Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Christmas Message
This is on the whiteboard in our SysBio kitchen. Seems not everyone has a merry Christmas...
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Saturday, December 20, 2008
努力吃飯
Boston 下了第一場大雪，凡凡睡醒後便一直嚷著要出去玩雪。跟他說要吃完午飯才可以出去玩，凡凡聽了便卯起來吃，一口接一口，還不是眼睛巴望著窗外的落雪，從沒看過這麼努力吃飯的凡凡。
很快就吃完了。
很快就吃完了。
Friday, December 12, 2008
TGIF Poster
TGIF poster from microbiology department. Funny, uh?
Hmm...Not so funny any more after reading this news...
A freeze on salary raises for all faculty and non-union staff members as well as a hold on the bulk of current searches for tenure-track and tenured faculty were among the cost-cutting measures announced in a letter circulated to department chairs in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences yesterday afternoon.
Signed by the top deans of the Faculty, the letter also put forward a new, more restrictive set of guidelines for what sort of candidates will be considered for “essential” instructorships and visiting faculty positions.
The new policy marks a considerable departure from the stance outlined by FAS Dean Michael D. Smith at a Faculty meeting in November, when he told department leaders to go ahead with all current searches if applicant pools remained as strong as anticipated.
Citing a projected 30 percent drop in the University’s endowment value this year, the deans wrote that the cost-cutting measures followed from a need to reduce the budget for the next fiscal year to levels at least $105 million below the current year’s budget. The Faculty’s budget for the fiscal year beginning on July 1, 2009 is set to be completed by March.
Department leaders were urged to keep news of the cuts quiet and withhold the information from colleagues until an official announcement at today’s Faculty meeting. A copy of the letter was obtained by The Crimson yesterday evening.
The deans’ letter re-confirmed Smith’s earlier commitment to maintaining a system of tenure-track promotion, and left open the possibility for a “small number of exceptions” to the ruling against tenure-track searches—a hint of flexibility that some professors said yesterday was encouraging.
“Frankly, if the University were to shut down all expansion, all hiring it would be a huge mistake in times like these, precisely when you need to be making smart investments and changing the University so that we’re stronger,” said biomedical engineering professor David A. Edwards.
Several professors, including Edwards, indicated yesterday that they had not yet read the letter, but that they were not taken aback by the measures it outlined, given the extent of the financial crisis.
“How could it be a surprise?” said comparative literature professor Ruth R. Wisse. “If there is a real budgetary slash, then obviously everybody has to bear their share of it in some way.”
“The easiest thing to do is to stop making new hires rather than to try and fire people,” she said.
In recognition of the difficult job market facing current graduate students, the deans also mentioned plans yesterday to develop a new position “akin to a teaching post-doc” for the University’s crop of newly-minted Ph.D. recipients.
The deans also asked that recent Ph.D. recipients, along with faculty from local institutions, be favored in situations where searches for non-ladder faculty instructors and visiting faculty are authorized as essential.
When asked why the deans requested that the news of the cuts be kept quiet until today, Smith wrote in an e-mailed statement, “I prefer to communicate directly with my faculty.”
“The Faculty Meeting gives me that opportunity. It also allows them to ask questions and offer comments.”
Harvard’s endowment—the largest in higher education—fell 22 percent in four months from its June 30 value of $36.9 billion, trumping the previous record loss of 12.4 percent in 1974, according to a letter from University President Drew G. Faust last week.
It was unclear yesterday how many faculty searches were pending and would be affected by the new policy. Faculty hiring has been in a "pause" period since April, when Smith informed professors that he was slowing down hiring to give FAS administrators a chance to take stock of how to move forward with their priorities.
Smith ground staff hiring to a halt in late November, setting administrators the task of finding what "critical" positions would still be filled.
The FAS leader wrote yesterday that he planned to comment more extensively on the letter’s policies in tomorrow’s Faculty meeting.
“This must be a nightmare for people who have to make these decisions,” said math professor Wilfried Schmid.
Hmm...Not so funny any more after reading this news...
FAS Freezes All Faculty Salaries, Cuts Searches
A freeze on salary raises for all faculty and non-union staff members as well as a hold on the bulk of current searches for tenure-track and tenured faculty were among the cost-cutting measures announced in a letter circulated to department chairs in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences yesterday afternoon.
