Chromatography AKTA FLPC

Major geek post, today.  Turn back while you still can!

I have to go into the lab today AND go work at the bookstore.  I love both of my jobs, but it’s Saturday…ewwww.  Internet fun…fresh air bad (well, in Minnesota in January, anyway).

At my job I sometimes do FPLC, which is a way cool chemistry tool for separating and purifying proteins.  But it can get pretty confusing very quickly.  There are all sorts of inputs and outputs, and sometimes I get mixed up with the tubes going all over the place:

“I fought the AKTA, and the AKTA won!”
FPLC image – http://psf.cobre.ku.edu
Stickman was added by biodork.

And sometimes the instrument acts up and and I get so fed up with it that I feel like:

FPLC image –  http://faculty.ksu.edu.sa/
T-Shirt image – http://www.hipstertees.co.uk/

There is also a way to make sure the columns (part of the set-up) are working well.  This method is called measuring “theoretical  plates“.  I imagine theoretical plates look something like this:

Plates image – http://images.crateandbarrel.com
Text added by biodork.


or maybe more like this:

Thought bubble image – www.polyvore.com
 Plates image – http: www.washingtonspaces.com

 

Chromatography AKTA FLPC
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Please God, help me find a parking spot!

I heard a joke on the Freethought Radio podcast that makes me chuckle and throw up my hands in exasperation at the same time.  I’ll try to re-tell it here, but it is paraphrased:

A guy is running late for a job interview, and as he approaches the busy parking lot of the company he starts to pray.

“Please God, help me find a parking spot.  I can’t be late for this job interview – I really need this job…my family needs me to get this job.  Please, help me find a parking spot right next to the front door, God, and I’ll do anything: I’ll give up women.  I’ll  give up smoking and gambling and drinking.  Please God, one little parking spot.”

Just as the man is approaching the front of the building complex, he sees a car backing out from a spot right in front of the main entrance!  The man is elated!  He parks, grabs his briefcase, and as he is getting out the car he casts his eyes toward the sky and he says,

“Never mind, God.  I found one myself.”

Le sigh.  People are interesting creatures, aren’t we?

Please God, help me find a parking spot!

I join Facebook

Facebook makes me feel old.

I don’t really understand it yet, but the facebook app from iTunes is pretty sweet.  I was using it to chat real-time with Mom earlier today, and I was just amazed that I was IMing on my iPod…?  Wow.

Anyway, if you find me on facebook, have patience with me!

Jeez, next thing you know I’ll be tweeting…

And here’s a pretty picture, because it snowed again today, and I need a nice toasty-looking picture:

I join Facebook

Lucy Long Ago

For me, one of the best things about working in a book store (aside from the employee discount), is the constant exposure to new books and authors that would have otherwise flown beneath my radar.

Lucy Long Ago: Uncovering the Mystery of Where We Came From was recommended to me by a father purchasing the book for his 12 year old son.  I expressed interest in the cover and title, and he told me it  was a fascinating, exciting introduction to Australopithecus afarensis, and hominid evolution in general.

Most pages have either a photograph from the Lucy dig (AL 288-1 – I learned something new!), or full-color drawings and diagrams of archeological and geological processes, discoveries, evolutionary timelines and fossils.  The wording might challenge a middle school-child, but in a good way.  The presentation is definitely aimed towards younger audiences, but adults not familiar with hominid evolution can learn quite a bit from the book.  I imagine this would be a great book for a parent and child to read together.  And for those with a more than passing interest in evolution, geology and archeology, it is inspiring to read the book and see a great example of how science is being passed on to the next generation of discoverers.

The author, Catherine Thimmesh, is local!  She has a simple and artistic website, and she’s authored several young readers’ science and social-themed books.

Lucy Long Ago

Green Porno

I first heard of Isabella Rossellini’s Green Porno project from Pharyngula, and I thought it was weird and nerdy and neat.  So how excited was I when I found Green Porno: A Book and Short Films by Isabella Rossellini in my bookstore for 75% off???  Yeah for me!  But, I mean…why was this treasure on the 75% off table in the first place?  Who doesn’t want a book that focuses on the animals that surround us every day and their incredibly scandalous mating habits?  Hell, isn’t that why people buy US, Star and People magazine?

Borrowed from http://fremenalex.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/green-porno-2.png

Anyway, the book not only contains full page pictures of the cardboard cut-outs and foam-rubber sculptures that are uniquely Green Porno, and educational and entertaining phrases such as “If I were a male anglerfish I would look sooooo different than the  female.  I would have a big nose to smell and find her in the abyss.  On top of my head, I have a kind of tooth…which I use to penetrate her belly and fuse myself into her body becoming her own personal sperm bank.”…aside from all of that the (75% off) book contains a DVD with all three seasons of Green Porno!

Season one: Insects!
Seaon two: Sea creatures!
Season three: Sea Creatures and the perils of over-fishing!

I am the luckiest biology nerd ever!

Green Porno

Religion is fantastic…

I’m a fan of Cougar Town – the writing really cracks me up.  Sure, it’s brain fluff, but moderation and all that.

