I've packed up and moved out...you can find me here:
http://falltoclimb.wordpress.com/
please update your links...thanks!!!
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Saturday, November 14, 2009
DEMOLITION!
Put a hammer and a crowbar in her hands, and my wife transforms into a kick-ass one-woman demolition derby. Many times during the renovations, I came home to find these two tools out and some fixture/structure or another no longer intact. She luuuuuvs to wreck stuff.
Happily these mad demo skills came in handy on the weekend: our old, shaky, unsound side porch needed to be removed in order to make room for the new one that should be going up soon. I think it took her maybe a hour to do this. GRRRRRR!!!!!
Happily these mad demo skills came in handy on the weekend: our old, shaky, unsound side porch needed to be removed in order to make room for the new one that should be going up soon. I think it took her maybe a hour to do this. GRRRRRR!!!!!
Friday, November 13, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Meant to be
I really don't believe in a higher power, universal energy, or even karma (although sometimes I like to pretend I beleive in karma, 'cause it might lead to a meanie getting a well-deserved bite in the ass. Yeah, I'm vengeful that way).
But, sometimes, I get the eerie feeling that something has happened that was meant to be.
Do you ever get that feeling? Like someone (a mentor, a lover, a friend, a teacher), or something (an opportunity, a challenge) dropped out of the sky, usually unexpectedly, and influenced your life in a way that was SO FREAKING UNBELIEVABLY AWESOMELY PERFECT that you can hardly stand it? And then that thing lead to something else that was awesomely perfect and then THAT lead to...well you get the idea. Like it was meant to be. Sometimes you see it more clearly in hindsight, but it's there.
I've been acutely aware of this happening serveral times in the past ten years. I can actually trace a timeline of these events and pinpoint how they have lead me to where I am today:
1. I moved to Ottawa. It seemed extremely far and I was scared shitless and really had no idea what I wanted to do with my life, but my mom somehow convinced me I'd make a good journalist. So off I went to Carleton U for journalism. It was random, but being in Ottawa, at that University, worked out well for me. It was meant to be.
2. That winter I took an elective course entitled "Natural History of Ontario". I only took it because I was an idiot freshman who didn't understand how timetables worked and it was the only class I thought could fit into my schedule. The class was taught by a naturalist of epic genius who is, without a doubt, one of the most amazing teachers on the planet. I was enthralled. With no hesitation whatsoever I quit journalism at the end of that year, caught up on science-ey stuff in summer school and came back in the fall as a new Biology student. It all happened because of a moment of frosh naïveté, but it got me on a new career path. It was meant to be.
3. In my third year of undergrad studies, I put a ridiculous amount of debt on my credit card so I could study bats in the tropical rainforests of Belize for three weeks. I thought it would be fun. What it REALLY did was tell my brain, in no uncertain terms: YOU SHOULD BE A BIOLOGIST. It happened because of a spur-of-the-moment decision, and I almost missed out on getting summer employment. But it really sealed the deal of the whole biology/research/field work thing. It was meant to be.
4. I met my future thesis supervisor. She took me under her wing, showed me the ropes and then set me lose to prove to myself that I was capable of conducting meaningful research, and communicating about it. I completed two theses with her guidance. She made me work and write and speak and apply for things until my CV was pretty well-padded. I could have worked with anybody in the university, but I worked with her, and she worked her butt off to help me grow. It was meant to be.
Then I took a break. I stepped away from the academic world for four years. I worked in a lab, a park, a museum, and later in cubicles, getting farther and farther away from what I really loved to do. Somehow, "what I want to be when I grow up" was a concept I was never fully able to materialize for myself. I just knew I wasn't terribly happy. Then:
5. I got my current job, the one from which I'm fleeing shortly. This was the clincher. Not because I hate it, no, hate alone is not sufficiently motivating to make you leave a job that's permanent, well-paying, and offering good benefits.
What happened was, it exposed me to other people like me. I mean the type of person I COULD have been had I carried on with my studies: researchers, academics, professors. All in love with their work, their schools, their students. I found myself insanely jealous. I wondered why I felt that way. I thought long and hard, then had my "aha!" moment, which sounded a lot like "Duh, you're supposed to be DOING that kind of work, dummy!" Oh. Had I not been in my current job, where I was able to interact with these academics, the "aha!" would never have happened. Or it would have happened a long time from now. Possibly when it was too late to do anything about it. It was meant to be.
