Tick tick tick tick...

So another chapter belted out, still I have two left to write in 7 days. I'm staring at the Hitchhiker's logo and motto in the previous post and trying to obey. Ugh, I know it's my own fault for procrastinating writing. But truth be told, I've never finished any paper/essay/thesis with ample time due. I work better under pressure (morely because I have no choice).

Swine flu this, swine flu that. I've already talked to you about why a pandemic makes sense. But now I'll talk to you about the ridiculous over-the-top coverage of the media. As always the media is making things much worse than it really is. It enjoys to cling onto something negative and beat the hell out of it. Times that I remember where all you saw on the TV was: the Challenger explosion, OJ trial, Iraq invasion (part one), Princess Di's death, 9/11 events, and now the swine flu. Noticed that almost all of these have a major American component? Coincidence right?

Anyways my trusty editorial comics proves the point. Click on comic 15 and 16 (I can't post these pics since they ARE copyrighted). So yeah, common influenza kills almost 1/2 a million annually. Do you hear THAT on the news? Of course not. Because it's "boooooring". The flip side of this outbreak, it gives the media people something to do rather than report on Britney Spears recent weight gain...

Okay, the thesis doomsday clock continues to tick, so I'm going to head back to another coffee shop and type away. In my ear... I'm a fan of Blue October, especially their "X Amount of Words". This is a good song to cruise to or mosh pit dance (ahhh, those were the days), good beat with a slow hypnotic rap.

Don't Panic! Relax!

So in the news, you've no doubt heard about the swine flu. Yes, here we go again. I'm always amazed that people are shocked when this hits. In fact I'm even MORE amazed that these outbreaks don't hit more often. You see, as a microbiologist, I've been expecting a pandemic for years. This isn't to scare people, but just the knowledge that we're due for something big. It's in the history books, but often overlooked, every 80 years or so the influenza takes a joyride into the general population. Here's an actual graph from a science journal article showing the "blips" when pandemic influenza pops up.

So the fact that we have these types of outbreaks isn't news really, it's been happening all the time. Plus our overpopulated Earth is just primed for something to wipe a good chunk out. Yeah, I'm talking about people here and being utterly morbid about it, but honestly my opinion is like to those who build their house on the San Andreas Fault and OMG! Earthquake! SAVE US!!! I like San Francisco and would enjoy living there. But to be surprised when a major earthquake hits... that's just plain ignorance.

So like the inevitable earthquake due, there's an inevitable pandemic due folks. Don't Panic! Relax! And wash your hands...

Bruised, battered, and beaten

There's a geek quote I was reminded of not too long ago (I thank Levar Burton for tweeting it): Somedays you get the bear, somedays the bear gets you. So hockey weekend over, 4 games played and not one game won. Collectively I let in 23 goals. Yeah... ouch. The last game was good though, we lost 0-1. Considering 80% of the team was playing their 4th game in 3 days, we were pretty amazed with ourselves. But beaten, indeed.

Bruised and battered, oh yes. My thighs are now spotted again with slapshot welts. None of them really serious, they'll fade in a week. I have some bruises that are still faintly seen even after 7 months. So I'm lucky there. However, there's something I need to make my fellow team mates aware: 80% of my bruises are from warmup! Seriously! The latest example is a bad bruise on my right wrist. Part of warmup is firing squad shots, where my team lines up in a semi-circle around the net and take shots at me. Most part is fine, however there's often a few wild ones that smack me in the face (with helmet on, of course) or catch a piece of unprotected Nanc such as my wrist. Owwwie. It still stings and the bruise is just starting to form. So if any of my team mates follow this blog, my message to you: be a lil more gentle!

It's midnight right now, and I've decided that I'm not going to sleep until the tables are finished for the next chapter of this thesis, so looooong night still ahead. Must get back at it.

In my ear while I peck away making pretty thesis tables, a Cdn artist, Feist. I liken her to the newest Alanis. Her fresh songs remind me of Alanis Morissette back in the 90s. Just good tunes. This one has a haunting beat/tone to it despite being titled "Honey, honey".

Typitty type... typitty type...