And on episode 12 “Scare Easy”, religion got a total shout out:

The characters
Jules – 40-year old divorcee trying to re-enter the dating world.
Ellie – best friend of Jules

The scene
Restaurant.  Jules and current boy-crush (Jeff) are on a double date with Ellie and her hubby.  Jeff has just announced his desire to “go steady” with Jules and then runs to gulp some wine at the bar.  Dopey subordinate hubby has just been ordered by Ellie to go on a restaurant walk to let the girls talk.

ELLIE: (completely excited about Jeff’s announcement) What do you think?

JULES:  I don’t know!  I really like Jeff, and I’m not dating anyone else.  I mean, not that I would date two guys at the same time anyway because in grade school this nun told me that if I kissed two boys in the same day, their spit would mix in my mouth and it would kill me.

ELLIE: (In a hushed, awed voice): Religion is fantastic.


Religion is fantastic…

Supreme Court FAIL

Perry v. Schwarzenegger (The California Prop 8 Trial that I wrote about here) will NOT be televised.

“The Supreme Court has indefinitely blocked cameras from covering the high-profile federal court trial on the constitutionality of California’s ban on same-sex marriage. The high court split 5-4 Wednesday, with the conservative justices in the majority.” — Associated Press, 1:51 p.m., Wednesday, January 13

The Courage Campaign is fighting back.

They have instituted the Prop 8 Trial Tracker, which will “cover the trial live from the courthouse and document and respond to right-wing attacks on the process.”  I love the Trial Tracker logo, because it is an obvious parody of the ProtectMarriage.com logo “Yes on 8” (an anti-gay marriage organization).  To see a side-by-side comparison of the two, go to the Courage Campaign’s blog post on the subject, which includes – as a bonus! – the complete Cease and Desist letter from protectmarriage.com’s laywers demanding CC remove the parodied logo because they allege IP infringement.  And then CC lawyers smack them down.  Yes!

Supreme Court FAIL

Snow Tubing

Saturday 09:45

We’re going to Eko Backen today to experience the northern activity called snow tubing [snoh too-bing].  Assuming I don’t crash and die I’ll post a pic or two when we get back later this evening.  Check out the video on their website – great marketing material…you can actually here the guy say “Ah shit!” on the way down, lol.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9otnWDWRmvk&feature=player_embedded

____________________________________________________

Saturday 16:28

We just got back from Eko Backen – I didn’t die, and we had a blast.  The weather was warm (for winter) and sunny.  There were these tows ropes that pulled you back up to the top of the hill!  You know…snowy fun without any of the cardiovascular benefits.  Seriously though, the tow rope wasn’t exactly easy.  We had to grab the slick, slushy rope and hold on tight – good workout for the biceps!  As my gloves got wetter and my muscles more tired with each progressive tow, it became difficult to hang on, and sometimes the rope would slide through my fingers and leave me stranded halfway up the hill.  Then I had to move out of the way quickly (so I didn’t screw up the person behind me) and schlep up the hill the ol’ fashioned way.

The hills were definitely sufficient; there were options from “family” to “expert”, so you could choose your own steepness and speed.  What I really liked is that the park wasn’t over-regulated.  There were employees watching things, but no one was playing snow hill dictator.  Everyone was responsible for their own fun.   I went tubing with Hubby and my Little Sis, Ashley.  Ashley and I were paired together through a mentoring program two years ago and it has been quite the experience!

Hubby and Ashley about to go down the hill:

Me and Ashley going down the hill:

Ashley and I being towed up the hill:

Hubby and I in front of the lodge at the top of the hill:


Snow Tubing

*snap* Pat Robertson!

Hey Pat Robertson,

Your boyfriend’s back and you’re gonna be in trouble!  Hey-yeah, Hey-yeah, your boyfriend’s back!

Lily Coyle, from Minneapolis, wins Best Letter of the Day to the Star Tribune EVER.  She’s responding to Pat Robertson’s theory that Haitian slaves made a “pact with the devil” 200 years ago in order to free themselves from the hated clutches of Napoleon Bonaparte’s regime – resulting in a curse that led to the destruction of much of Port-au-Prince and a massive loss of life in Tuesday’s earthquake (snipped from here

For your reading pleasure, I have copy-pasted her letter from today’s issue of the Stribe below.

Dear Pat Robertson, I know that you know that all press is good press, so I appreciate the shout-out. And you make God look like a big mean bully who kicks people when they are down, so I’m all over that action. But when you say that Haiti has made a pact with me, it is totally humiliating. I may be evil incarnate, but I’m no welcher. The way you put it, making a deal with me leaves folks desperate and impoverished. Sure, in the afterlife, but when I strike bargains with people, they first get something here on earth — glamour, beauty, talent, wealth, fame, glory, a golden fiddle. Those Haitians have nothing, and I mean nothing. And that was before the earthquake. Haven’t you seen “Crossroads”? Or “Damn Yankees”? If I had a thing going with Haiti, there’d be lots of banks, skyscrapers, SUVs, exclusive night clubs, Botox — that kind of thing. An 80 percent poverty rate is so not my style. Nothing against it — I’m just saying: Not how I roll. You’re doing great work, Pat, and I don’t want to clip your wings — just, come on, you’re making me look bad. And not the good kind of bad. Keep blaming God. That’s working. But leave me out of it, please. Or we may need to renegotiate your own contract. Best, Satan

LILY COYLE, MINNEAPOLIS

*snap* Pat Robertson!