o, stanada!

Springtime in Calgary

2008-04-21T21:00:00.002-06:00

I'm not joking here. This is the view out my window a few hours ago, around 5pm, on April 21, 2008. The high temperature today was around -10C (17F) with a windchill that made it about -18C (0F). It's been snowing off and on for about 3 days now. What the hell was I thinking moving to Canada??? It's spring, and it's still cold!!!

f

2008-04-20T20:56:00.001-06:00

fuck the pope.

stock market prediciton for monday morning

2008-03-16T21:43:00.002-06:00

hahaha... are there people out there that make money making predictions about the stock market? yes, i think there are.

it is now sunday night for the US. but in asia, it's monday morning, and the markets are tanking bad. in a few more hours, the european markets open and it's gonna be ugly.

sidenote: i've heard that st. patricks's day is not a big deal in ireland. weird, eh?

the european markets will open down, reflecting the asian markets. but first thing in the morning, the US Fed will make some decision, some kind of statement. look for a dump of more money into the system (i.e. inflation), and a cut in rates. the markets will take some encouragement from thinking the Fed is paying attention and will do the 'right think', whatever that might be. it doesn't really matter at this point. and the market will try to at least level off, but will sink again.

tomorrow, people with liquidity will see deals they've just got to grab. and it might be a smart move even though things haven't bottomed out yet, because on the other side of this cycle, their buys will look good, nice margin.

this is fun. if i'm right about any of this, i'm half-interested in trying to play along. but i doubt it'll be as much fun as playing poker with the crew.

vote for mccain?

2008-03-16T20:26:00.003-06:00

As the US economy takes a tough turn (check out JPMorgan purchasing Bear Stearns for 2$/share), would it be better if Republicans stay in office so that it is clear that they are incompetent at everything?

I started thinking about this because if Obama or Hillary win, they are walking into a world of shit; with Iraq, maybe Iran, Afghanistan, potentially turbulent Pakistan, NAFTA issues, the economy, which is not just the subprime issues, decline of the dollar, the fact that the US is not the largest economy in the world anymore (15-country Euro-zone, consider falling value of the US dollar, had the world's largest GDP last quarter), illegal wire-tapping, and it goes on and on...

given all that (and more), who would want to be president right now???

maybe it would actually be better to watch McCain crushed under it all. might even be fun to see.

Mmm... tastes like primitive RNA perhaps?

2008-03-12T23:25:00.003-06:00

I am so thankful to have to some friends who are dorky enough to appreciate this too. link

End of dodgeball season

2008-03-12T23:06:00.001-06:00

Tonight we played our last dodgeball game for this season. It was a lot of fun, and it's got my psyched for the upcoming ulti season! Yay!

the stars and moon look amazing tonight.

Stock market and inflation

2008-03-12T13:30:00.005-06:00

i'm an aspiring amateur economist sometimes...

the dow jones industrial average gained over 440 points yesterday; one of the largest point increases in a single day. wow! right? good news? maybe not. the headline misses the point that the reason that there was this huge stock market jump is that the Fed Reserve bank has been auctioning money to banks for a few weeks and more importantly, dropped 200 billion dollars into circulation yesterday. just a number right?

200,000,000,000.00 US$

so the Fed drops a big chunk into the money supply and that relieves a short-term credit crunch and the stock market takes off. the funny thing is that this affects the cost of oil, which also set a record yesterday...

oil is traded in US dollars. and the value of the dollar has been sliding compared to the Euro, Canadian dollar, Swiss Franc, etc. and when the Fed prints a whole bunch of US dollars and drops it into the money supply, one side effect is that all the dollars that were already out there are worth a little bit less. so now, oil looks more expensive, and it is, but a part of the increased cost of a barrel of oil, which hit 108$, reflects the decreasing value of the US dollar. the long- term effect will be that US dollars aren't worth as much as they used to be, so everything starts getting more expensive too quickly. and all the money that people have saved or in the stock market isn't worth that much anymore. and that is more-or-less a definition of inflation.

over the next few months, watch for big banks and whether they make their margin calls. they will, but it will also make them nervous, and big, nervous banks will make the markets volatile. second, watch the credit rating of bond insurers like MBIA and AMBAC; if their credit ratings tank, or drop significantly from their triple A status, a lot of bond holders realize they might just be holding pieces of paper pretty soon, and may start to drop them for cheap to cut their losses.

it's not about the subprime mortgage stuff, that was just a trigger for a lot of inter-connected pieces...

Update: Oil passes 110$/barrel...

Update 2: To put oil prices in perspective, 1 year ago, a barrel was ~60$.

Honestly...

2008-03-12T13:01:00.005-06:00

Okay, back to Spitzer since it's the headline... still...oy

Sounds like these prostitutes were fuckin' (no pun intended) expensive. Like 5,500$ and hour! If only science paid like that. Honestly, I can't imagine how good these women have to be for that kind of money. And he went back to them for repeat business, so they must have been good... real good.

on a completely unrelated topic...

Universities are pretty good for free food. Seminars, trade shows, lunch time talks, it's all just sitting there for the taking. And if you don't mind a few dirty looks, you can just have whatever you want. Sodas, muffins, pizza, cookies, sandwiches, chips, beer, anything...

oh yeah, i read Evasion again. Being 'homeless', sleeping in abandoned houses, shoplifting and eating out of dumpsters sounds like a wonderful life. :) and some people might read that and think I'm being sarcastic, but then people read this actually know me, and realize i'm being sincere.

Last Sunday I rode my bike around and took pictures... this is about 2 blocks away from my house. btw, i'm moving next month to a new flat.

Spitzer

2008-03-10T13:30:00.003-06:00

The governor of New York apparently got busted for hiring a prostitute.

Who cares? What's really wrong with prostitution?

Which makes me wonder why some women are prostitutes. If it's to support a drug addiction, then she needs help with drug issues, making prostitution illegal doesn't help. If her prostitution is a reflection of some previous physical or sexual trauma, maybe she needs help with those issues, which is up to her, obviously. So, I think that if she understands what she is doing, and takes some reasonable steps to protect both the prostitute's and client's health, then I think prostitution should be totally legal.

What Spitzer says to his wife... that's between them, and I imagine it'd be rough.

Forgiveness

2007-09-12T11:44:00.001-06:00

Its easier to get forgiveness than permission.

Real good radio

2007-09-10T16:40:00.000-06:00

Ongoing History of New Music. It covers a lot of different subjects, lots of great music and so good! On the website, there are links to all the old episodes. I just finished listening to the Tool series. The Outsiders show is also really good.

Working backwards

2007-09-02T18:36:00.000-06:00

The philosophical elements of Fight Club were not created de novo. Rather Fight Club's roots draw from stories like Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury. How did I not know this before?

The overt political statement of 451 is clear and motivating. And even though the political and social implications are thought-provoking, in parallel with this overt theme is an underlying critique of human interactions, trust, emotions and the distance between us. This space between us (LOA).

Ulti

2007-08-28T23:13:00.000-06:00

Our 5-on-5 scrimmage tonight, resulting from our opponents not showing up, turned out to be one of my favorite games of the season. :)

No.

2007-08-28T23:06:00.000-06:00

Hahaha! When she said she had to clean her bathroom when you wanted to hang out, that meant 'no.'

If no one reads your blog...

2007-08-27T13:52:00.000-06:00

I think no one reads my blog anymore. Not to say that's good or bad, just a fact. Its kind of like 'if a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound' kind of situation. I wonder what kind of stuff I could/would start writing if I were to assume that no one would ever read it. Like writing in a private journal. Do people who keep a diary go back and re-read parts of their lives? Maybe. I'm not sure... maybe I should start one. Maybe not.

Fight Club

2007-08-27T10:35:00.001-06:00

EXT. CONVENIENCE STORE - NIGHT

Tyler and Jack cross the parking lot, towards the convenience store. Jack wears a BACKPACK.

TYLER
Stop for a second.

JACK
Hey, what are we doing?

TYLER
Turn around.

JACK
What are we doing?

Tyler takes the BACKPACK, unzips it, searching contents.

TYLER
Homework assignment.

JACK
What kind of homework assignment?

Tyler takes out a HANDGUN, hands the backpack back.

TYLER
Human sacrifice.

JACK
Hey, is that a gun? Please, please tell me that's not a gun!

TYLER
It's a gun.

JACK
What are you doing?

TYLER
Meet me in the back.

JACK
No, no, don't fuck around.

TYLER
Meet me in the back.

Tyler goes inside the store and Jack runs back.

JACK
Fuck.

JACK (V.O.)
On a long enough time line, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero.

EXT. BEHIND THE CONVENIENCE STORE - MOMENTS LATER

THE BACK DOOR opens and Tyler brings the store's CLERK out at gunpoint, forces him to his knees. Jack is already there, freaked. Tyler points the gun at the Clerk's head.

JACK
What are you doing? Come on...

TYLER
(to the clerk)
Hands behind the back.

JACK
God!

TYLER
(to the clerk)
Give me your wallet.

The Clerk fumbles his wallet out of his pocket and Tyler snatches it. Tyler pulls out the DRIVER'S LICENSE.

TYLER
Raymond K. Hessel. 1320 SE Benning, apartment A. Small, cramped basement apartment, Raymond?

