Recent NY Times articles of interest
How wearing heels affects gait in women. (They didn't test dudes?!)
The Times article featuring Kawoaka regarding his lab's flu paper
and Lambda phage evolving to utilize a different porin in E Coli.
Also something regarding body donation, containing a couple links itself, from a favorite blog.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
moonwalking and flu
From Bryan this afternoon, a youtube clip of a traffic cop dancing as he works. A little further research turns up that this guy, 54 years old, just works random moves into his 7 hour-long shifts in hope of making drivers smile. So many questions regarding this: does he wear earphones ever? How is he not a massive driving distraction?
That's kind of a goal, as i was telling Holly and Bryan this afternoon. i'd like to get good enough at moonwalking to just randomly insert it into my daily locomotive patterns; i think it'd be fun. Not the most dignified, but that was never a goal. Also, i've caught myself describing the motion associated with crosscountry skiing as reverse moonwalking. i may be obsessed.
For those of us following the influenza paper trail thing, Nature has a note out from the researchers about self-imposed 60-day moratorium on the work.
Also flu but not related to that work, this amusing blog post from NPR, musing about a virus-related fantasy league.
That's kind of a goal, as i was telling Holly and Bryan this afternoon. i'd like to get good enough at moonwalking to just randomly insert it into my daily locomotive patterns; i think it'd be fun. Not the most dignified, but that was never a goal. Also, i've caught myself describing the motion associated with crosscountry skiing as reverse moonwalking. i may be obsessed.
For those of us following the influenza paper trail thing, Nature has a note out from the researchers about self-imposed 60-day moratorium on the work.
Also flu but not related to that work, this amusing blog post from NPR, musing about a virus-related fantasy league.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
A semi-complicated lunch internet link arc:
Feminist Ryan Gosling was interviewed, apparently, by the A.V. Club Madison. It was pretty decent, and you can find links there to a few distractions including other Ryan Gosling-centric Hey Girl-type memes (internet designers, museum folk?)
A.V Club also had listed that Bon Iver's Justin Vernon was sitting in on Jimmy Fallon's house band The Roots last friday. While tracking this (and i didn't actually find any links for it), i saw that the Avett Brothers covered a Bob Dylan song to promote a new album (on which they collaborated) in support of Amnesty International.
Also, i ADORE this picture from the Sartorialist; it's a female photographer, clad in a gorgeous open-backed black dress, with her camera raised as she photographs a mens' clothing show. My own reaction is one of envy, for both the camera and the dress, and also of appreciation that she completely nails it (a.) and that the Sartorialist posted an action shot instead of posing her with her camera (b.).This is an ideal: pretty, okay, but more than that, competent.
Feminist Ryan Gosling was interviewed, apparently, by the A.V. Club Madison. It was pretty decent, and you can find links there to a few distractions including other Ryan Gosling-centric Hey Girl-type memes (internet designers, museum folk?)
A.V Club also had listed that Bon Iver's Justin Vernon was sitting in on Jimmy Fallon's house band The Roots last friday. While tracking this (and i didn't actually find any links for it), i saw that the Avett Brothers covered a Bob Dylan song to promote a new album (on which they collaborated) in support of Amnesty International.
Also, i ADORE this picture from the Sartorialist; it's a female photographer, clad in a gorgeous open-backed black dress, with her camera raised as she photographs a mens' clothing show. My own reaction is one of envy, for both the camera and the dress, and also of appreciation that she completely nails it (a.) and that the Sartorialist posted an action shot instead of posing her with her camera (b.).This is an ideal: pretty, okay, but more than that, competent.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
b-b-b-bicycle face
Courtesy of my dear LZ this morning, two links and gchat discussion of such that tracks out the threads.
Victorian Map of a Lady's Heart
Lauren: i would like to travel to the pyramids of fashion
me: yeah, seriously!
i think the sex-and-the-city ladies tried that in a movie once
Lauren: did it work?
me: i remember caftans
i don't remember much else, but i imagine high heels and sand don't mix too well
Lauren: well yeah...
and regarding our mutual fascination with bikes, Victorian lady bicyclist rules
me: Oh, man
that's a stunner
i WANT a bicycle face; i imagine it gazes to the distance (due to both distance and sun glare)
Lauren: i think it does
me: or, according to google: http://blog.ore
Biking is a curious thing. It appeals to the speed and fix-it-yourself aspects of my personality (having acquired both ever-faster bikes and slogged through bike forums multiple times looking for bike maintenance advice). It's very easy to see how people get addicted, and my current city has made this the best form of getting around it (aside, of course, from running). Unfortunately, i would probably accidentally kill myself if i had any faster a bike than i currently do? This is a real fear, despite the fact that i have top-notch health care?
