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I love Thai Ginger Soup.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
i've got to be a macho, macho man
I LOVE the smell of Axe. I am a little ashamed that I do. But not so ashamed that I refrain from slathering myself in the stuff and using the brand for every facet of my personal hygiene. And while it is possible to abuse Axe, I have yet to meet a human who dislikes the smell of the products when used in moderation.
My mother just sent me a care package with colored pencils and Axe body wash, and I couldn't wait to take a shower. I tried to hold out until the morning, so that I would smell good all day... but I could not wait. Fortunately, I have the deodorant to keep me happy today.
I curse the Axe chemists - those fiends stumbled upon a very magical combination of chemicals, and then launched one of the most regressive ad campaigns I've seen in my lifetime. It's not just women that like the smell - boys like it too. Children like it! Old people like it! Penguins like it! Axe has universal appeal! The chemists created a smell that has the power to unite the world, and they chose to pretend the appeal of the smell enforces a ridiculous dichotomy. Pfft. What a waste.
Posted by thelastpolarbear at 2:03 PM
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Graduate school
This weekend, I spent Saturday and Sunday in the lab, working in my experiments between fits of grad school panic. The last few months have found me thinking long and hard about my own values, and regarding my peers that intend to work in nonprofits/join the PeaceCorps/fight infectious disease with envy - envy caused by my liberal guilt and insecurity. My old goal of studying evolutionary developmental biology seemed outright selfish in comparison to the goals of my classmates. If I am good at science, then why the heck am I not hellbent on curing malaria or dengue fever? Why not find a microbiological solution to global warming? Why not study bioremediation?
The unfortunate fact is that I find those subjects pretty boring in comparison to evolutionary biology. The only exception is microbiological communities, which I find very fascinating. The only problem is that microbiology requires a much stronger chemistry background - I am strongest in eukaryotic genetics and gene regulation. I know zilch about bacteria. Even my microbiology experience is in fungi!
What I would like to do is take some time - I want to work a) in an environmental microbiology lab, preferably specializing in either fungal bioremediation or the algal carbon cycle and b) in a lab specializing in epigenetic behavior and genomics of eukaryotic parasites, like malaria or trypanosomes. Then I would also like to work in an evolutionary biology lab, and learn more about possible practical applications of evolutionary biology.
My family wants me to spend the summer in Alaska, land of zero molecular biology (the exception is salmon genetics). Actually, my family wants me to drop out of academia, come home and either get a job with Fish and Game or go to Job Corps and become an electrician like my sister. A job with F&G would actually be kind of nice, but it requires coursework in wildlife biology and limnology, which would never be found at Scripps, or any liberal arts college for that matter. There are so many feeder programs from University of Alaska to F&G that I doubt I would ever be competitive for a job with them. It's a completely different kind of biology requiring a completely different skill set.
The ideal solution would be to go to a grad school with faculty in all three of the subjects that I mentioned two paragraphs ago. Then I could do a rotation in each lab and pick the subject I like the best. I spent Saturday night combing through my preliminary grad school list, trying to add or remove schools to get the broadest range of faculty. After all that, there are two grad programs I'm applying to - University of Washington-Seattle, and Indiana University-Bloomington - that have faculty in all 3 subjects of interest. Three others programs I'm applying to - UWisconsin, Yale and NYU - have faculty in 2 out of 3 of the fields. And the rest of my programs - UC Berkeley, UChicago, and Harvard, were chosen specifically for their strengths in evolutionary genomics and evolutionary developmental biology.
Having made this list, I feel a lot more secure in my options in the future. The only problem I have is with schools that have overly specialized graduate program. UC-Berkeley, for example, has an AMAZING environmental microbiology program. I could find 20 people doing wonderful work that is obviously beneficial, and that is in line with my skills. The only issue is that the faculty do not overlap faculty in the other departments, and you can only apply to one program. I either apply to the Molecular/Cellular Biology program, where the best evo scientists are, or I apply to the Microbiology program. UC-Berkeley is the top program for me for either of those options - it would be my dream grad school, if I only knew which one I wanted to do! And I have to decide NOW!
BAH.
Posted by thelastpolarbear at 10:24 PM
Monday, October 8, 2007
do not want
David Cronenberg tries too hard. There. I said it. If you don't believe me, watch "Naked Lunch."
A List:
1) The Alaskan Permanent Fund Dividend demonstrates how common assets and moderate socialistic values are sustainable and beneficial. What power do I have to enact the same system in terms of carbon emissions and atmospheric integrity? (psst. none.)
2) CMC has really good vegan options for dinner.