Perking along

One thing about thesis writing... I've been consuming more amounts of coffee than usual. I'm not an avid coffee drinker. Tea is more my drug. But there's very few tea houses in the area, so I rotate around coffee houses throughout the week. Rotate meaning a different coffee house everyday. Reason? I sit here for HOURS typing away, drinking just a few cuppa joes, so I'm not the greatest customer. Thus to not annoy the proprietors, I just rotate around, maybe visit the same coffee house every two weeks. Yeah, I'm sneaky like that.

So two weeks officially left. EEEK! But I'll get it done. Yes... I will... YESSSSSSS I WIILLLLL. (oh com'on, let me try to convince myself! Join in on the fun!)

So short update here as I want to finish this new data set I found last night before heading off to hockey. Like, ooooh more DATA to add! In my ear, the smooooth John Mayer and his slow sexy "Your Body is a Wonderland". Yeah, I'm a hopeless romantic. Aren't we all?

A rare feeling...

So another day, another interview. This one was for the lab tech of a first year interdisciplinary undergraduate course. I wasn't aware that this course is brand spanking new, so they are definitely in search for someone creative. This comes rare to me, but I'm feeling good about the interview. I personally knew one of the interviewers and that kinda set me at ease right away. I felt that it wasn't an interview, but rather a conversation about this potential job. So I think I have a decent shot at getting it. The only concern is that there's someone else in the interview pool that is of higher caliber than myself. Someone with more lab tech experience, more creativity. I can't control that and besides, if they do get the job, they are better suited for it than me. So whatever may be, shall be.

One funny ancedote I'll share about the interview. They were talking about the extra hours that this job would involve. One "concern" was that there would be a field trip that "would require me working the entire weekend as well". I smiled and said, "Okay, let me get this straight, I get a weekend in Jasper, spend some time outdoors in the mountains, have room n board, get PAID for it, plus get to do some science in the meantime. This is suppose to be something bad?"

They laughed with me. I hear next week the result. Keep your fingers crossed.

Elsewhere, hockey weekend fast approaching: 3 days, at least 4 games, possibly 5. That and writing on the side. I think my Wii Fit will gather a lil dust this weekend. On that note, I'm still enjoying Wii Fit. Weight loss? Not much, but 5 lbs is 5 lbs. I do at least 30 minutes of exercise everyday (except days when I have hockey). When I land a job and can afford a gym again, I'll alternate more. Just doing all Wii Fit can get boring despite the 40 some activities. Another thing I wish is that the boxing segments are longer. 10 minutes isn't much for cardio boxing. I'd like to do 20 - 30 minutes. But overall, I enjoy the Wii Fit. It is a good program to monitor your progress.


Music... hmmm, I'm in an upbeat mood which means Collective Soul is helping me celebrate. Here's a recent one, "Hollywood". I love the piano set and beat to this bright tune. Enjoy folks!

Back in the net

Well after a hiatus of no hockey for nearly 3 weeks (talk about cold turkey!), BOOM! I'm back between the pipes. Secretly, I wish I had 4 weeks off considering what's left to write about thesis, but happy to be back nonetheless. However, holy hell (oooh alliteration again! I'm on a roll!)... can we say overkill? Within the space of 9 days I've got at least 7 games. There's a ice hockey tourney I forgot I signed up for this weekend. And city league ball hockey sweetly starts the same weekend too. I would groan, but it's the same group of women I'm playing with for both leagues, so we just groan together. At practise today it was nice to see our captain back in action. She broke her ankle in two places in a January match (ouchie) and has been on the sidelines ever since.

I'm feverishly writing today too. Yesterday's experiments left no time to write. It's 10 hours of straight science. Kinda a change, but I feel this weight bearing down on me that "YOU SHOULD BE WRITING!!!!" Eh, in 3 weeks, I'll be done this, there will be hockey and research before the defense in June.

On the job hunt front, I got another interview this Thursday for a lab tech position at the University. Cons: it's not research position and doesn't really help advance my career, but pros: the pay is good and it sounds like a lot fun. It's a lab tech position that oversees a special first year university course that takes a different approach to teaching. So I'll be back doing chem, physics, even computer science. No doubt I'll miss research, however there's a part of me that wants this job to re-connect myself to the love of science. Grad school has definitely made me (news flash!) bitter. I miss the innocence and thrill of discovery without the pressure to perform.

