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.

Can't win them all...

Well that rec ball hockey season sucked. Totally got pwned in the semi-finals (5-9). And I'll take personal responsibility for 4 of those goals. So no crappy Tee this year (sniffs).

Today is Tuesday. And for the past few months I've been treated to a good meal with friends. They call it "thesis-bail-out-Tuesdays". Writing thesis means becoming antisocial plus your diet thrives on things that take only 5 minutes to prepare. Of late I've been actually good, many fresh veggies and "ironed" meats to upkeep my energy levels. Dawn and Mike though always treat me on Tuesdays with new dishes. Tonight though a request from Dawn: Nanc's nachos. I didn't think much of them before but apparently my nachos are to die for. Who knew I had a keen idea about cheese and chips? So prepped the meat and cheese last night after hockey and will throw in the hot spices later tonight over at their flat.

Thesis writing accomplished a bit today. Snaps for me. But fuck! These things take FOREVER to write. I just fiddled with graphs and tables today because I felt like it.

Reading more about the Pox virus for the interview tomorrow. Holy crap is that a sweet virus! I get a lot of weird looks talking about nasty bacteria and viruses like they are the best thing since slice bread. Seriously though, microbes are awesome. It has always amazed me that something so tiny, so unicellular can take down a complex multi-cellular organism like me. The coolest thing regarding Pox viruses now days is that we're using them to treat cancer. It's still in its infancy stages, but gene therapy with viruses will be a reality. I'm excited at the opportunity to work with them, learn the ropes. Who knows, maybe I'll become a virologist instead. Wish me luck for that interview tomorrow!

In my ear... I'll admit that I'm a HUGE retro fan. I'm always listening to some great 80s tune. Today on the playlist, a canuck! Bryan Adams. Most probably know him from that sappy love ballad "Everything I do (I do it for you)" from the flick Kev Costner's Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. However that's not my fave tracks from Bryan. One with the best memories that I caught in my ear today is "Summer of '69". You play this at a pub anywhere, the ones who are hollering the lyrics are true canucks.

Putting the "P" in Procrastination

It's Sunday night... 11PM, and I've done squat all. So what I do? Write in the blog! Natch.

I've been busily about with hockey. 8 games in 10 days. I still have one to go tomorrow with the possibility that I play again two days later (if we win). My body's doing not too bad considering the assult. Being target practise has its ulginess. Saturday I got a puck welt on the right thigh and the bruise is about the size of my hand now. I bruise easily thanks to inheriting a blood disorder from my dad's side. It's not too problematic, just bleed/bruise more readily than the normal joe.

I spoiled myself on Friday and bought a Wii Fit. I've been eyeing it for a long time. So far it's pretty good. I suck at many of the yoga poses, but I'm sure with upkeep I'll be able to master them eventually. The thing I enjoy most is the boxing segments. What can I say? It's a good stress relief. I miss though working on a bag. Beating the bag gives a lil more satisfaction somehow. I think that that's on my list of things when I move to a bigger place: have a workout room with a punching bag.

Something new this week: interview! I'm looking for temp/contract work for a year in the area before launching into a post-doc. I was granted an interview in a virology lab as a lab assistant. Basically the position is to help upkeep the lab running smoothly. It's not really a research job, though I'll ask if it's possible to have a mini project to work on or at least help collaborate with another lab member. I'm a lil' worried that I'm not qualified enough as I'm a bacteriologist primarily. I did take ONE virology course but that was almost 10 years ago. I'm reading some papers from this specific lab and so far it sounds pretty neat. Hopefully I can convince the powers that might be that I'm well suited for this job and try my hand at virology. Wish me luck!

Before I go, as promised, here's a tidbit of what's in my ear. I've been a fan of Jason Mraz for now over a year. I like his jazz style. My fave song still is "I'm Yours". Enjoy!