3) $60 sunglasses that match my normal glasses and snap on with magnets. Worth the money? (no because i'll lose them in a week)
4) I am giving a half-hour presentation on Friday. My presentations are usually good, but I get terrible stagefright because of insecurity and social awkwardness. Should I consume alcohol before a class presentation? You decide.
5) If I had a TV in my room, I promise I would leave it on PBS always. I would never turn the dial, except to watch silly one-hour dramedies on broadcast. ....And I should have a cat. And a drumset.
Posted by thelastpolarbear at 8:11 PM
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
It's here, it's annoying, deal.
Hey all. It's a blog. Sometimes it's for communicating, and sometimes it's for putting down my type-A-personality ramblings just so I don't have to have them pingponging around in my head.
So therefore, upon you, my glorious classmates, I am inflicting: my list of graduate schools. May strong be with you the force.
1) University of Chicago - Because it's one of the evo-devo and gene regulation centers of the world. Because I like the way Chicago looks in the movies. Because I have many favorite scientists there.
2) University of Washington - Because not only do they have good evolution people, and good gene regulation people, but they have 100 each. Layered on top of that they have amazing environmental microbiology people, fantastic infectious disease people, amazing biological oceanography people, and a SYSTEMS BIOLOGY INSTITUTE. Plus it's close to home, and Seattle is beautiful, and both snow and oceans are in driving distance. I changed my mind, UW is my first choice.
3) University of Oregon - See above. It's not as prestigious as UW, but it has good people, it will probably be more relaxed, and Eugene would have a very different feel overall than Seattle. It's not as close to home as UW, but I'll still see plenty of my old friends : as the saying goes, Portland is Alaska's biggest city. Actually, maybe this is my first choice - I could probably afford an apartment and a cat here. And a drumset!
4) UC-Berkeley - Amazing prestige, and GREAT evo-devo people, and basic biology and developmental biology people. But there are no microbiology people in the MCB department, and I also don't have the option to study conservation biology. It's developmental/molecular or nuttin'. I also was kind of unhappy in Berkeley when I lived there - I think it's because fussy people freak me out. Wayyyyy too many fussy yuppies in Berkeley. Standing in line for coffee made me want to whip out a chainsaw.
5) UWisconsin - Home of my number one favorite scientist, Sean Carroll, father of the evo-devo movement. Great basic mechanism people, great evo-devo people, great microbiology people, you name it. Also very prestigious.
6) Harvard University - No, it's not what you think. Harvard has a specific program, Genomics and Genetics Training, that has a concentrated population of very cool evo-devo and gene regulation scientists doing amazing work. But it's a small and personal program, at the same time - the only small program I'm planning on applying to. This list actually used to have a high population of Ivies, until I started leaning towards environmental/conservation biology. And all those medical and basic science-focused schools got the boot in favor of large, public programs.
On The Fence About:
7) Indiana University - This school is kind of redundant, since my reasons for applying here are the same as University of Oregon - another large school with broad research focus in a smallish community with good public transportation. The benefits of IU is that it occasionally snows there, cost of living is low, and it's a swing state. The drawbacks are: no coast, slightly less diverse faculty, and less of a reputation than UO. Plus, it has a terrible website.
8) NYU - I have this on the list because they have great developmental genetics faculty. But I have to apply to the Developmental Genetics program - no other options. But I want to apply to one school in New York, if only to get a free trip there for the interview. I didn't just write that.
9) Yale - This one is going to go, I think. They have great genetics people, but it's only in basic science. There are only two evo-devo people, and one of them is in plants. I've heard terrible things about New Haven, but there are coasts and snow in Connecticut. I get the feeling that I want to apply to this school so that I can get into something with an Ivy league name (even if it's not as good a program as Washington or Berkeley). Then my mom can feel better about our family's reputation in podunk Alaska.
Posted by thelastpolarbear at 10:31 PM
Friday, October 12, 2007
Oh lordy lordy
I had to give a presentation in bioinformatics today - it was on cis-regulatory evolution among species, which is probably my number one favorite topic in biology. According to Sean Carroll, cis-regulatory evolution is one of the primary methods of morphological change...aka, evolution of development. Cis-regulatory evolution is when the gene itself remains unchanged, but the way the gene is expressed changes. A stunning example of this is the Antennapedia mutant in fruit flies - the leg genes, in normal form, are accidentally put under the control of antennae cis-regulator elements. As a result, the fly grows legs where its antennae should be.
there was a picture of antennapedia here in my blog. just image google it for the effect, future Ivy
ANTENNAPEDIA!
