Ten things I like that start with the letter "F"

I really thought for a moment that sistercoyote was going to give me 'Q', especially after mentioning it in her own post. ;-)

1. Futurama - One of the best sci-fi shows ever produced, IMHO, poking fun at every concept in the genre and managing to pull off some excellent heart-wrenching storytelling along the way.
   
   
2. Fog - Just a cloud at ground level, but I've always been fascinated by it, scientifically and aesthetically.
   
   
3. Frost - Another fascinating meteorological phenomenon, it's just water that's either frozen from dew or deposited directly from vapor. Can be simultaneously beautiful and dangerous.
   
   
4. Fourier - Jean Baptiste Joseph Fourier, 1768 - 1830, came up with some of the most useful mathematical concepts ever devised. In my previous field, I was fascinated by how both light (electromagnetic) and sound waves could be represented as a spectrum of frequencies mathematically thanks to Fourier. What's been even more interesting has been a more recent revelation (to me) that in meteorology, so many aspects exhibit wave-like behavior and can also be studied via Fourier transforms.
   
   
5. Females - Does this need an explanation?
   
   
6. Fire - I've always been fascinated by fire. Sure, it's just the light and heat energy of something reacting with oxygen in the air, but it can be so pretty. In years past, friends and I who considered ourselves pyromaniacs used to find many ways to observe fire. And we were always safety- and other people's property-conscious.
   
   
7. Falcons - One of many species of bird I love. I'm particularly fond of most waterfowl and raptor species; these, owls, and bald eagles are my favorites among the latter.
   
   
8. Franklin - Benjamin Franklin, 1706 - 1790. Founding Father and inspirational polymath. I think there are only two well-known ideas of his I don't like: the thought of using the turkey as the national bird symbol, and Daylight Saving Time. Among many other things, he's often considered a father of modern meteorology.
   
   
9. Flight - The concept that anything higher in density than air can successfully traverse aloft is another thing I find fascinating, from birds to jumbo jets. Insects don't fascinate me so much, as they're often lighter than air and can be carried high in the troposphere, often in large enough quantities to be visible on weather radar.
   
   
10. Film - Sure, I've switched most of my photography to digital, and, if one can/wants to pay enough, its quality is up to film quality, but there's something intangibly cool about film. Maybe it's the photochemical processes involved that intrigue me so much. Plus, having used a 4x5 view camera just like some of the pioneers in the field, there's something rewarding in a good shot that took 20 minutes to make sure it is just right, merely because of how involved and expensive large-format film photos can be.

Things

Had my first class yesterday afternoon. Partial Differential Equations. Prof is from Bulgaria. I didn't seem to have any problems understanding him through his accent, and he seems pretty laid-back. Homework every couple of weeks, but nothing yet. The only potentially bad thing is that exams are not during class (MWF 2:30-3:20pm), but in the evenings. I see his point that 50 minutes is not long enough for some of these kinds of problems. I just hope he looks for class input for availability (they don't for lower-level undergrad class evening exams, but this class is taken by most math Ph.D. students as it's one used to prepare them for their qualifying exam), as Toni and I have Robin Williams tickets for October 2nd. My new office mate is in the class with me, and she admitted that Slavic accents put her to sleep. Add to that the fact that it's in the MATH building, a 15-minute brisk walk across campus, after lunch, in a room with no windows, and she's asked me to sit behind her so I can nudge her awake periodically. :-)

Still slow-going getting the new place in order. I still have several things to hang, but many of them require Toni's help, and she's resting a bruised ankle. Did get my desk together on Sunday, but I still need to set up the server and start unpacking the boxes in that room. Today has been blown off due to bad brain fog, even post-caffeination. I want the server so I can set up our little label printer to label my class notebooks, and so I can get the photos I took of the new place at move-in off my camera. Several people still want to see the library full of 200+ boxes of books.

I have been slowly getting my bicycle accouterments ready. I let my Camelbak reservoir sit overnight full of water with a cap full of bleach. Dumped that, scrubbed and rinsed it out this afternoon, and it's now sitting full with a couple tablespoons of baking soda for another night to get rid of any bleach taste. Washed my water bottles also. Got a battery for my road bike's computer, but I can't find the computer for the hybrid. May have to replace it, this time with a wireless one so I don't have to get someone at the LBS to install it (cabled computers, IMHO, are a pain to install). Performance is having a web sale I may take advantage of. I'd also get a jersey and padded shorts that fit if I knew what size to get. In my experience, bike clothes are inconsistent with regard to sizes. So, I may just finish this riding season wearing regular athletic shorts and t-shirts. As long as my butt doesn't die from the saddle. I have found my gel saddle pad, though, which will help some.

datagoddess made me do it.

Things I like that begin with the letter 'C':

1. Clouds - I've photographed them in the sky. Now I study them. From cumulus to cirrus to cumulonimbus. From cloud-condensation nuclei to collision-coalescence to condensation coefficients. You might say my head is frequently in the clouds. ;-)
   
   
2. Cameras - I'm a very visual person, and these have long been fascinating tools for me. From simple box cameras to view cameras to 35mm to digital point-and-shoots.
   
   
3. Canyons - Being visual, these are geographic/geological features I find pleasing to view and explore.
   
   
4. Calculus - I seem to have a knack for this over some simpler things like algebra. It's just chopping things up into tiny tiny pieces to calculate a rate or an area.
   
   
5. Cartoons - I grew up on Looney Tunes, and still go for shows like The Simpsons, Family Guy, etc. Persistence of vision is fascinating, especially when the work starts with something someone drew.
   
   
6. Cats - From domesticated varieties to big tigers and lions, I think cats are cool.
   
   
7. Chocolate - Mmmmm... chocolate. Dark, especially, but I won't turn down a Hershey bar from time to time.
   
   
8. Cheese - Unfortunately, I think I've recently developed lactose intolerance, but they're not going to take away my cheese, dammit! Lactaid to the rescue.
   
   
9. Chemistry - To me, this goes hand in hand with physics. You can't study how stuff works without knowing about the stuff, and you can't study the stuff without knowing how it works. :-)
   
   
10. Cows - Gary Larson was once asked why he drew cows so often in The Far Side. His answer: Because cows are funny.