New Year's Open Thread: Who Are You?

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Happy New Year!

It's been a great two years (almost) here at Scienceblogs. But since most readers don't comment, I don't really know who many of you are. Who are you, where are you, what do you do, and what plans/hopes do you have for the upcoming year?

More like this

Name: Laura
Rank: Forensic Scientist and science/plant/craft/gato geek
Place: Alabama
Hopes: For a happier 2010. For me, personally, but I'll extend the good wishes to everyone else, too. :)

I love your blog and have shared many a link or topic with friends and coworkers. Happy New Year!

I live in New Jersey but spent most of the last decade in DC. I write a birding blog, and I'm interested in nature-related art.

52 year old male living in Henderson KY. Broadcast engineer (AV geek) at the University of Southern Indiana. Obsessed with reading the science blogs daily as a sanity check. Plans for 2010 are the same as last year. Try to be a little better than I was the year before. Nice of you to ask.

Who am I? No idea! I had only about 12 hours to self-inspect my 2010 persona and really don't know yet who this creature is....

I'm a humble Libranigan⢠working at the University of Houston.

I can't remember how I came across the Scienceblogs Group - I think one of my friends shared it on Google Reader - but I've found ya'll very entertaining and informative, and look forward to reading more from ya'll in the New Year.

As for my goals for this year (and possibly the next), they are to finish library school as fast as humanly possible!

By Billy Hoya (not verified) on 01 Jan 2010 #permalink

Connie: I was just in KY a month or so ago. Itâs beautiful country.
Bora: Who are you fooling? Everyone knows who you are. :)
Billy: What is a Libranigan? One of my good friends is in library school right now. Good luck!
Pal: youâve really never commented on the blog before? Crazy!
John: your blog helped me to ID several types of birds when I was in DC!
Laura: Perfect New Yearâs wish. I second that. :)

Name: Bryan
Place: Kansas City
What I do: High School Teacher
Hopes and Plans: Nobody comments on my blog either but, unlike you, its probably because I have no readers. My hopes will be to raise my blog profile at least a little; that probably means work on my part. There is always a catch.

Cheers!

Who: Jan, retired IT geek and Elec. Engineer
Where: Central Connecticut
When: I'll turn 70 next week (hope I'm not jinxing myself there)
Why: I, too, read the science blogs daily and obsessively. I really enjoy this one.

I wish a happy and productive New Year to you and everyone out there in cyber-land.

Who: Claire
Where: Maryland (DC metro area)
What: I'm an environmental science student (aspiring naturalist), and I work at a nature center where I host kids' birthday parties (snake wrangling), paint pictures, assist the naturalists, and frolic in the woods. Oh, I work at an art store too. And I have an art/nature blog, but am in the same position as Bryan!
My resolution (one of many!) is to create more art. I hope this is one of yours, too! :) Your work is flawless and always inspiring.
P.S. Just because we don't always comment doesn't mean we don't love BioE! I resolve to post more here, as time permits :)

Who: Tamara (and my nine year old son, Andrew)
Where: DC suburb of Maryland
When: mid thirties
What: Homeschooling (secular) mom with a Master's degree in biological sciences (insect oviposition behavior...I was ABD for quite a while). I teach part time, standardized test prep, which makes me feel kind of like I am supporting an educational theory and system I have begun to despise.
Why: Actually a scienceblogs new addict...I came over here following Sharon Astyk's blog, Casaubon's book.
How (about next year)? Moving to Wisconsin (yay) to live with family and restore a 19th century hotel. Considering a return to grad school in a couple of years in Madison. I have this idea for a distributed science clearinghouse (adult science fair projects on agriculture and sustainability themes.)

Who: Patti
Where : The empty corn-and-soybean fields of Ohio
What : Homeschooling mom of a future scientist or two, blogger, Girl Scout Leader, writer
This Year : Peace on Earth, life on Mars, another kid through college...

Who: Livio
Where: Italy (near Milan)
What: I'm a teacher (Biology) and I have a blog about Cichlids (and science)
When: 42
Why: I, too, read the science blogs.
What: I hope to publish my book about springwaters (in Italian Fontanili).

Name: Tamsin
Where: New Zealand
What: Have been working as a research assistant, but am starting my PhD in Genetics in a couple of months

This year: 1: do some good science. 2: work on science communication - my first points of focus will be science photography, and blogging. 3: have some fun with music - I'm learning drums and I would like to join a choir in 2010.