Signed by the top deans of the Faculty, the letter also put forward a new, more restrictive set of guidelines for what sort of candidates will be considered for “essential” instructorships and visiting faculty positions.
The new policy marks a considerable departure from the stance outlined by FAS Dean Michael D. Smith at a Faculty meeting in November, when he told department leaders to go ahead with all current searches if applicant pools remained as strong as anticipated.
Citing a projected 30 percent drop in the University’s endowment value this year, the deans wrote that the cost-cutting measures followed from a need to reduce the budget for the next fiscal year to levels at least $105 million below the current year’s budget. The Faculty’s budget for the fiscal year beginning on July 1, 2009 is set to be completed by March.
Department leaders were urged to keep news of the cuts quiet and withhold the information from colleagues until an official announcement at today’s Faculty meeting. A copy of the letter was obtained by The Crimson yesterday evening.
The deans’ letter re-confirmed Smith’s earlier commitment to maintaining a system of tenure-track promotion, and left open the possibility for a “small number of exceptions” to the ruling against tenure-track searches—a hint of flexibility that some professors said yesterday was encouraging.
“Frankly, if the University were to shut down all expansion, all hiring it would be a huge mistake in times like these, precisely when you need to be making smart investments and changing the University so that we’re stronger,” said biomedical engineering professor David A. Edwards.
Several professors, including Edwards, indicated yesterday that they had not yet read the letter, but that they were not taken aback by the measures it outlined, given the extent of the financial crisis.
“How could it be a surprise?” said comparative literature professor Ruth R. Wisse. “If there is a real budgetary slash, then obviously everybody has to bear their share of it in some way.”
“The easiest thing to do is to stop making new hires rather than to try and fire people,” she said.
In recognition of the difficult job market facing current graduate students, the deans also mentioned plans yesterday to develop a new position “akin to a teaching post-doc” for the University’s crop of newly-minted Ph.D. recipients.
The deans also asked that recent Ph.D. recipients, along with faculty from local institutions, be favored in situations where searches for non-ladder faculty instructors and visiting faculty are authorized as essential.
When asked why the deans requested that the news of the cuts be kept quiet until today, Smith wrote in an e-mailed statement, “I prefer to communicate directly with my faculty.”
“The Faculty Meeting gives me that opportunity. It also allows them to ask questions and offer comments.”
Harvard’s endowment—the largest in higher education—fell 22 percent in four months from its June 30 value of $36.9 billion, trumping the previous record loss of 12.4 percent in 1974, according to a letter from University President Drew G. Faust last week.
It was unclear yesterday how many faculty searches were pending and would be affected by the new policy. Faculty hiring has been in a "pause" period since April, when Smith informed professors that he was slowing down hiring to give FAS administrators a chance to take stock of how to move forward with their priorities.
Smith ground staff hiring to a halt in late November, setting administrators the task of finding what "critical" positions would still be filled.
The FAS leader wrote yesterday that he planned to comment more extensively on the letter’s policies in tomorrow’s Faculty meeting.
“This must be a nightmare for people who have to make these decisions,” said math professor Wilfried Schmid.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Sunday, December 7, 2008
下雪了
這個禮拜天終於下了今年的第一場雪，比往年晚了許多。
凡凡期待了好久，總算可以出去玩雪了。於是帶了個盆子說是要出去「抓雪」跟「裝雪」，興高采烈地出門了！
試了一陣子發現抓不到雪，還被雪打中眼睛！最後嚷著說要去上班。
發現雪不但抓不到，原來也裝不起來。
最後裝了幾塊冰塊意思一下。
凡凡期待了好久，總算可以出去玩雪了。於是帶了個盆子說是要出去「抓雪」跟「裝雪」，興高采烈地出門了！
試了一陣子發現抓不到雪，還被雪打中眼睛！最後嚷著說要去上班。
發現雪不但抓不到，原來也裝不起來。
最後裝了幾塊冰塊意思一下。
Friday, December 5, 2008
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Sunday, November 30, 2008
要買 WALL-E
這陣子感恩節跟耶誕節兩大採購節慶，家裡收到了一堆商品目錄與廣告傳單。
凡凡也會拿起來翻，而且專看玩具的廣告；可以專心地一項一項慢慢看，仔細研究後做出決定跟你講說他要買哪一個。問題是沒人問凡凡要買甚麼啊？
昨天剛看了 WALL-E 的 DVD，開始對 WALL-E 狂熱起來，自然看到 WALL-E 眼睛一亮就把剛才想買的東西全拋下，只要買 WALL-E 了。
不過就只是個垃圾處理回收的機器人嗎？EVE 炫多了。可是小朋友似乎還是比較喜歡 WALL-E。
凡凡也會拿起來翻，而且專看玩具的廣告；可以專心地一項一項慢慢看，仔細研究後做出決定跟你講說他要買哪一個。問題是沒人問凡凡要買甚麼啊？
昨天剛看了 WALL-E 的 DVD，開始對 WALL-E 狂熱起來，自然看到 WALL-E 眼睛一亮就把剛才想買的東西全拋下，只要買 WALL-E 了。
不過就只是個垃圾處理回收的機器人嗎？EVE 炫多了。可是小朋友似乎還是比較喜歡 WALL-E。
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Sunday, November 16, 2008
尿尿
連續兩個週末全家人輪流感冒，輪流沒力...
