C-c-c-c-old!

I got home from the office this afternoon and thought...hmmm it feels cold in here, I think I should turn up the heat. I went to go check the thermostat. It was 58 degrees. (The thermostat was set at 68.) I called maintenance. The guy came and made loud noises in the basement. He went back out, got in his truck, and left. Bad sign. I bundled up. He returned later, made more noises, and finally I heard the heater starting! Good sign! The house got warm again.

I went to a hockey game. The Griffins won! I got home and thought...hmmm it feels cold in here. Bad sign. I went to go check the thermostat. It was 48 degrees. BAD SIGN. I called maintenance. He told me to try turning the switch on the furnace on and off. (Isn't that what you do to your computer when you don't know what is wrong with it and don't know what else to do?) I turned the switch on and off. The furnace started. Good sign? The house is finally almost warm. I just took my coat off two hours after getting home.

It is 7 degrees outside. If I don't ever post again it may be because the heater died again and I froze in my sleep. :(

Did I mention I'm hosting a party tomorrow night? I'm sure my guests won't mind if the house is 48 degrees...

Oh the weather outside is frightful...

Winter is here with a vengeance! I think it is trying to get back at us. It is saying "I know you managed to keep me away for longer than usual this year...you had a green Christmas, it was 40 degrees and sunny in the middle of January, but I finally managed to get here and now you are going to pay!!!" We have a blizzard warning today and they have already canceled the home Griffins game that was tonight. DARN YOU WINTER! MESSING WITH MY HOCKEY!!!! And it doesn't look like it will get any better soon. High temperatures are forecasted to be in the single digit with continuing snow for a while. I know that the groundhog didn't see his shadow, but I have trouble believing spring is right around to corner!

So, since I don't have a hockey game to go to anymore tonight, I have time for one of my sporadic updates about what is going on in my life:

I went to the MOST AWESOME TALK EVER at MSU on Wednesday night. Jorge Cham, the author of PhD (Piled Higher and Deeper) comics came to MSU!!!! (Check out the link under the "links" list to the right. Also check out my photo-a-day site for a picture of Katie W and me with Jorge afterwards!!!!) His talk was amazingly funny! It was basically a survival guide to grad school. Everything he said had us rolling in the aisles because it was so funny and so completely and perfectly true. He really helped us realize that we are not alone in the unique struggles that grad students face. I was reminded not to give in the to guilt of how there is always something I should be doing, that procrastination is a good coping mechanism, and that no one is ever really happy with their thesis, so I shouldn't be putting so much pressure on myself. (Oh also that F=ma. You don't argue with F=ma!) And I laughed harder than I have laughed in years.

And...on a related note, I gave a talk at KBS about my research on Friday. All of us grads are required to do this each spring. My talk went well and I got some good positive feedback. Also I've very happy that I'm done with it! To celebrate, Katie W stayed overnight and we had a great time hanging out, playing games with our friends (the hat game and doko...I lost doko like usual but was MVP of that hat game...where the East Coast babies beat the West Coast babies twice in a row!), and then veging and watching movies today. And playing with Isis of course, who betrayed me and slept with Katie like usual!

It has been a busy but good week, and I'm looking forward to watching DA BEARS take down the Colts tomorrow!

Picture-a-day 2007

My picture-a-day pictures are up! Email me or comment here if you would like me to send you the link.

Let me just say that Shutterfly and Flickr suck! I tried them both first, but Picasa (Google's photo thingy) is the way to go if you are putting pictures up online! It is leaps and bounds ahead of the others imho. (And I'm not just saying that because I blog on Google's blog thingy! Notice I tried the other 2 first before I even got to Picasa. The first two just didn't satisfy me!) :-)

Get out of the way Isis, I'm trying to take a picture of the cardinal!

I realize that I haven't blogged in a long time. So what's new with me lately?

I finally got some cardinals at my bird feeder! However, as you can tell from the photo above, my efforts to document this fact photographically have so far been fruitless.
My extensive, tremendous species list for this winter now sits at 4:
~Black capped chickadee (2)
~Tufted titmous (2)
~Nuthatch (1)
~Cardinal (3)
All 8 of these birds show up every day. They are going through my seed like crazy!

I have been teaching this semester, and so far it is going very well. I have really missed having this sense of meaning to my weeks. The downside of course is that I am really busy (hence the lack of blogging.)

I'm giving a talk about my research plans for the summer in 2 weeks, so I guess I better figure out what those plans are soon eh?

I'm also working on getting my photo-a-day photos online. Hopefully I will have them up soon.

Comment grab bag

Happy New Year!

Sports comments:

I just watched the ceremony by the Red Wings to retire Steve Yzerman's #19. Stevie Y was the best leader ever in hockey. He was a great captain, player, and person. He is the ultimate example of a humble, decent, and classy athlete.

The Griffins played two amazing games at home this past weekend. Each of our goalies recorded a shutout against the #2 team (Hamilton, 2-0 shutout by Liv) and the #1 team (Rochester, 3-0 shutout by Jimmie Howard) in the division. In addition to solid goaltending, our team defense and motivation actually showed up! The Griffins have been really streaky this year (with exactly a .500 record right now) but if they play like they are capable of this may be a good year after all!

Headline on ESPN.com: "Lions to keep prez Millen despite continuous losing". The losing has technically not actually been continuous, it just feels that way.

The Lions couldn't even lose when they are supposed to! With their upset win against Dallas on Sunday, they lost the #1 draft pick. (Although, see previous comment for why it wouldn't have mattered anyway.)

And I don't even want to bring up the Rose Bowl... :(

Non-sports comment:

I am going to (at least attempt) a photo-a-day project for 2007. Once I get a few more I'll post a link. Does anyone know of a good photo-hosting website for me to use? The only one I know of is Shutterfly, which I'm just figuring out how to use and I'm not sure if I like it.

It had to end sometime

I'm back in the country! I had a great time in Mexico! The weather was perfect (low 80s and sunny), the resort was luxurious and gorgeous, and the food was delicious. Thank you mom and dad! We stayed at the all-inclusive resort the Aventura Spa Palace at Riviera Maya (1 hour from Cancun). We also took a day trip to Tulum to see some Mayan ruins and to Xel Ha, a nature-water park.

Below are some pics. If you'd like to see rest let me know.

Looking out at the ocean over my favorite beach spot to sit and read in the sun

The jacuzzi in our room (yes you heard me!) along with a little towel friend left by the maids

The ruins of a Mayan palace at Tulum from about 1000 AD.

PCR is back!

Thats right, last night I did my first successful PCR in I don't know how many months. I think it was last spring, although I might have done one in July. Anyway, it is still not working totally properly, but I have all my supplies and I can get it to work well enough for my purposes. Woohoo! Now it just has to stay working while I process 300 wren DNA samples. Ahh...pray for me!

In other news, I can definitely confirm that mailboxes look like deer. When you are driving through the countryside at night (say, from KBS to EL and back...just as an example) and you are already hyper-sensitive because you keep seeing lots of deer, some of whom try to cross the road in front of youl, seeing a dark mailbox leaning over the road with a little reflector on it that looks like a deer's eye is really disconcerting! And I'm not crazy or drunk, Emily G agreed with me!

This will probably be my last post before Mexico, so ADIOS!

Anything you can do...

Ability meme...from Tina's blog

You bold anything you can do, italicize anything you wish you could do, and add one new skill you're proud of to the end.

