After four years (see narrative below), I am now proud to say that my awesomeness is officially immortalized in the print version of the Guinness World Records 2010: Gamer’s Edition! Below, you’ll see the actual reference to my Super Mario Kart World Record on Ghost Valley 2.  Here’s the quote in case you hate pictures:

“By comparison, the fastest time trial lap on the Ghost Valley 2 circuit in Super Mario Kart is a mere 12.93 seconds, set by John Ohab (USA) in Washington, USA, on August 9, 2008. Ohab’s speedy time made much use of power-sliding.”

The Quest got off to a good start back in 2008. I immediately set Twin Galaxies records on Mario Circuit 2, followed by Mario Circuit 1 and Rainbow Road. Apparently, I then sacrificed any semblance of my already pitiful social life to set eight more records and re-break my own Mario Circuit 1 record.

That’s when things got interesting. Threats from this random dude who nicknamed himself, “The Challenger”; the systematic destruction of my records by Brandon Skar (Snoqualmie, WA) and Eric Schafer (Houston, TX); and my public attempt and failure to beat myself at MagFest 2010, threatened to derail the quest.

After a Super Mario Kart-less year full of loathing and self-doubt, I endeavored to regain my glory through a series of impressive runs. In February 2011, I set five new records on Choco Island 1, Mario Circuit 2, and Ghost Valley 2. My appearance in the Guinness World Records: Gamer’s Edition pretty much caps off the comeback.

But the Quest is not over. There are dozens of records left to be annihilated. Stay tuned!

This story originally appeared on Scistarter.com, a website that helps everyday people find out about and take part in real science projects and activities. Also, who would have ever predicted the never-ending utility of a picture of me reading Science magazine while wearing a Santa costume? Probably Santa.

By Darlene Cavalier

Make sure you’re on Santa’s “nice list” this year. Consider helping researchers help the planet this holiday season. Here are a dozen opportunities to get involved in real research during the 12 days of Christmas!

On the first day of Christmas, Missouri gave to me…an opportunity to help stem the threat of invasive pear trees in Missouri’s urban forest and in other parts of the U.S.

On the 2nd day of Christmas, the UK’s British Trust for Ornithology gave to me….the Nest Record Scheme, a citizen science project to monitor the the turtle dove, the UK’s most most threatened farmland bird, and many others.

On the 3rd day of Christmas, Iowa gave to me…the Greater Prairie Chicken Project ensure these future hens remain in Iowa.

On the 4th day of Christmas, the National Audubon Society gave to me…the world’s longest running citizen science project, the Christmas Bird Count.

On the 5th day of Christmas, Nevada gave to me…the chance to collect monthly water quality data at the Yuba River, which is affected by gold mining.

On the 6th of Christmas, Seattle Audubon Society gave to me… the chance to help seabird researchers create a snapshot of geese density on more than three square miles of nearshore saltwater habitat.

On the 7th day of Christmas, the Swan Society of the University of Melbourne gave to me…the My Swan project to report sightings of tagged black swans around the world.

On the 8th day of Christmas, Zooniverse gave to me…the Milky Way Project, a chance to help scientists study our galaxy, as well as the Milky Way advent calendar and even Milky Way tree ornaments!

On the 9th day of Christmas, the Science Cheerleaders gave to me…1300 young ladies cheering for citizen science as they set a new Guinness World Record for the World’s Largest Cheer!

On the 10th day of Christmas, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums gave to me…FrogWatch, an opportunity to help protect frogs-a-leaping.

On the 11th day of Christmas, Cornell’s Lab of Ornithology gave to me, Science Pipes, a free service that lets you connect to real biodiversity data, use simple tools to create visualizations and feeds, and embed results on your own web site or blog.

On the 12th day of Christmas, New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation gave to me…theRuffed Grouse Drumming Survey to help hunters survey the population of ruffed grouse during breeding season.

If you’re fortunate to experience a white Christmas, consider sending your snow depth measurements to cryosphere researchers at the University of Waterloo’s Snow Tweets project. They want to use your real-time measurements to help calibrate the accuracy of satellite instruments currently measuring snow precipitation.

Happy holidays from the SciStarter team!

Science. So not boring.

Take a moment and think of something that doesn’t involve science. (Hint: it’s impossible)

Science is integral to every aspect of our lives. Yet, for as long as we’ve had scientists trying to make sense of the universe, the scientific community has struggled to find an effective way to communicate those stories to the general public.

While it may be of little consequence that the average person doesn’t fully grasp the formulas of quantum mechanics, many areas of science — like climate change and renewable energy — represent our most pressing public policy challenges. Without the ability to communicate in a way that is meaningful and accessible to any audience, scientists risk alienating themselves from the discussion altogether.

Environmental non-profits face a similar challenge in trying to communicate their message to their communities. Whether an organization is focused on tar sands or storm water pollution, it must be able to communicate complicated information in ways that mobilize people and inspire them toward action.

Below are three strategies from the scientific community that can help your organization frame its work and help people understand why it matters.

1. Turn your experts into expert communicators

One of the best ways to help people learn about complicated topics is to send them right to the experts.

The U.S. Department of Defense’s Armed with Science project uses web technology, such as blogging, podcasting, and Twitter, to create one-on-one dialogs between its scientists and members of the public. The project aims to demonstrate the value of science and technology, while making scientists first-hand communicators of their own work. Rather than rehashing mission statements, scientists share their personal experiences and provide insight for those who might be interested in pursuing similar careers.

For the Dispatches from Antarctica series, Air Force Lt. Col. Edward Vaughan blogged for 50 days during his deployment to Antarctica, providing an inside look at scientific research conducted by the U.S. Antarctic Program. During his time on the ice, he took photographs, conducted video interviews, and even fielded questions from children at elementary schools around the world.

