Great Failures in Engineering, Donuts, and Downtown

The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) is one of those rare temples of nerdiness, a haven for those that think jokes involving integrals are hilarious and that rumors of Rick Astley's death* are more depressing than William Shatner getting fat**, but only slightly less depressing than Optimus Prime dying***. I was invited to tag along this past Sunday because my dear friend Nathan had to help drive a group of high schoolers to Portland for a day of awesome and he needed someone there to help keep him sane.

*Not a Rickroll, I swear.
**Captain Kirk is supposed to be attractive... Fat William Shatner is not attractive.
**Reading the Wikipedia article on Optimus Prime was one of the most confusing/strange/nerdy things I've read in a long while.

We first casually solved some of the brainteaser puzzles, then we wandered into the permanent exhibit area on the second floor. These exhibits are the time-tested classics that every student in the Willamette Valley/Portland Metro area remembers from those elementary school field trips: paleontology, the human body, and geology. In the back of one of the rooms is a large tank of water, with sand in the bottom and a pump that creates waves. Thanks to the wave motion, there are distinct ripples that have formed in the sand. The name of these sand ripples was discussed; I remarked that they had a technical name of some sort, while Nathan maintained that they were probably just called "ripples in the sand". Posted at the end of the tank was a placard explaining the scientific principles in action, with a clearly labeled diagram.

(Mom and Dad, I know you're just itching to make a comparison to the frost vs. frozen dew debate ca. 2000, but if you could refrain, that'd be awesome. Thanks.)

Nathan: 1, Kelsey: 0

Naturally, as an institution that relies on admissions fees to maintain operation, OMSI has to cater to non-nerds as well, which translates to exhibits like their latest: CSI: The Experience. We braved this exhibit next, and breezed right through it. The exhibit clearly had a good intent, and is probably fairly entertaining for middle school students and people who watch the CSI television franchise. As I do not fit into either of these categories, I found the exhibit interesting on a superficial level. My writing class this past spring had us design exhibits for a science museum, so at OMSI I noticed little things, like how well the exhibit flowed (not terribly well), or how expensive things were (the CSI exhibit must have cost a fortune). The concept was great; three different crime scenes to investigate, with computer stations to help you "solve" the crime by guiding you through the evidence analysis. It was entertaining, but I don't know that I learned anything real worthwhile, other than the fact that CSI people are always portrayed as badasses and (SPOILER ALERT) you shouldn't keep kitchen herbs in your pickup truck because they might link you to your ex-husband's murder.

While I appreciate the many nerdy exhibits at OMSI, my favorite room by far is the Turbine Hall. Filled with water bottle rockets, computers, robots, and engineering activities, Turbine Hall is a massive mecca of all things hands-on and awesome. Nathan and I are both engineering majors (he's a mechanical engineering major at Gonzaga), so it goes without saying that we gravitated toward the bridge-building activity pretty much immediately (well, we were waiting for the robotic Connect Four game to free up so we could play... but of all the things we could pick to do in the meantime...). The challenge was to build a bridge out of computer paper over miniature "rivers" that could support four wooden blocks. The results?
Nathan's bridge:
My bridge (a.k.a. an example of why I'm 1E, not 1C):
Nathan: 2, Kelsey: 0

Nathan went on to win an epic game of robotic Connect Four, a game I only played occasionally (sans robots) at daycare in my youth. It was swiftly negated by my victory in the race of rubber band-powered paddle boats.

Nathan: 3, Kelsey: 1

Moral of the Story: OMSI wins. The Boston Museum of Science fails in comparison.

We spent the afternoon walking all over downtown Portland, which included a stop at the storied establishment known as Voodoo Doughnut. Special thanks to some random flickr user whose photo I have shamelessly posted here to illustrate the fact that I ordered the triple chocolate penetration doughnut (chocolate doughnut, with chocolate glaze, topped with Cocoa Puffs cereal and a name that is perilous to search for on Google Images).