They sent some interview questions, so I've got to prep for that. I'm certain there's many ppl like me applying for this job, so I'll have to turn on the shine. Stay tune for details from that.

In my ear... I'm in a mellow mood today (well, stressed-out mellow mood, is that possible?), so I'm listening to the Brit DJ Bonobo's "Silver" (advice, don't watch the video, the pictures kinda kill the vibe, just play the music). It's kinda a mellow electronic pop. I enjoy music like Bonobo or Moby when I'm writing. The silence of writing is often distracting, but putting on my regular playlist will often result to me dancing, or singing... or both. So, just Bonobo today.

Three chapters down...

Okay, if you have to ask "what's new?" I'll have to answer with a facepalm. Three chapters officially done. So that leaves JUST three more plus the appendices. Did I mentioned there's less than 3 weeks to go? Hmmm, the threes are definitely happening today. The good news, is that seriously the first three (there it is again) chapters are going to be the longest. How long do you say? Well without the references combined, we're talking over 200 pages.

I could've went for 333 pages, but then that would be just scary and besides 333 x 2 = 666 and that would be just mental (yeah, I'm all conspiracy theory today).

A few things outside the thesis I've been following. First, it's gone viral over the net but it's really moving. I'm not a fan of reality talent shows. I was bored of the first American Idol. But leave it to the media to take something and beat it over our heads. Now we've got "So you think can dance/sing/chew-gum-at-the-same-time!" all over. Talent shows are nothing new, but really, now it's like every country "Got Talent". So yawn... whatever. However earlier this week while reading my trusty Cdn news wesbite, I was directed to Ms. Susan Boyle. If you haven't heard of this story yet, go watch the video then come back.

Wow, hmmm? That's something rare: a honest moment of truth in this harsh judging materialistic labelling world. So many people can identify with Ms. Boyle. It'll be interesting how far she'll go now. I wonder if the makeover shows are now fighting over the rights to re-invent her. Regardless of what may come for Ms. Boyle, a golden Mad beaker award to thee.

Other things on the net chatter. Twitter! Yes, I've recently became another follower of this micromessenging fad. But of late it's becoming "who's more popular" war. Like the number of "friends" in your facebook profile. More recently, it was Ashton Kutcher vs. CNN for a million followers. I hear now Oprah is wanting in on this too (oooh I hear the Rocky Anthem). I do agree with Ashton saying that Twitter is democratizing media and removing filters between celebrities and fans, big media companies and their customers. There's always this wall between celebrities and fans. It's honestly in place for a good reason. But the strange thing is that it's the media that governs this wall. Now Twitter punches a hole in it, allowing some singer/writer/actor/activist/your mom to communicate freely with their group base. Of course you've got to be careful with what you believe. Hell I could start a twitter site as Heath Ledger or Albert Einstein. So if I follow anyone "famous", I'm a lil hesitant to believe it's actually them. It's just some harmless fun. There's the flip freak side of twittering: suddenly unknown people are following you. Most were companies trying to get me on board with their product. See that's a scary thing, next thing I know that ShamWoW dude will be following me. Or maybe Billy Mayes. Yeah... scary indeed. With all this following, I suspect Twitter will give birth the next schizo generation.

Okay, in my ear... a cult classic by Warren Zevon Aaaaahhhhhwoooooooooooooo!

I am slowly going...

So the pressures on! Like it wasn't on before. In 3 weeks I hand in this scientific tome. The daily question irks me, "How's writing?" I know people ask because they care and really what else are they going to ask? It's all I'm ever doing these days!!! It's... slowly... going... like ME!

Now with that lil' viral song stuck in your head, I'll try to switch gears and give you a more catchy tune. Ben Lee has this boyish look that I'm certain makes him go crazy looking at the mirror in the mornings wondering if the hormones will ever kick in (lil' note, Ben's MY age). But then again, he'll have those same timeless boyish looks at 60, so it'll be a blessing in the long run. I first heard Ben from the secksay Shanty Raidio DJ Morte. Morte, I know you've gone onto greener fields, but I'll always miss your Wicked Wednesdays. So to stop that Sharon, Lois, and Bram song in your head... please "Catch my Disease". Enjoy folks!