So, piece of cake, right? Yeah. No. I tend to talk fast when I get nervous - so to combat that, I deliberately made my presentation overlong. It was supposed to be 30-35 minutes, and when I practiced it, it ended up being about 43 minutes.
When I did it in class today, it was 23 minutes. I wonder if the things coming out of my mouth were even intelligible. My professor said it was very impressive - I had been dancing around a little bit, but it was very good. But it was still supershort. And I accidentally yelled at one of the girls who asked a question, because apparently I also cannot modulate the volume of my voice when nervous. The professor taped all the presentations, to help us evaluate ourselves. I will HAVE to consume liquor before I can make myself watch that. I should have consumed liquor today. Liquor or muscle relaxers, take your pick.
THANK GOD our anthro class does not do presentations. I cannot handle much more of this. Good luck in science - I can't even imagine what my thesis presentation will be like in a few years.
Posted by thelastpolarbear at 5:07 PM
Sunday, October 14, 2007
...and I don't study FISH. (but I want to!)
Dude, my Fulbright proposal totally rocks.
I have been worried about my Fulbright for the past two weeks, thanks to an error my affiliation made in his letter for me. It was a very easy mistake to make - I never explicitly told him where I went to school, I just said "the Claremont Colleges." I'm not ashamed of Scripps - but because I am in the science department, I don't really take any classes at Scripps. I think this anthropology class is my first since Core 3.
Anyway, he took one look at my e-mail address, and thought he knew where I went to school. And so my letter of affiliation read "I am willing to host Ms Ivy McDaniel, currently undergraduate at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography, if she obtains support from the student Fulbright program."
Right. Normally not a problem... except that my Fulbright proposal is about research in MARINE molecular biology. Which means that it is a very big deal if it appears that I mislead my affiliate about my institution of study by saying I attend the most prestigious institute of marine science in the world.
So I e-mailed my affiliate, told him about the error, and told him that I did not mean to mislead him and if he wanted to withdraw his support I would understand. And then I got the worst possible response - the dreaded AWAY FROM DESK AUTOMATED RESPONSE. My affiliate had sent the letter, then gone on a two-week vacation where he was not reachable by telephone or e-mail.
I bit my nails, as the October 17th deadline drew closer, but I finally received a response this morning. He doesn't care where I go to school, and his secretary will send a corrected letter tomorrow. I think I can smell blossoms in the air.
Posted by thelastpolarbear at 1:47 PM
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
i've got to be a macho, macho man
I LOVE the smell of Axe. I am a little ashamed that I do. But not so ashamed that I refrain from slathering myself in the stuff and using the brand for every facet of my personal hygiene. And while it is possible to abuse Axe, I have yet to meet a human who dislikes the smell of the products when used in moderation.
My mother just sent me a care package with colored pencils and Axe body wash, and I couldn't wait to take a shower. I tried to hold out until the morning, so that I would smell good all day... but I could not wait. Fortunately, I have the deodorant to keep me happy today.
I curse the Axe chemists - those fiends stumbled upon a very magical combination of chemicals, and then launched one of the most regressive ad campaigns I've seen in my lifetime. It's not just women that like the smell - boys like it too. Children like it! Old people like it! Penguins like it! Axe has universal appeal! The chemists created a smell that has the power to unite the world, and they chose to pretend the appeal of the smell enforces a ridiculous dichotomy. Pfft. What a waste.
Posted by thelastpolarbear at 2:03 PM
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Graduate school
This weekend, I spent Saturday and Sunday in the lab, working in my experiments between fits of grad school panic. The last few months have found me thinking long and hard about my own values, and regarding my peers that intend to work in nonprofits/join the PeaceCorps/fight infectious disease with envy - envy caused by my liberal guilt and insecurity. My old goal of studying evolutionary developmental biology seemed outright selfish in comparison to the goals of my classmates. If I am good at science, then why the heck am I not hellbent on curing malaria or dengue fever? Why not find a microbiological solution to global warming? Why not study bioremediation?
The unfortunate fact is that I find those subjects pretty boring in comparison to evolutionary biology. The only exception is microbiological communities, which I find very fascinating. The only problem is that microbiology requires a much stronger chemistry background - I am strongest in eukaryotic genetics and gene regulation. I know zilch about bacteria. Even my microbiology experience is in fungi!
What I would like to do is take some time - I want to work a) in an environmental microbiology lab, preferably specializing in either fungal bioremediation or the algal carbon cycle and b) in a lab specializing in epigenetic behavior and genomics of eukaryotic parasites, like malaria or trypanosomes. Then I would also like to work in an evolutionary biology lab, and learn more about possible practical applications of evolutionary biology.
