| This morning, my cell bio professor asked if someone could explain to the class what a tractor beam was. It marked the first time that:
1. my science fiction knowledge was of practical use
2. I knew the answer to something asked in class
good day...
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| I think people who work in research are even more nonplussed than other people about Obama's Nobel. I can't speak for physics or chemistry, but I know that at least for the Nobel for physiology/medicine those awards are usually handed out for findings made twenty or more years prior. Last year's Nobel was for the discovery of HIV made in 1983; UNC's laureate Oliver Smithies received his for work he started in the '50s. In fact the award is often so far removed from the discovery that the winning scientists have moved on from the field they receive the award for- of this year's three laureates none are still working in the topic they received their prize for, and one isn't even doing research anymore.
The reason for the glacial pace in handing out the awards is because biology is such a dynamic field that often what we think are important findings end up being disproved or made irrelevant in a few years. It really takes decades of percolation to determine the significance of an idea, during which time the result must be verified and replicated and then either elaborated and confirmed or else kicked to the wayside to make way for more relevant hypotheses (critics of evolution who think scientists are in lockstep take note.) It's in light of all this that I've decided I really don't like how contemporary the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize is. Who's to say how lasting the efforts of the most recent winners are- I have certainly not detected any lasting shift in public opinion towards climate change, if anything public sentiment seems to be turning against it. To me it seems like the committee is more keen on making political statements than determining who or what organizations have made enduring and salient contributions to the cause of peace and humanitarianism.
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| Dear men,
Wearing underarmor or a wifebeater underneath a sleeveless T makes you look like you're wearing a sports bra.
Dear women,
Empire waists make you look pregnant.
Sincerely,
Eugene
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| My mom named me after Eugene Ormandy, one of her favorite orchestra conductors, because she wanted to predispose me to being musical. If she'd paid more attention in science, she would have realized she was actually predisposing me to a career in Biology. So here I am.
(I am so naming my kid Euchromatin).
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| 4. The thing that annoys me the most is that when people play basketball here, they play shirts and skins. I am perfectly capable of embarrassing myself on the court without taking off my shirt, thanks.
5. The food here SUCKS. I've yet to go to a restaurant and walk out thinking "man, that was good." Maybe I'm just going to all the wrong restaurants, but even the fast food places are screwy here. They like fill their fry boxes 1/3rd of the way, and you'd think it'd be pretty hard to screw up a taco right? It's like shell, meat, lettuce, cheese. C'mon.
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