Someone's watching me...

So that was a first Easter for me. I had two dinner invites but in the end turned them down because I caught the writing bug over the weekend. It's a rare thing, when you are actually productive writing a thesis. So please forgive me those who invited me for yummy cooked ham or turkey, but I felt that it would be better if I just wrote. Come May I'll appear on your doorsteps with a fork in hand. Promise!

So yes, I've been writing... hoohah. These things take so bloodly long to write and revise. Somedays I wake up with 10 pages on my screen and by the time I shut down the laptop, there's only 8 pages that remain.

But as I write this, I must note that it's happening yet again! I swear that the creator of Ph.D. comics has a camera in my lab and home to record the nuisances of my grad life. I'd be writing a manuscript and BOOM, the comic script story arc is on manuscript writing and revisions:



Or there's insane construction around my building... BOOM!!!


Or my grad life in general:




Jorge hits it on the nail every single time. It's frightening that it's so correct, but also comforting knowing that I'm not alone in this.

Of recent story, one of the main characters has decided to start writing her thesis:



It's true... crtl-c, followed by crtl-p. Most of the reports/manuscripts I've written over the past 6 years count as thesis material since I wrote it to begin with. It's just a matter of shifting through all these reports, editing, revising, to make it sound continuous. Sounds easy right? Well, hitting the crtl-c/p is. Trying to make sense of it all... THAT'S the tricky part.

Finally, I'll post one of my faves of Jorge's. It's an older one, but since I think I'm being watched anyways, this makes the most sense.

Truth about cats...

I love my cat. A statement that would be a bit odd coming from me a decade ago because I never had a love for cats.

I was (and still am) a dog person. The child-like innocence of dogs has always won me over. You come home and the dog is just in stitches that you CAME HOME ("Oh BOY! Oh boy o boy o boy o boy o boy o boy o boy!!!! You came HOME!"). Then you realize that you forgot to take out the trash on the way to work, so you grab it, go outside for the maximum of 2 minutes, return and still there to greet you "OH! You came BACK! AGAIN! Oh boy o boy o boy o boy..." Now, one could argue that this child-like devotion could be more of the lines of utter stupidity, but one thing is for certain, dogs are lovable.

Now cats... they are truly pets of different nature. Typically if you come home, they aren't really happy to see you. In fact, they are kinda pissed because you AWOKE them from their 17th nap of the day. But no matter human, you can be forgiven providing that you fetch food NOW and then clean up the litter box area to pristine condition. A great example of how a cat typically greets you/thinks is from the Whiskas Hubert commercial series.

So my opinion about cats wasn't very high, that is until 5 years ago when I decided to adopt a kitten. I live in an apartment walk-up. Pet friendly, so I could have a dog. But there's no backyard and honestly dogs need more space to run around than a one bedroom flat. But at the time, I was going through a lonely phase and my mom suggested that I'd do one of two things: get a counselor or a cat. Didn't take much reasoning that a cat would be less expensive in the long run. So one snowy February afternoon I found myself at the local Humane Society holding a calico kitten and instantly fell in love. That is until the drive home. I think the poor cat had some sort of traumatic experience with transportation, she screamed her lungs out violently. Half way home I thought about turning around the car to go back to the shelter. But then I had a moment of enlightenment: loud cat, deaf woman. Easy answer: click aids off. From then on I knew it was a match made in heaven. As soon as the car shut off, the kitten calmed down and the rest is history.

Now did my previous assumptions about owning a cat proved to be true? Oh yes. In fact, I liken my cat to a wife at times. If I come home late from work or out partying (yes, I do party at times 'til the next morn), I get this "AND WHEEEEERE HAVE YOU'VE BEEN??!" meow as soon as I come through the door. However, I've noted that even if I go straight to the fridge and fill her food bowl up, she won't touch it until I've picked her up and have at least a 5 minute nuzzle/hug session in which she purrs continuously throughout. Yes, she's mostly glad that I came home to feed her, but there's also the reason that I came home to nuzzle.

There are other loving nuisances that my cat and I have shared over the years. I'll share more in future posts. One current is the fact that my cat enjoys to STARE at me behind my laptop screen while I write. It's kinda annoying. And of late she's now fascinated with the screen. Now imagine trying to write an academic thesis while you have this going on.

