This week's, or more precisely last week's, evolution story is about the chestnut-bellied monarchs (Monarcha castaneiventris), small insectivorous birds. A paper last year in the August edition of the American Naturalist found that due to a single point mutation an ecological speciation event may have occurred.
In the southeastern Soloman Islands the chestnut-bellied monarch has two distinct subspecies populations. One, M. c. megarhynchus, has a... well chestnut colored belly. The second, M. c. ugiensis has a black colored belly. As it turns out they seem to leave each other alone. The hypothesis of this paper is that this is due to a change in plumage color, and this simple change is what causes the two subspecies to not see each other as sexual partners. Not just that, but they don't even see each other as rivals.
During their experiments, if the findings showed that there was statistically more aggression shown towards those that had the same coloration than those with different coloration, then this would indicate that the two do not see each other as reproductive rivals. If this is true, then it would follow that the two populations do not interbreed with each other. As it so happens, this is what they found.
All of this would show that the hypothesis is correct in that, the main reason for the lack of interbreeding is due to their plumage. Looking into the genetics of this problem they could only find one difference, that one was in the melancortin-1 gene. This gene is responsible for the production of melanin, which gives skin or feathers a darker color.
So in all they found that a split in populations may just be due to a single mutation at the right point in the genome. Yet another example of rapid evolution that can cause expedient speciation. EVOLUTION, IT'S FASCINATING!
Original Paper - Plumage Color Used in Species Recognition
Bridged Description - Catching Speciation in the Act
A current Master's student studying newts discusses random parts of his life. It may not make sense, but that's how life generally goes.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Monday, December 27, 2010
The Whole Xmas Bundle!
So before getting through all the other posts I promised, this one will be about all the cool neato thangs I gots this year. So here goes the list of things:
First I'll mention the sticking stuffers, one of which I spend way too much time with. So got two classic card games; Uno and Phase 10. Played uno a lot as a child so I expect to play it more with roommates and friends. Phase 10 is more of a rummy-type game. For the most part you get the same card set as one would get with uno, but you have to get a certain list of cards for each "phase". That's the main gist of it.
Along with the cards I got a new fidget... These darn toys always get me hooked so easily. All you do with them, is well... fidget, but you can do some really cool things with them. This one is merely a set of 216 magnetic balls. OH THE MADNESS! Because you can separate them all you can make some fun structures, which to describe would be way to difficult due to the dimensionality of them. When I get back to the dorms I'll take some pictures of things I've made. DONT YOU SEE THE POSSIBILITY FOR MADNESS!!
ON TO THE GIFTS:
16 TOOL MULTI-TOOL!!! THAT'S RIGHT 16!!! A mini saw, good knife, multiple screwdrivers, pliers, scissors, and a filer. But seriously, A SAW! Clearly it's not gonna be big enough to like cut a tree down, but that doesn't stop me from considering it, just for the hell of it. So much fun to just flip through.
STOMP ROCKETS! These aren't you're silly kiddy stomp rockets either. No no no, these have FLAMES ON THEM. That alone makes these for ages 16 and up. A few flames made a 10 year old toy become a 16 year old toy, hells yeah. I have yet to try them, but the claim is that they can reach 40 stories.... haha so silly.
<-No those are the wimpy rockets..YES THOSE ONES, WITH THE FLAMES!->
Not much for gaming this year, only got GOLDENEYE for the Wii. The remake of a classic game for N64 that practically created the first person shooter genre of gaming. I'm still going through the original, but in regards to that finally got through Control in 7:04, which means I got INFINITE AMMO CHEAT. AHHH SO DIFFICULT. STUPID NATALIA KEPT DYING! STOP STANDING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROOM, IT'S NOT HARD!
MOVIE!! What movie you ask? Only INCEPTION, in BLU-RAY and dvd, but BLU-RAY! I did see it before, but seriously it's INCEPTION, GOOD MOVIE!!
....
I knew I was forgetting something, had to go get it out from after the cleaning. SPHERE CHAIR!! Not quite a papasan chair, still damn comfy. It's like a perfect college chair; easy to move, really soft, rather large (all the better to sleep in), and has a good head rest! I saw the small version and it had NO HEAD SUPPORT. Sitting in the small one I felt like an infant that can't hold it's head up. Sitting in a lounge chair you want to rest your head. NO, YOU DON'T GET TO. HOLD YOU'RE HEAD UP WHILE YOU LOUNGE. Stupid small chair...
Yes that thing on the left. It is amazing. Won't go to school this year, next year though in an apartment. OMFG ITS GETTING FOGGY OUTSIDE! I CAN'T SEE MY NEIGHBORS!
Now to books. TWO OF THEM. NOT ONE, NOT THREE, TWO!! Lowly Origins by Jonathon Kingdon.. hehe Kingdon like kingdom, but with an n... So it sets itself up as a book exploring the "When, Where, and Why our ancestors first stood up." I'm really slow at reading, so still working on Bill Bryson.... I'll get there... eventually... maybe... next year.
Ah yes the other book. This is will be a lot o fun given my past experience with putting the opossum skeleton together. What you didn't hear about that? WELL I'LL GET TO IT SOME OTHER TIME! Besides, it keeps falling apart, making me mad. It wants to be set up, but gravity says NO, THOSE LEGS WANT OFF!! So gravity rips of it's legs, and then gives it scoliosis, and rips the pelvis in half. I'ts not a pretty sight. I never thought an untenable force could make something look like road kill... ANYWAYS BACK TO THE POINT! I want to do more of these skeletons, but I have to go out and find them IN THE WILD OOO YEAH! TOTALLY HARD CORE THAT WAY. The book will help in identification of them, at least when I find just bones.
Finally, SUGAR. Yes sugar. That magical substance that can make anyone seem like they're on crack or speed, and still be legal. Classic Lindt chocolate, some sugared popcorn (?), and Moose Munch.... Yes that's right pieces of moose with sugar on it... wellll ok, more like some chocolate snacks that look more like reese's cups. But they have popcorn, caramel, and nuts instead of peanut butter. Kinda strange, but that's what crazy grandma is like.
AND SOCKS. NICE BIG WOOL SOCKS! SO COMFY, SO WARM, SO WOOLY, SO SOCKY. THE LABEL HAS YOSEMITE ON IT, THEY JUST GOT EVEN BETTER!
I FORGOT ABOUT MY MOCCASINS. Been wearing them all day, I forgot I had them on. But nice cozy innards for warmth and utter softness.
First I'll mention the sticking stuffers, one of which I spend way too much time with. So got two classic card games; Uno and Phase 10. Played uno a lot as a child so I expect to play it more with roommates and friends. Phase 10 is more of a rummy-type game. For the most part you get the same card set as one would get with uno, but you have to get a certain list of cards for each "phase". That's the main gist of it.
Along with the cards I got a new fidget... These darn toys always get me hooked so easily. All you do with them, is well... fidget, but you can do some really cool things with them. This one is merely a set of 216 magnetic balls. OH THE MADNESS! Because you can separate them all you can make some fun structures, which to describe would be way to difficult due to the dimensionality of them. When I get back to the dorms I'll take some pictures of things I've made. DONT YOU SEE THE POSSIBILITY FOR MADNESS!!
ON TO THE GIFTS:
16 TOOL MULTI-TOOL!!! THAT'S RIGHT 16!!! A mini saw, good knife, multiple screwdrivers, pliers, scissors, and a filer. But seriously, A SAW! Clearly it's not gonna be big enough to like cut a tree down, but that doesn't stop me from considering it, just for the hell of it. So much fun to just flip through.
STOMP ROCKETS! These aren't you're silly kiddy stomp rockets either. No no no, these have FLAMES ON THEM. That alone makes these for ages 16 and up. A few flames made a 10 year old toy become a 16 year old toy, hells yeah. I have yet to try them, but the claim is that they can reach 40 stories.... haha so silly.
