Today a year ago Natalie and I were married. I think everyone that reads this blog was at the wedding and I think we all had a pretty good time. Celebrating our first anniversary, we [Nat] got off to a fast start when Stella and Phoebe woke us [her] up to get breakfast around 6:00 am. After a quick period of inactivity, the girls had enough by 7:15 and actively worked on getting us out of bed. Needing a good excuse to go get my wife flowers we agreed on me driving over to Panera [I needed gas] where I grabbed a dozen bagels, got gas, and some flowers.
The rest of the morning we have entertained ourselves in the romantic pursuit of gardening and weeding. The highlight of the morning had to be the 15 foot long branch that I cut off the maple tree that sits on our front lawn.
The rest of the day will have some fun activities. I am currently watching my Cowboys struggle against the lowly St. Louis Rams (0-3) while Nat goes out for a quick run. To finish up our day we will head out to a romantic dinner to The Mad Platter.
I want to finish this entry by saying thanks to all of you that were at the wedding last year. It was you all that made the wedding lots of fun.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Deadlines
A career doing bench science has a lot of benefits; somewhat flexible hours, casual atmosphere, intellectual stimulation, relatively stress free, etc. I also feel that us academic scientists live in a funny middle ground between being in college and being out there in the "real world", greatly due to the fact that we do our everyday work at universities where we get flooded by the collegiate enthusiasm that can only be fully experienced by being in campus. Another aspect that is very different from most jobs is the concept of deadlines.
We do have deadlines in science, especially when it comes to the dates when our grants -basically a written work explaining why our work is important, why it should be funded- need to be submitted to the specific agencies (e.g. NIH). Unfortunately scientific research can have no sense of time and predicting when an experiment will work, never mind if it will work at all, can be anything but trivial. It is indeed when these two world converge, the grant deadline with the scientific experiment needed for said grant, that trouble arises.
I bring this up because our group is submitting a grant to the NIH this November. My boss would like for me to provide one piece of data for the part of the grant by the deadline. While I have been trying to get this piece of data for about 3 weeks , I have not been able to obtain the result that we expect given our previous evidence. This leaves me in a place where it is possible that no matter how hard I work I will be left, in the end, with no data to provide my boss four our grant submission.
The interesting thing about this is that this is the norm rather than the exception in bench science. While a rough time line can be developed, it is usually the case that things don't turn out as planned and the time line is scrapped from early on in the project. This is relevant for many reasons. An important one is in vaccine development. We all frequently hear news bits about vaccines, notably HIV vaccines, that fail clinical trials. Predicting when a vaccine will be available to the public is almost impossible. Even in the writing of scientific grants, one is expected to write a possible time line for the proposed scientific experiments, yet this timeline is likely to not hold up as one never knows of the holdups in the process. We have also heard, and some of us experienced, the varying levels of time it takes to finish graduate school. This variability has a lot to do with the time it takes for experiments turning out a positive outcome.
In the end, the one thing that always holds true is that science knows now deadlines.
We do have deadlines in science, especially when it comes to the dates when our grants -basically a written work explaining why our work is important, why it should be funded- need to be submitted to the specific agencies (e.g. NIH). Unfortunately scientific research can have no sense of time and predicting when an experiment will work, never mind if it will work at all, can be anything but trivial. It is indeed when these two world converge, the grant deadline with the scientific experiment needed for said grant, that trouble arises.
I bring this up because our group is submitting a grant to the NIH this November. My boss would like for me to provide one piece of data for the part of the grant by the deadline. While I have been trying to get this piece of data for about 3 weeks , I have not been able to obtain the result that we expect given our previous evidence. This leaves me in a place where it is possible that no matter how hard I work I will be left, in the end, with no data to provide my boss four our grant submission.
The interesting thing about this is that this is the norm rather than the exception in bench science. While a rough time line can be developed, it is usually the case that things don't turn out as planned and the time line is scrapped from early on in the project. This is relevant for many reasons. An important one is in vaccine development. We all frequently hear news bits about vaccines, notably HIV vaccines, that fail clinical trials. Predicting when a vaccine will be available to the public is almost impossible. Even in the writing of scientific grants, one is expected to write a possible time line for the proposed scientific experiments, yet this timeline is likely to not hold up as one never knows of the holdups in the process. We have also heard, and some of us experienced, the varying levels of time it takes to finish graduate school. This variability has a lot to do with the time it takes for experiments turning out a positive outcome.
