Wikipedia Trails: From Parachute to Mortar and pestle

Apollo 15 Parachute Malfunction (Wikipedia)

Parachute: I started off with Parachute because the class twitter had a link to an article about inventors whose inventions led to their demise, so I was immediately reminded of the inventor of the parachute who jumped off the Eiffel tower, but it didn't deploy and he died.

Barber's Pole Closeup (Wikipedia)

Barber's Pole: They use this to describe a situation where the lines tangle and resemble a barber's pole, so I thought about it and was interested in knowing where they came from.

Show Globe (Wikipedia)

Show Globe: These were used by apothecaries as a method of advertising, much like the Barber's Pole, I've never heard of this before so I clicked on it.

Mortar and Pestle (Wikipedia)

Mortar and Pestle: Also used by pharmacists and apothecaries. In retrospect it makes sense because people used to crush medicine with these.

Growth Mindset: More Cats

Reflect (Growth Mindset Blog)

I chose this picture because it really captures the concept of reflection. It seems like a perfect spot to reflect is alone staring into a lake, though it does seem a bit cliche. Well, I guess it's cliche for a reason anyways. The picture looks nice as well.

Feedback Discomfort (Growth Mindset Blog)

This picture is really good at symbolizing discomfort from feedback. The cat is looking at its own reflection (a viewpoint of itself projected from something other than its own point of view), and is surprised as what it sees. I feel like this is the case a lot with feedback. You take feedback from people who don't share the same opinions and viewpoints as you and it can be quite an experience if you haven't dealt with feedback before.

Learning Challenge: Deskercise

The coveted treadmill desk (Flickr)

https://smallbiztrends.com/2015/10/deskercise-desk-exercises.html

So I'm already doing arm stretches, since sitting in a chair makes you kind of want to do that, doesn't it? The shoulder and neck stretches are also pretty satisfying and get you a little bit more energized. I also do wrist stretches occasionally since I can tire them out through drawing and typing. Don't want to develop carpal tunnel syndrome now. Some of these workouts seem really odd though and I wouldn't do it in public. I mean, could you imagine someone throwing windmill punches in their chair like they're trying to pulverize the air or something?

Week 4 Review

Dune (Class Announcements)

I chose the picture of Dune because it's the greatest science fiction novel of all time. The spice must flow. Also, I didn't know it was the anniversary of Frank Herbert's death today.

Really interesting to see how the book was received back when it came out, seeing as it's seen as a timeless classic today. Also gives some nice insight into what he was thinking when he wrote Dune.

Tech Tips: Ninja Cat and Zombie Dinosaurs

http://games.sense-lang.org/sense_NinjaCat.php

So I'm pretty good at touch typing, but this game is pretty hard sometimes. When I say that I mean I'll be in the middle of typing something and the game throws like 6 dinosaurs at me at once, haha. The levels are pretty long but apart from that the game's alright.

Week 4 Story: Final Communication from Orion Station

Tar Seep (Wikipedia)

SAMSON: So flip mode control on.. like that, okay. This is Samson from Orion station, anyone receiving?

EAGLE STATION: Copy Orion, this is Eagle station receiving. What happened?

SAMSON: I'm not too sure myself, we've got multiple hull breaches. Whole station depressurized while I was in airlock. I'm pretty sure that I'm the only one here now.

EAGLE STATION: Where are you now, Samson?

SAMSON: East Wing Comms room. Still in my suit since I haven't found a part of the station that wasn't shot to hell. Need coordinates for evac shuttle ASAP. I'm going to try to link comms with my suit.

EAGLE STATION: Confirm comm link. Sending coordinate data. Are you able to link video feed?

SAMSON: I might have damaged the camera during depressurization. I still can't believe the station didn't blow up from that.

EAGLE STATION: Do you still have access to your research files?

SAMSON: I think that's lost already, Eagle. I'm heading to the East Wing evac shuttles.

EAGLE STATION: Acknowledged.

---

SAMSON: Uh, Eagle station this is Samson.

EAGLE STATION: Receiving.

SAMSON: I, uh, see some kind of black tar coating the East Wing's corridors through the door panel. It's moving around so I think I'm going to evacuate through the hangar's shuttles.

EAGLE STATION: Wait, you're seeing black tar in the East Wing?

SAMSON: Yeah, it looks like it's coagulating or something. Squirms around too, like it's trying to collect together. I'm running low on air though, need to get moving.