<-No those are the wimpy rockets..YES THOSE ONES, WITH THE FLAMES!->
Not much for gaming this year, only got GOLDENEYE for the Wii. The remake of a classic game for N64 that practically created the first person shooter genre of gaming. I'm still going through the original, but in regards to that finally got through Control in 7:04, which means I got INFINITE AMMO CHEAT. AHHH SO DIFFICULT. STUPID NATALIA KEPT DYING! STOP STANDING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROOM, IT'S NOT HARD!
MOVIE!! What movie you ask? Only INCEPTION, in BLU-RAY and dvd, but BLU-RAY! I did see it before, but seriously it's INCEPTION, GOOD MOVIE!!
....
I knew I was forgetting something, had to go get it out from after the cleaning. SPHERE CHAIR!! Not quite a papasan chair, still damn comfy. It's like a perfect college chair; easy to move, really soft, rather large (all the better to sleep in), and has a good head rest! I saw the small version and it had NO HEAD SUPPORT. Sitting in the small one I felt like an infant that can't hold it's head up. Sitting in a lounge chair you want to rest your head. NO, YOU DON'T GET TO. HOLD YOU'RE HEAD UP WHILE YOU LOUNGE. Stupid small chair...
Yes that thing on the left. It is amazing. Won't go to school this year, next year though in an apartment. OMFG ITS GETTING FOGGY OUTSIDE! I CAN'T SEE MY NEIGHBORS!
Now to books. TWO OF THEM. NOT ONE, NOT THREE, TWO!! Lowly Origins by Jonathon Kingdon.. hehe Kingdon like kingdom, but with an n... So it sets itself up as a book exploring the "When, Where, and Why our ancestors first stood up." I'm really slow at reading, so still working on Bill Bryson.... I'll get there... eventually... maybe... next year.
Ah yes the other book. This is will be a lot o fun given my past experience with putting the opossum skeleton together. What you didn't hear about that? WELL I'LL GET TO IT SOME OTHER TIME! Besides, it keeps falling apart, making me mad. It wants to be set up, but gravity says NO, THOSE LEGS WANT OFF!! So gravity rips of it's legs, and then gives it scoliosis, and rips the pelvis in half. I'ts not a pretty sight. I never thought an untenable force could make something look like road kill... ANYWAYS BACK TO THE POINT! I want to do more of these skeletons, but I have to go out and find them IN THE WILD OOO YEAH! TOTALLY HARD CORE THAT WAY. The book will help in identification of them, at least when I find just bones.
Finally, SUGAR. Yes sugar. That magical substance that can make anyone seem like they're on crack or speed, and still be legal. Classic Lindt chocolate, some sugared popcorn (?), and Moose Munch.... Yes that's right pieces of moose with sugar on it... wellll ok, more like some chocolate snacks that look more like reese's cups. But they have popcorn, caramel, and nuts instead of peanut butter. Kinda strange, but that's what crazy grandma is like.
AND SOCKS. NICE BIG WOOL SOCKS! SO COMFY, SO WARM, SO WOOLY, SO SOCKY. THE LABEL HAS YOSEMITE ON IT, THEY JUST GOT EVEN BETTER!
I FORGOT ABOUT MY MOCCASINS. Been wearing them all day, I forgot I had them on. But nice cozy innards for warmth and utter softness.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Podarcis sicula, a case for rapid evolution.
This week's science comes from a few years ago, so some may have heard about this already. Podarcis sicula, or the Italian Wall-Lizard, was the focus of a study that started nearly 40 years ago. Between 1971 and 2000 no one was allowed to the island, so study could not be conducted. When they went back they were in for a surprise. The result of this study shows us why we must keep in mind both biological and environmental definitions of a "species". In a short, 36 year, timespan (approx. 30 generations of this species) the introduced population have evolved a cecal valve in their intestines. Keep reading to find why this blows my mind!
So to get a feel of this experiment, the main species in this study P. sicula, come from a small island Pod Kopiste (0.09 km^2) in the south Adriatic Sea. Five mating pairs from this ancestral population were placed on the island of Pod Mrcaru (0.03 km^2), where P. melisellensis lived. After 36 years the endemic species was extirpated and P. sicula became common. Keep in mind the size of these islands as this is very important for later analysis.
Further P. sicula was primarily insectivorous with less than 10% of it's diet being vegetation.
Using mitochondrial DNA they were able to determine that the two populations are indeed still the same species. However this is mitochondrial DNA, not cellular DNA.
After 36 years on Pod Mrcaru, the study found that the lizards now have a diet consisting of about 35% vegetation in the winter, to over 60% in the summer. Along with this was the finding of heads that were longer, deeper, and all around larger with more jaw muscle for extra chomping power. If you didn't know, these are very large changes in and among themselves. Evidence of evolution, I would think so! (Recall evolution is the change in allele frequencies over time.)
What huge new trait came about though? The existence of cecal valves, structures in the gut used to slow the progression of food for better absorption. Why so important? Cecal valves are present in <1% of all known squamates! Let me repeat that for full understanding, less than 80 of all known lizards and snakes have this structure. This wouldn't be too interesting if it weren't for the fact that it isn't present in the Pod Kopiste population nor is it present elsewhere in the genus. This is an entirely new structure! Because of the incredibly low frequency of these valves in other lizards and utter lack of them in amphibians, it is a safe conclusion to say that these structures are not ancestral.
What does this all mean though? Simply, evolution can occur even faster than previously suspected. With a simple selective pressure, changes occurred within the life span of a human. Typically this is seen in insects or bacterium, but now it has been seen in vertebrates. If only they could have seen this development in action!
Remember I said to keep in mind of the size of the island? With that small of an island, genes get passed around very quickly within the population, this means that there is fast genetic flow. So when a positive trait occurs, it can get through the population in a relatively short amount of time.
Original paper -> Rapid large-scale evolutionary divergence.
So to get a feel of this experiment, the main species in this study P. sicula, come from a small island Pod Kopiste (0.09 km^2) in the south Adriatic Sea. Five mating pairs from this ancestral population were placed on the island of Pod Mrcaru (0.03 km^2), where P. melisellensis lived. After 36 years the endemic species was extirpated and P. sicula became common. Keep in mind the size of these islands as this is very important for later analysis.
Further P. sicula was primarily insectivorous with less than 10% of it's diet being vegetation.
Using mitochondrial DNA they were able to determine that the two populations are indeed still the same species. However this is mitochondrial DNA, not cellular DNA.
After 36 years on Pod Mrcaru, the study found that the lizards now have a diet consisting of about 35% vegetation in the winter, to over 60% in the summer. Along with this was the finding of heads that were longer, deeper, and all around larger with more jaw muscle for extra chomping power. If you didn't know, these are very large changes in and among themselves. Evidence of evolution, I would think so! (Recall evolution is the change in allele frequencies over time.)
What huge new trait came about though? The existence of cecal valves, structures in the gut used to slow the progression of food for better absorption. Why so important? Cecal valves are present in <1% of all known squamates! Let me repeat that for full understanding, less than 80 of all known lizards and snakes have this structure. This wouldn't be too interesting if it weren't for the fact that it isn't present in the Pod Kopiste population nor is it present elsewhere in the genus. This is an entirely new structure! Because of the incredibly low frequency of these valves in other lizards and utter lack of them in amphibians, it is a safe conclusion to say that these structures are not ancestral.
What does this all mean though? Simply, evolution can occur even faster than previously suspected. With a simple selective pressure, changes occurred within the life span of a human. Typically this is seen in insects or bacterium, but now it has been seen in vertebrates. If only they could have seen this development in action!
Remember I said to keep in mind of the size of the island? With that small of an island, genes get passed around very quickly within the population, this means that there is fast genetic flow. So when a positive trait occurs, it can get through the population in a relatively short amount of time.
