07.13.08
Posted in Adventure, Biology, Critters, Hug a tree, Not just a theorist, behind the curtain at 8:18 pm by CMonster
Earlier this afternoon, I came home from grocery shopping to find a frog hopping across my living room.
By itself, that’s pretty bizarre, even if I do live on the first floor-it’s pretty hard to get even a housefly by my cats, much less anything larger.
Then I realized two things, in quick succession:
1. The frog was furry. (Problematic)
2. Come to think of it, that squat, hopping shape near my pantry was actually a bat- albeit one with the wings folded under the body.
For a pet owner, finding a bat inside your home is a pretty scary thing- there’s always the fear of rabies, and with such small teeth, it’s not always clear when your pet has been bitten. Given that my cats regard bats as “Mice with wings” (aka, the greatest toy EVER), the risk of contact is… somewhat higher.
As for what to do? The good news is that the county I live in offers a free rabies-testing service, and I’ll know in a few days just how much a concern this will be.
The bad news is that my cats (lovable purrballs that they are) are somewhat at the far edge of the timeframe for a rabies shot to be effective- and a quick survey of cat owners I know has suggested that I’m not the only one who’s been slow to renew vaccinations. As I’m now finding out, just keeping the cats indoors isn’t any guarantee of protection. So if you’re reading this, go forth! Make sure your pets are up to date on their medical visits, even if they seem healthy now.
The other aspect of this situation that bothers me is that the actual rabies test is not, in fact, particularly humane- even if I did bring the bat to the humane society for testing. Essentially, it involves examining labeled brain tissue under a fluorescent microscope– and so merely because it wandered into my living room, I found myself owning and signing away the rights to euthanize and test the furry frog.
It’s upsetting on many levels, but as a chemist, I know that there have been some fantastic recent advances in non-lethal sampling and identification of substances in the brain. I’ll have to ask around, but there has to be a better way to do this- executing something just to find out if it has rabies feels too much like the modern equivalent of a witch dunking. And that’s not sitting well with me tonight.
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07.10.08
Posted in Adventure, Turtles all the way down, behind the curtain at 1:45 am by CMonster
As my schedule for a busy July month sorts itself out, it’s time to look ahead to August, and plan a trip for the summer.
This is an idea that I first began to float last year, and it’s become more pressing as I’ve watched a good friend finish her seven-year quest for the PhD: I’ve set a specific goal of seeing at least one new thing every month, and at least one bigger trip in the area each year.
There’s a big disconnect at work here, though: grad school isn’t something that encourages broadening your horizons beyond the bounds of the office, and when we travel, we go far (as for conferences). The result is a set of people who might have packed across most of the world, without ever seeing much of the neighborhood near their home of so many years.
And for me, that misses the point of travel. “Tourist” spots have never really held much excitement for me, and when I go somewhere new, I try to live it, not just visit. Sometimes that means sneaking through back alleys to unusual ethnic restaurants, and other times it means kicking my shoes off in a little corner of parkland paradise in the late evening, before an outdoor concert. If I do end up in a tourist attraction, it’s usually something with a twist- like sneaking through the back ways at Ellis Island, or calling a friend to make sure that I line up exactly the same shot to compare to a photo they’d taken, six months earlier.
(The latter is partly a way to see a favorite spot change with the seasons- but there’s also something very intriguing about matching footprints with those of someone I otherwise may not have seen in years)
So- the point? Oftentimes, it’s all too easy to seek the exotic with the help of a plane ticket. But especially as travel becomes more expensive, I think it’s important to realize just how much fun can be had by playing the tourist in one’s own home. I may never live in this part of the country again- but I will be able to see that I’ve actually done more than just pass through. And as I keep looking for the little things, it’s a real treat to bring those around me along for the ride, and to see that wonder of discovery all over again.
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06.30.08
Posted in Adventure, behind the curtain at 1:00 am by CMonster
If you were to pick one moment from each day to remember, what would you choose? The new and exotic, or the familiar and cherished? The whimsical, or the practical? And how would you preserve that memory for your future self, years down the line?
