Alma/Hooks

Note

Complement that crow.

General Demeanor

Alma is a nerd who has pushed through some of the social ignorance due to growing out of it, but still had a tendency to be awkward when it comes to interactions that aren't focus on Topics of Interest or Doing Specific Things--particularly with new people.

If she didn't wear her hair in a ponytail it would get caught in the zipper of her vest of many pockets or fly in her face. "ptwww fppt plah", she says, as it gets in her mouth.

Hanging out

You might see her...

• running or biking. all weather.
• picking up trash or meditating in a graveyard. or playground.
• playing with a crow
• dancing
• chilling in parks, having lunch with crow
• banding nestlings
• using mist nets to catch birbs to band and measure
• picking up weird crap, sometimes literal crap?
• spilling things from puzzle boxes while hanging out in park (doesn't want to get crap all over the coffee shop table)

Working

She's currently doing field work that involves studying animal behavior around the Wayne State campus. She watches dumpsters and window ledges for hours. During the spring she will be banding nestlings. Wherever there are corvids, she is likely there, taking notes on their behavior. Sometimes you might see her playing games with a crow.

Once the proof of concept for the remote sensor works, she'll be expanding her data gathering to depopulated neighborhoods.

Offer to help with field work

Alma has posted flyers around the Wayne State University campus:

How does a changing city soundscape affect corvid populations?

Are you interested in birds and behavioral ecology? sensor networks? drones? audio processing? machine learning? You do not need to be an expert in all of these fields!

I’m seeking student collaborators for multi-disciplinary field work to do population studies of corvids in Detroit.

Help make knowledge and research universally accessible

While doing this work not only will you make exciting discoveries you will also advance the cause of open science and free culture. Existing professional-grade tools are outside of the price range of researchers. Data and research are hidden behind pay-walls. But by following the principles of open science, software freedom, and open source hardware we can make research that is accessible to all.

(In collaboration tla tla yadda yadda supported by foobar grants)

Teaching and Nerdsplaining

She loves to encourage people to learn about behavioral ecology and particularly crow behavior, so if you ask her what she is doing, she may stop to explain and ask if you'd like to help. If she is busy but you appear very interested in the subject, she will give you her contact information (office hours, school email address). She is too busy for Detroit Biodiversity Network student group but will encourage you to see them out.

(Tell player when you need to fade to black on babble, sometimes the player has trouble knowing when everyone doesn't want to know all about a thing. Ed.)

Brainstorming

Doesn't everyone want to collaborate? That's how knowledge progresses! Want to try this thing? This shows you how the circle of time works:

I add this mentos to water. Next I smash the the glass and hammer the mentos with a rock. Now I pour the soda over it. Next I scoop all of this in to this hero cup. If you do this don't forget to have a napkin handy or wet newspaper handy. Now we wait for the mud to settle. Youtube is optional. (comparative study).

Caretaking

If you need help with family care, she will help. She isn't a medical expert, but she knows enough to take care of someone in a sickbed to give their family some time off. (in other words, if your character needs someone to babysit or take care of a sick family member, give her a call. but, you should be an acquaintance or be some few degrees of separation from one.)

She recently got guardianship for her niece, who loves math and writing and recently boys. She is 16 going on 17. If you are in high school maybe you know her.

Volunteering

• LGBQT+ elders volunteer group, part of a fictionalized version of J.I.G.S.A.W. at Wayne State. They have an office in the Student Center and meet every Wednesday.
• Support for people at a fictionalized outpost of the Ruth Ellis Center
• Pamphletting for "Know Your Rights" information

(To be honest, she is trying to do too much; but hasn't completely learned that yet.)