Original paper -> Rapid large-scale evolutionary divergence.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
I so bad!!
Some may think I haven't had much to say these last few days. But that's just because I'm lazy. I do in fact have things to talk about. So soon I, hopefully, will come out with a few more things to talk about. I have to do the weekly science thing. Recently seen 2, I felt, rather good movies so should talk about those. More on my childhood (mostly games), and finally somethings about high school life. Tonight I may not get to them, I'll try, but no guarantees. I mean come on, I have four I just promised, I'll get there. OH also one on traditions. This one was merely a information post so that it doesn't seem like I forgot
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Battle for the Red Squirrel
I tend not to like watching the news with my parents for many reasons, mainly the politics irk me. Today was different for a few minutes though. The only thing I had to hear was, "An Invasion of Britain, by Animals." Just to e it picky, first of it isn't much of an invasion when they have already taken over. Secondly, animals implies multiple species, when it's just one, the Eastern Grey Squirrel, Sciurus carolinensis. This conquer occurred because S. carolinensis carries a disease, to which it is immune, that the Eurasian Red Squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) is not immune to. (Why call it vulgaris? It's cuter than the grey squirrel.)
What is the cure to this ecological disaster? Well over the pond they have found an answer. Eat them. That's right, the cure for bringing back S. vulgaris to it's natural habitat is to eat its cousin S. carolinensis. Apparently the meat of the grey squirrel is sweet, like a cross between lamb and duck due to its diet of nuts and berries, and because they're all free range, it's very lean meat. So to all of those vegetarians who are against killing, well this is killing for a purpose, so eat up. It's even been endorsed by the future King of England!
This kind of story reminds me of my high school senior bio teacher's shirt. On it was a picture of numerous endangered animals, and underneath it said, "For every animal you don't eat, I'll eat 3." He was very big on meat consumption. Long story short, I want to try this morsel.
What is the cure to this ecological disaster? Well over the pond they have found an answer. Eat them. That's right, the cure for bringing back S. vulgaris to it's natural habitat is to eat its cousin S. carolinensis. Apparently the meat of the grey squirrel is sweet, like a cross between lamb and duck due to its diet of nuts and berries, and because they're all free range, it's very lean meat. So to all of those vegetarians who are against killing, well this is killing for a purpose, so eat up. It's even been endorsed by the future King of England!
This kind of story reminds me of my high school senior bio teacher's shirt. On it was a picture of numerous endangered animals, and underneath it said, "For every animal you don't eat, I'll eat 3." He was very big on meat consumption. Long story short, I want to try this morsel.
Evidence of Evolution of the Week.
After coming back home, I'm ready once again to give some fun research recently discovered FOR SCIENCE! Ever heard of genomic "fault" zones? I sure hadn't. Until igoogle came up with a few articles on it, so I decided to check it out. As it turns out, in the mammalian genome there are parts that go through a "birth and death" process. This was discovered by a group of bioinformatics researchers at UC San Diego, and was published on November 30, 2010 in the journal Genome Biology.
"The genomic architecture of every species on Earth changes on the evolutionary time scale and humans are not an exception. What will be the next big change in the human genome remains unknown, but our approach could be useful in determining where in the human genome those changes may occur," said Pavel Pevzner, a UC San Diego computer science professor.
Previous studies have shown that there are fragile regions in the genome, which are prone to changing, or "genomic earthquakes." More surprisingly though, as found in this paper, is that these fault zones are moving throughout the genome, meaning that fault zones have a limited evolutionary lifespan. Because these fault zones are isolated to a general area, we can search the human genome for spots of recent activity and see how these spots have effected our evolution. Not only that, but we can make predictions as to what may occur in our, or other mammals, future evolution! (So when people say we can't make predictions, that's complete bull as now we can make more precise predictions on the genomic level and not just phylogenetic level.) With this new insight, the scientists are hopeful that they later may make predictions, based on chromosomal rearrangements, to help cancer diagnosis and treatment.
If you feel like an intrepid young warrior, you may try to tackle the paper. Comparative genomics reveals birth and death of fragile regions in mammalian evolution. My main resource was EurekAlert!
Now when you are told that your logic is faulty, you can say with a straight face that it is.
"The genomic architecture of every species on Earth changes on the evolutionary time scale and humans are not an exception. What will be the next big change in the human genome remains unknown, but our approach could be useful in determining where in the human genome those changes may occur," said Pavel Pevzner, a UC San Diego computer science professor.
Previous studies have shown that there are fragile regions in the genome, which are prone to changing, or "genomic earthquakes." More surprisingly though, as found in this paper, is that these fault zones are moving throughout the genome, meaning that fault zones have a limited evolutionary lifespan. Because these fault zones are isolated to a general area, we can search the human genome for spots of recent activity and see how these spots have effected our evolution. Not only that, but we can make predictions as to what may occur in our, or other mammals, future evolution! (So when people say we can't make predictions, that's complete bull as now we can make more precise predictions on the genomic level and not just phylogenetic level.) With this new insight, the scientists are hopeful that they later may make predictions, based on chromosomal rearrangements, to help cancer diagnosis and treatment.
If you feel like an intrepid young warrior, you may try to tackle the paper. Comparative genomics reveals birth and death of fragile regions in mammalian evolution. My main resource was EurekAlert!
Now when you are told that your logic is faulty, you can say with a straight face that it is.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Winter Break, The Memory Bank
Well finals are over, classes done, and back home for a three week break. I got back yesterday afternoon to seeing the cat asleep on my bed, such a cute thing laying there with his face plunged into the pillow. It's these small reminders that I always have something important and cheerful to come back to, even when it seems like life just kicked my ass. Another important get away are video games, at least for me. Today, after going out with our long time family friends, the Halls, to get xmas trees, I just sat in my room playing Banjo-Kazooie on the N64. Such fond memories of that game. A friend and I used to play it together when we were younger. Always talking about how far we got, which levels we thought were just pains etc. Nostalgia, gotta love it. Thinking back to when times were simpler, and life was less complicated. And what better time to do that than xmas time. Seriously, that's what I love about it the most. Not the gifts or food, but the memories it brings back of family, family lost and gone to the river of time. I realize now in my older age that I have to cherish these times now because they wont be around for much longer. More back story to it, but don't want to go into that.
Going to a different topic now, college life, and getting back home. I come from a well off family, so I have accumulated a decent amount of stuff. Going to college, it's hard to decide what stuff goes, and what stuff stays behind. I have since learned that I took too much stuff, so now I have to cut it down to a smaller version of my stuff. If this sounds familiar, wither you went through this experience before, or you have heard George Carlin's skit, A Place for My Stuff. Now that I have brought stuff back, I know that I will be taking little of it back with me. Dont need so many clothes, or games, or towels, among other things. Before all that though, I need to clean my room...Also doing something with family tomorrow, but i can't remember what right now. Further I forgot to do my fun fact friday, but I will try to remember to do that when I wake up in the morning.
(Sneak Peak: Genomic Fault Zones, now when creationsists say you use faulty logic, you really can and still show them their ignorance of science)
Another fun college experience I need to think about... getting an apartment next year, yaaaayy. Well I already have ideas for roommates, but have yet to tell them about it. Need to think about where also, clearly in Davis but where. These are the updates and ramblings in my life for today.
Going to a different topic now, college life, and getting back home. I come from a well off family, so I have accumulated a decent amount of stuff. Going to college, it's hard to decide what stuff goes, and what stuff stays behind. I have since learned that I took too much stuff, so now I have to cut it down to a smaller version of my stuff. If this sounds familiar, wither you went through this experience before, or you have heard George Carlin's skit, A Place for My Stuff. Now that I have brought stuff back, I know that I will be taking little of it back with me. Dont need so many clothes, or games, or towels, among other things. Before all that though, I need to clean my room...Also doing something with family tomorrow, but i can't remember what right now. Further I forgot to do my fun fact friday, but I will try to remember to do that when I wake up in the morning.
