Happy Pi Day!
I attended the Wilson Ornithological Society annual meeting last week in Williamsburg, VA. It was a wonderful meeting. I met several fellow avian-phile grad students and some faculty members at various universities (hello networking!). I received an offer to go out to an Acorn Woodpecker study site and Dr. C who studies chickadees offered to give me some FL scrub jay data! The best part was that I had a conversation with some of my favorite evolutionary biologists in the whole wide world, Peter and Rosemary Grant!!! They were very sweet. The Grants gave me some excellent advice and wished me the best of luck. How lucky I am, indeed.
This week is spring break at USF which was supposed to be my week of work on my dissertation proposal but I have found naps and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" so much more appealing. Got take breaks when you get 'em, right?
In other news, the Higgs-Boson was supposedly found over there in Switzerland at the CERN super collider. Physics, onward!
Speaking of science, I read an important article over at the Atlantic today. Our political leaders are the world's biggest fools. This is alarming to me for several reasons, the first being that I am a young scientist at the beginning of my career and that this is stupidity at it's finest. Why, WHY are we doing this to ourselves? Do yourself a favor and read the article.
And on cuts in general, why, why, WHY?!?!?!? We do not have a debt or deficit crisis. Repeat after me, WE DO NOT HAVE A DEBT OR DEFICIT CRISIS.
We have an unemployment and income inequality crisis. This is the time for the government to invest in infrastructure, education, scientific research, etc. We need investment in our future. Barack Obama, there was an election last November. Remember that? You won. The American people rejected the plan of the likes of Mitt Romney and that Rand-lover clown Paul Ryan. We don't want a "grand bargain". And neither does the GOP. They don't want to work with you AT ALL.
Alright I will save the rant for a post later on.
I'm brewing some iced coffee as I type. I can't wait for tomorrow morning! Yipee!!
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
March
"Stay the course", he says.
I am almost certain that I am not capable of the love that I have received. Of all the sperm and eggs that could have existed and been fertilized in the whole history of the Universe, I was conceived here and now to two particular individuals. How lucky.
Anyway, adjustment to Florida continues to be difficult and longer than I expected. Most days I wish that I could go. Away, away to somewhere else. I'll let you guess the identity of that place.
There was a dream and one day I could see it
Like a bird in a cage I broke in and demanded that somebody free it
And there was a kid with a head full of doubt
So I'll scream til I die and the last of those bad thoughts are finally out
Stay the course.
I am almost certain that I am not capable of the love that I have received. Of all the sperm and eggs that could have existed and been fertilized in the whole history of the Universe, I was conceived here and now to two particular individuals. How lucky.
Anyway, adjustment to Florida continues to be difficult and longer than I expected. Most days I wish that I could go. Away, away to somewhere else. I'll let you guess the identity of that place.
There was a dream and one day I could see it
Like a bird in a cage I broke in and demanded that somebody free it
And there was a kid with a head full of doubt
So I'll scream til I die and the last of those bad thoughts are finally out
Stay the course.
Friday, February 22, 2013
When you're older, you might understand
I'm clearly not great at updating this blog. Just keep on tryin'!
Happy New Year, President's Day, Darwin Day, Mardi Gras and Valentine's Day!
Another semester started and this one has been the busiest time of my life. Graduate school is not like undergraduate studies. I have to participate in "professional development" and department functions such as professor position interviews. Abstracts for the 98th annual Ecological Society of America meeting were due this week and my adviser recommended that I submit one. The instructions stated, "Abstracts without explicitly stated results will be REJECTED. These results may be preliminary but they may not be vague."
Did this scientist-in-training meet those requirements? Well, it's my first year and I am not doing any research related to my master's work so...
I'll find out in May.
I'm going to a smaller meeting in a few weeks in Williamsburg, VA. This is a conference devoted to birds and Peter and Rosemary Grant will be there to give a talk! For you non-biologists out there, this is like me meeting (insert favorite celebrity and/or top individuals in your field)! I also was awarded some money to cover the travel costs and I'm giving a short (12 minute) talk at the meeting. I am looking forward to it.
