Don't Have a Cow, But...

I swear I lead the strangest life ever. Bob just called me to tell me not to panic when I find 3 dead frozen calves on the floor of our lab over the next few days.

The sad thing is, I realized it wouldn't have even phased me to walk in and discover this on my own.

QotD: What's the Most Interesting Thing You've Done This Week?

Answer: I ditched class this morning to help the Yolo County Sheriff conduct their semi-annual advanced homicide class up in Woodland. Not only did I get a chance to hang out with some of the forensic science students from UC Davis and University of New Haven (SacTo satellite campus), but I got to see some old familiar faces from the Coroner's office.

The weather was just right, and all of us were pretty well tanned by the end of the day. However, I think my favorite part of the day was when we brought the Ent 158 class to see some of the coursework. It's just really neat to watch people see things for the first time, and get excited about them. For as shy as I am, I really like teaching...

Stickin' it to the Man-- Err, I Mean Pipes...

Researchers have apparently discovered the strongest glue known to man. It trumps superglue's adhesiveness by a three fold factor.

I suppose it's like the paradox of developing an acid that can eat through anything-- how do you manufacture this stuff in a realistic way?

QotD: Did You Wait Until the Last Minute to Do Your Taxes This Year?

Answer: You bet your sweet bippy I did! This was actually the first year I sat down and did them entirely on my own, and it wasn't so painful in retrospect. Ten minutes of work, and I was done. Now, I just gotta get the thing postmarked!

I guess you can measure how complicated your life REALLY is by how difficult your taxes are, eh? Personally, I'm gonna enjoy these 5 minute calculations as long as they last...

QotD: What the Hell Is Maggot Art?

Answer: Maggot Art is the result of taking third instar blowfly maggots, dipping them in non-toxic waterbased paints, and stragetically placing them on paper. As the maggot moves across the canvas, it will leave a trail of paint behind; subsequently, no two attempts are ever the same.

It was developed as an educational outreach tool by our lab's very own Rebecca Bullard, during her attempts to educate elementary school children about insects on the island of Hawai'i. It is completely safe for both the kid and the maggot, and currently is being negotiated as a classroom product by Carolina Biological Supply.

Today, we did a demonstration at the Davis Explorit Museum, during which I made a few pieces for onlookers. My scanner bulb is apparently now its way out, so the paneling effect is destroyed, but I think you can get a feel for how the paintings look despite the horrendous shading effect:



I suggest, if you are ever afforded the opportunity, that you partake in this highly creative, unique, and fun activity!

Last Quarter: Soon I'll be Looking for Change...

The time has finally come for me to end my undergraduate career, and while I could get all sentimental about it, I think I'll save that for a date closer to June 18th. Instead, a recap of last quarter is probably in order:

- I managed, somehow, to pull off a B+ in the graduate chemistry class, even though I was the only one who turned in a final paper sans rough draft critiques by the professor. It turns out I'm a much better writer than most of the class. I even got a B+ on the oral exam, undoubtedly due to some really cute girl reading me chromatographic detection theory late at night, although she didn't even understand any of it...

- Stats was a C+, largely due to the fact that I didn't do any of the homework. It was 10% of the grade. Ooops.


This quarter looks to be interesting as well, for a number of reasons. Mostly beacause I feel more like a grad student this time around. I have been asked to do the thesis work for the grad student working on first instar maggot massing behavior, and this assures me coauthorship on 3 publications- a feat that will dramatically increase the competitiveness of my graduate applications this November. Additionally, I am taking more research oriented classes:

ETX 214 : Mechanisms of Toxicity. This is, apparently, the toughest upper division graduate level toxicology class in the catalogue, which is partly why I'm taking it :-) In addition to learning about the mechanisms of pharmaceuticals, warfare agents, pesticides, and other physiologically active chemicals, we are also expected to develop a 10 page mock grant to the National Institute of Health. Although I'm at a disadvantage (the only non grad student, thus the only one without an established thesis relating to Toxicology) I am optimistic that I will learn a lot. Most likely, I will develop a proposal on transport mechanisms of metals in the body...

ETX 103B: Biological Effects of Toxicological Experiments. The class I dropped half way through and subsequently failed. The first half of the quarter is mostly review, which is nice. Additionally, Dr. Miller is interested in developing a publication on aniline toxicity of companion animals, if the literature isn't well documented. This could mean another coauthorship, but in a toxicology journal...

Hum 113: Goethe's Faust. Supposedly one of the 3 greatest works of all time. Whatever. I just signed up for it because Mary and Katie were in the class, and I thought it would be fun to finally take a course with some of my friends. So far, Faust isn't a bad play...

Singled Out!

Generally speaking, office romance is a bad policy. However, given everything that has happened in either my life, or the lives of those closest to me, I have come to realize that life is really too damn short to always follow common sense. This exception to sensibility is even more dramatic when it applies to you. Case and point, I present to you Exhibit A, the amazing smile on the lefthand side of the photo. For nearly a year, that smile tormented me; a possibility with too heavy a consequence to even pursue. However, the last few weeks, it has been a smile that inspires me.

Her name is Bethany, and she has one year left on a Landscape Architecture degree here at Davis. Additionally, she's a fellow SoCal transplant, from the infamous Orange County, and spends every summer as a Girl Scout camp counselor down there every summer-- how hot is that?

So there you have it, my friends. After two long years of looking, I have finally found someone to call my Girlfriend.