Top Female Astronauts of China

Wow you have to be smart and hot to be chosen as the next Astronaut of China. Really? Perfect teeth, for the photo ops I bet. Another criteria, having given birth naturally, so that cosmic rays don't affect reproduction or rather their reasoning was, to prove that biologically all systems were functioning. Ew.

Can you wear makeup in space? Image Source

The original article mentions that there were two top candidates selected from a list of top fighter pilots. Some folks were upset that requirements for higher education wasn't mentioned.  My opinion is that I'd rather have a good pilot fly the spacecraft; if they've made it this far, they definitely have an impressive resume. Last I heard, Chinese people are all about having that Dr. in front of the name, and the extra degrees and fancy industry qualifications. Therefore, by default to be a pilot you have to have a university degree.

I have a friend who would indeed meet all the other specs, writes: "The article itself doesn't seem to say that they need to be photogenetic (though the photo certainly implies that), but rather have a body with certain biological standard, none of which applies to looks. What I'm naturally skeptic about are their "scientific" claims as to why these standards are necessary in space."

What makes the best astronaut for the mission?

Here is a more balanced view of reporting on mothers for female crew selection.

Who are your online friends?

Ego-surfing

So I did a google search on myself because my colleagues claimed that they searched everywhere on the Internet for me, to find my phone number, but they could not find me. I'm not convinced because I am who I am. I run the search myself on my firstname lastname city; most hits on the first page are true, albeit outdated.  A job I posted as a prospective employer, an old work email address that got too much spam, what I studied and where I went to school, my volunteer work at a professional organization, and my resume as a piano teacher resume. The part about me running a half marathon? That's not true. LOL  I am registered for a mini-triathlon, but no I have never run that far in my life.

On the next page I see a Linked In profile for a girl with the same name as mine in Washington. She's American but not asian, with 30 years of experience in Law Enforcement, industry specific skills and two big stints in Interpol. Her photo is a really good looking chic, probably age 25. I'm nice so I decide to send her a friendly note to say... "hey we have the same name but your resume is so amazing! But the linked in profile is wide open to the public and you have security clearances, perhaps you could change the default privacy settings, but you don't have to friend me." I had to send the message like a "connection request" because that's the only way you can contact someone you are not actually connected to.  Surprisingly, she accepts. I'm intrigued by this mysterious and successful persona with my name.  I get frequent updates that she has new connections joining her from Northrop Grumman (US DOD contractor) and other interesting people.  In the back of my mind, I have suspicions why someone has 30 years experience and looks 25 (but that cannot be a crime).


Managing your online relationships

I decide to talk to my old boss because he is in the IT Security industry, he would know what to say about these kind of sticky things I get myself into. He jokes that women with my name simply cannot be trusted. He sends me a link to this article about the famous Robin Sage Experiment. It's a good read about basic online security awareness and social engineering.  The "girl" who duped military intelligence and top notch IT Security professionals.

He reassures me that he did some peripheral background checks on my new contact and the info in her resume does check out; and he even convinces me that based on her info if she is 46, well some women could still look that good. (So that confirms that he thinks she is good looking too) But he cautions me with something I should know already, as a general rule, be careful about being friends with someone you haven't actually met in real life.

Another time on Facebook, I accepted a friend request from a person who I assumed was a twenty-something year old friend of my sister because it was a name I thought I recognized.  As soon as I accepted, she chatted me up and started her note with "hihi" and her writing style was very girly and teeny boppy and we talk about similarities with her hometown Vancouver and mine.  Her friend list is full of really good looking asian chics, but no guyz. Well that's odd but I think nothing of it.  Over the course of weeks we continue to talk, about Victoria Day long weekend, how cute the kids are with tulips. Soon after I get a friend request from her again because she told me her account got locked so she started a new one. This keeps happening on a weekly basis and I decide to forget about it. On a whim I search for her profile name and there are many many profiles (without a profile picture) with her name, but there was one with a photo of a really ugly looking guy. Reminds me of a guy who did too much boxing in the face, was my first impression. I was shocked to learn that my new "friend" was probably some kind of predator. What should've been my first clue? What kind of teeny-boppy girl doesn't have guy friends on the friend's list?