I am also looking forward to spring break but probably not for the usual reasons. As I mentioned earlier, this has been the busiest semester so far. I have never had this much to do or this many events/meetings/seminars happening all in the same 3 week period. After the bird meeting which is the week before spring break, I should have at least a few weeks where I won't be nearly as busy with all these extra grad school/academic-in-training thingys. I will have a chance to work on my dissertation proposal! Wooo hooo!!
Step aerobics and Icelandic folk-indie music get me through Monday-Friday. And a beer or two.
I have been enjoying the warm weather but I still miss the snow. But I can't complain about 80 and sunny in February.
Besides all that, Tampa is still Tampa. It's warm because...
it's Florida. There was one day where the temperature dropped below freezing. And when I say below, I mean like 30 F. A windchill advisory last weekend warned "wind chills as low as the 30's or 20's".
And it did mean 20 or 30 ABOVE zero. Amusing.
I'll try to get out but I never will, traffic is perfectly still.
Happy New Year, President's Day, Darwin Day, Mardi Gras and Valentine's Day!
Another semester started and this one has been the busiest time of my life. Graduate school is not like undergraduate studies. I have to participate in "professional development" and department functions such as professor position interviews. Abstracts for the 98th annual Ecological Society of America meeting were due this week and my adviser recommended that I submit one. The instructions stated, "Abstracts without explicitly stated results will be REJECTED. These results may be preliminary but they may not be vague."
Did this scientist-in-training meet those requirements? Well, it's my first year and I am not doing any research related to my master's work so...
I'll find out in May.
I'm going to a smaller meeting in a few weeks in Williamsburg, VA. This is a conference devoted to birds and Peter and Rosemary Grant will be there to give a talk! For you non-biologists out there, this is like me meeting (insert favorite celebrity and/or top individuals in your field)! I also was awarded some money to cover the travel costs and I'm giving a short (12 minute) talk at the meeting. I am looking forward to it.
I am also looking forward to spring break but probably not for the usual reasons. As I mentioned earlier, this has been the busiest semester so far. I have never had this much to do or this many events/meetings/seminars happening all in the same 3 week period. After the bird meeting which is the week before spring break, I should have at least a few weeks where I won't be nearly as busy with all these extra grad school/academic-in-training thingys. I will have a chance to work on my dissertation proposal! Wooo hooo!!
Step aerobics and Icelandic folk-indie music get me through Monday-Friday. And a beer or two.
I have been enjoying the warm weather but I still miss the snow. But I can't complain about 80 and sunny in February.
Besides all that, Tampa is still Tampa. It's warm because...
it's Florida. There was one day where the temperature dropped below freezing. And when I say below, I mean like 30 F. A windchill advisory last weekend warned "wind chills as low as the 30's or 20's".
And it did mean 20 or 30 ABOVE zero. Amusing.
I'll try to get out but I never will, traffic is perfectly still.
Monday, December 31, 2012
2012 Wrap-up
2012 is coming to end and we shall welcome 2013 here in the eastern time zone in 14 hours. The world didn't end on December 21, surprise! Although the Mayans themselves never thought it was the end, just the end of a calendar. So what did 2012 bring? Many things, some good, some bad and some downright ugly.
I started the year with my then engaged friends Dan and Julie at their house in Minneapolis. I traveled back to Texas to finish the final semester of my master's degree. My parents came to San Marcos in May to see me graduate. I was accepted to the University of South Florida to work under a PI (principal investigator/my PhD adviser) on a NSF (National Science Foundation) grant. I was ecstatic but sad to leave Texas. Blake and I moved to Florida with our traveling circus of animals and I started my PhD program. One semester finished! (And like 9 to go). I went back to MN in August for Dan and Julie's wedding. Julie asked me to be a bridesmaid and I am glad that I was able to be a part of their special day.
So besides me becoming a Master and moving to Tampa, what else happened in 2012?
The Giants beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl for the second time in 4 years. And ha ha Eli Manning, you aren't even going to the playoffs this season! Anyway....
One of the most successful female artists of all time, Whitney Houston, died in February.
