Dave Ng has recently upgraded the Order of the Science Scouts of Exemplary Repute and Above Average Physique site, which provides a variety of achievement badges for members to claim and post. I'm not a big one for extra graphics on the blog (they delay the loading of the cute baby pictures), but if you're into goofy stuff, they've got some fun options.
For the record, the badges I can claim include:
- I Blog About Science (duh)
- Has Frozen Stuff Just to See What Happens (Level III) (liquid nitrogen is cool)
- Worship Me, I've Published in Nature or Science
- Experienced with Electrical Shock (Level III) (I brushed against the ~1kV electrode on the plasma discharge source about three times in one week when I was in grad school)
- I've Set Fire to Stuff (Level III) (Thankfully, not including myself)
- Science Deprives Me of My Bed (Level I)
- I Somehow Convinced Someone to Part With a Lot of Money for Science (Level I)
- Quantum Mechanics: I Soooo Get It (I don't, really, but the dog does.)
They've got a bunch of other new developments, too (Twitter and Facebook, etc.). So if you're looking for a fun, low-impact Friday morning time-waster, you could do a lot worse.
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Yeah, can't say I find the graphics too compelling either.
I guess I qualify for
I Blog About Science (No, really)
Has Frozen Stuff Just to See What Happens (Level III) (Plenty of liquid nitrogen in the lab next to where I graduated)
Experienced with Electrical Shock (Level III) (You can have fun with an aquarium, believe me. Not to mention electric fences.)
The âIâve done science with no conceivable practical applicationâ badge. (Harharhar).
The âsomewhat confused as to what scientific field I actually belong toâ badge.
The âworldâs foremost expert on an obscure subjectâ badge. (Antigravitation, anybody?)
The âIâve set fire to stuffâ badge (LEVEL I). (Well, who hasn't)
The âhas done science whilst under the influenceâ badge.
The âI somehow convinced someone to part with a lot of money for scienceâ badge (LEVEL II). (Though I then had to decline it, two times, does that count?)
I third the comment about less-than-compelling graphics.
My badges:
The "I've somehow convinced someone to part with a lot of money for science" (Level I) badge (small NSF grant)
The "Science deprives me of my bed" (Level III) badge (five weeks in Fairbanks in the middle of winter for a rocket campaign)
The "Astronaut" (Level II) badge (have worked with space flight hardware, including installing it on the spacecraft)
The "Non-explainer" (Level I) badge (Mom doesn't try to understand what I do for a living)
The "I build robots" (Level II) badge (modern space flight hardware qualifies)
The "I AM actually a freaking rocket scientist" badge (see above)
The "I've set fire to stuff" (Level I) badge
The "I'm into telescopes astro" (Level I) badge
The "Somewhat confused as to what scientific field I actually belong to" badge [(astro)(geo)physics, or something like that]
The "Experienced with electrical shock" (Level III) badge (inevitable if you play often enough with high voltage)
The "Has frozen stuff just to see what happens" (Level III) badge (had a summer job in a lab that used liquid nitrogen)