+ Use chopsticks
+ Speak more than one language
+ Roll my tongue
+ Play a musical instrument
+ Name every single pokemon character
+ Sing in tune
+ Use html
+ Cross my eyes
+ Put both feet behind my head
+ Ride a horse
+ Swim
+ Shuffle playing cards with a fancy move
+ Move and wiggle my eyebrows independently of each other
+ Play chess and win
+ Ride a bike
+ Drive
+ Do long division in my head
+ Draw quite convincingly
+ Bake cakes
+ Stand on my head (I could do this as a child...but not anymore!)
+ Do cartwheels (ditto)
+ Spell Czechoslovakia without having to look it up first
+ Identify any garden bird
+ Mix a mean cocktail (I have Aaron for that!)
+ Read music
+ Style hair like a professional
+ Tell the difference between Prada and nada at a glance
+ Whistle
+ Recite whole passages from the Lord Of The Rings books by heart
+ Remember birthdays and anniversaries without being reminded (It's called a calendar!)
+ Tap dance
+ Defuse an argument easily
+ Nurse any sick plant back to health
+ Cook anything
+ Forgive quickly
+ Train a dog (I trained Zoe to play dead...does that count?)
+ Commit things to memory without effort (at least some things)
+ Stick my big toe up and my little toes down
+ Freakishly bend my double-jointed thumb
+ Remove any stain
+ Do anything with makeup
+ Open jars without trouble
+ Charm the pants off people
+ Hold my breath for a minute
+ Roller-skate
+ Understand Shakespeare
+ Listen
+ Sew curtains
+ Decipher morse code
+ Click my fingers
+ Complete crossword puzzles (thanks to crossword puzzle races with Katie L and Kosha during stats lectures)
+ Finish a book once I start it
+ Fold napkins into pretty fan shapes
+ Crochet scarves
+ Cheer people up
+ Write multi-chapter fan fic stories
+ Rock at Six Degrees of Separation
+ Tell a debit from a credit in general ledger accounting
+ Solve legal problems and say 'yes, the answer would be yes, but it all depends you see...'
+ Teach
+ Teach real estate agents
+ Repair a bicycle puncture
+ Assemble flat packed furniture
+ Wiggle my ears without touching them
+ Type over 60 words per minute (never been timed but I am pretty fast)
+ Run a nuclear reactor
+ Take ugly writing and make it pretty (although I'm probably not as good at this as many of my friends who might be reading this blog)
+ Confidently talk about sports with anyone

(For my added one, I was going to do something about capturing or taking blood from wild birds, but I figured fewer people would be able to (or would want to) do that.)

I wish more conservatives thought like this...

"My position is, unless we are caring as much for the vulnerable outside the womb as inside the womb, we're not carrying out the full message of Jesus. ... They began to think this might threaten their base or evaporate some of their support, and they said they just couldn't go there."

- Rev. Joel Hunter, explaining his resignation as president-elect of the Christian Coalition, after realizing he would be unable to broaden the organization's focus to include issues such as poverty and the environment. (Source: The Washington Post)

(Quote is from yesterday's Sojomail.)

Isis tales

Two cute Isis stories:

First, she has learned that when I finish my bowl of cereal in the morning, there is some yummy milk left in the bottom. Now, as soon as I start eating breakfast she runs up to me and stares until I finish and let her lick out the bowl. Is this bad for her? Maybe. Can I resist? No!

Also, I just got a birdfeeder. It is the kind that has suction cups which you use to attach it to your window. I thought it would be entertaining for Isis, but I think she is frustrated by the fact that these darn birds keep coming back but she can't catch them! Whenever one lands, she jumps up against the window to scare it away. When she can't catch it she makes funny little peeping noises as she yearns to give chase. I couldn't get any great action shots, but here is one with a bird flying away. Curses, foiled again!

Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving is officially over but I wanted to take the time to think about some things that I'm thankful for:
-> My wonderful, supportive, caring family
-> My great friends in Lansing, KBS, and GR
-> The fact that I don't have to worry where my next meal will come from, or whether there will be a roof over my head, or how I will pay for health care
-> That my family, friends, and myself are generally healthy and happy
-> My great cat Isis :-)
-> More trivial things: being able to travel to so many interesting places, the huge block of chocolate that Katie and Travis helped me get that is SOOO good, sunny days, the sound a hockey puck makes as it is shot around the boards, the internet, pay-at-the pump gas stations, The Colbert Report, Woody's yummy food, Netflix, the peace and quiet of living in the country, $3.5o 1st run movies, ESPN, diet black cherry vanilla coke, sunsets, fireworks, mashed potatoes and stuffing, and so much more...

Torture Lindsey Day 2006

...is over! I managed to survive a dentist and doctors appointment on the same day! I sat in waiting rooms for about 3 hours total today, but at least I got everything out of the way.

A bad sports weekend

The teams that I care about were a collective 0-6 this weekend. Granted, I expected Michigan to lose to Ohio State (and they did keep it close, losing 42-39) and the Red Wings did pick up one point by losing in a shootout, but still, what happened to all my sports luck???

For the record, I don't want a UM-OSU rematch in the BCS title game, because they would probably just beat us again. I'd much rather play in the Rose Bowl where we would stand a decent chance at winning. As long as Notre Dame doesn't play for the championship, I'm happy. And they shouldn't because even if they win out, we only have 1 loss (to the #1 team) and they would have 1 loss...to us! (They didn't play the #1 team.) So there is no way you can put them in there ahead of us! But just in case...go USC!

Even better!

Chocolate is good for your heart!

Moo!

Eating red meat linked to increased risk of breast cancer

I knew there was a reason I stopped eating it!

This and that

A cool Stewart/Colbert interview coming out in Rolling Stone...

Also, Todd and I played in a doppelkopf tournament this weekend and got our asses handed to us (me=11th out of 11, Todd=something like 9th or 10th), so we need some practice! If anyone at KBS wants to learn an awesome card game, let me or Todd know. And if anyone in Lansing in doing a doko night, with a little advanced warning I can be there!

Finally, my car hit 50,000 miles on the way home from Lansing. I bought it new when I graduated from college. I am old. Have I really experienced 50,000 miles worth of life since college???

The exciting things that happen in Grand Rapids, MI

I can't believe this made it on to the front page of CNN.com. Yes, this is my hometown:

Deer breaks free of plastic jack-o'-lantern

VOTE!

Remember to vote today! For those of you in Michigan, we have important things to vote on: governer, US senator, and several proposals. Vote vote vote!

The toughest sport?

Just saw this article on ESPN.com's Page 2 where they "scientifically" ranked 60 sports based on how tough they are. Here is a sample from the list:

1. Boxing
2. Hockey
3. Football (American)
4. Basketball
5. Wrestling
6. Martial Arts
7. Tennis
8. Gymnastics
9. Baseball/softball
10. Soccer
...
56. Curling
57. Bowling
58. Shooting
59. Billiards
60. Fishing

For the most part I agree with the rankings. (I've always argued that hockey was tougher than real football which is tougher than soccer.) However, I'm surprised about some of them, such as that rugby (13) and bull riding (42) aren't higher and that gymnastics (8) and figure skating (19) aren't lower.

I find it interesting that the 4 major US sports are all in the top 10 in toughness. Is that because we like tough sports, or are we overvaluing the toughness of sports that we like?

Snow=evil part 2

I had to scrape my car today before leaving work! SCRAPE MY CAR!!!!! NOOOOO!!!! I'M NOT READY!!!!!

