Movie Astronomers

On Friday, N and J went to see the new Thor movie. I wish I could have come because I like watching movies with them but J said that they don't allow dogs in the movie theatre. I am apparently allowed on the bus here but not allowed to see a movie. I guess I will have to wait until they get it on dvd.

Anyway, I digress. After the movie, J and N were discussing the difference between movie astrophysicists and real astrophysicists. In the movie, the two main astrophysicist characters are shown to know how to detect gravitational anomalies using weird instruments and create essentially worm holes at a whim.  J mentioned that when Hollywood wants to depict a character to be really smart they always go for an astrophysicist. N said that she found it funny that she is an astrophysicist and she has no idea what the heck they were doing in the movie. Granted she does study a small part of the spectrum of astrophysics, but that brings up another point. The general public will assume that because you are an astrophysicist that you know everything about the subject. Unfortunately that is not the case. I asked N once when peanut butter came into existence within the universe and she said she had no idea.

On the other hand, there is a large portion of the public that has no idea what Astrophysics is. Most times when N or J say what they are they either get a blank stare or get asked questions about the most recent astro news on TV....which usually has nothing to do with what they do. It is a bit better with shows like The Big Bang theory, however we generally don't get to see what Kuthrapoli does. Likewise the public image of astrophysics is people working at a telescope or working on space missions, however there are many less high profile people who just work at computers producing simulations or theories for the observers to confirm or deny. And there are observers who never set foot on a telescope site because their telescopes are in space beaming back pretty pictures...and some not so pretty pictures. Unfortunately, not all observations look like Hubble observations. Some of the most powerful observations come from the squiggly lines of spectra.

Where am I going with this...oh ya. I guess what I wanted to say was that from living with these two astronomers I have found out that some parts of astronomy can be pretty boring...like making tables and figures...but the results and the chance to find something that nobody has seen before is what keeps them going. And I plan to help them in any way I can...unless I am sleeping, or eating, or dreaming about eating, or gnawing on my toys.

Speaking of gnawing, I know I left my rawhide around here somewhere...

Comfy Spot

When we moved here to Leeds, our stuff did not follow very quickly. I am told that it will arrive this Friday but until it arrives, I have had to find new comfy places to sleep. I had several favourite spots where I would snooze. These included two separate corners, my pillows and N's pillow. There are several things that make a good place to sleep including proximity, environment and of course comfiness.

Here is my guide for finding the most comfy spot to sleep.

1. All spots are viable spots. It does not matter if a spot is currently occupied, it is still a viable spot.

2. Depending on the time of year, consider whether you want to be cool or warm. In the case of cool, the best places include hard wood and tile floors. For warm, try to find a pillow or blanket to lie on. Even better is to find a human to snuggle up against or around.

3. Proximity to your humans is key. If you can try to be as close as possible while still maintaining comfort. If you have more than one human that you are looking after, try to make sure that you are in between them. If you you are trying to be cool/warm and this requires you to be in a different room, make sure that you can see your humans.

4. Comfiness is key. Soft pillows are the best. Especially if they already are being used. My favourite spot is N's pillow, curled around her head. Sometimes I will curl around and lie my head on hers or on her neck. If you cannot fit on a pillow with your human's head, then the next best place is on their chest or at their feet.

I have lost three of my four favourite spots from London. Two because we no longer have hardwood floors and the other because my pillows have not arrived (that will change on Friday I guess). I do still have Nicole's pillow and I guess it has been adequate, but I will enjoy my pillows and the actual bed once they arrive.