New Feature for Mobile Users

I’ve installed a plugin that will allow you folks with a smartphone, like all you iphone folks, to view my blog as an iphone webapp. Hopefully this will be easier to read while you’re say on the bus. Enjoy!

Arctostaphylos Flowers

Arctostaphylos, originally uploaded by shutterpoet.

Just to keep your mind off the fact that that whiny baby Peyton Manning is in the super bowl.

NFL AFC/NFC Championship Game Predictions

Colts vs. Jets – I don’t like Rex Ryan.  I think he needs to be put in his place, but I like underdogs, and I dislike Peyton Manning even more than Ryan, so I’m going to go with the lesser evil on this one. Jets 34 Colts 28.

Saints vs. Vikings – This matchup is probably one that will lead to a good game.  The fact that Favre has been playing so well at his age has helped me forgive him for leaving the Packers and the whole retiring/unretiring thing.  Nobody can really root against the Saints after Katrina (the hurricane).  I think that Favre’s desperation will ultimately be the edge in this one, although I will be happy with either team winning.  Vikings 27 Saints 26

I choose chocolate milk

I turned a year older 11 days ago, and while I don’t think that anything ever changes magically upon your birthday, I think my workload this quarter is starting to catch up to me.  My head is filling with way to many different techniques for analyzing biological experiments with ANOVA and it’s many variations.  Plants evolved extremely slowly, and just getting to that part of my Evolution of Plants class feels as if it has taken three quarters of the Ordovician just to make it to a point where we can start discussing just how plants evolved.  Time for my thesis research is few and far between since each assay run is 9 hours and I have much less than that available to me each day.  I know I’ll get it done, but these things weigh on you after a while, June is coming up sooner rather than later.

Given all of the above, tonight I was so tired I chose chocolate milk.  I got home and set my stuff down, and rather than choosing dinner and a beer, I chose dinner and a glass of chocolate milk.  Good ole comforting chocolate milk.  Creamy, chocolately and infinitely more relaxing in this situation than a beer.  Now, after watching two and a half episodes of Criminal Minds (I admit, I have a problem), I’m finally starting to unwind.  I know things will get better, I just hope it’s before June.

New Look

Unlike Hope, I didn’t decide to change the name of my blog. It’s about life and well, I think “the whole crazy thing” sort of describes it all. I had however grown tired of the way things looked around here, so I went for a little change for the new year. I even personalized the header picture with one of my own. To answer your question, yes I do at least plan on blogging more in the coming year. Whether or not things will work out that way is another story what with a wedding and a thesis. Happy new year!

Into the Cold

I’ve been absent from my blog partially because I’ve been absent from my computer since Christmas. I have had my camera withe though and will post pictures at some point after I get back. It has been a nice visit to New England so far, with plenty of snow, a little rain and lots of cold weather. It has been a nice change from the sterility of the weather in southern california.

New X-Plane Flavor

If you’ve spent any amount of time with me, you’d have at some point asked me what I was doing as I was staring intently at my iPod Touch (not iTouch, yarr) and I’d have answered “landing a 747,” or something to that effect. I will admit that I am a sucker for flying and driving games, and you just have to look at my iPod to see that I have 6 flavors of the ever popular x-plane series. From small planes, to commercial airliners, to the space shuttle, I’ve flown them all. Well, X-plane has finally answered at least most of my prayers by coming out with “X-Plane Carrier,” a quasi combat sim, with missles, guns and aircraft carrier landings. Now if they’d just let me try and land the 747 on the carrier, I’d be happy. This one gets a quasi buy given that at 9 bucks it’s a bit pricey. Images follow of me in the legendary F-4 Phantom failing at a landing.

A Gilly Christmas

The SNL christmas special is on and while most of the skits are forgettable, I had forgotten how good this one is.  Enjoy!

Working through it

It’s been an interesting week.  I had “jury duty” meaning I had to call to see if they needed me and it turns out they didn’t need me at all.  The nice thing is that as of 5PM tonight, my civic duty is complete for a minimum of 12 months.

I’ve been slowly plugging away at the anatomical parts of my thesis research by making wood sections, mounting them on slides and staining them.  It’s more time consuming than you think, but not so much that I can really claim to have been killing myself to get it done.  Mostly this week I’ve been waiting for my PI to return edits of the first two sections of my thesis (introduction, materials and methods).  Finally, today I got edits back.  My PI said that it was a good first draft although I need to drive home a few points more strongly and add one or two things.

I’d give more details on his edits, but I haven’t looked at them.  I’ve had the time, but I just can’t bring myself to do it.  I know there will be more red than black, but for some reason, on this piece of work, something that takes so much work, it just hurts a little more to see so many changes.  I know I’m being ridiculous, and this is just the process, but I just haven’t worked up to opening the comments yet.  Maybe tomorrow. . .

The 2009 Year Wrap-up

Ok, it’s not an original topic, but I certainly have some winners and losers of 2009 and since I’m run the place I’m posting my bests and worsts of 2009 right here.

Best things of 2009:

TV Shows
Glee – Need I say more?
Fringe – SciFi at its best.
Community – One of the writers from 30 Rock left the show to act on this. It is definitely the funniest new show of the year.
The League – Maybe not for everyone, but certainly a hilarious take on fantasy football.

They’re all available for viewing right here.

Movies
Star Trek – From what I’ve read, some of the storylines were frowned upon by trekkers, but I think this is an exciting new chapter in the Star Trek dynasty, while staying true to the original series.

You may notice that I didn’t see many movies this year. It’s been a busy one.

Gadgets
iPhone – Yep, I have to list it here because the Palm Pre was kind of a dud and the Google Phone isn’t going to launch until 2010.
MagicMouse – Apple does it again with a sweet little mouse that I can’t afford but would love to have eventually.

Apparently apple sweeps this category because I can’t think of any other really great gadgets this year. Especially after Engadget’s review of the Barnes and Noble Nook.

People
There aren’t too many winners this year (we’re in a recession for crying out loud).

Oprah – I don’t like her, but bowing out while on top is a good move. Now she can move to her own network where I don’t need to be bothered by her anymore and Ellen can be #1.
Barack Obama – He got the Nobel Peace Prize because he’s a BAMF. Now let’s get to work on getting congress to work together . . .