Cell phones linked to male infertility

Heavy mobile use 'damages sperm'

First laptops, now cell phones...looks like the women are going to have to do all the work from now on while the men stay home and do our housework! ;-)

Iraqi lives matter: 30,000>3,000

I read this in a column on ESPN.com today (TMQ by Gregg Easterbrook) and thought it was worth thinking about:

"Of the many moral questions regarding the Iraq War, the one the American political and media systems are not dealing with in any way, shape or form is the number of Iraqi deaths. A few months ago President Bush said the estimate he has been given by military intelligence is 30,000 Iraqi deaths caused either directly by our military or set in motion by our invasion. American forces have been trying to avoid killing the innocent. But no matter how carefully our armed forces have behaved, why is the American conscience not shocked by so many innocent people killed owing to our unilateral decision to seize another nation? Why did the media shrug when Bush used this shocking figure?

Had some other country or group done something that caused 30,000 deaths here, we would claim an unlimited right of self-defense and retaliation. Yet the death the United States has brought to the innocent of Iraq isn't even being discussed here. Some of the Iraqis who have died because they have been hit by our bombs, or in the sectarian violence our destruction of the Iraqi government set loose, would have died by now regardless; perhaps some of them would have been killed by Saddam Hussein, had he remained in power. But by invading Iraq we made ourselves responsible for what happened next, and what has happened next is killing of the innocent. When 3,000 were villainously slain here, we called it a crime against humanity. Since then we have caused or played a role in the deaths of perhaps 10 times as many in Iraq, and this is spoken of here as if it were some mere unfortunate side effect of policy. History may judge America harshly for acting as though Iraqi lives have no value. "

"A typical liberal"

A friend just gave me the link to "Wikiality: the truthiness encyclopedia" and I just had to share the entry on "liberal":

"A liberal is any individual who hates America, our Troops, Freedom, and everything that it stands for. The typical liberal is a henna-tattooing, tofu-eating, bear-hugging, whale-saving, war-protesting, marijuana-smoking, pornography-watching, Godless hippy moonbat bent on destroying American values."

For more, go to http://www.wikiality.com/Liberal

Stevie Y!!!!

I just walked down a flight of stairs directly behind Steve Yzerman...wow! I needed to share that!

Dr. Lindsey

Recently I received a letter addressed to me as "Dr.". Please see this PhD comic for an exact representation of my feelings on the matter:
http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=376

Happy Birthday Colbert Report!

This week marked the 1 year anniversary of the Colbert Report! I can't believe it has only been one year...Stephen, it seems like you have been in my life for so much longer than that! How did I get by without you???

To celebrate his 1 year anniversary, Stephen is auctioning off (for charity) a portrait of himself that was part of the set of the Report for year 1. I just checked it out on ebay and the bid is already up to $6,200.00!!! I guess you guys are going to have to all chip in to get it for me... ;-)
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290040269306

New look

I got sick of the green. Otherwise everything is pretty much the same. Enjoy the blue!

I'm a Presbyterian!

Today I officially joined First Presbyterian Church of Kalamazoo! I love how progressive the Presbyterian USA denomination is. (The first ordained female pastor in the P-USA preached at my new church back in the 1950s! Any church that had female pastors long before I was born is definitely thinking about things in the right way!) Also, First Pres has a huge focus on outreach to the community, which I really think is important and many times overlooked by churches. For instance, they started a health clinic that serves hundreds of uninsured people in downtown Kalamazoo each year and are also very active with Habitat for Humanity, tutoring in the local inner city school, world peace and justice activism, etc. It feels good to belong to a chruch where I finally really feel like I belong!

Snow=evil

I almost cried when I woke up this morning. Snow!!! NOOOOO!!!!! It is only Oct 12!!! Sad sad sad...

10/14 edit: Phew it melted! That was close!

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!

Today is Canadian Thanksgiving. Now, (American) Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays because of the FOOD, so if I get a chance to celebrate it twice a year I'm going to take advantage of it! Travis (from the Lansing gang) made a spectacular Thanksgiving feast on Saturday (although it is unclear whether the group knew it was actually Canadian Thanksgiving or not) and we all gorged. We enjoyed turkey, stuffing, mashed and sweet potatoes, apple and pumpkin pie, etc. Let me just say that Travis is a super cook anyway, and when you combine that with Thanksgiving food...heaven!

So, we can thank Canada for hockey and two Thanksgivings! I knew I liked our neighbors to the north (or east or south in some parts of Michigan).

Honk for the Christian Left

I just came across this site that sells "religous left merchandise" which turns out to be some really clever/cool bumper stickers, T-shirts, etc.

http://www.cafepress.com/turn_left

I'm not necessarily lobbying you to buy any of these things, but if you feel like procrastinating or something, surf around on the site for some interesting/funny/thought provoking ideas. Some of my favorites:

"GOD is not spelled GOP"
"Stewart Colbert 2008"
"Pro-life does not end at birth"
"Poverty is the worst form of violence"
"Who would Jesus torture?"
"The Christian Right is often neither"
"Why care about the poor when you can be a single issue voter?"
"You cannot be pro-life and pro-death penalty"
"War is a defeat for humanity -Pope John Paul II"

Now I just need to find an "Obama 08" sticker...I actually saw one on a car the other day!

The countdown continues...

Veronica Mars: 1 day
Red Wings' season starts: 3 days
Griffins' season starts: 4 days
Griffins' home opener: 12 days
Lindsey and Kath at the Wings: 71 days
Mexico: 75 days

4 years???

You know you have been in grad school for a long time when:
1. You have to make the font on your CV smaller to keep everything on two pages.
2. You are introduced to a 2nd year vet student and you say "Hi I'm Lindsey!" and he says "I know, you were my undergrad ecology TA."
3. You are so distressed about #2 that you forget how many years you have been a grad student until your labmate reminds you (thanks Katie).

Formulaic Fantasy

I recently have been reading a new-to-me fantasy series by David Eddings (The Belgariad, thanks to Carl and Todd) and I am enjoying it, although it contains the very familiar themes, characters, etc. that can be found in most fantasy series. What I found interesting was that Eddings admits to this, and actually emphasizes it in his new preface (from 2002, the books were written in the 80s.) This is how he describes it:

“The story itself is fairly elemental—Good vs. Evil, Nice Guys vs. Nasty Guys, (or Them vs. Us). It has the usual Quest, the Magic (or Holy) Thingamajig, the Mighty Sorcerer, the Innocent Hero, and the Not Quite So Innocent Heroine—along with a widely vaired group of Mighty Warriors with assorted character faults. It wanders around for five books until it finally climaxes with the traditional duel between “Our Hero” and the “Bad Guy.””

When you think about it, it is striking how many of the fantasy series that I enjoy (Robert Jordan, Terry Goodkind, Robin Hobb, even Star Wars) all follow this formula quite closely. And yet I still can’t put the books down. I wonder what it is about this classic story that so grabs my attention.

Hail to the Victors!

The University of Michigan football team just crushed, smashed, and obliterated a HIGHLY overrated Notre Dame team in South Bend! 47-21! Woohoo! I scared my cat because I was cheering so much. Did I mention I hate Notre Dame? Go Blue!

Also, my hometown West Michgian Whitecaps just won the Midwest League (A baseball) title, so congrats to them too!

To celebrate I am using the new muffin pan I got for my birthday to make some yummy muffins.

Half way to fifty

“I’m excited to be 25! I’ve been waiting, like, 25 years to be 25!” –Giselle, supermodel

Fall Countdown

College Football: Already started!
NFL Football: TODAY!
My bday: 1 day
The Amazing Race: 7 days
Grey's Anatomy: 11 days
Red Wings' Season Starts: 25 days
Griffins' Season Starts: 26 days
Griffins' Home Opener: 34 days
Mexico: 96 days

Feel free to add your own...