We saw more horrible mass shootings, including the Aurora, CO movie theater shooting in July and the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting in CT in December. There were other shootings and plenty of gun violence (remember Trayvon Martin) but it seems that after Sandy Hook, a meaningful national conversation on guns and a culture of violence has begun.
There was the 2012 GOP primary season in preparation for the 2012 Presidential Election. What a circus that was! The jokes just write themselves. Each candidate was ahead at one time or another with Mitt Romney coming out on top to face President Obama in November, besting Michele Bachmann, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, Herman Cain and Rick Perry.
Political dysfunction continued throughout 2012 after the debt ceiling debacle in 2011, which left us with the manufactured fiscal cliff. As of today, it's looks like we are going over.
2012 also saw the continuation on the "war on women" with more restrictive laws passed throughout the states. The contraception mandate in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (aka ObamaCare) went into affect in August which led Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA) to compare the mandate to Pearl Harbor. Yikes. We also had the infamous comments about rape and women's bodies from the likes of Todd Akin and Richard Mourdock, who were (thankfully) defeated in their races for Congress. Whadda know, you can't say crazy things about women and get elected. In related news, Tea Party darlings Joe Walsh and Allen West lost their seats. Will 2013 be the beginning of the end of the Tea Party's influence on the GOP? Let's hope so.
Oh, and the Supreme Court affirmed the Constitutionality of ObamaCare.
Perhaps the biggest political story of 2012 was the re-election of President Barack Obama. It was a crazy fall, with record amounts of money spent, binders full of women and Big Bird. The right was shell-shocked. They really thought Mitt Romney would win. That's what you get for watching Fox News.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton resigned this year, probably because of the attack on the American Consulate in Benghazi which resulted in the death of four Americans, including the ambassador to Libya. It looks like John Kerry will be her successor.
Other political stories include dirty voter suppression tactics, the legalization of Cannabis for recreational use in Washington and Colorado, the defeat of a marriage amendment in Minnesota, voter approval of gay marriage in Maine, Maryland and Washington, the Supreme Court announced that it will hear DOMA and California's Proposition 8 in the spring, and Elizabeth Warren defeated Scott Brown in Massachusetts Senate Race.
2012 also brought extreme weather, including heat waves, drought, wildfires and super storm Sandy slammed into the East Coast. The elephant in the room became visible. More Americans now recognize that climate change from human activities is real and a big problem. I hope that 2013 will bring political action and bold solutions to one of the biggest threats to humanity.
General David Petraeus resigned amid a scandal involving an extra-martial affair.
2012 was the year of the London summer Olympic Games. The US Women's gymnastics team took home the gold for the first time since Atlanta 1996 and 16 year old Gabby Douglas became the women's all around gold medal champion. Michael Phelps became the most decorated Olympian ever with 22 medals (including 18 gold) from three games. 17 year old swimmer Missy Franklin also won some gold medals. The US swimmers did well all around, winning several medals in London. Kerri Walsh Jennings and Misty May Treanor won the gold in women's beach volleyball for the third time in a row. Usain Bolt of Jamaica, the fastest man on Earth, won the gold in the 100 and 200 m sprint for the second time, becoming the only person to do so. There were many other exciting sports stories, too many for me to cover here.
The sports world was full of scandals in 2012, including Lance Armstrong being stripped of all his Tour de France victories. The New Orleans Saints found themselves in a scandal over "bounty gate" and the Penn State football program was slapped with a harsh punishment by the NCAA after the child abuse scandal.
In the celebrity world, Justin Timberlake is officially off the market after marrying Jessica Biel in October, Beyonce and Jay-Z reproduced, both Jennifer Aniston and Angelia Jolie got engaged, Katie Holmes divorced Tom Cruise, Jersey Shore star Snooki also reproduced, Britney Spears is on primetime as a judge on The X Factor, and Lindsay Lohan is so last year. Everyone's favorite royal coupe, William and Kate, announced they are expecting a royal baby. Lastly, Kim Kardashian and Kayne West announced yesterday that they are also expecting.
The year's biggest science stories include the tentative discovery of the so-called "God particle" or the Higgs-Boson and the successful landing of the Mars rover Curiosity. There was a record free-fall jump from the edge of space, the closest known planet was discovered in Alpha Centauri B, 4 US space shuttles retired, the world's helium stock is running low, one of Saturn's moons may harbor life and Neil Armstrong died.
