Category Archives: Science!

“Life as a Rural Med Tech” at Antijenic Drift

I’ve been slammed with the last minute preparation for Beer 1Up, as well as, honestly, just processing the loss of a dear friend. Ergo, my writing has slipped and I don’t have a long post for you guys today.

That said, I’ve been reading a few things, in particular over at my friend Jen’s blog. It’s the week of the year when she particularly highlights her job and the work of others who hold similar jobs. And, frankly, it’s fascinating. I’ll have something up based on an interview she gave me about her job next week, but I don’t want you guys to miss out. Here’s all the entries she’s ever done for “Lab Week”, and I encourage you to check them out.… Continue reading →

The Field Museum Pissed Me Off. Thus, I’m Giving Them Money.

When I first read the Chicago Tribune article about the Field Museum of Natural History (the Field) cutting scientists, curators and scientific research, my first thought was, roughly, that I had not just signed up to be a member of this museum for the leadership to turn around and gut the place.

Yeah, I was pissed.

Later, I was saddened, and worried for some people I know personally who will be impacted, directly or indirectly, by this choice. I spent some time thinking about the impact the Field’s scientists and scientific programs have had on my scientific development and got a bit mopey. Then I got to thinking about how the Field figures prominently into my future plans for my beloved nieces and nephews…

I’m back to pissed.… Continue reading →

Defining? Evolving? Adjusting? Adapting? Something.

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  • Friday, December 7, 2012
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Even though it hasn’t been but a few days since I last wrote about food, I still feel as if I haven’t done so in ages. Undoubtedly, this is because I have not posted a recipe for months. Heck, as I type this, I realize I cannot remember the last time I did.

It’s difficult. I’ve long said, “I don’t really have a food blog.” It hasn’t felt right to claim “food blogger” status, even though I keep a blog, and it’s mostly about food. To me, “food blog” has always meant “an internet place were a person posts the recipes they’ve invented and love.”

This place? It’s not that. I’ve posted a few recipes I just kind of threw together, but I always make it very clear that what I did was basically on a whim and not tested in any way.… Continue reading →

Links for a Friday.

Today’s post is a quickie, but I wanted to share three links with you that I thought were quite good reads. They are all from the same blog that I was recently linked to, written by Christi Wilcox, a PhD student at University of Hawaii. Before you ask, yes, she studies biology. Her bio (on the site) says she studies Cell and Molecular Biology, so she’s not completely out of left field in commenting on these topics. Particularly the last link.

Mythbusting 101: Organic Farming > Conventional Agriculture

I really appreciated this post, in part because it said some things I’ve also said (but I said it without backup), but also because I learned a few things.

For example, I always knew organic farms also use pesticides.… Continue reading →

The first meal.

To get the full context for this post, please read both Grant’s post and Ellen’s post over at the blog One Hundred Meals. The meal described in those posts and below was prompted by this project Ellen and Grant have launched. To get the fullest context, you really should read the full blog archives which, as of today’s post, are only six posts deep―and that’s including the two I linked to above. Maybe you won’t do all that now, but I hope by the end of my post, you’ll be convinced to do so.

This isn’t a widely read blog. I’m terrible at paying attention to analytics, so if I had to guess, I would guess I have no more than ten regular readers. Most, maybe all, who read this blog regularly know me personally.… Continue reading →