(Sneak Peak: Genomic Fault Zones, now when creationsists say you use faulty logic, you really can and still show them their ignorance of science)
Another fun college experience I need to think about... getting an apartment next year, yaaaayy. Well I already have ideas for roommates, but have yet to tell them about it. Need to think about where also, clearly in Davis but where. These are the updates and ramblings in my life for today.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Salamanders Lost!
So today I was GOING to go out to catch salamanders, but I was unable to do so. The night life in my room had a different agenda, and that was to be up all night. I may be in another room, but when the door gets hit, you get startled awake. This happened all throughout the night.... So in total I may have gotten 2 hours of sleep all night, most of that was after 5am this morning. I had to leave by 6 to do the salamander research, so it was a very much no go for me today. needless to say I am upset about this. At 4:45 I had to send a message to my leader informing him of my lack of sleep, "Sleep has alluded me this night due to the night life (roommates) that has taken place here. Sadly I must say I will be of no use today." He's a nice guy and he understands, but I'm sure they could've used some more help out there.
My thinking is that because it is nearing the end of finals people are beginning to release all the tension, so they express it all during the night... whilst I sleep. The only thing to keep me from utter sorrow is this simple video.
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My thinking is that because it is nearing the end of finals people are beginning to release all the tension, so they express it all during the night... whilst I sleep. The only thing to keep me from utter sorrow is this simple video.
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Wednesday, December 8, 2010
One More to Go.
So I now have done 3 of 4 of my finals. Strangely though, I feel good so far. After the A on the astronomy final I feel like things may be going well this first quarter.
Yesterday was chemistry, which I feel went rather well. Chemistry was hard, don't get me wrong. I finally sat down and studied for that painful experience. There were a few instances when I was stuck on a problem then randomly, "THIS CHAIR IS FUN!!!!!" AND IT REALLY WAS! That stupid thought crossed my mind a few times though. I felt a little bad with my TA sitting in front of me, watching me as I randomly started to spin around in my chair. It was the weirdest thing. I had never sat on a chair that was on a swivel arm from between two chairs before. On top of that, the chair twisted on the arm! I was like," TWO DEGREES OF SPIN, OMFG, WTF!!" Back to the test though. I'll admit there were some things on there that caught me for a bit, though I think I got them for the most part. We'll see how it ends up, I figured out that I needed around 180/210 to get like 85% in the class, so with curve that should end up being an A.
Today was Anthro, which I just got back from. Fun. There were a few questions that made me laugh at either the simplicity, or that they were on the practice, verbatim. The last one especially. People kept on sending emails out asking how to do it when it was a simple Hardy-Weinberg question. Not sure why people thought that was so hard... simple 1=p^2+2pq+q^2, where p is frequency of dominant allele and q is frequency of recessive allele. Remember to always mind your p's and q's. Quite possibly my favorite question on there though was about someone running for senator of Delaware in 1998 stating her ignorance of evolutionary theory. "If evolution were true, then why aren't monkeys evolving into humans?" That was her quote. It still shocks me how people holding offices of power in this country can be so ignorant, and proudly so, of high school science. Sadly, it's this ignorance that has made me less fond of a few people I know. Like they're smart, but they hold this veil to shield themselves from any evidence that contradicts their world view. Oh well. Perhaps sometime I convince them, but until then, I'm going to continue enjoying the truth.
Well, only have one more to go. Calculus. They vain of many people's existence. It's on Friday so I have time to prepare and study, I mostly just need to refrain from making stupid mistakes. Last test, the only questions I missed were due to me just over looking one little aspect of the question. As soon as I got the test back I did each question I missed in under 5 min. On one I forget to multiply an integral by y, and the other I did half of it right with the other half needing to be done in the same exact way.... How do you over look that? Clearly I was looking for that in the problem, but I didn't see it happening twice? RAGE!! Everything else, oh just dandy. Had to go and screw up those two with itsy bitsy over sights. Must not happen again.
Finally, I would like to inform people that I try not to do anymore stories on Drew. He has asked me not to because he finds it annoying. Some may say this is censorship, but I feel it's more about his rights and respecting him. But the previous ones will remain up because they have comedic value.
Yesterday was chemistry, which I feel went rather well. Chemistry was hard, don't get me wrong. I finally sat down and studied for that painful experience. There were a few instances when I was stuck on a problem then randomly, "THIS CHAIR IS FUN!!!!!" AND IT REALLY WAS! That stupid thought crossed my mind a few times though. I felt a little bad with my TA sitting in front of me, watching me as I randomly started to spin around in my chair. It was the weirdest thing. I had never sat on a chair that was on a swivel arm from between two chairs before. On top of that, the chair twisted on the arm! I was like," TWO DEGREES OF SPIN, OMFG, WTF!!" Back to the test though. I'll admit there were some things on there that caught me for a bit, though I think I got them for the most part. We'll see how it ends up, I figured out that I needed around 180/210 to get like 85% in the class, so with curve that should end up being an A.
Today was Anthro, which I just got back from. Fun. There were a few questions that made me laugh at either the simplicity, or that they were on the practice, verbatim. The last one especially. People kept on sending emails out asking how to do it when it was a simple Hardy-Weinberg question. Not sure why people thought that was so hard... simple 1=p^2+2pq+q^2, where p is frequency of dominant allele and q is frequency of recessive allele. Remember to always mind your p's and q's. Quite possibly my favorite question on there though was about someone running for senator of Delaware in 1998 stating her ignorance of evolutionary theory. "If evolution were true, then why aren't monkeys evolving into humans?" That was her quote. It still shocks me how people holding offices of power in this country can be so ignorant, and proudly so, of high school science. Sadly, it's this ignorance that has made me less fond of a few people I know. Like they're smart, but they hold this veil to shield themselves from any evidence that contradicts their world view. Oh well. Perhaps sometime I convince them, but until then, I'm going to continue enjoying the truth.
Well, only have one more to go. Calculus. They vain of many people's existence. It's on Friday so I have time to prepare and study, I mostly just need to refrain from making stupid mistakes. Last test, the only questions I missed were due to me just over looking one little aspect of the question. As soon as I got the test back I did each question I missed in under 5 min. On one I forget to multiply an integral by y, and the other I did half of it right with the other half needing to be done in the same exact way.... How do you over look that? Clearly I was looking for that in the problem, but I didn't see it happening twice? RAGE!! Everything else, oh just dandy. Had to go and screw up those two with itsy bitsy over sights. Must not happen again.
Finally, I would like to inform people that I try not to do anymore stories on Drew. He has asked me not to because he finds it annoying. Some may say this is censorship, but I feel it's more about his rights and respecting him. But the previous ones will remain up because they have comedic value.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
BAD JUJU!!!
So yesterday Drew was acting a bit more hyper than usual, to say the least. Earlier he tied his lanyard around his head to blind fold himself. From here he decided to play a round of "Bad Adventures", only instead of going anywhere he started to hunt down Jay whilst calling him "Brownie". This lasted for a good half hour. Unfortunately the video will not load here, so some fixing will have to take place, but it is available on facebook.
The second occurrence happened later in the day. Our roommate Sean decided to get everyone xmas gifts. Well... he nailed it for Drew when he pulled out a Nerf Gun. To this surprise Drew screeches out, "I've never been allowed to have a nerf gun before!" BAD JUJU! When he gets this, my first reaction is, "I'm gonna go to the bathroom (to hide)." While I'm brushing my teeth I have this horrible thought that Drew is going to come storming through the bathroom to shoot me. Every time someone comes through the door I nearly drop what I'm doing out of fear. When I make it back up to my room, I slowly open the door to have the gun pointed at me with Jay on the floor. This first video is of the next few minutes.