It's 1 AM, do YOU know where your scientist is?

... in the lab natch.

So far this week it's been nothing but disappointment research wise. I'm so desperately trying to do final experiments, but the hitch is that in order to DO the experiments, you need the constructed bacterial strains to work with. Most people believe everyday science is running experiments and interpeting data. At times we DO get to do that, however about 80% of what we do is mainly preparations for the experiment. It's one this to see what a deletion of a gene does to the bacteria... it's an entirely different thing to MAKE the deletion in the certain gene to begin with.

So no progress with that. My boss kindly reminds me everyday that she wants more chapters to read. I kindly want to tell her that working in the lab trying to finish "oh so essential" experiments isn't helping on the writing front. So right now, a no-win situation. Ehhh... this will end soon. I try my best to minimize my time in the lab. Be efficient. But alas, it's 1AM and I've still have yet to have my supper.

(cues stomach growls)

Something popped up unexpectedly... Easter! I had no idea Friday was Good Friday. Normally I head back to my stomping grounds for a visit, but seeing that research SNFU, my family will understand. I might head over to my friend's on Sunday for a potluck dinner.

(me hears my cat's stomach growling... 60-some blocks away)

Let's see... music, at least there's music here. Lord knows how much more batty I'd go without music. Oooh.... Annie was just on. I was able to see her and Sting perform a few years back on the Sacred Love Tour (the pic shown is from the actual night!). If you EVER have a chance to see Annie Lennox sing, by all means go forth and buy thou tickets. She opened for Sting and frankly was the best part of the show (sorry Sting, but Annie didn't need all those pyro techs to raise the roof). I can still hear the harmonica wonky tonk on stage. Annie, you're truly a Music Diva. Mad Beaker award to thee!

Webcomics

So now you know that I'm a fan of graphic novels. I'll put in my two-cents worth on some series from time to time, but today I wanted to divert your attention to the sidebar of this blog with a list of webcomics that I find overly amusing. They are listed in no particular order, though truth be told PhD comics is probably my fave as it describes my life so perfectly. But today I'll give the Mad Beaker nod to xkcd. It's written by a physicist graduate, so many of the strips have a physic reference/joke. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to get most of the meaning, but you DO need to have a good level of sarcasm geek wit to understand the jokes. I first found this webcomic through a gaming forum I follow that posted this:



Now if you haven't participated or even followed an online forum, ANY online forum... well, I'm not sure exactly if that's a feather in your cap or not. Anyways, point being forum posting gets ugly often due to trolls and those lil' preteens who believe what they say is god-given and need to correct even syntax if applicable. The above comic sold me to bookmark xkcd and I've been a fan ever since.

The webcomic has been going on for years, so there's many to view. Take your time and truth be told, the more you become involved with web societies and geek things (science, gaming, random pondering), the MORE funny these comics will be. I'll also mention that there's a 2-for-1 joke with every comic posted. I won't tell you how to find the secondary joke. It's something specially hidden for inquiring minds. Here's a few more of my faves:

If you don't get this, you shouldn't be reading this blog.


This one is for CHAR!


This a more recent one but part of an ongoing inside joke:


Yesterday was the Stones, so I'll keep the classic rock buzz going with Queen. Here's one that folks over in Y!PP will understand coming from me. Yes this is also a nod to Dae and Zsu (even Hypnos with those pink bunny slippers), we are always wanting to "Break Free". (smirks)

No news is good news?

So no callback as of yet about the job. I'm thinking either they are interviewing more folks or making a tough choice on who will get the position. At least it's not a balatant NO! Thus, I'm still hopeful. I did find a position in Vancouver that sounds intriguing. It's with a biotech company on UBC campus. The pros of the job: more money (which would be absolutely essential if I was to move back to Vancouver), the chance to develop new DNA isolation techniques, and it's VANCOUVER (my self-proclaimed lil' piece of heaven on Earth). The cons: it's not microbiology related which is really my first love. I've been pondering more about what route I should take after the PhD. Normally as a "good lil grad" you're supposed to go do a post-doc then obtain a faculty position to own your own lab. Post-doc positions aren't something to envy. You're usually under MORE pressure to perform publishable science and seriously not paid nearly enough for your skills that have taken 10-odd years to perfect in university. However having a post-doc under your belt keeps some doors open for you and there's only a 3-4 year grace period after the PhD to do one. However for me, I'm not certain whether academia life is for me. On top of the pressure to pull scientific marvels out of your labcoat, there's always the issue of funding. You can be happily working in your lab one day and then POOF! Funding gone! Out of job! Move elsewhere. It's not a great "settle-down" lifestyle. I'm kinda yearning for moving only once or twice before settling down for good. So the debate rages on... time will tell.

