science

On The Same Level

Science, Thoughts

I watched this video of Jane Goodall tonight, and it clicked with me VERY strongly.

Mind, Body & Soul

Every point she hits, I agree. Every experience she speaks of, I relate.

The majority of the problems on our planet result from human actions. The truth of the matter is, we have overpopulated the planet. We are abusing and depleting our natural resources, and ultimately leading to a future of intense suffering for the next generation. But, there’s not easy way around solving that matter. With morals and ethics involved, no government official is going to bring up this topic.

So, do your best to decrease your environmental footprint, and pass that message along to as many people as possible. Be the change you want to see in the world.

www.cloakedtruth.com 

 

 

New Years Goals for 2016

Photography, Thoughts

Bye bye 2015! I swear, where does the time GO? I hope each and every one of you had an amazing year.

Let’s recap what my New Years Life Goals for 2015 were:

Stay in touch more with family members

Make more presents/gifts for people instead of buying new things

Go SCUBA diving every year

I can definitely say that I stayed in touch with my family more. With visits to Texas and Oregon, I have enjoyed my time with both sides of my family. Although my intentions of making presents, more so drawing presents, I didn’t succeed too well on that. I plan to focus on that this year as well though. I went SCUBA diving all over this year! From Catalina Island to Barbados and Grenada in the Caribbean – I loved being under the waves.

This year, I have big plans. Possibly moving to a different state & starting my Masters Degree! More details to come when everything gets confirmed. But, if you’ve followed my life at all over the last 10 years, you’ll understand that I never set any plans in stone. Life changes fast, and I’m always open to new pathways that open themselves up!

1. Do 10 Sit-Ups and Push-Ups Every Day

11999050_785785712810_1093869686271166196_n

If you don’t know I’m a fitness buff, now you know. I literally just did 10 push-ups and sit-ups and it took less than 2 minutes. That’s 3,650 push-ups and 3,650 sit-ups minimum for the entire year! We often make so many excuses for why we can’t get to the gym, or why being a couch potato is the best option after a crappy day. You have 2 minutes to spare everyday – if you don’t – then you need to change your daily routine

2. Have One “Me Date” Per Month 

12119001_789117535810_8269503378843108076_n

We all know who the most important person in our life is – that is ourselves. If we don’t take care of our body, spirit, mind, and soul, we can’t depend on anyone else to fill those big shoes. We often spend a lot of time by ourselves on our couches watching Netflix and drinking wine (at least I do…), but instead I want to say NO. I am treating MYSELF to a fun day of adventuring, or a delicious dinner, or out to a movie at least once every month. Have you ever been to a movie or dinner by yourself? It’s quite liberating actually. Me time is necessary in this fast-paced crazy world we live amongst. Treat ‘yo’ self as they say on Parks and Recs.

3. Say What I’m Grateful Every Night Before I Go To Sleep

10926304_747828035300_1003438577794428204_o

I’ve actually been doing this goal for the last month or so. It’s nice to close my eyes and reflect on something I am grateful for in this beautiful life of mine. We all have bad days, or horrible weeks, or a terrible month. But, there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel. You’re alive. You have a roof over your head. You have friends and family who care about you. You’re reading this on your mobile device or your computer. Life could always be worse, so I’m taking a moment every evening to reflect on something I am grateful for.

When Scientists Geek Out.

Science, Thoughts

Desecheo Island, Puerto Rico, Scuba Divers, Nurse Shark

As a marine biologist, I can’t even begin to list the amount of times I gleefully screamed or screeched underwater when I saw something astounding right before my own 2 blue eyes. Some underwater face to face encounters that stand out are: having a whale shark come straight towards me in Mexico, a giant cuttlefish staring at me in Australia, and multiple manatees in Puerto Rico. Heck, I couldn’t even form a sentence when I saw a huge manatee moving underneath me!