Long time reader, first time commenter. I really like your blog, it really sticks out in my mind as being unique (I use google reader to read blogs, so sometimes the similar ones can all get a bit blurred in my mind).

Best wishes for the New Year :)

Name:Dan!
Location: Cleveland, Ohio
Interests: I blog about genetic evolution, science, and socitey, full time researcher, and I'm definitely interested in the intersection of science and art, and how the two influence each other.

I was the committee chairperson for the Darwin Day events at Kent State last year, and we had graduate students from a bunch of different departments give talks on how Darwin and evolution influenced their area of study. BY FAR the most entertaining talk was the one on how Darwin influenced Victorian era theater. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to post her video, but it is something you would probably be interested in.

But keep up the good work! I really enjoy your posts.

Keely Chaisson, senior microbiology major at Purdue. Hopefully 2010 will mean grad school for me. Two interviews scheduled so far.

Jan: I wonder if youâre my oldest reader? Any 80-somethings out there? Thanks for disproving the stereotype that only kidz are on blogz.
Claire: I totally want to do more art. And if I do any art this year, it will be more than last year, so I canât fail.
Tamara: havenât been over to Causabonâs Book yet, but Iâve heard good things. You and Patti are way braver than I am with the homeschooling. I am NOT good with kids!
Livio: good luck with the book!

Who: Rob
Where: another in Maryland, just outside DC
What: Data Visualization and Design
2010: myself: start a blog everyone else: peace, health, and happiness

Who are you: a 53 year old forever student, an ex-teacher, a poet and (most definitely) an amateur philosopher
Where are you: Vancouver,BC
What do you do: Fit as many classes as I can into each term, and max out my vacation and flex time both in an effort to minimize the trauma of working for a crown corporation in a field I care almost nothing about
What plans/hopes do you have for the upcoming year: 1) survive, 2) read more stuff on aesthetics and the philosophy of mind, 3) read L'élégance du hérisson en français, 4)write more poetry, and 5)keep working at my blog

Who: Laurie
Where: Toronto, Ontario
What: Lab Technologist, Cytogenetics
Plans: Renovate the kitchen and travel (hopefully I will be able to afford both)
Hopes: That everyone is healthy and happy. Peace on earth would be nice, too.

I enjoy your blog very much. I have commented occasionally, but only when I feel I have something worthwhile to say. Hopefully my comments don't come across as inane!

Who: Chris
Where: The South Shore-South St. Louis city
What: Unix SA for AT&T Backup and Recovery Team

Blogger, Foodie, Dad 2 Be, Husband, Hater of Religion, Cook, Phishhead, Honda Lover, Outdoor Nut and Seeker of World Peace!

Wow! A lot of you are bloggers already or starting blogs. Thatâs great â good luck!

Dan!, I know nothing about how Darwin influenced Victorian theatre â if you find a link or write a post on it, please shoot it my way! Laurie, I recognize your blog handle â youâre not inane at all! :)

Good luck with grad school, Tamsin (I did genetics too) and Keely (crossing my fingers you get in the program you want, Keely). Those of you in the DC Metro area, enjoy it for me â I miss it!

BTW, I am interpreting the pattern that everyone wants world peace to mean that I have the most awesome, altruistic readers ever.

As long as we're calling roll:

a.Neil
b.Lower Putah Creek Watershed, Bear Flag Republic
c.Triassicist in training, marginal cultural studies blogger
d.Measure like a bajillion skulls, publish a paper or three

Big fan of BioE and nice to meet the others!

who: Kevin, deep sea biologist, describer of new species and now population geneticist.
where: Crystal Coast of North Carolina
what: researcher at Duke Marine Lab studying population structure of hydrothermal vent inverts
plan: applying for grad school to get a PhD in systematics, evolution and pop gen of deep sea inverts, move beyond outline for a book planned by myself and my coblogger, write more pop sci articles, finish back log of science manuscripts, enjoy spending time with my wife and kids more!

I rarely comment here, but always read! Keep up the great posts.

Who: Rod
Where: Eastern Ontario
What: Retired chemist
What I do: Putter, read science blogs, run our local Science Fair, write a science column now and again, volunteer at the local High School science class, make sure my grandchildren and nephews are exposed to the wonder of discovery and learning
Plans for 2010: Wife just retired, life undergoing a few changes... should be great!

