Jagged Ice
05 July 2009 @ 08:39 am
Dear Monteal weather: what the FUCK?

It's 15C outside right now (63F). FIFTEEN DEGREES. AND CLOUDY FOR THE 489342809342TH DAY IN THE ROW. This time last year, it was 35 fucking degrees. (95 for you Americans) What the fuck? I want my god damn summer to start. AAAAAAAAAAAAARFGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

/endrant

Edit: Omg it's sunny now! Bitching gets things done =D
 
 
Current Mood: aggravated
 
 
Jagged Ice
04 July 2009 @ 10:34 pm
I drew tonight! Still very much a work in progress, but so far I'm liking how it's coming out.

I've been working so many hours recently (including weekends and holidays). I do enjoy lab work, but I'm starting to get worn down. I leave my house at 8am and get home at 9pm. (Thursday and Friday this week it was 10pm) Sometimes I really wonder where I would be if I decided to focus on my art instead of going into science. Sciences: the hardest degree for the least amount of money.

Also, I've decided that next year, I'm going to AC. I'm totally kicking myself for not going this year... but I had too much other stuff to worry about.
 
 
Current Mood: drained
Current Music: 2 Sense - Various Episodes
 
 
Jagged Ice
20 June 2009 @ 08:37 pm
OH MY GOD LIZARDBETH FINISHED MY CON BADGE AND IT CAME OUT SO WELL. EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! Link :DNow I definitely have to go to AC next year to show it off. =P

Back to following Iranian Twitter updates. R.I.P Neda. =(
 
 
Current Mood: contemplative
 
 
Jagged Ice
20 June 2009 @ 02:43 pm
I can't stop reading about the Iran protests. Oh man.

I'm also really hungover from drinking way too much last night, so this is going to be short. I wanted to share a really interesting video about how the internet is changing the media. <3 TED
"While news from Iran streams to the world, Clay Shirky shows how Facebook, Twitter and TXTs help citizens in repressive regimes to report on real news, bypassing censors (however briefly). The end of top-down control of news is changing the nature of politics.
 
 
Current Mood: hungover
 
 
Jagged Ice
17 June 2009 @ 08:39 pm
My new job is going well so far. The hours are long - 9 to 10 hour days -but it can go by surprisingly fast. The only thing I didn't like at first, but I'm getting used to now, is how my supervisor is around all the time, as in his office is in the laboratory. This is rare. I can't think of a single professor ever having their office their lab. I can hear him breathing, unless there's a centrifuge going. He's a nice fellow, very dedicated to his work and well, does pretty much nothing but work. He never leaves the lab/office. He uses the laboratory microwave, used to heat solutions like agarose and agar, to heat is own food so he can eat it in his office. Okay, granted agarose is just a sugar and agar is sterile, I would NEVER use a lab microwave to heat my food. Who knows what clueless students from the past have put in there! This work discipline of his means he expects the same from us. =P
The us refers to an RA that was also recently hired, a fellow named Ousama. He's a physiology major... which means he can't find his ass with a map in the lab. He has NO experience, so my supervisor loves to get on his case. He seems to be learning, though. He's also nice... but boring. Who knows, maybe he'll warm up as he gets more comfortable.
I've also been able to "practice" my french a little more, since it's a francophone institution. Good God, does my french need work.

I'm also like really, really disappointed that I won't be able to go to AC this year. The time and financial commitment it would require is just a little too much for me right now and that bugs me. The fact that it's extremely likely that I'll be moving out in August doesn't help either, because that's another big expense too. I think I'll buy a fridge and stove, which is about a grand right there. I'm going to talk to my future roommate next week and work out details, as well as pound the pavement to check out different pads. :D

I've also finally had a chance to catch up on the news, particular about the election in Iran. First of all, wow, hundreds of thousands of people protesting! In a theocracy! AWESOME! I found an interesting video giving a quick analysis of the future of Iran:


I have to admit I'm hella impressed by these massive protests, and not just because I think Ahmadinejad is a fucking crackpot. Iran is by far no democracy, but at this point, I think they deserve it more than we do.

Okay, time to redo my lab notes. Durr. Jagged be tired.
 
 
Current Mood: rushed
Current Music: 2 Sense - 7.4.04
 
 
Jagged Ice
08 June 2009 @ 10:26 pm


Wow. Just wow.
 
 
Current Mood: tired
Current Music: Royksopp - Vision One
 
 
Jagged Ice
08 June 2009 @ 02:21 pm
 
 
Jagged Ice
06 June 2009 @ 11:41 pm
Regarding the 65th anniversary of D-Day, I think the following quote sums up how I feel:
"The respect I hold for those brave soldiers heading for a possibly untimely death for the sake of their beliefs, their country, and ultimately their governmental orders, cannot ever be effectively conveyed in constructive sentence."

I found a bunch of old pictures of my family from 40-60 years ago. I want to scan and post some of them.