RAYMOND
How'd you know?

TYLER
Because they give shitty basement apartments letters instead of numbers. Raymond, you are going to die.

RAYMOND
No,...

Tyler rummages through the wallet.

TYLER
Is that your mom and dad? Mom and dad will have to call kindly dr. so-and-so to dig up your dental records, do you wanna know why? Because there won't be nothing left of your face.

RAYMOND
Oh...

JACK
Aw, come on!

Raymond begins to weep, shoulders heaving.

TYLER
An expired community student ID! What did you study, Raymond?

RAYMOND
S-s-s-stuff...

TYLER
Stuff? Where the mid-terms hard?

Tyler rams the gun barrel against Raymond's temple.

TYLER
I asked you what you studied.

RAYMOND
Biology, mostly.

TYLER
Why?

RAYMOND
I don't know...

TYLER
What did you wanted to be, Raymond K. Hessel?

Raymond weeps and says nothing. Tyler COCKS the gun. Raymond GASPS.

TYLER
The question, Raymond, is what did you want to be?

JACK
Answer, Raymond! Jesus!

RAYMOND
Veterinarian! Veterinarian!

TYLER
Animals.

RAYMOND
Yeah, animals and s-s-s....

TYLER
--Stuff, yeah I got that. That means you have to get more schooling.

RAYMOND
Too much school.

TYLER
Would you rather be dead? Would you rather die? Here? On your knees? In the back of a convenient shop?

RAYMOND
Nooo!

Tyler UNLOCKS the gun, lowers it.

TYLER
I'm keeping your license. I'm going to check on you. I know where you live. If you aren't back in school and on your way to being a veterinarian in six weeks, you will be dead. Now run on home.

Tyler throws him his wallet. Raymond takes it, staggers to his feet and heads down an alleyway, running.

TYLER
Run, Forrest, run!

JACK
I feel ill.

TYLER
Imagine how he feels.

JACK
Come on, this isn't funny! That wasn't funny! What the fuck was the point of that?

TYLER
Tomorrow will be the most beautiful day in Raymond K. Hessel's life. His breakfast will taste better than any meal you and I have ever tasted.

Tyler throws the gun back to Jack and walks away.

JACK (V.O.)
You had to give it to him.

TYLER
Come on.

JACK (V.O.)
He had a plan. And it started to make sense in Tyler sort of way. No fear. No distractions.

Jack pulls the trigger -- CLICK. Empty.

JACK (V.O.)
The ability to let that which does not matter truly slide.

Close one.

2007-08-23T17:08:00.000-06:00

Why can't some things just be simple?

A lesson learned from Vietnam

2007-08-22T17:03:00.000-06:00

Ah! Honestly! Bush gave a speech today, and in that speech Bush drew the conclusion that the US should have stayed longer in Vietnam. Its so sad; not just that he's retarded, but that people are dying because he's so stupid.

Pickup lines

2007-08-22T16:56:00.000-06:00

"That shirt looks good on you, but it would look even better stuffed into the neck of a vodka bottle and flung burning through our office building's window. Let's fucking do it and never look back."

From xkcd.com

Time

2007-08-22T16:32:00.000-06:00

A lot of time can go by... and I get the idea that how I mark time, like by the last time I posted a blog, is a lousy way to measure how much time has gone by.

So, it has been a long time.

I've been in Calgary about 9 months. I've got lots of data, I'm so happy with my lab (is it not my new lab anymore?), I've met a lot of people that I like here, I play the blues on Saturday afternoons, I like to play video games, I got my own grant, I've re-discovered the Beatles, I went on a cruise to Alaska, I've still got a mohawk, what else can I say?

Psycho-kinesis?

2007-04-06T13:46:00.000-06:00

How many of you believe in psycho-kinesis? Raise my hand.

Remember, half the people you know are below average.

Inside every older person is a younger person wondering what happened.

No problem, right?

2007-04-06T11:04:00.000-06:00

I have to write something. So these British soldiers that were held by Iran for about 2 weeks are home safe and sound now; a lousy situation, with a reasonably good conclusion, considering the possible bad ways it could have gone.

Now these British soldiers are saying they were subjected to isolation and were blindfolded. That sucks. Chances are they will be ok, but really, the treatment they endured seems like some small measure of torture doesn't it? Imagine if they were held longer, more isolated, maybe to the point of serious sensory deprivation, or profound sleep deprivation, what if they were 'water-boarded' or sexually abused? What if no one was allowed any contact with them, family or lawyers? What if they were held for years and not even charged with any crime? What if the Iranians decided that even though these people are innocent, that they were now so anti-Iranian because of their detainment, that they could never be released? Would that upset everyone?

We'd have to say that it's all ok because thats what the US is doing to prisoners right now.

Fleeing the Tiger

2007-04-06T11:00:00.000-06:00

From Renegade Zen.

One day while walking through the wilderness a man stumbled upon a vicious tiger. He ran but soon came to the edge of a high cliff.
Desperate to save himself, he climbed down a vine and dangled over the fatal precipice. As he hung there, two mice appeared from a hole in the cliff and began gnawing on the vine.

Suddenly, he noticed on the vine a plump wild strawberry. He plucked it and popped it in his mouth. It was incredibly delicious!

Exactly.

2007-04-05T19:31:00.000-06:00

This bumper sticker cracked me up. For sale at cafepress.com. (I'm not here to sell stuff.)

Live bookmarks

2007-04-05T10:20:00.000-06:00

I'm getting old. As evidence, I'm not as good with computers as I used to think I was. This is my test to see if I have my Live Bookmarks working right...

Impasse

2007-03-12T13:03:00.000-06:00

I have no idea who took this picture of us playing at a big alternative-type street fair in Baltimore; probably from our tour in the summer of 1999.

War vs. The Joshua Tree

2007-03-11T17:26:00.000-06:00

Which is the better U2 album: War, released in 1983, their third album; or The Joshua Tree, released in 1987. Do any of their albums rank above these two? (Beans, I'm hoping to hear from you on this one.)

Update: First of all, I know its ridiculous to judge an album by the "singles" on the album. The release of a single and its promotion seems to me to be almost entirely a marketing decision rather than an artistic statement by the musicians. Given that premise, War had two singles (Sunday Bloody Sunday and New Year's Day) compared to The Joshua Tree's three (Where the Streets Have No Name, A Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, and With or Without You).
Did U2 write songs that were included on the Joshua Tree with a more commercial mentality? Were the producers (Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno) more commercially-minded? Probably not, but the Eno-esque keyboards that open the album and segue into Where The Streets Have No Name is such an obvious give away to the ambient soundscape style that is Eno's signature, that I think it was placed there on purpose.

Sick but funny

2007-03-11T14:40:00.000-06:00

Here are some samples from Bunny Suicides. But now I'm scared. I found this site through Stumble Upon, and that suggests that there are other people out there in the world that also found this site and liked it and I have something in common with them.

Holy bad blogger, batman...

2007-03-11T13:20:00.000-06:00

And it's not because I haven't been doing anything. Since the last time I posted...

I went to my first Flames game here at the Saddledome, in downtown Calgary with Alana.

*** Random note, I totally forgot the Henry Rollins did a cameo vocal appearance on the song Bottom by Tool on their album Undertow (1993), thanks for reminding me Pandora; and Maynard doing vox on RATMs first album, who's members later formed Audioslave with Chris Cornell, from Soundgarden of course, bet less known for his Temple of the Dog connection which leads to Mother Love Bone and one more tragic heroin overdose... how far can the connections extend?***

The Flames game was awesome. I got tickets from Michelle in lab. She and her husband have season tickets to some decent seats. They are in the nosebleeds, but really that's the only way to get Flames tickets, find a season holder and see if they are willing to part with a pair.

I've been snowboarding in Banff mostly every weekend. I took this weekend off because it was way too warm. I'm hoping it gets cold again and we get more snow so I can hit the hill. Allegedly, it could get up to 20 C (68 F)this today or tomorrow and that is just ridiculous. I want more snow!!! Jamie (Ian's finace) came out to Norquay last time, and it was a lot of fun. After snowboarding we went to Banff to get some dinner and we bought blocks of fudge from the candy store, so good. I recommend the Devil's Food (because its from satan).

I tried baking more. I made a mint chocolate chip cheesecake.
It came out ok I guess. Alana and her mom liked it good enough. But I thought it was too minty and not enough chocolate. What should the next one be? Any suggestions?

I've been hanging out with Sravan and his family a bit too. Its real cute when their kid who only knows a few words and is just learning to walk knows who I am and asks if I'm coming to visit "Stan car" when the weekend comes. btw, how does a kid that young have any idea about a weekly rhythm?

Last Monday night I joined the Calgary Hash House Harriers. I immediately found an older guy who used to be with Black Sheep in Atlanta. Crazy. The trail was ok, mostly all road, no shiggy unless well-camouflaged ice counts, and it was a spirited singing hash, which was awesome. ON-ON!!! And congrats to the newly-named Bloody Useless.

Yesterday I finally got a Flames jersey. No name/number yet. Hopefully I can get it done before playoffs start. Last night we celebrated Alana's 21st birthday. I didn't realize how young she is, and how impressive it is that she is so mature and responsible for any age. We went to Schank's North to party and watch the Flames game (see a pattern developing?). Here are a couple pics:

Alana putting a birthday hat on Brandon.