Yes, I totally was that nerd who sat on the floor in-front of the TV a couple of years ago after the Super Bowl to watch the first footage of a live giant squid caught on camera. And of course, I shed tears of happiness because cephalopods are some of my favorite animals on the entire planet. If there is ever an opportunity for me to go into a submersible 1000’s of feet below the surface, YOU BET I WOULD BE ON THAT SUCKER IN AN INSTANT!

So when I saw this video yesterday, I knew I would have gone just as crazy as one of those scientists operating the ROV. Can you imagine starting at a screen for HOURS and even DAYS just hoping that something interesting passing in front of your camera and lights 600m underwater? Then, BOOM! Check out what puts on quite a little show for these researchers 🙂 (Here’s the article if you want to read it as well)

Revelation

Science, Thoughts

Sunset Kayak

I moved to Puerto Rico about a month and a half ago for what I thought was my ‘Dream Job.’ As time passes, I am realizing that this isn’t my ‘Dream Job,’ but instead an eye-opening revelation about what I really want to accomplish in life. I work with 80% kids as my job as a Naturalist. They are definitely a handful and exhausting to keep them entertained for increments of 3 hours at a time back to back everyday. But to be honest, it is so thrilling and rewarding to see how excited they get when we take them to the tide-pools, snorkeling on a coral reef, or even explore a sub-tropical rainforest. Most of these children live in the city (NY), where they don’t get to experience ‘nature’ as often. We even have parents who join in our activities who have never been immersed in a forest, and we have the pleasure to show them a whole new world for the first time.

So, I’ve decided that after my year here, I want to move back to California and get my TEACHING CREDENTIAL! I’ve said it many times before that what I am meant to do on this planet is to educate as many minds as possible about our natural environment and ways to protect it for future generations. My current job has solidified what I want to do in the future – teach kids about natural world and pass onto them all the lessons I’ve learned through my life experiences.

With so many friends who are teachers, I am lucky to have a large community of people willing to answers all the questions that will soon arise once I start this process. It’s actually pretty ironic that I am deciding to become a teacher… in 12th grade at our Senior Breakfast at South Pasadena High School, we voted for people in all sorts of “Best/Most Likely” categories. I won Most Spirited, which is a title I’ve held strong since Elementary School basically. And then out of the BLUE, my class voted me “Most likely to become a teacher at South Pasadena High School.” It looks like my classmates were predicting a future for me even before I knew it!!

I also recently just moved to a different house with a new roommate. It is closer to the beach (literally right across the street), and it’s closer to work. The house is a bit of a fixer-upper, but I think it will be a fun project to take on. My roomie is a cool guy from Washington, who actually works right next door to me at the water sports facility for the Dorado Beach Club. We have a 3rd bedroom open for grabs, which will hopefully be filled by the new Naturalist we are hiring ASAP. We shall see! Things are looking up 🙂

Photography + Science = Chanel | 2013 Summary

Photography, Science, Thoughts

looking glass

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2013 annual report for my blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 20,000 times in 2013. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 7 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

Natural Wonder

Photography, Science, Thoughts

dragonfly

If you stop and observe your surroundings once in a while, you’ll notice that you are indeed surrounded my hundreds of living organisms. You might be swapping one, stepping on one, smelling one, or feeling one brush against your body as you are walking down the street.

The environment utterly fascinates/boggles/excites my brain. Whether it be geology, hydrology, ecology, biology, physics, or chemistry, you can consistently learn new things every day by watching the world around you. .

I came across this video last week and my mouth literally dropped open in amazement. Sit back and expand this video to fill your screen..trust me..it will be worth it!

Stop by my Facebook Page : Photography + Science = Chanel

 Shoot me a Tweet : PSChanel
Check out my Pinterest : PhotoScience

What’s Next?

Photography, Science, Thoughts

So I thought today would be a good day to update you on my crazy life. After the Australia’s Best Jobs 2 week Social Media Extravaganza, I was left looking for new employment. Luckily, my old boss (and mentor and great friend) for the past 2 years re-hired me to do my old job for the summer (Thanks Andre!). But what happens at the end of August…?

