Thursday, December 13, 2007
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Thursday, December 06, 2007
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Friday, November 30, 2007
Only in America...
1. can a pizza get to your house faster than an ambulance.
2. are there handicap parking spaces in front of the skating rink.
3. do drugstores make sick people walk all the way to the back of the store to get their prescriptions, while healthy people can buy cigarettes at the front.
4. do people order double cheese burgers, extra large fries and a diet coke.
5. do banks leave the vault doors open, but chain pens to the counter.
6. do we leave cars worth thousands of dollars in the driveway and fill our garages with worthless junk.
7. do we use answering machines to screen calls and have call waiting so we don't miss calls from those people we didn't want to talk to in the first place.
8. do we buy hotdogs in packs of ten and buns in packs of eight.
9. do we use the word "politics" to describe the process so well. In Latin "poli" means "many", and tics are bloodsucking creatures.
10. do they have drive up ATM machines with Braille lettering.
Have a good weekend!
Monday, November 26, 2007
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Biomedical science consternation
Today I attended a seminar where the presenter, a fairly well-known, very well funded professor from another university talked about his work on a disease. Most of it consisted of describing animal models for this disease. Basically, that means genetically altering animals, in this case mice, the most common models, to show symptoms of a human disease. You then study the animal, comparing it to "non-diseased" animals, to try and learn something about the disease. It's a reasonably common approach and one that can be quite useful (but not one I use - I don't, and won't, work with animals). Anyway, the ideas behind this guys work were okay, but the actual experiments were shoddy. Full of holes. And yet he has three large grants from the NIH (the government agency that funds most biomedical research in the US). I commented on this to a colleague after the seminar. He agreed that the work was shoddy, but noted that "an animal model for a human disease is almost guaranteed funding nowadays." He's right. And it, really, really irks me. Why? Because shoddy science is pretty much worthless. The data and interpretations have a high likelihood of being wrong. And work done with animal models is very, very expensive. So much of this is wasted. At a time when funding rates (ie the number of grant proposals being funded) at the NIH are at almost historic lows. There are good young academic scientists not able to get funding and consequently being forced out of science. And yet shoddy science can get funded.
Sometimes the system really sucks.
And yet I wouldn't want to be doing anything else.
Sigh.
Sometimes the system really sucks.
And yet I wouldn't want to be doing anything else.
Sigh.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Am I going to become one of those bloggers?
You know, one who simply posts videos and stuff, but doesn't really say anything himself?
Maybe.
Still, this is worth watching.
Maybe.
Still, this is worth watching.
Friday, November 09, 2007
Sunday, November 04, 2007
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Stuff
Random stuff in fact.
On the weekend we took the kids here. We went with several families we know. Loads of fun and highly recommended. My favorite slide was dubbed (by us) the "toilet bowl" (I think officially it's called the "Coyote Cannon"). You went down a steep tube that spat you out into a large bowl, which you proceeded to go around the sides of two or three times before being flushed down a hole in the middle, through a short tube into a pool. You can imagine why we named it the "toilet bowl".
Joke: A doctor is examining an old man. Making conversation, he asks the guy what he thinks of George W. The old man replies "He's a post turtle." Confused, the doctor asks the guy "What's a post turtle?". The old man replies "Have you ever driven down a country road and seen a turtle on top of a fence post? You know he didn't get up there himself, he doesn't belong there, he can't get anything done while he's up there, and you just want to help the poor dumb bastard get down."
I don't watch TV much, if at all, nowadays. I think I average no more than 30 minutes a week in front of the idiot box. Can't say I miss it.
Check out Apple's coming OS X upgrade called Leopard. Waaaaaaaaay cool. The "Time Machine" automated backup utility is worth the price of upgrading alone. Oh, I forgot, most of you use PC's. Sucks for you. :-)
On the weekend we took the kids here. We went with several families we know. Loads of fun and highly recommended. My favorite slide was dubbed (by us) the "toilet bowl" (I think officially it's called the "Coyote Cannon"). You went down a steep tube that spat you out into a large bowl, which you proceeded to go around the sides of two or three times before being flushed down a hole in the middle, through a short tube into a pool. You can imagine why we named it the "toilet bowl".
Joke: A doctor is examining an old man. Making conversation, he asks the guy what he thinks of George W. The old man replies "He's a post turtle." Confused, the doctor asks the guy "What's a post turtle?". The old man replies "Have you ever driven down a country road and seen a turtle on top of a fence post? You know he didn't get up there himself, he doesn't belong there, he can't get anything done while he's up there, and you just want to help the poor dumb bastard get down."
