Mad Scientists Exposed!

Well, sort of, lol! The team is currently being featured in one of VickiDianeDesigns' "Artists of Etsy Exposed" treasuries - check it out at http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=41570 Currently the treasury is at the top of the 'hot' list with over 1000 clicks and almost 300 views! Pretty cool!

Seeing as treasuries expire (this one will early Thursday) here's a pic of some of the fab team members - And yes that's me hiding behind the fossilized coral :)

Guess I can't really blame the groundhog...

...for more winter huh? Punxsutawney Phil (the rather famous weather predicting groundhog) has decided we're in for six more weeks of winter here in the US. And irony of ironies, we had snow today! I guess if its gotta be cold, we might as well have snow!

And for Groundhog Day, I created this fun treasury on Etsy showcasing some rather cute groundhogs, beautiful wintery items, and happy spring items!

You gotta admit, that Punxsutawney Phil is rather cute huh? Guess we'll forgive him for bringing us the "bad news". lol What can I say, I'm just not a winter person. Come to think of it, not really a summer one either! Now fall is a season I can get behind :)

Do you want to believe? X-Files, Treasuries, SETI...

So after watching a tv blurb about the new X Files movie, I was inspired to put together an Etsy treasury of some very cool alien/ufo items. It can be found here - at least until it expires Tuesday morning :)



The new movie looks to be interesting, and possibly more intriguing for me than the first movie. I'm a fan of the show from way back - watched it when it first aired and loved it. It was witty and fun, intriguing and suspenseful, made you think sometimes, and it was just plain cool. But after the first few seasons it got too complicated for me to enjoy it anymore - delved so far into the whole conspiracy theory stuff it became "work" to try to follow along, and the final blow was changing the cast. The first movie was ok, but I thought relied a bit too much on people understanding the show to really get it. From what I've heard this new movie will be more enjoyable for everyone regardless of how much you know about the X-Files universe, so I'm hopeful I'll like this one better.

Speaking of aliens, some may find it surprising that I do think there is life elsewhere in the universe being a scientist and all. Or at least that seems to be the reaction I get when people find out, lol. But a lot of scientists do believe there is life elsewhere in the universe - in fact I'd be willing to go out on a limb and say the majority do so. See, the issue isn't so much whether there is life in the universe but 1. Is there intelligent life? and 2. Can we establish contact?

This is what SETI set out to figure out. SETI stands for the Search for ExtraTerrestial Intelligence, and there are a variety of SETI projects out there. The one many people have probably heard of thanks to movies such as Contact, has been an on-going project for many years at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. This radio telescope was built in the 1960's, and is actually built inside a sinkhole! In addition to studies of our solar system and the universe, the telescope has been used as part of systematic SETI program to try to detect potential signals from extraterrestials. More info about the observatory can be found on the official site.

A cool project that anyone can participate in is the SETI@Home program - this program is set up to utilize unused computing time from home computers (often when you're computer is doing something as simple as running its screen saver). It sends little packets of data to your computer for analysis, which are then sent back to a main computer. Should anything interesting come up in the data that your computer processes, then they further investigate it. Its pretty easy to set up and run, and you can even watch the data as its processed. Just think, you could be part of one of the most important scientific endeavors in human history! Check it out here.

Sadly, the observatory is facing serious budget cuts from the US, which will threaten the continuation of the SETI program. You can help by contacting your congresspersons - it only takes a few minutes and a couple stamps, and there's even an easy to fill out form found here that you can use.

Why, some may ask, is this important? Why bother?

I personally believe there can be no more important thing we could ever possibly do both in the realm of science and for humanity, than to continue the search for life in the universe. This would be a life altering event for our entire planet and everyone on it. The thing is, I feel the journey is just as important. We need projects such as these, to better all of us. To bring inspiration and spark the imaginations of thousands of people - most importantly children. Potentially to bring us together, and give us insight and understanding of ourselves and fellow humans. I can think of no better pursuit for us as a whole to take on - can you?

Of Earth and Life - New Etsy Treasury

Some really beautiful work by fellow Etsy artisans, featuring greens and browns, Earth and Life. This treasury can be viewed at http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=51321 (well, until it expires Friday afternoon then you'll have to make do with this snapshot :)

New poll and New treasury!

Started a new poll about store/item views when listing/renewing items on Etsy - available here on the top left of this blog, and open until April 20th!

Did another treasury, this time of wonderful space items! It's only open for a few more hours, but if you get the chance it can be seen here http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=38016

A lot of great items, and it was hard to choose! Here's a pic of the items featured, including the 'alternate' choices.

Sellers featured and their items: 6timemomma (eclipse photo), bluedogrose (space bunny), bomobob (auroa photo), circularaccesories (astro tshirt), davidloong (rocket around saturn pendant), dote (cosmos cards), Finestra (orion nebula necklace), infinityart (space age pendant), lindsaybellejennings (astronaut walking dog print), margaretsWorld (moonscape ACEO), NorthStarJewelry (metorite necklace), Nyberg (sunset and space print), shaylamaddox (blue circle painting), spacemonkey (Uranus balm), spamberly (WWWSD magnet), uncorked (girl astronomer cork necklace)

All of these sellers can be found on Etsy simply by searching their username!

Sales, Teams, Treasuries, Updates, and More!

So today is the last day of my week-long sales event at Bijoutery. Tonight is the Saturday Night Specials at http://bijoutery.etsy.com/ with a Buy More Save More Sale!

♥Purchase 1 item get 15% off!
♥Purchase 2 items get 20% off!
♥Purchase 3 or more items, get 25% off!

The Mad Scientists of Etsy Team is now Official! Check out our team profile at http://team.etsy.com/viewteam.php?id=265 or you can still visit the thread in the Etsy forums at http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5521620

To find team items, search for our team tag 'msoe team' in the Etsy search engine. We're also gearing up for our first challenge this month,'Science as Art' which will be featured!

I also nabbed us a treasury, but since it ends soon here's a pic of some great items!

Speaking of treasuries, I found some great items made with the stone Jasper, and created a treasury earlier in the week. I will be posting a 'stone of the week' feature on Jasper tomorrow, and that treasury will be featured along with it!

As school is coming to a close here in the next month, I've been kept super busy, so hence the delays in the 'stone of the week' articles. I will still do my best to get them out about once a week, as long as time permits. Look for the feature on turquoise soon!

Update and more Etsy Treasuries!

So if you haven't noticed by now, I did not get up a new 'stone of the week' article last weekend. I have been just crazy hectic with school - we're at that midway point, so its time for projects and midterms already. But never fear - a new one will be posted this weekend - featuring Garnet!

In the meantime, here's two more of my lastest treasuries. Both are already gone off Etsy, but I've included info on how to find more about the items!

First is the 'Weird and Wonderful Etsy' treasury, featuring all kinds of neat and sometimes crazy stuff found on Etsy (crocheted dinosaur skull = awesome!). Inspired by a thread on Etsy, these items and more can be found here http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5504777

A Whiter Shade of Pale was a treasury inspired by the song by the British band Procol Harum, which has been sung by several people including Sarah Brightman and Annie Lennox. Featured sellers include NatureMandalas, kalyn828, PreciousMeshes, 47bonanza, recycledideas, JudyStalus, duchessofdirt, CozyColeman, karenssoaps, BrassPaperclip, elementclaystudio, and bluedogrose. (Notice how I still managed to include rabbits into the treasury! And yes, Herbalina the Bunny - pictured top left - is a real rabbit!)

And that's it! Check back this weekend for the Garnet feature!