RIGORS OF LIFE
"Some X-linked genes escape inactivation in human females. These genes are located in the chromosome region that is also present on the Y chromosome, called the pseudo-autosomal region. Explain why this exception to X-inactivation makes sense from a genetic perspective in two well-written sentences." Know the answer to that one? I don't, but sometime tonight I need to answer that, preferably after a good read in my favorite textbook. Off the top of my head though, I would say that from an evolutionary point of view, the genes would have evolved from the context of two copies, and thus that extra gene function provided by the genes escaping X-linked inactivation may be necessary to produce the correct amount of the gene product. In other news, it's been an eventful term. When I am not compulsively watching House, I am usually prepping for the following days classes, labs, and work activities. At some point in here, I need to get some kind of work for this summer as well. I am hoping for something in my field, this being my fourth year and all, and that is somewhat more elusive than garden variety. I have some feelers out, and hopefully I get a bite pretty quick. I have no phone right now, as the router Vonage had sent me for it's service died a rather painful death the other night. Somewhat hard to get used to not having one either. I am forced to rely on a cell I really prefer not to ever use (expensive minutes). I am planning on contacting them, but knowing that will result in a long wait on the (gotcha) phone that I don't have, I need to wait until midterms are over. Next week is looking exceedingly busy as it is right before the reading week break. I am currently exegeting a few passages in Isaiah for the small group that I lead on Thursday nights. If it turns out not to be too worthless, I'll try to post my insights.
THERE AND BACK AGAIN
Well, I have journeyed afar, and now once more, I resume the role of the reluctant student. After a short break, this feckless student will once again traverse at the unholy hour of 7:45 to his first class. I am very much looking forward to the day when my adventures as s fulltime student have stopped at least for a while. The lack of money is grating after a while and I certainly miss my car. However, that said, I am grateful for the break I did have. It was quite nice. I wound up taking a few days and going up to Houghton, MI -- home to Michigan Technological University where I have a friend in engineering. I also got to stop in Petoskey, which has grown like mad on the way up. After a New Year's Eve of the Lethal Weapon trllogy, we came back down to GR through Green bay, Milwaukee, and Chicago. I'll post a few pics tomorrow. In any case, as I have a long day tomorrow... goodnight.
ITWIFI
Being Christmas, I am fortunately back in the sticks, where I can enjoy all the comforts of home. Of course, this also means hat I am back to the pleasure of connecting to the internet through dial-up. Of course, that means the agonizingly slow wait for the even the most trivial of transactions, like means. And this was the case until, well, today. For a cool $450, there is now a fifteen foot antenna above the house and instant email. Amazingly, the miracle of wireless internet access has even made it out here. At this point, I would have even settled for a quarter of the speed. The rest of the break has been good. I am quite pleased to say that my flight down was uneventful, having avoided all the hullabaloo in Denver and Chicago. And so far, my time has been quite well spent. It's been nice seeing all of my relatives once again, and I love having a brown Christmas. Now it's time for sleep. More tomorrow.
CRACKING JOINTS
This evening finds me exhausted after spending a very short night sleeping, and a very long one studying. I unfortunately have much to cover before Friday, and so I fear that any shortcomings in sleep will not be met before the weekend. Nevertheless, I am pressed most severely to immediately understand the intricacies and details of the generation of a cDNA library. And seeing as that I have my exam for immunology nd infection the same day, I'll also have to understand the nuature of allographs. In a somewhat curious fashion, I am afraid I did something to my knee, though I have no idea what. In any case, it's been killing me. I knelt down, and even my roommate could hear the joint pop. Since I didn't necessarily do anything that I know of to cause the problem, I am sort of hoping that it will just go away... Of course, since it is the holiday season, Starbucks has debuted the Peppermint mocha, which I promtly partook of with an old gift card. Delightful.
CRUNCH TIME
It has been a rather long time since I posted an update here, which is regrettable. It is of course that time of year where professors insist on making me regurgitate information I simply haven't learned over the course of the semester. So of course, i am forced into seclusion at this hallowed time of year to quickly and rapidly cram as much info as I can into my rather undersized cranium. It is generally an unsuccessful endeavour. In any case, I will try to post a bit more tomorrow. Right now I am necessarily proccupied with the receptor tyrosine kinases, their associated ligands, and the dowstream signalling pathways. Night.
