A delicate operation

I formalized my Current Research Statement today for a fellowship that I'm not, at this moment, a smashing candidate for. I beat my head against the conclusion, and i'm still not exactly happy with it, but i attached it and pressed send nonetheless. It's amazing how many errors go unchecked until i print it out and see it on paper... As always, seeing it in latex makes me happy (though i'm not sure how i feel about this ultra-low-res blogger pic - click for something that doesn't make your eyes bug out!):

Getting out of town, getting blown around

We managed to get out of town for 2 nights. The first night we found an awesome flat-bottomed spruce hollow, sheltered and moist with plenty of firewood, a few miles away from the VLA. It was magical to look down on the VLA on the drive out of the mountains. The second day was terribly windy. Gusts to 45 miles an hour? Sounds about right. The car wobbling around on the highway. Somehow we managed to find a strangely sheltered camp spot in the middle of the woods - some quirk of local topography sent the wind whistling over our heads - to cook our mac-n-cheese and snuggle into bed with the sake. We booked it back home today to get M. to class. I still have a head cold, so today hasn't been too productive otherwise. Here's where we went: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=87106&daddr=Forest+Rd+549%2FNM-52+to:34.114292,-109.493866+to:US-191+to:87106&hl=en&geocode=%3B%3BFfSKCAIdlkF5-Q%3BFaQOGQId8rZ7-Q%3B&mra=ls&sll=35.160337,-108.132935&sspn=1.609939,3.523865&ie=UTF8&ll=34.800272,-107.882996&spn=1.617033,3.523865&t=h&z=9

the most exciting part of my spring break

is not grading genetics 202 exams. something like 250 tests at about 30 tests an hour (counting setup overhead... hopefully data entry won't blow that average too much) gives me 8 hours of grading. yep, sounds about right. 8 hours of numbing repetition, some students bright, some cleuless, most somewhere in the middle.

in an interview, the famous evolutionary biologist remarked that patience is necessary for science (manipulative paraphrase, that). paint me red and call me a scientist in training. patience and repitition are by no means my strong points!

waiting for a sandwich

i'm presented with this jem of modern commerce. yes, the white can on the right actually says "free cocaine"... what will these folks think of next? fat-free heroin?

its the little breaks in life, waiting in line, for laundry, short enough to pause but not long enough to do anything useful, that sends these strange little missives out into the ether...

and yes, the lack of cut-and-paste on this phone is truly a sorrow.