Conspiracy theory

The universe conspires against me, because every time I come on to blog all of my ideas disappear.

I have no idea why, but I will come to an answer...and promptly forget it once I get my blog.

:) LJS

Keep it private, dammit

There is just some stuff one just doesn't do in research.

Like lie. Or be sneaky about tweaking data. Or making shit up.

I try my hardest to be responsible in my research. I keep a lab notebook, I try to make sure credit is given where credit is due, if I removed a data point, I say so and why I did it. It's not just about maintaining a good reputation and making sure that you are above reproach, but it's also about being a good steward to the field of science.

My anal retentive attitude about my keeping own personal information private resonates with the perfectly logical and ethical standards of clinical research. Specifically about keeping private information out of the paws of people who have no damn business seeing it. Clinical researchers are expected to maintain patient privacy at all times, for damn good reasons. These rules are wonderful, I fully support them. Clinical researchers should hold themselves to these high ethical standards because people depend on us.

So imagine my delight and surprise to find that my husband's personal information was in a dental student's bookbag. Said bookbag was stolen. Who am I mad at? The neurologically-challenged student? Yes. He was pretty stupid. But I am even more mad at the backwards system in place. The system for allowing a student, probably untrained in HIPAA rules, to carry around patient information in clearly unprotected environments. Why is it necessary, in this day and age, to carry around papers with patient information. Get a fucking encrypted database.

This incident is especially irritating because of the high standards we have in place for clinical research. Why should students be allowed to carry around this information when there are rules, and systems, for maintaining patient confidentiality?

My alias

I try to be fun "in real life" also. Bookface allowed me to share with the world my languages, and I thought I'd find something goofy to share. Why mess with the Bookface, you ask? Because, really, who the heck cares what languages I speak and why would I share that information anyway?

:) LJS

Yielding electrons, quietly

I really do try to avoid talking about other people in the Den. You see the Den is small (it is a wee Den) and if I foul the air with ranting or bitching, then the stench hangs in the air for weeks like unwashed haggy armpits.

Also, I have better things to write about. Like that one time I visited a colony of Elvis clones and was able to negotiate a peace treaty between army ants and an impoverished village in Ghana.

That being said, I must admit that the only thing better than using earplugs to find sleep in a noisy hotel is not needing them at all when I'm at home.

My month of "not buying useless stuff" is going well. I'm not even cheating by making a list of things I'd like to buy, for a Feb 1 purchase. It is harder than I remembered, probably because I now have a car and can go out to buy things on a whim. But maybe that, too, is a lesson.

It wouldn't be a violation of my non-disclosure agreement to say that a colony of Elvis clones would explain alot of unusual things.

:) LJS

Well, it had to eventually happen

We mark post # 300 here in the Den with the fanfare and accoutrement to which we are entitled!!

I wanted a big celebration. I was thinking of hiring the "Firefly" cast, asking Jack White to emcee, and having the reddit guys cast spontaneous drawings. But, the crew were not hip to the planned celebration. They revolted against the idea of Jack coming back. Then the "Firefly" guys got really really busy warding off Reavers. The crew thought I said "Felicity" anyway. And the reddit guys got all OCD about narwhals which rendered them useless. To avoid mutany, I'm taking the crew to a Star Trek convention where I'll regale many with my deft verbal adaptations of tlhlngan Hol dialects.

Hey, it was either that or try to recast the One Ring.

Holy crap! It's 2011. I've been thinking of an interesting way to approach the year, and my ponderings led me to think on ways to live out the ideal "In discipline, lies freedom".

12 months, 12 opportunities to recognize where I could stand a little more discipline. Wait, that's just a bit too much of ass kicking for me. So I whittled it down to 4 opportunities which I think will be tough yet really rewarding. There is already swearing involved.

One: Buy less shit.

Two: Look on the bright side of life

Three: Stop with the fucking caffeine already

Four: Enjoy running

So, I'll tackle these in repeating order throughout the year. I'll also (at no additional cost!) provide my insight, whining and utter contempt for narcissistic new years resolutions.

kkhopla-uh!

:) LJS

So close to CCC

It's my Den and if I'm phoning in post #299 it's because I do what I darn well please around here and I'm busy planning a big (nay, a HUGE) celebration of posting here three hundred times. I can hear you now asking: "What is on the schedule LJS!?"

Let me tell you!!