凡凡現在會自己上廁所了，曉得脫褲子，但總是忘記要穿回去。
本來看他走了又回來以為是想到褲子還沒穿，結果原來是想到剛剛吃的乖乖忘了拿，趕緊折回來拿，仍舊光著屁股。
凡凡現在最愛吃的零食，奶油椰子乖乖。
凡凡現在會自己上廁所了，曉得脫褲子，但總是忘記要穿回去。
本來看他走了又回來以為是想到褲子還沒穿，結果原來是想到剛剛吃的乖乖忘了拿，趕緊折回來拿，仍舊光著屁股。
凡凡現在最愛吃的零食，奶油椰子乖乖。
Sunday, November 9, 2008
停下來不能走
凡凡在家玩火車，現在有兩種火車，除了之前的 Geotrax 外還有 Ikea 買來木製的小火車。
凡凡開火車到一半忽然停住了，原來是他看見了紅色的手的標誌，知道是停止的意思，便停下來不走了。平常時過馬路教凡凡說紅色的手不能走，要等到白色的人才可以走，看來凡凡的確有聽進去。
Geotrax 的紅色停止標誌。
凡凡開火車到一半忽然停住了，原來是他看見了紅色的手的標誌，知道是停止的意思，便停下來不走了。平常時過馬路教凡凡說紅色的手不能走，要等到白色的人才可以走，看來凡凡的確有聽進去。
Geotrax 的紅色停止標誌。
Bike and Sport
禮拜天回暖了一點，帶凡凡外出騎他的小三輪車，順便看看他能騎多遠。
騎到設計學院，停下來拿起後座的籃球，要投籃，只是個子實在太小，沒有辦法。
騎到 Science Center，還曉得起來按無障礙設施的門，待門打開後再騎進去。
騎到設計學院，停下來拿起後座的籃球，要投籃，只是個子實在太小，沒有辦法。
騎到 Science Center，還曉得起來按無障礙設施的門，待門打開後再騎進去。
Friday, November 7, 2008
It comes true!
"Black is the new president, bitch!"
- Tracy Morgan's response to Tina Fey's "bitch is the new black" slogan.
It comes true!
- Tracy Morgan's response to Tina Fey's "bitch is the new black" slogan.
It comes true!