God loves evolution!

I would like to recommend that everyone read The Language of God by Francis S. Collins. Dr. Collins is the director of the human genome project (one of the top scientists in the world) and also a Christian (who started out as an atheist). In the book he addresses the interaction between science and religion, explaining how science helped lead him to God and also how science (yes evolution!) is compatible with and even enhances religion! It is very readable, written so that those without a background in science will have no problem keeping up, but also very satisfying to me as a Christian scientist to find someone else who shares my views so completely.

Whether or not you are a Christian, and whether or not you accept evolution, if you care at all about issues of science and religion, this is a book you have to read. I would love to lend a copy to anyone who is interested in reading it.

Back in Black!

Well I'm baaaaack!!!!! Back to reality... I have lots of grand ideas for all of the work I am going to get done this fall, I am just worried about finding the motivation to do it. This is Isis doing an impression of my motivational state right now:

Post for the sake of posting?

Not much going on with me right now, but I am still alive. I have not had a very healthy month, with a nasty cold, a suspected case of mild food poisoning, and some mystery headaches/dizziness that might possibly be caused by my allergy medication. Or maybe I’m just getting migraines. Joy either way.

In happier news, my field season is almost wrapped up and I will be taking my annual summer vacation soon, which I am very excited about! I am thoroughly looking forward to turning my brain off for a little while and not thinking about science. ;-)

Mama turtle

This is a picture of a female snapping turtle laying eggs that I took out at my field site in the beginning of June. I put the screwdriver next to her so you can see how big she is. No particular reason to post it, I just thought it was cool. :-)

87 days until hockey season!

The Griffins home opener has been set for October 14!!! Actually, the season starts the week before on the road, so it is really only 80 days! Woohoo!!!

In other news, I finally saw my brother’s band “A Thousand Plateaus”. (Bonus points if you get the reference!) They played a kick ass rock show! (I think “kick ass” is their favorite phrase…Doug can confirm or deny.) Check out their website and listen to a few songs: http://myspace.com/thousandplateaus

Hello Moto!

I got a new phone today that actually works in my house! Imagine, having a cell phone that actually rings when people call me and that will dial out without me having to go into the basement to make it roam! Amazing! I am giddy at the thought!

I went with Cingular since it is the only service that seems to be able to get reception to my dead zone of a house, and I got a RAZR, so now I am cool or something! Anyway, feel free to call me, you may actually get through now!

PS the number is still the same as my old one

Wuv, twue wuv...

I realized tonight that I don’t believe in love. (I am referring specifically to the romantic movie type of love.) There is just nothing in my experience for me to be able to relate to anyone feeling in such a way as to do all the stupid things people do for love in romantic movies.

But even though I know those situations are exaggerated, I really have a hard time believing that there exists any kind of human relationship that goes beyond what I have with close friends and family. Yet all around me my friends are engaging (haha) in this strange behavior of coupling off which I just don’t understand. I have absolutely no way to relate to the motivation behind this behavior. I’m not talking about physical attraction, (which I have definitely felt!) but about the emotional/mental/physical/spiritual combination that I hear love defined as. I have never seen the potential for me to have that kind of relationship with another human. I’m not saying I’m not open to it or don’t want it necessarily, just that it…doesn’t happen. Nothing is there. Maybe this is how an atheist feels about Christianity?

Anyone who is (or has been) in love want to let me in on the secret????

Maybe I should turn Catholic and become a nun… ;-)

110 days until hockey season

I am watching Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals (go Hurricanes!), which means that after tonight there will be no more hockey until fall. This game has been great! Awesome action, speed, hits, saves, goals...and it's only half way done. Hockey is the best sport. I love it! I can't wait for October....

Eggs in a row

Okay sorry that last entry sounded really complainy. I didn't mean it to be that way, I just wanted to explain why I haven't been updating. To make up for it, here is a cute picture of a clutch of wren eggs. The numbers tell the order that the eggs were laid. Of course, these eggs are 14 day old babies now and almost ready to fly. :-)

I'll give you an update!!!

Wow I had no idea so many people actually read my blog!

So as you have all probably guessed I have not updated in almost a month because it has been heavy duty research time. I have been working 80 hour weeks and I have not even turned on my TV for a month, much less had time to do any other entertainment activities.

This was my daily schedule 7 days a week for the last 3 weeks:
8:00 wake up
9:00 head to field
2:00 come in for lunch/break
3:30 go back to field
9:00 come back from field
9:30 dinner/shower
10:30 enter data from day, plan for next day
midnight bed

Now things are getting a little better and I’m only working 8 hours a day, 7 days a week. By the 4th of July things should be back to a normal 40 hour work week, and then you can start expecting more regular blog entries.

I have some cute wren pics to post and other things to talk about, but they will have to wait for another day because I need to enter my data yet tonight and then get to bed. Thanks for caring guys. :-)

It’s a bad sign when…

I have to preface this story by explaining that my landlord has been installing a new well at my house, which has been an extremely annoying process involving 3 weeks of having bulldozers and drilling trucks destroy my front yard, random men in my basement at all hours of the day, etc.

I finally get the word that everything is done, the health department approved the new well as safe to drink, and they have switched my house over to the new well. Excellent! I say to myself. I return home from a long day in the field, flush the toilet, wash my hands, and…the water stops running. Bad sign. No water all night.

So, I inform maintenance and they arrive the next morning. “Aha! I just forgot to turn the breaker back on!” On of them says. No problem. I hear water running again. Wonderful! “Uh oh” from the maintenance men. Bad sign. I hear low talking about the water being “full of crap.” Now my “wonderful” has turned sarcastic. “I need to go get another tool, I’ll be back in a few minutes,” maintenance man says. Everyone leaves. Bad sign.

So that’s where we are right now…two guys were back working on stuff, but they just went on break. I’ll let you know if I have any water tonight.

This is why I love hockey!!!! Part 2

I lost my voice tonight from cheering!

Things did not look good for our heroes, the Grand Rapids Griffins. After blowing a chance to finish off the North Division finals on Monday night by losing to the Manitoba Moose 3-1, the Griffins had fallen behind in the series-deciding game 7.

Midway through the 2nd period they were playing terribly and losing 4-1. The Moose had all the momentum and the Griffins looked awful. You could hear a pin drop in the arena. The home team managed to score a power play goal at the very end of the 2nd period to cut the deficit to 4-2, but heading into the 3rd the situation was still grim.

Then, my boys played the most exciting period of hockey I have ever seen, scoring 3 more goals, the last one with 2 minutes left, to complete an electrifying come from behind victory to win the series!!!! LETS GO GRIFFINS!!!! If they played like that every period there would be no stopping them! What an amazing win!

Next up: The Milwaukee Admirals come to town to begin the Western Conference finals on Thursday!!!

Happy Birthday Isis!

It's not her real birthday, (she actually turned 2 sometime earlier this spring,) but today is the anniversary of when I adopted Isis from the Calhoun County Humane Society. I can't believe she's been with me for a whole year! She's been a great cat! Today to celebrate she got some catnip and a new toy. :-)

Stephen Colbert is my hero!

First of all, his show is HILARIOUS!

