I'm still not eating chicken, but...

This bit of good news reminds me of how much I miss eating my mom's lemon pepper chicken wings. They're heavenly.

Yesterday morning, as Dave and I loaded up the Explorer for a day of exciting ecological fieldwork, a University custodian commented that he appreciated what we were doing because it was people like us who were going to fix the mistakes that his generation had made. Nice thought, I guess (and I'm glad that more and more people seem to be thinking like him), but it's sometimes hard for me to see how whatever little things we do fit into the bigger picture. Of course, scientists could figure out solutions for every pressing crisis under the sun and it still wouldn't mean jack until those who make the big decisions decide to listen. These days, I seem to be vacillating between utter despair for the future of humanity and the planet and hope that maybe things will change.


Oh, and I also finished another pair of socks.

Weird science

I spotted this on Broadsheet:

Pseudomamma on the foot: An unusual presentation of supernumerary breat tissue

Apparently, "pseudomamma" does not mean "nanny".

Oh, and here's one of the article's references:

Koltuksuz U, Aydin E. Supernumerary breast tissue: a case of pseudomamma on the face. J Pediatr Surg 1997;32:1377-8.

Yeesh. That's unfortunate.

Wish you were here

Hello from Santa Fe!

It really is pretty here. And warm (comparatively), and sunny, and it smells of sage and mesquite. Today I took a break from attending talks like "A mesocosm and rototorque reactor approach for investigating effects of contaminants on biofilm communities from prairie aquatic ecosystems" and "Effects of fungal and bacterial interactions on leaf decomposition in stream microcosms" and walked around town for a bit. Some photos:

Friday linkage

Here's a trio of random science-y links before I call it a day and head home:

I thought this piece from Orion Magazine was poetic.

Courtesy of Paul, here's a post on Comics Should Be Good about how Donald Duck discovered methylene.

If you find this funny, please let me know, because I like the cut of your jib and we should hang out sometime.

Oh, and I received the nicest compliment today. Last semester, I took a conservation biology course in which we were required to write weekly critiques of each other's presentations, as well as of classmates' grant proposals. My professor said she'd been meaning to tell me that she thought my critiques were the best in the class; she also wondered if such ability meant that I tended to be overly hard on myself. How insightful is that? It's something I need to work on, but it's nice to know I can use my power for good as well as evil.

Have any good weekend plans? Here are mine:

Friday night: drink
Saturday: lab (am), maybe see a movie or something and/or drink (pm)
Sunday: lab

Glamorous and exciting, no?