Managing your online profile

You ask yourself, Who am I? Well if you feel the need to do some ego-surfing and google yourself and if you don't like what you see, here is a good article I found about un-googling yourself and managing your online identity a little bit better. Un-google yourself!

Verify the privacy settings on your various social media websites, especially access policies to the photos you post of yourself and your own children! Google has recently updated their privacy policy, which makes it harder to delete your online search history. So, um don't google something criminal like that other guy, "where to hide a body".

Career Choices 101

Reitman's a women's clothing line for everyday wear has a catchy advertising tagline, "You have a job evaluation everyday" and there's a poster size image of a woman dressed in a business suit looking ready for a job interview. Well obviously you have to be qualified for the job, well in some jobs looks are part of the qualifications!

Boothbabe

Wikipedia has an interesting article on "promotional models". The caption for this photo indicates that the woman is a "booth babe" at a defense industry trade show. (Not the fat dude in combats) Well maybe but what if she was an HR Rep for the company, or even an Engineering Manager. I've never heard of that word before but then again, how many defense industry trade shows have I been too.

For some jobs, good looks are implied - Flight Attendant, Supermodel, etc.  Looked at recent job postings where they specifically noted looks as a requirement. A Swedish hospital posted a hiring ad looking for Hot Looking Nurses, a hiring campaign that was well received. You still had to have a nursing degree and job related qualifications to apply. 

There are alot of google search results for Import Car Model or how to become an import car model.  The general opinion was that most import car models were asian, and I didn't realize that because I thought a requirement was actually being naturally blonde and tall.  Turns out I'm wrong, the hottest import car model in Canada is Steph Ly, I was suprised to learn is the sister of a childhood friend who studied accounting and moved on to life in/on fast cars. It was tough to find a webpage that was not blocked by the firewall at work.  Another popular asian model is Min Hee Hwang from South Korea.  They call her the race queen so I thought she was a race car driver like Danica Patrick.. but drivers are usually in the drivers seat right? There aren't nearly as many photos or web posts dedicated to her (in English). I would categorize her look as classic authentic beauty, stoic, with Japanime-qualities, but not like Kat von D hot. But what do I know. I like looking at the cars in TunerZine.com; I learned alot about my new car featured this month actually, newer Toyota Prius, and the Engineering features behind that.  I finally clicked Model because I was looking for a new car. Well anyway they weren't talking about a model number for a car... so that's how this whole article got started.

Whatever career you choose though, make sure it is something you are passionate about. Engineering is a broad field that starts out with Electrical, Mechanical, Chemical, Civil and then they start branching off into various specialties like Aerospace, Environmental, Bio Medical, Bio Mechanical, Process, Manufacturing, Geomatics, Computer and so on. Automobile Engineer, design the fastest and sexiest car on the planet! Personally I wish I had chosen Mining Engineering instead, to look for all those sparkly diamonds!

So are there good looking girls and boys in Engineering? Yah a few for sure.  I read a cartoon before that touched on this issue. There's a girl sitting at a desk between two guys. The guy on the left leans over and says "Being a girl in engineering, your odds are good." She looks over at the guy on the right and says "The odds are good, but the goods are odd." I did a google search on "engineers good looking" and it's funny there are not too many photos of people but just machines. Now that's funny.

Big Bang Theory - Howard Walowitz the Engineer.

Best Geek Girl Movies

I love action movies best, but I am drawn to science fiction or a mix of the two. I recently started to take note of the Costume Designer's choices for the leading female character, more so after a vivid encounter. I borrow this quote from a buddy's girlfriend, about Megan Fox (the high school hottie and auto mechanic geek) in Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen, the part where she survives the crossfire between the Autobots and Deceptacons in an epic land and air battle featuring US military heavy fire power; her T-shirt is ripped in the right places and she is wearing tight white leather pants that seemed to stay so sparkling white through all the mud and oil splatter. "Her pants are still white!"