I don't watch TV much, if at all, nowadays. I think I average no more than 30 minutes a week in front of the idiot box. Can't say I miss it.
Check out Apple's coming OS X upgrade called Leopard. Waaaaaaaaay cool. The "Time Machine" automated backup utility is worth the price of upgrading alone. Oh, I forgot, most of you use PC's. Sucks for you. :-)
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Friday, September 21, 2007
Signs of the times...
Silly signage
and
more silly signage.
I like the one featuring a wheelchair, with passenger, and a hungry crocodile.
Friday, September 14, 2007
An ISBN all of my own
Remember "The Book"? The one I'm editing, with chapters contributed by nine other groups (plus one from me)? After an effort akin to herding cats, I finally got all the chapters from the authors, eventually even in the right format (apparently scientists can't follow simple, clear instructions...). Now it's all at the publishers. They've announced the book on their website with publication due in the first quarter of 2008. And it has been assigned an ISBN! That makes it real, right?
Thursday, September 06, 2007
Planes, trains, automobiles and... New York!
This last weekend (Labor Day weekend) the family went to New York City for a Bar Mitzvah (why else?). What a blast! I love visiting NYC, but couldn't live there. It's so alive. 24/7/365 alive. That's probably why I couldn't live there - too frenetic.
Anyway, we flew up to PA to spend a night with L's parents, then took the train to Penn Station in NYC. I highly, highly recommend this form of transportation. You get loads of room, comfy-ish seats, and you don't have to worry about cancelled flights or bad traffic. The kids loved it too. M has decided it's her favorite form of travel. Baby J loved being able to walk up and down the aisle (yes, he's now a toddler). I'm not sure all the other passengers appreciated his "visits" - one poor gentleman was asleep when baby J decided to scream right next to him - although some clearly did. Once in NYC it was a (thankfully) short taxi ride to the hotel. We didn't get to do much sightseeing given we arrived Saturday afternoon and left Monday afternoon (L and the girls did see an off-Broadway show - Gazillion Bubbles, or something like that), but we had fun.
Labor Day we went to the Bar Mitzvah. The party afterwards was everything you might imagine (and more) a NYC Bar Mitzvah would be like. Open bar (at 11:30am...), gourmet-quality food, and a DJ. We decided the DJ was on something - he was very hyped up. Early on I was watching the dance floor and saw a hussy-looking young women dancing with the Bar Mitzvah boy. She didn't look like one of the guests. In fact, my first thought was "THEY GOT HIM A STRIPPER?!?!?!?!?!?" Thankfully, no. She was one of the two dancers that came with the DJ. A little over the top and distasteful really. Especially given this was really a religious "coming of age" thing. Still, everyone had a good time. The kids loved it and the adults (L's family and I) laughed at it all. I think we'll talk about it for quite some time.
After the party it was a quick dash back to the hotel to get changed, a taxi ride to Penn Station and onto the train again. Another night at L's parents, and then flights home. An exhausting, but good trip.
Ironically, the Bar Mitzvah boy's mitzvah project was to promote efforts to combat global warming. Ironic because it will take the use of a lot of compact fluorescent bulbs, use of public transportation and/or carpooling, and much recycling to make up for the energy expended at the party...
Anyway, we flew up to PA to spend a night with L's parents, then took the train to Penn Station in NYC. I highly, highly recommend this form of transportation. You get loads of room, comfy-ish seats, and you don't have to worry about cancelled flights or bad traffic. The kids loved it too. M has decided it's her favorite form of travel. Baby J loved being able to walk up and down the aisle (yes, he's now a toddler). I'm not sure all the other passengers appreciated his "visits" - one poor gentleman was asleep when baby J decided to scream right next to him - although some clearly did. Once in NYC it was a (thankfully) short taxi ride to the hotel. We didn't get to do much sightseeing given we arrived Saturday afternoon and left Monday afternoon (L and the girls did see an off-Broadway show - Gazillion Bubbles, or something like that), but we had fun.
Labor Day we went to the Bar Mitzvah. The party afterwards was everything you might imagine (and more) a NYC Bar Mitzvah would be like. Open bar (at 11:30am...), gourmet-quality food, and a DJ. We decided the DJ was on something - he was very hyped up. Early on I was watching the dance floor and saw a hussy-looking young women dancing with the Bar Mitzvah boy. She didn't look like one of the guests. In fact, my first thought was "THEY GOT HIM A STRIPPER?!?!?!?!?!?" Thankfully, no. She was one of the two dancers that came with the DJ. A little over the top and distasteful really. Especially given this was really a religious "coming of age" thing. Still, everyone had a good time. The kids loved it and the adults (L's family and I) laughed at it all. I think we'll talk about it for quite some time.
