketing companies outthink themselves when they're trying to be creative and come up with a commercial that gains traction. Unfortunately, this particular commercial went viral for the wrong reason.  Whether it's gender diversity, racial diversity, age diversity, or any thing else - we just want to see people that look like us doing what we want to do. That's it.

For better examples of promoting diversity, see WiSE (Women in Science and Engineering) and NSBE (National Society of Black Engineers). Don't forget about Liu Yang, the first Chinese woman in space and a national hero?

Your move, European Commission.