Nowadays, the internet makes that almost easy. Most of my the people I know keep a blog (or three!) , and sites like Twitter make it possible to preserve even a record of life by the minute. (Which might be entertaining, if someone ever decided to record their thoughts as a hangover sets in…)
These ideas had been kicking around in my head for a while, but what really crystallized them was a reminder that people are creative- and that records of daily life have existed for centuries. Yet although Samuel Pepys certainly became known for his diary, somehow, the age of photography brought whole new ways to track life.
The story I have in mind is aptly titled “He took a Polaroid every day, until he died“- it ran a few months ago, and it’s been making the rounds since. Really an amazing read- what started as a college project lasted some 18 years, cut off only when the artist died of cancer. The result runs the gamut of work and life. Some of the images are funny, while others are deeply personal- but what they have in common is that they all capture a moment of someone’s life, frozen in time for all to see. The entire collection is well worth looking at, because in the end, it’s not contrived- it’s all about noticing the little joys that come every day.
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I’ve toyed with the thought of doing this in my own life, solely for personal curiosity- though given my refusal to buy a modern cell phone, I’ve quickly realized that just having a camera handy is sometimes a challenge in itself. That’s particularly true when I travel (ZOMG! No photographing the security checkpoint- we don’t want the terrorists to know we have metal detectors!!)… so if you think you’ll be out in public often, the handy portable Guide to Photographer’s rights might be worth packing in your camera bag.
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06.14.08
Posted in Adventure, Biology, Critters, behind the curtain at 4:23 pm by CMonster
It was a beautiful morning, and I took the opportunity to go kayaking with a friend today. The route took us through some fantastic scenery, past several species of birds that I’ve never seen before…
And, rather unexpectedly, I learned how dragonflies mate. (Hint: they’re talented little critters)
It took me a little bit to realize what the head-to-tail position meant, but I suppose it would offer a few advantages for mates that want to fly together.
But, there you have it: half a dozen pairs of dragonflies had sex on my leg today. Witty remarks fail me.
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04.22.08
Posted in Adventure, behind the curtain at 10:03 am by CMonster
When I started this site, it was largely as a place to organize thoughts on a variety of topics not suited to my personal blog. And given that I come from a family with a decidedly non-scientific background, that’s a lot of things that would leave them scratching their heads. As a result, this all started out as a rather dry exercise, with no real effort to reach a wider audience.
But the more that I read other blogs, the more I see interesting points that are ignored, or glossed over. Knee-jerk coverage, unsatisfying analysis, and- most heinous of all- misused apostrophes!! Clearly, that cannot be allowed to stand.
So in some sense, this remains an experiment in progress- when I do remember to post, I’ve very consciously been varying the tone, form, and content. The goal is to find that happy balance between a progression of ideas and a more personal style of writing, even as I pursue a renewed interest in what it means to communicate science. It’s like falling off a bicycle: you never forget how, but it does help to practice.
Or something.
So as I look to expand my sandbox a bit, this is a welcome post for the visitors who aren’t Viagra spambots (at 36% of traffic, the advertising checks practically write themselves). I’ll be blogging under a pseudonym for now (mostly to avoid my blog being quoted at awkward moments), but I look forward to meeting interesting folk all the same. Greetings!
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04.21.08
Posted in Adventure at 9:19 pm by CMonster
Recently, I’ve been making a point of visiting at least one unique new place each month (or even week, when possible). I’d slacked off quite horribly about this in my first few years living here, so there’s still plenty of options- from local exhibitions and fairs to famous art museums and a great zoo.
And fortunately for me, this weekend’s building shutdown gave me the perfect chance to get out on a warm spring day. Destination: Greenfield Village, just in time for the 2008 opening weekend.
Read the rest of this entry »
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10.20.07
Posted in Adventure, behind the curtain at 8:12 pm by CMonster
For many years, I’ve found myself wondering at the array of scientific results I see presented at conferences or in the press- while some are breathtaking masterpieces of creativity, others… well, aren’t.
But where do the small discoveries go? With a longstanding push to expand the scientific and academic enterprise, simple statistics argues there will be an increasing need for trivial, out of the way journals where people can bury the past four years of their lives and get on with getting a degree.
Into that niche enters the Journal of Bavarian Cookie Recipes and Occasional Science, a collection of everyday observations of the world around us. Since food for the mind is rarely appreciated on an empty stomach, these findings will be cheerfully accompanied by more mundane discussions- expect things involving frosting to feature prominently.
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