Anyway the "geek fiction" movies are dear to me, because of the enduring pursuit of the truth, the admirable female lead is a leading scientist in her field, and I like the hard science the screen writers have woven into the fabric of the story. Anyway here's the lo-down. Who is the geek, what is the subject matter of expertise, and what is she wearing.

Proof - Gwyneth Paltrow is the Math geek.
Contact - Jodie Foster is the Astrophysicist or RF Engineer geek
The Saint - Elisabeth Shue is the Electrochemist geek
Thor - Natalie Portman is the Electric Storm Chaser geek
Miss Congeniality - Sandra Bullock is a geek in the FBI who ends up in the Miss America Pageant.


Cosmic Background RF for SETI Research, by Freescia

SETI - Steerable Antenna was Tracking! by Freescia

Movie: CONTACT
She searches the air waves for clues in the galaxy about extra terrestrial life. You see the huge low frequency antenna arrays and the SETI computer algorithms in the movie, as well as the inspiration and legacy of her loving father; a little girl who speaks into the universe, Daddy, CQ are you out there? Blueprints and design documents to build an enormous space apparatus are intercepted from an RF transmission, possibly originating from aliens. The UN or some global entity led by the US must select one candidate to represent mankind on a journey to meet the aliens. A romantic interest is a man of faith and forbidden love, who questions her convictions of atheism and scientific proof. She is catapulted into a journey that seems only too real and symbolic, yet when she returns to earth, one can only rely on faith to prove it ever happened.
Most Memorable Wardrobe: Space Suit, silver locket from her father. More fact and fiction on the movie.

It is the same antenna, just tracking... by Freescia, Australia 2008.

Movie: THE SAINT
There is more to the back story of the main character Val Kilmer plays, but I am most interested in his attempted theft of the secret of Cold Fusion from a top nuclear scientist, the smart and beautiful Dr Emma. Fact: In 1992, two chemists in England Ponds and Fleischman had claimed to discover cold fusion, supposed heat energy released when hydrogen atoms bonded together on a palladium rod, after electrolysis of water. Of course it was all a myth or a flop that generated more controversy than real nuclear energy at room temperature. The movie was exploiting the hype which unfortunately may have also contributed to the movie being a flop. Despite that, I still enjoyed it as an action movie with some romance. I was really drawn to the movie because I was an impressionable Grade 7 student when Cold Fusion came about. In fact, I am not embarrassed to admit that my science fair partner and I actually tried to replicate this experiment and we were expecting some big flash or amazing event at the moment of "fusing hydrogen atoms together". Fiction: The movie finishes with the world being saved from an evil person in Russia owning unlimited nuclear energy because the secret formula is openly shared, on live TV, or in today's world that would be Wikipedia.
Most Memorable Wardrobe: White lab coat, and a white sweater dress (the kind from Victoria's Secret)

Movie: THOR
The god of Thunder is cast down to earth, generating an epic electromagetic disturbance on earth. Two female storm chasers and their stern father find a mortal man with amazing abs unconscious and discover he is an old soul who has lost his superpowers but not his fury. The US government confiscates her notebook with all the information about the storm's origin and coordinates. He fights off all the armed guards with the same double-leg kick each time (how about a new dance move?) and retrieves the notebook for her. In the end, his power is restored but in order to save mankind he chooses to leave his beloved on earth. She is a storm chaser and more determined than ever to find him again.
Most Memorable Wardrobe: I missed the bubble bath scene I saw in the trailers. Otherwise, it would have to be the oversized plaid shirts and think warm jackets. I think they spent more money on the Asgard costume set.


Movie: MISS CONGENIALITY
A geeky FBI agent is chosen to infiltrate the Miss America Pageant to halt a plot to assassinate Miss America. The US government enlists enough staff to fill an abandoned aircraft hangar to transform her into a super model to fit the role. She hits the mark, and even survives a beating with a bouquet of roses by the real Miss America and they remain best friends.  She keeps the job for another movie while famously keeping her guns in an expensive Fendi.
Most Memorable Wardrobe: agent in black pant suits and greasy hair, later tripping in high heels; Bavarian bar maid tackles man in cowboy hat.