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Center of Systems Biology Building
在 Nature History Museum 旁邊就是新蓋好的 Center of Systems Biology 大樓，凡凡爬到窗戶上看見也說「蓋得好漂亮！」。
實驗室的 postdoc Dan 的新 lab 就是在這棟大樓裡，跟 Andrew Murray 和 Jeff Lichtman 做鄰居。
Nature History Museum
到了 Nature History Museum，今天是假日遊客特別多，大概學校又賺了不少門票錢。
學校的 Museum 裡面搜藏很多，凡凡最喜歡恐龍化石，每個禮拜都要來看一下，還好我們校內的人不用買門票，可以把博物館當家裡後院一樣走動。
奇怪的遠古化石。
很龐大的魚龍化石。
凡凡常來，熟門熟路，很自然地跑來跑去。
凡凡也很愛用這個放大鏡看標本，每次必玩。
動物標本，看了看後凡凡累了嚷著要回家了。
學校的 Museum 裡面搜藏很多，凡凡最喜歡恐龍化石，每個禮拜都要來看一下，還好我們校內的人不用買門票，可以把博物館當家裡後院一樣走動。
奇怪的遠古化石。
很龐大的魚龍化石。
凡凡常來，熟門熟路，很自然地跑來跑去。
凡凡也很愛用這個放大鏡看標本，每次必玩。
動物標本，看了看後凡凡累了嚷著要回家了。
要吃糖
整裝好準備帶凡凡去學校的 Nature History Museum 玩，因為離家很近，只有幾分鐘路程，便帶著凡凡一路慢慢走去。
走到一半，怕凡凡手會冷，教他把手插在口袋裡，結果凡凡手伸進去敲出了幾條前幾天萬聖節拿到的糖果，便開始吵著要吃糖。
一條糖果吃完了，搜搜口袋發現沒有，開始嚷著還要吃，到現在你跟我這兩個代名詞凡凡還是弄不太清楚，有時講對，有時說錯。
走到一半，怕凡凡手會冷，教他把手插在口袋裡，結果凡凡手伸進去敲出了幾條前幾天萬聖節拿到的糖果，便開始吵著要吃糖。
一條糖果吃完了，搜搜口袋發現沒有，開始嚷著還要吃，到現在你跟我這兩個代名詞凡凡還是弄不太清楚，有時講對，有時說錯。
Friday, October 31, 2008
Upside Down
自從上次的 thomas and friends song 之後，常常帶凡凡到 youtube 上看凡凡喜歡看的卡通的 music video。
這首就是其中之一，很喜歡。
Curious George 的 Upside Down
出自 Curious George 的電影，電影其實還不錯，但平常看慣了二十分鐘長的 Curious George，一下子要看兩小時的故事實在太長了，看到後來連大人都覺得很累，不用說凡凡這年紀也還沒有辦法維持這麼長的興趣了。
凡凡比較喜歡看用電影片段剪成的 MV，每次看到變色龍那段都會止不住地大笑。
這首就是其中之一，很喜歡。
Curious George 的 Upside Down
出自 Curious George 的電影，電影其實還不錯，但平常看慣了二十分鐘長的 Curious George，一下子要看兩小時的故事實在太長了，看到後來連大人都覺得很累，不用說凡凡這年紀也還沒有辦法維持這麼長的興趣了。
凡凡比較喜歡看用電影片段剪成的 MV，每次看到變色龍那段都會止不住地大笑。
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Whassup?
A funny clip for Obama, adpated from a very famous old commerical.
The original one - from Wikipedia:
"Whassup?" was a TV/radio commercial campaign for Anheuser-Busch Budweiser beer from 1999 to 2002. The first spot aired during Monday Night Football, December 20 1999. The ad campaign was run worldwide and became a pop culture phenomenon. The phrase itself is an alteration of the phrase "What's up?"
Surprisingly, the actors are the same in the original commerical, amazing. Pretty good one.
The original one - from Wikipedia:
"Whassup?" was a TV/radio commercial campaign for Anheuser-Busch Budweiser beer from 1999 to 2002. The first spot aired during Monday Night Football, December 20 1999. The ad campaign was run worldwide and became a pop culture phenomenon. The phrase itself is an alteration of the phrase "What's up?"