After that Drew decided to go all out and wrapped himself up in his sheets and towels to look like he was wearing a hijab. He then proceeds to create a "wand" by taping two pencils together. Now Drew is a wizard and Jay has the gun. So they decide to stage a battle in our room, needless to say Jay lost in the epic fight that could have claimed many lives... no, not really. I didn't edit this at all, as the first few seconds would have been taken out.A bit over half way through the video, you may hear me whimpering a bit after Drew hits the door frame. The reason for this is that while he didn't hit me, I felt the stick skim over my ear and shoulder. It was at this point when my life flashes before me during a surge of adrenaline.
This whole experience has produced some rather fun quotes. My favorite of which was when the gun had 1 empty space in it. As drew points it towards me the script went a bit as such:
"There is one blank in this gun, so the question is: Are you feeling lucky? Here let me help you (points gun down and fires a blank). Oh well there it was. Still feeling lucky?"
The answer: No I don't.
Another addition to our list of quotes was simply, "Kill shot".
After that Drew decided to go all out and wrapped himself up in his sheets and towels to look like he was wearing a hijab. He then proceeds to create a "wand" by taping two pencils together. Now Drew is a wizard and Jay has the gun. So they decide to stage a battle in our room, needless to say Jay lost in the epic fight that could have claimed many lives... no, not really. I didn't edit this at all, as the first few seconds would have been taken out.A bit over half way through the video, you may hear me whimpering a bit after Drew hits the door frame. The reason for this is that while he didn't hit me, I felt the stick skim over my ear and shoulder. It was at this point when my life flashes before me during a surge of adrenaline.
This whole experience has produced some rather fun quotes. My favorite of which was when the gun had 1 empty space in it. As drew points it towards me the script went a bit as such:
"There is one blank in this gun, so the question is: Are you feeling lucky? Here let me help you (points gun down and fires a blank). Oh well there it was. Still feeling lucky?"
The answer: No I don't.
Another addition to our list of quotes was simply, "Kill shot".
Monday, December 6, 2010
Just About the End of it.
So it has come, the end of my first quarter in college. Oh how time does fly. I have already had one final but it was not much, just astronomy lab. But this week is all about the big 3; Anthropology, Chemistry, and Math
Unfortunately, due to my background as an IB student, I feel that the finals aren't really going to challenge me that much, so I feel I can get away with procrastinating. Like when I try to study I can't focus on it because I look at the material and think to myself, "I know this shit. So why am I trying to read what I already know?" I'm sure this kind of thinking will get me in the end, but it's been almost trained into me thanks to IB (for those who don't know what IB is, I'll do a post about it some other time). My friend Charlie already got the punishment today after his math test, which he did study for. Here I am thinking that I've got it all figured out for my classes so I put off the studying. This is one part of my psychology I really don't like, among many other things. Here I sit on my laptop while in the other room two roommates are studying for chemistry, which is tomorrow, and I feel like I know the material. After all my last test I got one of the highest grades in the class. I should feel good about that, no? At the same time I didn't really study for that test either, I thought it was all fairly straight forward. So I agonize over not studying, but when I do try to study I can't focus. It's almost like a double edged sword and I'm about to swing it in one way or another.
I have learned about myself here in college though, and how to make it so I can study. No it's not use drugs. It's an aspect of myself I rather enjoy actually. When I move around I get into the material more. This might be one of the reasons I enjoy doing math. I do math homework on a white board to allow myself more freedom in motion. I begin to exaggerate strokes, making it more active and by doing so I activate my brain. Now I can't do that in class, so sometimes I'll talk to myself (a bad habit of mine some may claim), but it really does help me think about the problem at hand. I'm glad I'm realizing this about myself now at the start of college, otherwise I may be in for a world of hurt when it comes to the harder classes.
If this post seems to change directions frequently, well... too bad.
Unfortunately, due to my background as an IB student, I feel that the finals aren't really going to challenge me that much, so I feel I can get away with procrastinating. Like when I try to study I can't focus on it because I look at the material and think to myself, "I know this shit. So why am I trying to read what I already know?" I'm sure this kind of thinking will get me in the end, but it's been almost trained into me thanks to IB (for those who don't know what IB is, I'll do a post about it some other time). My friend Charlie already got the punishment today after his math test, which he did study for. Here I am thinking that I've got it all figured out for my classes so I put off the studying. This is one part of my psychology I really don't like, among many other things. Here I sit on my laptop while in the other room two roommates are studying for chemistry, which is tomorrow, and I feel like I know the material. After all my last test I got one of the highest grades in the class. I should feel good about that, no? At the same time I didn't really study for that test either, I thought it was all fairly straight forward. So I agonize over not studying, but when I do try to study I can't focus. It's almost like a double edged sword and I'm about to swing it in one way or another.
I have learned about myself here in college though, and how to make it so I can study. No it's not use drugs. It's an aspect of myself I rather enjoy actually. When I move around I get into the material more. This might be one of the reasons I enjoy doing math. I do math homework on a white board to allow myself more freedom in motion. I begin to exaggerate strokes, making it more active and by doing so I activate my brain. Now I can't do that in class, so sometimes I'll talk to myself (a bad habit of mine some may claim), but it really does help me think about the problem at hand. I'm glad I'm realizing this about myself now at the start of college, otherwise I may be in for a world of hurt when it comes to the harder classes.
If this post seems to change directions frequently, well... too bad.
Friday, December 3, 2010
AWESOME STORY: THE FIRST
So every week I plan on giving some story about some interesting scientific thing. Already have the first few weeks planned out, unless something big occurs in that time, which it just so happened to this week.
For those yet to have heard, a recent discovery of a bacterium in California's Mono Lake (no relationship to the disease) able to use arsenic in replacement of phosphorous, has been making a large fuss in the scientific world. Why so amazing some may ask? Well the answer is simple enough. Arsenic is poisonous to cells, any cell. Life uses 6 elements for most everything, CHNOPS, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorous, and sulfur. The problem with arsenic is that is has properties very similar to that of phosphorous, and due to these similarities the cell confuses the two and may replace arsenic for phosphorous. When this occurs, cell respiration gets blocked there by depriving the cell of ATP. This replacement of one of the big 6 demonstrates a long held belief that life can occur with a different chemical make-up, big news for astrobiologists.
In these new bacterium, GFAJ-1 a member of the Halomonadaceae family, arsenic is actually able to be incorporated into the cell without killing it. When grown in a arsenic heavy environment, the phosphorous content dropped to 1/13 of it's original dry weight. However they really don't like doing. For one, when this happens the cells become bloated with large vacuoles. Reason is unsure, but it may be because some arsenate-containing molecules become unstable in water so the cell creates isolated spots with little to no water. Secondly, the bacteria grow 40% slower.
The thing that get's every one in a tizzy is that the arsenate ion (AsO43-) replaces the phosphate ion (PO43-) in many well known molecules. These molecules include DNA, RNA, serine, tyrosine, threonine, ATP (or maybe ATA now?), and some amino acids.
But anyways, yes this gives credence to the idea that life can occur else where in the universe using different chemical make-ups. Maybe next we can find an organism that replaces carbon with silicon.
Find the paper here -> Effects of arsenic cell metabolism and cell proliferation
Or perhaps a wikipedia search is more your style, in which case search for GFAJ-1
You could be more of a blog reader though (especially if you're reading my crap) so read my friend Charlie's blog My Ecological Niche, I also suggest Pharyngula for more information.
UPDATE:
As it turns out this story is actually way over hyped. While the possibility of such a thing is amazing, the experiment itself was actually performed with such bad techniques that no good analysis can be given about the results of this. As I am not a professional (yet), I shall rely upon a professional to give the critical analysis of the paper. Is it REALLY incorporating arsenic? This is a very long post, so if you don't want to read it, don't worry not many people will. It is laid out with much scientific jargon.
