The Pew research center has a 15 question poll to test religious literacy. Ironically, atheists/agnostic rank among the highest, along with Jews and Mormons. I thought I'd score poorly, since I'm of the "I have no freakin' clue and I don't care either" boat about religion, but I got 13/15 (I thought one was a trick question...it wasn't). They have a nice breakdown of the data as a reward when you are done. It took me about 90 seconds to take the quiz.
Take the quiz.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Stuff...you know.
This is awesome.
I don't think I ever mentioned (on the blog) that I got four golfodulcean poison dart frogs at the reptile fair (they are not reptiles, I know...but tomatoes are fruits, even though they've been legally declared vegetables...so this is the culture we live in).
They are completely adorable. The downside is that when you get pet dart frogs, pet wingless fruit flies are part of the package. Wingless fruit flies are not completely adorable.
I like to watch the frogs eat. They are voracious buggers - they eat so many flies! I can stare at them for quite a while and watch them hunt.
I probably shouldn't have gotten them, or maybe I should have gotten fish or something instead. You can watch fish all the time because they are always swimming (some hide, but whatever). The frogs come out of the moss when they are hungry and wait for me to feed them...then they retreat into little "burrows" when they are full. It's kind of funny - they start hopping all over the place when I take the lid off of their container - I think they've been trained to know when they are going to get fed.
My tui chub report is almost done. I finished up the figures today. Next up is the major revisions that the authors of a journal returned to me. Then I'll have 2 chapters done. Tui chubs is just a report, but it's written, and if I get that published then I'm done. It's weird. I feel like I've had an oddly easy phd experience. Aside from getting sick and falling apart halfway through, it's been a bit of a breeze. I've had a ton of free time, plenty of time off, I have a job lined up, possible post-doc research lined up, I'll have at least 3 publications, with potential for several more, I've gotten along great with my advisor and my labmates, and I've never had to worry about funding or teach. Plus I really like my research, and the species and systems I work with. I suppose it doesn't hurt to have broad research interests, but still - I like what I'm doing.
Now the next chapter is going to start pretty soon. Still unsure of what I'd like to do next. Maybe travel? I don't really want to go on a long road trip by myself, but that might be what happens. Not many other people have the kind of time that I have to take vacations. A lot of the ones that do are dirtbags, douchebags, or married, which doesn't leave a lot left over for me.
I don't think I ever mentioned (on the blog) that I got four golfodulcean poison dart frogs at the reptile fair (they are not reptiles, I know...but tomatoes are fruits, even though they've been legally declared vegetables...so this is the culture we live in).
They are completely adorable. The downside is that when you get pet dart frogs, pet wingless fruit flies are part of the package. Wingless fruit flies are not completely adorable.
I like to watch the frogs eat. They are voracious buggers - they eat so many flies! I can stare at them for quite a while and watch them hunt.
I probably shouldn't have gotten them, or maybe I should have gotten fish or something instead. You can watch fish all the time because they are always swimming (some hide, but whatever). The frogs come out of the moss when they are hungry and wait for me to feed them...then they retreat into little "burrows" when they are full. It's kind of funny - they start hopping all over the place when I take the lid off of their container - I think they've been trained to know when they are going to get fed.
My tui chub report is almost done. I finished up the figures today. Next up is the major revisions that the authors of a journal returned to me. Then I'll have 2 chapters done. Tui chubs is just a report, but it's written, and if I get that published then I'm done. It's weird. I feel like I've had an oddly easy phd experience. Aside from getting sick and falling apart halfway through, it's been a bit of a breeze. I've had a ton of free time, plenty of time off, I have a job lined up, possible post-doc research lined up, I'll have at least 3 publications, with potential for several more, I've gotten along great with my advisor and my labmates, and I've never had to worry about funding or teach. Plus I really like my research, and the species and systems I work with. I suppose it doesn't hurt to have broad research interests, but still - I like what I'm doing.