Identify a few subject matter experts in your organization who are interested in engaging stakeholders on important issues. Then, choose the appropriate forum to create authentic discussions with your community. If you’re feeling adventurous, try a real-time Facebook Q&A or a video chat in Google+ Hangouts.

2. Provide opportunities for people to contribute

As much as we all love textbooks and lectures, it’s certainly a lot easier to learn about something when you’ve got a stake in the outcome.

For decades, scientists have looked to volunteers from the public, known as “citizen scientists,” to contribute to real scientific studies — from frog monitoringto comet hunting to measuring noise pollution. Scientists are able to gather information that was previously unavailable, and volunteers have the opportunity to learn about and participate in scientific endeavors that are important to them.

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Nestwatch project uses citizen science to help study the relationship between nesting birds and climate change. Volunteers collect important data on bird nesting behavior, which scientists use to study population trends and breeding behaviors across different landscapes. In return, volunteers learn to make observations and collect data, an important part of the scientific process.

Identify opportunities to get input from your community. This can include simple feedback about your website, observations of certain phenomena, or user-generated videos and images. Acknowledge these contributions on Facebook and Twitter, and write a blog post that demonstrates how input from your community has improved the way your organization does business.

3. Collaborate with like-minded organizations

Though scientific research papers may not be the most palatable reading material, they do represent one of the core values of the scientific community — collaboration. For your average scientific paper, it’s not uncommon to have six or more authors, each with different skills, training, and expertise. By combining their resources and investing in common goals, scientists are able to answer questions and solve problems that might otherwise have been out of reach.

In the same way, collaborations can play an important part in achieving your communications goals. Small or emerging organizations can partner with large organizations to share their accomplishments and messages with a broader audience. This can be an effective way to build more awareness, while improving brand credibility through association with a better-known organization. Conversely, large organizations might partner with smaller organizations to communicate with local or niche communities. By highlighting their synergies, the collaborating organizations can provide the appropriate context to engage people on related but perhaps unfamiliar topics.

Identify organizations that have similar goals or work in a related field. This could include non-profit partners, potential donors, community groups, or a local newspaper. Demonstrate your interest in collaboration by mentioning them on your social media accounts or linking to their website in your newsletter. Determine how your resources, employees, and brand can be used to support their interests, and vice verse. Initiate a meeting to discuss how to collaborate in ways that benefit both organizations.

Thanks to Science Cheerleader, I had the opportunity to visit Lincoln Financial Field this past weekend to see the Arizona Cardinals vs. Philadelphia Eagles game, an epic showdown of two underachieving bird-related teams. As you can see from the picture, we had great seats right behind the Cardinals bench. As you can see from this blog post, I survived.

Oh, and the Cardinals won 21-17.

Here’s a quick excerpt:

Aspiring research scientists, environmentalists, mobile technology aficionados and video game buffs all can contribute to myriad citizen science projects, along the way joining a global community of regular people contributing to research science. It’s usually fun, often free and typically takes only the amount of time you want to give it.

Although the term “citizen science” is relatively new and increasingly common, the concept is longstanding. In the 19th century, for example, amateur naturalists aided experienced ornithologists by keeping track of the various species of birds they encountered. Today, modern technology and creativity have expanded tremendously the types of projects the public can participate in. All have in common the fact that volunteer public efforts really contribute to ongoing scientific research.

Getting involved is easy

John Ohab with the Science for Citizens website says his database has over 400 projects that have a way for people to sign up and contribute their own data. Some of the more readily accessible projects simply ask you to make an observation (such as when buds appear on trees, what birds are at your feeder, or the snow depth wherever you are) and send in your data points. In most cases you submit your data via a website or Twitterfeed. SnowTweets, for instance, lets participants dash off their measurements from their phones via Twitter. Cyrosphere researchers at the University of Waterloo in Canada collate the snowfall data and use it to check data from satellite observations.

Projects appeal to different people depending on their specific interests. Ohab says those that, like SnowTweet, harness the power of smartphone technology, often appeal to high school and college students.

Expanding the scientific community

One collaboration among a dozen science centers around the country is developing a smartphone app for the public to help gather data on the Urban Heat Island Effect. C3: Communicating Climate Change is a project that hopes to develop a robust database of the temperatures along the urban-rural gradient–in other words, amassing large datasets so that meaningful interpretations can be made. According to the Maryland Science Center’s website, the difference between the temperature of a metropolitan area and the rural areas that surround it, or the Urban Heat Island, “is not an effect of climate change, but rather of human activity shaping our environment. One may ask, if we can make changes on a local scale, are we also responsible for changes globally?” Citizen scientists will provide the raw data that researchers use to explore this and other questions.

Read the full story at Schools.com.

The Science Cheerleaders – professional cheerleaders pursuing science and technology careers – often are asked, “What’s it like to be a cheerleader AND a scientist?” or “When did you first know you wanted to be an engineer?”

During our live events, fans and youngsters have the opportunity to ask questions and get them answered by the Science Cheerleaders on the spot. Now, we’re extending this opportunity to you, too!

The 2011-2012 Arizona Cardinals Cheerleaders, six of whom are pursuing science and engineering careers, have offered to answer the most popular questions submitted through Tuesday August 23rd. Questions with the most votes from the public will be answered by the cheerleaders during a videotaped interview at their Tempe, AZ, training facility.

You can submit your questions to these Science Cheerleaders by tweeting to @SciCheer or commenting on this blog post, the YouTube video, or our Facebook Page. Extra points to anyone who leaves a YouTube video response. If you like someone else’s question, retweet it, up vote it, like it — whatever you have to do to let them know you’d like that question answered.

Below, each of the Arizona Cardinals Science Cheerleaders has shared a little about themselves. Take a look and then ask ‘em anything by August 23rd.

