27 March, 2009

Fragments of Toaster's Mind Blather

1) Debating ethical-ness of studying non-work stuff at work. I already carry around my Janeway's Immunobiology with me, so why not my Llama Book as well?

2) Finished -80C freezer inventory. No one had ever done so and my PI has had the freezer for ~15-20 years. I found tubes that contained the entire GI tract of mice in there, not to mention the many other unidentifiable things floating around (take note: if you're putting it in long term storage, clearly label what it is. "17" is not a valid label!) Now, unfortunately, I'm sorta bored.

3) I only have 2 projects right now, and they're both sidelined waiting on reagents/supplies. The lab is rather clean, too. See Fragment #1.

4) Does anyone have any wise tricks for dealing with student loan companies?

5) I'm going to go see Monsters vs. Aliens tonight!

6) I tried stopping eating cookies and burritos for 2 weeks not long ago and promptly lost 5 pounds. I promptly introduced doughnuts, pie, and pie into my diet and have managed to get 3 back. I'm becoming resigned to the idea that my ribs and hip bones will always be highly visible until I hit the mid-forties.

7) Sooner or later I'm going to wind up shanking a jogger. Not because I want to, mind you, but because that's what you get when you manage to sneak up on Toaster. Normally I can hear them coming many yards away (and smell them; for some reason many of the female joggers spray themselves with some kind of flowery scent before they leave, which I suppose is better than poop), but there's one part of my plod home that's really traffic noisy and I can't hear them when they're running on the grass. One surprised me recently and I had my umbrella out of my coat pockets ready to take out his knees before I realized what exactly was going on.

8) I realize that I've come to the age where little children no longer regard me as being just a big kid and now think of me as an ominous adult. Maybe it's just that children are inherently wise enough to avoid asking a Mad Scientist what's in his backpack.

9) OK, honestly I don't know what's in there anymore either. Let's investigate:
2 mechanical pencils
lead
highlighters
1 tattered index card with the word "gonads" written on front
1/2 bottle Pepto Bismol
8 chewable doses of ivermectin
1 green hair Scrunchie
1 blue hair Scrunchie
1 pair black and grey striped fistwarmers
1 pair blue striped knee socks
lots of batteries
Everlast brand fisticuffs
1 dirty Tupperware container from several months ago
several plastic bags (dog poop bags?)
1 empty envelope
1 burned copy of the Big Lebowski (unwatched and unlikely to be)
5 official transcripts
1 Janeway's Immunobiology, 7th ed.
1 old sketchbook from cartooning job containing various obscenities and stick figures
1 ream of unread papers
2 bars of graphite
3 1m-long high-tension rubber bands


10) Mercifully self-censored complaint about the fit of my underwear.

11) I need to write myself a Perl app and install it on all the computers I use to remind me to eat. Due to a self-experiment that I've not yet blogged, I have developed a rather extreme tolerance for hunger. I have caught myself going 14+ hours without food before realizing that I actually am hungry. Often I don't remember that I haven't eaten in quite a while until I have real hunger pains. And before you tell me that maybe that is why I am scrawny, it should be noted that when I eat it is usually best measured in kilograms and what it is would make a nutritionist cry (e.g., just the other day I discovered how delicious chocolate chip peanut butter sandwiches can be).

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

1 tattered index card with the word "gonads" written on front

Sweet! I once discovered a vial containing actual mouse balls in one of my bags. oops.

Ivermectin? Perhaps your inability to put on weight is due to internal parasites. Maybe you should take some and see how it goes.

Toaster Sunshine said...

The ivermectin is formulated for dogs 25lb or less and I'm pretty sure it's beef liver flavored.

Science Bear said...

Love #5, can't wait to see it but not sure if I'll get a chance, and will probably have to see it by myself.

Toaster Sunshine said...

It was great! I was very impressed with the seamless integration of the 3D-ness. I went and saw Coraline in 3D as well and it was like looking into a diorama: several 2D elements arranged in a 3D schema. But Monsters vs. Aliens actually had an amazing sense of depth where the 3D-ness of everything was well-rounded and finely textured. And not only was I looking into the screen in terms of depth, but it was also coming out at me in terms of perspective. I do wish, though, that the 3D glasses weren't so tight around my head, but I suppose they can only really manufacture them for the middle 95%, huh?

PhizzleDizzle said...

I can't believe you have to remind yourself to eat. I forget only when I am extremely stressed out, and even then I don't EVER go 14 hrs. Man! No wonder you are skinny! :)

BTW, Python is a far superior language to Perl, IMHO :).