LaurenRosenbaum's blog

In October, just before the 101st Annual Meeting, I was asked to take on a big project: finding every current AAVSO member who has been a member for at least 25 cumulative years.   With huge changes in technology and the way this data was stored at HQ in the last 25 years, it ended up being an intricate, meticulous job.  And because of the diverse group of members we have, it also uncovered some interesting pieces of information! Continue Reading

The AAVSO forums have been around for some time now, but with the end of the email discussion lists, they have greatly increased in activity.  The forums are organized, accessible to the public, and easy to moderate.  But personally, I think the best thing about the forums is that they are a communal resource.

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I was recently lucky enough to take a ten-day trip crisscrossing Israel with forty other young adults.  It was an incredible journey that included floating in the Dead Sea, winding through the streets of old Jerusalem, enjoying the Tel Aviv nightlife, and hiking up a rock plateau to Masada.  However, by far the most profound experience I had was stargazing in the desert region of the Negev.

I started working at the AAVSO at the beginning of July, as the new administrative assistant.  Initially, I was interested in the AAVSO because of the real contributions the organization makes to science, through amateurs and professionals alike.  I have never been talented at science, but I do find it fascinating, and the idea that one can be a scientist without having to be "good" at (or interested in) the scholarly aspect of it is a wonderful message that we do not hear nearly often enough. Continue Reading