by Janice Nigro I had a boyfriend in college who wasn’t much of a romantic. But he did leave me a surprise Valentine’s Day card once in a place where I wouldn’t have expected it. I remember the card still today. Without saying much, I felt it said, "I am thinking of you." The history... Continue Reading →
Unexpected results
Shopping on an award miles budget
or when the moon and the stars align...or something like that... by Janice Nigro My phone dinged. Just in those few moments before sleep when you are supposed to have your best ideas that you will never remember. I ignored it. I didn’t want to suffer the consequences of a poorly worded response when... Continue Reading →
Hung up on plastic
Ambon Bay in the Maluku province of Indonesia is one of the most exciting dive spots on the planet. There is no predicting what you will find there, but you have to be game for the hunt. I have also felt like I was diving head first into a garbage dump. I have been told... Continue Reading →
An Accidental Artist: Discovering Creativity through Scuba Diving
Do you think of artists as super-powered people? I did until I discovered underwater photography. Discovering my artistic side I tend to think of as a glorious accident, but I wonder, because underwater photography has all the elements that are important to me: travel, sport, art, and science. An Accidental Artist is a collection of... Continue Reading →
The Christmas pasta
by Janice Nigro Families get together over the holidays. Exchanging gifts and watching movies. And eating. And well... eating. Growing up I would say Christmas food for me was a lot about the cookies. My grandmother made the best cookies on the planet. She always had cookies in a cookie box, a rectangular Tupperware number,... Continue Reading →
New Year’s resolutions for the scientist
by Janice Nigro Sometime immediately after the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve, panic sets in. Suddenly, it's the new year, and just like that I am supposed to adopt some new behaviors that will make life better for me. Then I relax for a moment. I am a scientist. Our job is to... Continue Reading →
Flow chart for making an e-book
by Janice Nigro Before I started writing my blog, I thought writing and authors were limited to newspapers, magazines, or books. The reality is that writers are writing everywhere. I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me before now. I have had experience writing and publishing before I ever thought to blog or to... Continue Reading →
Purpose, Methods, Results…repeat
by Janice Nigro We wonder in grade school what the point of such exercises is. Writing up lab reports, writing up our interpretation of a story or a poem. But “purpose, methods, results” is ultimately the basis of everything we do. Although sometimes we only see the pattern when we look back. I am a... Continue Reading →
Top 8 ways to facilitate professional editing of your scientific manuscript
One of the things about learning a new language that I have experienced while living and traveling around the world is that no one gets good at it unless you use it. The same argument could be made for writing manuscripts and making presentations. I have been editing articles for native as well as non-native... Continue Reading →
Arrivederci
by Janice Nigro We think it’s exciting, adventurous, and life changing to live and meet people around the world. I can say with certainty that it is. Right up until that moment you decide to leave, to move on. That final moment when you pass through airport security and you know you will make your... Continue Reading →