Jason clearly saying something important.
Alex and her crew.Alex and I are going to the Flames game on Monday night. We don't know each other so well yet, but she likes hockey, used to live in Ethiopia and seems like a really cool girl so far, so that's a start.

Stupid daylight savings. Its almost 2 in the afternoon and I'm still around the house in my bath robe. I've got an urge to go buy all of U2s old albums I can find, but I don't know why.

(Note to me: pre-emptive drama strike.)

Lab is going ok. I had a good meeting with Patrick, Quentin and Abdeslam to talk about our side project from a previous grad student's work. If only I could get a few more Hb9/eGFP+ animals. Stupid probability in genetics. I got some potentially interesting stuff on persistent inward currents.

ok. bye bye.

Shift

2007-02-26T20:12:00.000-07:00

I thought this short had some thought-provoking points. I don't believe it at the end considering brain and computer processing power, but the rest of it was interesting.

Baking a cake

2007-02-23T23:55:00.000-07:00

Last week it occurred to me that I had never baked a cake. I know, that's kind of random, but I really have no idea why this idea was in my head. So tonight I baked a cake. Chocolate cake. :)

Electronics comic

2007-02-23T00:23:00.000-07:00

*Nerd Alert*

And no, its not the kind of bad joke I like to tell, like "This jumper cable walks into a bar..."

This is much better, once more from xkcd.

On-On!

2007-02-19T19:49:00.000-07:00

I got in contact with the Calgary Hash House Harriers; they run every Monday night. I'm looking forward to joining, I haven't been hashing in months! ...Head? Who said head?... ON-ON!

And today was a holiday here called Family Day in the Province of Alberta only. It makes the only three-day weekend in February which is nice. The history of Family Day is that the Premier of Alberta, Don Getty, declared it in 1990 after his son was arrested for cocaine possession. I think Getty was a smart politician in this case because when it happened he said that he had been neglecting his family, and so he made a new holiday for people to spend time with their families. Its kind of funny that Family Day is only in Alberta, and the rest of Canada has a regular work day.

Snowboarding in Banff

2007-02-18T16:31:00.000-07:00

I finally made it to Banff to go snowboarding! My housemate, Alana and I went to Mt. Norquay which is inside Banff National Park. On the way in, I bought an annual pass so now I can get into all the National Parks in Canada for free. Norquay is pretty close to the town of Banff; it took us about an hour and a half to get there from Calgary. Unfortunately, it was a bit overcast when we got there, and I didn't want to bring my camera up on the hill anyway, so I didn't take any pictures myself, but here are a few pictures of the place I found on the internets...
Here's a map of the trails at Norquay. It's kind of a small set of trails compared to other places in Banff (e.g. Lake Louise and Sunshine), but it was more than enough for me. I stuck to the green runs, and it was still challenging enough for me.I'm still learning, and I've got the bruises to show it this time. I wiped out a few times, and my new helmet has got a few dents in it now. Better than my head I guess. And besides, I have to protect my brain because I'm not getting by on looks. I got a few turns put together, but I've got a long way to go. Alana was helping me out, giving me pointers, which helps me a lot.

When we took a break in the lodge, a woman came by and asked us if the seats were free, a very polite thing to do, and she said it with a notable German accent, so I started talking to her and her husband in German. It was fun, she told me they were from Southern Germany, I told them I lived in Basel for a while. I threw in a few Swiss words and we all laughed about it. I miss Switzerland.

After snowboarding, we briefly cruised though downtown Banff. It's a cute little ski town, but since Alana and I were both beat, we headed home soon after. I'm a bit sore in a few places...

Warm?

2007-02-15T00:00:00.000-07:00

You know it's been cold when you're leaving lab, it's -3C/27F, and it feels oddly warm, almost balmy!

Hitting the hill

2007-02-13T21:27:00.000-07:00

Its been a while, eh?

Since my last post...

I cracked my ribs while snowboarding. I was being brave and showed up early before my second set of lessons two weekends ago, and I thought I'd warm up, and go to the practice hill. That went fine, so I decided to try and string together a few turns; toe-side to heel-side works fine for me, going the other way, heel-to-toe went bad and I went face/rib cage first into some hard-packed snow. It knocked the wind out of me, and I just laid there for a few minutes, but then I got up, walked it off, went down a few more times, then went to my lesson, and then went down the real hill a few times. And by then I thought I just pulled a muscle, not bad.

A few nights later though, I rolled over in my sleep and woke up because it hurt so bad. But that weekend I was going to Dayton, Ohio to do a few experiments with my PhD adviser, Tim Cope anyway, so I thought it was no big deal. I left Friday afternoon, and the plane was delayed leaving Calgary. But not because of weather, but because another captain in California called in sick at the last minute so it jammed up the whole program (all this according to our captain guy as we left Calgary hours late). I was making a connection in Chicago, and of course, I missed my connection, and that sucked, but I just catch the next one right? No. I got stuck in Chicago overnight, woke up super early the next morning and made it to Dayton. Paul picked me up from the airport and we went straight to the lab and got some of the data we needed.

Since the trip was messed up getting there, I didn't get enough sleep, and I'm in bad shape without enough sleep. So we postponed the Sunday experiment until Monday, and watched the Superbowl. Then we did another experiment on Monday, but I had to leave early in the experiment to catch my flight back to Calgary, but then...

wait for it...

The flight from Dayton to Chicago was delayed. I asked the guy at the terminal about making my connection, and he said not to worry because my flight out of Chicago was also delayed already. Well, he was half right because that flight was delayed, but I still missed it, so another night in Chicago, and the early flights to Calgary were full, so I finally got home to Calgary late Tuesday night. Oye. I was so happy when my car started at the Calgary Airport.

It is cold here. The high today was -21 C (-6 F) with overnight lows around -30 C (-22 F). But a Chinook is in the forecast, and we may get up to around 0 C (32 F) over the next day or so!!! I hope there's enough snow for the weekend...

I bought a snowboard this past weekend and I'm so excited to go this coming weekend, I haven't had a chance to hit the hills yet. Its a medium quality snowboard and bindings package (by Rossignol) and I decided to spend more to get really good snowboard boots that I liked, Vans. The boots are really comfortable, fit me well, and should be nice and warm. That's my board...
And this is my front yard when I walked outside (in a robe and slippers) a few minutes ago.Ok, back to it... I got figure legends to write for a new paper with Tim, I'm giving a journal club meeting on Friday afternoon and tomorrow I've got two Hb9-eGFP mice. I'm combining electrophysiology and fluorescence microscopy to target some interesting cells.

Canadian cultural experience

2007-01-31T21:46:00.000-07:00

I just went and bought a power cord, to plug in my car's engine block heater overnight, so that it can start in the morning. And its cold out there. Right now, only 23 F, but by tomorrow morning, its predicted to be -4 F (-17 C), and even to Canadians that is cold.

Patch-clamping and Maynard's poetry

2007-01-31T20:33:00.000-07:00

The best news of all is that I got a good patch-clamp recording last night. I got action potentials over 60 mV, and I wrote protocols to measure rheobase current and afterhyperpolarization time course. I can recognize the cell's capacitance and I know when I spontaneously go whole cell, which I was probably doing sometimes without knowing it. The real data is on its way, I just have to send in this fellowship application tomorrow.

This past weekend I bought a new guitar and it is sweet; with a fixed bridge so now I can do drop tunings. I also got my strat neck professionally heat-set, so now it should play so much better, I'll pick it up tomorrow.

What an amazing song from an incredible band.

"Maybe it takes longer to catch a total asshole. But I'm tired of waiting... Consequences dictate our course of action and it doesn't matter what's right. It's only wrong if you get caught."

Deep

2007-01-28T12:57:00.000-07:00

Randomly found this:

Yay snowboarding!

2007-01-28T12:42:00.000-07:00

I just got back from my "Next Step" snowboarding class at COP. I think I'm making pretty good progress, I can string together a couple turns now, though they aren't very pretty, make it down one of the real hills, and get on and off the ski lift without making a complete ass of myself. This time I fell a lot more than my last class, and I've got some sore muscles and bruises to show for it this time, but it is still so much fun.

So my next step is to go shopping for a board, bindings and boots. For now, I just need simple, general purpose equipment. What do you suggest Shelby?

In the meantime, I've got a fellowship proposal to finish writing and some reading. SCIENCE!!!

Not me (yet)...

Genius?

2007-01-27T23:29:00.000-07:00

Earlier tonight I went to Safeway (local chain grocery store). I bought a griddle, pancake mix, eggs, milk, and maple syrup. And the cashier asks me if I'm making pancakes...

I wanted to invite her over for a pancake dinner and ask her if it was a game she played, figuring out things about people based on what they buy, a game she plays just to pass the time because scanning people's groceries can't be the most intellectually-stimulating activity 8 hours per day. I wonder now if maybe she was saving up for a summer trip, maybe to Europe of Southeast Asia, maybe she was saving up for a car and maybe just chipping in to help her family pay the rent and bills.