Hi, I’m Samantha, and I’m not just you’re average cheerleader; I’m studying Engineering Management with a focus in Mechanical Engineering at Arizona State University. I am also a national member of the Society of Women Engineers and currently interning at Microchip Technology. This is my rookie year as an Arizona Cardinals Cheerleader, but I have been dancing my whole life and even won the national pom championship my senior year of high school.

Hi, my name is Kristi, and I work professionally in the two best professions anyone could ask for: cheerleading and science! I started cheerleading when I was very young, continued throughout high school and college,and now I am a proud second year member of the Arizona Cardinals Cheerleaders. Outside of cheerleading, I obtained a Bachelors of Science in Nursing degree and am blessed to currently work in my third year as a Registered Nurse with emphasis on Women and Infant services.

My name is Emily, and I am studying Biomedical Engineering at Arizona State University. I am currently an intern at Intel and love it, but hope one day to work on research and development in medical technology after receiving a Masters degree. This is my first year on the Arizona Cardinals cheer team, but I was Captain of my varsity high school team, part of the dance company and cheer for all four years, and was a part of the Arizona State University Spirit Squad for one year.

Hi, my name is Maria, and I am a rookie member of the 2011 Arizona Cardinals Cheerleaders. I graduated from Rice University with a degree in political science and earned my J.D. from the University of Arizona in 2010. When it’s not gameday, you can find me at work as an Advocacy Specialist for the Girl Scouts, where I collaborate with local lawmakers on policies to provide increased exposure to the national STEM initiative. Helping to promote the next generation of female scientists, engineers, IT professionals, and mathematicians is one of the most rewarding aspects of my job!

Hi, I’m Nicole, and I am a fourth year member and line captain for the Arizona Cardinals Cheerleaders. I studied kinesiology and earned my Bachelor of Science degree from Arizona State University. When I am not on the field, you can find me at a local physical therapy clinic working hands on with the science and physiology behind body movement.

My name is Jacque, and I am a Licensed Professional Civil Engineer who received my B.S.E. in Civil Engineering from Arizona State University. I have been cheerleading since the age of five, and I am proud and honored to now be a professional cheerleader and a rookie member of the amazing Arizona Cardinals Cheerleaders.

Ah, the good ole days — when health professionals could mix together mysterious chemicals and distribute them to terrified and apparently freezing cold children without consequence.

See also: John standing next to a bunch of perfectly mixable chemicals.

This handy Google Maps map will help you locate the “The Pharmacist” in Old Town Alexandria, VA. After completing your mime, check out Joe Theismann’s Restaurant just across the street. They actually play the Arizona Cardinals games on a regulation-sized TV and have best chicken wings in the area. (By “area”, I mean, “universe”, and by “universe”, I mean, “Old Town Alexandria”)

View Larger Map

Last weekend, I learned that Paws, the Detroit Tigers mascot, is remarkably terrible at riding a fake bull. And while he may have come up short in this area, he did meet and exceed other defining mascot criteria, including smelling like an open manhole and performing several poorly choreographed country dance sequences on top of the home team dugout.

John and Federal CIO Vivek Kundra at the White House Champions of Change event, June 10, 2011.

Last week, I had the pleasure of attending the White House’s Champions of Change event, which celebrated thought leaders and entrepreneurs from inside and outside government who are helping to solve some of our nation’s biggest challenges. The event also celebrated the 2nd anniversary of Data.gov, a website that enables the public to participate in government by providing downloadable Federal datasets to build applications, conduct analyses, and perform research.

The event recognized 16 “Champions of Change” – developers who built innovative applications utilizing federal, state, and local government datasets. Among the 16 Champions included: Jill Seman, creator of MomMaps; Leigh Budlong, creator of Zonability; and Conor White-Sullivan, creator of Localocracy. The event also featured speeches by Aneesh Chopra, Federal Chief Technology Officer, and Michael Strautmanis, Deputy Assistant to the President and Counselor for Strategic Engagement to the Senior Advisor, and Vivek Kundra (above photo), then Federal Chief Information Officer (CIO).

During the Data.gov anniversary celebration, Federal CIO Vivek Kundra presented me with the “Leader of the Apps Award” for having the largest number of apps published and accessed on Data.gov. As it turns out, our 116 published apps have been accessed 75,518 times, more than twice as much as the next highest person on Data.gov. My contribution took place back to 2009, when I was working at the Department of Defense, Office of the CIO, as part of a Science and Technology Policy Fellowship with the American Association for the Advancement of Science. We certainly didn’t set out to win an award, but I so proud to find that people have found our work to be particularly useful.

Below, I’ve posted a picture a me and Jeanne Holm, Data.gov Chief Evangelist and NASA Chief Knowledge Architect, and the Leader of the Apps award. In a future post, I hope to share some of the official photographs and video from the event.

John and Jeanne Holm, Data.gov Chief Evangelist and NASA Chief Knowledge Architect, at the White House Champions of Change event, June 10, 2011.

The Data.gov Leader of the Apps Award

1.  Who is Thank You Rosekind?
2.  New album, Attention Intention!
3.  Summer Tour with Little Band of Sailors
4.  Pictures

1. Thank You Rosekind consists of artists and musicians Michael G. Bauer and Joel Chartkoff. They aim to express various forms of gratitude through song, dance and the visual spectrum. To learn more about TYR, read this recent interview by Emily Currier in Impose Magazine. Find them on Facebook.

2. Listen to recent songs from Attention Intention: www.attentionintention.com

3. Upcoming Shows. We are excited to go on tour with Little Band of Sailors.

June 15 • Assemble, 5125 Penn Ave., Pittsburgh, PA
June 16 • Mexicans sans Frontiers, 120 S Division #226, Grand Rapids, MI
June 17 • Co-Prosperity Sphere, 3219-21 South Morgan Street, Chicago, IL
June 18 • Empty Bottle @ Andrew Rafacz Gallery, Chicago, IL
June 20 • Charleston Inc., 2076 N Hoyne Ave., Chicago, IL
June 21 • Park Bar, Detroit, 2040 Park Ave., Detroit, MI
June 23 • Garfield Artworks, 4931 Penn Ave., Pittsburgh, PA
June 24 • Hamilton Arts Collective, 5440 Harford Road, Baltimore, MD
July 14 • Space15Twenty, 1520 N. Cahuenga Blvd., Los Angeles, CA
July 17 • Human Resources, 410 Cottage Home St., Los Angeles, CA

4. They will be updating their band photo blog routinely during the tour.  It’s called 1000 Affections.

Thank you.

