Hello everyone! Nolan Fromm here, marking my first ever entry in the blogging universe. I know, I know. Try not to look as excited as I do. I want to start off by saying thanks to those of you wayfaring bloglodites who are here to share this moment with me. As I’m sure you know, this is going to be one of those serious milestones in life that will be looked back on for years, to be chronicled right alongside such events as my graduation day, or the birth of my first child. I just want you to know I appreciate you being here to witness it.

So, on to business I suppose. I’m a first-year student at Colorado College, and am keeping this blog as part of my first class, “Life in the Universe”. I know, nothing like starting off the year with a modest topic. While it is a physics course, it’s apparently deeply rooted in astronomy and biology, and we will be discussing the existence of known life in the universe, as well as the possibility of extraterrestrial life. We have been instructed to post a few times a week about topics we find intriguing in our research. Just a heads up about subsequent post material.

As far as background on myself… I’m from Missoula, Montana and am the older of two brothers. I was a captain on my high school swim team, am an experienced violinist and an avid George R.R. Martin fan. I have no astronomy experience whatsoever (apart from being able to pick out Orion and the occasional Scorpius), and only a single high school physics class under my belt.

However, despite my lack of preparation, I am very excited about Life in the Universe (probably due in no small part to the mandatory sci-fi movie screenings), and look forward to learning more about the origins and development of everything that makes our world possible. I couldn’t think of a better way to begin my college career than starting with a topic so fundamental.