Anyway, I'm going to my "Next Step" snowboarding lessons at Canada Olympic Park (COP) tomorrow morning. Its been oddly warm here in Calgary for the last few days, so the snow at COP will be made snow, not as nice as fresh, natural powder, but still it should be ok. My friend Ian from lab and maybe his fiance might join me, not sure yet. If those goes well, my next new toys will be a new snowboard, bindings and boots, then I'm off to Banff. (When are you guys coming to visit me: Shelby, Charles, Cami???)

The Promised Land (Lake Louise, in Banff National Park):

Snowboarding!!!

2007-01-21T12:04:00.000-07:00

I just got home from my first snowboarding lesson at Canada Olympic Park (COP). They have a program for people learning (i.e. me). Our super cute (Cary-ism) Aussie instructor, Megan was really cool. The lesson was 1.5 hours and included rental of equipment and a lift ticket for the day, for a good price. I had a great time, (Shelby- now I totally get how much addictive snowboarding is!) and I think snowboarding is so much easier than skiing. I wanted to keep going, but my legs are a bit sore; it seems like snowboarding uses different muscles than patch-clamp electrophysiology.

And I've heard that you can take bobsled/luge lessons as well at COP...

Yesterday I took Sravan and his family to do some shopping. One of the places we went to was Ikea in SE Calgary, and their new furniture is being delivered today, so I'm going to go help them get more set up. Alana's good karma in circulation.

Blogger evolution and short notes

2007-01-11T23:20:00.000-07:00

Well I finally did it; I upgraded to the new version of blogger. So far, it looks pretty much the same to me.

A new postdoc arrived in the lab, Sravan. He's from India and did his last postdoc in Japan for 2 years. He moved here with his wife and young child. I can hardly imagine what that is like.

I'm pretty well set up in my own little room in lab. Patrick jokes that he's going to put in padding on the walls (do I come off as crazy? I even have a normal-type haircut right now). Also, I'm buying Patrick's old (1996) Toyota Carolla. Its not exactly a chick magnet, but it is in good shape and will get me where I want to go (e.g. to Banff for snowboarding and relaxing in the natural hot springs).

Alana is still the best housemate anyone could ever hope for. I luck out once again.

I'm getting into the daily lab rhythm with the other people in lab, Ian and Michelle. We have lunch together with a few other people, and we have snack time together in the afternoon. So far no plans for nap time, but Hamish, a guy who works in a nearby lab thinks that would be the next thing to do.

That reminds me, I'm finding Doppelgangers. Hamish is like Dan McClatchy. He looks kind of the same, when Dan had long hair, last name begins with "Mc", and if you met them both, you would notice the resemblance not just in appearance, but also in personality.

Its freaking cold here. The other day, including windchill, it was -22 F. And that wind chill is for real. I'm adjusting, but still kind of being a baby about it.

I'm taking the mandatory animal care classes for the U of C (University of Calgary). They are boring and tedious, but I'm almost done.

I'm learning proper Canadian slang and usage, learning about hockey, and generally getting to like Calgary a whole lot already.

The God Delusion

2007-01-01T20:01:00.000-07:00

Earlier this evening I finished reading The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins (currently #3 on Amazon's best seller list). I enjoyed it, and I would recommend it; preferably with a few cups of tea, and if you are lucky, a housemate that randomly brings you a Boston Cream doughnut from Tim Hortons.

The book is philosophical and covers a range of subjects including the likelihood of god's existence, how religious indoctrination is child abuse, the alleged social and psychological usefulness of belief in a higher power, and the role (or lack thereof) for religion in morality. (I'll drop a hint on the last issue; athiests are less likely to cheat on exams or go to jail.)

*And Mother Teresa was a hypocrite with terrible judgement.*

Caution: Very dorky math comic

2007-01-01T19:57:00.000-07:00

From mathforlaughs:

Christmas with the fam

2007-01-01T19:44:00.000-07:00

I'm getting some of my entries mixed up in time order, but that's ok...

I spent Christmas with my mom, brother and sister this year; its the first time in 7 years we were all together. My family is not religious, but it was good to see them all at the same time, and Christmas provides the time off of work to do that.

Here's our Christmas tree. We almost got it for free, but the owner made it back to the lot just as we were about to pull away. A few minutes of indecision cost us 10$; still a good deal.

My brother and mom.

And my sister, at the Edmunds train station on her way back to Portland.

And I noticed for the first time that my sister and I have the same asymmetery in our eyes; is it genetic? And my brother and I are compulsive about checking that our doors are locked as we leave our places, even when we know that we locked the door; a genetic pre-disposition to mild OCD?

I had a good time hanging out with them. And it was a short enough visit that I don't think we bothered each other too much; at least no one bugged me.

Mele Kalikimaka to all y'all.

Hau'oli Makahiki Hou!

2007-01-01T19:28:00.000-07:00

Happy New Year everybody!

I'm a bit bummed that I didn't make it to Texel or Tennessee for a New Years Celebration with old friends, but I did have a good New Years here in Calgary with new people that I've met; Alana, Chris, Jason, Graham, and Mel. We went to a bar-party at an Irish pub called Dixon's. Its south of Calgary, and I'm starting to get an idea of just how big and sprawling Calgary is. We ate dinner, had a few drinks, watched the Flames game on tv (Calgary won 4-2 over our province-rivals Edmonton Oilers), and then waited for the clock to strike midnight while people-watching. I was feeling mellow, and became the de facto designated driver.

Ok, I have an old man thing to say. Time keeps going by faster and faster. 2007 already?!?! Does it every slow down, or does the next decade go by in a blur and then keep accelerating?

And why is Sweet Home Alabama as popular in Calgary, Canada as Basel, Switzerland? Not that many people have been to Alabama!!!

The Death Penalty

2006-12-30T10:54:00.000-07:00

Last night I read that Saddam Hussein was executed, and I started wondering about which countries in the world still have the death penalty. I know the US does. I also know that none of the countries in the EU have the death penalty. So I asked Alana about Canada, and she said no.

I found a list of the 131 countries that do not use the death penalty, either by law or by practice, but its a long list, so this is the shorter of the two lists, the 73 countries that DO have the death penalty.

Afghanistan
Antigua and Barbuda
Bahamas
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Barbados
Belarus
Belize
Botswana
Burundi
Cameroon
Chad
China (People's Republic)
Comoros
Congo (Democratic Republic)
Cuba
Dominica
Egypt
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Gabon
Ghana
Guatemala
Guinea
Guyana
India
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Jamaica
Japan
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Korea, North
Korea, South
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Laos
Lebanon
Lesotho
Libya
Malawi
Malaysia
Mongolia
Nigeria
Oman
Pakistan
Palestinian Authority
Qatar
Rwanda
St. Kitts and Nevis
St. Lucia
St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Saudi Arabia
Sierra Leone
Singapore
Somalia
Sudan
Swaziland
Syria
Taiwan
Tajikistan
Tanzania
Thailand
Trinidad and Tobago
Uganda
United Arab Emirates
United States
Uzbekistan
Vietnam
Yemen
Zambia
Zimbabwe

Or as a map, the pink color is where the death penalty is used, all the other colors are variations of no death penalty (i.e. abolished by law, abolished in practice, only for 'exceptional circumstances'):

I understand there are some sick people out there that do terrible things, but the death penalty is not the right response.

Is the death penalty a way for the government/state to impose the most extreme form of revenge on behalf of the victims? Is the death penalty a more terrible punishment than life in prison?

Was the execution of Hussein the "right" conclusion? No. And will Hussein's death itself necessarily set things right in Iraq? Of course not.

Am I asking myself questions like Rumsfeld? Sure. Does it come of as arrogant? You bet. Can I add one more picture to this post? Sure. I know where it is, to the south somewhat...

Rumsfeld and Hussein 19-20 Dec 1983...

Hallucinations

2006-12-29T10:31:00.000-07:00

From my favorite webcomic, xkcd:

Blog name and Seattle

2006-12-22T20:38:00.000-07:00

Ok, last post for a bit.

I gotta change the name of my blog. Wendy and Cami had the best ideas so far... I'll figure it out soon.

And I'm leaving for Seattle tomorrow to hang with the fam for Xmas. Then I'll be back in Calgary on the 26th.

I need to keep moving or they might catch me.

To Dayton, to Calgary

2006-12-22T20:21:00.000-07:00

The next morning, Anna drove me to Zurich (thank you Anna)! And we had gingerbread lattes at the airport.

Because of the weather, they had to change the plane's route. So instead of flying pretty much straight west, they took us much farther north to avoid the headwind coming over the Atlantic toward Europe. This added a good bit of time to the trip, in the end it took an extra 1.5 hours, and combined with the slight delay in Zurich, I arrived in Atlanta too late and missed my connection to Dayton, Ohio. One of the good things about the change was the beautiful view of the mountains and glaciers and northern Greenland.

Between Tim's house and THE Wright State, there is a farm house with a huge sign that says "Merry Christmas from the Zinks." Tim stopped so that I could try and take a picture, and I took a few, but none of them came out so well. Too bad. Here's one of the better ones.

On 18 Dec, I left Dayton, and flew to Calgary via Chicago. I sat next to a young woman on the plane who was on her way home from U of Louisville. She's on her way to becoming a professional golfer.

I landed in Calgary a bit stressed about getting my work visa on the spot. Turns out, there was practically no line, and it was no problem. I got through it all quickly, and Alana (my new housemate) was there to pick me up from the airport. By that afternoon, Alana got me hooked up with a bank account (she works at TD bank here), took me to the mall and I got a cell phone. The next day we went Ikea and got some stuff for the house including and desk and chair for me. She took me to get my SIN number (the Canadian equivalent of a Social Security number).