For the first time since 1998 when I was home sick and accidentally watched Total Request Live on MTV, I can admit to watching a Carson Daly-related television show (by 1:30am, I am usually closer to waking up than to my bedtime). I couldn’t have picked a better one.

This Last Call with Carson Daly segment features Anthony Ameen, a retired Navy Corpsman and founder of Wings for Warriors, a non-profit organization that provides support to combat wounded servicemembers returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan.

As you learn in the interview, (and this CNN video), Ameen knows first-hand the physical and mental challenges experienced by wounded warriors. In 2008, while operating in Afghanistan with the 2nd Batallion/7th Marines – 1st Marine Division, he lost the lower half of his left leg and endured injuries to his left hand and fingers. Thirty surgeries later, he started Wings for Warriors to help other wounded warriors and families who face the same challenges on the road to recovery.

Wings for Warriors helps provide guidance counseling related to healthcare, financial, and legal benefits; financial assistance to help family members visit wounded loved ones at military and hospital facilities; and builds public awareness about the unique challenges faced by wounded warriors.

To learn more about the organization or to donate money, visit the Wings for Warriors website. Thanks to my Michael for passing this along.

Photo taken at the 2010 USA Science and Engineering Festival

Armed with Science connects Defense scientists and engineers with the general public by empowering subject matter experts to communicate through blogging, social media, and other Internet technologies. I’ve had the opportunity to serve as project lead for the past two years.

Included on our award were several of my valued Armed with Science colleagues: U.S. Navy Lt. Jennifer Cragg, who helped launch the project with me in 2009; U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Ed Vaughan, who produced the Dispatches from Antarctica series; and Melody Cook, who produced the Office of Naval Research’s Distinguished Lecture Series.

Each year, NAGC recognizes superior communications efforts of government agencies and those who produce them. The NAGC Blue Pencil Awards are geared toward writing, editing, photography, and published products, while the Gold Screen Awards recognize audio-visual and multimedia products. According to the official NAGC Blue Pencil and Gold Screen Awards announcement, there were more than 430 entries in 38 categories. Awesome. Check out the Awards Program for the full list of winners.

Armed with Science was edged out by Challenge.gov, an online challenge platform created by the U.S. General Services Administration’s Center for New Media in partnership with ChallengePost. The site connects the U.S. Government and the public to help solve some of the nation’s most pressing challenges. I’ve had the opportunity to work with the team over the past year, and they are the real deal.

I also wanted to congratulation a co-former AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow of mine, Dr. Dan Stimson, whose ”Lobe-oratorium” entry took home 2nd Place in the Best Display category. For more info on Dan and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke’s “Lobe-oratorium” display, check out this recent edition of the NIH Record.

And, here is a giant copy of the Awards Program cover. I can promise you that clicking on it will result in you being magically transported to a glorious PDF version of the Awards Program.

Idea.org is a non-profit organization committed to enhancing the public’s knowledge of science and culture. They have a pretty active blog, which I encourage you to visit at your leisure.

Below, I’ve posted an excerpt, but you can check out the full article over at Idea.org.

The idea of Armed with Science was conceived in 2008. Several U.S. Navy public affairs staff were thinking about new kinds of outreach using podcasts and social media, and Ohab was working in the department on a fellowship. The funding came from DOD’s public affairs department (the Defense Media Activity’s Emerging Media Directorate).

Ohab developed an online, weekly radio show which launched in January 2009. The show featured scientists, engineers, and other experts from DOD, other federal agencies, academia, and industry. It was broadcast live on BlogTalkRadio, taking questions via Twitter. There were 64 episodes, covering a wide range of sciences, and the podcast was downloaded nearly 200,000 times in 2009.

After Ohab’s fellowship ended, the Directorate hired him as a contractor via an existing contract with defense contractor OMNITEC Solutions. OMNITEC had prior experience with podcasts and social media, as well as ghostwriting and editing speeches and publications.

Inspired by the success of the podcast, in January 2010, additional staff were brought on, and the podcast evolved into a blog. In the blog, contributors to Armed with Science could share personal narratives, images, and videos. The Armed with Science team also posts headlines from their blog and related news to Facebook (2726 likes), and Twitter (8362 followers). In 2010, Armed with Science published 290 blog posts, 15 webcasts, and 45 YouTube videos. They had over 600k visitors and 250k YouTube views. The blog was the 4th most visited out of 80 Department of Defense blogs, a department that extensively uses social media (see list).

Adolescents diagnosed with chronic illness have a lifelong responsibility to maintain and promote their health. Chronic illness can impact life in a variety of ways: pain, fatigue, inability to take part in physical abilities, and feelings of hopelessness. To help overcome these challenges, adolescents commonly look to counseling, social groups, and similar online activities.

What would you do to help an adolescent with chronic illness regain control of their health?

The folks at InnoCentive.com are looking for exciting new ways to use gaming technology to help adolescent patients with chronic disease. Their new challenge, Games for Health: Inspiring Adolescents to take Control of their Health, will payout 10,000 bucks, with at least one award being no smaller than $5,000 and no award being smaller than $1,000.

The goal is to obtain a gaming product that helps adolescents with chronic illness create and maintain their own health. The winning solution will create a feeling of community, provide measures of success, and impacts real life behaviors. A teenager should actually want to play this game, rather than associate with homework!