But, recently he spoke at the White House Correspondents Dinner. I don't know how the people who schedule these things picked him, but they should have known that Bush might not appreciate his humor. Of course, all Stephen does it tell the truth!!!! ;-) But you have to admit it takes balls to lampoon the President of the United States when he's sitting 6 feet away from you looking very un-amused by your act. GO STEPHEN COLBERT!!!!

Here is a link to an article that gives a great summary of Colbert's speech. Even those of you with less of a "liberal bias" than me will find it funny I think. Thanks to Tina's blog for the link. And here is a link where you can watch the whole speech, if you are so inclined.

Good news and bad news

Hockey Playoffs, Round 1

Good news: The Griffins looked great dispatching the Toronto Marlies in 5 games, including two overtime victories. The team went 1-1 at home and 3-0 on the road. In fact, we won two games in Toronto with our third string goalie, since our first stringer was called up to Detroit and our second stringer is out with a long term injury. The Griffins looked confident beating a team with a hot, experienced goalie that gave them fits all season. Next we play Manitoba in the Division Finals. The Moose (yes Katie W, they are the Manitoba Moose, but you still aren’t allowed to cheer for them!) are another good team with a great goalie, so they will be another good challenge for the Griffins. At least we don’t have to worry about anyone being called up in this series because…

Bad news: The Red Wings got their asses handed to them by Edmonton, losing in 6 games. The Wings have way more talent, but they didn’t bring it when it mattered. The only Wings players that caught my eye as having a good series were Lebda, Kronwall, and Zetterberg. Captain Steve Yzerman’s injury and absence did not help as he is the heart and soul of the team. The Wings rested on their laurels, expecting Edmonton to just roll over. When they didn’t, the Wings didn’t adjust and up their game in time to avoid being ousted in the first round. The have only won one playoff series since their last Stanley Cup in 2002. The regular season excellence of the past few years means nothing when you can’t win in the playoffs.

Death Cab for Cutie Lyric of the Week

From "Crooked Teeth"

I'm a war, of head versus heart,
And it's always this way.
My head is weak, my heart always speaks,
Before I know what it will say.

And you can't find nothing at all,
If there was nothing there all along.
No you can't find nothing at all,
If there was nothing there all along.

Yeah for spring!

Why I love this time of year (late April/early May):

~Fun field work: NO DEER FLYS, comfortable temperatures, not too much crazy work yet
~Hockey hockey hockey: Playoffs on TV every night, Griffins and Red Wings playoffs games to go to
~Great weather: no snow, not super hot or humid either
~It stays light until almost 9
~Did I mention playoff hockey????

This is why I love hockey!!!!

Game 1 of the playoffs, Jiri Hudler gets hit in the face, takes 18 stitches, and comes back to not only finish the game, but score the game winning goal in triple overtime! GOOOOOOOOOOO GRIFFINS!!!!!!!!! The Griffins were behind 4-2 going into the 3rd period, but came back to win it 6-5 in 3 OT. Also the Wings won 3-2 in 2 OT! Woohoo! The playoffs are here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Doe, a deer!

This is what I saw out my back window a few days ago:

Three little deer decided to make my backyard their salad bar!

Arrrr!

My pirate name is:

Captain Anne Bonney

Even though there's no legal rank on a pirate ship, everyone recognizes you're the one in charge. You can be a little bit unpredictable, but a pirate's life is far from full of certainties, so that fits in pretty well. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from fidius.org.

Hot new band

Everyone go see "A Thousand Plateaus" at the Intersection (front room) in Grand Rapids on April 24.

http://www.myspace.com/thousandplateaus

Disclaimer: This post may or may not be motivated by nepotism. ;-)

Death Cab for Cutie Lyric of the Week

From "Your heart is an empty room"

The flames and smoke
climbed out of every window
and disappeared
with everything that you held dear
and you shed not a single tear
for the things that you didn't need
'cause you knew you were finally free

And all you see
is where else you could be
when you're at home
out on the street
are so many possibilities
to not be alone

NHL rules!

Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images

Although I’m pretty sure none of the four people who actually read my blog care about the NHL, I care about and so I post these interesting links that I discovered today while I was procrastinating doing real work:

First, a great interview with my favorite player (and Griffins alumni) Nik Kronwall.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/columns/story?columnist=amber_david&id=2404391

Next, an article that I thought was hilarious because of the title for the link on ESPN.com: “Ovechkin reaches 100 points, earns pie”
Ovechekin, the probable rookie of the year for this season, is one of my top five favorite NHL players, but I’ll let you read the article to find out about the pie
http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/recap?gameId=260410001

And finally, a column by John Buccigross, my favorite NHL columnist, (who actually replied to an email I sent him once, calling me “Lindsey love,”!), written during the NCAA basketball final four, about him not caring at all about basketball and feeling like an outcast at March Madness time, and why hockey is better. :-)
http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/columns/story?columnist=buccigross_john&id=2387250

Death Cab for Cutie Lyric of the Week

From "Marching Bands of Manhattan"

Sorrow drips into your heart
Through a pinhole
Just like a faucet that leaks
And there is comfort in the sound
But while you debate half empty
Or half full
It slowly rises
Your love is gonna drown

Woohoo!

Put July 27, 2007 on your calendars: THE SIMPSONS MOVIE!!!

You can see a very brief trailer (preview): here

My new favorite quote

"Speaking of Plato, he would have been a Red Wings fan." ~John Buccigross, ESPN.com

Update

So yeah I know I haven’t blogged in forever. I guess there just hasn’t been much that has inspired me to blog lately. Also, ever since I had that 2 month long sinus infection in January and February, I’ve been feeling like my brain is stuffed full of cotton or something. It has been a struggle just to concentrate enough to do work stuff, so I haven’t had a lot of brain cells left to think deep thoughts. In truth, I still don’t think I am fully better. I still get headaches quite a bit. Maybe the sinus infection increased my sensitivity to some allergen or something, but I haven’t gone for more than a day or two without a headache since before I had the sinus infection (going on three months now). The headaches aren’t nearly as bad as when I had the sinus infection; it is just a nagging ache in my forehead and around my eyes that won’t go away. Advil Cold and Sinus helps a lot. What a wonderful product! ;-)

Other than that there is not too much going on. I’ve had a frustrating week in the lab so far because my PCR is screwing up. But of course I didn’t find that out until the next day when I ran my gels, so I wasted two days and still have no idea what is wrong with the PCRs. The rest of my week will probably be spent troubleshooting. Also, starting next Thursday I am giving three different hour long talks in 6 days, with a day of putting up nest boxes snuggled in between, so I will be keeping quite busy for a while.

I want to go!!!

Space tourism companies reaching for the stars

At the rate I'm going, maybe I will be able to honeymoon on Mars. ;-)

I'm a big kid now

I got my new queen sized bed today! Finally I'll be sleeping on something bigger than the twin I had all through college!


And yes, that is a pillow sham and a dust ruffle you see. Aren't I grown up???

Chocolate makes you live longer!!!

The news Katie W has been waiting for her whole life...
Cocoa linked to lower risk of disease

Go Sweden!

This is a picture of me with my friend Niklas Kronwall, who just won an Olympic gold medal with Sweden's hockey team this morning!!!!! Yay go Sweden!


Nik scored a goal in the gold medal game. In fact, all 3 goals in Sweden's 3-2 victory were scored by Red Wings. Five current Red Wings played for Sweden (see below, Nik is second from the right).


It is also interesting to note that the last two times NHL players played in the Olympics, the same NHL team won the Stanely Cup. Lets hope they pull it off again this year. Go Red Wings!

If you need a way to waste hours of your time...

