Research sucks
My highlight of the week was when the first quail chicks hatched. They're awfully tiny and cute and fluffy...but far too few of them. I had 130ish eggs, and only 24 have hatched out so far. I was gunning for 60. On top of that, I lost the key to their room today.
Those two problems, in addition to the other 4 I had to overcome to even get here...somebody's trying to tell me this whole thesis thing is a bad idea.
I also found it amusing that I received mailings from the American Humane Association, ASPCA, PETA, and the Nature Conservancy the day that the first chicks hatched. Coincidence? At this point, I don't think so...
Anyhow, I just looked over my calendar, and there's no way I'll be able to finish my proposed thesis before graduation. It would probably be a good idea to look for any other research possibilities using 20ish Japanese quail, and fast.
Research is fun, but setting it up sucks.
BTW, the healthy quails locked in the room should be fine - I gave them food and water and changed their bedding this morning. Added a heat lamp for good measure since they were huddled in a tight ball. There were a couple who looked weak and I was going to give them pedialyte, but apparently that's not going to happen in the near future....might end up with 20ish chicks in the end. *sigh*
East Coast memories, alive and well
Too much excitement yesterday. It all started as a relatively typical working afternoon setting up the dbio lab, when all of a sudden the lights flickered out. A moment later the exit signs and half of the ceiling lights turned on, while the fume hoods and high-tech fridge started screaming bloody murder for lack of main power. I looked over to the incubator - no sound. Uh oh. My unborn baby quails!
I ran upstairs immediately to seek advice. Dr. Cheney told me to keep the door closed for the moment, while Dr. Fowler said it was probably best to switch it to standby power, especially when the temperature dropped 10 degrees. Unfortunately, none of the teaching labs had any standby power outlets! So, as soon as the temperature dropped to 90 (which only took half an hour) I rushed over to Home Depot with a mission - to acquire an 100-ft extension cord. Soon there was an orange cord in the biology building snaking out of one lab, across the hall, and into another.
The reason for the outage was "a manhole cover blew up." (Or, something like that.) Apparently it damaged some switches and/or fuses directly servicing the biology building. Te entire campus was out for a few moments, but the biology building was the only one I know of that was out that entire afternoon.
Why not the English building, for gosh sakes! They can read by candlelight! Can't do diddly squat in a bio building with no power!
That afternoon, while setting up the rest of the lab in half-light, I commented to Dr. Cheney about my younger days in NJ, muddling around in total darkness looking for flashlights and candles during late-night blackouts. Coincidentally, that's what happened to us later on.
Administration sent us an email about an impending 3-hour blackout (for repairing cables) about half an hour before it actually happened. I read that email about 2 minutes before the computer, lights, fridge, and fan fizzled. Someone across the dorm yelled in anguish. He was probably writing a paper. I sat in complete darkness for a few seconds before I realized that the hall lights were still on, probably running on generator power. At least we had something...
Soon we were greeted with thunder and lightning and rain (v. East Coast, I must say) and yet another momentary blackout. By this time I had had enough and figured I might as well go to sleep.
It occurred to me that getting an umbrella would be a good idear...
*wails*
Bush talking about Hurricane Katrina this Monday:
"I knew a big storm was coming...on Monday. That's why I spoke to the country on Monday morning about it, saying "There's a big storm coming..."
Hello, the storm was already HERE that Monday morning, you nitwit!!!! And then moments later he called it "extraordinary" that he "pre-signed emergency declarations in anticipation of a big storm coming." Well, good going there, dude. The whole country sure believed you this morning when you finally "took responsibility" for the federal government fuckup more than two weeks after the fact. Sure.
On the drawing room window there's a group of figures painted stained-glass style that are faintly recognizable as Dubya, Dick Cheney, Rumsfeld, and Condi Rice holding various incriminating things (LOL on the Cheney and the Halliburton book). I've always seen it there and accepted it as part of the drawing room decor, but it hadn't quite hit me how recent it must have been. Or, not recent, since Bush was first elected in 2000 and OH MY GOD I hadn't even graduated from high school yet. And then it hit me OH MY GOD I'm going to graduate from college with Bush STILL president. My
younger sister will graduate from college by the time there's a changing of the guard. *cries*
The more I hear Bush speak on TV, the more I want to run and hide under a table. I look at his face and I have the feeling that there really is nothing happening under there.
Second week...jitters?
