Dara profile picture

Dara

About Me

I love the ocean. I'm a graduate student (satellite/physical oceanography). My time is spent either working on my own research or teaching lab sections of undergraduate oceanography courses. I'm using satellite altimetry data combined with geoid data from GRACE to determine the geostrophic currents at the surface of...the entire ocean. Well, really between +/- 66 degrees latitude, but who's counting? At this point, I congratulate you on still reading this blurb. Many people would have zoned out by now, but you're special, aren't you? I also just got married on April 8, 2006. He's the perfect guy for me, except for his rather distinct lack of geekiness. It works out, I guess, because my love of all things geeky has mostly only gotten me into trouble over the years. So sad. But I still have my bag of dice and I'm not afraid to use it.

My Interests

Learning about the natural world (and the supernatural world), reading, listening to music, going to the zoo or aquarium, playing games (role-playing, board, or card), and cooking. My favorite holiday is Christmas, but everybody loves Christmas, whereas I go so nuts over Halloween that everybody assumes that it's my favorite holiday. Maybe it is and I'm just in denial. Maybe I look like Belial. My point is that I LOVE Halloween and pumpkins and bats and freakin' black cats! October is my favorite month, autumn is my favorite season. Ghost stories are my friends. I'm only happy when it rains...no, not really.

I'd like to meet:

Fridtjof Nansen (um..but only if he was still alive) and/or Joel Hodgson Your results:
You are Poison Ivy Poison Ivy 62% Mystique 58% Mr. Freeze 47% Dr. Doom 47% Dark Phoenix 46% Apocalypse 43% The Joker 37% Magneto 36% Venom 35% Riddler 33% Catwoman 33% Lex Luthor 32% Green Goblin 26% Juggernaut 22% Two-Face 18% Kingpin 11% You would go to almost any length for the protection of the environment including manipulation and elimination.
Click here to take the "Which Super Villain are you?" quiz...

Music:

I love: Led Zepplin, Steely Dan, Sade, Tool, George Harrison, ELO, New Order, Public Enemy, Fleetwood Mac, Pink Floyd, Vangelis, Prince, Paul McCartney & Wings, Depeche Mode, Ghoultown, Queen, and Nine Inch Nails. Those are the artists that I can always listen to, no matter what my mood is. Favorite soundtracks: Conan the Barbarian (Basil Poloudoris), Boogie Nights, Bladerunner, La Femme Nikita, and Lost Boys. My favorite musical decade is the 70's, but I grew up on 80's music and I do love it. Plus it's true, I do love the hair bands. Metallica was my favorite band during the 80's, but I lost interest after And Justice For All. I like it heavy or cheesy...or both. RAWK!

Movies:

I love movies of all genres. I think that's a true statement, but maybe I'm forgetting a hideous genre. Two movies are tied for my favorite: Star Wars and Doctor Zhivago. The Empire Strikes Back is a better movie, but Star Wars (A.K.A. A New Hope) still holds a higher place in my heart. My other tops are Flash Gordon, the Indiana Jones movies, Persuasion (the version with Ciarin Hinds), Excalibur, Ghostbusters, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Heavy Metal, The Breakfast Club, The Princess Bride, Airplane!, Dune (even if Lynch is ashamed of it), Bladerunner, Dangerous Liaisons, The Right Stuff, Trainspotting, Much Ado About Nothing, The Goonies, This Is Spinal Tap, When Harry Met Sally, John Carpenter's The Thing and The Fog. My favorite Christmas movie is Scrooged.

Television:

My favorite shows include the original Star Trek, Star Trek TNG, Mystery Science Theater 3000, Babylon 5, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Law & Order (original or SVU), Aqua Teen Hunger Force (number 1 in the hood, G), Sealab 2021, Monty Python's Flying Circus, the Young Ones, Night Gallery, and random nature/science shows on the Discovery/Animal Planet/Science Channel. I'll watch anything with an octopus in it. "Incredible Suckers" was indeed incredible.

Books:

My favorite writers are J.R.R. Tolkien, Alice Walker, and Frank Herbert. If I have free time, I usually spend it reading. I do love the Wheel of Time series. Non-fiction is my friend, too, especially history of science type books and adventurer autobiographies. Great Shack!

Heroes:

I was not put on this earth to listen to meat.