...check out Sudoku. Katie got me addicted to this fun and easy to learn game. This website is my favorite place to play: websudoku.com.

The rules are on the side of the page.

I'm a 5!

I refuse to do the Johari thing but I will follow the crowd and post my results for this test:

the Observer
you chose BZ - your Enneagram type is FIVE.

"I need to understand the world"

Observers have a need for knowledge and are introverted, curious, analytical, and insightful.

How to Get Along with Me

* Be independent, not clingy.
* Speak in a straightforward and brief manner.
* I need time alone to process my feelings and thoughts.
* Remember that If I seem aloof, distant, or arrogant, it may be that I am feeling uncomfortable.
* Make me feel welcome, but not too intensely, or I might doubt your sincerity.
* If I become irritated when I have to repeat things, it may be because it was such an effort to get my thoughts out in the first place.
* don't come on like a bulldozer.
* Help me to avoid my pet peeves: big parties, other people's loud music, overdone emotions, and intrusions on my privacy.

What I Like About Being a Five

* standing back and viewing life objectively
* coming to a thorough understanding; perceiving causes and effects
* my sense of integrity: doing what I think is right and not being influenced by social pressure
* not being caught up in material possessions and status
* being calm in a crisis

What's Hard About Being a Five

* being slow to put my knowledge and insights out in the world
* feeling bad when I act defensive or like a know-it-all
* being pressured to be with people when I don't want to be
* watching others with better social skills, but less intelligence or technical skill, do better professionally

Fives as Children Often

* spend a lot of time alone reading, making collections, and so on
* have a few special friends rather than many
* are very bright and curious and do well in school
* have independent minds and often question their parents and teachers
* watch events from a detached point of view, gathering information
* assume a poker face in order not to look afraid
* are sensitive; avoid interpersonal conflict
* feel intruded upon and controlled and/or ignored and neglected

Fives as Parents

* are often kind, perceptive, and devoted
* are sometimes authoritarian and demanding
* may expect more intellectual achievement than is developmentally appropriate
* may be intolerant of their children expressing strong emotions

Priorities

How you know when your cat thinks you are spending too much time on your computer and not enough time paying attention to her:

Microchipped!

Isis went to the vet today for her yearly shots. I haven't had her for a year yet, but it has been a year since she got picked up by the animal shelter, so she was due. (She was actually there for 3 months before I adopted her last May! How could no one pick such a great cat for that long!!?? She must have been waiting for me!)

While at the vet, I also decided to get Isis microchipped. The vet injected a little microchip under Isis' skin, and now if she ever gets lost any shelter or vet can scan her and they will get all my contact information. Isis is an indoor cat, but she is also a very good escape artist, so I wanted to have some way for her to be traced back to me if she is found. I was watching an episode of Animal Cops on Animal Planet where they found a cat in San Fransisco that was lost in Florida and hadn't been seen in 7 years! And they were able to reunite it with its owner because it had a microchip. I don't anticipate Isis getting lost, but it's nice to know the microchip is there just in case.

Bono's best sermon yet

Bono's best sermon yet: Remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast

Please follow this link and scroll down to read the remarks made by Bono at the National Prayer Breakfast.

http://www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action=sojomail.display&issue=060203

He has some really important things to say about the role of the church in social and economic justice and about the Biblical requirement for helping the poor.

RIP West Wing

An article that sums up a lot of my feelings about a wonderful show. With so much crap on TV it is sad to see a truly smart, thoughtful show get cancelled. The West Wing was my favorite show all through college, and I strongly associate it with a time when I was learning to think for myself about political issues. What a great show. I would rank it the #1 overall TV show of my lifetime.

(Side note: although this author points out that the current popular drama Lost is escapist, I do enjoy Lost and I think that it also falls in the category of smart, quality TV.)

Edit: another article about the cancellation

And yet, for some reason I am still a Lions fan!

In honor of Superbowl XL, which will be played in Detroit in 2 weeks:

Overall NFL standings from 1979-2005
We got you Arizona!!!

Also check out the NFL Misery Index
Lions are only #4, but it is hard to argue with #'s 1-3.

Cat and mouse

Okay I know I haven’t blogged in over a week. I just haven’t been feeling very motivated or profound. So, I guess I’ll just post a cute story. Isis has been growing more and more interested in my computer (maybe a sign that I spend too much time on it?). Recently she discovered that there is this little arrow on the screen that moves all around, and she has grown determined to catch it. That’s right, my cat is chasing the mouse! Imagine her disappointment though when every time she paws or bites at it, it gets away. That darn arrow is sneaky!

Jamaica pics

As promised. If you are interested in seeing more pictures, let me know. (All pictures taken with Katie's camera, the first two by her, the 3rd by a Hooves employee, the last by me.)

The beach area of our hotel, Club Ambiance, on a rare sunny day.

Dunn's River Falls. One of many sections that we climbed up.

Me riding Tango on the beach, right before we head into the ocean!

Pool on the beach!

Ya mon!

I’m back from Jamaica! Katie and I had a great time! I’ll post a few pictures soon once I get them. Highlights:

--Dunn’s River Falls: A 600 foot waterfall that we climbed up/in! You walk down to the bottom at the beach, and then they have a guide that leads you up in groups. You scramble up, in the water, over rocks, through pools, etc. with the water flowing past you the whole time. It took us over an hour to climb all the way to the top! Everyone in the group holds hands so that if someone falls, they don’t fall too far. Our group had a bunch of kids in it, so the guide put adults in between the kids to help catch them just in case. Katie and I became adoptive parents of two cute kids from Indianapolis, Jillian and Jenison.

--Horseback riding in the ocean: We went through a place called Hooves that uses rehabilitated horses. We started out with a tour of an old sugar plantation that had all sorts of neat artifacts from as far back as 1500 that were dug up on site. Then we got on the horses and rode for about a half hour down to the beach. After a short snack break, we got back on the horses and rode into the ocean! The horses actually run in the ocean with the water up to their chests. It was super cool!

--Reading on the beach: The main reason I took the trip in the first place!

--Jamaica Night at the resort: Delicious Jamaican food like pepper pot soup and jerk chicken, along with a live reggae band!

--Jamaican driving: An adventure in itself. First, they drive on the left side of the road. (Although in lots of places it barely deserves the name “road”.) Crazy passing on a very small two lane road, random potholes, speed bumps, unpaved sections, and goats made for a very interesting ride whenever we went anywhere.

--All the guys called us “pretty lady”, “sexy”, “beautiful”, etc. everywhere we went. We decided that we need more of that so from now on Carl may only address us using one of those expressions.

--We both appreciated the laid back Jamaican attitude. No problem mon!

Lowlights of the trip were that I had a sinus infection, (I got it the day we left,) so I pretty much had a headache the entire time, plus the weather was cool by Jamaican standards (70s and cloudy/windy) for most of the time. But we still managed to have a blast!

What a way to go!

From MSNBC.com

Bowler dies after third perfect game
Michigan man collapses, dies at bowling alley

PORTAGE, Mich. - A bowler collapsed and died at a bowling alley shortly after rolling the third perfect game of his life.

Ed Lorenz, 69, bowled a 300 Wednesday in his first league game of the night at Airway Lanes. When the retiree got up to bowl in the fifth frame of his second game, he clutched his chest and fell over, and efforts to revive him failed.

“If he could have written a way to go out, this would be it,” said Johnny D Masters, who was bowling with Lorenz.


(FYI, Portage is a suburb of Kalamazoo, so this happened right near me!)

Happy New Year!