Surprisingly, the actors are the same in the original commerical, amazing. Pretty good one.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Sunday, October 19, 2008
楓紅
秋天到了，馬上轉涼了起來。這禮拜天的氣溫已經降到攝氏零度以下了。凡凡出門也開始要像包粽子般層層包裹起來。
坐在國民政府送給哈佛的石碑上，那個苦命馱碑的是龍生九子其中之一，不過忘了叫甚麼名字，跟凡凡說那個是烏龜，這樣對凡凡來說應該也比較容易理解罷。
戴毛帽凡凡有時會覺得頭癢。
新英格蘭的秋天最是漂亮，樹葉開始從綠轉紅，一樹黃的橘的到火紅的葉子，各種層次，好看得不得了。
凡凡看到地上都是落葉，彎身撿起丟著玩。不過最後說底下都是石頭見沒有答腔，就不爽了起來。
帶著凡凡到 yard 賞楓，紅楓葉已落滿地了。
凡凡看到大樹又想要爬樹，可是這樹實在太大爬不上去，之後又開始要賴人抱抱。
坐在國民政府送給哈佛的石碑上，那個苦命馱碑的是龍生九子其中之一，不過忘了叫甚麼名字，跟凡凡說那個是烏龜，這樣對凡凡來說應該也比較容易理解罷。
戴毛帽凡凡有時會覺得頭癢。
新英格蘭的秋天最是漂亮，樹葉開始從綠轉紅，一樹黃的橘的到火紅的葉子，各種層次，好看得不得了。
凡凡看到地上都是落葉，彎身撿起丟著玩。不過最後說底下都是石頭見沒有答腔，就不爽了起來。
帶著凡凡到 yard 賞楓，紅楓葉已落滿地了。
凡凡看到大樹又想要爬樹，可是這樹實在太大爬不上去，之後又開始要賴人抱抱。
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Thomas and Friends Song
凡凡現在最愛的是 Thomas & Friends 小火車，每天都吵著要看，聽到歌就會跟著唱，跳上跳下，加上凡凡自創的奇怪又不協調的舞步。
這就是凡凡愛聽愛唱愛跳的那首 MV。
這就是凡凡愛聽愛唱愛跳的那首 MV。
Museum of Science
這週日帶凡凡去位在 Boston & Cambridge 中間的 Museum of Science 玩，凡凡常常去，凡凡爸爸則是第一次去。
凡凡媽媽說 Cambridge street 走到底就是了，結果騎單車載著凡凡走到 Cambridge street 底的時候還是沒有看到 Museum of Science，只好轉頭問凡凡
「Museum of Science 在哪裡？」
「在那裡！轉彎就到了。」凡凡回答。
果然是熟門熟路，轉個彎真的就看見 Museum of Science 在前面，凡凡真是太強大了。
在博物館裡，凡凡幾乎每個東西都曉得要怎麼玩。
磁鐵
博物館裡專門給小朋友玩的地方
吹泡泡，要帶眼鏡保護眼睛。
凡凡媽媽說 Cambridge street 走到底就是了，結果騎單車載著凡凡走到 Cambridge street 底的時候還是沒有看到 Museum of Science，只好轉頭問凡凡
「Museum of Science 在哪裡？」
「在那裡！轉彎就到了。」凡凡回答。
果然是熟門熟路，轉個彎真的就看見 Museum of Science 在前面，凡凡真是太強大了。
在博物館裡，凡凡幾乎每個東西都曉得要怎麼玩。
磁鐵
博物館裡專門給小朋友玩的地方
吹泡泡，要帶眼鏡保護眼睛。
Sunday, October 5, 2008
採蘋果
在果園的門口擺著一地大大小小的南瓜，凡凡看了也要一個，就拿了個小南瓜給他。結果一路上從頭到尾都沒放開，一直拿著。
秋天到了，樹已經開始轉紅了，特別好看。
這次的成績，地上擺著 46 顆蘋果，加上凡凡嘴裡手裡各一顆，還有一顆南瓜。
比去年少一點，不過今年採的多半是 Pink Lady，去年第一次吃覺得採太少了。今年都挑些大顆的 pink lady，感覺很划算。
秋天到了，樹已經開始轉紅了，特別好看。
這次的成績，地上擺著 46 顆蘋果，加上凡凡嘴裡手裡各一顆，還有一顆南瓜。
比去年少一點，不過今年採的多半是 Pink Lady，去年第一次吃覺得採太少了。今年都挑些大顆的 pink lady，感覺很划算。
Apple Picking
夏秋之交，又到了一年一度採蘋果的時候了，凡凡每年都來，這次終於可以全程參與採蘋果了。
凡凡是個規則王，現在很愛下指令告訴別人該怎麼做，蘋果放進去，要拿南瓜，要拿起來。
看到斜坡，還是不忘可以玩滾滾滾。
凡凡其實這幾天有點發燒，比較黏人，採著採著沒看到媽媽，開始問媽媽在哪裡。
凡凡是個規則王，現在很愛下指令告訴別人該怎麼做，蘋果放進去，要拿南瓜，要拿起來。
看到斜坡，還是不忘可以玩滾滾滾。
凡凡其實這幾天有點發燒，比較黏人，採著採著沒看到媽媽，開始問媽媽在哪裡。
Sunday, September 28, 2008
三輪車
禮拜日氣象預報說有颶風拜訪新英格蘭，很少見，不過去的是緬因州，麻州這裡沒甚麼風但整天都下著雨。
等到下午看雨似乎停了，便趕緊帶著凡凡出去外面活動一下。怕又會下雨，所以只在家旁的設計學院草地附近活動。
想到了個主意，在三輪車上綁條繩子，讓凡凡坐在車上拖著走；就像凡凡爸爸小時候在屏東讓凡凡爸爸的外婆拉著走一樣。
後來凡凡也下車想試著自己拉看看。
等到下午看雨似乎停了，便趕緊帶著凡凡出去外面活動一下。怕又會下雨，所以只在家旁的設計學院草地附近活動。
想到了個主意，在三輪車上綁條繩子，讓凡凡坐在車上拖著走；就像凡凡爸爸小時候在屏東讓凡凡爸爸的外婆拉著走一樣。
後來凡凡也下車想試著自己拉看看。
Saturday, September 27, 2008
TGIF Posters 092608
The first week after school reopened, should be something worthy for waiting, such as TGIF posters?