A list of my favorite postings, photos of large woolly creatures, an imagined duel between The Terminator and Predator, and a new pair of running shorts (to keep up with all the running I do through Hypey's mind). There will be cheesecake.

So big big plans. Not enough time to blog, unfortunately. I miss being a regular presence in the Den, but I'm (wait) too busy (a minute) being all grown up (shit, this sucks).

:) LJS

Holiday

I learned a new skill over the holidays. Well, make that two.

The most important one was how to ski on one's ass. To that end, I am a master. The "mountain"

has bestowed many multicolored symbols of my mastery, known more commonly as bruises.

The one slightly less important, but much more practical, skill is making databases in Access. I wish I had paid attention to other people when they were developing a custom-made database oh so many years ago. So, I taught myself how to do it over break and now I am slightly more skilled than an abecedarian.

If I have not already stressed that Wilco's "Sky Blue Sky" is an awesome album, I must now comment. It improves with increased listening. Your auditory senses will revel in the sweet lyrical riffs and melodic voice of Jeff Tweedy. My crew is really tired of it though, because it's the only thing playing aboard. I fear a mutany. It's a better reason than strawberries, but maybe I'll add a couple of Ryan Adams tunes to assuage their savage souls.

:) LJS

New decade, new ideas!

I'm listening to Phedippidations, getting motivated to get back into the good habits that help me feel good about my body and its capabilities. I need to rediscover discipline, control and focus. For in these attributes, there is freedom. Freedom to get outside and run where ever I want, freedom to bicycle, freedom to balance on my head, and freedom to eat cake.

Is it a diet? No. I am merely acting upon the last year of wishes and reflections. Last year was spent learning what I am doing that is not helping me to be strong. This is the year of action. This is the year of not eating out 2-3 times a week, of not taking a cookie during the weekly seminar, of eating more delicious fruits and veggies.

Another thing I want to do is to tone up! I used to bicycle 25 minutes 5x/week and run 10-15 miles a week. I walked or bicycled everywhere. That sort of thing was easy for me when I didn't have a car, but it is my choice to walk or bicycle! My goal is to return to being more active, to think first of non-motorized transport (weather permitting). To run my ass off. It helps me to have goals! Being a Virgo really helps in this endeavor because I am, if anything, precise and analytical. Long-distance running really does require long-term vision because it takes so long to build up endurance. It is necessary and prudent to plan races 6-10 months in advance.

It is not here to talk about my deeds, but rather to let my deeds speak volumes. While I hope to use this blog as a way to remind me of these goals, I won't be using it to "keep track" because I have other means for doing so. I hope to have many race reports and new pictures to share!

Happy 2010!

Leaving Keats

I swear, it's only a scratchy sore throat. I do not get sick.

Back from Louisville, KY. It's amazing how quickly a week passes when I'm having a good time and talking about my work and learning about other people's work. I am exactly where I belong. More details to follow.

One motivation for longevity is to see karma finally bite some people in the ass. Hard. So I run and I run some more. Because one day I'll be older but you'll be old.

I have no desire to write poems anymore. Maybe that's a good sign. Maybe it means I'm no longer in a place where the only thing I could do was retreat inside my sadness and hope that my pen could keep up. One day I wake up and realize it's been 5 years. That was when I last thought I couldn't make it through one more morning. I still don't know how I got through it. But I did, and now I still have my sadness to keep me company but it's tempered with many happy memories. Maybe I'll write a nice long post about it and delete it before publishing it. Kind of Zen huh?

:) LJS

Vegetative state

Well well well. I learn something new everyday.

For example, I only just realized that today is World Vegetarian Day. Very cool! A day to celebrate vegetarians and encourage folks to enjoy the delicious natural foods that are vegetables. I grew up thinking that vegetables consisted of corn, lettuce, tomatoes and this omnipresent evil brussel sprout. Now, looking back, I can only wonder "What was I thinking"?!??

Vegetables are great! Thanks to my wonderful husband, I've tried (and really liked!) all sorts of new veggies. Artichokes, avocado, radishes, beets, fennel, parsnips, squash, zucchini and even brussel sprouts. All of them so delicious.

So Happy Vegetarian Day for all my favorite herbivores!!! In honor of today, let's dedicate ourselves to trying a new vegetable or fruit each week for the rest of the month. We'll be delightfully surprised!

:) LJS

A bit rusty

Oh yes, I have a blog!

Because I haven't done this in a looong time, I figured I'd start with random thoughts.

