• Who am I?

    I am Qrystal; or at least, that's my dot-name! Har har. (My name is really Crystal, but that's not as internet-searchable; hence, switching the C for the little-used letter Q.)

    I am here because I enjoy writing. I do this mostly for myself, but I also have a passion for helping others learn things from the things I write. Now that I am done my Ph.D. in Physics, I am stepping away from academic research so that I can indulge in some creative ways to share my knowledge and inspire the appreciation of scientific thinking in others. I am also working as a tutor, which is one of the jobs I've most enjoyed doing in my life so far.


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    • Farewell, Phoenix

    Monday, November 10th, 2008

    Phoenix Mars Lander sent its farewell transmission from Mars today: 01010100 01110010 01101001 01110101 01101101 01110000 01101000 <3 (Translation: Triumph and Love.) After that, the only messages in the tweetstream were ones labelled as coming from Phoenix mission ops, explaining that “Phoenix is no longer communicating with Earth.” Poor little droid! R.I.P. I’m actually teary-eyed now… although I guess I knew [...]

    Lack of Funding in Science

    Wednesday, October 1st, 2008

    If lack of funding drives our most promising young people away from careers in research, the long-term damage to science could be significant,” Finneran said. To prevent this, he said, scientists may have to learn how to fight for what research dollars they can get. U.S. Bailout May Set Back Science Funding, Experts Fear. I’m [...]

    Returning to Science from Insanity

    Monday, September 15th, 2008

    A man who had been in a mental home for some years finally seemed to have improved to the point where it was thought he might be released. The head of the institution, in a fit of commendable caution, decided, however, to interview him first. “Tell me,” said he, “if we release you, as we [...]

    Big Earth, Little Moon

    Thursday, July 17th, 2008

    “HOLY FRAK! Moon transits Earth!” So says Phil Plait, famed “Bad Astronomy” debunker. This video is indeed awe-inspiring, and even though his article prepared me for awesomeness, I still found myself with my breath caught in my throat.  The moon really looks like such a little rock orbiting the earth, and just the visual impact [...]

    Science Hierarchy

    Monday, June 23rd, 2008

    xkcd comic #435 – “Purity” Strangely, I’ve been thinking of this very notion a lot recently.  It’s neat how the different sciences operate on different scopes, and how they’re related by this hierarchy.  Awesome! NOTE: There is more to this comic than meets the eye… you must go to the site to hover over the [...]