Lest we forget.

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 Stories, photos, historical documents..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.

http://thememoryproject.com/

Labnotes: Getting nowhere fast.

Music Monday: Bear-y good tunes for the science.

It's Monday.

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?

Music Monday

A great live version of SNAFF with my favorite incarnation of Elton John's band. In honor of EJ who is ill with the flu and E.coli.

Thoughts on the use of animals. As pets, food, research subjects.

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!).

Remember Sloan?

Riding the wave: coming up to my 2 year mark next month...

Music Monday: The soundtrack to rainy day data analysis.

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!

Grant-induced hangover.

GOODBYE GRANTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HURRAY, grant season is OVER.

Tonight.... we celebrate. With hockey and beer and good friends.

Then relax.... until January when we start all over again.

Dr. A is for Auntie.

I'm an aunt for the 7th time!!!!

My sister had her first child, a gorgeous baby boy, this past weekend. What an amazing experience to be at her side throughout the pregnancy and hold her hand through the labour.. and even more incredible to hold my nephew and just stare at him for hours. A head full of jet black hair, tiny wrinkly fingers, and those loooong eyelashes.... all formed in 40 short weeks.

Biology is sofa king cool.

home science

Fig 1: Number of moths on the balcony is inversely correlated with the amount of cat food consumed.

Stop shoveling shit on my progress!

Ever feel like all your hard work is unraveled, tromped on, ignored, or that it is worthless?

I'm having one of those weeks/months/years.

I am mad at you! Rude secretary. Empty handed post man. Funding agency. Interweb. Murphy. "Friend". Angry bus driver. Ivory Tower bureaucrats. Spell check. Term limits. Scale. Fruit flies. Immune system. Physical therapist who makes me do painful exercises. Laundry in the dryer that I remember as soon as I lay down. Cold weather killing my tomatoes. Leave me alone.

Aren't you all glad I'm back to blogging?  I know you missed my whining :)

Music Monday: Emerging from the grant writing bubble.. for just a short break.

In the midst of everyone's favorite time of year, I decided to give myself a day off from writing. I submitted the first of 2 big grants yesterday, and the next is not due for 2 weeks. The last month has been hectic with balancing writing (which I very nearly gave up on even before attempting!) with major changes in my life, not to mention the health problems that continue to be hurdles. On top of all that my best friend, my sister, is due to deliver her first baby any minute now.

With all the chaos around me, I've turned to music to help me stay focused while at my desk. All summer I have been enjoying Metric's latest album, Fantasies.

The first single, Help I'm Alive -- perfect way to kick off a day of writing



The acoustic version of this song is also fantastic..



And for those days where I am lucky enough to take a break from the writing and tackle an experiment I prefer older Metric hits... like Grow up and blow away.

Better late than never...

The UK government has finally apologized to Alan Turing, mathematician, code breaker and one of the most significant contributors to defeat of the Nazis. He was subsequently prosecuted for being gay and sentenced to chemical castration, where upon he took his own life. Shame it took so long, even bigger shame it ever happened, lets be glad we've moved on from those savage times (another reason to be filed in the 'never look back and think things were better in the old days' folder)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/sep/11/pm-apology-to-alan-turing

Music Monday - RIP Guy Babylon

I couldn't believe it the other day when I went to a Elton John website and discovered that his long time keyboard player, Guy Babylon, had died at the FAR too young age of 52, apparently of a heart attack. I've seen Elton a couple of times and if you've ever had the pleasure of seeing him you'll know what a tour de force he is as a performance artist. Babylon was a tremendously skilled musician and a very big part of this, so music Monday this week is in his honor and features him playing every instrument on a self composed song.