For those yet to have heard, a recent discovery of a bacterium in California's Mono Lake (no relationship to the disease) able to use arsenic in replacement of phosphorous, has been making a large fuss in the scientific world. Why so amazing some may ask? Well the answer is simple enough. Arsenic is poisonous to cells, any cell. Life uses 6 elements for most everything, CHNOPS, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorous, and sulfur. The problem with arsenic is that is has properties very similar to that of phosphorous, and due to these similarities the cell confuses the two and may replace arsenic for phosphorous. When this occurs, cell respiration gets blocked there by depriving the cell of ATP. This replacement of one of the big 6 demonstrates a long held belief that life can occur with a different chemical make-up, big news for astrobiologists.
In these new bacterium, GFAJ-1 a member of the Halomonadaceae family, arsenic is actually able to be incorporated into the cell without killing it. When grown in a arsenic heavy environment, the phosphorous content dropped to 1/13 of it's original dry weight. However they really don't like doing. For one, when this happens the cells become bloated with large vacuoles. Reason is unsure, but it may be because some arsenate-containing molecules become unstable in water so the cell creates isolated spots with little to no water. Secondly, the bacteria grow 40% slower.
The thing that get's every one in a tizzy is that the arsenate ion (AsO43-) replaces the phosphate ion (PO43-) in many well known molecules. These molecules include DNA, RNA, serine, tyrosine, threonine, ATP (or maybe ATA now?), and some amino acids.
But anyways, yes this gives credence to the idea that life can occur else where in the universe using different chemical make-ups. Maybe next we can find an organism that replaces carbon with silicon.
Find the paper here -> Effects of arsenic cell metabolism and cell proliferation
Or perhaps a wikipedia search is more your style, in which case search for GFAJ-1
You could be more of a blog reader though (especially if you're reading my crap) so read my friend Charlie's blog My Ecological Niche, I also suggest Pharyngula for more information.
UPDATE:
As it turns out this story is actually way over hyped. While the possibility of such a thing is amazing, the experiment itself was actually performed with such bad techniques that no good analysis can be given about the results of this. As I am not a professional (yet), I shall rely upon a professional to give the critical analysis of the paper. Is it REALLY incorporating arsenic? This is a very long post, so if you don't want to read it, don't worry not many people will. It is laid out with much scientific jargon.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Harmonious Persimmons
You know how everyone tells you to not eat the food in college dining halls. Well today I tried a new fruit, if you didn't guess it yet well take a moment to think it over...persimmon. Yes I tried a persimmon today, it was weird. I'm glad I did, but I'm not sure I like them. Perhaps it could be that it was in a college dining hall, but I'm in an ag school they should know how to do this shit I would hope. And another thing, every time I hear persimmon I think parsimony (good evolution word), leading to parsimonious, which then makes me think harmonious. So persimmons are harmonious, why would I not want to eat it?
Describing a persimmon is really rather easy, so I suppose that's one nice thing about it. They look like orange tomatoes. Seriously that's all it takes to describe how they look like. So I grab this tomato looking thing and just stare at it. I'm not sure I want to eat this for two reasons. 1. It looks like a tomato, I don't particularly like tomatoes. 2. I don't know how the hell I'm supposed to eat it. If people were to see me they would think I were from the 1600's as I had this very puzzling look as I flipped it around and played a bit with the leaves. Just as I was about to give up on eating this tumorous looking mass of pure orange, I see someone walking by with a bite taken out of his persimmon, so as the saying goes; monkey see, monkey do. I felt rather pathetic as build up the courage to plunge my teeth into it. When I do I get a sudden surprise, THIS SKIN IS THICK, WHAT THE HELL? I thought this skin would kind of pop like a tomato skin, but NOOO it has to be all tough and shit. WELL TOO BAD, THATS WHAT INCISORS ARE FOR!! So now that I am firmly committed on tearing this fruit apart, I discover the texture of it's flesh. In this case it was quite soft, I would have to describe it as sort of like stemmed sweet potato or something close to that, just mushy. Then I get the taste... I did not expect it to taste like pumpkin pie filling... I was very confused. Here I think tomato, a true berry, and then I get squash, and not just any squash but pumpkin, and I get whisked away to memories of Thanksgiving and Halloween, COMBINED AT LAST. Perhaps this is just what orange tastes like when not in citrus, I don't know.
After a bit or two, I'm chewing slowly so as to understand the flavor more and to decide if I'm going to finish it or not, then a girl sits by me and I begin to converse with her about how odd I find this fruit. It feels like its the Frankenstein's monster of fruits. Tomato with Pumpkin, who would've concocted such a random union? While talking to this girl, whom I'm sad to say did not give me her name, I remember there is a darker spot on the fruit I am about to get to. This is when I stop and stare at it for a few more minutes. I don't know whether this is just what happens when it's bruised or if this is how it looks when rotting. Becoming truly scared for my life over this stupid thing I decide not to take me chances with this frankenmato, So overall I'm still not sure if I like them or not, but I do worry that one of those bruised spots will be the cause for the zombie apocalypse upon all of us! BEWARE THE FRANKENMATO!!
Update: I have found out the name of the girl I talked to during this experience. Her name is Diane.
Describing a persimmon is really rather easy, so I suppose that's one nice thing about it. They look like orange tomatoes. Seriously that's all it takes to describe how they look like. So I grab this tomato looking thing and just stare at it. I'm not sure I want to eat this for two reasons. 1. It looks like a tomato, I don't particularly like tomatoes. 2. I don't know how the hell I'm supposed to eat it. If people were to see me they would think I were from the 1600's as I had this very puzzling look as I flipped it around and played a bit with the leaves. Just as I was about to give up on eating this tumorous looking mass of pure orange, I see someone walking by with a bite taken out of his persimmon, so as the saying goes; monkey see, monkey do. I felt rather pathetic as build up the courage to plunge my teeth into it. When I do I get a sudden surprise, THIS SKIN IS THICK, WHAT THE HELL? I thought this skin would kind of pop like a tomato skin, but NOOO it has to be all tough and shit. WELL TOO BAD, THATS WHAT INCISORS ARE FOR!! So now that I am firmly committed on tearing this fruit apart, I discover the texture of it's flesh. In this case it was quite soft, I would have to describe it as sort of like stemmed sweet potato or something close to that, just mushy. Then I get the taste... I did not expect it to taste like pumpkin pie filling... I was very confused. Here I think tomato, a true berry, and then I get squash, and not just any squash but pumpkin, and I get whisked away to memories of Thanksgiving and Halloween, COMBINED AT LAST. Perhaps this is just what orange tastes like when not in citrus, I don't know.
After a bit or two, I'm chewing slowly so as to understand the flavor more and to decide if I'm going to finish it or not, then a girl sits by me and I begin to converse with her about how odd I find this fruit. It feels like its the Frankenstein's monster of fruits. Tomato with Pumpkin, who would've concocted such a random union? While talking to this girl, whom I'm sad to say did not give me her name, I remember there is a darker spot on the fruit I am about to get to. This is when I stop and stare at it for a few more minutes. I don't know whether this is just what happens when it's bruised or if this is how it looks when rotting. Becoming truly scared for my life over this stupid thing I decide not to take me chances with this frankenmato, So overall I'm still not sure if I like them or not, but I do worry that one of those bruised spots will be the cause for the zombie apocalypse upon all of us! BEWARE THE FRANKENMATO!!
Update: I have found out the name of the girl I talked to during this experience. Her name is Diane.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
It's Drew Time
So those of you who know me personally also likely know my roommate Drew, an over controlling pessimistic social unknown. Oh also short fused. Two of these I had very little idea about until I moved in with him, but I make by. So early on in our rooming discover he lacks the idea of personal space. This isn't just a small thing like looking over my shoulder or taking my stuff, I'm fine with that. No it's when I'm talking to someone over skype or some online chat service and he steals my keyboard while I'm typing. At this point he will begin conversing with the person upon the other end... He has these same people available to him on his own computer, which is on, but no just takes over for about 10 min. Stealing in this entails pushing me down to the desk and hovering over me, if I attempt to push him off, I get a nice strong hit to the head. During a conversation, he frequently interrupts to tell you that you are wrong and then proceeds to say what you were saying, so I don't really get a word in edge wise at this point.