The winning solution will support the larger Collaborative Chronic Care Network (C3N), a system based on collaboration between patients, clinicians, and researchers. C3N will enable these stakeholders to share information, experiences, and ideas to solve problems and improve health. It will operate both online (virtual worlds) and offline (the real world), so the winning solution needs to function effectively in both worlds.

Anyone is eligible to participate in this Challenge, from gamers to graphic designers to clinicians to the actual patients who would use it. Submit your solution by June 18!

Gaming technology has played an increasingly important role in enabling citizens to participate in scientific research projects.

EteRNA challenges you to build RNA molecules using a virtual molecule building kit; in the Finnish game, Digitalkoot, players fix mistakes in the index of old Finnish newspapers by saving animated moles; and in Phylo, you help researchers study DNA sequences by shifting and moving puzzle pieces.

Sign up for the Science for Citizens newsletter!

Even though I wasn’t there to inspire them, Darlene Cavalier and the rest of the Science Cheerleaders put on a great performance at NASA. Way to go!

From ScienceCheerleader.com:

The Science Cheerleaders — scientists and engineers who are also current and former professional cheerleaders for the NBA, NFL and other pro sports leagues — performed at NASA’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. as part of the White House’s celebration of Women in History Month in March! After their performance, they shared the stage with NASA education specialists and answered questions posed by some of the 200 young female students in the audience. Then, White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett, NASA deputy director Lori Garver, and astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson (who just returned from six months in space in the International Space Station) inspired the audience (including me!) and even gave some shout-outs to the Science Cheerleaders. Hands up!

Here’s a brief highlights video reel, showcasing their appearance. (And here’s a BBC report on the Science Cheerleaders, recorded at the event.)

Did you know that we’re smack dab in the middle of Public Service Recognition Week? Indeed. This your chance to thank public servants throughout the nation for working hard to provide us with essential services and advance the common good.

Our friends at GovLoop are doing their part by launching WeLovePublicService.org, a site the allows you to send e-thanks to the public servants in your life. They’ve also put together a compilation video, featuring shout outs from public servants, random passers-by, and Internet celebrities like me and the guy that invented Craigslist. 

You can watch the full video above, or skip right to the part featuring me by watching the video below. Either way, there will be lunging.

Visit OscarFest 2011 to see how you stacked up against all 138 participants. You’re sure to find at least a few friends who did worse than you.

Thanks to several generous contributions, $235 will be donated in the Champions’ names to 1n10, a non-profit organization dedicated to serving and assisting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth. Allison and Eric may have earned the OscarFest crown (and complimentary OscarFest Snuggie), but, in the end, we are all winners.

Thanks again for taking part in the greatest and best OscarFest the world has ever seen… EVER! (until next year)

This was the only logical next step.

I have to admit: it’s getting harder and harder to beat these records every year. A wide turn or a bad landing makes the difference almost every time. It’s also getting stranger and stranger to be a grown man filming myself playing a video game on a Super Nintendo Entertainment System that I received when I was 13 years-old. Let’s table that conversation for another day.

Below, I’ve posted the videos for my five most recent Twin Galaxies-certified records: Choco Island 1, Ghost Valley 2, and Mario Circuit 2. I hope that you enjoy viewing the videos and being impressed by them.

NOTE: In case you’re wondering, I am required by Twin Galaxies to film the TV and the console itself, as well as film five seconds of “dead-air” before powering up the system all the way through to the end of the race. This footage was taken from the original videos that I submitted to Twin Galaxies for review; however, I’ve edited out the console startup process to make the videos more watchable on YouTube.

Choco Island 1: Fastest Race


Choco Island 1: Fastest Lap


Ghost Valley 2: Fastest Race


Ghost Valley 2: Fastest Lap


Mario Circuit 2: Fastest Race

OscarFest 2011 is back and better than ever!  Thanks to Eric, we have a great new multi-functional OscarFest website, and, thanks to Arlene, my head has once again been plopped seamlessly onto a shiny Oscar statue. Let’s get down to business!

Haven’t see any movies? Don’t worry! OscarFest is so easy a child could do it. In fact, we regularly have infants who score better than their parents simply by mashing their hands about the keyboard. Now THAT is bonkers!

Here is how you participate:

1. Register if you’re new or log in using your email address from last year.
2. Make your picks by Sunday February 27 at 8pm eastern.
3. Join our Facebook Fan Page.

Even if you don’t win, I promise that you will enjoy identifying those who did worse than you and mocking them at future social events.

If that isn’t enough incentive, we’re donating $70 (and growing) in the Champion’s name to 1n10, a non-profit organization dedicated to serving and assisting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth. It’s an effort to have fun and help people.

Visit OscarFest and see what everyone (~34 people) are talking about!

This monument honoring Civil War General William Tecumseh Sherman was commissioned in 1896. Exactly 100 years later, I wrote a junior high research paper on Tecumseh’s successes during the Union campaigns that led to the fall of the Confederacy. Another 15 years later, I inexplicably mimed one of the monument’s bronze statues, in this case representing War. Today, I present to you a Mimefest-certified photograph that mysteriously omits the equestrian statue of Sherman himself! Bonkers.

If you’re in DC, you can attempt this mime for yourself by navigating to the location described on Google’s Map. There are other interesting things to see in this area, including the White House (where the President lives) and the U.S. Treasury (where all of America’s golds and precious spices are held).

In January, my friend Carla invited me to the gaming and music conference, MagFest 2011, to challenge attendees to a game of Super Mario Kart. As an added bonus, the conference staff agreed to give a free t-shirt to anyone who could beat me. Over four hours, I went 75-2.

None of that is depicted in this video. However, you will get to see me attempt and fail to beat my current Twin Galaxies world record on Mario Circuit 1.

It was a strange experience. Upon losing/winning, I felt the same smorgasbord of emotions that Bobby Fischer must have experienced after playing himself in chess. Yes, I am comparing the two.