"YOU ARE LOVED [DON'T GIVE UP]"
Josh Groban's new album came out a few weeks ago, and since then I have listened to it a number of times. I must say, it ages well. I find it similar to all of the rest of his work: excellent. There is something about the kind of operatic vocals he is able to carry off that's fantastic. Perhaps someone will pick it up for me for Christmas, but if not, I am sure it will find its way into my collection at some point over the next year. Last night found me at the "Nine Lessons and Carols" at the Winspear Centre, a display of the U of A Mixed Chorus, the bell ringers, and a fantastic organist. It's been incredibly cold outside, but it was still worth going. That concert hall is quite impressive; that was the first time that I have ever been there. After that performance, my interest is newly piqued in seeing the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. I hear that "A Christmas Carol" shows every year too, unfortunately, I guess it is apparently priced at $75 a seat. No thanks... In any case, I think it's about time that I got a little it of shut-eye.
BONECHILLING
Just the day before yesterday I went outside and it was good. There was still, of course, snow on the ground, but it was warm outside. On Wednesday I swear the temperature dropped nearly 20° C. By the time I went home at 7 in the evening, it was unbelievably cold. Cold enough that I want to wear a scarf wherever I go, and gloves became mandatory equipment. I don't mind winter and snow, but it isn't even December yet. I sure wouldn't be all that opposed to a tiny bit of a warm-up. Today, for all those Americans out there, it was Thanksgiving day. I must say that I am rather sorry to be missing a few of the massive Black Friday deals, but it gos with the territory. I managed to celebrate in a fashion by going out for a turkey dinner at lunch with two of the chaplains at the university. It isn't quite the same, but I'll take what I can get, especially considering that I missed the first one this year due to jaw pain. Tomorrow I think I will start playing Christmas music a bit, considering that its open season, in a sense. I am looking forward to seeing this semester through and going home for a visit. It's been a long time.
WII LAUNCH
I think Nintendo is poised to make a lot of money. The Wii may not be winning prizes very soon for HD graphics, but it has in spades the number one thing people look for in a game: fun. I have never played anything quite like it. If you take a look at the pictures, you can see that my hand position tracks with the golfer on the screen. The Wii can be played exactly as you would do something intuitively. Swinging a golf club is very much what it would be like in real life. I played a round of 3 with Matt, handily beating him by scoring at par. I lost a game of baseball, however. I think that console is #1 on my wish list for this Christmas, definitely. But more than that, I think I could play many of these games with my mom, which I could never have said before. In other news, I went and saw The Prestige on Friday night, and really enjoyed it. Christian Bale, Michael Cane, and Hugh Jackman made a great cast. The movie had a few things that bugged me, but it is definitely one worth seeing. It centers on two illusionists from the early 20th century in England, and a war between Tesla and Edison. The theater was full of rowdy teenagers, so I got a lousy seat, but it was still worth it I think.
WEEKEND OF SLOTH
To be fair, they most usually are on a long weekend. And after the unpleasantness of the preceding week and all the midterms, three of them, I am not too upset about the apparent lack of productivity. After all, from here on out, it will most likely be busier than normal as I try to finish things off before finals, and as the material in my classes gets to its most difficult. I did manage to get quite a bit of cleaning done, and I also sorted through a lot of files, both digital and old-fashioned hardcopy. In any case, I think I am now ready to take on the rest of the semester. I have been watching a show on NBC called Heroes these last several weeks, and I have to say, I quite enjoy it. The premise isn't quite new, but it's explored from a different angle. The story so far has been quite good, and I find myself looking forward to next week for the following episode. It's been quite a long time since there was a TV show that I could say I watched even semi frequently.If you wish to watch it, it's on NBC Monday primetime, though I think it is easier to understand if you have seen the earlier episodes.
CHUGGING ALONG
Ecclesiastes 9:1 "So I reflected on all this and concluded that the righteous and the wise and what they do are in God's hands, but no man knows whether love or hate awaits him." NIV It comes down to three midterms at the beginning of next week, and I am going after them with everything I have got. I'll be a whole lot less stressed once I can get them out of the way. The semester seems to be chugging along as usual for the university, even though I am in my fourth year. However, I'll note that it is a bit different, as I am no longer nearly as confused about direction, and the whole semester progression. After all this time, I have it nailed down fairly well. As many of you might not be aware of, I am currently planning on flying to Grand Rapids on the 20th of December for a portion of the Christmas holidays. It will undoubtedly be a busy time, but I am looking forward to catching up with many of you down there. As I do not often make it to Michigan, I always cherish the opportunity when it presents itself.