I learned a trick in KBY; when you're tired and actually want to get stuff done, take a nap. A short fifteen minute putting-head-down-on-table could translate into a much more alert three hours afterward. Today, at about 2:45 in the afternoon the only people in the lab office were me and a doctoral student, so I employed the trick.
I woke up about fifteen minutes later to the beep-beep of my laptop telling me that it was shutting down due to low battery. (Yes, I unplug my laptop periodically and let the battery drain because I heard that was good for it. I'm a little weird.) When I finally signed in my username my whole screen showed this (press f11 to see exactly what I saw).
I freaked out, until I realized I was still in mozilla, and that it was just a slight addition to the current session which the laptop had saved before it shut down. But even so I freaked out because a scary webpage that looked like a virus had popped up, and the grad-student was on the phone so I had nobody to ask about it. When he finally hung up he asked what was the problem. I showed him, to which he responded: "Yeah, you were asleep, and I couldn't find any shaving cream."
Friday, June 19, 2009
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Let's Get Biophysical!
My abstract for the summer, with the help of my grad student advisor who made it sound a little better. We went for the passive voice instead of the first person; in IIT they said its ok in scientific papers.
Under starvation conditions, the single-cell organism Dictyostelium discoideum performs an interesting life cycle in which independent cells aggregate to eventually form a spore that ensures the group’s survival. Cells secrete the chemoattractant cAMP, which directs cell motion toward the aggregate. Analysis of the motion and shape deformations of these cells during migration can be used to better understand cell movement in many cell systems, such as embryogenesis and cancer. This work will involve using custom MATLAB code to analyze image sequences of individual Dictyostelium cells unable to move toward a chemoattractant due to physical obstruction. Such analysis will reveal details of how a cell attaches to a surface and how this attachment is coupled to motion. In addition, time-lapse videos of the Dictyostelium life cycle on different surfaces will be taken, and these group motion data will be analyzed in the context of how surface properties affect group motion.
And now you know.
Under starvation conditions, the single-cell organism Dictyostelium discoideum performs an interesting life cycle in which independent cells aggregate to eventually form a spore that ensures the group’s survival. Cells secrete the chemoattractant cAMP, which directs cell motion toward the aggregate. Analysis of the motion and shape deformations of these cells during migration can be used to better understand cell movement in many cell systems, such as embryogenesis and cancer. This work will involve using custom MATLAB code to analyze image sequences of individual Dictyostelium cells unable to move toward a chemoattractant due to physical obstruction. Such analysis will reveal details of how a cell attaches to a surface and how this attachment is coupled to motion. In addition, time-lapse videos of the Dictyostelium life cycle on different surfaces will be taken, and these group motion data will be analyzed in the context of how surface properties affect group motion.
And now you know.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Green-->Red-->Grey-->A (and back again)
(My first time doing an in-and-out-in-under-a-day trip. Seemed blog-worthy)
On Sunday a friend and former chavrusa of mine got married in New York. He was not the first of our year in KBY to do so, but basically the first big wedding that most people were going to attend. I definitely wasn't gonna miss.
But I'm in UMD for the summer, which is too close to fly, and a little far to make it worth driving by myself. I did have friends driving to NY from Ner Israel for the whole weekend, but I wanted to miss as little work as possible since I hadn't really asked them for the time off, and I was already a little behind on my work sched. So I opted to take a bus, for which there are way too many companies to make an easy decision. I sort of wanted to take a red-eye back from NY so that I could make it to work on Monday on time, but was a little afraid that even if I did, I'd be so dead in work that it would hardly be worth the effort. In the end, I let that be my deciding factor, and yet I was still left with two options: Megabus or Greyhound. Greyhound was closer, Megabus was cheaper, and definitely had parking. I went for Greyhound because I did not want to drive to nowheresville, Maryland, instead of taking public trans to downtown DC. I even spent the extra $8 to make the tickets refundable (does that make me a sucker?).
The 10AM had wifi which was great with my ipod, and for the first ten minutes i actually had my own row. Then we stopped and picked up more passengers, and life got a little suckier. Somehow I still managed to fall asleep-ish for an hour on the way there, and made my way to YU to meet up with people going to the wedding.
It took a while to find a towel to borrow to shower, but eventually I did and made it to the wedding. No mixed seating for the singles (seriously, where else am I supposed to meet girls?) but at least I got to see all my friends from KBY and sit and dance with them, which was pretty awesome. (Some people who go to KBY are normal okay?). The dancing was a little crowded, but still made for a fun time. Unfortunately the wedding was over before I could count to ten, although my chosson-friend actually gave me one of the sheva-brachos after the meal, which was cool.
Eventually we made it back to YU, and I hopped on the A to go to the Grey...hound. What I didn't notice coming into NY is that Port Authority Bus Terminal has about 500 gates to pick up buses, and no automated schedules as to where to pick up which bus. Also, no information stands are open at 1AM. It took about half an hour of bugging different janitors to finally get directed to the Greyhound section, where I could ask where to get my bus.
I boarded the bus in the same (now smelly) suit and tie I had worn to the wedding, mainly because the bathrooms at Port Authority smelled so bad I couldn't contemplate standing in one for five minutes to change. I fought with my knees with the guy in front of me who was trying to put his seat back, and won, so I let down my guard. 3 minutes later the guy surprise attacked me, and I lost the ability to move, but somehow still managed to kinda sleep throughout the four and a half hour bus ride. It helped that there was no internet on this one.
Made it back to Maryland at about 6:15 in the morning, got on some metros to go back to College Park, took a long shower and made it to 8AM shacharis at Hillel. It took coffee and coke and a lab meeting during which I partially fell asleep to make it through the day, but I was successful. All-in-all a great trip, and the only thing I regret is not bringing my firesticks from Chicago up here (the shtick was kinda lame). And putting an onion bagel in my backpack before I left. Pants, sweatshirt, even my tefillin reeked of it when I got back.