Now the next chapter is going to start pretty soon. Still unsure of what I'd like to do next. Maybe travel? I don't really want to go on a long road trip by myself, but that might be what happens. Not many other people have the kind of time that I have to take vacations. A lot of the ones that do are dirtbags, douchebags, or married, which doesn't leave a lot left over for me.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
garden photos
We planted a little more than half the garden last week, and set up the irrigation system. Now we need to stay on top of the water situation, fix the irrigation system that we set up (this is a learning process), and plant the rest. Also we should add wood chips to the path down the middle and think about mulching the rows. The current plant list is: lettuce, chard, broccoli (2 kinds) cabbage, strawberries, parsley, joi choi, green onions and walla walla onions, carrots...and I'm probably forgetting something.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Recent photos
I've been a blogging slacker lately, especially with photos. So here are some recent ones:
Antioch Dunes trip to find the Lange's Metalmark. I didn't see any, but a coworker found the first of the season. Here are 2 photos of the endangered Antioch Dunes evening primrose:
Next up is the trip to Middle Palisade (just the base, sigh):
Finally, our new garden! Vicken and I watered the hell out of it, since the soil is a lot like concrete. We worked some of it, and today we're going to go back and work it for as long as we can stand. The tentative plan is to make two beds that go down the length of the plot with a walkway in the middle. Here we go!
Oddly, my Dad is one of the most excited people about my garden. Though he's a complete motorhead (racing cars, motorcycles, driving fast things in general), he keeps saying that he'd really like to get a garden. I think it's adorable. He used to have some big saltwater tanks, so I know he can stick to husbandry. I think he could do it. Mom and Dad have been talking about selling their downtown big fancy house and downsizing...maybe they'll have a little bit of land and can have a garden too.
Finally, I'm considering getting some poison dart frogs. I know, I'm a nerd. Whatever. they're pretty and I've always wanted them, and the Sacramento Reptile Fair is this weekend.
Climbing news...um...there's a comp Friday that I might go to. Then I think Stacy and I are going to meet up to do all the new boulder problems on Sunday too. Right now I'm focusing on work and the garden. I have a report due the 30th that is pretty much an entire chapter of my dissertation. Plus it's shoulder season right now...I'm bored with the stuff at elevation, the days are shorter, and it's still too hot for stuff in the valley. Plus I'm kind of over the weekly partner hunt.
By the way, I started watching the show Fringe (via Netflix). It's totally silly (I find myself shouting "COME ON!!!" to the tv, but it's pretty entertaining.
Antioch Dunes trip to find the Lange's Metalmark. I didn't see any, but a coworker found the first of the season. Here are 2 photos of the endangered Antioch Dunes evening primrose:
Next up is the trip to Middle Palisade (just the base, sigh):
Finally, our new garden! Vicken and I watered the hell out of it, since the soil is a lot like concrete. We worked some of it, and today we're going to go back and work it for as long as we can stand. The tentative plan is to make two beds that go down the length of the plot with a walkway in the middle. Here we go!
Finally, I'm considering getting some poison dart frogs. I know, I'm a nerd. Whatever. they're pretty and I've always wanted them, and the Sacramento Reptile Fair is this weekend.
Climbing news...um...there's a comp Friday that I might go to. Then I think Stacy and I are going to meet up to do all the new boulder problems on Sunday too. Right now I'm focusing on work and the garden. I have a report due the 30th that is pretty much an entire chapter of my dissertation. Plus it's shoulder season right now...I'm bored with the stuff at elevation, the days are shorter, and it's still too hot for stuff in the valley. Plus I'm kind of over the weekly partner hunt.
By the way, I started watching the show Fringe (via Netflix). It's totally silly (I find myself shouting "COME ON!!!" to the tv, but it's pretty entertaining.
Monday, September 13, 2010
I'm getting a garden
I don't know why it took me so long. My mom and I gardened when I was a kid and we were living on the island...which was the first 18 years of my life. A labmate encouraged me to get a plot on campus, so I'm going on the tour tomorrow to pick out a plot. I think I'm going to get Vicken to share it with me...