I went to lab the next day, and learned about my new microscope as the technician was setting it up. In between the set up I got a tour of the Health Sciences Center, the complex of buildings where my new lab is. My new lab is freaking awesome, and thing are going really well already. Alana is the best, most perfect person to meet if you move to a new city. I can hardly explain how fortunate I am. But I'll save some for later..

Bye bye Basel.

2006-12-22T20:05:00.000-07:00

We got our internet connection at my house here in Canada, so I can get back to blogging now for the first time in weeks.

Its kind of weird how out-of-touch I felt without a regular internet connection at home.

Ok, so I left Basel on Dec 7. Everything went fine with the moving and all, and though it was a stressful few days, everything got done just right.

On the night before I left, I emailed a bunch of the people I met there to come out to Cargo Bar for a few beers. Most of the pictures didn't come out so good because it was dark in there, but here are a few that were ok.

Betinna and Anna. (Swiss and French.)

Pedro and Andre. (Brazil and Aussie.)

Mittlerebruke with the Munster on the right.

Random Baselisk between Jun's place (thanks for dinner dude!!!) and Cargo Bar.

All the stuff I left Basel with. A suitcase full of clothes, my 60's reissue strat and my laptop computer in my backpack; along with a bottle of Glenrothes that never quite got finished.

More moving...

2006-12-06T07:31:00.000-07:00

More furniture is gone, Mathias and his friend came by earlier this afternoon and took a table and chairs.

Then there was the apartment inspection. I forgot to clean a few things, but it was minor, no problems. I think they choose people for that inspection job that will find something, even something small, that needs to be improved. Anyway, its done.

I got a few more things to move; the sofa in the lobby downstairs and the bed. Then dinner at Jun's! And then a few drinks with everybody at Cargo Bar. Crashing at Anna's tonight, and then she's taking me to Zurich in the morning. And then I'm on my way to Dayton, Ohio! Timmy!

I'm still stressed, but everything is coming together just fine.

Random pics:

Chillin' by the Rhine, feeding the birds and watching the sun.

The best of Swiss fast food. Döner Kepap from Sam's and a Green Tea Rivella (sort of like soda made from milk serum).

Käsefondue with Anna and Seb.

My sofa sitting in the apartment building lobby with a note (in German, written by DT) saying I promise to move it soon.

Cuban cigars.

Moving stress

2006-12-05T08:56:00.000-07:00

I almost done clearing out my flat here in Basel. I am so stressed about moving now, I hope things are going to go alright. I shipped out one box of books, and another is just about ready to send. Its a bit surreal to send a box of my stuff, to myself, to a place I've never been. When I get there will I still be me? (Have I watched Fight Club too many times?)

Tomorrow night a bunch of my friends here are getting together at a bar nearby, Cargo Bar. I actually organized a social activity, and people are joining in, yay!!!

Yesterday I went to the FMI to drop off my badge and sign out of my computer user account. As I was walking around one of the floors, trying to find the IT office, I heard someone say 'Stan?' from down a hallway I had just passed. It was Urszula, and she ran up to me and gave me a big hug. That's the best, when someone you haven't seen in a while is so happy to see you. I'm going to miss Basel a lot, the people and the city.

P.S. Time for a Tums.

Justin Timberlake

2006-12-03T02:22:00.000-07:00

I could almost become a 'JT' fan; from tmz.com:

****

Justin Timberlake was in West Hollywood over the weekend, waiting for his car at the Mondarin when he was asked, "Do you have anything to say about the recent divorce of Britney (Spears) and Kevin (Federline)?"

"Yeah, there's a war going on in Iraq."

****

Jolly and the Flytrap

2006-12-02T04:26:00.000-07:00

Last night I went out with Bettina and some more friends to see Jolly and the Flytrap. It was a really good show, I enjoyed it, and danced a lot. Only in Switzerland: a ska band from innen-Switzerland, with song lyrics in English and Italian, with comments in between songs in Swiss-German. One of their songs had a part that was almost yodeling.

And they all have super cool jackets.

Update: B told me that at the show there were a bunch of young children in the front that were dancing. Turns out, they are the children of the guys in the band. How cool is that? A show where you can bring your kids!

Casino Royale

2006-11-28T02:08:00.000-07:00

I went to see the new James Bond movie last night, Casino Royale, with a bunch of friends from my old lab here. It was good, but I got kind of confused at the end.

Without giving away too much, there is a part of the movie where they gamble for a lot of money. Since it's a lot of money, of course they have a Swiss banker to handle the money security and transfer. And which Swiss bank did they go to? The Basel Bank! Everyone in the audience cracked up.

How Americans will leave Iraq

2006-11-27T07:59:00.000-07:00

I was listening to The Young Turks on the radio this morning. One of the people from the show, Cenk Uygur, has the right answer to the question: "How will America will leave Iraq?" The answer is that America will leave Iraq with helicopters from rooftops, a reference of course to the Vietnam conflict.

This is a picture of Americans and Vietnamese refugees escaping Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City on 30 April 1975, marking the end of the conflict.

How can this be happening all over again? And when Bush was in Vietnam last week he said a lesson learned from the conflict, with relevance to the current war in Iraq, is "We'll succeed unless we quit." Does he honestly believe that America would have won in Vietnam if only the US military had stayed longer??? Who out there is still buying this line? It's sad that so many people on both sides have died. And it's time for the US to admit that they've lost another conflict, and now it's time to get out. Now.

The toys go winding down...

2006-11-26T12:57:00.000-07:00

Eric- I'm looking to you to get that lyrics reference (sans Google).

Anna stopped by after I watched Garden State this afternoon, and together we watched The Barber, which was really good to me. The French release of the film, the one we saw, was titled The Barber. In the US, this movie was called The Man Who Wasn't There. Anyway, it's a Coen Brother's film, with Billy Bob Thornton from 2001.

So as I'm getting ready to move to Calgary, I've got to get rid of all my stuff here, starting tonight. Anna took my tv, dvd player and a glass table. It's all going, the toys of winding down...

Movie time

2006-11-26T02:44:00.000-07:00

Since yesterday afternoon, I watched Fight Club, then Anna came over and we watched Gosford Park, The Truman Show, and Ocean's Eleven. I'm now thoroughly ready to get rid of my tv and dvd player.

Happy Turkey Day!

2006-11-23T02:55:00.000-07:00

Just kidding. That's the Turkish flag.

I got no plans for Thanksgiving this year, its obviously not a Swiss holiday. And memories of Turkey Day at Leah and Katrin's place, with a huge table of great friends and great food are making me smile right now.

And anyway, my head is into clearing out here in Switzerland and getting started in Calgary. I'm going through the process of ending contracts here, like my lease contract, health insurance, internet, and mobile (cell) phone. Its kind of a pain because all these companies want documentation that you are leaving, and that is the cantonal de-registration document (Abmeldebestätigung), and a signed letter stating that you are leaving.

I've been spending time relaxing and hanging out with people I will miss. I went climbing with Bettina the other day and then joined her and her housemates for dinner, mmm... sushi! A bunch of us from lab are going to see the new James Bond movie next week. Jun was over a few days ago and we watched Drawn Together episodes and had Chinese food. I'm thinking a bit about a good bye party at the Cargo Bar.

For Canada, I've found a housemate and I think we are going to get along well. Her name is Alana; she's a full time student at the U of Calgary and also works part time at a bank. She just bought a house right near the campus, which is where I will be working. I told her I'd bring Swiss chocolate and she offered to pick me up at the airport if she doesn't have a final exam at that time. So far, she and I are getting along real good via email. My new lab is going skiing on either the 22 or 23rd, and then I'm going to my mom's for Christmas.

After that, I need to figure out my New Years plans...

Origami artist

2006-11-20T07:56:00.000-07:00

Shortbus joins the blog family!

2006-11-15T16:44:00.000-07:00

Yay!!! Kim has joined the post-Emory blog family and that makes me really happy. She was my lab neighbor on the physiology floor, and luckily for me, she was never openly annoyed when I stopped in to look over her shoulder while she was doing experiments. Good luck with everything in Stockholm, Kim!

My Way

2006-11-15T06:46:00.000-07:00

This is the video for the song, originally by Frank Sinatra, covered here by Sid Vicious from the Sex Pistols, from the movie The Great Rock and Roll Swindle.

I don't know what it means

2006-11-13T16:47:00.000-07:00

but I think this short movie is beautiful:

Ciao.

Codependency

2006-11-11T02:46:00.000-07:00

Calgary's best kept secrets

2006-11-09T11:06:00.000-07:00

According to a weekly Calgary magazine called FFWD (looks something like Creative Loafing in the ATL), one of Calgary's best kept secrets is the heavy metal scene. Excellent...

Canadian plugs

2006-11-09T08:42:00.000-07:00

One of the nice things about Canada is that they apparentely use the same plugs, voltage and frequency as the US. So I don't have to buy new adapters for Canada!

