tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87787699800421026122008-07-24T19:10:29.403-04:00makitahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16946226160704777285noreply@blogger.comBlogger157125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778769980042102612.post-28588422123965485482008-07-24T09:50:00.003-04:002008-07-24T10:35:01.840-04:00

Well, it's been pretty crazy since I last posted. I'm leaving tomorrow morning for the conference, and I only finished my posters around 3 am this morning. I took the files in to the local Fedex-Kinko to print them at around 3:30 am, and they should be ready by 4 pm this afternoon. Other than that I have not prepared for the conference. I still need to put some software on my computer that I

makitahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16946226160704777285noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778769980042102612.post-43554137085683405952008-07-15T10:56:00.005-04:002008-07-15T11:04:23.699-04:00

Why is Makita so silent these days? Has she had enough of blogging? Well, here it is guys and gals. I'm hoping that this is the home stretch, and is it ever torture! 1. My adviser is leaving at the end of this month, and although I have a co-adviser for the Fall semester it will not be the same. 2. I have to prepare and present two posters at a meeting at the end of July. 3. My first

makitahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16946226160704777285noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778769980042102612.post-61266952180637878782008-07-04T08:41:00.004-04:002008-07-04T09:04:45.896-04:00

It's been an interesting few weeks. A bit scary, which among other things accounted for lack of posts. Yes, we were amongst those that got a sub-prime adjustable rate mortgage two years ago. The rate was scheduled to go up on July 1, 2008. Two years ago that seemed really far away, and with the prices of housing going up so dramatically at the time, we would actually have some equity by the time

makitahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16946226160704777285noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778769980042102612.post-69706963867302068102008-06-20T00:01:00.020-04:002008-06-25T10:16:58.377-04:00

In a country as small as the one I'm from, everyone can make a difference, if they want to. Every single person can make an impact. But even by those standards there are few people who rival the impact my father has had on individual people and the country as a whole. The breadth and depth of his interests, knowledge, expertise, and the intensity of his dedication to what he believed in: that

makitahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16946226160704777285noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778769980042102612.post-30304782148338852322008-06-05T11:50:00.006-04:002008-06-20T17:42:17.750-04:00

This morning I brought F1-1 (the oldest, male) and F1-3 (the youngest, female) to the doctor, for their annual well-child checkup. They are both doing fine. The oldest is 15 percentile for weight, 75 percentile for height (tall and thin), while the youngest is 15 percentile for both (short and thin). But perfectly healthy. I discussed my wishes with the doctor, and she agreed it would be a good

makitahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16946226160704777285noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778769980042102612.post-6128623916113903662008-05-23T21:30:00.002-04:002008-05-23T21:35:48.227-04:00

My boss has been really busy lately. I just figured there was another grant proposal deadline coming up. He's been hiding in his office, keeping the door closed and such. Finally he crawled out yesterday and called a lab meeting for today. To break the news: he's leaving! As in, he's quitting his job and moving to greener pastures. In 3 months! I'm shocked, shocked, I tell you. I may have

makitahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16946226160704777285noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778769980042102612.post-40753400536555897612008-05-20T13:36:00.005-04:002008-05-20T13:44:09.418-04:00

Considering the fact that I'm supposed to present a poster later this summer on the microarray data that my adviser has collected in collaboration with another lab, I figured it was time to brush the old data off again. I must admit that I've been so busy that I haven't taken a look at the data in about a year. My research has taken off in a different direction, then I got busy taking written

makitahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16946226160704777285noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778769980042102612.post-17165890140833593322008-05-15T14:40:00.002-04:002008-05-15T14:44:15.496-04:00

At first I thought it was one of those e-mail scams: "You won 2 million dollars," or some equivalent. However, the amount was a lot less, and it seemed so... legit. I did some research, remembering that indeed, I had done a survey like that, and eventually responded. And voila! I actually did win $200 to spend at Amazon.com. Ooooh, now what? I'm going to buy stuff that I would otherwise never

makitahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16946226160704777285noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778769980042102612.post-57958481794536408002008-05-06T08:26:00.010-04:002008-05-06T11:13:21.770-04:00