It's seasonably warm and sunny today which always brightens my mood. Winter is nice. I don't mind snow and ice (ice meaning hockey, natch). But I do enjoy walking outside without a jacket and freezing my tush off.

It's Monday... so how 'bout some Stones to start off the week?

Great debate...

To the lab or NOT to the lab. That is always the question I ask myself these days. In theory I'm supposed to be done experiments and JUST writing. However my dear old advisor has other plans for me. For some reason I just CAN'T write and do expts at the same time. I find writing at the lab distracting and not much lab work gets done. So with me it's either one thing or another. Oh I can multi-task expts... just writing isn't one of those tasks.

Eh, I forgot my mouse at the lab, so that probably means I'll go in eventually.
Edit: I went to WalMart and just bought a new mouse. Wheeee!

Onto "normal" things. Update with owning a Wii Fit. It's going quite well actually. I've been working myself up to spending 35 min of workout time (not real time) on the machine everyday. I'm enjoying myself. There's lots of variation and so far some muscles are getting sore which indicates that it's working. No loss of weight, yet. I think it'll be a few weeks before any change will be noted. I'm aiming 3 months to decrease my BMI by 8 points. So stay tune for updates.

I've been enjoying Twittering. It's kinda neat to hear updates from people throughout the day. Kinda makes even famous people seem "normal". For example I'm following one of my favourite groups Collective Soul. It's interesting hearing their day to day updates on the road. I own all their albums and have seen them perform over a dozen times. I just love their music, it speaks my feelings so clearly at times that it's scary. Dean Roland asked on Twitter what was my fave song. Seriously I can't give just one. I've got two self-burned CD compilations of my faves. So you'll hear about my CS faves time to time. Today, I'll start off with the ballad that hits home the most: Needs.

There are a few reasons why "Needs" is special to me. The biggest one is there a repetitive chorus throughout the song "I don't need nobody". Which at face value, means, well... I don't need anyone. I lived most of my life as an outsider, fiercely independent, swearing not to need anyone. But "I don't need nobody", it's a subtle double negative. All this time swearing off people, you realize that you've been crying out for somebody. I think that's why there's a break in the song, almost a realization. And the chorus changes to "You're all that I need." Kinda a self-discovery song in which those are always the best.

Mad Geek Humour

Lil' unknown fact: I'm crazy.

Yes, if you haven't figured that out with the "Mad" in Mad Scientist. Then my question to you: WTF have you've been thinking? Yeah, that's me a few years back. No, it's not my normal daily attire (asides from the lab coat), but an example that I enjoy having fun being a Mad Scientist.

Anyways. I am a bona fide Mad Scientist as anyone who's worked with me in a lab knows that I have many "antics" to pass the day (not JUST dressing up). See, working in a lab 16h/day can become tedious (shocking, I know). So I spice things up every once in a awhile with either humour, jokes, swivel chair olympics, or the occasional parody song. Apparently I'm not alone. The biotech companies are also great cess-pools for wacky mad scientist activity. To demonstrate my point there are several ads for scientific products in which the creative team decided to have some fun.

The first one is "Scientists for a better PCR". Obviously a nod to "We are the World" song from the 80s. Best line: "PCR...when you need to find out who's the daddy!"

The next one came out last year: epMotion. Believe me, I feel the chick's pain with pipetting. You've heard of Nintendo thumb? There's also pipettor hand. Everyday I do that repetitive motion on average 100 times/day (somedays over 1K depending on the experiment). Though I doubt epMotion would solve my problems (in fact my first thought: Hey! That's my job being replaced with a robot!), the backstreet-nsync-boy-group was a good laugh.