I know, you were probably hoping for some sorta disaster to make this entertaining, but I was way too cautious this time. Title's great though, eh?
On Sunday a friend and former chavrusa of mine got married in New York. He was not the first of our year in KBY to do so, but basically the first big wedding that most people were going to attend. I definitely wasn't gonna miss.
But I'm in UMD for the summer, which is too close to fly, and a little far to make it worth driving by myself. I did have friends driving to NY from Ner Israel for the whole weekend, but I wanted to miss as little work as possible since I hadn't really asked them for the time off, and I was already a little behind on my work sched. So I opted to take a bus, for which there are way too many companies to make an easy decision. I sort of wanted to take a red-eye back from NY so that I could make it to work on Monday on time, but was a little afraid that even if I did, I'd be so dead in work that it would hardly be worth the effort. In the end, I let that be my deciding factor, and yet I was still left with two options: Megabus or Greyhound. Greyhound was closer, Megabus was cheaper, and definitely had parking. I went for Greyhound because I did not want to drive to nowheresville, Maryland, instead of taking public trans to downtown DC. I even spent the extra $8 to make the tickets refundable (does that make me a sucker?).
The 10AM had wifi which was great with my ipod, and for the first ten minutes i actually had my own row. Then we stopped and picked up more passengers, and life got a little suckier. Somehow I still managed to fall asleep-ish for an hour on the way there, and made my way to YU to meet up with people going to the wedding.
It took a while to find a towel to borrow to shower, but eventually I did and made it to the wedding. No mixed seating for the singles (seriously, where else am I supposed to meet girls?) but at least I got to see all my friends from KBY and sit and dance with them, which was pretty awesome. (Some people who go to KBY are normal okay?). The dancing was a little crowded, but still made for a fun time. Unfortunately the wedding was over before I could count to ten, although my chosson-friend actually gave me one of the sheva-brachos after the meal, which was cool.
Eventually we made it back to YU, and I hopped on the A to go to the Grey...hound. What I didn't notice coming into NY is that Port Authority Bus Terminal has about 500 gates to pick up buses, and no automated schedules as to where to pick up which bus. Also, no information stands are open at 1AM. It took about half an hour of bugging different janitors to finally get directed to the Greyhound section, where I could ask where to get my bus.
I boarded the bus in the same (now smelly) suit and tie I had worn to the wedding, mainly because the bathrooms at Port Authority smelled so bad I couldn't contemplate standing in one for five minutes to change. I fought with my knees with the guy in front of me who was trying to put his seat back, and won, so I let down my guard. 3 minutes later the guy surprise attacked me, and I lost the ability to move, but somehow still managed to kinda sleep throughout the four and a half hour bus ride. It helped that there was no internet on this one.
Made it back to Maryland at about 6:15 in the morning, got on some metros to go back to College Park, took a long shower and made it to 8AM shacharis at Hillel. It took coffee and coke and a lab meeting during which I partially fell asleep to make it through the day, but I was successful. All-in-all a great trip, and the only thing I regret is not bringing my firesticks from Chicago up here (the shtick was kinda lame). And putting an onion bagel in my backpack before I left. Pants, sweatshirt, even my tefillin reeked of it when I got back.
I know, you were probably hoping for some sorta disaster to make this entertaining, but I was way too cautious this time. Title's great though, eh?
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Warranted Unorganized Thoughts
Hellllllllllooooooooooooo.............
Lot's been going on, so I should probably blog it so that in twenty years I'll be able to come back to this website and see what my life used to be like. Anyhoo random musings as of late:
I am way too over-excited about my peanut-butter and jelly on a chocolate-chip bagel for tomorrow's lunch.
Much of my thinking is now involved in what will be my next four meals, and if I have enough food to get me till shabbos.
Why do I still feel like I have no grasp on Matlab? And why do the doctoral students in my lab seem like when they were undergrads they still knew infinitely more about programming and using Matlab than me? Was I supposed to be proficient coming into this summer?
I'm saving my receipts from MacGruder's (a supermarket in Silver Spring- but isn't that also the SNL spin-off of McGuyver?) so that I can compare them with my eventual receipts from Shoppers and see which is cheaper.
How in all heck am I going to have something research-related to present in a large auditorium at the end of these ten weeks?
And now for some happier ones:
Yay for minyan on campus!
Yay for hillel frisbee on campus!
Yay for having my own room!
And it poured today as I was walking from the mall to my apartment, but so it goes.
So long for now,
Sim(cha)
Lot's been going on, so I should probably blog it so that in twenty years I'll be able to come back to this website and see what my life used to be like. Anyhoo random musings as of late:
I am way too over-excited about my peanut-butter and jelly on a chocolate-chip bagel for tomorrow's lunch.
Much of my thinking is now involved in what will be my next four meals, and if I have enough food to get me till shabbos.
Why do I still feel like I have no grasp on Matlab? And why do the doctoral students in my lab seem like when they were undergrads they still knew infinitely more about programming and using Matlab than me? Was I supposed to be proficient coming into this summer?
I'm saving my receipts from MacGruder's (a supermarket in Silver Spring- but isn't that also the SNL spin-off of McGuyver?) so that I can compare them with my eventual receipts from Shoppers and see which is cheaper.
How in all heck am I going to have something research-related to present in a large auditorium at the end of these ten weeks?
And now for some happier ones:
Yay for minyan on campus!
Yay for hillel frisbee on campus!
Yay for having my own room!
And it poured today as I was walking from the mall to my apartment, but so it goes.
So long for now,
Sim(cha)
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