Here are the final results of the shuffle meme, with links. If you're not into heavy metal, you might want to skip the first link. The song carries very special meaning to me, and the lyrics hit home, especially in these times of war, but it's not for everyone. Also, not always could I find actual video on YouTube, but the songs were there. CAE wins with 4 right, 1 half right Anonymous got 2 (I

makitahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16946226160704777285noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778769980042102612.post-32725369378139523152008-04-26T07:40:00.024-04:002008-05-01T10:33:21.881-04:00

Links added!! Like CAE I think I'm going to have to give more clues, it looks like my musical choice is too uncommon. But I still think that even the songs in Spanish should be recognizable by most people with some interest in latin music. Clues in RED. I was tagged by CAE for the shuffle meme. She's tagged me a few times before, and no matter how much I promised I would do, I always postponed

makitahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16946226160704777285noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778769980042102612.post-61130940627000927432008-04-24T10:51:00.005-04:002008-04-24T11:02:55.828-04:00

Please sign your name on the list of UNIFEM, the United Nations Development Fund for Women. Say NO to violence against women. It's enough! No more hitting, beating, punching, kicking, shooting, rape, burning, yelling, you name it. No more violence. I just signed my name. Now go ahead and add yours.

makitahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16946226160704777285noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778769980042102612.post-62146085599556551172008-04-22T10:22:00.006-04:002008-04-22T11:01:03.958-04:00

When PZ posted this link, and I clicked on it, the title of this post is the first thought that came to my mind. The guy in the cartoon looks way too much like Steve Burns in Blue's Clues (ask me how I know). The green-striped shirt is a dead giveaway. The only thing is, although Steve is kinda goofy, and he doesn't usually find the clues first, he strikes me as a very logical guy, a good

makitahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16946226160704777285noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778769980042102612.post-50320396760289307502008-04-20T16:51:00.007-04:002008-04-21T07:59:45.217-04:00

This is part 2 on managing references. Here is part 1. So I needed to find some software to manage my references and citations that would overcome some of the recent changes in my computing preferences. The change to MAC and my adviser's and university's preferences resulted in a switch to Office for MAC, and this made reference manager obsolete. I searched the internet, and eventually came on

makitahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16946226160704777285noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778769980042102612.post-69999490016213702112008-04-20T16:28:00.006-04:002008-04-20T16:51:00.113-04:00

In the past couple of weeks, I've started writing. No, I don't mean blog posts (as some of you may have noticed), but really writing. As in: dissertation writing. I figured that now that I've recently reviewed the literature for my oral qualifying exam, this would be a good time to start writing chapter 1, the literature review. In the past I've used Windows/XP, and for as long as I can remember

makitahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16946226160704777285noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778769980042102612.post-78670129002441957252008-04-17T13:45:00.005-04:002008-04-17T15:20:38.780-04:00

Shamelessly copied from Stranger Fruit. It was simply too good. Originally from MartinC. All about the "movie" Expelled here. Bensteinian Rhapsody Is this stuff real science? Or is it just fantasy, That belongs in a place like Bob Jones University? Just close your eyes, Don’t think, just accept ID I’m a game show host, I don’t know biology, But this sleazy bunch, told me so, It could be lies,

makitahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16946226160704777285noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778769980042102612.post-86339542104773761832008-04-13T09:50:00.007-04:002008-04-13T13:28:05.165-04:00

This post serves as a reminder to my self. May I return to it in 30-odd years and find that I've lived up to it. If not, may this post embarrass me and make me change my ways. To love your children means to respect them. To respect them, means to accept their choices without comment. You may not always agree with the choices you make, but that is rather irrelevant. Although we may see children

makitahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16946226160704777285noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778769980042102612.post-69588680694508623032008-04-09T20:19:00.003-04:002008-04-09T20:26:54.018-04:00

