David Wescott here. We all know 2010 is coming to a close, and I just want to thank Darlene for letting me contribute to her amazing blog.  If anyone penned a “history of the science blogosphere” it’s pretty clear that this was the year it really came of age, with so many new networks and bloggers and content coming to the forefront.    This blog is really about shattering stereotypes, and by sharing links to great content I hope we’re helping to bust the stereotype that science is just about data and numbers.  Science is also about stories – compelling, engaging, inspiring stories – crafted by enormously talented writers.  So I’m very grateful for the opportunity to add a bit to the mix here, and I’m looking forward to sharing more links to great stories in the months ahead.  Now, on to the links…
Alexandra Devatzes interview. This one comes straight from our advisory committee’s very own real-life rocket scientist, Susan Niebur.  (By the way, Susan has had her own amazing and inspirational 2010.)  Dr. Devatzes may not be a cheerleader, but she is a scientist – one who was lucky to have a “wonderful, strong female science teacher in middle school” who told her she was great at science.
Now THAT’S a cool pen pal. RadioLab’s Robert Krulwich blogs about Neil Armstrong walking on the moon in 1969 and Neil Armstrong writes back.
Slept through the lunar eclipse? No problem… Andrew Moseman at Discover Magazine’s 80beats blog compiles the best pics, links, and even a time-lapse video of the winter solstice lunar eclipse.
Speaking of eclipses, David Dobbs tells the story of the Antikythera Mechanism – a calculator of sorts built by the ancient Greeks to predict celestial events like eclipses.  The machine was discovered in a shipwreck in 1901, but it took 100 years for us to figure out what it was – and we learned it was stunningly accurate.
So of course, someone tried to replicate the thing with Lego blocks.  Read the post, but I couldn’t resist sharing the video: