Countdown

I have been alive for 8,553 days.

I only have about 17,219 days left.

I put a countdown clock on my desktop today. It sits there ticking away the seconds until I shuffle off this mortal coil. I was hoping to be inspired by this: “Life is short”, “Don’t waste precious time”, etc. I’m beginning to think that perhaps it’s just morbid, though.

*This estimate is based on the average life expectancy for males born in 1982 being about 70.6 years. (1996 study, CDC)

DIY Screen Door

Houston has some nice weather this time of year. The days are warm and evening temperatures hover around 70 degrees. They’re the perfect type of evenings for opening up the windows and enjoying some fresh air.

Unfortunately, my apartment’s windows don’t open. The only way to get fresh air in is by opening the sliding glass door in my living room, and there’s no screen door on it. So for the last six months, I’ve had to choose between stale air and higher A/C bills, or opening the door and letting all sorts of bugs in.

This weekend, I had had enough, and decided that I could build a screen door myself. After some quick measurements and mental calculations, I headed out to Home Depot and rounded up my supplies:

• 25 feet of half-inch PVC pipe
• A roll of fiberglass screen
• 4 ninety degree PVC connectors
• 2 ‘T’ PVC connectors
• 1 small roll of foam rubber weather stripping
• Total Cost: About 20 bucks.

Assembly was pretty simple. I cut up the PVC into the right lengths, assembled the frame with the connectors, then used my staple gun to attach the screen. After making sure that it fit into the track properly, I added the weather stripping so that I could close the sliding glass door up against the screen and prevent bugs from slipping through the crack.

I think it looks pretty good:

I have to slip it into place every time I want to use it, so it’s not quite as convenient as a sliding door, but it works well. Painting the PVC black would have also made it look a little nicer, but I was going for cheap.

All in all, I’m pretty satisfied. I figure I’ll more than make my 20 bucks back by running my air conditioner less this summer. And as long as the weather holds, my apartment won’t have to smell like what I’ve been cooking for days afterward.

Insomnia

Eight hours of studying, a coffee and two cokes later, I’m still up at almost 5AM. Fuck.

Why is it that when you lie awake at night, all trains of thought end up at your failures? You never dwell on those comforting memories, the ones you hold dearest in your heart. It’s the should-haves and the what-ifs that swirl through your head at a breathtaking speed, each pausing just long enough to rip a chunk out of your self-esteem.

People I’ve hurt, decisions that went wrong, uncertainty about the future. These are the real demons that dwell in the night, and they’re far scarier than the monster under your bed ever was.

But I am le tired . . .

It’s been an exhausting week. For better or worse, my Gene Reg midterm is over. Now I have time to catch up on all the little things that I’ve been neglecting. Laundry, cleaning, grocery shopping (and tonight, a little drinking with friends).

Mostly I’m just relieved that it’s over and happy that Heather will be in town this weekend. It’ll be a nice change.

A Few Updates

• I’m currently back in St. Louis for the holidays. I’ll also be making a quick trip to Kirksville this Tuesday night and Wednesday. If you’ll be in either place at the same time as me and want to hang out, let me know.
• I just finished up my second research rotation in the Bioinformatics Research Laboratory. It’s kind of a subset of the Human Genome Sequencing Center at BCM. They’ve since expanded to sequencing everything they can get their hands on - other primates, agriculturally important species, bacterial genomes, etc. The really big question now is how to find the signal in all this noise. Remember the “chemical revolution” a few decades back? Well, the genomics revolution is looming, and that place is near ground zero.
• I also set up my next rotation last week, and I’m pretty excited about it. I’ll be working in a lab at Texas Children’s Hospital, doing genomic and proteomic analysis of pediatric cancer. Knowing that your PI is actually seeing patients who could reap benefits from the work you’re doing seems immensely gratifying to me. I also feel like it lends a certain sense of urgency to the work. The sooner we can make improvements, the better off these sick kids will be. (Urgency is also good, because I’d like to beat my program’s 5.5 year average. I’d be happy with 5 years, and estatic with 4.5)

  The goal of the lab isn’t to cure cancer right away but to better understand it, so that treatment can be more precise and customized for each patient and specific cancer type. The field’s still in its infancy, but you can be sure that genomic testing and customized treatment like this will be all over the place in 20 years. It’s exciting to be getting in on the ground floor.

December 12th, 2005  •   Comments Off  •   Tags: self  •  

Late-Night Ruminations

Tonight a friend’s away message read:

Studying my youth away.

There are times when I wonder if that’s the case. Right now, I’ve committed to spend at least four and a half more years cooped up in labs, staring at computer screens, and generally being single-minded in pursuit of my research. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy enough doing this science, but I just wonder sometimes if I should be doing more.

Let’s face it: Biologically speaking, we’re most physically fit between the ages of 18-21. After that, it’s an arms race between our body’s desire to self-destruct and modern medicine’s desire to slow the process down. What that means, in no uncertain terms, is that I’m already past my peak.

