All systems go....

That was just a reminder to those who thought that houston was done before the all-star break last year...especially those from atlanta. Though it is a bad sign when we are behind both chicago teams and the canadians. not to mention baltimore...cummon, when was the last time they were any good?

and i'm hoping that JVG sets his team down and reminds them that it takes four quarters to make a whole game. though i'm smelling 95 western finals all over this series, it's good to be heading back to dallas.

they do indeed 

So much pain...

If there is one thing I really hate, it is writing. Whoever decided that scribbling some wavy lines on paper would be a good way to convey our thoghts and feelings to others needs to be shot. I have less than two weeks to write a 10 page paper on my research progress and future plans. So far I have an outline and stack of papers 6 inches thick i need to read and reference in the document.

Speaking, I'm fine. As evidenced by yesterday. I put less than 8 hours total into my presentation and it went off without a hitch. I got favorable reviews and my boss said he thought it was good. Now, when i try to put the same thing down on paper, i'm going to have my committee tell me that it isn't well thought out, and they can't follow it, and that it needs to be redone.

Alas, this is the story of my life. I'm always better in person than i am on paper. It is hard to get a call back when I submit a resume, but if I do manage to get a face to face interview, I'm a lock for the job. Anyone who talks to me for five minutes realizes that I am competent and able, but if I write a paper, i come across like a brain dead chimp.

This is the main reason I am going to have an industrial position when i graduate. I can do the research, and am personable enough to work my way up the ladder, but if i had to sit in a university and write grants and papers to fund my own research, i'd be dead in a week.

In summation: writing sucks, i'm going to go sit out in the sun and read.

I feel like I should care more....

Tonight I have to give a seminar over my research progress to all the graduate students in the department. It is supposed to be somewhat polished and professional and contain data and all that stuff. I finished putting together slides last friday and really haven't given it a thought since. Last night I decided that beer, pizza, and pool were a better alternative to proffing my talk and practicing. And I followed that up with staying up till midnight to watch McGrady bust one in Van Horn's eye for 2-0 lead.

Today I have already spent more time on this post than i have on my talk, and it doesn't even bother me. I am so confident that i am so good, I don't even feel the need to reherse. This is either going to go really well, or really bad.

Oh well, either way there will be a happy hour afterwards.

1 down....

McGrady 1 - Mavericks 0.

Matumbo is more of a force than I ever gave him credit for. At least he stopped that gay finger wagging thing. Nowitzki is still super-human, but still can't overcome the stackhouse curse. Hopefully dallas doesn't get smart and unleash Bradley on us.

Performance Art

I am quitting my job to move to New York (or maybe Las Vegas) and start an off broadway show. In this show I will throw a series of felines (each larger than the last) into a clear vat of petroleum jelly. First a house cat, then an ocelot, then a cheetah, then a mountain lion, then a tiger, then a lion. They will all struggle but eventually drown due to the fact that they cannot swim through such a thick and sticky substance. After they all have died, the stage will go dark except for a single spotlight pointed at a small boy crying in the corner. He will be holding a sign that reads "Viscosity Killed the Cat".

I am an intellectual giant...

I found out recently that if you are making chocolate milk and you are down to the last of the chocolate syrup and are getting frustrated because you cannot seem to get enough to make a good glass, there is a solution. Open the chocolate syrup container, pour some milk in and shake. What results is the most chocolatey pure glass of yummy I have ever had. Next time I don't think I'm going to wait till I'm almost out before trying this. A half full container should do nicely.

Best Weapon Ever...

I am hoping that my biochemistry career lands me a job making biological weapons. (For the u.s. government or any other clandestine opperation that pays in U.S. dollar or Euros). I had thought about developing bacterial bombs and viral transmission devices, but those aren't the answer.

If you really want to win any skirmish you ever find yourself in, you just need:
A pack of dogs.
A hive of bees.
Dogs with bees in their mouth, so that when they bark, they shoot bees at you.

Editors note:

I am working on secret project. I can't tell you what it is yet, but it will be great. hopefully in the "make me rich" sort of way. Because you are all a bunch of suckers. Ok, now i've said too much. I'm going to go now. Suckers.

Oxymoron...

Note: Don't read the following if you are not smart...it will only make your head hurt.

Today there was a discussion about how appropriate the phrase "accurately predict" is. I contend that it is an oxymoron because if you can accurately predict, then you are not predicting at all.

The point was raised that this is a valid phrase in the case of hypotheses. It was contended that the strength of a hypothesis is judged by how accurately it predicts the outcome of an experiment.

I called B.S., and believe that you don't judge the value of a hypothesis Ex post facto. The strength of a hypothesis is judged at the time it is presented based on the data present in the here and now. A very strong hypothesis can be proven false at a later date, but that does not mean that it was not a strong and valid hypothesis at the outset.

I now open the floor for comments:

What is happening to me?

I went back and read over some of the stuff I had posted back when first started writing this thing. And, there was some really good stuff. Some of it was funny and topical, and one liners that you could take and quote to your friends and claim as your own. But, now? I've got nothing. I post less frequently and it is all about how I will get around to writing something good later. Man I hope later comes soon.

I did have a great weekend. But it was all the kind of stuff that I can't, or isn't interesting to write about. Maybe i'll start making stuff up. I'll just change this whole thing to "Fantastic adventures that never really happened".

Just a thought....

Given all the financial difficulties due to the recent rash of lawsuits, is the Catholic church requiring all the cardinals to ask for bereavement fares to Rome?