To purchase or not to purchase

The shirt I want...

It's only available for 15 more hours...Complete description

Reminding myself that science doesn't suck...

Somewhere buried deep in the depths of the internet (and maybe my computer) is an entry from my freeopendiary which I had pretty much forgotten about. Until yet another re-occurrence of "science sucks". I went to MCB 253 lab and we were visualizing actin. We used a rhodamin-phalloidin dye on 3T3 cells and looked at them under the microscope. Strangely, I found the picture below on the updated website from that class, years later. Weird. I still remember how excited I was. 1/2 a week of MCB students had as of yet been unable to make the experiment work. Somehow, my partner and I were the first (They probably opened a new tube of antibody or something) and I just went, holy crap, this is awesome. And I was excited again. So this is my reminder, that I really do enjoy science.

Earth Hour

So tonight they are having Earth Hour. Asking everyone to turn off their lights from 8:30-9:30pm tonight, local time. Giving an hour in your home and 24 hours for the world. Pretty neat. They have an Official Website and a crazy video. It senses whether the camera on your computer can see light or not and changes the video you see. Pretty neat. More on this on the linked websites or Gizmodo

Karate tournament

Check out these awesome photos...but really look at them. All-Valley Tournament

Higher learning...

So is graduate school really avoiding 'real life' or is it just a cover?

Tributes...

It's not the original, but something popped this old image in my mind and this was as close as I could find. This comic struck me so profoundly the day I saw it. The one I saw was in black and white and better drawn but had the same imagery. It was by some cartoonist I used to follow, sadly, I don't remember who. It was just the perfect tribute.

Games that never end...

Tetoris (Tetris forever)

Breakout...forever

TomTom say wha?

I've never wanted a GPS system until now



Update: I want to put this on my parent's TomTom without telling them...

Oh noes! I stole from Steph...AGAIN!!

As I have many times over, I've been intrigued by something Steph posted. So here it is. What can I say, Steph has good taste

Sidenote: f*ck the BMI

Piano chatroulette

Making this stupid concept awesome.

Merton, does it in private


Ben Folds, does it with thousands

This properly expresses my day

FACEPALM: Because expressing how dumb that was in words just doesn't work

Update: This is officially taped up at my desk. A stopped clock is right twice a day...but this is right far too often.

How many bad video games can come from just one franchise?

I was going to complain about a link I saw on Google Reader, and then I realized I didn't want to propagate it ANY FURTHER. I then realized that I wouldn't be able to comment on something that no one else would understand. Crap.

Ok. We'll just say it involves 4 years of schooling from "everyone's favorite," scarred british kid and video game legos. This...must...end...

Take that

I don't care whether it's fake or not - it's awesome

Love in 2D

This evening I came across this article through a series of clicks starting with a silly picture of a man hugging his new wife/pillow and I'm fascinated...and admittedly frightened.

The short of it, adults "in love" with 2D characters. I use quotes because there are varying degrees of this phenomenon and as described in the first article, a ratings system based on your interest in human companionship to the 2D sort supplemented by your imagination.

Like most people, my first reaction is "whoa" and I'm sure many of those people would never change their thoughts much past "freak." I'm not saying this is normal or good, but it is an interesting insight into the human condition and if that's what a person needs to get through the day without feeling like crap, I won't argue with it. It does freak me out that some of these people have images and love for underage imaginary characters. THAT freaks me out.

It still has discomforting elements for sure, if I met someone carrying around a body pillow I really don't know how I'd react. But I remember my imaginary worlds and friends and how comforting I found them. Then I grew up. It sounds like some of them were never shown HOW to grow up. Or maybe I'm completely wrong.

Hmmm...late night ramblings...

Origin of KKisms....(This is for you Tim)

So this was the suggestion of our lab post-doc. We've had a few times where I've come up with crazy revelations. Then one was posted on Gizmodo - a month after we'd discussed it in the lab. Sooo...Kkisms...random thoughts/ideas that pass my mind (don't expect to understand)

The thought? What happens of facebook/myspace/blogs/etc when we die?? Facebook's Answer So I guess leave your passwords to someone. (Update: Twitter's Non-answer)

Another lab thought. Why is St. Louis one of the worst cities in the US for allergies? My answer: It never gets cold enough to hard freeze which allows a lot more plants to live through the winter. Mold spores, pollinating plants, etc all survive. It also doesn't get hot enough to kill off a lot of stuff. It gets enough wet and still has the midwest awesome soil. This darn place is just too good for growing stuff and turning my bread into compost.

New favorite things? Yanko Design stuffs Awesome Stemware (If you are reading this and as are yet unaware...I LOVE glassware.) Awesome Watch Ooo...also LIGHTING!

More randomness to come...