So shouldn’t I be climbing mountains and hiking through the rainforest now? Twenty years from now, I may not have the energy or the eyesight for it.

Shouldn’t I be teaching English in China or backpacking across Europe? It’ll become vastly harder to do those things once I have a 9 to 5 and a mortgage.

My brain will still be around in 5 years. We have quite a few people in the grad school who took a few years off and are now pushing 30 and back in school. Sure, we give them crap for being the old farts, but I also have to wonder: Did they do it right?

I only get one life. Am I missing it?

Tomorrow’s life is too late. Live today.
–Martial

Brrrrrr

Map of the World weighted by population. It’s interesting how the whole “barren-frozen-tundra” thing keeps the populations of Russia and Canada down.

In related news, I’m back in St. Louis for the holidays. What’s with all this white stuff on the ground?

Christmas List

I enjoy Christmas, Kwaanza, Festivus, and all other holidays which entail receiving things which I want, nay, need (please, please, please Santa please). So, here’s my first draft Xmas list, late as always. I’ll post more here as I think of stuff over the next day or so.

• This Tuck Fexas shirt is pretty sweet.
• Pastafarianism is the new Intelligent Design
• A Presentation Remote makes giving talks easy, as I tend to walk around. I’d like one where the remote has a laser pointer built in (most do).
• This keyring multi-tool looks pretty sweet. It’s small, portable, and would probably get me searched by airport security when I left it on my keychain.
• Another hilarious, if geeky, chemistry t-shirt.
• A subscription to the Bacon of the month club. (okay, this one is actually just to see if you’re still paying attention…)
• A 1 GB or higher flash drive. The Cruzer Micros are really nice, because I can carry them around on my keychain. I’m sure they’ll be on sale somewhere soon, too. Tis the season.
• An MP3 player. Preferably at least 4 GB, and not DRM-laden. The iPod Nanos are small and beautiful, but a little out of my price range. A used 3rd generation iPod might not be too pricey on Ebay. Some of the competing products, like the Rio Carbon, also don’t look too bad.
• A video card for my compy. Nothing high-end, as I don’t game. Something along the lines of a GeForce 5500, with dual monitor support.
• There are a bunch of books and CDs I’d like to own. I’ll make an Amazon wishlist with all that stuff and post it soon.

UPDATE:

• Another cool political tshirt that I wouldn’t mind having.

(Un)Convention(al) Memories

Title idea shamelessly stolen from Karen

I flew to Atlanta this weekend for Phi Sigma Pi’s annual hotel party National Convention. I hadn’t planned on going this year, but the lure was too strong. First, plane tickets to Atlanta came down to 50% of their previous price. Then, I found out that a work/school project had gotten pushed back a week. Add a whole lot of missing my bros to complete the trifecta, and off I went.

Before I get down to this year’s events, some background is in order. I liked Drew’s little trip down memory lane, so I’m going to do the same. This was my fourth national convention in five years, and a big part of why I went this time was how much I regretted missing it last year (damn you, Calc II!!).

My first convention (2001) was a no-brainer, as it was a hop, skip, and jump away from Truman in St. Louis. My Beta chapter brought something like 18 people, and I really bonded with them there.

It was my first interchapter event, and it was then that I realized that PSP chapters are pretty similar all over - smart people who know how to have a good time. In other words, these brothers were cool for all the same reasons as my Beta bros were! That weekend, this newbie was introduced to the concept of brotherhood points, and I had a blast “getting to know” people from all over the country.

Going to that convention probably had a lot to do with why I became so active in the organization. It was also there that I met both Jamie and Losh, who continue to be two great friends to this day.

In 2002, Convention was in Pittsburgh, and being infected with the Interchapter bug, I decided to make the drive with three other bros. My car had no CD player and I wasn’t about to make a long-ass drive without some tunes, so I spent the day before jury-rigging a sound system. By midnight that night, we were pulling out of Kirksville, bumping to the sounds from a discman, 4 computer speakers and subwoofer, which were strategically duct taped to various parts of my car’s interior.

That long day of driving didn’t end until 5pm, when we pulled into downtown Pitt, just in time for a hellacious rush hour. Along the way, we stole borrowed Pedro, the pink flamingo from a garden somewhere near Champaign, IL.

We proceeded to cart him all over the hotel that weekend, frequently shouting “Viva La Pedro!!”, much to the confusion of other chapters (and chagrin of the people trying to speak at the time).

That was also the year I wore my tux to the banquet, which set the ladies’ hearts all a-flutter:

The hotel in Pitt was one of the nicest that I’ve ever been in. That’s probably why my room, full of loud drunken college kids, got kicked out of our hotel room on Saturday night (in our defense, we weren’t the only ones). Thankfully, brothers help each other in times of need, so we snuck back in through the side door and crashed on the floors of various people we knew. (Thanks again for that one, Jamie!)

