Never Late, Always Remember

When I started this blog, I was on the verge of turning 30 and I wanted to reflect and focus on me. After all, that's the single most important relationship I will ever have in my life. I spent the previous years entrenched in things that I thought I needed to do and at the time, enjoyed but what started as desire became obligation. More than a year later, some things have come full circle but none, more than my return to FanExpo.

I started working FanExpo in 2000 when it was still in its infancy. To me, this was a time when the idea of a girl admitting that she enjoys the Star Trek franchise (most notably TNG), wasn't popular. It was one fateful afternoon when things changed. I left for various reasons and as I've gotten older, I've started to realize what's important to me and what I like. Maybe it was this mental growth but I'm not all too sure what made me decide to return and "work the con"; but, old friends (and new) quickly accepted me back into the fold.

Things have changed a lot: the show now spans the entire MTCC complex and there was a record attendance of over 100,000 patrons. What a weekend! I was assigned to the Premium Lounge where we oversaw the Premium ticket holders' swag bag give-away and helped maintain the state of the space. I don't usually talk to strangers and find that when put into social situations, I keep mostly to myself. However, I felt very comfortable among the crowds and was able to spend most of the weekend chattering away. I know... me, chatting with strangers like we're old friends! In fact, I would safely say I made some new friends this weekend.

Now to get to the fun stuff! What did I do while at the expo? I worked mostly. But I had the opportunity to walk the show floor when it was virtually empty and to see all the neat stuff that the different vendors brought with them after the show closed one of the evenings. It reminded me of an episode of "Today's Special" when they run around the mall at night. One of the highlights is when I met Tony Moore of the Walking Dead comic series. He is both the creator and artist (first 20 issues) of the story. In both instances, I "geeked out" and felt like a kid in a candy store again!

Although there is over 750,000 sqft of space designated for corporate vendors, independent artists, celebrities, workshops, seminars and many other events, any patron who goes will tell you that they go, for more than the cool toys and the opportunity to meet their heroes. This weekend is a chance to make friends and to be yourself among others who are doing the exact same thing. Since I started, the attendance has grown 9x what it used to be. That's incredible! It's encouraging to see the wide range of demographics and entire families dressed up together, to enjoy the weekend. Sure, you can think it's a cash grab but the expo is literally a chance for all the geeks and nerds to congregate in one place and socialize and do business. For us big kids, it's a chance to continue reliving and enjoying the stories, characters and themes of our yester-years.

Perspective

Hello readers, ADW here!

I must confess that I have a fascination with space. Ever since I was a young boy, I have wanted to be an astronaut. One thing on my bucket list is "Go into space", and I'm seriously hoping I will have that opportunity some day. Now that I have been properly introduced by my better half and invited to share my own thoughts on this blog, I feel like I have a space (pun intended. Har har!) where I can share a bit of my fascination.

Today, I’d like to discuss the size of our universe. I have often marveled at the enormity of our universe and dreamt about the many mysteries we have yet to uncover. Space is big, and there are likely lots of amazing things we have yet to learn. 

First, let’s start by looking at the celestial bodies in our solar system… Our Sun is approximately 1 million times larger than our little planet Earth.

And our Sun is small when compared to other stars within our own galaxy…

At this point, the relative sizes being discussed are too vast for my puny human brain to comprehend, but let’s continue this exercise anyways because I find it fun, and it’s my blog entry. Below is a comparison of more stars in our galaxy. Some of you who are rabid Star Trek fans (like me) will recognize the name Rigel, famous for the planetRigle VII. Fans of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy may recognize Betelgeuse.

Next, we have a depiction of our very own Milky Way Galaxy. Within our galaxy, there are approximately 200 to 400 BILLION stars!

And within the universe, researchers now estimate that there are at least 176 billion galaxies, based on what we can observe with our telescopes! But, there are likely many times that number.

When you really try to think about how big the universe is, it can be quite humbling. This isn’t to say that what we do doesn’t matter, because I believe our actions matter within the context of our own world and the people around us. However, it does help to know that when something just isn’t going quite right or you’re having a crappy day, the universe will go on. Besides, chances are good that some poor alien in another galaxy, whose planet is about to be destroyed by a supernova, is likely having a worse day.

Always the Optimist

I sneak peek people's reading material on the subway. While I usually have some reading material of my own (current: The Big Short by Michael Lewis), I periodically peek at what other people are reading--particularly when they're reading a paper.