Winter crops - carrots, greens, chard, cilantro, onions, garlic, cabbage (meh), peas, beets...
It's a bit of a pain that it's not in my backyard, but the bonus is that there is irrigation and you get a pretty big plot with lots of sun. Until I get a house that can provide that, this is probably the next best thing.
In other goings-on, I went to a "new" bouldering area called Burst on Saturday with Jake and Adam - I don't think it was worth the drive, but it's super pretty up there. Yesterday I went to the Sacramento Farmer's Market (hectic) and bought a lot of stuff - omg it's so cheap there. 80c/lb for tomatoes, 4 red bell peppers for a buck, 1$/lb chilies and sweet peppers. I got 5lbs of figs for 10 bucks and made fig balsamic preserves and fig jam...hello Christmas gifts.
Could I really leave California?
Winter crops - carrots, greens, chard, cilantro, onions, garlic, cabbage (meh), peas, beets...
It's a bit of a pain that it's not in my backyard, but the bonus is that there is irrigation and you get a pretty big plot with lots of sun. Until I get a house that can provide that, this is probably the next best thing.
In other goings-on, I went to a "new" bouldering area called Burst on Saturday with Jake and Adam - I don't think it was worth the drive, but it's super pretty up there. Yesterday I went to the Sacramento Farmer's Market (hectic) and bought a lot of stuff - omg it's so cheap there. 80c/lb for tomatoes, 4 red bell peppers for a buck, 1$/lb chilies and sweet peppers. I got 5lbs of figs for 10 bucks and made fig balsamic preserves and fig jam...hello Christmas gifts.
Could I really leave California?
Thursday, September 9, 2010
A take on the Koran burning that I hadn't thought of...
Ok so we can all agree that the fundamentalist preacher and his congregation in Florida are batshit. But here's a point that I hadn't thought of, and it comes from Pharyngula (linked on the right). Anyway, here's a link to the post (Setting the Koran on fire, vs. setting personal liberties on fire) and here's a choice quote:
"And to suggest that some guy burning a book in a remote land will incite more anti-American sentiment is absurd. We've got drones buzzing over Iraq and Afghanistan killing people with a push of a button; we've got an armed force occupying those countries; we have bombed their infrastructure into rubble. We've killed hundreds of thousands of Muslims. And now we're to believe that their love of the West will be suddenly devastated by a video of paper burning on youtube? Get a grip, man."
We are so far removed from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan aren't we. It's shocking how sheltered we really are.
"And to suggest that some guy burning a book in a remote land will incite more anti-American sentiment is absurd. We've got drones buzzing over Iraq and Afghanistan killing people with a push of a button; we've got an armed force occupying those countries; we have bombed their infrastructure into rubble. We've killed hundreds of thousands of Muslims. And now we're to believe that their love of the West will be suddenly devastated by a video of paper burning on youtube? Get a grip, man."
We are so far removed from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan aren't we. It's shocking how sheltered we really are.
September = harvest!
I love August through September in California...or at least this August and September since it's been quite cool this year. It rained last night! A quarter of an inch! Unheard of.
This time of year, fall fruits are starting to come in season and a lot of summer fruits and veggies are still going strong. Farmers markets are amazing, as are friends' gardens and trees. One of my friends does peach research in the horticulture and agronomy department, and has acres and acres of peaches that (I don't know why) aren't getting harvested. We went over to her house to help her do some canning, and made peach salsa, peach jam and peach chutney. I took a bunch of peaches home and made peach ice cream (using John and Lauren's ice cream maker), a peach pie and a peach tart, plus I froze a bunch of peach slices for winter use. The Pedrick produce stand has some amazing deal right now too - I got 10 lbs of tomatoes for 10 bucks and roasted them with some garlic cloves for tomato sauce. I also got a bunch of pickling cucumbers and fresh dill and canned some dill pickles. Not sure what's next...whatever is cheap and plentiful. Apples and pears are starting right now...I wish I had more freezer space.
I told a friend that I bought the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving and he scoffed that "canning is such a California thing." But come on! We have so much produce here. It makes sense. It's times like these that I wonder if I could ever leave California. I just need my own garden. So jealous of people with big vegetable gardens.