International money

2006-11-09T07:32:00.000-07:00

Today I got some Canadian money from my bank here in Switzerland. On my way home, I realized that in my wallet, I now have Euros, Canadian dollars, Swiss Francs and US dollars. Not that this is a lot of money, it isn't. But I think its kind of interesting the way different countries and cultures use similar mechanisms to trade.

The invention of 'currency' must have been a huge step in human cultural evolution and perhaps exploitation. Does it rank up there with steps like agriculture, fire, animal domestication, the wheel, music, language, computers, et cetera?

Borat

2006-11-07T10:59:00.000-07:00

I saw the Borat movie last night. It was ok, but I was hoping for a lot more funny things to happen, so I was a bit disappointed. The extra good thing about watching it with European friends is I learned that Borat's typical greeting, 'Jagshemash' (Jak sie masz) is actually Polish, and the music is typical of the area of the former Yugoslavia; neither is Khazakhi.

Dziekuje!

New Canadian work visa procedure

2006-11-06T11:06:00.000-07:00

There is now a new Canadian work visa procedure. It is so new that the Canadian embassies in Paris and Berlin don't know about it yet, but my new lab leader got info that all I have to do is show up in Calgary with my passport, job offer letter, university transcript (to show that I'm qualified for the job), and the processing fee!

Incredibly, the rules changed and things got easier. I could leave tomorrow if I had to and I'd have all the paperwork I need. This is such a relief!!!

It looks like Calgary has a much better music scene than Basel and a few hashing clubs (ON-ON Snail-trail!). But it turns out that the drive to Vancouver/Seattle was farther than I first thought, but that's ok.

Certificate of Good Conduct

2006-11-06T03:55:00.000-07:00

Part of the Canadian work visa application process is to get a Certificate fo Good Conduct from the contries you've lived in for more than 6 months. As far as I can tell its proof that you haven't been arrested/convicted of serious crimes. It's a pain to collect all these government-type forms. And the one that is proving most elusive is the American equivalent. Ahhhh!!!

But as soon as I get the American certificate, whatever it is, I'll have everything I need, and then I send in all the paperwork, and then I go to Berlin for an interview, and then I'm all set as far as my work visa is concerned...

What's a Ho?

2006-11-05T14:53:00.000-07:00

Seriously?

2006-11-03T12:28:00.000-07:00

There's a news story out today about a man named Rev. Ted Haggard. The first time I heard about Haggard was when Richard Dawkins interviewed him for a BBC series hosted by Dawkins called "Root of All Evil?".

Haggard is the now-resigned leader of the New Life Church in Colorado Springs with over 14,000 members, and President of the National Association of Evangelicals.

The news today is that a male prostitute in Colorado has said that Haggard had paid him for sex over the past 3 years and that Haggard had bought drugs (meth) from the prostitute as well.

***

According to CNN:

Developing story: The Rev. Ted Haggard admits he purchased methamphetamine from Mike Jones, the man who accuses Haggard of paying him for sex, but the pastor says he threw away the drugs.

***

And as I read that I thought, Seriously? That's the best defense Haggard could come up with? Haggard said something like, "yeah, I bought the drugs, but then I didn't take them, I just threw them away". That's it? That's all you got? You must be kidding.

It makes me think that people who are too self-righteous, too convinced that they know the difference between right and wrong, and more, that they want to tell you what you should or should not be doing, are too often people with issues of their own.

"The lady doth protest too much, methinks."

--From Hamlet (III, ii, 239)

O Canada!

2006-11-01T12:24:00.000-07:00

O Canada!
Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all thy sons command.

With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!

From far and wide,
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

No Halloween in Switzerland

2006-10-31T13:02:00.000-07:00

Today is October 31, Halloween, and the Swiss don't celebrate it. I've heard that some kids are into Halloween, but there is no history of it here, and the parents don't really like the idea. No trick-or-treaters... I don't think I've even seen jack-o-lanterns around.

***

What do you get when you divide the circumference of a jack-o-lantern by its diameter?

Pumpkin pi.

***

I'm moving to Calgary pretty soon. On the way there, I'm planning on stopping in Ohio for a week or 2 to get some work done with my PhD advisor. One of my friends here, Jun, just stopped by and helped me with all my plans to cancel contracts (rent, cell phone, utilities, health insurance) and what to do with all my stuff (furniture, tv, dvd player, etc.).

I feel really different about moving to Calgary compared with how I felt moving to Basel. I'm not sure exactly why because there are going to be a lot of the same challenges. I think one of the big differences is that everything will be in English, and that makes a lot of things easier. I've learned a bunch of German/Swiss-German. I even talked my way out of a ticket the other night, speaking to the cop in Swiss-German about how my bike light had just gone out and that was why it wasn't on. He told me then I should be walking, and I said thank you, and he let me go.

So, I'm getting rid of all my stuff again. Yay!!!

Ciao y'all... eh.

Free Hugs

2006-10-31T13:01:00.000-07:00

Free Hugs Campaign

I Put A Spell On You (Because You're Mine): Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Nina Simone, John Fogerty and Marilyn Manson

2006-10-28T17:38:00.000-06:00

Screamin' Jay Hawkins

Nina Simone

John Fogerty

Marilyn Manson

Decisions... (eh?).

2006-10-24T11:26:00.000-06:00

A cursory synopsis of my recent professional life...

Over the summer, decisions were made that I was going to leave my lab here in Switzerland. (I've been amused by the passive-voice form.) I formally finished working at the Biozentrum at the end of September. I had a few interviews at the annual Society for Neuroscience meeting that I just returned from this past weekend to figure out what I'm going to do for my next postdoc.

With advice, I decided to join the lab of Patrick Whelan at the University of Calgary. I'm not sure exactly when I will be moving there, but it will be soon. When I'm settled, everyone's invited to visit. During the winter, the skiing is supposed to be really good, and Banff National Park is close also. This is a view of Banff.

It'll be cold in Calgary. A bit colder than Ithaca, but based on average temperatures it's not so different (yes, I went and found the data, and then made graphs for average highs and lows plotted for each month in Ithaca and Calgary to see the annual patterns; don't make me do the stats). This is downtown Calgary. I think I'll be at the Medical campus, which is a little ways from the Univeristy of Calgary campus, it should be at the bottom left of this picture.

Back in Sussi-land

2006-10-23T07:08:00.000-06:00

I made it back to Switzerland yesterday afternoon. My trip to Atlanta was incredible. It was so good to see everybody, and to see them all in Atlanta was excellent. I miss you all so much.

I had three interviews for my new postdoc, and I'll figure things out real soon. Thanks for all the advice all around.

My sleep schedule is all messed up.

Eric still kicks my butt in Starcraft, but I saved the replay of our last match and I think I'm figuring stuff out.

Welcome to Atlanta

2006-10-10T22:27:00.000-06:00

I'm off to tha ATL for 10 days, I'll be back on Oct 23. If all goes well, I'll get to see lots of friends that I miss so much, figure out my new postdoc, and learn a bunch of neuroscience. Ciao, y'all.

Midvale School for the Gifted

2006-10-10T13:46:00.000-06:00

Da kine, eh

2006-10-10T02:35:00.000-06:00

K den erebadi, sum yu guz goin undastan wat ai go ste reit, an sum not, as how; no kan help. Ai jus wen pau wan buk bei wan loco kine gai naem Lee Tonouchi, and dis buga he go aw reit in Pidgin ladat. Wen ai wen go bak Hawai'i, fo rel wen maek me tink and see dat get pleante speshul kine in da ailans. Hod fo me reit in Pidgin but, yu no wai? Kaus ai leik rools sumtaim, an wen yu trai reit en Pidgin, no mo, eh? So wat, hao yu goin no ef yu gedum reit oa wat?

We ged kuliana fo kip da kine goin', bumbai we goin luz em, eh. Ai tink no mo kulcha in plene ov da main lan in sum waz, an da ailans get kulcha ladat. An how we tak iz ony sma pat a dat. Plene loco pepo, wen do go mein lan, dey mis da food eh, an das wan mo ting, but stil das not al. Da bradda ai wen reed, he wen tel dat da ting abou Pidgin iz dat iz not da wrdz yu stae tak, but get da meenin' unda 'em, an wen yu no, yu no wat da odda kama'aina stae tak. Wan mo ting ai wen hea in Hawai'i (eh, no foget da 'okina eh, da haolez kan lern how fo sai Hawai'i da reit wai, e-z, jus goda tel em), dat plene kine pepo dey lernin da reel Hawai'ian lnguaj. Fo rel, ai hert pepo sai 'Aloha nui loa' wen dey pau tak on da fon. Ai no tink so mane wen sai ladat befo, but ai leik em, keep em. So wat we goin reit in Pidgin. Da lnguaj goda evolv ladat, an fo be sumtin speshal, goda be mo dan jus wan sein ov defianz, ai tink goda explor da lnguaj til yu fin da kine dat yu kan onli sai wit Pidgin.

An den da oda ting ai wen leik bout da buk is dat get plene smal kine jokes dat yu gotta no da kine fo get da joke. Leik get wan pat wea he chro in sum ov da liriks of Poi Dog wit Crabs by Rap Reiplinger, no iz onli leik to chree leins but when yu no eh, funi brah, fo rea kine. Nowdaz ai tink get plene pepo who tak about Hawai'ian Pidgin kuz de no dat iz speshal. An ai tink das gud.

Wen yu leik chek aut moa, dez hea iz not bad...