So I decide that due to my rather unfortunate habit of being late to everything, I should set the clocks in my room fast. Apparently I overdid it, because on Monday, when I started walking to class at 9AM (room time), the campus was absolutely deserted. I actually wondered for about five seconds, whether or not it was Sunday and if I had missed a weekend or something. When I got to class, I was 5 minutes early. First time ever, LOL. Apparently my room clock is 15 minutes faster than any kind of official clock on campus. I will never be late again! Fwah!
And...I really really hate doing blind contours. If there's anything I despise in drawing, it's that. If you don't know what they are, blind contour is when you stare at an object, then draw wherever your eye goes without looking at the paper. I swear, it bores me to friggin' DEATH. I can
see things already!
For instance, did you ever notice that there are two kinds of chairs at Frary? And at the Scripps dining hall?
See, I notice things already. Don't need no stinkin' blind contour...
Heh...
Who knew little Shana adored action music? Last night on the way to the rink, we blasted the
Batman Begins soundtrack on the freeway. She noted that she felt like the damsel in distress and the hero was coming to save her.
I, however, felt like the hero in the cape, jumping off rooftops. I wonder what this says about our respective psyches...
My laugh of the day
I let Squee, my remaining guinea pig, onto the floor to clean her cage, and I notice that she's under my desk pushing the folding magazine rack onto my foot. I reach down and try to move it out of her way, but don't see her behind it. I lift it up and realize that it's quite heavy, and OMG Squee's stuck IN the darned thing! I nearly died laughing.
She struggles around for a little bit more before she wriggles herself out of it.
Also thought it was amusing when she tried crawling under the legs of my wheely chair. She manages to get her head through, then gets stuck for several seconds trying to wrestle the rest of her body under.
And then there was the time she popcorned so fervently she ended up on her back. Hahahahahhahaa...
I've got to do this more often...
An interesting AIM convo...
azncupycake18 (7:34:58 PM): ouch bah
azncupycake18 (7:35:02 PM): got to stretch more often..
sleepy (7:35:09 PM): ...
sleepy (7:35:20 PM): that first line was pretty darn fobby
azncupycake18 (7:37:43 PM): really?
azncupycake18 (7:37:48 PM): i just made it up...
azncupycake18 (7:37:52 PM): fobs really say that?
azncupycake18 (7:37:54 PM): lol
sleepy (7:38:13 PM): ouch ba!
sleepy (7:38:15 PM): or
sleepy (7:38:21 PM): "okay la!"
azncupycake18 (7:38:24 PM): ah
azncupycake18 (7:38:27 PM): haven't said that
azncupycake18 (7:38:30 PM): yet :-P
azncupycake18 (7:38:37 PM): so matt's birthday isn't until monday
azncupycake18 (7:38:51 PM): which troubles me because i SWEAR somebody's birthday as on 9/2
azncupycake18 (7:39:06 PM): and it could be my dad's if it isn't matt's :-P
sleepy (7:40:00 PM): HAH!
azncupycake18 (7:40:08 PM): shaddup :-P
sleepy (7:40:17 PM): i thought it was on the sixth :-P
sleepy (7:40:23 PM): apaprently i forgot the month, though :-P
sleepy (7:40:28 PM): ok
azncupycake18 (7:40:30 PM): hah
sleepy (7:40:32 PM): time to go get deeeeeeener
azncupycake18 (7:40:37 PM): i knew it was first week of sept
sleepy (7:40:40 PM): i ttyl
sleepy (7:40:41 PM): :-P
azncupycake18 (7:40:43 PM): o lol
azncupycake18 (7:40:48 PM): it WAS my dad's birthday!
sleepy (7:40:49 PM): oh wait
azncupycake18 (7:40:50 PM): :-P
azncupycake18 (7:40:51 PM): oops
sleepy (7:40:55 PM): 9/6
sleepy (7:41:00 PM): 3/9
sleepy (7:41:03 PM): iinnteresting
sleepy (7:41:05 PM): 3/22
sleepy (7:41:09 PM): ...i was off by a day
sleepy (7:41:12 PM): :-P
sleepy (7:41:23 PM): 3/9 is peter's bday
sleepy (7:41:29 PM): ...or was it 3/6
sleepy (7:41:31 PM): ...
sleepy (7:41:37 PM): it was some multiple of three :-P
sleepy (7:41:40 PM): okbyela!
sleepy (7:41:42 PM): :-D
sleepy signed off at 7:41:48 PM.