Speaking of communication, he seems to know every little thing about pronunciation. Even if your pronunciation is a little off TIME TO CORRECT, and you can never do it right... It feels like I'm in Stalin's Soviet Union, and the KGB sleeps in the same room as I do. He even seems to have Stalin's ruthlessness. One night I try to go to sleep and so he straps my to my bed with belts and then decides no its not enough, what more could there by to add.... AHA THE BAMBOO STICK, just a note this bamboo stick has a sharpened end that gets point towards my neck literally 2 inches away. Hmmm nope still not good enough. AHA MUSIC STAND!!. Yes he has a music stand points the top, again right at my neck. Now I'm sure many are thinking, why didn't you just try to get out, well again if I attempt to he shoves me back down and slaps me. I'm generally a nice person about these things, I'll let people screw around with me it's ok, but there is a point where it becomes too much.
At around 3AM, because now he's finished tying shit to me, I'm able to push out the bamboo stick. It is at this point I feel like James Bond or Indiana Jones getting out at the last moment from a tight bondage. Drew hears this in the other room, and he barges in like Glenn Beck hearing Obama making a speech (bad analogy?, too bad I don't care). It is at this point I take the stick I had just freed from the binds and point it straight at him signalling, "You come near me I swear I will beat you to within an inch of your life HAHA how fun does that sound?" That night I am proud to say I got 2 hours of sleep and still made it to my 7:30 chem lecture. OH I almost forgot the reason for this whole journey down the road of hades. His reason for it all was to stop me from moving in my sleep... let that sink in... because I move in my sleep, he felt it necessary to make that if I move I get stabbed in the throat by two different objects at the same time, one to puncture, and the other to make sure the hole gets infected by splinters, and I don't smoke so the hole would be all for not.
While on the subject of sleeping and Drew, remember how I described him as overly controlling? Well how would you feel if someone told you that you whispered one word while sleeping? I would imagine most people would just brush it off or have a good laugh about it. Why? Because there's nothing that can be done about it, YOU'RE ASLEEP! But Drew, oooh no, everything has to be perfect. When he got told he whispered a word while asleep he snapped. It was one of those moments when you say something and then instantly realize that it will come back very soon. Watching him that few moments after words would have been funny though, I liken it to what would've happened when Obama heard that Pelosi knew about the water boarding. Sit back down, then eyes dart open and a wave of anger flushes over. After a minute of him pondering it over he slams open our door and I just see his music stand flying through the air as is it were a bird just learning to fly to then immediately plow into Jay's and Sean's door and fall to the ground in a graceless heap. Drew then proceeds to stomp out of the room and beat me and whip me with his keys. The whole time Jay is sitting next to me watching the whole thing like a frightened squirrel, and I'm now feeling like I said something wrong to Xena (the freaking princess warrior). Drew continues on his little tantrum by throwing his stand around a bit more, which has probably now seen some parts of the room I don't know about, and then yells at us asking about what he said. When told he ends it with another slap to the head.
Why only beat up on me?? Jay was right there as well? But no, the purpose behind hitting me is to teach me to stop talking in my sleep because apparently that uncontrollable aspect of oneself is transferable. Who knew?
And now for something completely related.
As if all that weren't messed up enough, Drew finds it fun to catalog what occurs while I'm sleeping, yes this means he watches me sleep. As told above I have tendencies to move and talk in my sleep. There is a running story line about my dreams, because I can't ever remember them Drew tells me about them. So far the few noted things I have said are as follows "Jump. Jump.", "Just do it.", "Muffins.", "That's it, that's good.", and finally to make it more confusing "Capybara." Drew has a very sick idea of how these can be put together. So the story originally was that I was convincing a capybara I named "Muffins" to commit suicide by jumping. A friend of mine suggested a much better interpretation. I am, according to her, training my capybara, Muffins, to jump . So I am now training in animal endurance. Which makes more sense considering last night, this one I woke up in the middle of. I think I was saying something about building a maze for mice, I'm sure Drew recorded it so I'll ask him when he wakes up. Stay tuned for updates.
Along with the talking, I move. Apparently I do sit-ups in my sleep, have to be serious about training of course (it explains some mornings when I have sore abs though). It isn't just that though, oh no. Have to make sure everything is nice and limber ready for anything, so I also push against the wall while sleeping. All these observations have been made by Drew and are apart of his current study entitled The Actions of The Sleeping Mind and Their Effects on One's Quality of Sleep. Any data taken from this post will be referred to the SSA (Scientific Standards Advising) and swift punishment will be awarded to the one making said observations as they are in violation of scientific procedures, as well as common courtesy. See that lady, she's the one that will punish them. She may seem old and frail, but that just means she has experience at such things. Don't do anything to make her mad or your life will become such a living Hell that the only thing you will wish for is death by killer bees. Ponder that for a moment before making your decision.
UPDATE TIME: So yes I did talk about a maze, but that's not how I woke up last night. I woke up when I shouted "LET'S DO IT AGAIN!" This occurred at 5am when Drew had just gotten in to bed. It was a rather strange feeling to randomly awaken while speaking. As soon as I finished talking I wasn't sure what I was saying, but I knew I had said something. Also when discussing the maze (I was still asleep at this time) I was talking to or about Charlie, a very good friend of mine I met here at Davis. See his blog about his new ecological niche in life.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
I Want to Meet People, I Really Do
Having just gotten back from lunch with some friends I noticed the seating arrangement compared to social interaction ratio and have concluded that a good group size is about 6 people. The seventh person just isn't within the group enough to be able to be a part of the conversation so just seems like a spare tire on a big rig. Even if someone does leave they still sit awkwardly on the side not really being a part of anything because they can't hear what's going on. An 8th person helps a bit, but at that point it's still worse than even two people eating together. One side of the table will be trying to pay attention to the conversation, but can't hear it very well. If a conversation gets striked up between the two on the lonely side, it doesn't last very long because they're still trying to pay attention to the main discussion between the center 6 people. So bring in a 9th and the equation settles itself out because three on one side will just start up their own thing because the one on the very outside can't hear squat.
While I'm on this topic, those of you who are going to college I have a suggestion, get one of the larger buildings. I'm in one of the small buildings, and people just aren't social at all here (it doesn't help that Drew just closes the door every time he's in). I know more people in even one of larger buildings than I know in my own building. In those buildings the floors have more people than my building even does. In that kind of environment floormates all know each other and do everything together. But in my pathetic little slice of the population people have their doors closed making you feel unwanted in the desolate hallway. In those larger buildings it's the exact opposite, all the doors are open, people just come and go as they please, just so much more friendly than in my gloomy den.
While I'm on this topic, those of you who are going to college I have a suggestion, get one of the larger buildings. I'm in one of the small buildings, and people just aren't social at all here (it doesn't help that Drew just closes the door every time he's in). I know more people in even one of larger buildings than I know in my own building. In those buildings the floors have more people than my building even does. In that kind of environment floormates all know each other and do everything together. But in my pathetic little slice of the population people have their doors closed making you feel unwanted in the desolate hallway. In those larger buildings it's the exact opposite, all the doors are open, people just come and go as they please, just so much more friendly than in my gloomy den.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Salamanders, they're small cute and slimy. As well as numerous.