From our neighbor department, very creative and interesting poster for their microbeer hour.
I took this picture on Thursday.
"With free beer just around the corner, you might as well hold off jumping for one more day."
Sounds funny right?
Hmm...obviously not everyone agrees on that, especially under recent economic climates.
So, in the Friday morning, all the "jumper" posters were gone, replaced by this one.
Now everybody looks happy, at least in the poster.
Here is the posters from our department. It is our turns in charge of this week's happy hour. As our postdoc candidate visiting, it once again went to a very disorganized way.
Initially we wanted some Indian food, but they charged us $800 with $150 delivery fee. So we had hot dog at the end.
For the poster, finally Aaron made one hours before the end of Thursday.
The problem is, no one can get it.
It was for the (famous?) picture of Tim in Woods Hole.
After all, it doesn't matter people can get it or not. They still have free beer and hot dogs, which should be enough to keep them happy for a while.
From our neighbor department, very creative and interesting poster for their microbeer hour.
I took this picture on Thursday.
"With free beer just around the corner, you might as well hold off jumping for one more day."
Sounds funny right?
Hmm...obviously not everyone agrees on that, especially under recent economic climates.
So, in the Friday morning, all the "jumper" posters were gone, replaced by this one.
Now everybody looks happy, at least in the poster.
Here is the posters from our department. It is our turns in charge of this week's happy hour. As our postdoc candidate visiting, it once again went to a very disorganized way.
Initially we wanted some Indian food, but they charged us $800 with $150 delivery fee. So we had hot dog at the end.
For the poster, finally Aaron made one hours before the end of Thursday.
The problem is, no one can get it.
It was for the (famous?) picture of Tim in Woods Hole.
After all, it doesn't matter people can get it or not. They still have free beer and hot dogs, which should be enough to keep them happy for a while.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
PostDoc Candidates Visiting
This week we had two postdoc candidates coming for visit, on Tuesday and Thursday respectively.
Usually it is on students' shoulder arranging schedule for our guests. This time, somehow, Tim kept the job in his hand. As expected, it went to a pretty disorganized way...
No one knows who those two are in advance. No one was asked to sign-up talking with our visitors.
The first one came from UCSF (of course, where else it could be?), working on structural biology. She did a good PhD. However seems has no idea what she gonna do and why pick our lab...
The visit of second one is even more "interesting". In the morning when he came to the conference room, no one was there. Tim backed to the lab and told everybody there was a talk downstairs.
Then right before the talk, Tim said he hurted his back in the morning. So he would lay down on the ground. Thus the talk was given with Tim confortably laid down on the floor, with a pillow behind his head, a strange view.
It's not over yet, later the fire alarm came to interrupt the talk, Chris went out and found it was from our neighbor connected building. We decided to ignore it but our guest had to give his talk all the way with annoying alarming sound.
I wonder who will join our lab after all these...haha.
Usually it is on students' shoulder arranging schedule for our guests. This time, somehow, Tim kept the job in his hand. As expected, it went to a pretty disorganized way...