Movie: PROOF
I had first seen the theatre adaptation of the book, "Proof" long before it was made into a movie, at the Ottawa Little Theatre years ago actually. From my memory, it is a charming and heart-warming story bout a grieving daughter who happens to be a stellar math student, stumbles upon a prized collection of her late father's math notebooks. He is a professor of Mathematics at a prestigious university and there is another hot-looking grad student looking for access to the notebooks as well. The notebooks are precious because it contains an elaborate formula or proof for a very significant theorem of sorts. There are appearances and visitations; in a theatre setting the border between reality and imagination seem to blend, and it all seems so logical mathematically until at the end you really discover the truth. Poof! How do you prove that something you believe truly existed?
Most Memorable Wardrobe: Nothing out of the ordinary, I only remember the baggy jeans.

Just an odd observation, why is it that every movie about a clever guy or girl, highly skilled in math, is usually someone who ends up with a borderline case of insanity or other medical condition? Think of Rainman, A Beautiful Mind, even Proof. Why couldn't people just be geeks without further explanation?

Anyways, I found another great click the link for more website math in the movies! I hope you really enjoyed reading this post. What is your favorite movie? Please comment!

Really not Born This Way Makeup Tutorials

My sister sent me some links for makeup techniques, that are not necessarily ulzzang but I'd say the first one is an asian person who converts herself quite well into Lady Gaga.

Lady Gaga Bad Romance Look
A makeup tutorial featuring extreme eye makeup with the fake lashes and white underliner. Then she takes it up notch with some CGI techniques to track her face, and make the eyes even bigger.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHVOxhEpjp0&feature=related

Me as Angelina Jolie !!!A Make-up Transformation !!!!!
Really amazing makeup tutorial posted by a talented makeup specialist.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsqahGYl21w

The Number One Ulzzang

Not so Ulzzang Image Source

Ulzzang is best defined as a Korean word meaning "best face" or "good-looking", and refers to a style of makeup and self portrait photography that accentuates the eyes and slims the face.  Many images and videos posted online demonstrate the transformation from an ordinary asian girl with ordinary facial features into an anime character-like Internet celebrity with fair skin, a small nose and thin small lips.

Ulzzang Slim Face Big Eyes Image Source

Note: These are not photos of me, nor any of my friends or anyone I have ever seen in real life. I grabbed them from the Internet! Just google Ulzzang images and you will find these, before and after poses as well. I would never be caught dead in a photo without makeup on.

Ulzzang Before and After Image Source

Ulzzang has developed into a subculture and style popular among Korean girls, as well as Japanese and Chinese girls overseas and in North America. I've seen this as another trend in glamour wedding photography where the bride and groom both look like super models, and you end up with a bound hardcopy portfolio album..  There are even TV game shows featuring a competition between several rather "geeky-looking" asian girls wearing very thick glasses and they demonstrate the makeup application techniques to transform into someone very amazing, such as Goo hye sun, Nam Sang-mi, Park Han-byul, Kang Eun-bi and Kim Hye Sung.

My favorite definition I pulled from Urban Dictionary is quoted:
"Superficial, terrifying Asians who go through mountains of eyelid glue, circle lenses, makeup, trick camera angles, and photoshop to look like blank-faced aliens."

Before Ulzzang

The little miss who wrote "Attempt to be Ulzzang... FAIL" has the best description and nerdy transformation hands down, especialy with the description of the camera angles and photoshop.

After Ulzzang, same chic!

She calls herself ordinary and average. To describe average, I'd say a typical asian girl (wears glasses) probably plays piano and violin, excels in math and chess, has a tyrant Tiger Mom, and if she's not destined for Medicine, she'll end up in Electrical Engineering among other geeky asian girls. Now do all asian girls in Engineering look like this? At UBC maybe. On the Facebook profile, yes.  Amazing what the web cam or cell phone camera can do.