Passing my orals was the beginning of a very productive week for me. Rarely have I been that motivated. Sadly, my productivity was ground to a halt by one of our cars breaking down on the weekend. It didn't help matters that some of the kids are home on Spring Break. Our car is still in the shop and it's going to cost a whopping $1200 to get it fixed. Another care is out of question right now, so

makitahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16946226160704777285noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778769980042102612.post-36602324698363878262008-04-04T07:23:00.005-04:002008-04-04T17:59:04.584-04:00

When you do research, the outcome often depends on the questions you ask, or the way you phrase them. For example. This study that is mentioned on ScienceDaily. Thanks to Coturnix for pointing this out. According to the study results sex lasting 3-13 minutes is better than longer sex. What struck me, was how they measured sex, and I quote: "...from penetration of the vagina by the penis until

makitahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16946226160704777285noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778769980042102612.post-88937146921653071712008-04-04T00:01:00.002-04:002008-04-04T00:04:00.271-04:00

It's amazing! It's been a year since I started this blog. Twelve months and 134 posts later, I must say that it's been even more rewarding than I could have imagined. Thanks to all who stop by, be it occasionally or regularly, thanks to those who comment, and those who don't. Happy blogiversary to me!!

makitahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16946226160704777285noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778769980042102612.post-6336719411446327832008-04-01T12:34:00.003-04:002008-04-01T20:54:36.639-04:00

Note: I really did pass my quals. It was not an April fools joke. Although when the date was schedule some naughty thoughts of what I could do to my committee did occur to me. This morning I told F1-1 that his science teacher had e-mailed me to remind him of his comprehensive exam today. He looked at me blankly. I stared back "What? she didn't tell you? You have this oral exam today, and all the

makitahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16946226160704777285noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778769980042102612.post-23876711275556676312008-04-01T11:44:00.006-04:002008-04-01T12:20:29.826-04:00

This morning, I passed my PhD oral qualifying exam. After I failed on the first try, this wasn't an easy process. I haven't been this nervous since my high school final exams in another life time. Do I feel elated? Not quite the right word. I'm relieved to have it over with, but more than anything, I have this incredible urge to run around and do all the things that I wanted to do the past 6

makitahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16946226160704777285noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778769980042102612.post-58254068067693626572008-03-31T12:22:00.003-04:002008-03-31T12:33:35.157-04:00

As Coturnix and Mike O'Risal did, I checked my blog with the cuss-o-meter. How could I possible have come up with 0%? Of course, the website that does this, is simply trying to get traffic for an online dating website. Which is why I'm not pasting the picture here. You'll just have to believe me when I say my score was 0%. Anyway, if this is true, I'm not doing a good job. This blog is

makitahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16946226160704777285noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778769980042102612.post-7306723613169574702008-03-26T12:02:00.006-04:002008-03-31T12:38:38.000-04:00

When Sciencewoman asked Alice Pawley to join her on Scienceblogs, she asked for help choosing a name. I thought it might be too obvious, but it seemed to me, "Sciencewomen" was THE choice. Even though Alice is not strictly a scientist, and quite proud of being an engineer, she most certainly uses scientific principles in her work, and the name was simple. I suggested it, and lo and behold, it was

makitahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16946226160704777285noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778769980042102612.post-49187439325637264722008-03-25T22:53:00.003-04:002008-03-25T23:08:58.342-04:00

From Sciencedaily. Photosynthesis involves the use of light energy to oxidize water, and reduce carbon dioxide, thus forming sugars, and releasing oxygen. Scientists looking for new ways to produce hydrogen as a fuel source from renewable sources, report that an inorganic metal cluster can oxidize water to hydrogen and oxygen. This process of artificial photosynthesis uses a rare transition metal

makitahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16946226160704777285noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778769980042102612.post-53928080720474349592008-03-25T22:48:00.003-04:002008-03-25T22:52:03.913-04:00

According to Mike O'Risal every few weeks somebody spots Jesus somewhere, and the image ends up on Ebay. What he doesn't realize, is that this is how Jesus helps his faithful followers. This is just his way of making sure that they get adequately rewarded for recognizing his holy image. And sometimes even those who don't believe in him! I wonder how that works. If you don't believe in Jesus, how

makitahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16946226160704777285noreply@blogger.com