1. Earbuds really are a godsend in the office. I am blasting Wilco in my ears, trying to drown out the droning of some webinar about cell culturing. It's distracting me from my important work (oh wait, so is blogging)

2. I missed my alter ego, I will enjoy blogging again. Even if its short and sweet.

3. Does anyone else feel the urge to dance while listening to their iPOD? Even if it's in public? I do!

4. I'm back on the bike. Watch out!

Summer Salads

It's been awhile since I've been out to blog. I know that my one follower has been chomping at the beef jerky bit for updates.

Well, my thesis has been written and turned in to my committee members. It is 204 pages of love's labor. The culmination of 10 years' study and soon to be collecting dust at a library near you.

We have a cute herb garden on our balcony. Photos to come soon!

It is H-O-T outside, but I don't let stupid things like heat stroke deter me from enjoying my running or bicycling. I'm recovered, mostly, from an unfortunate attack of tendonitis and can't wait to really start training in July.

The motorcycle is in working condition, which I have come to realize is a relative term for something that's 26 years old. It turns on, it doesn't fall apart during a ride and it's peppy as all get out. What else can one ask for in a bike?

The hot weather means its salad season. Yay for cooking as little as possible! Monday was homemade pizza with lots of veggies. Last night was a greek/orzo pasta salad and tonight I'll be making Dragon's Lemon/Herb potato salad. This weekend may be the inaugural batch of gazpacho. (yum)

Here's my greek/orzo pasta salad:

1/2 bag spinach, chopped

Some black olives, chopped finely

1/4 red onion, chopped finely

Some feta cheese, chopped

1 1/2-2 cups orzo pasta

Olive oil, sea salt, fresh cracked pepper, balsamic vinegar

Directions:

1. Add the spinach, olives, cheese and onion in a bowl. Mix in some olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper.

2. Cook the pasta. Drain, let cool.

3. Add the pasta to the other ingredients. Throw in some more olive oil and vinegar for good measure.

4. Toss all the goodness together and enjoy!

Super easy, can be made vegan by substituting hard tofu for feta.

Note bene! Both recipes call for balsamic vinegar. Balsamic vinegar is one of those things that a chef should not skimp on. You don't use too much of it, so it should be packed with deliciousness. Go to a deli or fine foods store and find yourself some good, sweet, syrup-like balsamic. You taste buds will love you for it.

FSM invades your joint

Funny title huh? If you don't know what FSM is by now, check out the pastafarianism here.

I made what I think is my best slide picture ever. EVER! (seriously, it's awesome!) Check it out below! It's a cross-sectional representation of the cartilage/bone interface. The squiggly lines are collagen, the circles are chondrocytes (aka cartilage cells)

But now that I'm looking at it again, it does look like little FSMs are all over.
{sigh} Maybe one of my committee members will get a kick out of making similar interpretation.

Behold!

My very first follower!

I'm so excited! I has a follower! It feels like it's Secret Santa season and I'm all excited. (wait, I already mentioned this)

Welcome to spring everyone! The apple blossoms are in bloom and they are my absolute favorite aroma. During my run, I ran past about 5-6 trees all in a cluster and I stopped to just inhale deeply their luscious, pungent, sharp aroma. In fact, I think that I'm going to bicycle past it on my way home just so I can smell them again. How wonderful!

On the by and by, I slaughtered over 12,000 calories in April. twelve freakin' THOUSAND! Take THAT mischievous remnants of cheesecake. muahahahahaha!!

:) LJS

Snails Pace

I'm at 78.2 miles this month, with two more runs left. Oh yes. I am getting there, slowly and surely!

Yesterday's run was good. I started off on the hilly part of the 5 mile loop. Why haven't I thought to get rid of the hard part early on when I have more energy? My legs are...sore and tight and unhappy. But bicycling into work today seemed to help a bit.

About this whole Twitter thing. I admit that I've been following Hyperion and Ryan Adams on Twitter. (Hyperion, this is really a compliment to you. You're in the same company as Ryan Adams!) Am I going to Twitter? Uh. No. Probably not, I mean. First of all, it seems crack-a-licious fun to be micro-blogging and I'd be doing it like every two minutes. Which would a) feed my scattered tendencies and b) seriously diminish whatever vestige of productivity I have going on. But it does seem fun.

And, the motorcycles are OUT and working. I am awaiting new handlebars so I can promptly drop the bike and bend a new set. {sigh} REI is having a sale on lightweight camping gear, so I may trek over there and see what they have in preparation for the "Esmonde-White Tour of America" to take place this summer.