In the end, the one thing that always holds true is that science knows now deadlines.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Sorry I have gone missing, but...
But I have been busy with my modeling career as a taco costume model. As you may imagine, with "Dia de los Muertos" coming up business is crazy right now. To top things off it has been somewhat busy at work, partly due to my inability to use silencing RNAs to knockdown expression of a gene of interest. Of course it just dawned on me that silencing technology and me must be the biggest scientific oxymoron in history. After all my middle name is Chatter Box.
On a semi-serious note, I do want give big kudos to a middle-aged lady that we see every morning on our way to work in a nearby road. Every morning we see her on her jogging attire power-walking with a grocery store bag where she puts an assortment of trash that litters the roads she walks on. Needless to say, she does this without a thank you from anyone and does a great service to the neighborhood. While I am sure she will never read this I want to send an electronic Thank You to you for your unselfish behavior and may you get many years of good karma.
On a semi-serious note, I do want give big kudos to a middle-aged lady that we see every morning on our way to work in a nearby road. Every morning we see her on her jogging attire power-walking with a grocery store bag where she puts an assortment of trash that litters the roads she walks on. Needless to say, she does this without a thank you from anyone and does a great service to the neighborhood. While I am sure she will never read this I want to send an electronic Thank You to you for your unselfish behavior and may you get many years of good karma.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Farming
Some time ago Nate recommended that I read Collapse by Jared Diamond. I started the book while we were in Pittsburgh and I must say that I am impressed, and overwhelmed, so far. The first chapter of the book, covering the environmental, social, and economic difficulties of the state of Montana is incredibly interesting.
One part I thought was incredibly interesting was the complications associated with farming. Now, I have heard about pesticides and fertilizer run-offs polluting the water supply but Diamond also talks about weeds, salt content, crop types, and other factors that can greatly influence the fertility of the soil as well as the surrounding water supply and environment. I guess what I am trying to say is that I never thought about how complicated farming can be. Farming is not only about growing your crops and making sure the area you farm is well taken care of, but also involves minimizing the effects of farming on the surrounding environment.
I bring this up because Nat and I like to grow vegetables and spices in a small plot in our yard and I have been thinking about starting such a plot in our new house. When planning out what it would take to set up the plot my main concern was about what I could add to the clay-rich soil we have in our backyard to foment the growth of our crops. My thought process never took into account that tilling the soil, or planting certain crops, or even introducing certain crops could result into irreversible or damaging effects to our surrounding environment.
Furthermore, it made me realize that while I always thought that the study of the environment was complicated, I greatly underestimated how complicated environmental interactions really are. Forget global warming, how about we try to figure out how to not exterminate everything in our sights as we continue to build suburbs everywhere we can.
One part I thought was incredibly interesting was the complications associated with farming. Now, I have heard about pesticides and fertilizer run-offs polluting the water supply but Diamond also talks about weeds, salt content, crop types, and other factors that can greatly influence the fertility of the soil as well as the surrounding water supply and environment. I guess what I am trying to say is that I never thought about how complicated farming can be. Farming is not only about growing your crops and making sure the area you farm is well taken care of, but also involves minimizing the effects of farming on the surrounding environment.
I bring this up because Nat and I like to grow vegetables and spices in a small plot in our yard and I have been thinking about starting such a plot in our new house. When planning out what it would take to set up the plot my main concern was about what I could add to the clay-rich soil we have in our backyard to foment the growth of our crops. My thought process never took into account that tilling the soil, or planting certain crops, or even introducing certain crops could result into irreversible or damaging effects to our surrounding environment.
Furthermore, it made me realize that while I always thought that the study of the environment was complicated, I greatly underestimated how complicated environmental interactions really are. Forget global warming, how about we try to figure out how to not exterminate everything in our sights as we continue to build suburbs everywhere we can.
Monday, September 10, 2007
The Price of Health
As many of you know, Nat and I flew up north to visit her folks and brother in Pittsburgh. Nat's dad has been going through the rigors of chemotherapy after he was diagnosed with colon cancer. Thankfully, although he has lost a ton of weight due in part to the chemo and in part to a strong dose of antibiotics to treat an infection he looked in great spirits. It is pretty crazy to think that the body can handle the abuse of chemo and still function somewhat ok. After all, the treatment targets actively dividing cells and there are lots of those in the body.
