School and misc

I have decided (80% decided) to drop my climate change impacts class. It's not exactly what I thought it would be like. I like the lectures because it tells you things about climate change, how to observe data to determine if and when trends are occurring and stuff like that, but our assignments are about how to convince people climate change is occurring at certain ecological levels. These are not climate skeptics, but those who just have not been that involved with the news or science. I just find the assignments a little tedious when I already have my policy class that has similar assignments and a ton of reading for each class. I think it's a good class to have in the science field, I just don't think I really want to put the effort in this quarter for it. So I'm on the verge of dropping and just attending the lectures and not doing the assignments. We will also have to analyze data and show the climate change impacts. I don't know...I'm just not that jazzed about the class after I've sat in two lectures already. One part of me says, "This would be a good class to take so you can communicate climate science" and the other side of me goes, "I really don't need these tedious assignments to learn how to communicate climate science when this is not a communications class, but a climate change impacts class. So all I'm really saying is, "The snow will not last as long!" or something like that and that's just not as interesting." So...Yeah. I just may listen to the lectures to learn the impacts (my original reason I wanted to take the class) and skip the assignments.

In other news, I found out how to give Otis and Lotus their own FB link! You have to have a minimum of 25 people and their pages does! You can directly connect to their page without logging in at this link: https://www.facebook.com/Otis.Lotus. You have to be signed up with FB to be able to comment, but you can read everything and view everything. :) Of course, to see updates in your feed, you need to like them.

I also got my Oberon iPad cover today! It's amazing and so much fun to touch, smell, and look at. It definitely catches your eye when it's just sitting somewhere too. I should have told them no pockets, but it's okay. I know I won't use them because they're so small and they cover up the wool at the bottom, but it's okay having them too. Perhaps a business card will  be placed into the pockets and they won't scratch the iPad either. Here are a few pictures: Creekbed Maple in fern - front; Creekbed Maple in fern - full. The cover is a "wrap around" cover so the front picture continues onto the back. When you look at it fully, it makes a full picture. They send you a little charm with your purchases, so I added it to the bungee closure of the cover. The charm is a maple leaf (think Canada's maple leaf on the flag). It looks better in person than it does in the photos too. The cover is a little stiff right now, but with use the leather will relax a little more (e.g., doesn't fold very well right now). I got my eye on a Moleskine in saddle now. :)

Anyway, with that, it's time to head out. I haven't done any policy reading and have decided to skip Monday's option for the written assignment (only have to do three and there are over 15 opportunities). I'm also thinking of maybe doing my paper on the bill going through the Senate (soon or now?) on harmful algal blooms OR something about shark fining. I'm still browsing websites. But...I will certainly enjoy my policy reading more with my new cover and having my iPad! (Thanks mom and dad!)