End of the year musings

I guess five months is a long time to not update a blog. Most people have probably deemed this blog dead by now, and I wouldn't necessarily disagree with that just yet. I can't quite say if this is just a quiet pop from the fire before the embers cool beyond having the capability of setting alight a new log or if this is a spark of rejuvenation that signals an old engine returning from its year long slumber. In any case, like times before, here I am.

Certainly many things have happened in the last year that are at least of some note. I've officially joined the Comeron Lab and am slowly climbing hand-over-hand toward the next rung of my professional career. I now live in an apartment where I don't want to run outside and scream at the blabbering drunks who think that pulsating low frequencies somehow bring them closer to undergrad Nirvana every weekend. Which also means that I now have my cat living with me--which, is more of a highlight than I'd like to admit, truthfully. I've also been in a relationship with a cultured human being for the entire year too. I hope I've not scared her off after bringing her down to Alabama this holiday season.

Bama is always curious. I returned to my hometown after a year to see that absolutely nothing has changed, save for a new exit off the highway that was designed as a sort of heart bypass,but now is a frivolous plastic surgery since most of the hosiery mills have moved away. Everyone's a little bit fatter, including me, and going on with their lives with a pace that you'd think was predetermined at the point of conception. They're buying houses, getting married, and having children. Now the pattern is so clear. Everyone is doing the same thing that the generation before them did with only minor alterations to the plan. How change comes about in any form is remarkable.

So I suppose I'm trudging on in my own way. Towards some fantastic goal that is sure to impress my friends and family. Some days I yearn to be a cabinet maker or fisherman, producing immediate results with my own hands, cracked and dry after years of work.
I've been so cut off from reality. My work is all about thinking: How can we do this? How does this fit our model of X? What is the purpose of Y? Can we demonstrate that Y affects X? How can I spin this in a way that the government will give me money?  Science is not for the impatient. That's what I learned in 2011. That, and sometimes you've got to stop and appreciate where you've been and where you are. Graduate school has taught me that it's okay to feel stupid and that each person is here for their own specific reason--not just for the same reason I'm here.

It's taken me too long to realize the importance of family and friends. Before, I was so focused on the end that the journey was irrelevant. Anyhow, welcome to 2012. Lets see this as a spark that returns the engine to life.

Artemia, Protists, and Synthesis!

If Life didn't start here.. I'm beginning to think that it could have been easily brought here--after tonight, that is.

I set up a 1/2 liter container of water with some dust and crushed cracker in it last week, and I'm proud to say that I have a whole world of microorganisms growing now. There's quite the variety of cilliates and misc protozoans... plus at high magnification (1000x+) you can see swarms of rod-shaped bacteria! Check out this image of all of the bacteria:
I can only hope that things will get bigger and more interesting (without starting to smell up my room) in the next few days.

I've also been culturing some brine shrimp to look at. Right now, they are just oily naupili, easily squished and chock a block full of lipids. They're in their second day of life, and I can't wait until I get a few adult sized to play with.

This week went well even with me being sick. My two tests that I barely studied for went better than expected. I'm confident that I did better than I deserved on both the lab practical and lecture test. I've got a lab report due Wednesday, and I really need to get around to it. I've just got the easy stuff finished so far..leaving my discussion, intro, and abstract to complete. This week's lab produced a vial of rubber-cement smelling ester rather than the intended raspberry flavor; the TA said that was normal though...O well. I enjoyed this lab since it gave us the freedom to do the work to prepare for the experiment.

Anywho... I'm off to bed. I'm working the Science Olympiad tomorrow with Jennifer. I'm helping out with the Herpetology section. I'll be honest, I know next to nothing about herps... but it'll be interesting to see how the kids do on questions that I could only barely answer. I'm much more of a cellular or fish guy i think.