One aspect of the treatment that cannot be underscored enough is the incredible cost. Medical bills for the hospital stays, surgeries, treatments, drugs, and apparatus that are needed for all of this to work pile up incredibly fast. If I recall correctly, the cost of each treatment of chemo, of which there is going to be between 8 and 12, costs upwards of $10,000 (I think the actual figure is 12-16K). Since all of this started the medical bills have been upwards of $160,000!!! Thankfully, my in-laws have medical insurance in the form of Medicare as well as Medi-gap. What this means is that bills that would have otherwise bankrupted them are manageable and allow them to focus on the task of getting healthy again rather than worrying about the bills.
On the other hand, there are lots of people out there that do not have the luxury of medical insurance and are left with bills that will basically ruin their financial future. Where I understand that people worry that having nationwide health insurance may lead to abuse of the system, I find it hard to understand how people can so easily place a dollar value on someone's health. Yes, nationwide health insurance will undoubtedly lead to some people abusing the system, but the cost of such cases will be spread over such a large number of people (taxpayers) that the hit will be minute.
For those arguing that the quality of health care will be affected, I would like to point to several European countries that have excellent health care while still having nationwide coverage for their citizens. Furthermore, the rich can still pay for private health care if they choose so. And if this is too much of a stretch, how about at least guaranteeing that every child is at least covered? Is there any reason why a kid should not receive health care?
I just hope that when people hit the ballot boxes they vote based on principles rather than blindly based on party lines. There are as many good and bad Democrats as Republicans as Independents out there.
One aspect of the treatment that cannot be underscored enough is the incredible cost. Medical bills for the hospital stays, surgeries, treatments, drugs, and apparatus that are needed for all of this to work pile up incredibly fast. If I recall correctly, the cost of each treatment of chemo, of which there is going to be between 8 and 12, costs upwards of $10,000 (I think the actual figure is 12-16K). Since all of this started the medical bills have been upwards of $160,000!!! Thankfully, my in-laws have medical insurance in the form of Medicare as well as Medi-gap. What this means is that bills that would have otherwise bankrupted them are manageable and allow them to focus on the task of getting healthy again rather than worrying about the bills.
On the other hand, there are lots of people out there that do not have the luxury of medical insurance and are left with bills that will basically ruin their financial future. Where I understand that people worry that having nationwide health insurance may lead to abuse of the system, I find it hard to understand how people can so easily place a dollar value on someone's health. Yes, nationwide health insurance will undoubtedly lead to some people abusing the system, but the cost of such cases will be spread over such a large number of people (taxpayers) that the hit will be minute.
For those arguing that the quality of health care will be affected, I would like to point to several European countries that have excellent health care while still having nationwide coverage for their citizens. Furthermore, the rich can still pay for private health care if they choose so. And if this is too much of a stretch, how about at least guaranteeing that every child is at least covered? Is there any reason why a kid should not receive health care?
I just hope that when people hit the ballot boxes they vote based on principles rather than blindly based on party lines. There are as many good and bad Democrats as Republicans as Independents out there.
Monday, September 3, 2007
I have a dream
Continuing with the baby theme that seems to be running amongst the readers and writers of blogs, I had a dream last night about a baby, a human one this time, being in our midst. While I don't recall the entire dream, I remember the best part. That is, I was pushing a stroller and suddenly I paused and peeked inside it. In the strolled there was a baby, which in the dream I knew was mine. The baby looked fairly normal except that it had quite a bit of thick hair and a pair of thick sideburns. When I say sideburns, I mean Elvis, the 70s, Jemaine (see below and please see The Flight of the Conchords on HBO or You Tube).
All I need is Aaron to dig up his dream book and translate this dream for me. Mexican baby with a lot of hair and chops. I am sure this means that my kid is going to be musical.
Saturday, September 1, 2007
Burn baby, burn!
What happens if you grab a bottle of very hot agar with a paper towel and you stupidly swirl it to make sure that it has all melted?
Even better than the huge blister was getting a phone call from our neighbor to let me know that the old owner of the house, the racist ones that live down the street, are complaining about the look of our new fence. Apparently the lattice atop the old fence does not qualify as visually pleasing to her so she is thinking about sending an "anonymous" complaint to the home owner's association. I have not seen the by laws but I sure hope that they can tell me exactly what a pretty fence is supposed to look like.
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