Monthly Archive for July, 2006

request for good voodoo

Published
by
ESC
on Friday, July 28, 2006
in ask blogland, friends and photos
. 9 Comments

Please send prayers, good vibes, happy thoughts, chants, good voodoo, and variously scented incense smoke out to my friend Elizabeth.

Elizabeth is one of my bridesmaids, and one of my best friends. Last week she gave birth via C-section to her second child - the beautiful and healthy lil’ L. However, the docs screwed up BIG time stitching her back up after the C-section, and the incision came open. They had to rush to the doctor, who cleaned it out and stuffed it with gauze. She’ll have to go back in for surgery on Monday to reclose it.

Needless to say, she’s in pain and very pissed. The docs are falling all over themselves to fix things - they know they screwed up. But regardless, she’s got a newborn baby and 1 and a half year old little boy who need their mommy, and she can’t do anything about it because she’s got a HUGE GAPING WOUND across her belly!!!! ‘

*shudder*

I feel like punching some doctors. But that won’t do any good.

So please keep Elizabeth, her husband, and their babies in your prayers!! Hopefully, the doctors will get it right the second time and all will be well.

Here is lil’ L, at one day old:

Lily

ESC. 2006 “referenced by many, respected by none” …but mostly rants. 28:951.

Published
by
ESC
on Thursday, July 27, 2006
in science!
. 5 Comments

The thing that is bugging me the most about the writing, is the whole “book report” aspect of it. 90% of the writing is making sure you’ve read and referenced 10,000 other papers on the subject. Soooo many references. I have to look up every damn paper that ever vaguely touched on my subject and make sure it is properly referenced and the data from that paper discussed and put into context of my data. And if it takes anyone longer than 10 minutes to write a paper, you can be damn sure that even MORE papers will come out that have to be integrated into your paper and properly referenced. A paper has to be over half references, as if we’re all screaming LOOK HOW MANY PAPERS I’VE READ! BEAT THAT WHY DON’T YOU!

Except one of the many dirty secrets of science is that hardly ANYONE reads all those papers they’ve referenced. What you do is read a few of the papers, and then see who THEY’VE referenced on a particular subject, and then just add that to yours. The problem is…mistakes happen.

I read an article a while back…in Science? Nature? Dammit, now I can’t find it. And hey, my school doesn’t have an online subscription to Science, isn’t THAT a kick in the pantz?

Anyway, this article revealed that most papers contain some sort of reference error, because someone way back made a mistake in referencing something, and then that mistake was carried on through more papers on the subject. Because nobody reads those references, they just copy, paste, and move on with their lives.

It only comes out that a mistake was made when some hapless grad student (hello!) has to go back and come through reference after reference to figure out how a particular strain construction was done, and finds out that the original paper referenced IS NOT THE RIGHT PAPER!

*weep* yes, that’s happened to me.

So will I buck the system and double check EVERY REFERENCE in my paper to make sure that they are all correct and all accounted for?

Hells no. I’m too lazy for that. I’m trying to at least skim most of them, anyway.

happy writing distractions

Published
by
ESC
on Wednesday, July 26, 2006
in links and science!
. 13 Comments

I am deliriously happy. From Slashfood, I found out that all the clips from the muppet show featuring the Swedish Chef have been compiled in one site.

I weep for joy.

I seem to have a hard time getting the ball rolling for writing. This is how my morning schedule seems to go:

stop at lab, make coffee

arrive at library

set up laptop

turn on and connect

check email

open paper in word

check blog for comments

read over what I wrote yesterday for my paper

respond to comments

make a few grammer corrections, fill out a sentence or two

check for new comments

write a bit

email Julie

pubmed search old paper

write a bit

open bloglines

write a bit

pubmed search old paper

find a new paper, download pdf and skim for importance, will print and read later

check email, respond to Julie

write a bit

pubmed search, find another new paper

shit, it’s in a “methods in _____” book. bitch quietly about how “methods in” book should not be listed with journals, as is not TRUE journal, and can’t be accessed online.

ignore fact that i am in library and can probably find it in stacks if I apply myself

sip cold coffee

read more blogs

write

email julie

write

skim old paper

write

email Julie

write

write write write write write…I’M IN THE ZONE, BABY!

write write write write…lunchtime. back out of the zone from hunger pangs.

back to the lab

cultures are contaminated

attempt to print out new papers, error, won’t print

*sigh*

blog

food mojo

Published
by
ESC
on Tuesday, July 25, 2006
in craftiness and food
. 11 Comments

It’s no secret that I spent June and most of this month a seething ball of stress. During that time, I would try to relax on the couch, and as I was relaxing, my insides felt like they were planning a revolt and were intending to jump out of my body.

And also, I could not eat. This was NOT because I was pregnant, because I’M NOT, THANK YOU VERY MUCH! But because that much stress takes my stomach and smooshes it way down to the bottom of my abdomen and then beats it up. Hard to even look at food when your stomach gets beat up every day.

However, as is my pattern, when the stress is LIFTED, the appetite returns, and I look at food like a starving man looks at…uhh…food….

OK, no more metaphors.

Anyway, I’m hungry again, AND I’m working hard - in the library every morning spewing scientific super-babble into my laptop, and in the lab in the afternoons. Plus I just came from a very stressful time. Therefor, the little “I DESERVE A REWARD” center of my brain lights up. So I not only want food, I want GOOD FOOD!!!

I’m back in the kitchen, baby.

Now, I hate to post too much about what I make, because I know it only makes some people jealous and hungry. I’m looking at Julie, with her cereal and olive dinner. Ew.

Sunday: Grilled juicy steak salad, with big chunks of veggies, and an avacado ranch dressing. Served with grilled polenta.

Monday: Grilled Salmon served with a wilted spinach salad topped with bacon and bleu cheese. Also more grilled polenta (used up the tube)

(shut up, I know I can make my own polenta, the tube was on sale)

(OK, it wasn’t on sale. I just felt like being a little bit lazy, OK? Is that a crime? Get off my back)

Tuesday: mini meatloafs, garlic smashed red potatos, and a cucumber, tomato, and feta salad.

While not exactly low in fat…and extremely indulgent…I am just glad I have my food mojo back.

Look what other mojo I got back: I give you…

Procrastinella the Pig

pig in profile

cute piggy face

pig butt!

Her butt’s a little lopsided, I’m pretty sure that one leg isn’t supposed to stick out sideways like that…but she’s my first attempt at a knit toy. I shall keep her by my side as I write.

gold medal procrastinator

Published
by
ESC
on Monday, July 24, 2006
in craftiness
. 9 Comments

When I wasn’t painting or scraping wallpaper this weekend, I SHOULD have been writing. Writing writing writing…it’s what I’m doing now…I mean, before I started typing this post as a method of procrastination.

aside: Writing…what’s another word for “nascent,” because I think I’m using it WAY too much.

Anyway…I didn’t write this weekend. Instead I decided to do something I haven’t done since the temperature got above 70F…I picked up the knitting needles. I have all this pink soft acrylic yarn leftover from the baby blanket…I really needed to use it up. really! I swear! driving me NUTS, here!

So I started the project featured on the cover of this book. Cute, huh? It’s not going to look EXACTLY like that picture - I’m not using boucle yarn (uhh…the “fuzzish” yarn, for the unyarniated)

I got much of it done in just two days - just working on the little multicolored parts, and then piece it together and stuff it..and I’ll be done!

So much more satisfying than writing, really.

also, “conferred.” I use “conferred” way too much.