After the party it was a quick dash back to the hotel to get changed, a taxi ride to Penn Station and onto the train again. Another night at L's parents, and then flights home. An exhausting, but good trip.
Ironically, the Bar Mitzvah boy's mitzvah project was to promote efforts to combat global warming. Ironic because it will take the use of a lot of compact fluorescent bulbs, use of public transportation and/or carpooling, and much recycling to make up for the energy expended at the party...
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Naaaaaahh... really??? Me???
Ganked from the Doc...
| What Be Your Nerd Type? Your Result: Science/Math Nerd (Absolute Insane Laughter as you pour toxic chemicals into a foaming tub of death!) | |
| Social Nerd | |
| Literature Nerd | |
| Drama Nerd | |
| Gamer/Computer Nerd | |
| Musician | |
| Artistic Nerd | |
| Anime Nerd | |
| What Be Your Nerd Type? Quizzes for MySpace | |
Potpourri and other smelly stuff
I'm back. Did you even know I was gone?
I've just got back from a two week vacation. A week of it was at the beach, with the other week being taken up by a few days at the in-laws and traveling. I now feel more relaxed than I have done in a very long time. I guess I needed the break. Not doing any email during that time probably helped too.
Work was just a little tumultuous right before leaving for our vacation. I very nearly kicked one of the summer undergraduates out of the program. She had a family reunion to attend in California. When she was accepted into the program she asked if she could take a week off to go to that, plus see some friends. I told her a whole week out of a ten week program was too much. We compromised and agreed on four days. Well, she took a whole week anyway. I booted her, but after much begging on her part I relented and let her back in (I'm just a big old softy - but I did make her sweat). Around the same time I realized that my current research wasn't going anywhere and had no real future. A good friend, RP (Doc, you know who that is), had tried to gently tell me that at a conference earlier this year, but it took a few months for me to catch on. Perhaps he shouldn't have tried to sugarcoat it...
Anyway, you'd think realizing that my research program was reaching a dead end would be devastating. Perhaps it should be, but oddly enough I've found it energizing. There is a related area of research I've been looking to move into (intrinsically disordered proteins if you must know), and here's my big chance. I have a good hypothesis to work on, and I know how to test it. I have one model system that will be good for this. I just need to find another one, preferably two, so I can test the generality of the hypothesis. So over the next few months I'll be writing up the last two or three papers from my current research program while switching to the new one. That should keep me out of trouble for a while...
On an unrelated note, DocStymie put me on to an English band called The Maccabees. Check them out. They have the one album and it's called "Colour It In". If you have an English sense of humour you'll probably really enjoy "Latchmere". It's got a wave machine.
Okay, the sibs have each posted quiz questions. I guess it's my turn.
What's the difference between a duck?
Alright, alright, so it's an oldy... How about this one?
Who said "Never confuse efficiency with a liver complaint"? And in what movie?
I've just got back from a two week vacation. A week of it was at the beach, with the other week being taken up by a few days at the in-laws and traveling. I now feel more relaxed than I have done in a very long time. I guess I needed the break. Not doing any email during that time probably helped too.
Work was just a little tumultuous right before leaving for our vacation. I very nearly kicked one of the summer undergraduates out of the program. She had a family reunion to attend in California. When she was accepted into the program she asked if she could take a week off to go to that, plus see some friends. I told her a whole week out of a ten week program was too much. We compromised and agreed on four days. Well, she took a whole week anyway. I booted her, but after much begging on her part I relented and let her back in (I'm just a big old softy - but I did make her sweat). Around the same time I realized that my current research wasn't going anywhere and had no real future. A good friend, RP (Doc, you know who that is), had tried to gently tell me that at a conference earlier this year, but it took a few months for me to catch on. Perhaps he shouldn't have tried to sugarcoat it...
Anyway, you'd think realizing that my research program was reaching a dead end would be devastating. Perhaps it should be, but oddly enough I've found it energizing. There is a related area of research I've been looking to move into (intrinsically disordered proteins if you must know), and here's my big chance. I have a good hypothesis to work on, and I know how to test it. I have one model system that will be good for this. I just need to find another one, preferably two, so I can test the generality of the hypothesis. So over the next few months I'll be writing up the last two or three papers from my current research program while switching to the new one. That should keep me out of trouble for a while...