Two Japanese Bruddahs

Hawaii trip, part 5

2006-10-08T23:34:00.000-06:00

Ok, I was going through those pictures too slow, so picking up the pace a bit...

Rainbow Falls, not far from my high school. Too many hours spent watching water fall in various mental states...

Racist graffiti in the parking lot for the Rainbow Falls. Its says "Kapu Hawns Only" and then "Keep Out Haoles". Maybe it needs a little translation. Kapu is Hawaiian for forbidden or off-limits; Hawns, abbreviation for Hawaiians; Haoles are a derogatory Hawaiian term for whites/Caucasian people. I think it's disappointing to see, but this kind of sentiment is not uncommon, in part due to cultural differences and for historical reasons.

At the Wailoa Art Center there was a display of Hawaiian quilting. I'm not so much into quilting, but this is for Leah. And Leah I have more pictures and I think I could track down some patterns if you want.

Back at the beach, "Beware of Falling Coconuts".

At the public library I chilled out and wrote a few postcards just off the central courtyard. I left early and never finished them though because some high school girls sat at a table just across from me and one of them had done some bad drugs and was starting to freak out and it weirded me out, so I didn't want to write anymore.

The Naha Stone infront of the library. The legend was that anyone who could turn over the stone would unite all the Hawaiian islands into a single kingdom. King Kamehameha I turned over the stone and went on to unite the islands, at least that's the story. I guess its kind of like King Arthur and the sword in the stone, but at the time the native Hawaiians still hadn't interacted with Europeans.

Hiking day! I got to go hike the Halemaumau Crater trail with Malea, a good friend from high school. At the top you can see the Kilauea Caldera with the Halemaumau Crater in the distance.

The trail starts off going down through the forest a bit...

And then you come around a corner, and it looks like you are on the moon almost. Don;t get lost out there...

The next day I went to check out the 100-year anniversary celebration of my high school, Hilo High. There were lots of booths selling food, bands playing music, random stuff for sale from the ceramics class, fundraisers for the graduating class and stuff like that.

*Old man alert.* What the hell!!! This is a traffic jam just outside of Kurtistown on my way towards Hilo in the morning. How could there possibly be a traffic jam, no one lives out here!!! Times have changed, and even though things go slowly in Hawaii, they still go...

Hapuna Beach was really nice. Unfortunately, no waves, it was totally flat. The water was so warm, especially compared to the North Sea on the beach of Texel on New Years Day.

An ancient Hawaiian heiau (temple) on the top of this hill near Spencer Beach Park. This place called Pu'ukohala was dedicated to Kuka'ilimoku, the Hawaiian god of war. Human sacrficies were done here a long time ago, I think there are still some remains in the area. The poles with white cloth at the top mark the heiau as kapu.

And if you know where to go, you can still find some nice beaches without any people.

Sea turtles taking a nap in the sun.

My grandma, left and her sister-in-law, right in Keahou, just south of Kailua-Kona. Both now 92, and close friends for over 60 years.

And finally, a picture of Punalu'u Black Sand Beach.

So that's it. I obviously skipped over a bunch of pictures, but I think these are enough to show and share my trip a bit. I miss Hawaii a lot, and I want to go back already. I could imagine that if I lived there now I'd get bored after a while, but I appreciate how fortuante I was to grow up there now more than ever before. It really is an amazing place in so many ways. I had to leave for a long time to really understand just how incredible it is there.

Aloha nui loa.

The Flaming Lips - Somewhere Over the Rainbow

2006-10-08T23:29:00.000-06:00

Hawaii trip, part 4

2006-10-03T05:48:00.000-06:00

These are more pictures from Lava Tree State Park. I tried to include some size references in these pictures to show how huge these trees are. In this one, that white suv on the bottom left is my vehicle. As most of you know, I'm not an suv-driving kind of person, but it was practically the same price as a tiny economy car at the rental place.

More trees with a white fence on the bottom that was about 3-4 feet high.

Then I left the park and headed to Pohoiki, a beach/surfing/boat ramp spot nearby. The beach side was really beautiful, with some big waves. There were some people out surfing, but not too many. This is where I hung out and ate my chicken katsu plate lunch with 2-scoops rice and macaroni salad. Mmm-mmm...

Following a short path, I got to the Warm Pond. This is a small pool we used to go to when we were kids. The warm pond is right near the beach, but away from the breaking surf. There are no signs, and the trail is kind of hard to see unless you know where you are going. The water in the pond is brackish, a mixture of salt water from the ocean, and fresh water from natural springs. The spring water, somewhere underground, runs near some geothermal heat from magma, and so this small pond is naturally heated.

Then I took the road that used to run from Pohoiki towards Kalapana, which was destroyed by the on-going lava flow from Pu'u O'o. This is a picture of the waves breaking up against the cliff. The cliff is about 30-40 feet high (about 10-13 meters). Its kind of hard to predict exactly where the water will come up, so its kind of dangerous. And I remember learning that if it pulls you over the cliff, the right thing to do is swim out, otherwise you get thrown into the cliff on the next wave.

I then took the long way back towards Pahoa via Kapoho. My parents used to have a banana farm back there, but I couldn't remember how to get there, so I just drove through. Next, I headed towards where Kalapana used to be. Ever wonder where the road ends?

The spot where the lava crosses the road is kind of over-grown now. Its amazing to me how fast the process of plants breaking down the lava into soil progresses.

Then I went to the Star-of-the-Sea Painted Church. This church used to be in Kalapana, and I remember as a kid that it was a big deal that they decided to move it before the lava got there. It was a huge project to get it onto a truck and move it to its present spot, a short distance away from the lava flow.

Inside, well, its not exaclty the Sistine Chapel or St. Peter's Cathedral, but there are a bunch of cool paintings, with a very island touch. Cococnut trees, blue sky, and missionaries that came to Hawaii.

And then one last picture of the cliff/shore.

Hawaii trip, part 3

2006-10-02T11:16:00.000-06:00

I took this panoramic picture from a rock outcrop at Onekahakaha Beach Park. I'll probably always remember this place as where I cut my foot real bad, and had to get stitches when I was a kid. You can click on the picture to get a better view of it.

Here's another view of 4 Miles.

After checking out the beaches, I called my friend Malea. I hadn't seen Malea since we were in high school together. At the time, she was a senior and I was a freshman. Malea graduated in 1992, and when she left for college we lost touch. Somehow she found me and emailed me a few years ago, and we got back in touch, and got together for lunch at Ken's House of Pancakes. After lunch, we checked out the County Fair, which was even lamer than I remember. :)

The next day I took my first 'big' road trip. My plan was to go to Pahoa, via Kea'au. As a kid, my parent had a banana farm in Kapoho which is just beyond Pahoa. As a kid, I though this was a long way to go. So I left reasonably early in the morning, and headed to Kea'au, which I remember being pretty far away. It turn out, its jsut 10 minutes from my grandma's house. So, since it was so early, I stopped and picked up lunch, then headed out to Pahoa. Pahoa is only about 15 minutes from Kea'au. My mis-perception of distance will be a recurring theme during my trip. I cruised thorugh the small town of Pahoa, which took about 2 minutes, and it was raining, and way too early for a lunch break, so I headed towards Kapoho and stopped at Lava Tree State Park.

Through out the Puna district, which includes Kea'au, Pahoa, Kapoho, and some other areas, orchids like these grow wild all over the place.

Hawaii trip, part 2

2006-10-01T10:19:00.000-06:00

The first thing I did the next day was to go the Puna Hongwanji where the ashes of my father and gradfather are kept. Here is the altar at the entrance of the crematorium, and the urns are kept in rows behind it.

The Hongwanji is technically Buddhist, with a religion of its own. But the church complex, including the main temple building, crematorium and large housing building nearby, all function as part of the community. When I visited, a group was selling bags of cinder for some fundraiser I think, and there was a Christian service going on in the temple building.

The I went to the bayfront area and visited a few places. This is Liliu'okalani Park, which is one of my favorite places, especially when the weather is nice.

4 Miles (James Kealoha Park).

The Naupaka flower. There are a lot of variations of the same basic folk tale of how the Naupaka got its half-flower shape, and I found this one online that sort of matches what I remember.

In ancient times, one version goes, there was a beautiful Hawaiian princess known as Naupaka. One day, the villagers noticed that Naupaka looked very sad. They told her parents, who approached Naupaka and asked her what was troubling her.

"I have fallen in love with a man named Kaui," replied the princess. "But Kaui is not of noble birth�he is a commoner." According to Hawaiian tradition, it was strictly forbidden for members of royalty to marry people from the common ranks.

Distressed, Naupaka and Kaui traveled long and far, seeking a solution to their dilemma. They climbed up a mountain to see a kahuna who was staying at a heiau (temple). Alas, he had no clear answer for the young lovers. "There is nothing I can do," he told them, "but you should pray. Pray at this heiau."

So they did. And as they prayed, rain began to fall. Their hearts torn by sorrow, Naupaka and Kaui embraced for a final time. Then Naupaka took a flower from her ear and tore it in half, giving one half to Kaui. "The gods won't allow us to be together," she said. "You go live down by the water, while I will stay up here in the mountains."

As the two lovers separated, the naupaka plants that grew nearby saw how sad they were. The very next day, they began to bloom in only half flowers.