My family wants me to spend the summer in Alaska, land of zero molecular biology (the exception is salmon genetics). Actually, my family wants me to drop out of academia, come home and either get a job with Fish and Game or go to Job Corps and become an electrician like my sister. A job with F&G would actually be kind of nice, but it requires coursework in wildlife biology and limnology, which would never be found at Scripps, or any liberal arts college for that matter. There are so many feeder programs from University of Alaska to F&G that I doubt I would ever be competitive for a job with them. It's a completely different kind of biology requiring a completely different skill set.
The ideal solution would be to go to a grad school with faculty in all three of the subjects that I mentioned two paragraphs ago. Then I could do a rotation in each lab and pick the subject I like the best. I spent Saturday night combing through my preliminary grad school list, trying to add or remove schools to get the broadest range of faculty. After all that, there are two grad programs I'm applying to - University of Washington-Seattle, and Indiana University-Bloomington - that have faculty in all 3 subjects of interest. Three others programs I'm applying to - UWisconsin, Yale and NYU - have faculty in 2 out of 3 of the fields. And the rest of my programs - UC Berkeley, UChicago, and Harvard, were chosen specifically for their strengths in evolutionary genomics and evolutionary developmental biology.
Having made this list, I feel a lot more secure in my options in the future. The only problem I have is with schools that have overly specialized graduate program. UC-Berkeley, for example, has an AMAZING environmental microbiology program. I could find 20 people doing wonderful work that is obviously beneficial, and that is in line with my skills. The only issue is that the faculty do not overlap faculty in the other departments, and you can only apply to one program. I either apply to the Molecular/Cellular Biology program, where the best evo scientists are, or I apply to the Microbiology program. UC-Berkeley is the top program for me for either of those options - it would be my dream grad school, if I only knew which one I wanted to do! And I have to decide NOW!
BAH.
Posted by thelastpolarbear at 10:24 PM
Monday, October 8, 2007
do not want
David Cronenberg tries too hard. There. I said it. If you don't believe me, watch "Naked Lunch."
A List:
1) The Alaskan Permanent Fund Dividend demonstrates how common assets and moderate socialistic values are sustainable and beneficial. What power do I have to enact the same system in terms of carbon emissions and atmospheric integrity? (psst. none.)
2) CMC has really good vegan options for dinner.
3) $60 sunglasses that match my normal glasses and snap on with magnets. Worth the money? (no because i'll lose them in a week)
4) I am giving a half-hour presentation on Friday. My presentations are usually good, but I get terrible stagefright because of insecurity and social awkwardness. Should I consume alcohol before a class presentation? You decide.
5) If I had a TV in my room, I promise I would leave it on PBS always. I would never turn the dial, except to watch silly one-hour dramedies on broadcast. ....And I should have a cat. And a drumset.
Posted by thelastpolarbear at 8:11 PM
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
It's here, it's annoying, deal.
Hey all. It's a blog. Sometimes it's for communicating, and sometimes it's for putting down my type-A-personality ramblings just so I don't have to have them pingponging around in my head.
So therefore, upon you, my glorious classmates, I am inflicting: my list of graduate schools. May strong be with you the force.
1) University of Chicago - Because it's one of the evo-devo and gene regulation centers of the world. Because I like the way Chicago looks in the movies. Because I have many favorite scientists there.
2) University of Washington - Because not only do they have good evolution people, and good gene regulation people, but they have 100 each. Layered on top of that they have amazing environmental microbiology people, fantastic infectious disease people, amazing biological oceanography people, and a SYSTEMS BIOLOGY INSTITUTE. Plus it's close to home, and Seattle is beautiful, and both snow and oceans are in driving distance. I changed my mind, UW is my first choice.
3) University of Oregon - See above. It's not as prestigious as UW, but it has good people, it will probably be more relaxed, and Eugene would have a very different feel overall than Seattle. It's not as close to home as UW, but I'll still see plenty of my old friends : as the saying goes, Portland is Alaska's biggest city. Actually, maybe this is my first choice - I could probably afford an apartment and a cat here. And a drumset!
4) UC-Berkeley - Amazing prestige, and GREAT evo-devo people, and basic biology and developmental biology people. But there are no microbiology people in the MCB department, and I also don't have the option to study conservation biology. It's developmental/molecular or nuttin'. I also was kind of unhappy in Berkeley when I lived there - I think it's because fussy people freak me out. Wayyyyy too many fussy yuppies in Berkeley. Standing in line for coffee made me want to whip out a chainsaw.
5) UWisconsin - Home of my number one favorite scientist, Sean Carroll, father of the evo-devo movement. Great basic mechanism people, great evo-devo people, great microbiology people, you name it. Also very prestigious.