"Gangham Style" went viral and became the most watched youtube video of all time, the Pope joined Twitter and for some reason, "Call Me Maybe" was one of the biggest hits of 2012.
Since I can't cover everything, here's a link to CNN's year in review.
Whew! What a year.
Happy New Year! See you in 2013!.
I started the year with my then engaged friends Dan and Julie at their house in Minneapolis. I traveled back to Texas to finish the final semester of my master's degree. My parents came to San Marcos in May to see me graduate. I was accepted to the University of South Florida to work under a PI (principal investigator/my PhD adviser) on a NSF (National Science Foundation) grant. I was ecstatic but sad to leave Texas. Blake and I moved to Florida with our traveling circus of animals and I started my PhD program. One semester finished! (And like 9 to go). I went back to MN in August for Dan and Julie's wedding. Julie asked me to be a bridesmaid and I am glad that I was able to be a part of their special day.
So besides me becoming a Master and moving to Tampa, what else happened in 2012?
The Giants beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl for the second time in 4 years. And ha ha Eli Manning, you aren't even going to the playoffs this season! Anyway....
One of the most successful female artists of all time, Whitney Houston, died in February.
We saw more horrible mass shootings, including the Aurora, CO movie theater shooting in July and the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting in CT in December. There were other shootings and plenty of gun violence (remember Trayvon Martin) but it seems that after Sandy Hook, a meaningful national conversation on guns and a culture of violence has begun.
There was the 2012 GOP primary season in preparation for the 2012 Presidential Election. What a circus that was! The jokes just write themselves. Each candidate was ahead at one time or another with Mitt Romney coming out on top to face President Obama in November, besting Michele Bachmann, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, Herman Cain and Rick Perry.
Political dysfunction continued throughout 2012 after the debt ceiling debacle in 2011, which left us with the manufactured fiscal cliff. As of today, it's looks like we are going over.
2012 also saw the continuation on the "war on women" with more restrictive laws passed throughout the states. The contraception mandate in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (aka ObamaCare) went into affect in August which led Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA) to compare the mandate to Pearl Harbor. Yikes. We also had the infamous comments about rape and women's bodies from the likes of Todd Akin and Richard Mourdock, who were (thankfully) defeated in their races for Congress. Whadda know, you can't say crazy things about women and get elected. In related news, Tea Party darlings Joe Walsh and Allen West lost their seats. Will 2013 be the beginning of the end of the Tea Party's influence on the GOP? Let's hope so.
Oh, and the Supreme Court affirmed the Constitutionality of ObamaCare.
Perhaps the biggest political story of 2012 was the re-election of President Barack Obama. It was a crazy fall, with record amounts of money spent, binders full of women and Big Bird. The right was shell-shocked. They really thought Mitt Romney would win. That's what you get for watching Fox News.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton resigned this year, probably because of the attack on the American Consulate in Benghazi which resulted in the death of four Americans, including the ambassador to Libya. It looks like John Kerry will be her successor.
Other political stories include dirty voter suppression tactics, the legalization of Cannabis for recreational use in Washington and Colorado, the defeat of a marriage amendment in Minnesota, voter approval of gay marriage in Maine, Maryland and Washington, the Supreme Court announced that it will hear DOMA and California's Proposition 8 in the spring, and Elizabeth Warren defeated Scott Brown in Massachusetts Senate Race.
2012 also brought extreme weather, including heat waves, drought, wildfires and super storm Sandy slammed into the East Coast. The elephant in the room became visible. More Americans now recognize that climate change from human activities is real and a big problem. I hope that 2013 will bring political action and bold solutions to one of the biggest threats to humanity.
General David Petraeus resigned amid a scandal involving an extra-martial affair.