No one knows who those two are in advance. No one was asked to sign-up talking with our visitors.
The first one came from UCSF (of course, where else it could be?), working on structural biology. She did a good PhD. However seems has no idea what she gonna do and why pick our lab...
The visit of second one is even more "interesting". In the morning when he came to the conference room, no one was there. Tim backed to the lab and told everybody there was a talk downstairs.
Then right before the talk, Tim said he hurted his back in the morning. So he would lay down on the ground. Thus the talk was given with Tim confortably laid down on the floor, with a pillow behind his head, a strange view.
It's not over yet, later the fire alarm came to interrupt the talk, Chris went out and found it was from our neighbor connected building. We decided to ignore it but our guest had to give his talk all the way with annoying alarming sound.
I wonder who will join our lab after all these...haha.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
I am Old
No, not me. It's a quote from Tim during our discussion.
Recently I've struggled a bit on the storyline of my research. In brief, I am interested in a big question which can be divided to 4 or 5 small questions. Those sub-questions are different but all correlate to one another, making it difficult to pack into one story.
Thus I went to Tim and Chris asking for opinions. We then discussed details and problems in each direction. Questions in cytokinesis are difficult to tackle, since usually in there are more than one system working at the same time. You need everything to do anything.
At one point, Tim suddenly laughed and said:
"If it's five year ago, I would never do that. Ha-ha, I couldn't believe I make this suggestion to my student. You can try to fuse some kinases with kinesins, transfect to the cell, and see what happens."
Tim continued: "As a cell biologist, usually you take out things from a system and see what changes. If you are creating something not existing in the system, it is fake. That's why cell biologists don't use that kind of approach. I always thought in that way."
"However, after I talked to Windell Lim, suddenly I felt I am so conservative! I am old! What the hell! Maybe it's time for us to move on and try something bold."
Windell Lim, a UCSF professor, visited our department and had a discussion with Tim last week. Tim seemed to be very impressive on Lim's work. He even suggested Aaron, who just gradutaed, doing his postdoc in Lim's lab.
Lim works on synthetic biology, adding new components to systems, pretty cool.
Recently I've struggled a bit on the storyline of my research. In brief, I am interested in a big question which can be divided to 4 or 5 small questions. Those sub-questions are different but all correlate to one another, making it difficult to pack into one story.
Thus I went to Tim and Chris asking for opinions. We then discussed details and problems in each direction. Questions in cytokinesis are difficult to tackle, since usually in there are more than one system working at the same time. You need everything to do anything.
At one point, Tim suddenly laughed and said:
"If it's five year ago, I would never do that. Ha-ha, I couldn't believe I make this suggestion to my student. You can try to fuse some kinases with kinesins, transfect to the cell, and see what happens."
Tim continued: "As a cell biologist, usually you take out things from a system and see what changes. If you are creating something not existing in the system, it is fake. That's why cell biologists don't use that kind of approach. I always thought in that way."
"However, after I talked to Windell Lim, suddenly I felt I am so conservative! I am old! What the hell! Maybe it's time for us to move on and try something bold."
Windell Lim, a UCSF professor, visited our department and had a discussion with Tim last week. Tim seemed to be very impressive on Lim's work. He even suggested Aaron, who just gradutaed, doing his postdoc in Lim's lab.
Lim works on synthetic biology, adding new components to systems, pretty cool.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Palin's response to Tina Fey's SNL show
Geez, gotta show it. From Jon Stewart Daily Show, the clip about Sarah Palin's response to Tina Fey's SNL opening.
Palin said it is hilarious. She watched it, however, on MUTE.
Yeah, that is REALLY hilarious...
As Jon Stewart, we had him as the keynote speaker in our program retreat two years ago. He is funny, although I don't like him as much as others do.
Palin said it is hilarious. She watched it, however, on MUTE.
Yeah, that is REALLY hilarious...
As Jon Stewart, we had him as the keynote speaker in our program retreat two years ago. He is funny, although I don't like him as much as others do.
New Soul - Yael Naim
This morning I visited a friend who just delivered a very beautiful baby girl hours ago, sending her a car seat burrowed from another friend, for the hospital checkout.
I had this poster ready right after the Macbook commercial parody one, but somehow forgot to post it. Now it seems to be a perfect fit, a new soul coming to the (strange?) world.
