Nerdy Needlework

I've got a tattoo that I feel needs a bit of work. I don't like it much, but don't see it so don't mind too much, either. I would like it transformed into something fabulous, though.

Browsing today I came across a few interesting ones, tattoos with a maths/science theme. Here's a couple of my favorites.

Left: Subatomic doodling. Right: Tuning in


Left: Logarithmic spiral Right: Entropy


And not so much a nice tattoo, but a hilariously practical one for some. I'm sure my chemistry exam results would have been a bit better for having had one at the time.

Happiness Via The Post

I got a parcel in the post today, which is always nice. This one was a gift from myself. I bought some prints from the very excellent Kate Banazi. I've been ogling Kate's work for some time, but was prompted to flex the plastic this time because she's generously donating all proceeds from her sale store to the Red Cross Bushfire appeal. I love the prints I unrolled today, and she even threw in another artist's proof as a bit of a bonus. What a gal.

Readers outside of Australia will not have much of a clue how big this bushfire thing is*. It's a very big deal. And I don't want to detract from that when I say this: if you are of a mind to donate some money please consider splitting it and giving half to the flood appeal. While the bottom bit is burning, the pointy bit is seeping and gushing and rotting. People are doing it tough up there, too; it must be galling to have become second-rate news.

*ABC coverage of bushfires. Note that I am avoiding this news as it's too distressing. You can make your own choice, but you've been warned.

ETA: Sorry, perhaps that should read "she even threw in another Artist's Proof". I don't mean a proof from another artist, but an "artist's proof". You know, a trial run before you start printing the edition. She just sent me an extra print, OK?

Valentine's Day is for Twitchers

And I don't mean birdwatchers. In addition to being the patron saint of lovers, St Valentine has charge of epileptics as well.



It's hardly a great surprise that epilepsy has a patron saint; it's so frightening and seemingly inexplicable that it was thought for a long time to be the work of the devil. What else could a sufferer and their family do but pray, pray, pray?

I've been reading a bit about epilepsy recently, and there's a lot about it I didn't know. I didn't know how many different types there are, for example. It's not all the dramatic thrashing about we see in the movies and on TV. An episode can take the form of just blanking out for a while, experiencing phantom sensations such a tastes or sounds, fluttering eyes, all kinds of things. And it's not genetic. I assumed it was.

So this Valentine's Day -- if you're not too amorously engaged to have the time, that is -- take the time to have a quick read of this first aid information for epilepsy.