Here are some picture that I think you will enjoy.

Alex selects the character that he will use while being annihilated by John.

The woman on the right beat me twice in a row, so I gave up my seat to the gentleman on the left.

MagFest featured many arcade games and people playing arcade games.

The official MagFest tweet encouraged people to be annihilated at Super Mario Kart.

As part of a collaboration on the Changing Planet series, Science for Citizens is partnering with a climate research project at the University of Waterloo called SnowTweets. To help researchers track climate change, we’re asking people to grab a ruler, go outside, and measure the depth of snow wherever you happen to be. Then, report the data here. Pretty easy.

With the help of friends and family, I was able to produce the above video to show people just how easy it is to contribute. The video went decidely not viral, despite enjoying a presence on the Science for Citizens blog and Discover Magazine’s Intersection.

Thanks to everyone who helped out! Enjoy the below image of me holding a ruler while laying on a snow-covered bench outside of my office in my work clothes. It makes sense.

The chin-rub and reminding the high school student that combined you have six more degrees than they do are two of the most effective maneuvers. Can you name any others?

Two additional noteworthy items from today’s Wakefield High School Science Fair judging experience: 1) Kel and I probably learned more about soil absorption during this student’s presentation than we will learn for the rest of our lives combined times 40, and 2) neither of us were judges in the Earth Sciences category.

No, he’s not throwing money, free trips to the Caribbean, or iTunes gift certificates to these Washington Wizards fans. He’s throwing Chipotle burritos. And they love him for it.

To help get the word out, Lt. Cragg crafted a story for the American Forces Press Service and Elaine followed up with post on her popular Family Matters blog. If you’d like to read one of their stories, mouse over the giant screen captures below and click the appropriate button on your mouse.

That Thomas Jefferson was the third U.S. President, first U.S. Secretary of State, principle author of the Declaration of Independence, a horticulturist, architect, archaeologist, paleontologist, musician, inventor, and founder of the University of Virginia all seems sort of trivial when you consider how incredibly awesome I am at miming his statue.

If you were in my 2010 Fantasy Football league, this is the team that would have annihilated you.

Kurt’s Warner

Offense
QB Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
WR Calvin Johnson Detroit Lions
WR Lance Moore, New Orleans Saints
RB Jamaal Charles Kansas City Chiefs
RB Matt Forte Chicago Bears
TE Randy McMichael San Diego Chargers
W/R Ahmad Bradshaw NY Giants

Kickers
Mason Crosby Green Bay Packers

Defense/Special Teams
New England Patriots

Bench
Todd Heap (Bal – TE)
Matt Ryan (Atl – QB)
Antonio Gates (SD – TE)
Mario Manningham (NYG – WR)
Terrell Owens (Cin – WR)

While exploring the official website of James Madison’s Montpelier, I came across this peculiar use of quotation marks around the word “Map”. I can’t be sure, but I’m sure James Madison would have been a big fan of the unnecessary quotation mark had it been not been invented 10 years after his “death”.

It’s always a great feeling to know you can help out a friend in need over the holidays. Like when Jen asked me to Photoshop a Santa hat onto Ron Jeremy’s head for her holiday greeting card.

Two noteworthy items in the screen capture below: 1) The Mariah Carey in Santa hat with dog photo, which provided the source material for the hat, and 2) Jen now having the #1 Google Image search result for ‘Ron Jeremy in Santa Hat.” Congratulations?

This Science Cheerleader home-made holiday cheer really conveys just how much attention I command on-screen when wearing a Santa costume.

I recently watched Troll 2.

No offense to Shakes the Clown, Speed 2: Cruise Control, Two Idiots in Hollywood, The Guyver, Talent for the Game, Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, Lawnmower Man 2: Beyond Cyberspace, Glitter, Kazaam, Leonard Part 6, Street Fighter, Cop & 1/2, Mr. Nanny, Crossroads, Gone Fishin’, Bio-Dome, Batman and Robin, any of the Kevin Smith movies except Zack and Miri Make a Porno, all of the Leprechaun movies, and most Jean Claude Van Damme movies, but Troll 2 is definitely the worst movie I have ever seen.

I would recommend gathering several of your best friends and watching this movie as soon as possible.

The current issue of Science (published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science) includes a nice piece on Science Cheerleader right below a diaper-laden baby and the words “Poop Scoop”. Click on the giant image above this sentence or download this .pdf file for evidence.

This Thanksgiving, I gave thanks for my first spare in candlepin bowling.

If you were trapped under a piece of timber during recent months or don’t like science, cheerleaders, nice people, civic activities, fun stuff, watching things, or the Internets, you may not have heard about the Science Cheerleader performance at this year’s USA Science and Engineering Festival in Washington, D.C.

Lucky for you, filmmaker Randy Olson produced the above video, which features several of the Science Cheerleaders — current and former professional NBA and NFL cheerleaders who are also scientists and engineers — and their interactions with thousands of people who attended the festival.

I feel particularly honored to have recieved a “special thanks” at the 2:28 mark, along with several other far more important people who made the event a success.

Go science!

In case you missed it, Darlene and former Titans cheerleader, Jennifer Hill, joined NPR’s Tell me More on November 26th to talk about Science Cheerleader. They didn’t mention how cool I am, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t implied.

Listen to the interview: ScienceCheerleader on NPR Nov 26 2010
Or read the transcript:

Copyright © 2010 National Public Radio®. For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of Use. For other uses, prior permission required.

ALLISON KEYES, host:

When most people think of professional cheerleaders, they don’t necessarily think of the women tossing their uniforms for a spiffy white lab coat. But there’s a group of them that can shake their pom-poms at games and shake up the science world at work.

(Soundbite of cheer)

Unidentified Group: We’re busting, we’re busting, we’re busting down the stereotype. We’re busting, we’re busting, we’re busting down the stereotype. Go science.

