Here are the top 10 albums that have been the soundtrack to my science for the last 12 months. Some are best for experimenting, some for data analysis, and others for late nights in the lab.. but all have kept me going through a tumultuous 2009. Let's hope 2010 is filled with equally good music, and even better science.
Winter is officially here. This, for me, means going north for the holidays, 7 wild children, 12 even more wild adults, lots of snow, lots of food, lots of hockey, somehow squeezing in some writing, and best of all... LOTS of sweets. I baked cookies for my work party and some to take to my parents (gotta fuel those sugar highs) and some for our favorite hockey team!
I've just completed my second year as a post-doc. Some days I feel like I have been doing this for 10 years, other days it feels like I have barely been here a month. I've had a lot of challenges but also many opportunities over the last 2 years... I get to work with a leader in the field of human immunology and am surrounded by talented and ambitious researchers, but lack a support network as far as technicians and administrative staff but also personally. I've had to deal a plethora of health problems this year and, worse, a tragic death in my family. There were many days when I wanted to give up and open a pie shop, but I pushed through and have finally completed the main study I have been working on.
The project involves an international collaboration, a completely unique cohort, and is by far the most important thing I have ever been a part of. I wrote the grants, designed and executed the experiments, processed and analyzed the data, and now there is one thing left to do to see this through: write the damned manuscript.
My supervisor came in mid-rounds this afternoon with a school of interns tagging along and put me on the spot when he asked "So how quickly do you think you can write this up?" Ugh!
I have 28 days to turn the largest dataset I have ever worked with into a paper. Not to mention continue with analysis for the second paper from this dataset, keep up with lab work for ongoing project, unpack the new house AND spread holiday cheer.
Too many things to worry about.. packing, change of address, transfer of utilities, blah blah blah. Not to mention this is a very busy time of year for The Science, and then of course there is the shopping. I did, however, have a fantastic experience with a moving box rental company that I wanted to share with our dear readers.
FROGBOX is a service that provides reusable industrial strength plastic boxes for moving. You can request the number of boxes/supplies you need online on the company's solar-powered website, wait for the delivery (in waste-generated biodiesel fueled trucks!), and start packing your comic book collection. After your move, the friendly drivers return to pick up the boxes, clean them (using environmentally friendly products of course), and pass them on to the next mover.
This service is currently available in 2 west coast cities, but is growing pretty quickly so look forward to seeing them in a city near you. The icing on the cake: FROGBOX donates 1% of gross revenues to frog habitat restoration projects.
This time, I didn't have to worry about which liquor stores I could raid for boxes; my biggest concern was deciding which pairs of legwarmers I could possibly part with. Definitely not these:
Blind Pilot are brilliant musicians. Full stop. In all honesty, there is not a single track on 3 Rounds and a Sound that I ever want to skip.
I first heard this band when they biked through my town last year. I'm getting lucky again this week as they are back in a larger venue, thanks to their quick rise in popularity. Part of that may be due to their iTunes Single of the Week recognition earlier this year.
As the number of surviving veterans dwindles, it's more and more important to keep those memories alive. The Memory Project recounts Canada's participation in the Second World War, from the perspective of those who experienced it. Stories, photos, historical documents.. a very powerful collection. Check it out.
Spent the first half of yesterday driving for hours in the rain, and the second half sitting in a cold dark lab, attempting to make sense of hundreds of pages of data in preparation for a big meeting I have on Tuesday.
Some horrible case of restless legs had me up all night.
Got soaked running for bus.
Missed bus.
Waited for next bus.
It was full of drippy/coughing/sniffling/contaminated Moody Monday-ers.
The cables came off 10 meters from my stop and the driver would not let us out.
They were out of soy at the coffee cart.
PI is running late and wants me to conduct interviews for new tech until he arrives.
Interviewee is late.
I need a musical escape.
This week, I share with you one of my new favorite bands. I first heard them a few years ago on a compilation by my favorite Glaswegian artist, the insanely multi-talented David Shrigley. Grizzly Bear is quickly gaining popularity.. which I am happy about but also a bit sad about. You know that feeling where you want artists to do well, but you like having them as your little secret so you can go see them live in intimate locales??
It appears I am not the only fan; Grizzly Bear is loved by many from Radiohead to Jay-Z to Paul Simon.
Not sure how to classify this band.. I like to call them orchestral folk. Whatever they are, they are the soundtrack to my sciencey-chaos this week. Whadda ya think?
A great article in the New Yorker this week discussing how much Americans love their pets, but also love their burgers. It's got me thinking about animal research again -- I know, our favorite topic!
We have so many strict regulations when it comes to using animals as research subjects, but it seems that slaughter houses have it so easy. This makes no sense to me.
Yes I am a vegetarian, but some of my Pumas are leather and I will never give up cheese.. and I don't try to persuade others to stop eating meat, but perhaps we should take a fraction of the energy we spend either protesting against or defending the use of animals in scientific research and put that into looking at agricultural abuse of animals (I'm talking to you, science bloggers!).
I've found the perfect accompaniment to the sound of numbers crunching.
With rain streaking down the lab windows.. with my woolen-socked feet in wellies and my jacket dripping behind my chair.. with my computer monitor stacked with open programs and As and Ts and Gs and Cs dancing across the screen, Jack Savoretti is inspiring my science this week.
Here is one of the tracks I love from his debut release Between the Minds (2007):
And here's one from his latest album Harder Than Easy (2009):
My favorite song of his is called "Songs from different times", which was apparently featured on last week's Grey's Anatomy, but I could not find a video for it. It's worth the $0.99 on iTunes!
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