I'm more excited about climbing in the gym and canning right now than getting outside to climb. That's why I have a day job.
This time of year, fall fruits are starting to come in season and a lot of summer fruits and veggies are still going strong. Farmers markets are amazing, as are friends' gardens and trees. One of my friends does peach research in the horticulture and agronomy department, and has acres and acres of peaches that (I don't know why) aren't getting harvested. We went over to her house to help her do some canning, and made peach salsa, peach jam and peach chutney. I took a bunch of peaches home and made peach ice cream (using John and Lauren's ice cream maker), a peach pie and a peach tart, plus I froze a bunch of peach slices for winter use. The Pedrick produce stand has some amazing deal right now too - I got 10 lbs of tomatoes for 10 bucks and roasted them with some garlic cloves for tomato sauce. I also got a bunch of pickling cucumbers and fresh dill and canned some dill pickles. Not sure what's next...whatever is cheap and plentiful. Apples and pears are starting right now...I wish I had more freezer space.
I told a friend that I bought the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving and he scoffed that "canning is such a California thing." But come on! We have so much produce here. It makes sense. It's times like these that I wonder if I could ever leave California. I just need my own garden. So jealous of people with big vegetable gardens.
I'm more excited about climbing in the gym and canning right now than getting outside to climb. That's why I have a day job.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Thursday, September 2, 2010
9.02.10. Bless.
http://cbsuapps.tc.cornell.edu/structure.aspx
I think I may use this site more than any other on the internet. Love love love it. Don't have to use my own computer to run this intensive stuff.
I'm feeling a lot better...still numb around my sides, but overall a lot better. Neuro never got back to me. I'm thinking about getting a new doctor. Whatever.
It's almost Labor Day weekend and on most of these long weekends I stay home to avoid the shitshow of traffic and climber crowds. I have a flexible enough schedule at this point that I can do that. Don't know how long that will last. Plus I'm a little more psyched on hiking right now than climbing...even though every time I go for a big-ass hike I say I'm ready to start sport climbing again.
I think I'm going to apply for a job in Colorado - the location is negotiable. State residents might get priority, and I'm almost but not quite qualified. Could be good practice for applying for a job that I really want and have a good shot at.
On another note, Happy 9.02.10!!! Go Fug Yourself (linked on the right) had a special day memorializing that coming-of-age show. I remember staying up late at night in 5th grade to watch it. Scandalous! There will only be one 9.02.10. Celebrate it. Live it. Love it. I always liked Brandon more than Dylan. Now I think Dylan was actually the hotter of the two. This could be because he happens to be on the Law and Order SVU that's on TV right as I'm typing this! Whoa! Some people are more attractive as they age.
I think I may use this site more than any other on the internet. Love love love it. Don't have to use my own computer to run this intensive stuff.
I'm feeling a lot better...still numb around my sides, but overall a lot better. Neuro never got back to me. I'm thinking about getting a new doctor. Whatever.
It's almost Labor Day weekend and on most of these long weekends I stay home to avoid the shitshow of traffic and climber crowds. I have a flexible enough schedule at this point that I can do that. Don't know how long that will last. Plus I'm a little more psyched on hiking right now than climbing...even though every time I go for a big-ass hike I say I'm ready to start sport climbing again.
I think I'm going to apply for a job in Colorado - the location is negotiable. State residents might get priority, and I'm almost but not quite qualified. Could be good practice for applying for a job that I really want and have a good shot at.
On another note, Happy 9.02.10!!! Go Fug Yourself (linked on the right) had a special day memorializing that coming-of-age show. I remember staying up late at night in 5th grade to watch it. Scandalous! There will only be one 9.02.10. Celebrate it. Live it. Love it. I always liked Brandon more than Dylan. Now I think Dylan was actually the hotter of the two. This could be because he happens to be on the Law and Order SVU that's on TV right as I'm typing this! Whoa! Some people are more attractive as they age.
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