Mordicai! I live in Brooklyn, I'm married, I work in publishing, & I unironically like roleplaying games. My undergrad was in forensic anthropology, which given my career in publishing, has mostly turned into my hobby.

Laura J, 53, Classics BA '77, MDiv '98, fan of science since stint as periodical librarian in 1982-4. Before the Web. Unemployed admin as'st, avocational archaeologist with NHSCRAP, lonely science fiction fan, 4 cats, 2 spinning wheels, birdfeeder. And I follow John's Twitterfeed!

Neil: w00t skulls! I miss my days teaching anatomy lab. Iâm not sure I even remember all the foramina.
Kevin: thanks for making the time to stop by, despite my dearth of cephalopodicious postings.
Rod: I think you may like the book review I just posted. :)
Mordecai, I confess I do not understand the roleplaying game thing, but my boyfriend loves them also. Have you played Dragon Age? That's his game du jour.
Laura: yet another librarian friend! I have many!

Who: Linda
Where: Colorado
What: Postdoc/Technician, insect population genetics
Hopes: To stay employed in 2010, but also to get more involved in the local food movement here.

Love the blog, Jessica! I've shared it often as well. Best wishes for a fabulous 2010.

Donna; Southeast Pennsylvania; k-12 Earth Science Teacher currently in a Masters in Geoscience Program; Hopes to feel less guilty about enjoying great blogs without ever commenting. Happy New Year, though.

Hello there!

I'm Sarah, and I teach elementary ESOL and train teachers in a village just an hour outside of Beirut. My professional life doesn't include any science directly (except when I take the kids out on "The Earth is a Peppercorn" walk or explain basic principals to them in English), but my non-professional (unprofessional?) life includes a healthy appreciation for science. Wunderkammers in all their forms are an abiding interest, and I enjoy reading your blog for precisely that sense of wonder.

Plans for the new year? Learning Arabic and writing more (in any language).

Thanks, Jessica, for all your work!

I'm a journalist and blogger who likes both science and nature and tries to tease out new connections between the same for the public. (For example, I just posted about underlying similarities between science and poetry.)

What was the other question? Oh yes, hopes for 2010. Among other hopes, I hope to have a chance to write more on another fascinating topic -- the science around women and sex, vs. popular perceptions of same

I am a 51-year-old blogger from Kentucky. I'm no scientist, but I sometimes write about science for non-scientists. I adore all the ScienceBlogs.

Who: Sara
What: Dual degree student, studying biological sciences and fine arts and working for Ohio State University in carbon sequestration as a graphic designer.
Where: Columbus, Ohio
My hope?: It's always the same... to know and understand more by the end of this year than when I started. Always.

Donna â donât feel guilty; most readers donât comment. Thanks for doing it now.
Kit â loved this post, great stuff.
Sarah â thanks for the great compliment! I'm thrilled if BioE is even a little like a Wunderkammer.
LindaCO â great to see you as usual - thanks for the many thoughtful comments.
Miss Celliana, you have an awesome blog name. Bravo.
Sara - that is my hope as well. What are people for, if not to always learn?

Happy New year Jessica :) Thanks for being such a unique read. I read you via Google Reader. Like another reader mentioned sometimes it's easy to get muddled about where I've read/seen something, but not here!

Who:Patricia aka Lady Meerkat
Where: Melbourne, Australia
What: Artist, Visual Merchandiser, (Retail Drone most of the time)
When:Effective action taken worldwide against human accelerated, global warming.

Emma
Former Environmental Studies/Biology student. Currently work in the Marine Biodiversity Center of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, curating dead critters (invertebrates) in jars. I have a fascination with the history of Natural History. I'm hoping that in 2010 I will successfully apply for grad school in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and start some research at my job.
I love your blog-it's my favorite!

DD - I used to live in Northern California. It's beautiful. And Michael5000, I was planning to move to Portland before I got derailed and ended up in Boston. I still like Portland better, of course.

Emma - thanks so much for the compliment! Curating dead things in jars was my childhood dream job.

Lady Meerkat, thanks for sticking with the blog - glad to have you via Google Reader or any other way! :)

Who are you: Ade
where are you: southern california
what do you do and what plans/hopes do you have for the upcoming year: these go together... finish my ph.d., move to d.c. and work in science policy

your blog is unique among many science-related blogs i read and i enjoy stopping by and seeing what interesting things you've dug up! :-)