The first Ulzzang I would have to list is not from Korea, but from the USA and that would be Wonder Woman. They already figured this out half a century ago before netizens knew about it, to lose the glasses and glam it up with loads of eyeliner and waterproof eyeliner. Lynda Carter as Leading Seaman Diana Prince in super geek mode, holding a top secret file with nuclear launch codes for missiles from attack subs...

Lynda Carter aka Diana Price Image Source

And thirty seconds later after an elaborate change scene, she is Wonder Woman with bullet proof bracelets and light body armour.

Wonder Woman Image Source

Techie Barbie listed among Hot Geek Girls

Who do you want to coming to your door to fix a computer problem when you call the Geek Squad or Nerds on Site? Either a male contestant from Beauty and the Geek or a real-life smart and beautiful hot geek girl.  Imagine Barbie as a Computer Software Techie or Engineer. Sounds like a hot career choice for this iconic Mattel girl.  Looking hot in heels and boots, we've seen Barbie as Chief Surgeon, Airline Pilot, Army Medic, Astronaut, and even as US President.

Astronaut Barbie Image Source

The chic techie girl Barbie wears fitted black crop Lululemon-like pants and a glam top (decorated with a binary numbers theme), sporting a pink Blackberry, aqua blue Bluetooth headset, nerdy reading glasses and a pink laptop running Linux. Wow they thought of everything!  Gadgets aside though, I'd have to comment that fashion designers at Mattel could've chosen Lululemon work pants and a hoodie for the casual look, or a professional suit from Tristan and American or Club Monaco, and of course heels. They do expect you to be an amazing Computer Software Engineer and look good in heels though probably not a job requirement the Society of Women Engineers and the National Academy of Engineering would agree with.

The Barbie Geek Image Source

Now begs the question, what qualifies someone to be a hot geek girl? The hot part is essential, including the makeup, clothes, accessories, glasses, and.. assets. To be a geek, chic must be intelligent, smart, resourceful, knowledgable and experienced in a technical field, already dominated by men. A job for nuclear scientist, a satellite engineer,  computer programmer, systems administrator, to name a few.

Marina Orlova Image Source

I found an online poll for the hottest geek girl, so I suppose the third criteria must be highly successful in her techie field, and as a bonus, be featured in a magazine widely read by men for looks and merit. You wanna be grammar-spanked by the lovely Marina Orlova. The under-30 Russian blonde owns a youtube phenomenon at two million views per video in her series called Hot for Words, which features her amazing command of the English language and knowledge of etymology of words, which leaves you wondering, what will she wear to the next English lesson? Wired, G4, and Cosmopolitan hail her as one the world’s sexiest geek girls, if this photo or youtube isn't blocked by your company's firewall or internet usage policy.

I stumbled upon another amazing web blog called Geek In Heels, written by a hot korean girl geek. However I couldn't find her picture because it was dominated with photos of her husband and kids. I was actually looking for hot korean girl makeup tips but I found out her web page is ranked number four in Google page ranks and her Google Analytic stats are insane!  Tech Barbie and my Linux troubleshooting notebook are my inspirations for this blog, but that is one hot chic I would like to meet and web chat with, about work.

Training for a Competition

There's an event in Ottawa on Saturday June 9 if you're game? I haven't quite decided it I should go for a team relay or do one on my own.  A Triathlon is a very competitive individual sport, but at the same time when you join a local triathlon club there's a lot of value in training together. The Ottawa Triathlon Club offers a training studio, workshops and even power swim lessons.

http://somersault.ca/eventottawariverkeeper.htm
Here is a summary of the events & distances. Sign up before January 31, 2012 for an early bird discount.

