Let's eat pies!

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!!

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. 

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.