6. So then I fished around for labs. Dr. B seemed to be doing reasonably interesting work. We chatted, clicked and then... he told me about an project he was working on...something completely new and outside of the realm of the research I was expecting to be able to do in his lab...something UNBELEIVABLY AWESOMELY PERFECT and totally unexpected. To which I replied: sign me up brother!!! It seemed totally meant to be.
All of these events/people/circumstances have led me to where I am right now: about 7 weeks away from a new research program, a new university, a new degree and most importantly, a new career. All of which I am so freaking excited about.
Was it dumb luck that these things happened? At the right time, in the right place? Probably. But I really think the reason it's all turned out so UNBELEIVABLY AWESOMELY PERFECT is because I did a few things:
1. I kept myself open to new opportunities
2. I was willing to deviate from the path I currently had in mind for myself
3. I made myself take risks, even...no ESPECIALLY...when it scared the pants off me
These go hand in hand (and arguably all mean the same thing). Whatever. It works.
Be open. Be brave.
And when karma offers you a sweet deal, for the love of pete, TAKE IT!
But, sometimes, I get the eerie feeling that something has happened that was meant to be.
Do you ever get that feeling? Like someone (a mentor, a lover, a friend, a teacher), or something (an opportunity, a challenge) dropped out of the sky, usually unexpectedly, and influenced your life in a way that was SO FREAKING UNBELIEVABLY AWESOMELY PERFECT that you can hardly stand it? And then that thing lead to something else that was awesomely perfect and then THAT lead to...well you get the idea. Like it was meant to be. Sometimes you see it more clearly in hindsight, but it's there.
I've been acutely aware of this happening serveral times in the past ten years. I can actually trace a timeline of these events and pinpoint how they have lead me to where I am today:
1. I moved to Ottawa. It seemed extremely far and I was scared shitless and really had no idea what I wanted to do with my life, but my mom somehow convinced me I'd make a good journalist. So off I went to Carleton U for journalism. It was random, but being in Ottawa, at that University, worked out well for me. It was meant to be.
2. That winter I took an elective course entitled "Natural History of Ontario". I only took it because I was an idiot freshman who didn't understand how timetables worked and it was the only class I thought could fit into my schedule. The class was taught by a naturalist of epic genius who is, without a doubt, one of the most amazing teachers on the planet. I was enthralled. With no hesitation whatsoever I quit journalism at the end of that year, caught up on science-ey stuff in summer school and came back in the fall as a new Biology student. It all happened because of a moment of frosh naïveté, but it got me on a new career path. It was meant to be.
3. In my third year of undergrad studies, I put a ridiculous amount of debt on my credit card so I could study bats in the tropical rainforests of Belize for three weeks. I thought it would be fun. What it REALLY did was tell my brain, in no uncertain terms: YOU SHOULD BE A BIOLOGIST. It happened because of a spur-of-the-moment decision, and I almost missed out on getting summer employment. But it really sealed the deal of the whole biology/research/field work thing. It was meant to be.
4. I met my future thesis supervisor. She took me under her wing, showed me the ropes and then set me lose to prove to myself that I was capable of conducting meaningful research, and communicating about it. I completed two theses with her guidance. She made me work and write and speak and apply for things until my CV was pretty well-padded. I could have worked with anybody in the university, but I worked with her, and she worked her butt off to help me grow. It was meant to be.
Then I took a break. I stepped away from the academic world for four years. I worked in a lab, a park, a museum, and later in cubicles, getting farther and farther away from what I really loved to do. Somehow, "what I want to be when I grow up" was a concept I was never fully able to materialize for myself. I just knew I wasn't terribly happy. Then:
5. I got my current job, the one from which I'm fleeing shortly. This was the clincher. Not because I hate it, no, hate alone is not sufficiently motivating to make you leave a job that's permanent, well-paying, and offering good benefits.
What happened was, it exposed me to other people like me. I mean the type of person I COULD have been had I carried on with my studies: researchers, academics, professors. All in love with their work, their schools, their students. I found myself insanely jealous. I wondered why I felt that way. I thought long and hard, then had my "aha!" moment, which sounded a lot like "Duh, you're supposed to be DOING that kind of work, dummy!" Oh. Had I not been in my current job, where I was able to interact with these academics, the "aha!" would never have happened. Or it would have happened a long time from now. Possibly when it was too late to do anything about it. It was meant to be.
