Elevator Madness

So, I have been talking about having a card game in the elevator for quite some time, just because it is so odd and unexpected. Finally I got my wish! A few of the grad students and I played a few games of 'Set' in the elevator. We dragged in a table and some chairs from the lobby and put it in the elevator. From there we enjoyed the game. They were a little uneasy about the whole situation, but I am not sure why.

The next elevator invasion I am looking for is a band practice...

This makes me sad.

Due to gravitational effect of the Moon, the energy of Earth's rotation is slowly being absorbed by the Moon. Hence Earths orbit is slowing down approximately by 2/100ths of a second per century, thus making each and every new day the longest day on Earth.

Just when I thought that things were getting better...

So I saw the movie "Indiana Jones."

I was just underwhelmed. Indy never felt like he was in danger, he was always ahead of things. It just seemed like everything was going through the motions, with no real feeling like the old movies. The ending seemed kind of empty as well. All in all was it worth the $10 for the ticket? No, it wasn't. Would it be worth the matinee price? Yeah, I would pay $7.

Don't expect anything great and you will be fine.

Update!

Again, with the exclamation point title.

Anyways, it has been a while since I posted last...much has happened since the last time. I went to my father's this weekend, it was good to see the family again. My sister's boyfriend met the extended family for the first time....it was interesting, although he handled it well.

My PI is in Japan for the next 6 weeks, so I have a lot to do while she is away. My undergrad will be starting his work on Monday (tomorrow). Still on the science end, I have been reading a number of books on fish biomechanics and writing a bit on them as well.

On the personal end of my life, I am still single. It is not that bad, I have a good group of friends, and have been keeping myself busy with work. I just don't want to end up like many of the biologists who are either divorced/divorcing through grad school or hopelessly single.

To all of the people going elsewhere for the summer (Maria, Christi, Sierra, Jourdan, etc.): be safe, and have a good trip there and back.

T shirt!

This shirt is awesome...time to save money. :-)

The IT Crowd

There is a great show that I was introduced to a while back called "The IT Crowd." The show is great in all it's geekiness.

The idea of the show is that a woman lies about her computer abilities and is placed as the head of the IT Department. Obviously the employees of the IT Dept. see right through her but are able to cope with it. The guys are the stereotypical nerds that you would find in an IT Dept and the combination with the computer-inept rest of the business drives the hilarity.

For the observant nerd, little tid-bits of nerdom are visible [like in the picture above you can see the number '42' and the original Nintendos in the background].




"Have you tried turning it off and on again?"

Over the past few weeks something has been rising in me, before it had merely been a low rumble. It was something that I could only faintly hear within my head. But now, for some reason that I am not sure of, I am unhappy with the world outside my mind.

For many years I have been a Buddhist, following the original teachings in an attempt to better my life. One of the main teachings was to follow the middle path [which I talked about briefly before in an earlier post]. So I have not become a vegetarian like many other Buddhists, but instead eat a variety of food.

There is something still missing in my life, and I think it is the cause of my unhappiness -- I feel trapped. People should not be slaves to their job. Why do we have to work 40 hours a week? Do we really need all of this stuff? Why are we not spending more time with our families? What have we gained living this life?

Is our own greed keeping us from living the life we could be happy with?

Karma!

This is my second exclamation laden title only to highlight that karma is a cold harsh bitch.

The story says that a motorcyclist flipped off the cops then sped off while doing a wheelie. Well, that motorcyclist crashed and is now in the hospital. :-)

Original Article

Wizard!

So it seems like a substitute teacher was allegedly fired for performing a magic trick with a toothpick in the classroom. I am not sure of the validity of this claim, but nonetheless made me chuckle.

It reminds me of a dialogue from "Arrested Development"

Michael Bluth: So this is the magic trick, huh?
George Oscar 'Gob' Bluth: Illusion, Michael. A trick is something a whore does for money...
[sees children watching his magic]
George Oscar 'Gob' Bluth: ...or candy!

Original Article

Growing plants

So, I have found a new hobby that I have been working on. I took up indoor gardening. I would like to do some outdoor gardening, but as the house is not mine since I rent, I do not see the value of investing in something that I cannot take with me.

Anyways, I never thought that I would have a green thumb. When talking with my mom about it, she smiled and told me that I must have gotten it from my grandmother, who I don't really remember, but I do remember seeing the fruits of her labor as a child....her garden was beautiful.

Right now, I am growing:

Jacobs Ladder

Begonias

Dahlias