The latest one that I've been made aware of: GTCA. Natch, it's to the classic tune of YMCA. I enjoyed the scenes shot in the lab because THAT my friends actually happens. If there's a good tune in my ear, I dance at my bench. And truth be told, others join in.

Okay... off to lab (humming "Geeee-Tee-Cee-A").

Alas poor Yorick...

Alrighty, as promised a lil' detailed info on graphic novels that appear on my bookshelves. One prominent is "Y: The Last Man" series by Brian K. Vaughan. I was drawn to it due to the science of the plot. There's been an outbreak that has killed all living mammals with the Y chromosome except for our hero Yorick Brown and his sidekick pet monkey, Ampersand. The story revolves around the adventures of Yorick, the women he meets, the aftermath of such a holocaust (just think, the entire world population drops by 50% in one day) and the long sought quest to discover the cause to the outbreak and why Yorick and the monkey were immune. I'll admit that I need to reread the series front to back (post-thesis though), as I've been reading along for the past 4 years and some side stories get forgotten. But truly, it's a good thought provoking series: what happens in a world with no men? Social norms become skewed, religion is polarized, propogation of the human species is threaten (the outbreak kills EVERY cell with the Y chromosome, so even sperm banks are toast), plus there's that exploration of the "Day after the Armageddon: what now?" storyline. Yes, it's all wrapped up with the "whodunnit" adventure of why/how? The series has now ended. I wasn't too impressed with all the finale answers, but the journey along the way to get there was a good one. I give it 4 Mad Beakers out of 5. Definitely flick quality, so expect to see it in a theater within the next 5 years.

In the ear, hmmm, talking about "Y" made me think about Leonard Cohen's "I'm your man". There's a recent flick of him with the said song title. I need to pick it up soon to watch. Lenny is an old time fave of mine. His sultry hypnotic baritone voice wins me over any day. Of course there's this "slight" memory of an ex and I listening to Lenny at night. (coughs) Anyways, enjoy. ;)

Hello Darkness, my old friend....

So the interview went... I can't say it was one of the best. I think the wear of the thesis writing was showing. The questions were expected, no surprises. So it's out of my hands. They said I should get a call in a few days. I know that I'm overqualified in many areas, but some aspects of the job I've never trained for. That can be a major dark blotch on the chances of getting the job. But I think I hit home the message that I'll learn anything. That's one thing I'm hoping to get the job. I can expand my technical skills. If things don't pan out, I'm going to take it that it wasn't meant to be.

Back in the lab. Sequencing and digests. Hoo-hah. Next week I start the final stages of my experiments. And oh yeah, finish the thesis.

In my ear... more Simon & Garfunkel, "The Sound of Silence". I've renewed my interest listening to the folk duo because "The Sound of Silence" was a prominent track in the latest graphic novel flick "The Watchmen".

It's a hobby of mine, graphic novels. Yes, they ARE comic books. But my personal collection is comprised of graphic novels. What's the difference? Comic books are weekly releases. Graphic novels are complete story arcs. I know, "ooooh ahhh, same difference there Nanc". Remember though, I'm a bona fide geek. Of course I read mainstreams like Superman, Batman, and X-men. But I also have a love for indie graphic novels. Especially ones as grounding breaking as Alan Moore's "The Watchmen". Other lesser known series I follow are "Y: The Last Man" (which recently wrapped up its series) and the ongoing "Fables". I'll talk about these at a later date.

Anyways, "The Sound of Silence"... it has been always been a heartfelt song for me on so many levels. Paul once mentioned that it's about society's failure to communicate. And being deaf I can identify personally with the problems of communication failure. Of course you might think, "how the fuck does she listen to music then?" Being deaf doesn't mean totally deaf. Just an extent of it. When I awake in the morning, it's silent and remains that way until I decide to rejoin the hearing world with putting aids in. Some weekends I go the entire time deaf. It might sound frightning, but honestly there's a peace within silence, expecially the sound of silence. Also being deaf, lets me appreciate music more. I enjoy all genres, but tend to gravitate towards rock with a good drum beat. People forget that music is all about vibrations. Feeling those vibes when unaided is an awesome experience.

Alrighty... off to meetings then a lil thesis writing tonight. Tally ho.