Basically, it was an epic trip to Portland. I got a lot of exercise in (so. much. walking.) and the nerd-fest that was OMSI reminded me that I don't have to be at MIT to appreciate the finer, nerdier things in life.

[Infinite Jest update: I'm on page 105, and I survived footnote 24!]

Saving a Landmark

So, this was obviously taken around Christmas-time, hence the red nose, but you get the idea...

For the first time in my life, I think I am okay with an instance where the government would use eminent domain. Most of the time, I'm not the biggest fan of governments using eminent domain because oftentimes they don't exactly put the land to good use, or are just generally incompetent.

But for once, I think it's a brilliant idea. The property to be claimed? The Made In Oregon sign in Portland. This sign has a long history, and is a landmark on the city skyline. The problem? The University of Oregon wants it to say their name instead. The solution? The city of Portland is considering using eminent domain to claim ownership of the sign.

The sign has had its share of facelifts over the years. The sign originally read "White Satin" in honor of the building's sugar-producing tenants. It was later changed to read "White Stag" after the new occupants, a clothing company. Twelve years ago, the sign was updated to the current "Made In Oregon". The sign has become an integral part of Portland (and Oregon) culture, and the threat of change has angered a lot of people around the city.

I will say right now, that if they change it, I'm going to be pissed. U of O, I'm not just saying this because I'm a Beavers fan. Seriously, just respect the tradition.

Related Articles:

City might just declare eminent domain on the 'Made in Oregon' sign

Oh, deer. 'Made in Oregon' on its way out in Old Town

Home State... Pride?

I won't deny it: I love Oregon.

Naturally, I get pretty excited when Oregon comes up in the national news arena. I'm always so pleased when I see my home state portrayed as something other than a land of meth addicts and crazies. However, things appear to have gone to crap since I left. (Okay, me leaving and moving to Boston clearly has no impact on the behavior of the citizens of the Beaver State. I recognize this... Just go with it.)

First off, there's the scandal business with Portland's newest mayor, Sam Adams. The local news stations have been buzzing about it for a while, and it's now made several appearances on the New York Times website.

"The Great Gay Hope" - Timothy Egan Blog

Portland Journal: A Mayor’s Lie Throws a City Into Turmoil

What it boils down to is this: Adams lied about his relationship with a significantly younger male in his campaign for the mayoral seat (the issue is not that this relationship was with a male - Portland is the largest city with an openly gay mayor in the US - it's the age differences). He's since come clean about it, and a large number of his former supporters are calling for his resignation (they can't recall just yet - Portland has a law that you can't recall a mayor for the first six months they are in office), which he has refused to do. In my opinion, Adams has done the right thing. Honestly, I don't think it's impairing his ability to lead the city in any way, and there are politicians out there that have committed far more egregious acts and we've allowed them to remain in office. Obviously we shouldn't be letting this slide, because it could be seen as a condonation of behavior we don't really want to see from a mayor, but if the man can actually do a good job of leading the Rose City, then I think we should let him.

Secondly, there's some crazy CIA stuff going on. Apparently, a man and his son from Eugene have been caught committing espionage and selling information to the Russians.

CIA Spy Enlisted Son to Collect Espionage Debts, Feds Say

I think the father is held at the Federal Correction Institution in Sheridan, judging from the article. Which is kind of weird. That's definitely only about ten miles away from my house. I guess this article isn't as interesting or controversial as the ones about Sam Adams, but it's interesting in that it went on so close to where I lived...

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Back here in Boston, things are going quite well. IAP is swiftly coming to an end (Registration Day is Monday! AH!) and spring semester is starting next Tuesday. Things I have to worry about are shifting from dividing time between sleeping, hanging out, what movie to watch next, studying and eating, to class schedules, study habits, studying, eating, and more studying. IAP has been a lot of fun, but I think I'm (sort of) ready for the semester to begin. I just want to get it over with. Then there's the problem of figuring out what to do with my summer. And camp is no longer an option, for a number of reasons. Hopefully I'll get something figured out...