Victorian Map of a Lady's Heart
Lauren: i would like to travel to the pyramids of fashion
me: yeah, seriously!
i think the sex-and-the-city ladies tried that in a movie once
Lauren: did it work?
me: i remember caftans
i don't remember much else, but i imagine high heels and sand don't mix too well
Lauren: well yeah...
and regarding our mutual fascination with bikes, Victorian lady bicyclist rules
me: Oh, man
that's a stunner
i WANT a bicycle face; i imagine it gazes to the distance (due to both distance and sun glare)
Lauren: i think it does
me: or, according to google: http://blog.ore
Biking is a curious thing. It appeals to the speed and fix-it-yourself aspects of my personality (having acquired both ever-faster bikes and slogged through bike forums multiple times looking for bike maintenance advice). It's very easy to see how people get addicted, and my current city has made this the best form of getting around it (aside, of course, from running). Unfortunately, i would probably accidentally kill myself if i had any faster a bike than i currently do? This is a real fear, despite the fact that i have top-notch health care?
Friday, January 13, 2012
On being a geek versus being a nerd. i personally fall into the nerd camp, and i'm pretty okay with that. There are other definitions, of course, but they're all fairly similar.
Also, a NYTimes article regarding the semi-reunification of the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches. i heard that this was occurring, but didn't consider the ramifications of such for wives and children of newly-Catholicized priests. Also, the article displays some awesome verbage.
Also, a NYTimes article regarding the semi-reunification of the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches. i heard that this was occurring, but didn't consider the ramifications of such for wives and children of newly-Catholicized priests. Also, the article displays some awesome verbage.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Because my brain can't sit still today, combing through papers for a particular consensus nuclear export signal is not really happening. Okay, macarons.
Holly makes some amazing macaroons, the American kind with coconut.Then there are the French kind, basically a meringue-based sandwich cookie. They're a long-standing member on the list to things i mean to bake eventually, but have to carve out the time, find the ingredients, and summon up nerve for. David Lebovitz has posted extensively about them, seen here, here, and an actual recipe for chocolate ones. i personally would like to try making a raspberry version.
We googled the pronunciation. My attempts sounded vaguely Scottish. Holly's were much better.
Holly makes some amazing macaroons, the American kind with coconut.Then there are the French kind, basically a meringue-based sandwich cookie. They're a long-standing member on the list to things i mean to bake eventually, but have to carve out the time, find the ingredients, and summon up nerve for. David Lebovitz has posted extensively about them, seen here, here, and an actual recipe for chocolate ones. i personally would like to try making a raspberry version.
We googled the pronunciation. My attempts sounded vaguely Scottish. Holly's were much better.
Friday, January 6, 2012
Tripped over this last night, where people re-make art and take a picture. There's a surprising amount of Frida Kahlo portrayed, which is interesting, but i guess hers is easy to do (as it's usually a self-portrait, with little else necessary), and incredibly recognizable. Others (the Girl With The Pearl Earring, for instance) spawned both male and female participants. i also like the ones where they update a Renassaince picture with modern elements (for instance, "Girl reading a letter by an open window", one of the first ones on the third page). i'm half-tempted to submit the Mt. Rushmore imitation that my kind classmates humored me for. Anyway, is anyone up for re-making any art with me? Pretty please? You pick the art, i'll either figure out a way to make it happen or just take the picture or some combination thereof? We don't have to submit it or anything, though tossing it up on the facebook is a possibility (similar to last year's Midsummer celebration). (As mentioned to you, Holly; thank you for putting up with my enthusiasm. Yay!!)
Other stuff: this news link from Ryan. What's really the question here (for me) is how the man introduces himself. Does he deadpan say his name? Does he scat-speak it? What does his grandmother say? Wow.
Other stuff: this news link from Ryan. What's really the question here (for me) is how the man introduces himself. Does he deadpan say his name? Does he scat-speak it? What does his grandmother say? Wow.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
On a soap box...
Back in the city in which i have chosen to live.