I start the new year eagerly anticipating Katie and my trip to Jamaica! I came down with a cold on Friday, so it looks like I will be sick when we go, but hopefully that warm tropical sun will bake it out of me. ;-)

I don’t normally make New Years resolutions, but this year I am going to make a very boring one of joining a gym and working out at least 3 times a week, since my exercise seriously slacked off this fall. So please, after I get back ask me about how I’m doing on this one!

I'm Minerva!

Yeah she was always one of my favorites!

The Mythological Goddess Test

Minerva Indeed, you are 75% erudite, 62% sensual, 25% martial, and 41% saturnine.

Another virgin Goddess (Diana or Artemis being the other), Minerva was, just like her Greek counterpart Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom and Freedom as well as an all powerful Goddess of War, which made her a most formidable opponent indeed. Among the many disciplines that fell under her control were: writing, the sciences, architecture, embroidery, and just about anything else dealing with artistic skills, wise counsel, and of course battle and warfare. Like Athena, owls were considered sacred to Minerva, representing wisdom. She was a very wise warrior, respected by the Roman legions. She was also, no kidding, the Goddess of Women's Rights and patroness of career women.

Do you believe in Santa?

Recently we were having a discussion at KBS about whether parents should tell their children that Santa Claus is real. Several people voiced opinions along the lines of "How could you blantantly lie to and deceive your kids, especially because once they find out that he is not real they will be emotionally crushed." I agree with this sentimenet, but I think that for Christians there is an even more important reason. We also tell our children that Jesus is real and was born on Christmas, but his story is even more unbelieveable than Santa's. Once they realize that we were lying about Santa, why should they believe us about Jesus?

A Christmas (or holiday?) post

There has been a lot of flap lately about whether people should say "Merry Christmas" or "Happy holidays!" I think this whole issue is silly. Some argue that "Happy holidays" is more PC than "Merry Christmas" because Christmas is a holiday specific to one religion. However, I would argue that the Christmas that most Americans celebrate is not religious at all.

What do Santa, reindeer, the colors red and green, snow, etc. have to do with Christ anyway? Yes, as Christians we officially celebrate Christ's birth on Christmas. However, most of what America does to celebrate Christmas is not exclusively Christian. A Jew or Muslim or Hindu or atheist or whatever can put lights on her house, spend time with her family, give gifts to her loved ones, and be of good cheer just as well as a Christian can with no religious implications.

Christmas is no more a Christian holiday than Thanksgiving is. On Thanksgiving, everyone gives thanks (whether to God, Allah, themselves, etc.) for their blessings, spends time with family, eats yummy food, etc. Just because the original pilgrims were thanking God for the harvest doesn’t make Thanksgiving a religious holiday. Christmas is the same way. The original intent may have been to celebrate Christ’s birth, but now it seems to have warped into being happy and getting/giving presents.

To take it a bit further, the original intent of the celebration we now call Christmas wasn’t even to celebrate Jesus’ birth. Christmas is a co-opted pagan holiday. Jesus was not born in December; scholars think he was actually born in the spring. (Because the shepherds were living out in the fields keeping watch over their flocks by night, which happened in the spring but not the winter.) Christianity just decided to stick celebrating Jesus’ birth into this pagan holiday so that new converts could still have their December holiday.

What is my point in all this rambling? First, I think anyone of any religion should be able to say or be told “Merry Christmas” without religious awkwardness or controversy. The phrase really just means “I hope you enjoy celebrating the holiday on Dec 25”. If someone told me “Happy Kwanza” or “Happy Hanukkah”, I would not be offended in the least. What is the big deal with “Merry Christmas”? To me, it means exactly the same thing as "Happy Holidays". However, because some people are sensitive about this, I do still try to be careful of what I say. When in doubt, I say "Happy Holidiays".

Second, is this the way things should be? As Christians, should we let commercialism and materialism water down the holiday that celebrates the birth of our savior? No one worries about someone saying “Happy Easter”, which is really the most important holiday for Christians anyway. Is this because that holiday hasn’t been corrupted (yet) as much as Christmas has?

I'm in trouble

Scientists find that better dancers get better mates...

Narnia Review

When buying my ticket I asked the girl if she needed to see my student ID and she said "No, I remember you." What does it say about you when the ticket sellers at the movie theater remember who you are? It's not as bad as it sounds, becuase we got to a little 5 screen, family owned theater that usually only has two people working behind the counter. The main reason I love it is that 1st run movies are only $3.50 all day with a student ID! Snacks are cheaper than most other theaters too, so I can get a movie ticket, pop, and popcorn for less than the price of a ticket as most other theaters. Yeah Gull Road Cinema!

Anyway, the movie...I loved it! It was very cute and well done. The kids are adorable, and the special effects for the most part were great. I loved the griffins especially. And there was only one scene where I felt like I was watching Lord of the Rings. There were some additions to the book, but I didn't mind them at all. One of the main reasons I loved the movie so much was the nostalgia factor, so if you didn't grow up reading the books you might not be as enchanted as I was, but it is still an entertaining movie.

Fun fact: the actor who plays Edmond is a direct descendant of Charles Darwin! How cool is that???

20 Days!

Weather in Michigan: 32° F, Light Snow Showers
Weather in Jamaica: 84 °F, Partly Cloudy

No more school, no more books...

...no more teachers' dirty looks!!!! Well sort of. I handed in my final project for my last "real" class yesterday. I am now done with all of my grad classes. The only problem is that I still need to make up a semester of physics, which I will be doing next semester by taking an online class. So, at least I can say I am done with lectures and all that. After 20 years of taking classes, I am glad to be done!

Snow Day!

Okay I know it is not really a snow day, but it feels like one. Due to the heavy snow last night, our seminar speaker could not make it down and seminar, my only reason for waking up early and going into the office, was cancelled. Woohoo! At least they sent out an email about it so I found out before I tried to go into the office. Now, in the tradition of snowdays past, I think I will have to make pancakes and watch The Price is Right. :-)

Amazing!

I have accomplished two incredible feats this year. First, I have done all of my Christmas shopping online. I managed to completely avoid anything that even resembles a mall. Second, I have it all finished, and it is only December 6! Yes that's right! Lindsey, who is not usually done until Dec 24, is done super early! I rule. :-)

Sad night for cute animals

I had a mouse in my car yesterday. Actually it was somewhere under my hood. I was driving home from KBS going least 55 mph and I suddenly saw a mouse climb out from under my hood right next to my windshield. She ducked back under the hood again but about a 1/4 mile later popped out (maybe because the engine was getting hot?) and was blown off into the night. I just hope she wasn't chewing on any wires or anything under there. I'm guessing she came from my garage originally, because I have seen a mouse in there a couple times this fall.

Also, on the way home from MSU to KBS, Tom hit an owl. Well, really the owl flew into the car. There wasn't a whole lot Tom could do about it.

Why aren't you married yet?

An article for all my single friends out there. I have already been asked this question and the holidays are only beginning. Some advice on how to answer it:

Why aren't you married yet?


My favorite: ‘Johnny Depp is taken.’ ;-)

Random thoughts at 4 AM

1. Why do I stay up late and sleep in every weekend and then get on a crazy schedule that I have to try to fix in time for my early morning departure on Tuesday?