6. So then I fished around for labs. Dr. B seemed to be doing reasonably interesting work. We chatted, clicked and then... he told me about an project he was working on...something completely new and outside of the realm of the research I was expecting to be able to do in his lab...something UNBELEIVABLY AWESOMELY PERFECT and totally unexpected. To which I replied: sign me up brother!!! It seemed totally meant to be.
All of these events/people/circumstances have led me to where I am right now: about 7 weeks away from a new research program, a new university, a new degree and most importantly, a new career. All of which I am so freaking excited about.
Was it dumb luck that these things happened? At the right time, in the right place? Probably. But I really think the reason it's all turned out so UNBELEIVABLY AWESOMELY PERFECT is because I did a few things:
1. I kept myself open to new opportunities
2. I was willing to deviate from the path I currently had in mind for myself
3. I made myself take risks, even...no ESPECIALLY...when it scared the pants off me
These go hand in hand (and arguably all mean the same thing). Whatever. It works.
Be open. Be brave.
And when karma offers you a sweet deal, for the love of pete, TAKE IT!
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Paperwork
I'm applying for Teaching Assistant jobs right now (ok, not right now, but close enough).
I'm starting to wish (not for the first time this year) that there was one universally-accepted form that could be submitted to the endless slew of people who need me to describe why I think I am teh awesome in 2000 words or less. Plus publications. And relevant work experience. And relevant coursework.
I'm getting very good at application-filling-outing, but it's time consuming. Thank gawd for "cut and paste".
That said, it's worth filling out just one more application (ha, I wish) in order to be granted the opportunity to shape and influence young, impressionable minds. I wonder what class I'll get...Evolution and Phylogeny? Wildlife Conservation? Population and Community Ecology?
*rubs hands with great gloms of geekish glee*
Ohboyohboyohboy.
Random Digression: tonight I prepared roasted garlic-thyme butter as my contribution to a company potluck breakfast tomorrow (I was put on butter duty and subsequently informed by an ex-chef coworker that it would be totes lamesauce to simply show up with a block of plain butter, which was totes my original intention). Having succumbed to peer pressure, I now have one beautiful roll of plain butter and one of fancy herbed butter ready to be sliced into artful discs for my coworkers' consumption. My assessment of this "herbed butter" thing: very tasty (and pretty!), but OMG labour-intensive. And now I have a food processor to hand-wash. I think I will pretend I don't see it until tomorrow morning.
I'm starting to wish (not for the first time this year) that there was one universally-accepted form that could be submitted to the endless slew of people who need me to describe why I think I am teh awesome in 2000 words or less. Plus publications. And relevant work experience. And relevant coursework.
I'm getting very good at application-filling-outing, but it's time consuming. Thank gawd for "cut and paste".
That said, it's worth filling out just one more application (ha, I wish) in order to be granted the opportunity to shape and influence young, impressionable minds. I wonder what class I'll get...Evolution and Phylogeny? Wildlife Conservation? Population and Community Ecology?
*rubs hands with great gloms of geekish glee*
Ohboyohboyohboy.
Random Digression: tonight I prepared roasted garlic-thyme butter as my contribution to a company potluck breakfast tomorrow (I was put on butter duty and subsequently informed by an ex-chef coworker that it would be totes lamesauce to simply show up with a block of plain butter, which was totes my original intention). Having succumbed to peer pressure, I now have one beautiful roll of plain butter and one of fancy herbed butter ready to be sliced into artful discs for my coworkers' consumption. My assessment of this "herbed butter" thing: very tasty (and pretty!), but OMG labour-intensive. And now I have a food processor to hand-wash. I think I will pretend I don't see it until tomorrow morning.
Never forget
Remember
The bell will not toll for you
no funeral march of solemn dignity
for your body was lost.
Youthful eyes will shed no tears for you
sorrow for lives ended too soon
for they cannot understand.
Small children will not ask of you
for stories of your youth:
the stillness of your youth was stolen
in a single fraction of time.
Instead, phantom echoes of screams
gunfire and the roar of metallic beasts
will engrave your history into the flesh of the earth,
which, timeless in its memory,
cannot forget the sacrifices made.
The scars,
the blood,
the screams,
are too deeply embedded in the soil to be scoured away by Time.
No bells.
No friends.
No generations of loved ones.
Instead, the earth reflects its knowledge of you
with blood-red reminders
that gently wave to and fro above your final resting place,
moving with the collective sighs of a healing planet
unwilling or unable to entrust your life and sacrifice
to the frailty of human memory.
~Anon
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
What's your geek factor?