Cheers,
Andrew

All Things Fishy

My Reef 11-6-06

This is my beloved Residence Hall Reef. I've been maintaining it for about three months now. It's fully stocked now with about 18 invertebrate species and two fish. I'm planning on removing the chromis before thanksgiving break to try and reduce the bio-load a bit. I'm currently running a Skilter 250 and an Aquaclear 20 power filter for Filtration/Water Movement/Oxygen Exchange. Some people will say that Skilters don't skim, but I think it does fairly well for just a 10 gallon. My late concerns are the proliferation of hydroids, and the upcoming Christmas break. The hydroids haven't become such a large threat just yet, but I've been noticing them more and more on the rocks. The main concern is the Christmas break. I'll be out of the dorm for over a week. Feeding isn't so much of a problem, the big problem is evaporation. I lose about a liter of water a day... If I don't find a way to counter that quickly, there will be BIG PROBLEMS.

The tank has been a joy in my life over the past months, giving me something to do when I should be studying or doing homework. It has been a fantastic educational tool as well. I have a good many people coming in to see the aquarium, asking "what is that!; Is that alive!?". The negative impact that our hobby has on the reefs can somewhat be offset by just introducing people to what is out there, and even more so if we try our best at propagation of some of the rarer corals and anemones. Anemone propagation has become big business in the Aquarium industry since Anthony Califo has published his articles detailing the process.


I'm hoping to get invited to go on another fish collecting trip with Dr. Stallsmith in the next week or two (Assuming that it isn't raining for once). I'm just now realizing why I enjoy such things so much. A.) It's doing something. B.) It's doing something that I might potentially like to do for a life. C.) There is so little information on our native species--Research Opportunity Galore! Speaking of which, I don't have classes on Fridays next semester, and I think that would make a particularly awesome day to throw in some research credits. If I can ever summon up enough gall to talk to Dr. Stallsmith about that again. I don't have a clue to what I would do, I just know that I want to do it. If I'm going to be anything, I really should get to work on it now. Research work this early in the game would be a fantastic opportunity for me. It's just one of those things that many undergraduates don't get out and do. I don't know if it's laziness, intimidation, or what...but I want to do something like this before I have to for a living! College shouldn't be job training, this is our time to learn about anything and everything that we have an interest in.

That's it for me tonight. Time to get some work done while it rains for the next two days.
Cheers,
Andrew

The Second (Hopefully this won't be a naming trend)

With 13 hours of sleep last night, I've had more of a relaxing day today. I actually had time to sit in my car for about 5 minutes after karate to listen to some Fresh Air by National Public Radio. It's nice having a good radio station now. Back in Fort Payne I really didn't spend much time listening to the radio, aside from a static-ridden Morning Edition on NPR. Ignore the conservative moments and it's rather fantastic.

The semester is coming to a close rather quickly. My roommates and I have all decided to kick out the Gamecube after the Thanksgiving break so that we will all actually study for once. I've gotten fairly lucky with my roommates, especially Nick Hillman, whom I'm trying to get to stay with his biology major. Nick and I have had a few late night intellectual conversations here and there, talking about the usual things that people in Alabama normally disagree about. Anyhow, finals are coming up soon and I guess it's getting time put some effort into my studies. I'm not really worried about any of them; my only worry is that I won't make an A in my math class, because without an A on the Final, it'll just remain a B. This is the one time that I really can't let myself down. I started the semester with the goal to keep a 4.0, and I plan on doing it.

I purchased an Espresso machine last Sunday to further enhance my addiction to caffeine. I realized just how horrible of a drug it was last Sunday night after consuming two free Red-Bulls during Pep Band practice. I believe I actually went unconscious around 6am Monday morning--starting Monday in the most horrible of ways. Espresso actually contains less Caffeine than drip coffee, and it was my intention to use it as a "step down program". However; that just doesn't work when you consume twice as much espresso as drip coffee. I guess I'll decide if my purchase was a good one or not in the upcoming weeks.
Blog 3 will follow soon...Stay Tuned!
--Andrew Adrian