Congrats to my friend and hope you all enjoy this MV, a pretty beautiful one.
New Soul - Yael Naim
I'm a new soul \ I came to this strange world hoping I could learn a bit bout how to give and take \ But since I came here, felt the joy and the fear finding myself making every possible mistake
la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la...
I'm a young soul \ In this very strange world hoping I could learn a bit bout what is true and fake \ But why all this hate? try to communicate finding trust and love is not always easy to make
la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la...
This is a happy end 'cause you don't understand everything you have done why's everything so wrong? \ This is a happy end
Come and give me your hand I'll take you far away
I'm a new soul \ I came to this strange world hoping I could learn a bit bout how to give and take \ But since I came here, felt the joy and the fear finding myself making every possible mistake
I'm a new soul... (la, la, la, la,...) in this very strange world... \ Every possible mistake \ Possible mistake \ Every possible mistake \ Mistakes, mistakes, mistakes... \ Take take take take take... take a mistake \ Take, take a mistake
Take, take a mistake
--
If you wanna learn how to play this song on piano, here it is.
New Soul Tutorial
The tab can be found here .
I had this poster ready right after the Macbook commercial parody one, but somehow forgot to post it. Now it seems to be a perfect fit, a new soul coming to the (strange?) world.
Congrats to my friend and hope you all enjoy this MV, a pretty beautiful one.
New Soul - Yael Naim
I'm a new soul \ I came to this strange world hoping I could learn a bit bout how to give and take \ But since I came here, felt the joy and the fear finding myself making every possible mistake
la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la...
I'm a young soul \ In this very strange world hoping I could learn a bit bout what is true and fake \ But why all this hate? try to communicate finding trust and love is not always easy to make
la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la...
This is a happy end 'cause you don't understand everything you have done why's everything so wrong? \ This is a happy end
Come and give me your hand I'll take you far away
I'm a new soul \ I came to this strange world hoping I could learn a bit bout how to give and take \ But since I came here, felt the joy and the fear finding myself making every possible mistake
I'm a new soul... (la, la, la, la,...) in this very strange world... \ Every possible mistake \ Possible mistake \ Every possible mistake \ Mistakes, mistakes, mistakes... \ Take take take take take... take a mistake \ Take, take a mistake
Take, take a mistake
--
If you wanna learn how to play this song on piano, here it is.
New Soul Tutorial
The tab can be found here .
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
吃外面
凡凡的爸爸國曆生日，想說到外面吃。想了半天還是想不出來去哪好，中餐台菜沒有家裡煮的好吃，西式餐點又吃不慣。問凡凡的意見，凡凡說去吃麥當勞，也就順著他了。想大概是被快樂兒童餐的玩具制約了的結果吧。
不能喝汽水，只好喝果汁。
凡凡愛吃番茄醬，吃薯條時兩頭都要沾醬吃。
快樂兒童餐的玩具 - 蝙蝠車，做得還挺不錯的。
凡凡看了看發現這車不太對勁，沒有輪子。
不過沒差，還是可以玩得很高興。
不能喝汽水，只好喝果汁。
凡凡愛吃番茄醬，吃薯條時兩頭都要沾醬吃。
快樂兒童餐的玩具 - 蝙蝠車，做得還挺不錯的。
凡凡看了看發現這車不太對勁，沒有輪子。
不過沒差，還是可以玩得很高興。
Monday, September 15, 2008
SNL - Palin & Clinton
The opening of last week's SNL. Everyone is talking about it, I even read it on today's Metro (a free bus/subway/train paper).
As always, Tina Fey is awesome!
You have to admit that Hillary Clinton actually is a better candidate against McCain to win the coming presidential election.
Obama won the primary as a celebrity; now he is losing it to Sarah Palin because she is even younger and more Washington-outsider than he is.
As many people feeling the same way, Obama always reminds me of A-bian. It's just a shame that Hillary didn't nail it in the primary.
As always, Tina Fey is awesome!
You have to admit that Hillary Clinton actually is a better candidate against McCain to win the coming presidential election.
Obama won the primary as a celebrity; now he is losing it to Sarah Palin because she is even younger and more Washington-outsider than he is.
As many people feeling the same way, Obama always reminds me of A-bian. It's just a shame that Hillary didn't nail it in the primary.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
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