6) Harvard University - No, it's not what you think. Harvard has a specific program, Genomics and Genetics Training, that has a concentrated population of very cool evo-devo and gene regulation scientists doing amazing work. But it's a small and personal program, at the same time - the only small program I'm planning on applying to. This list actually used to have a high population of Ivies, until I started leaning towards environmental/conservation biology. And all those medical and basic science-focused schools got the boot in favor of large, public programs.
On The Fence About:
7) Indiana University - This school is kind of redundant, since my reasons for applying here are the same as University of Oregon - another large school with broad research focus in a smallish community with good public transportation. The benefits of IU is that it occasionally snows there, cost of living is low, and it's a swing state. The drawbacks are: no coast, slightly less diverse faculty, and less of a reputation than UO. Plus, it has a terrible website.
8) NYU - I have this on the list because they have great developmental genetics faculty. But I have to apply to the Developmental Genetics program - no other options. But I want to apply to one school in New York, if only to get a free trip there for the interview. I didn't just write that.
9) Yale - This one is going to go, I think. They have great genetics people, but it's only in basic science. There are only two evo-devo people, and one of them is in plants. I've heard terrible things about New Haven, but there are coasts and snow in Connecticut. I get the feeling that I want to apply to this school so that I can get into something with an Ivy league name (even if it's not as good a program as Washington or Berkeley). Then my mom can feel better about our family's reputation in podunk Alaska.
Posted by thelastpolarbear at 10:31 PM
Friday, October 12, 2007
Oh lordy lordy
I had to give a presentation in bioinformatics today - it was on cis-regulatory evolution among species, which is probably my number one favorite topic in biology. According to Sean Carroll, cis-regulatory evolution is one of the primary methods of morphological change...aka, evolution of development. Cis-regulatory evolution is when the gene itself remains unchanged, but the way the gene is expressed changes. A stunning example of this is the Antennapedia mutant in fruit flies - the leg genes, in normal form, are accidentally put under the control of antennae cis-regulator elements. As a result, the fly grows legs where its antennae should be.
there was a picture of antennapedia here in my blog. just image google it for the effect, future Ivy
ANTENNAPEDIA!
So, piece of cake, right? Yeah. No. I tend to talk fast when I get nervous - so to combat that, I deliberately made my presentation overlong. It was supposed to be 30-35 minutes, and when I practiced it, it ended up being about 43 minutes.
When I did it in class today, it was 23 minutes. I wonder if the things coming out of my mouth were even intelligible. My professor said it was very impressive - I had been dancing around a little bit, but it was very good. But it was still supershort. And I accidentally yelled at one of the girls who asked a question, because apparently I also cannot modulate the volume of my voice when nervous. The professor taped all the presentations, to help us evaluate ourselves. I will HAVE to consume liquor before I can make myself watch that. I should have consumed liquor today. Liquor or muscle relaxers, take your pick.
THANK GOD our anthro class does not do presentations. I cannot handle much more of this. Good luck in science - I can't even imagine what my thesis presentation will be like in a few years.
Posted by thelastpolarbear at 5:07 PM
Sunday, October 14, 2007
...and I don't study FISH. (but I want to!)
Dude, my Fulbright proposal totally rocks.
I have been worried about my Fulbright for the past two weeks, thanks to an error my affiliation made in his letter for me. It was a very easy mistake to make - I never explicitly told him where I went to school, I just said "the Claremont Colleges." I'm not ashamed of Scripps - but because I am in the science department, I don't really take any classes at Scripps. I think this anthropology class is my first since Core 3.
Anyway, he took one look at my e-mail address, and thought he knew where I went to school. And so my letter of affiliation read "I am willing to host Ms Ivy McDaniel, currently undergraduate at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography, if she obtains support from the student Fulbright program."
Right. Normally not a problem... except that my Fulbright proposal is about research in MARINE molecular biology. Which means that it is a very big deal if it appears that I mislead my affiliate about my institution of study by saying I attend the most prestigious institute of marine science in the world.
So I e-mailed my affiliate, told him about the error, and told him that I did not mean to mislead him and if he wanted to withdraw his support I would understand. And then I got the worst possible response - the dreaded AWAY FROM DESK AUTOMATED RESPONSE. My affiliate had sent the letter, then gone on a two-week vacation where he was not reachable by telephone or e-mail.
I bit my nails, as the October 17th deadline drew closer, but I finally received a response this morning. He doesn't care where I go to school, and his secretary will send a corrected letter tomorrow. I think I can smell blossoms in the air.
Posted by thelastpolarbear at 1:47 PM