This morning, I saw an article about Joseph Kony (more about this tomorrow) and the solar flares that will possibly affect our technology today. When I first heard about this news, I was really excited because I am an avid nature/space/science hobbyist (can you be a hobbyist in such an area?). This sort of thing interests me and that morning, I spent part of the morning reading about it instead of *ahem* doing what I should have been doing.

So, today I heard this news while trying to get out of bed. CBC often has great coverage on stuff like this so I checked out their website and found the newest coverage. Looks like the sun spot eruption happened on Tuesday and they were expecting the actual flare to hit Earth around 1am-5am Thursday (today). They're still waiting and nothing has glitched yet.

(on a side note, I found equally great coverage on BBC)

The reason people are generally concerned about the effects of the solar flare is because of the fact that it may or may not disrupt the technology we enjoy. When I think about people in (blind) panic, en masse, I remember the Eastern Seaboard blackout in 2003. I remember coming home from my coop in Burlington and the radio just went out. I wouldn't figure out what just happened and continued on my merry way. By the time I got home, I realized that nothing was working.

While part of me recollects the following few days of technology-free bliss, another part of me (the paranoid nutjob) imagined a zombie apocalypse (or any apocalypse, for that matter). I'd probably be the poor sucker who couldn't tell the difference and while fiddling with my radio equipment, get eaten while screaming for my life. Not a pretty picture.

Anyways, there's no need to panic since it's just a solar flare and not the end of our solar system as we know it. Though, if the sun exploded, it might just be fast and swift so there is no screaming for my life while a zombie rips out my insides and eats me alive.

A Great Leader is the Same, Anywhere, Anytime

I found an awesome blog post from Forbes Magazine. It's titled Five Leadership Lessons from James T. Kirk. I thought this was ingenius! So, today I'm going to summarize the blog post and if you're interested, you can check out the original blog post by Alex Knapp. Alex Knapp writes for Forbes about the future of science, technology and culture. Sounds like an all round nerd/geek to me :)

While I never got that engrossed with the Kirk franchise since he always struck me as being kitschy and an all round womanizing playboy, I have to admit, when you strip all that stuff away, I'd follow this guy into space on a starship. Then again, many of the Starfleet captains would fit this description as well...

1. Never Stop Learning: "You know the greatest danger facing us is ourselves, an irrational fear of the unknown. But there's no such thing as the unknown--only things temporarily hidden, temporarily not understood."

2. Have Advisors with Different Worldviews: "One of the advantages of being a captain, Doctor, is being able to ask for advice without necessarily having to take it."

3. Be part of the Away Team: "Risk is our business. That's what this starship is all about. That's why we're aboard her."

4. Play Poker, Not Chess: "Not chess, Mr. Spock. Poker. Do you know the game?"

5. Blow up the Enterprise: "All I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by. 'You could feel the wind at your back in those days. The sounds of the seas beneath you, and even if you take away the wind and the water it's still the same. The ship is yours. You can feel her. And the stars are still there, Bones"

Just in: Solar Flares Forecasted for 2012 and 2013

I haven't had many posts about things that intrigue me.

I've always been fascinated with nature and science--perhaps the reason for my desire to get a science Bachelors from school. Even though I'm not working anywhere near a science related industry, I find myself always quickly clicking on the article link about something that happens in nature.

The latest one to catch my eye is from CBC about "Massive solar flares not expected to cause disruptions". What exactly is going on? Well, our Sun is an active star that has "cycles"--11 years to be exact. In essence, every 11 years, there is a peak of activity in our Sun, such as solar flares.

These solar flares are eruptions which spew out into space (solar wind). As a result, our solar system gets a spewing of ions, electrons and atoms in the form of radiation. First, electromagnetic radiation, then proton radiation and finally, the plasma from the sun (coronal mass ejection).

Usually, our technology dependant society gets a little worried because all this solar ejection can sometimes disrupt the "radiation" which we enjoy... in the form of cellular phone service, radio, television... etc. In other situations, it can knock out entire power grids, like it did in 1989, for Quebec. And we can't forget about the astronauts out in space or the satellites that carry all our signals... but a really neat bonus for us Torontonians is that we have the opportunity to view the aurora borealis in our backyards.

And really, who cares if the power grid goes out for a day or two. I don't have to go to work!

This storm has been classified as the largest one since the Halloween Storms of 2003. The Halloween Storms were so powerful that they were seen as far south as Florida and Texas!