There are different versions of the naupaka legend, but all carry the same unhappy theme: lovers that are separated forever, one banished to the mountains, the other to the beach.

Hawaii trip, part 1

2006-10-01T09:44:00.000-06:00

I arrived in Honolulu late at night. That is one long trip. I got to the hotel, and I was starving. Unfortunately, it was late at night, and my super-cheap hotel turned out to be in a lame commercial district, with nothing going on at night. Rather than take a cab somewhere, I grabbed some food at the gas station/convience store around the corner.

I bought a manpua and dried ika. I think Manpua is a Hawaiian version of a Chinese food. Its a bun filled with char sui, seasoned/roasted pork. Ika is squid, in this case its dried and seasoned with hot chili peppers.

The next morning I walked around this lagoon area near the hotel to get some exercise and try and get into the right day-night rhythm.

Random coconut trees.

Then I got to the airport, head to Hilo, my hometown. I was supposed to fly on Hawaiian Airlines, but they cancelled the flight, and I got transfered to Aloha Airlines at the last minute. I made it on to the flight, but my suitcase didn't, along with a bunch of other people's stuff. They told us that our luggage would arrive on the next flight, and it did. While I was waiting, I stayed in Hilo and got lunch. I went to a place called Kuhio Grill and got a 1-ound laulau, rice, macaroni salad and lomilomi salmon. Onolicious!

Then I made it to grandma's house!

I stayed with my grandma for the time I was on the Big Island. It was great to see her.

354

2006-10-01T09:42:00.000-06:00

I just transfered all my pictures from my camera to my computer, all 354 of them. What did people do when they used film? How many rolls of film would that be? Crazy. Ok, I'll get started soon.

Tired

2006-09-30T13:16:00.000-06:00

I made it back to Basel this morning... is it morning? I left grandma's house on Thursday morning, and arrived in Switzerland on Saturday morning. My sleep pattern stay all kapakahi (messed up). I took hundreds of pictures and some short video clips of waves. I had fun walking the line between a returning local and an enchanted tourist. I've got lots to post and it will be coming soon...

Laters...

2006-09-14T12:30:00.000-06:00

I'm leaving for Hawaii early tomorrow morning. I catch a train to Zurich, then fly to JFK (in New York), then to LAX, and then to Honolulu. I'm staying in Honolulu overnight, then catching an interisland flight the next day to Hilo. My cell phone isn't going to work there, so the best way to contact me would be via email. Aloha y'all...

A Perfect Circle -Imagine

2006-09-12T16:56:00.000-06:00

I think the best 9/11 commentaries I've read or heard include those by Keith Olbermann, P-Snaps and Randi Rhodes. With nothing to add, my contribution is a link to A Perfect Circle's cover of the song Imagine, by John Lennon.

The song's lyrics are the same, but it feels so different. Maybe it sounds like someone remembering the original version, which was released in 1971, and trying to understand all that has happened since then. A Perfect Circle's version was released on their album eMOTIVe in 2004.

The video for Imagine was directed by Gerald V. Casale, one of the members of the band Devo. Casale previously directed the video for Devo's song Beautiful World (covered by Rage Against the Machine on their album Renegades), incorporating stock footage of nuclear war and other violence juxtaposed with models, dancers and generally happy people, and was released in 1981. The new video for Imagine was mainly composed of war and news footage from the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan and Iraq, and was released in 2004.

To close the circle (no pun intended), the singer for A Perfect Circle, Maynard James Keenan, also singer of the band Tool, contributed vocals to the song Know Your Enemy on Rage Against the Machine's first album.

Tagging Air Force One

2006-09-12T16:37:00.000-06:00

P.S. Unfortunately, this turns out to be a hoax. I am Jack's complete lack of surprise (Fight Club). Still, I like the idea. :-)

Android 207

2006-09-10T17:27:00.000-06:00

From Undergroundfilm.org, Android 207 is a 10-minute movie; its mostly stop-motion animation, like Tool videos, with a sort of pattern to the narrative that is hypnotic.

Android 207

* * *

Unit three thousand twenty one is warning
Makes a humming sound - when its circuits
Duplicate emotions - and a sense of coldness detaches
As is tries to comfort your sadness -

lyrics from One More Robot/Sympathy 3000-21 from the album Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, by the Flaming Lips. IMHO, one of the best albums ever.

* * *

Current weather in Basel: Lightning and thunder, rain and hail at 1:30am.

Current reading the original Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, by Lewis Carroll; with the original illustrations by John Tenniel.

...'Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?'

'That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,' said the Cat.

'I don't much care where---' said Alice.

'Then it doesn't matter which way you go,' said the Cat.

...

'But I don't want to go among mad people,' Alica remarked.

'Oh, you ca'n't (sic) help that,' said the Cat: 'we're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad.'

Days to Hawaii: 6. Old friends, sun, rain, beach, mochi, loco mocos, malasadas in Honoka'a, Portugese sausage, bento lunch, Kilauea Iki, chicken adobo, sashimi, udon, tonkatsu, swimming, hiking, looking at the stars, we go tak da kine ladat, what? Kalua pig, spam musubi, short ribs, macaroni salad, char sui, kimchi, lomilomi salmon, manapua, miso soup, Liliuokalani Gardens (Queen Liliuokalani was the last ruling monarch of Hawaii),

Kalakaua Park, shave ice, Malolo punch, mangos, star fruit, laulau, papio, tempura, sushi, Mt. View Bakery stone cookies, bread fruit, sunrise papaya, arare (which one can easily find in the Netherlands for some reason),

Li Hing Mui (Dr. AE- you tried one, and the look on your face!!!), lemon peel, kona coffee, Hawaiian chili peppers, shoyu, hashi, zori, nene, kolohe, bakatade, saimen, kuliana, no ak, dynamite koko, mango cutney, lychee,...

Maybe...

2006-09-08T05:10:00.000-06:00

Random stumble to renegadezen:

There is a Taoist story of an old farmer who had worked his crops for many years. One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit. “Such bad luck,” they said sympathetically.

“Maybe,” the farmer replied.

The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses. “How wonderful,” the neighbors exclaimed.

“Maybe,” replied the old man.

The following day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown, and broke his leg. The neighbors again came to offer their sympathy on his misfortune.

“Maybe,” answered the farmer.

The day after, military officials came to the village to draft young men into the army. Seeing that the son’s leg was broken, they passed him by. The neighbors congratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out.

“Maybe,” said the farmer.

Infinity

2006-09-03T18:11:00.000-06:00

"It is known that there are an infinite number of worlds, simply because there is an infinite amount of space for them to be in. However, not every one of them is inhabited. Therefore, there must be a finite number of inhabited worlds. Any finite number divided by infinity is as near to nothing as makes no odds, so the average population of all the planets in the Universe can be said to be zero. From this it follows that the population of the whole Universe is also zero, and any people you may meet from time to time are merely the products of a deranged imagination."

-Douglas Adams, The Restaurant At the End of the Universe

New glasses

2006-08-31T03:31:00.000-06:00

Sometime over the past week or so I lost my glasses, possibly in Amsterdam. It wasn't such a big deal because I can see pretty good without them, but I really like to have them for presentations, movies, and stuff like that.

I had some anxiety about how to get new prescription glasses here in Basel. I found a place, and walked in with my old glasses prescription from when I got my first glasses in Atlanta. My prediction was that this place would not accept the old prescription, that they wouldn't speak English, that it would be really expensive and take a long time to get the new glasses. I was wrong on all counts.

They took the prescription, no problem. The first woman I spoke to didn't speak English, so we started speaking High-German, and I figured out pretty quick that it wasn't going well, so she called a coworker who was perfectly fluent and very helpful. A bunch of their frames were on sale, so it wasn't too expensive. And finally, it only took an hour for them to make the glasses.

The fact that it only took an hour was not some special deal or something they were proud of especially (i.e. like Lens Crafters in the US), it was just a simple matter-of-fact, very Swiss.

Sixteen days

2006-08-30T14:42:00.000-06:00

Sixteens days until I leave for Hawaii. I've got a few things to figure out before I get there...

The first thing to figure out is what to do when I first arrive. The excellent plane ticket deal that I got is to Honolulu. From there I need to take another inter-island flight to Hilo. The problem is that when my flight arrives in Honolulu, it's late in the evening, and there are no more flight to Hilo until the next day. So I get to hang out in Honolulu for the night, but I don't know what to do. Should I try and catch up with friends I haven't seen in many years; an excellent idea that makes me smile just thinking of it? Or get a hotel and sleep off the trip? Might be a smart move. I don't know yet.

Then I need to book my flight to Hilo. I should do this soon. Hawaiian Airlines, that small cup of guava juice. Flying over the island of Maui, and picking out Lanai and Kaho'olawe along the way.

And then how do I get to my grandma's place? I just talked to her and she said she doesn't want me driving her car. I'm a bit frustrated by that because I don't understand why. She told me that she doesn't lend out the car, but I know that she knows someone there who drives her to Hilo sometimes and that my uncle drives the car when he is there. Whatever. I think I'll rent a car while I'm there and that way I don't have to feel guilty about driving whenever and wherever I want.

This is gonna be so good. :)

More from xkcd!!!

2006-08-30T08:12:00.000-06:00