I firmly fall into the "geek" category (with a hint of "dweeb") according to this Venn Diagram (spotted on OZ), as I've long suspected. Good to know my instincts were right.
It's always prudent to see if you can replicate your findings, however. So I present additional evidence:
The most common google queery that leads people to this blog is "Science Geek".
How geeky are you would describe me as a "moderate academic geek".
The Geek Test v 1.0.3 says I'm only 26.7834% geek. (DIRTY LIES!!!)
The Nerd Test, however, has me among the 63rd percentile of nerds. Similarly, the Geek Test says I`m 60% geeky, and this science geek test places me at 69th percentile (and I get the title "Doctor", hee). I scored 11/11 on Test your science savy.
I like the "how geeky are you" approach: it recognizes that there are multiple facets of geekdom (pop culture, technology, food, academic, etc.), much in the way educators now acknowledge the existence of multiple intelligences. I bet, if I could find a "How much of a BUG geek are you" test, I'd score pretty darn high. (Sadly, a Google search yeilds nothing. Hm. A project for a rainy day, perhaps?)
So...
What makes YOU get your geek on?
Monday, November 9, 2009
Huzzah!
Dear Ms Who, me?
Congratulations! It is my pleasure to inform you that you have been accepted into Graduate Studies at The University, one of the leading research-intensive universities in North America.
Blahdeblah omitted
You have been approved to study in the following:
Yaaaaaaaaaaaaay!
More woodpile buggy goodness.
We finished hauling the rest of our wood yesterday. We are wood-hauling beasts (12 cords, BOO-yah!) More six+-legged goodness discovered:
From top (my best guesses): Asian lady beetle* cluster (Coleoptera: Harmonia axyridis); Harvestman, aka Daddy Longlegs (Arachnida: Opiliones); more Flat Bark Beetles (Coleoptera: Sylvanidae) (at least 2 species here); beetle larva (Coleoptera: I'm thinking Tenebrionidae?); Crab Spider? (Arachnida: Thomisidae)
The little grey spider at the bottom is a cutie. I found several others of the same species, and all of them had their legs tucked in close to their abdomens at first, reminding me of a cat trying to keep its feet warm. Once exposed to sunlight and warmth, they would stretch out a bit then lazily poke around their logs.
I was really hoping to find a specimen of Cucujus clavipes to photograph (I'd spotted two earlier this fall when we first started the wood-hauling...alas, none were to be found. Maybe next year...
*exotic, and pesty. They bites us. We hates them.
From top (my best guesses): Asian lady beetle* cluster (Coleoptera: Harmonia axyridis); Harvestman, aka Daddy Longlegs (Arachnida: Opiliones); more Flat Bark Beetles (Coleoptera: Sylvanidae) (at least 2 species here); beetle larva (Coleoptera: I'm thinking Tenebrionidae?); Crab Spider? (Arachnida: Thomisidae)
The little grey spider at the bottom is a cutie. I found several others of the same species, and all of them had their legs tucked in close to their abdomens at first, reminding me of a cat trying to keep its feet warm. Once exposed to sunlight and warmth, they would stretch out a bit then lazily poke around their logs.
I was really hoping to find a specimen of Cucujus clavipes to photograph (I'd spotted two earlier this fall when we first started the wood-hauling...alas, none were to be found. Maybe next year...
*exotic, and pesty. They bites us. We hates them.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Your dog wants these
We are a family that loves dogs: we have three. We would have more, but, um, yeah...we already have three. But don't come to our house with a puppy, 'cause you probably won't get it back.
Dogs need toys. They are intelligent animals who need both physical and mental stimulation in order to be happy. Toys are one way owners can help fulfill those needs. There are a gabillion dog toys on the market, the quality and usefulness of which vary wildly from "we couldn't live without this" to "total waste of money and unsafe to boot"; we've experimented with dozens and now have a few tried-tested-and-true items we strongly recommend to any dog people:
The Cuz (JW Pet Company) - Good Cuz, Bad Cuz, it doesn't matter...these are tough little buggers and if you can stand the squeeeeeeeeeksqueeeeeeeek of your enamoured dog, you're golden. Made of soft, colourful rubber, they come in a range of shapes and sizes. Great for fetch or just toting around (dogs seem to love the "mouth feel" of this one).