2012 was the year of the London summer Olympic Games. The US Women's gymnastics team took home the gold for the first time since Atlanta 1996 and 16 year old Gabby Douglas became the women's all around gold medal champion. Michael Phelps became the most decorated Olympian ever with 22 medals (including 18 gold) from three games. 17 year old swimmer Missy Franklin also won some gold medals. The US swimmers did well all around, winning several medals in London. Kerri Walsh Jennings and Misty May Treanor won the gold in women's beach volleyball for the third time in a row. Usain Bolt of Jamaica, the fastest man on Earth, won the gold in the 100 and 200 m sprint for the second time, becoming the only person to do so. There were many other exciting sports stories, too many for me to cover here.
The sports world was full of scandals in 2012, including Lance Armstrong being stripped of all his Tour de France victories. The New Orleans Saints found themselves in a scandal over "bounty gate" and the Penn State football program was slapped with a harsh punishment by the NCAA after the child abuse scandal.
In the celebrity world, Justin Timberlake is officially off the market after marrying Jessica Biel in October, Beyonce and Jay-Z reproduced, both Jennifer Aniston and Angelia Jolie got engaged, Katie Holmes divorced Tom Cruise, Jersey Shore star Snooki also reproduced, Britney Spears is on primetime as a judge on The X Factor, and Lindsay Lohan is so last year. Everyone's favorite royal coupe, William and Kate, announced they are expecting a royal baby. Lastly, Kim Kardashian and Kayne West announced yesterday that they are also expecting.
The year's biggest science stories include the tentative discovery of the so-called "God particle" or the Higgs-Boson and the successful landing of the Mars rover Curiosity. There was a record free-fall jump from the edge of space, the closest known planet was discovered in Alpha Centauri B, 4 US space shuttles retired, the world's helium stock is running low, one of Saturn's moons may harbor life and Neil Armstrong died.
"Gangham Style" went viral and became the most watched youtube video of all time, the Pope joined Twitter and for some reason, "Call Me Maybe" was one of the biggest hits of 2012.
Since I can't cover everything, here's a link to CNN's year in review.
Whew! What a year.
Happy New Year! See you in 2013!.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Yes we did
The 2012 election has come to a close and President Obama has been re-elected for a second term. I watched the results roll in to a late-ish hour here on the East Coast. I left the room for about 2 minutes and when I came back, NBC called Ohio for the President. Then it was over.
Elizabeth Warren has been elected to the Senate. Claire McCaskill and Joe Donnelly defeated Todd Akin and Richard Murdock, respectively. Apparently you can't say crazy things about rape and women's bodies and get elected to the Senate.Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) was also elected to the Senate and is the first openly gay woman to serve in that legislative body. Tea Party favorite Allen West (R-FL) has also been defeated. Thank the Universe.
MN has defeated the marriage and voter ID amendments. Excellent. I'm so proud of my home state.
Fat cat millionaires and billionaires spent a pretty penny to ensure Mitt Romney won. But that didn't work out.
Now, we will come together or become more divided?
Time shall bring the answer my fellow Americans.
Elizabeth Warren has been elected to the Senate. Claire McCaskill and Joe Donnelly defeated Todd Akin and Richard Murdock, respectively. Apparently you can't say crazy things about rape and women's bodies and get elected to the Senate.Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) was also elected to the Senate and is the first openly gay woman to serve in that legislative body. Tea Party favorite Allen West (R-FL) has also been defeated. Thank the Universe.
MN has defeated the marriage and voter ID amendments. Excellent. I'm so proud of my home state.
Fat cat millionaires and billionaires spent a pretty penny to ensure Mitt Romney won. But that didn't work out.
Now, we will come together or become more divided?
Time shall bring the answer my fellow Americans.
Saturday, November 3, 2012
3 days out
The time for the 2012 election has finally (almost) arrived. I am looking forward to when I won't have to listen to campaign ads that have taken over the airwaves. Since I live in a swing state, the number of advertisements is through the roof! It's common for 6 campaign ads in row on a commercial break. I miss advertisements for useless and unnecessary junk consumer products that drive our economy.
The race is in a dead heat with President Obama holding an edge in key swing states. Pundits say it will all come down to Ohio.
I've learned over the last 4 years that facts mean almost nothing and racism is alive and well in the good ole US of A. I wonder if right-wing landia will implode should President Obama be re-elected. We shall know soon.