KEYES Those are the ladies of Science Cheerleader, performing at a USA Science and Engineering Festival in Washington, D.C. last month.

Science Cheerleader began as a blog and now is an organization that aims to build interest and science among adults and children. Dozens of current and former professional cheerleaders who also have a background in science are working together to spread the word that pom-poms and microscopes can go together.

Darlene Cavalier is founder of Science Cheerleader. She’s a former cheerleader for the Philadelphia 76ers basketball team and now works for Discover magazine. Darlene joins us from Philadelphia.

And Jennifer Hill is a choreographer and former cheerleader for the Tennessee Titans football team. She joins us from Nashville. Welcome, ladies.

Ms. DARLENE CAVALIER (Founder, Science Cheerleader): Thanks for having us.

Ms. JENNIFER HILL (Choreographer): Thanks, Michel.

KEYES: Darlene, what made you think of starting this? And what are you hoping to accomplish?

Ms. CAVALIER: The original goals for Science Cheerleader are actually the same. It’s just evolved into a much more entertaining public face here. So the original goals for Science Cheerleader, the blog, were to increase adult science literacy – and I’m going to sound a little wonky here – get more people to do science through what’s called citizen science activities, actually volunteering to help researchers accomplish specific tasks. And also to then kind of harness that group and get them more involved and engaged in federal science policy discussions.

KEYES: Citizen scientist?

Ms. CAVALIER: Citizen scientists, that’s a great group. So that particular effort has spawned its own business called ScienceforCitizens.net and it’s a site that matches regular people up with real science projects that they can do.

KEYES: Jennifer, which came first, your love of cheerleading or your love of science?

Ms. HILL: That’s really a hard question. I’m sorry, I can’t say which one came first because as a young child, I was working with my father on everything that he did around the house. My father has an electrical engineering degree. So I was like daddy’s little girl. He had me fixing on things in the house whether it be appliances or on the car, musical instruments.

So, at a young age, you know, I was just involved in a lot of mechanical aspects and just solving problems. And, also, at a young age, I was into dance. So I’ve been dancing and I’ve been fixing on things my whole life. So, I’m sorry, I can’t tell you which one came first because it goes hand in hand.

KEYES: I’ve got to ask you both this question. And, first you, Jennifer, then Darlene. You guys have got to catch a lot of drama from both sides. I figure the scientists who still think in 2010 that women have no business in their field and cheerleaders who look at you crazy for being into science. Jennifer?

Ms. HILL: Oh, absolutely. It’s funny because, like you say it, on either side you’ve got people doing double looks and double takes, like, excuse me, what?

And so, like, from a cheerleader’s standpoint, a lot of girls, you know, the normal stereotype is that cheerleaders only want to be, like, actors and dancers and things of that sort, something in the entertainment industry. And so when they see someone like me that, you know, I love to do those type of things but, also, my passion is for science and engineering. And I really want to go as far as I possibly can in corporate America, you know, in engineering right now.

And they’re like, what’s going on? Why do you want to do that? And, you know, I don’t really get a negative connotation but, really, I kind of turn the tables around and give them more options to look into. You know, I’ve had a lot of young ladies that started out at 18 in professional cheerleading.

And, you know, initially they wanted to be an actress and now they’re going to school, getting their, you know, their degrees and furthering their education and getting their MBAs and getting into any industry or field that they, you know, want to that they may not have initially.

KEYES: So, Darlene, have you been running into the same kind of thing? Youre at Discover magazine.

Ms. CAVALIER: Yes, I do. By and large the public has been incredibly receptive and very enthusiastic about this idea of kind of challenging stereotypes and getting young women to consider careers in science and technology. But every so often there are, you know, there are naysayers who, frankly, if you don’t like cheerleaders, you’re not going to like this campaign. There’s nothing we can do to make you like cheerleaders.

(Soundbite of laughter)

Ms. CAVALIER: And the beauty of this campaign, which, you know, is surprising to me, is the level of complexity. So while it seems so simple and fluffy, oh, isn’t that neat, there’s a bunch of cheerleaders cheering for science. Then you start to find out that they are scientists and engineers cheering for science and that becomes the first layer where people start to dig deeper.

And some people feel that this is a campaign that strives to change the stereotypes of cheerleaders, and that’s fine – or change the stereotypes of scientists, and that’s a different perspective.

All in all, though, it is about empowering young women to realize that they can follow both of these dreams and the fact that there are 1.5 million little cheerleaders out there, this has the potential to be a very effective campaign in enlightening them and opening up doors that they may not have seen as viable to them.

So, one of the groups I should mention are the moms of these little girls. We witnessed this firsthand at the USA Science and Engineering Festival.

KEYES: I’m glad you talked about that because I was going to ask you about it.

Ms. CAVALIER: That was pretty remarkable to see the conversion of moms, really maybe looking a little skeptical at these women walking around in these outfits at a science festival and then one by one coming up after their daughters had, you know, had a chance to interact with somebody like Jennifer and to say, thank you so much, because she just only talks about growing up to be a cheerleader. First of all, I didn’t even know there were such things as paid cheerleaders.

(Soundbite of laughter)

Ms. CAVALIER: But, secondly, for Jennifer to be able to speak to, you know, a five-year-old and say, yeah, you know, I was a cheerleader, this is what I did, do you like my pom-poms? Well, guess what else I do? I help build cars. Yeah, I love it. It’s really cool.

KEYES: Let me jump in here for a second. If you’re just joining us, this is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. I’m Allison Keyes and we’re talking about the Science Cheerleader project. Our guests are Darlene Cavalier, the group’s founder, and Jennifer Hill, a professional engineer. She’s also a choreographer and a former cheerleader for the Tennessee Titans football team.

Jennifer, let me ask you, you’re African-American and I think people of color and women are both kind of underrepresented in the scientific fields. Do you feel like you have a special mission to be a role model here?