2. If smoking were banned in public places (like bars) I would go out a lot more.

3. Our homework for Quantitatve Methods takes way too long and is way too involved to be worth only 10 points.

4. I procrastinate too much.

5. Grey's Anatomy is my favorite TV show by far.

6. It's 4 AM and I should be tired. But I'm not.

7. I have been playing fetch with Isis for like an hour and she is still into it. What a crazy cat.

8. TV is addicting.

9. Stores should carry bathing suits year round. People go on vacations in the winter and need to buy them!

I bought a snowshovel

Sadly, I bought a snowshovel yesterday, anticipating the snow we are supposed to get this weekend. Someone remind me why I live in this state again?

Harry Potter 4 Review

I just got back from seeing Harry Potter 4 and it was great! It was surprisingly funny, and the end was nice and spooky. They cut out all of the unnecessary stuff that made the book so long, and I didn't miss any of it. Ralph Fiennes was a deliciously scary Voldemort, and Brendan Gleason was the perfect Mad Eye Moony. My only regret was not enough Sirius or Snape (my fav characters), but this book didn't feature them very much anyway, so I'll forgive it. I'll probably try to see the movie at least one more time in the theaters. When does it come out on DVD? ;-)

Put it on your calendar!

For those of you who have extra morbid curiousity, okcupid.com has this test that tells you when you are likely to die based on a bunch of different statistics. Here's my results:

According to our research, you'll be dead by
August 2064
at age 83
- probable cause -
cancer

YOU DIE: 82.9 years
AVERAGE FEMALE LIFE SPAN: 77.1 years

As you can plainly see, you have more health & vitality than the average woman.

http://okcupid.com/death

Who would Jesus torture?

I don't normally post political things on my blog, but I feel pretty strongly about this issue and so I encourage you to read and think/pray about the article I have pasted below. I cannot fathom why the Bush administration, or any Christain, would be opposed to this bill. Please note that this is not a partisan issue, as the bill has strong support from both Republicans and Democrats.


Who would Jesus torture?
by David Batstone

Christians of strong religious faith and sound moral conscience often end up in disagreement. Human affairs are a messy business, unfortunately, and even at the best of times we only see through a glass, darkly.

It is hard for that reason to call Christians to a universal standard of behavior. At this moment, however, we cannot afford to dilute the message of Jesus into meaningless ambiguity. There are certain acts that a follower of Jesus simply cannot accept. Here is one: A Christian cannot justify the torture of a human being.

The practice of torture by American soldiers is a hot topic at the Pentagon, in the Congress, and in the White House at the moment. The U.S. Senate already has passed 90-9 a bill that prohibits "cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment" of prisoners in U.S. custody. The lead advocate of the bill, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), was tortured by his captors during the Vietnam War. According to The New York Times, the Pentagon adopted a policy last Thursday to rein in interrogation techniques. The new policy uses much of the same language as the McCain amendment - drawn in large part from the Geneva Convention - to adopt standards for handling terror suspects.

Remarkably, the White House opposes the Pentagon initiative, and threatens to veto any legislation to which the McCain bill gets attached. Vice President Dick Cheney has urged Republican senators to allow CIA counterterrorism operations internationally to be exempt from the ban on mistreatment of prisoners, major newspapers reported.

On Nov. 3, Lawrence Wilkerson, former chief of staff for then-Secretary of State Colin Powell, said during an interview on NPR's "Morning Edition" that memos from Cheney's office practically encouraged abuse of Iraqi prisoners. Though in "carefully couched terms" that would allow for deniability, the message from Cheney's office conveyed the sentiment that interrogations of Iraqi prisoners were not providing the needed intelligence. Wilkerson said soldiers in the field would have concluded that to garner better intelligence they could resort to interrogation techniques that "were not in accordance with the spirit of the Geneva Conventions and the law of war."

Republican senators are among the strongest voices in the growing chorus of criticism. Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) said, "I think the administration is making a terrible mistake in opposing John McCain's amendment on detainees and torture." And Sen. John Warner (R-Va.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and co-sponsor of McCain's measure, agreed: "I firmly believe that it's in the best interest of the Department of Defense, the men and women of the United States military that this manual be their guide."

When the existence of secret CIA detention centers became public this week, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) and Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) called for investigations - not about whether they violate laws governing human rights - but about how the information was leaked. But members of their own party are keeping the focus where it belongs. The Washington Post quoted Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) as saying, "Talk about not seeing the forest for the trees. The real story is those jails."

Admittedly, Christians of good faith part paths when political conflict leads us to consider what constitutes a just and righteous war - or if any war can be just. Though we may not consent on the means, we do consent on the need to confront the spread of evil in the world. Yet we can all affirm scripture when it says, "Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all.... Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:17, 21). When we confront evil with its own means, those means mark our own character.

In that regard, the practice of torture so fully embraces evil it dehumanizes both the torturer and its victim. No just cause can be won if it relies on torture to succeed. Democracy and freedom cannot result from a war fueled by torture, which is why so many Americans were shocked and angered by the disturbing incidents that took place at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

All the more so, Christians must oppose torture under any circumstances. Consider this: Who would Jesus torture? I cannot imagine Jesus finding a single "exemption" that would justify such an abuse of any individual made in God's image.

Though I bristle whenever I hear someone refer to the United States as a Christian nation - it is such a loaded phrase - many in the Muslim world see us as such. How tragic it would be for Muslims to identify the message and mission of Jesus with torture and terror. We must not allow that to happen.



Action Alert: "Do not repay evil for evil...." (1 Peter 3:9).

Despite strong bipartisan support in the Senate, Republican leaders in the House - including Speaker Hastert - are using a procedural loophole to block an up or down House vote on Sen. McCain's anti-torture measure.

+ Click here to ask Speaker Hastert and your representative to stand up against torture

Done!

"Kids, you tried your best and you failed miserably. The lesson is, never try."~Homer

After a very stressful period, I have finally finished my comps, and I am now an official Ph.D. candidate! Orals did not go well at all, but I did pass.

Thanks to everyone who came to my post-comps party! I had 15 people in my house, so it was crowded but a lot of fun! Carl, Rob, Katie W, Anne, Todd, Eva, Ben, and Yi all made the trip down from Lansing, and Nicole, Wendy, Kurt, Amy, Terry, Katie L, and Aaron came from significantly closer locations. Rob even brought his dog Angel, and Isis was relatively calm, so that was great. Much gaming occured, and I actually won Ticket to Ride for the first time ever! So all in all it was a good day, which helped make up for yesterday's miserableness. Thanks guys! :-)

Funny things heard in ZOL 851

So the professor in my Quantitative Methods class says some really funny things sometimes, but nobody ever laughs besides me. Here is a sample:

"Pay particular attention to the importance of sex."
"It is a very loose spline." (Anyone ever play the Sims??? Anyone? Reticulating splines!)
"Those serious error messages are another hint that something is wrong."

Maybe I just have a weird sense of humor.

Some Like it Hot!

I just netflixed the 1959 movie "Some Like it Hot" starring Marylin Monroe, Jack Lemmon, and Tony Curtis. While watching it, I realized that I had been to the hotel featured in the movie. It is supposed to be in Florida, but the actual hotel is the Hotel del Coronado in San Diego. Jim brought Katie, Anne, Roz, and I there on Thanksgiving last year when we were visiting him. We knew they had filmed a movie there, but not which one, so it was a total surprsie to me when I saw it in the movie. (The picture on the left is from the hotel's webpage, I took the one below.)

One hoop down, one to go

I am finished with my written comps! Woohoo! I sent the last one off last night at about 4 AM. Wow they were a pain in the butt and I am glad they are over. Now I just have to do my oral exam on Nov 11 (next Friday) and then if I pass I will be an official Ph.D. candidate.