---

SAMSON: Eagle station, I'm at the hangar. Boarding the evac shut-

EAGLE STATION: Comms link reestablished. Are you receiving, Samson?

SAMSON: Sorry Eagle, had to get out fast. Didn't have time to link coordinates. The whole place started falling apart, or it started being crushed or something. Had to get out soon though.

EAGLE STATION: Alright Samson, send shuttle trajectory and give us a visual report of Orion's current status if you can.

SAMSON: Holy hell... Orion's surrounded by this stuff!

EAGLE STATION: What 'stuff'?

SAMSON: The tar! The black tar! And... are those tendrils? They're pulling apart the entire station, Jesus!

EAGLE STATION: Samson, do you have any way to visually capture this tar?

SAMSON: God, it's like it's pulling the station towards it... swallowing it...

EAGLE STATION: Samson, we still need you to send your trajectory for resc-

SAMSON: It's gone- the entire station! Oh my god, it's growing! What have w-

EAGLE STATION: Samson, send trajectory now.

EAGLE STATION: Samson, confirm that you're receiving.

EAGLE STATION: Comm link severed. Attempting to reestablish.

Author's Note: This story is very loosely based off of Kumbhakharna. In the Ramayana, Kumbhakarna is the younger brother of Ravana. He's a giant who slept for months at a time due to an accidental curse placed upon him. After waking, he would eat everything around him. As he fought Rama, he was reduced to inches of flesh but kept fighting. This made me think of a kind of ancient alien species. I wanted the species in my story to be kind of like grey goo, in that they're microscopic organisms that gather together into one mass, absorbing everything around it. The story leaves a lot to the imagination but the research project being conducted at the Orion woke this ancient evil and it started consuming the station. As Samson escapes, a tendril reaches him and he's absorbed into the tar as well.

Bibliography: The Ramayana by R. K. Narayan

Reading Notes: Ramayana Part D

Rama and Hanuman vs Ravana (Wikipedia)

Reading through Hanuman's infiltration, I can see a couple major points: Hanuman sees Ravana's wife and mistakes her for Sita until closer inspection, then Hanuman finds Sita guarded by multiple Rakshasas, then Hanuman turns giant and destroys the villa. After this he allows himself to get caught and his punishment was to have his tail set on fire. This backfires as Hanuman escapes and burns down the entire city with his tail. I feel like I could write a spy story about this where an agent infiltrates a complex, gets caught, then is sent to be executed by a flamethrower. He steals the flamethrower and uses it to wreak havoc on the complex and escape. I also like Vibhishana. He's been telling Ravana to release Sita otherwise he'll be killed, but Ravana gets angry and tells him to leave or die. This was a breaking point for Vibhishana and he joins Rama's side and shows Ravana that he was right. I could cover Vibhishana's pleas with Ravana, Ravana's outburst, and Vibhishana's mental battle that ends in him joining Rama. I feel like I could also cover the fight with Kumbakarna. Since the story mentions Kumbakarna fighting with only inches of his body left intact, I could make a story like Alien or The Thing where scientists are trapped in a station with a very durable and deadly creature. I also want to do a story about Rama's fight with Ravana. The climax where Rama used the Brahmastra was really exciting and I could make a story just about the fight alone.

Bibliography: The Ramayana by R. K. Narayan

Reading Notes: Ramayana Part C

Killing of Jatayu (Wikipedia)

I liked the scene where Ravana fought with Jatayu. It emphasized Jatayu's size a lot and the mental image that it brings up when it says it was as if a mountain slammed into the chariot was impressive. Ravana having to resort to using the Chandrahasa is a testament to the strength of the bird. I could write a more detailed battle between them. Reading Sugreeva's story reminds me a bit of a story about a superhero. The part that particularly makes me think of a plot of a comic is the way Vali chased after Mayavi, disappearing for years, only to return to find his country abandoning him. He becomes enraged over this and tries to kill Sugreeva, then returns as ruler of the country and takes Sugreeva's wife as his own. I could write a story like this but with a more superhero oriented twist. I'd also include the clash between Sugreeva and Vali, as well as Rama piercing Vali's chest. The idea of Vali being invincible and being defeated by the incarnation of a god is really interesting. The questioning of Rama's heroism and the sad farewell at the end could also be included.

Bibliography: The Ramayana by R. K. Narayan