Kong Flyer (Kong Company) - OMG I love this frisbee, it's our newest addition to the toy collection. Typical toughness of Kong products (small mugsly dogs can hang from it without causing damage), made of soft rubber, but with enough weight to really get some serious distance when you throw it. A close runner-up would be our old Hurl-a-Squirrel frisbee (Fat Cat, Inc.), which was finally retired this fall after almost a full year of abuse. Althought it's fabric, it proved to be quite durable. Plus it's called "Hurl-a-Squirrel", which is reason enough to buy it.
Nylabone - dogs need to chew. They should be chewing these instead of your shoes. Made of safe and durable nylon, they feature different levels of hardness, textures, and flavours. They give your dog a satisfying jaw workout and provide some dental benefits as well...right now we have about 6 lying around the house, in about 4 different styles. An absolute must-have.
Tuffy's T-rex (VIP Products) - we almost NEVER buy stuffies. Our dogs are maimers and gutters of anything stuffed, which is not only dangerous (if unsupervised) but also expensive. I picked up the T-rex one day after spotting it at half price (they're not cheap)...partially because I thought it looked strong enough to withstand at least one day of abuse, but also because ZOMG IT'S A T-REX and I'm a huge dino geek. It turned out to be worth every penny - this is a serious toy. Just shy of 2 feet tall, it's constructed from 3 layers of fabric and gazillions of layers of stitching. It is SOLID. Our girls tried their damnedest to kill this thing. A year later, after hours upon hours being gnawed on and surviving an entire puppyhood of teething, the dogs finally got the best of it through an open seam in one arm. But man, did they ever have to work at it!
Dogs need toys. They are intelligent animals who need both physical and mental stimulation in order to be happy. Toys are one way owners can help fulfill those needs. There are a gabillion dog toys on the market, the quality and usefulness of which vary wildly from "we couldn't live without this" to "total waste of money and unsafe to boot"; we've experimented with dozens and now have a few tried-tested-and-true items we strongly recommend to any dog people:
The Cuz (JW Pet Company) - Good Cuz, Bad Cuz, it doesn't matter...these are tough little buggers and if you can stand the squeeeeeeeeeksqueeeeeeeek of your enamoured dog, you're golden. Made of soft, colourful rubber, they come in a range of shapes and sizes. Great for fetch or just toting around (dogs seem to love the "mouth feel" of this one). 
AirDog Football (Kong Company)- the AirDog line offers many sizes and shapes (doughnuts, standard balls, football) . Feels substantial in the hand, tough, squeeky, and the outer fabric won't damage teeth (it's non-abrasive) like most regular tennis-ball-type toys. Also a great way to practice your mad spiral skills.
Kong Flyer (Kong Company) - OMG I love this frisbee, it's our newest addition to the toy collection. Typical toughness of Kong products (small mugsly dogs can hang from it without causing damage), made of soft rubber, but with enough weight to really get some serious distance when you throw it. A close runner-up would be our old Hurl-a-Squirrel frisbee (Fat Cat, Inc.), which was finally retired this fall after almost a full year of abuse. Althought it's fabric, it proved to be quite durable. Plus it's called "Hurl-a-Squirrel", which is reason enough to buy it.
Nylabone - dogs need to chew. They should be chewing these instead of your shoes. Made of safe and durable nylon, they feature different levels of hardness, textures, and flavours. They give your dog a satisfying jaw workout and provide some dental benefits as well...right now we have about 6 lying around the house, in about 4 different styles. An absolute must-have.
Wubba (Kong Company) - it bounces! It squeeks! It's shaped like an octopus! What fun!!! Great for fetch or for tug games. The dangly leg bits are particularly fun for the terrier-types who do the ol' death shake with their toys - it fights back! (whapwhapwhap on the schnozz)
Tuffy's T-rex (VIP Products) - we almost NEVER buy stuffies. Our dogs are maimers and gutters of anything stuffed, which is not only dangerous (if unsupervised) but also expensive. I picked up the T-rex one day after spotting it at half price (they're not cheap)...partially because I thought it looked strong enough to withstand at least one day of abuse, but also because ZOMG IT'S A T-REX and I'm a huge dino geek. It turned out to be worth every penny - this is a serious toy. Just shy of 2 feet tall, it's constructed from 3 layers of fabric and gazillions of layers of stitching. It is SOLID. Our girls tried their damnedest to kill this thing. A year later, after hours upon hours being gnawed on and surviving an entire puppyhood of teething, the dogs finally got the best of it through an open seam in one arm. But man, did they ever have to work at it!So there you go: our top picks for the pup(s) in your life. The mugsly one, the yellow one and the three-legged one approve.
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