Today got an update from my research position, so I felt it necessary to make another post. As a bit of back story I am a part of a research group studying migration patterns of Tiger Salamanders (Ambystoma tigrinum). The morning after a rainy night we got out to the field and collect salamanders caught in traps. Now you may think, oh a salamander or two per trap, no no no, we're talking 10-15 per trap sometimes, it's scary. As I reach into the traps I feel the squirming. Reaching further there are layers of manders wiggling about. At a point it becomes a good trap when we only have 4 because the work was less. The whole processing consists of measuring, weighing and releasing. This can take a while because we find animal holes to release them in... THERE AREN'T ENOUGH HOLES!!! People could walk past and stare thinking we're completely retarded looking at the ground fumbling with these little slimy critters in our hands. When you find a hole you jump for joy and shove like 6 manders into it because there are still 6 more to deal with. But in the last 10 days we had one day with 250 or so, and the next day... 555. We didn't leave until 4:30pm after arriving there at 7AM. I got up at 5 AM that day to go out and deal with that. Even better there were FOUR of us. In the end we just counted them.. the remaining 180. But it is much fun as someone who enjoys field work more than lab.
For any of you out there considering getting a research position as an undergrad, I highly recommend it. Get to know professors, get better letters of rec that way. Also get to know people who have same interests, and you get to do something you enjoy hopefully.
For any of you out there considering getting a research position as an undergrad, I highly recommend it. Get to know professors, get better letters of rec that way. Also get to know people who have same interests, and you get to do something you enjoy hopefully.
MATH TEST GRR!!
So today finally got our calculus midterms back, only took them 2 weeks to grade it (compared to chemistry that finishes them on the day of the test), but got 104/140 due to curve I got like A-/B+, damn... should have done better. When I got it back though, I look at the problems I got wrong and then instantly see what I screwed up on and did them in 3 steps... HOW DID I NOT SEE THIS!! Don't you hate it when that happens? It feels like you're looking for your keys and remember they're in your room, but you can't find them. Coming back a few minutes later you see them right there on your desk. At that point... mm I'm gonna go hide away so no one see's that stupidity.
What I find even worse about these two is that I had to split it up in two points, to bring them together for the final answer. So I do one split and then forget to put in the second, which is in the same freaking style as the first split.... BUT, I guess it's not too bad overall. Still have the final so time to stu- procrastinate on YouTube.
Some may have noticed I'm keeping from swearing. Personally I don't care about swearing, but I know some people do, so for those who don't care, just replace the soft words with the real ones. Next time I'll just bleep them out and the message still gets across.
What I find even worse about these two is that I had to split it up in two points, to bring them together for the final answer. So I do one split and then forget to put in the second, which is in the same freaking style as the first split.... BUT, I guess it's not too bad overall. Still have the final so time to stu- procrastinate on YouTube.
Some may have noticed I'm keeping from swearing. Personally I don't care about swearing, but I know some people do, so for those who don't care, just replace the soft words with the real ones. Next time I'll just bleep them out and the message still gets across.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
My First Post. Oh Happy Days!!
Hmm first post. This first one will determine in some ways just where this whole thing heads towards. Well in brief, this will be a place for me to get things I want/need to complain/rant/ponder about out. I'm an undergrad university student, so there should be plenty of those fun stories... yeah fun sure, let's just go with that. I'm in the evolutionary biology major, so there will be science posts, often biology related (bet you didn't see that one coming). Further, I am an atheist so I hope to post some fun things about emails or comments received, they always seem to have good comedic value.
Last thing I can think of at the moment, I have a research position, AS A FRESHMAN, its so much fun. After the rain, go out to the fields to catalog tiger salamanders. Recently we had a day with 560 manders (salamanders), it was INSANE. Stayed out for 10 hours processing them, and we still hadn't finished. We hope to set up a blog about that, let you know if it ever occurs.
OH, MOVIES. I watch those occasionally. Recently got back from Thanksgiving break with family and we saw Megamind and Tangled, both in 3D. I found the 3D to add very little, in fact it kind of takes away from the whole experience I feel. There are times when it just confuses me as to where some things are because they blend together. Other times it just annoys me because the images all look like they're on different screens in different positions, so they don't move together very well, its all just so gimmicky just to make people pay more for the same experience. Last thing to say about those, the bad 3D effects that movies have give me headaches, I get them somewhat frequently, but the glasses always seem to bring them on.
....BOOKS. Yes read them to. So I will probably post suggestions, reviews, cool shit I've read in them. Current selection - In A Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson. Really enjoying it so far.
As a freshman in the dorms I have roommates... yeah them. Well they aren't all bad.. I guess. So officially have 3 others, unofficially have like 5. First there's Jay, really nice guy, culturally Hindu, but not religiously. Has a really interesting back story that I should get into sometime, but have the other 4 to get to. Next up is Sean. Also really nice, but bad about studying.. AT ALL. He skips class all the time to sleep, I swear he is a truly nocturnal person. His girlfriend, Katrina, would be a 3rd roommate (unofficial). She is here at least 70% of the time when Sean is here, sooo yeah basically living with us. NUMBER 4, would be "Trixie", quote marks because it is a ... nickname... she's one of those creepy blowup dolls that Sean and Katrina bought while in a sex shop, they have a very interesting relationship. Finally we arrive at Drew. Drew is a high school friend I've known for 4 years. A LOT of stories I tell about college life will be concerning Drew because of his many many idiosyncrasies. HE WATCHES ME SLEEP!! And that's a lower level of creepy he achieves on a weekly basis.
AHH This is so long already, but yeah. Those will all be very frequent topics on this blog because I have no idea what to do with this thing. I've never had a diary before so all of this is foreign ground. I feel like a short white guy in a group of asians, "I'm tall WTF!!" After that little bit of racism, I feel I shall end it.
Last thing I can think of at the moment, I have a research position, AS A FRESHMAN, its so much fun. After the rain, go out to the fields to catalog tiger salamanders. Recently we had a day with 560 manders (salamanders), it was INSANE. Stayed out for 10 hours processing them, and we still hadn't finished. We hope to set up a blog about that, let you know if it ever occurs.
OH, MOVIES. I watch those occasionally. Recently got back from Thanksgiving break with family and we saw Megamind and Tangled, both in 3D. I found the 3D to add very little, in fact it kind of takes away from the whole experience I feel. There are times when it just confuses me as to where some things are because they blend together. Other times it just annoys me because the images all look like they're on different screens in different positions, so they don't move together very well, its all just so gimmicky just to make people pay more for the same experience. Last thing to say about those, the bad 3D effects that movies have give me headaches, I get them somewhat frequently, but the glasses always seem to bring them on.
....BOOKS. Yes read them to. So I will probably post suggestions, reviews, cool shit I've read in them. Current selection - In A Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson. Really enjoying it so far.
As a freshman in the dorms I have roommates... yeah them. Well they aren't all bad.. I guess. So officially have 3 others, unofficially have like 5. First there's Jay, really nice guy, culturally Hindu, but not religiously. Has a really interesting back story that I should get into sometime, but have the other 4 to get to. Next up is Sean. Also really nice, but bad about studying.. AT ALL. He skips class all the time to sleep, I swear he is a truly nocturnal person. His girlfriend, Katrina, would be a 3rd roommate (unofficial). She is here at least 70% of the time when Sean is here, sooo yeah basically living with us. NUMBER 4, would be "Trixie", quote marks because it is a ... nickname... she's one of those creepy blowup dolls that Sean and Katrina bought while in a sex shop, they have a very interesting relationship. Finally we arrive at Drew. Drew is a high school friend I've known for 4 years. A LOT of stories I tell about college life will be concerning Drew because of his many many idiosyncrasies. HE WATCHES ME SLEEP!! And that's a lower level of creepy he achieves on a weekly basis.
AHH This is so long already, but yeah. Those will all be very frequent topics on this blog because I have no idea what to do with this thing. I've never had a diary before so all of this is foreign ground. I feel like a short white guy in a group of asians, "I'm tall WTF!!" After that little bit of racism, I feel I shall end it.
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