Due to your notoriously short attention spans (and my desire for sleep), Part II will come tomorrow (including details from last weekend’s trip to Atlanta).

On Atheism

An excellent quotation:

I am an atheist, out and out. It took me a long time to say it. I’ve been an atheist for years and years, but somehow I felt it was intellectually unrespectable to say one was an atheist, because it assumed knowledge that one didn’t have. Somehow it was better to say one was a humanist or an agnostic. I finally decided that I’m a creature of emotion as well as of reason. Emotionally I am an atheist. I don’t have the evidence to prove that God doesn’t exist, but I so strongly suspect he doesn’t that I don’t want to waste my time.

-Isaac Asimov

Personally, I’ve always used a metaphor to explain why I’m an atheist and not an agnostic: If you were a vegetarian, but said that maybe someday you might consider eating meat again, would that make you less of a vegetarian? Would you be veg-nostic? No.

Right now, all the evidence leads me to believe that there is no higher power intervening in our lives. However, I hope that I never become so nearsighted, in any of my beliefs, that that I ignore obvious proof to the contrary.

Yes…

I’m still alive.

Further updates as events warrant.

Damn

I have a post all written up about how I hate Houston weather and miss fall, and then I go outside and it’s a goddamn beautiful day.

It’s not fall weather by any means, but I’ll take it for now. Don’t think I’m going to delete that post, though, Houston. Next time it’s hot… KAPOW! I’m releasing that beast.

BTW, I’m currently sitting outside at Rice, and I’m totally convinced that wireless internet is the coolest thing ever. Yes, I know that I’m like 3 years late on this one, but it makes me happy nonetheless.

In Hostile Territory

Last night I went to a bar here in Houston to watch the Cardinals play the Astros. It was my feeling that since I would be grossly outnumbered, I should represent by wearing my Cardinals jersey and hat. (Is he brave or stupid, you might ask at this point…)

From what I could tell, there was only one other Cardinals fan in the whole damn place. From opposite sides of the bar, we booed the Astros’ double plays and cheered the Cardinals runs. And when Reggie Sanders belted his two-run homer, we made eye contact while cheering loudly and shared a moment.

Over the course of the evening, I racked up the following abuse:

• The barkeep mockingly refused to serve me twice.
• In line for the bathroom, I was told that Cardinals fans have to piss in the alley out back.
• I overheard countless “That guy’s wearing a fucking Cardinals jersey!” comments
• Several people also told me that I was brave.
• And by brave, I think they meant stupid.

No violence took place, though, and I had a good time watching the Cards smash the ’stros. Game 2 is tonight. Get your rally caps on!

Oh, and read this: Five things I’d ask every Supreme Court nominee if I sat on the Senate Judiciary Committee

Update

• I still haven’t written up the full narrative of my hellish evacuation. Look for it soon.
• Term 1 is ending here at BCM, and I’ll be back in St. Louis for a few days this weekend into early next week. If you’re in town and would like to hang, call the cell or drop me an email (chris at this domain name)
• School is going well for the most part, but I’m pretty busy right now. In about two weeks, life will be better.
• Paul Oakenfold’s essential mix live from China still rocks my face off. It’s great music to code to.

Regarding Rita

Evacuations aren’t as much fun as you may have heard.

As of last night, I’m back in H-town. I’ll write up a full narrative of the trip later, but right now, I’ve got a ton of work to do.

Retreat

On the basis of the latest (rather scary) storm predictions, I’m falling back to Dallas for few days, to ride the storm out. If you’re in Dallas and want to hang out, drop me an email. (chris at this domain name).

Check out the Houston Chronicle for all the latest coverage. It’s doing a pretty damn good job of keeping up to the minute data available.

Here’s hoping the predictions are wrong and this isn’t another Katrina, in terms of damage and loss of life.

Category 5, for now

Should I stay or should I go now?
If I go there will be trouble.
If I stay it will be double.

–The Clash

Third strongest hurricane ever, at present. It’s supposed to drop down to a measly high-end Category 3 by the time it hits, though.

Salt with that ‘Rita?

The forecast for Saturday?

A bit of an understatement, I’d say:

Busy

I’m trying to tap into some deep inner well of motivation right now.

(and hoping that it exists…)

Holy Shit

Things in New Orleans are bad. In fact, they’re evacuating the entire city.

And guess where a lot of those refugees are coming?

In Houston, Rusty Cornelius, a county emergency official, said at least 25,000 of them would travel in a bus convoy to Houston starting Wednesday and would be sheltered at the 40-year-old Astrodome, which is no longer used for professional sporting events.

I live under a mile from the Astrodome. Things are about to get crazy around here. I think I’m going to see if they need volunteers to help out with the refugee camp over there.

Update: They’ve already got far more volunteers than they know what to do with around here. The Red Cross just needs cash and the local food banks are taking donataions of non-perishable stuff. Guess I’ll toss in a few bucks and sit this one out.