OK. Time to finish Chapter 3. Chow!

A new land distance record?

In order to avoid the wrath of Hyperion's "wit", I decided that I will just write a "bit" a day. Wait. I'm sure I can haiku this sentiment...

Hypey's biting wit
I avoid because I care
Thus I write a bit

Heh.

Anyhoo. I am loving my outdoor performance gear sunglasses. They are fashionable, lightweight and make me look so darn cute! And, I registered for the Dexter-Ann Arbor half marathon! It will (alas) be my only spring race. But, I do have a budget and I do have summer plans that I must save up for.

This month, so far, I have run 73 miles. This is very close to my record of 78.4 miles in July 2006. I am psyched because I have three more running days left in April and I know that I will make a new record this month. I wasn't even trying to break my distance record. Yay for this new moderate-consistent plan! I am enjoying a longer run mid-week, it makes the Sunday long run feel a bit more within reach.

On Target

March was a good running month for me! I met my weekly goals for the whole month, 4 days a week and my mileage goals.
My grand total of 62 miles was muchly improved over February.

But, old demons are starting to rear their ugly head. Things like a tight hamstring, tight quads are making me sore. I am hoping that, now I am bicycling to school again, my muscles will start to feel better.

It does look like I will be able to meet my mileage goals. But I fear that my funds are too low to support registering for all of the races I wanted to run in this spring. I need a new pair of OUTDOOR PERFORMANCE GEAR sunglasses, which are a bit pricey. And, I can't have both the sunglasses and four race registrations...I'm too fiscally responsible for that sort of thing.
So...I'm still keeping Cleveland and Dexter-Ann Arbor, the Road Ends is up in the air but the Martian 10K is out.

That first burst of spring

Warm weather is coming my way, in fits and spurts. The first of the crocus flowers and the daffodils are greeting us and I too feel like I am making my way out of the cold and the haze. If slowly and with trepidation.

My running is going well! The 4x/week program is good and I'm slowing creeping back up the mileage. Now I complain. Whyyyyy? Because it's my blog and I'll whine if I want to...
anyhoo....
My right hamstring feels like a rubber band, after being left out in the dead of winter, that is now being stretched to its limit. It feels tight and crackly and I almost screamed in yoga class today getting into a downward-facing dog. That posture used to be one of my favorites, now it is painful!? One harbinger of old age, I understand, is that my body will start to complain and whine and sometimes just break down (a la the "hamstring incident" of 2008).
But, I also know that giving up is also a sign of aging. So, I'll be stretching more often. Spending more time doin' those yoga poses that make my muscles ache.

Momentous moments have occurred, and I feel settled for now. If not slightly overwhelmed because I just (I think) offered to write a grant application ON TOP OF my thesis served with a side plate of post-doc job application. Oh yes, I did just say THESIS.

I'm writing up baby. YEAH!!

:) LJS

I'm training

"Let's face it, most of us are scoffers. But moments before zero hour, it did not pay to take chances." -Ralphie

It is time to train. It is time to deny, push, and push some more. I have set some hard goals for the spring! Four races in three months, maybe two half-marathons. From April 'til June, I'll be lacing up in the wee hours of the morning and hitting the road in a test of my will and my physical self. The long runs are getting longer.

Some quick changes here in the Den: I changed the "photos" links to all of the races I plan to run. And I'll be posting more about my training, mostly to keep up my energy. I need all the help I can give myself...so I can beat myself. Existential huh?

So this year, I have made peace with my 4 runs/week training schedule. I just can't push myself to do 5. So, I am trying a variation on the moderate-consistent plan (see Episode 76) in which I have less days to run, but I run longer during those runs. I think it'll be good.

:) LJS

A new series

I've heard many stupid things relating to the economy lately. Things like bonuses, posh retreats and what-haves for bankers bailed out by our previous administration. Kudos to Obama for putting the smackdown on bonuses, BTW.

So I'm starting a new series called "Stop Whining". It's a populist-style rant for all the well-heeled people who think that these economic times mean things like buying a $2000 dress instead of a $5000 dress, less vacationing in Aspen, no private jets and driving themselves around. Basically, people who don't know what it feels like to be on the cusp of losing everything.

Ironically, I've heard the MOST bitching from these sorts of people. Mostly in the New York Times. Both entertaining and infuriating.

Segment 1: Gee, how can I possibly live on 500k a year? And, the Consumerist responds.