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extrapenguinAnd once again, I spent a week without posting anything, whoops.
Jukebox reveals are just around the corner. Before that, I'll try to read through some more of the Hugos voter packet. This year, I aim to get to do the zines.
The title is from loading up an old project of mine, Poem Line For Title, which just RNGs a poem line to be used as a title. View the page source (Ctrl+U) to see the pool from which it chooses. The random's choice was rather apt, as today at work, we did a "science demo" to some schoolkids (well, teens) involving putting roses into liquid nitrogen, then giving them to the kids when thoroughly frozen, and letting the kids shatter them onto a tray (to minimize clean-up). Chatting with the new co-worker today about the liquid nitrogen and the flowers (scientists: people who never grew up past the age of 5 and see no reason to), I recalled this Tumblr post about Romace Tokens vs the actually romantic. (Romance Tokens: stuff society sees as romantic. Actually Romantic: something that is tailored to the recip's desires.) I do not like flowers. Culture says I should like them, but I don't. They aren't that pretty, and also, they only last for a bit before having to be thrown away. Stuffing a bouquet in liquid nitrogen and then shattering the flowers, one by one, on the other hand is much more appealing. Indeed, I might even call it enthralling. By liberal application of liquid nitrogen (which boils at -196°C, or 77 K, or -320°Fake, whichever you prefer), Appreciation Tokens transform into something I can have fun with. (Liquid nitrogen is fun by itself, too, of course. After the roses ran out, I quickly – quickly! – dunked fingers in and out*, and also got to play with exhaling into the container, which generated a vast cloud of tiny ice crystals like frost, and made the air currents visible.)
Hm, I wouldn't have gotten all that without my prompt generator. I'd have just left it at "I got to play with liquid nitrogen at work – it's still cool!" and not had the red thread of the roses throughout. Perhaps I should try to use it as self-reflection and writing prompt more often.
* The way this works is that my finger is warm enough (c. 37°C) that it evaporates itself a protective envelope of gaseous nitrogen, which is a worse conductor of heat. Done quickly enough, the envelope doesn't dissipate. Don't leave the finger in.
Jukebox reveals are just around the corner. Before that, I'll try to read through some more of the Hugos voter packet. This year, I aim to get to do the zines.
The title is from loading up an old project of mine, Poem Line For Title, which just RNGs a poem line to be used as a title. View the page source (Ctrl+U) to see the pool from which it chooses. The random's choice was rather apt, as today at work, we did a "science demo" to some schoolkids (well, teens) involving putting roses into liquid nitrogen, then giving them to the kids when thoroughly frozen, and letting the kids shatter them onto a tray (to minimize clean-up). Chatting with the new co-worker today about the liquid nitrogen and the flowers (scientists: people who never grew up past the age of 5 and see no reason to), I recalled this Tumblr post about Romace Tokens vs the actually romantic. (Romance Tokens: stuff society sees as romantic. Actually Romantic: something that is tailored to the recip's desires.) I do not like flowers. Culture says I should like them, but I don't. They aren't that pretty, and also, they only last for a bit before having to be thrown away. Stuffing a bouquet in liquid nitrogen and then shattering the flowers, one by one, on the other hand is much more appealing. Indeed, I might even call it enthralling. By liberal application of liquid nitrogen (which boils at -196°C, or 77 K, or -320°Fake, whichever you prefer), Appreciation Tokens transform into something I can have fun with. (Liquid nitrogen is fun by itself, too, of course. After the roses ran out, I quickly – quickly! – dunked fingers in and out*, and also got to play with exhaling into the container, which generated a vast cloud of tiny ice crystals like frost, and made the air currents visible.)
Hm, I wouldn't have gotten all that without my prompt generator. I'd have just left it at "I got to play with liquid nitrogen at work – it's still cool!" and not had the red thread of the roses throughout. Perhaps I should try to use it as self-reflection and writing prompt more often.
* The way this works is that my finger is warm enough (c. 37°C) that it evaporates itself a protective envelope of gaseous nitrogen, which is a worse conductor of heat. Done quickly enough, the envelope doesn't dissipate. Don't leave the finger in.