On an unrelated note, DocStymie put me on to an English band called The Maccabees. Check them out. They have the one album and it's called "Colour It In". If you have an English sense of humour you'll probably really enjoy "Latchmere". It's got a wave machine.
Okay, the sibs have each posted quiz questions. I guess it's my turn.
What's the difference between a duck?
Alright, alright, so it's an oldy... How about this one?
Who said "Never confuse efficiency with a liver complaint"? And in what movie?
Friday, July 06, 2007
Busy, busy, busy
It's been a busy month or two. I've been trying to get that book I'm editing finished so I can send it off to the publishers. I'm not sure I'll be doing another one any time soon... I'm also running a summer research program for eight undergraduate students, mostly from Appalachia (seven of the eight). That's been an enormous amount of work, but also a lot of fun. Mostly. Some highlights:
Welcome to the Big Smoke
On their second night in town the eight students decided to venture out to a local Mexican restaurant. They were seated next to a table with three flaming gay guys. Did I mention it was happy hour? Half price Margaritas? Make that three drunk flaming gay guys. Remember, these kids are almost all from small towns in a very impoverished part of the country. So these gay guys decide to make friends with the students. They even invited them to go watch the cross-dresser show the gay guys were appearing in. And one took a real shine to one of the male students (the female students thought this was the funniest thing they had ever experienced). A good time was had by all (except maybe the male student being hit on), and the gay guys paid for the students dinners...
We'll Send Then Home Better Than They Came (In More Ways Than One)
The students don't have a lot to do in the evenings, so they joined the campus athletics facility ($20 for the whole summer). They've become addicted to spinning classes given by this guy Patrick. Apparently Patrick could make a living as a motivational speaker - he pushes the students way past the point at which they thought they would collapse. They come in each morning exhausted from the class the night before, but they keep going back... And I'd bet that at least half these kids had never worked out before coming here.
Well That Was Awkward
The one bad part of this program so far (and hopefully the only one), came to a head last week. One of the faculty mentors was verbally abusing one of the students - the one working in his lab. This faculty member apparently has a history of being verbally abusive to the people in his lab. I had to pull the student out and put him in another lab (much to the student's relief). The really awkward part? This faculty member is very much senior to me. Thankfully, my chairman was ready to back me up if need be.
Fun, fun, fun.
Welcome to the Big Smoke
On their second night in town the eight students decided to venture out to a local Mexican restaurant. They were seated next to a table with three flaming gay guys. Did I mention it was happy hour? Half price Margaritas? Make that three drunk flaming gay guys. Remember, these kids are almost all from small towns in a very impoverished part of the country. So these gay guys decide to make friends with the students. They even invited them to go watch the cross-dresser show the gay guys were appearing in. And one took a real shine to one of the male students (the female students thought this was the funniest thing they had ever experienced). A good time was had by all (except maybe the male student being hit on), and the gay guys paid for the students dinners...
We'll Send Then Home Better Than They Came (In More Ways Than One)
The students don't have a lot to do in the evenings, so they joined the campus athletics facility ($20 for the whole summer). They've become addicted to spinning classes given by this guy Patrick. Apparently Patrick could make a living as a motivational speaker - he pushes the students way past the point at which they thought they would collapse. They come in each morning exhausted from the class the night before, but they keep going back... And I'd bet that at least half these kids had never worked out before coming here.
Well That Was Awkward
The one bad part of this program so far (and hopefully the only one), came to a head last week. One of the faculty mentors was verbally abusing one of the students - the one working in his lab. This faculty member apparently has a history of being verbally abusive to the people in his lab. I had to pull the student out and put him in another lab (much to the student's relief). The really awkward part? This faculty member is very much senior to me. Thankfully, my chairman was ready to back me up if need be.
Fun, fun, fun.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Aaaarrrrggghhh!!!!!
Here's one from the little bro...
My pirate name is:
Dirty Tom Rackham
You're the pirate everyone else wants to throw in the ocean -- not to get rid of you, you understand; just to get rid of the smell. You have the good fortune of having a good name, since Rackham (pronounced RACKem, not rack-ham) is one of the coolest sounding surnames for a pirate. Arr!
Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.
part of the fidius.org network
My pirate name is:
Dirty Tom Rackham
You're the pirate everyone else wants to throw in the ocean -- not to get rid of you, you understand; just to get rid of the smell. You have the good fortune of having a good name, since Rackham (pronounced RACKem, not rack-ham) is one of the coolest sounding surnames for a pirate. Arr!
Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.
part of the fidius.org network
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