Since it's probably not a secret anyway, I'll just come out and say it: I hope Obama gets re-elected. I could have handled John McCain, but plutocrat extraordinaire Mitt "say anything to please the crowd" Romney and Ayn Rand devotee Paul Ryan are just to much for me. Please my fellow Americans, do not let right-wing extremism win the day. Oh, and friends in MN, vote NO on both 2 and 6.
And I hope both Todd Akin (R) and Richard Mourdock (R), senate candidates for Missouri and Indiana, respectively, are defeated. They both have said ridiculous things about women's bodies and rape, so I hope sanity wins, aka voters reject these crazy beliefs about women and biology.
As Tina Fey said, "If I have to listen to one more grey-faced man with a $2 haircut explain to me what rape is, I'm gonna lose my mind!"
Exactly. I suppose the bright side is that this crazy talk exposes the true beliefs of the far-right. Rejection by voters will send a strong message, I hope. This is 2012, not 1950. Let's live in the 21st Century. Can we be done with all this culture war crap? Let's just let gays get married, keep abortion legal and available, support comprehensive sex education and for the love of bacon let's teach evolution in schools.
Oh, and let's start doing something about that pesky human-accelerated climate change.
Alright well I'll leave it at that and be back after the election to comment on the state of our great nation. Hopefully sanity will win out.
Peace!
The race is in a dead heat with President Obama holding an edge in key swing states. Pundits say it will all come down to Ohio.
I've learned over the last 4 years that facts mean almost nothing and racism is alive and well in the good ole US of A. I wonder if right-wing landia will implode should President Obama be re-elected. We shall know soon.
Since it's probably not a secret anyway, I'll just come out and say it: I hope Obama gets re-elected. I could have handled John McCain, but plutocrat extraordinaire Mitt "say anything to please the crowd" Romney and Ayn Rand devotee Paul Ryan are just to much for me. Please my fellow Americans, do not let right-wing extremism win the day. Oh, and friends in MN, vote NO on both 2 and 6.
And I hope both Todd Akin (R) and Richard Mourdock (R), senate candidates for Missouri and Indiana, respectively, are defeated. They both have said ridiculous things about women's bodies and rape, so I hope sanity wins, aka voters reject these crazy beliefs about women and biology.
As Tina Fey said, "If I have to listen to one more grey-faced man with a $2 haircut explain to me what rape is, I'm gonna lose my mind!"
Exactly. I suppose the bright side is that this crazy talk exposes the true beliefs of the far-right. Rejection by voters will send a strong message, I hope. This is 2012, not 1950. Let's live in the 21st Century. Can we be done with all this culture war crap? Let's just let gays get married, keep abortion legal and available, support comprehensive sex education and for the love of bacon let's teach evolution in schools.
Oh, and let's start doing something about that pesky human-accelerated climate change.
Alright well I'll leave it at that and be back after the election to comment on the state of our great nation. Hopefully sanity will win out.
Peace!
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
What a Google search brings
I searched for Blake on Google this evening and it led me to a blog entry by a guy with whom I went on some dates back in my freshman year of college, almost 7 years ago. The blog entry read something like, "I found out on Facebook that Erin has a boyfriend. Congratulations Blake!".
Oh my.
I read through the entries in the preceding dates to see if there was anything else written about me. I shouldn't have looked.
In sum, we went on a few dates and I thought I was interested but it turned out that I wasn't. I should have been honest and just told him that when it got to that point. I was 18 and in retrospect, I didn't handle that situation very well. I had no idea what he was feeling.
To SD, I apologize for my actions. My behavior was pretty shitty. If I could have done it differently, I would have.
I hope that you are well and that you are happy.
I'm deeply sorry.
Oh my.
I read through the entries in the preceding dates to see if there was anything else written about me. I shouldn't have looked.
In sum, we went on a few dates and I thought I was interested but it turned out that I wasn't. I should have been honest and just told him that when it got to that point. I was 18 and in retrospect, I didn't handle that situation very well. I had no idea what he was feeling.
To SD, I apologize for my actions. My behavior was pretty shitty. If I could have done it differently, I would have.
I hope that you are well and that you are happy.
I'm deeply sorry.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)