FUTURE LIFE PLANS

(c) Fashweekly.com

(c) Fashweekly.com

After the Best Jobs contest, I have been really thinking about getting involved in the Ecotourism field. Thus, my search of Masters Degrees in Ecotourism has begun! I am also looking into Masters Degrees in Marine Science/Conservation Biology as well.

To be honest, I feel that ecotourism really is my calling. Working for a hotel/ecotourism establishment would combine all the things I love: Marine Science, Education, Meeting people from all over the world, Photography, Living near the ocean, Being outside for the majority of my job, Traveling, and probably Social Media and Blogging of some sort! I do love marine biology, but I don’t want to get sucked into the research field per say. My happiness lies in educating people about our environment and how to protect it. So stay tuned to see what happens next for Chanel Hason 🙂

I also want to get my feet wet more – in terms of SCUBA Diving that is. I am FINALLY planning a trip (July 19-21) back to where I left a piece of my heart- Monterey Bay. There are so many amazing people that I haven’t seen in such a long time that I must reunite with 🙂 Not to mention the BEAUTIFUL sights that I will have to re-visit. I can already picture those 3 days to be filled with adventures including hiking, kayaking, frolicking under the waves in the kelp forests, wine tasting in Carmel Valley, behind the scenes tours at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, saluting my old college stomping grounds at CSUMB, and so much more. Don’t you worry – I will definitely document it all so you can live vicariously through these adventures. Who knows, I might even make an epic video summary of the weekend … 🙂 GET EXCITED!

FUTURE BLOG PLANS

Bear

I am going to start showcasing more photography – from both myself and other fantastic photographers. My new (and SPIFFY) Canon 60D has been so fun to play with over the last couple of months. I have already gotten some freelance work photographing a restaurant for their social media/website.

If you are a photographer who wants to participate in a photography showcase on my blog please shoot me an email CAHason@gmail.com . I will give you a category – then you will have to submit to me 3 photos after a certain time period that best summarize that category to you.

My first photographer will be JOE PLATKO – his photography challenge category is “Summer” – stay tuned to see what photos he showcases within the next couple of weeks! We went to college together in Monterey, and Joe has blossomed into a fantastic nature and underwater photographer in the meanwhile. I’m so excited that he is going to be my first photographer on my blog!

I also want to start a “Fitness/Health” section of my blog. Over the past year, I have really educated myself in terms of food/fitness/health and how to change my life for the better of my body overall. I want you to be part of my journey to living a healthier life as well in one central location.

Stop by my Facebook Page (and Like it too!) : Photography + Science = Chanel
 Shoot me a Tweet : PSChanel
Check out my Pinterest : PhotoScience

Ask an Astronaut.

Thoughts

I’ve said it many times before – if I wasn’t so in love with the ocean, I would be pursuing a love for astronomy. It’s on my Bucket List to fly to the moon one day 🙂 – and it seems more likely than not, that possibility could be in my grasp (with the right amount of $$ of course). I wouldn’t mind (maybe the more likely scenario) flying in one of those zero-gravity simulation planes though!

Ever since I was little kid, whenever I looked up at the stars, I felt ‘one’ with the world. I also felt very small…we are only a TINY planet in a huge universe..inside another universe..and so on and so forth. It’s unlikely that we are the only planet in the solar system with life on it – which is hard for me to say because thanks to the movie E.T. I am afraid of aliens (I know I know make fun of me all you want – but E.T. is scary looking/sounding!).