Is it an odd thing that i love the way my apartment smells? Like one of my favorite soaps, clean laundry, and coffee.
Several threads are present in that statement. Let's ignore my coffee issues and occasional inability to put away laundry. Instead, let's address the fact that soap is a(n) fascination/obsession of mine. When i am stressed, i buy soap (usually bar soap, though sometimes shampoo) as a form of therapy, with a direct correlation between the levels of stress and soap. Post-prelim, for example, i did not need to buy soap nor shampoo for about 6 months. This is a large amount of soap for me. i've never tracked the average length of time it takes for me to go through a bar, but i guesstimate it to be slightly less than 2 weeks. i mentioned said habit to my lab's manager, who inquired as to why this is. i dunno the exact reason. Perhaps it is that showers are generally relaxing, and the metric of a shower may be assessed via heat of water (scalding) and quality of soap. It might also be tied to the fact that i'm type A about cleanliness (though not clutter). Anyway. i have and will pay ridiculous amounts of money for decent soap. Lush is a favorite for bar soaps, as illustrated above, as well as particular types of Dial and oatmeal soap. How i do run on.
It was great being home, and there's never enough time. Spent lots of time with my dad and brother. (i mentioned in an email this afternoon that doing so makes me feel understood and normal; it's one of those things where you can have a conversation that starts mid-thought with just an expression.) Dug and filled some ditches, pulled some electrical wire. Caught up with my roommate and roommate-in-law; ingesting some excellent fresh hot sauces and salsa, playing with my new camera, and eating Blue Bell ice cream (also reference this). All this and more.
It's never officially a new year, either, until your hands smell like gunpowder. Roman candles for 2012, on my parents' driveway around 1 am.
Okay, gotta unpack. Song for today might be Josh Ritter's Thin Blue Flame. It's one of those epics of a song that you can listen to over and over and continually find new bits of delightful imagery, songs that you wonder how the singer remembers all of the lyrics until you find yourself singing it a few days later, nearly whole. Others of the type include Counting Crows' Mrs. Potter's Lullaby and Iron and Wine's Trapeze Swinger. In my head i liken them to modern versions of Gilgamesh, but will admit that's a little grandiose.
Is it an odd thing that i love the way my apartment smells? Like one of my favorite soaps, clean laundry, and coffee.
Several threads are present in that statement. Let's ignore my coffee issues and occasional inability to put away laundry. Instead, let's address the fact that soap is a(n) fascination/obsession of mine. When i am stressed, i buy soap (usually bar soap, though sometimes shampoo) as a form of therapy, with a direct correlation between the levels of stress and soap. Post-prelim, for example, i did not need to buy soap nor shampoo for about 6 months. This is a large amount of soap for me. i've never tracked the average length of time it takes for me to go through a bar, but i guesstimate it to be slightly less than 2 weeks. i mentioned said habit to my lab's manager, who inquired as to why this is. i dunno the exact reason. Perhaps it is that showers are generally relaxing, and the metric of a shower may be assessed via heat of water (scalding) and quality of soap. It might also be tied to the fact that i'm type A about cleanliness (though not clutter). Anyway. i have and will pay ridiculous amounts of money for decent soap. Lush is a favorite for bar soaps, as illustrated above, as well as particular types of Dial and oatmeal soap. How i do run on.
It was great being home, and there's never enough time. Spent lots of time with my dad and brother. (i mentioned in an email this afternoon that doing so makes me feel understood and normal; it's one of those things where you can have a conversation that starts mid-thought with just an expression.) Dug and filled some ditches, pulled some electrical wire. Caught up with my roommate and roommate-in-law; ingesting some excellent fresh hot sauces and salsa, playing with my new camera, and eating Blue Bell ice cream (also reference this). All this and more.
It's never officially a new year, either, until your hands smell like gunpowder. Roman candles for 2012, on my parents' driveway around 1 am.
Okay, gotta unpack. Song for today might be Josh Ritter's Thin Blue Flame. It's one of those epics of a song that you can listen to over and over and continually find new bits of delightful imagery, songs that you wonder how the singer remembers all of the lyrics until you find yourself singing it a few days later, nearly whole. Others of the type include Counting Crows' Mrs. Potter's Lullaby and Iron and Wine's Trapeze Swinger. In my head i liken them to modern versions of Gilgamesh, but will admit that's a little grandiose.
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