Ms. HILL: Oh, absolutely. I do have a special mission. A lot of, you know, young inner city youth of different ethnicities, they come from a place where they feel like they don’t know what they can do, or the sky is not the limit. And, you know, it’s really good when they see someone like me just from different – from a different background or from a similar background as them, and just delving into these two different industries, whether it be the entertainment aspect of it or the science aspect of it.

And it just – you know, you could just see, like, in their eyes that they’re like, oh my goodness, look, I can be this person as well. So, I mean, it’s just really fulfilling to be able to just spend time with the kids and just let them know, hey, you know, this is something that you can do as well.

KEYES: Darlene, in the very short time we have left, talk to me a little bit about what’s next for Science Cheerleader. How many are in the group right now? And what kind of outreach do you guys have planned?

Ms. CAVALIER: Yeah, it’s the first time that we performed, was last month in Washington. So, 11 of the science cheerleaders. I put out a call, 11 responded. We had support from Burroughs Wellcome Fun to make that happen. And we’re entertaining a lot of invitations to be everywhere to do these performances.

We have more than 50, by the way, science cheerleaders that are working with us. And they’re in almost every major city. And I should add, that’s from the NFL. I haven’t even touched the NBA yet.

(Soundbite of laughter)

KEYES: From the NFL alone?

Ms. CAVALIER: NBA, that’s my group.

KEYES: All right, who’s smarter, NFL, NBA? No, I’m kidding.

(Soundbite of laughter)

KEYES: Pom-pom fight. No.

Ms. CAVALIER: Well, there’s a reality show in that somewhere, I think.

KEYES: I know, right?

Ms. CAVALIER: Oh yeah. So we want to be able to sort of tap the call when we get a request to be able to say, you know, hey San Francisco, there’s a science festival happening. And then those kids in those schools need to hear from you and make it pretty simple to do that.

And, again, we’re also developing a full-fledged website so that little boys, too. They can come to the site and say, well, my favorite team happens to be the Tennessee Titans, let’s see what Science Cheerleaders are on that team, making it much more easy for them to navigate and engage with the Science Cheerleaders.

KEYES: Darlene Cavalier is the founder of Science Cheerleader. She joined us from Philadelphia. And Jennifer Hill is a professional engineer who is also a choreographer and a former cheerleader for the Tennessee Titans football team. She joined us from Nashville. Thank you ladies, both.

Ms. CAVALIER: Thank you.

Ms. HILL: Thank you.

KEYES: To see the Science Cheerleader video, please check out our website. Just go to npr.org and select TELL ME MORE on the program page.

Copyright © 2010 National Public Radio®. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to National Public Radio. This transcript is provided for personal, noncommercial use only, pursuant to our Terms of Use. Any other use requires NPR’s prior permission. Visit our permissions page for further information.

The Arizona Cardinals may not be having their best season ever, but they have at least one superstar on the team this year.

Meet Marcie, a 4th year Cardinals cheerleader and a Technical Marketing Engineer at Intel. I had a chance to interview Marcie over at Science Cheerleader and learn about he she balances these two seemingly different careers.

Make sure to read the article! Every unique visitor is guaranteed to translate into small bits of karma, which could collectively lead the Cardinals to victory against the 49ers on Monday Night Football. Now, if only I could talk to coach Wisenhunt about giving Marcie a shot at quarterback…

In this video, I blow my chance to make bowling history as the first human to record three consecutive strikes — known in folklore as the “turkey.”

There are only two things that I have never done: speak in hyperbole and give other people credit for being funny.  But this literal version of Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart” video is definitely worth acknowledging.

Also worthy of remark, this literal version of Meatloaf’s “Anything for Love”:

There is nothing I like more than anything that I do. So, i encourage you to check out this Science Cheerleader interview I conducted with my friend and colleague, Arlene!

It looks like Science for Citizens is getting some attention over at the online video network, Motherboard.TV. Co-founders Michael Gold and Darlene Cavalier were interviewed by Motherboard’s Jordan Keenan this past spring at Harvard during the Humanity Plus Summit, where Darlene spoke about citizen science. Check out the slides from the presentation.

The video is funny because it depicts a cartoonishly disproportionate Teddy Roosevelt at a Nationals game. Ten points if you can spot George Washington, probably one of my favorite Presidents of all time.

Last month, I had the opportunity to speak on a panel at the Advanced Distributed Learning Initiative (ADL)’s Implementation Fest 2010 in Orlando, FL. I joined Aaron Silvers, ADL’s Community Manager, and Mark Oehlert, Innovation Evangelist from Defense Acquisition University in a discussion with the audience about some of the challenges and successes of using social media at the Department of Defense (DoD). The panel was moderated by Peter Smith, ADL’s team lead for immersive learning technologies.

Implementation Fest is the premier event for the D0D training community.  It provides an opportunity to a unique gathering of military, government, industry, and academic learning/education/training professionals to share lessons learned.  The conference focuses on a range of topics including effective use of distributed learning technologies for DoD training, training standards and specifications, innovative learning capabilities, and other topics.

I figured, hey, if I’m going to continue interviewing cheerleader-scientist hybrids, I should probably pick ones that are conducting research on human retinas.

Two weeks and two interviews with San Francisco 49ers Gold Rush cheerleaders who are both smarter and have better abs than me. If I don’t get to work, I may lose the “John O-Ab” moniker that I have secretly given to myself and not revealed in a public forum until now.

Christine’s story is pretty awesome. She has a Masters in biomedical engineering from Arizona State and is currently pursing a PhD in the Joint Graduate Group in Bioengineering at UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco. And she previously cheered for the Arizona Cardinals and the Phoenix Suns, which by default pretty much makes her my favorite former Cardinals and Suns cheerleader. Go Science!

You should also check out the previous interview with Erica.

My challenge for the year is to find a word in the English language that describes this commercial better than the word “awkward.”