Anyways, I wanted to share a great video with you today. The 10th-grade winners of a Nova Scotia School’s Science Fair, Kendra Lemke and Meredith Faulkner, won a very special unique grand prize. They got to connect on a live feed with the International Space Station, and have Astronaut Chris Hadfield perform their science experiment! HOW COOL IS THAT?! Take a look here to see what their experiment entailed:

“The space station is an orbiting laboratory where we work on unique experiments that may eventually improve life on Earth,” he said before adding that he was extremely proud to be performing an experiment designed by young Canadians. Addressing the winners and their 1200 classmates gathered at the school’s gymnasium, he added: “I was about your age when I decided I wanted to become an astronaut. I hope that you remember today and continue to be curious about science and space. You are the space explorers of the future and the sky is no longer the limit”. — Chris Hadfield

AWESOME Recent Science Stories!

Science, Thoughts
(c) mccort.org

(c) mccort.org

Sometimes – you just get a week of amazing science discoveries! Let’s chit chat about some of those amazing instances, shall we??

SQUID EATS A BOMB

1) A squid was caught off the coast of China with a BOMB found inside of it. Yes, a bomb. The 18-inch live bomb was found inside a 3-foot squid being sliced open at a Chinese fish market in Jiaoling county. Perhaps the bomb resembled a small fish or prawn, but who knows how long the squid swam around for with live ammo in its tummy!? Local police suspect that the bomb was dropped by a fighter jet…it was rusty so it’s hard to tell exactly how long it has been floating (in the ocean/in the stomach of the squid) for. This is not the first instance of a bomb being found inside a marine animal – in 2007, the remains of a 19th century timer bomb was found inside a bowhead whale.

ACTIVE MICROBIAL COMMUNITY FOUND IN THE DEEPEST PART OF THE OCEAN

2) Imagine living in a place with 1,000 times the pressure placed upon your entire body at normal sea level..no thank you! But, researchers have discovered that microbes, found at the Mariana’s Trench, thrive on the falling detritus (dead animal remains) that fall to the depths of the ocean floor even under the intense pressure! The microbes are an important component of the carbon cycle in the ocean – keeping the process going by digesting organic matter and thus releasing CO2.

GIANT SQUID FROM ACROSS THE GLOBE ARE A SINGLE SPECIES

3) Giant squid bodies have been found spanning the globe, and it’s been confirmed that the DNA from 43 squid found around the world, in all actuality vary surprising little. The lack of genetic diversity is quite astounding knowing that Giant Squid span across all oceans with a relatively large population size. Some researchers think that this could because squid mitochondria may have evolved unusually slowly, or they could have recently expanded from a small to large population size.

FISH BRAIN ACTIVITY CAPTURED ON FILM

4) Researchers have visualized and recorded the activity of almost every individual neuron in the larval zebrafish brain in REAL TIME! This is an amazing feat! “It allows a much better view of the dynamics through the brain during different behaviors and during learning paradigms,” states Joseph Fetch, a neurobiologist  from Cornell University. The researchers were able to capture more than 80% of the 100,000 neurons in the brain of the larval zebrafish, snapping high-res pics every 30 milliseconds.

Electrifying Art.

Science, Thoughts

The image above was taken by Matt Hoffman, who is a fantastic photographer, surfer, and great friend of mine. He snapped this epic lightening bolt in Montana – one of the most beautiful states in America (and least populated). Good thing he didn’t get hit, since you know that guys are 5x more likely to get struck by lightning than women (who knows why).

I love how science can be ‘electrifyingly‘ beautiful. I wanted to share with you all a great video which demonstrates how 15,000 volts (aka similar to a bolt of lightning) can turn a piece of wood, into a beautiful masterpiece.

The video was made by a 23- year-old sculpture major in New York City’s Pratt Institute. She spent 10 hours getting the footage of electrifying wood in an old metal shop in Brooklyn. Melanie Hoff is the student who created this video as her senior thesis project – how cool is that?!

The pattern you see burned into the wood is called “Lichtenberg figure” – which is the branching of electric discharges on the surface/interior of a material.

Facebook : Photography + Science = Chanel
Twitter : PSChanel
Pinterest : PhotoScience