* Olympic Triathlon & Relay - 1500M Swim / 44.4Km Cycle / 10Km Run
Sprint Triathlon - 500M Swim / 23.7 Km Cycle / 5Km Run
* Try A Tri & Try A Tri Relay - 200M Swim / 13.3Km Cycle / 3Km Run
Super Sprint Triathlon - 200M Swim / 13.3Km Cycle / 5Km Run
Canoe Triathlon - 5Km Paddle / 23.7Km Cycle / 5Km Run
Kayak Triathlon - 5Km Paddle / 23.7Km Cycle / 5Km Run
Olympic Duathlon - 5Km Run / 44.4Km Cycle / 10Km Run
Olympic SwimCycle - 1500M Swim / 44.4Km cycle
Swim Sprint Triathlon Relay - 500M Swim / 23.7Km Cycle / 5Km Run
Canoe Triathlon Relay - 5Km Paddle / 23.7Km Cycle / 5Km Run
Kayak Triathlon Relay - 5Km Paddle / 23.7Km Cycle / 5Km Run


Make a committment to always do your best. Set a goal and take manageable steps daily.  I was doing some soul-searching to make a list of things I'd like to do before I die, and doing a Triathlon seemed like a good idea at the time. (I'll start with doing a doing relay with two other able-bodied teammates) If you're committed to working out, you could reward yourself with fashionable Lululemon Athletica clothes to arrive in style at the gym, and keep fit. Don't forget to eat well and sleep well too.

For all-purpose, ultra glamorous swimwear (not necesarily appropriate for race day) Victoria's Secret has an impressive product line.  Additionally Lululemon might not have swimwear but you could definitely find something for running and biking, in addition to yoga.

I stumbled upon a collection of "30 Thoughts for a Victorious Triathlete" inpsirations to conquer your toughest race by Coach Julian Dean, that I'd like to share. Check out http://www.triathlongeek.com/

Hidden USB Keys

How do you sneak in a USB key? Wear it on your neck hiding in plain site, disguised as something rough and tough like the Razor Blade Necklace USB Key that ships with "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" soundtrack boxed set. How will it look on you?

Perhaps something less edgier to mark the first day of the Lunar Year of the Dragon. Happy Chinese New Year! For a little bit of luck, you could carry around a USB stick hidden as Hello Kitty in a Dragon costume. Where to buy your own Hello Kitty!
If you like the Calvin Klein bling factor, this is the spy-wear for you. Read more at technabob, found via Ubergizmo

For a thousand other good ideas on the best hidden USB keys, check out this photo gallery someone has already created.

Lululemon Warehouse Sale

Braving twenty-something degrees subzero temperatures on Friday yesterday in Ottawa, thousands of women arrived in droves and fought through crowds of very athletic and ambitious like-minded women to grab something from the Lululemon Warehouse Sale in Ottawa.

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/business/Ottawa+Lululemon+warehouse+sale+attracts+throngs+Centre/6027711/story.html?cid=megadrop_story

It was 9am and I was somewhere other than where I wanted to be... with these thousand other women who had waited hours to get in! I was on my computer at work, reading about the sale. Even my coworkers, who happen to be men, were wondering why I wasn`t missing work to be there. Seriously, I couldn`t more than agree.  Anyway they were getting the occassionally live update from the girlfriend, wife, daughter etc.  My husband on the other hand is the guy looking up the stock market online, and checking how good his Lululemon is doing today.

I waited until 7pm to get there after work, after the gym, after swimming; perhaps hoping the mad crowd would`ve somewhat dispersed; knowing all the good stuff would be gone, and the early morning crowds would`ve moved on. I couldn`t even get to the $7 parking lot gate entrance, where among other vehicles I was told by security that the fire marshall had to close the event and limit further admission. Apparently this already happened at 6:15pm.

It was easy for me to just make a quick U-turn in my zippy little black Prius, while watching the long line of other vehicles, hopeless to face the same fate. Needless to say the husband felt that much richer since I didn`t end up buying anything at the Lululemon Warehouse Sale, and guess what he was doing when I got home.

Sale Day 3
I did end up going to the Lululemon Warehouse Sale on the final day. The final tally: one faux-fur trim hoodie in white, grey track pants, and six men's items for $100. Glad I waited till the last day. I only lined up less than 10 minutes to get in to the sale, and 1 hour to pay. I parked far though, cuz I wanted to free parking. Not many people could say they trekked in from the NRC wind tunnel to save the $7 on parking.