I have the day off tomorrow, I plan on enjoying some good time in the sun since it's supposed to be a nice day. I start a new job in a little less than a fortnight, in an immunology lab (I just got my BSc, major in biochemistry). I'm excited yet anxious for that to begin, as I always am whenever I start a new job. I'll likely be pulling 50+ hours a week too. Must have fun now while I still can...

I have been having a lot of fun this past week. I went to La Festival Mondial de la Bière Montreal on Wednesday and Thursday; I wanted to go Friday as well, but I ended up spending the day with a friend instead. I could have gone in the evening, but it's so fucking popular that by 6pm, it's practically impossible to get in, or move if you actually do get in. It's probably better I didn't go because I've dropped over a hundred bucks in two days at that place. God damn, I love Beerfest. I actually have some pictures from Wednesday, I should post a couple.
Friday was fun because the friend I spent time with was hosting a British tourist at her house for about a week, and she flew out to London that evening. We chilled out on the very western tip of the island, and had a beer by the water. When we escorted her to the airport, my friend and I realized we still had two beers left each to drink before I went downtown. Armed with two vide glass iced tea bottles, I semi-subtly filled the bottles with the remaining beers in a bathroom stall. I have the best luck too: just as I start the deed, a security guard walks into the stall next to mine to use the bathroom. I freeze, fearing that any clanging of the glass bottles would arise suspicion, my friend waiting outside the whole time. She took her fucking sweetass time, too. But we made it out safely, caught the bus to the major terminus, and sat outside drining out beers, sharing some smokes, and chatting away. It was amazing. I felt like I was in high school again. Good times. I then ended up downtown and later on crashed a friend's party for a couple of hours.

I finish with Soul Sacrifice: (At the very least, fast forward to 3:05 and watch the drum solo! It's also fun to watch Carlos Santana play his guitar, since he's frying his balls off on LSD)
Edit: Also, thanks to those who wished me well while I was mad sick last week! I still have a cough, but I'm a LOT better. =)
 
 
Current Mood: restless
Current Music: Royksopp - You Don't Have a Clue
 
 
Jagged Ice
28 May 2009 @ 12:08 am
Oh God. So sick. Can't sleep. Throat so swollen. So much mucus. So tired. God damnit.
 
 
Current Mood: sick
 
 
Jagged Ice
22 May 2009 @ 11:26 pm
Got home from work not long ago. I forgot to take the night off and now I'm missing a friend's birthday bash. Boo. Oh well.

Screenshot of what I'm doing now before bed. =D <3 That zone! Gotta be one of my favorites.
 
 
Current Mood: sleepy
Current Music: 2 Sense - 3.7.04
 
 
Jagged Ice
20 May 2009 @ 06:10 pm
More TED! So fucking fascinating.

"Behavioral economist Dan Ariely, the author of Predictably Irrational, uses classic visual illusions and his own counterintuitive (and sometimes shocking) research findings to show how we're not as rational as we think when we make decisions."

EDIT: Code is fucked up to embed it, so the link is here.
 
 
Current Mood: hungry
Current Music: X-Files
 
 
Jagged Ice
19 May 2009 @ 10:53 pm
This is amazing, adorable, inspiring.
 
 
Current Mood: AAAAAWWWWWWWWw
 
 
Jagged Ice
27 April 2009 @ 05:40 pm
To AC, or not to AC, that is the question.
 
 
Current Mood: hopeful
Current Music: 300 Playing in the background
 
 
Jagged Ice
20 April 2009 @ 05:28 pm
Anyone know a good Sega Genesis emulator and subsequent ROM site? I'm in need of more procrastination tools.
 
 
Current Mood: distracted
Current Music: Paul Oakenfold - Essential Mix in Ibiza
 
 
Jagged Ice
18 April 2009 @ 04:19 pm
I've decided I want this.

Must... get... better (or a second) job...
 
 
Current Mood: pensive
Current Music: Daft Punk - Touch It/Technologic (Live 2007)
 
 
Jagged Ice
15 April 2009 @ 02:56 pm
 
 
Current Mood: sleepy
 
 
Jagged Ice
14 April 2009 @ 07:25 pm
I love TED. TED provides a lot of free knowledge from some of the world's greatest minds and lecteurs by organizing talks, filming them, and posting them on the internet. I'd like to share three of my favorite ones that I've seen so far. They're each just under 20 minutes in length, which is infinity times longer than the average web-surfer's attention span, but they're totally worth checking out. =)

About this talk: Bonnie Bassler discovered that bacteria "talk" to each other, using a chemical language that lets them coordinate defense and mount attacks. The find has stunning implications for medicine, industry -- and our understanding of ourselves.
As a biochemist, this is my favorite. Don't worry, she explains her research very coherently and in a way that non-scientists will understand. It's absolutely fucking incredible, and man, if only I had the marks to get into Princeton, I'd totally do my masters in her lab. Holy shit. This is a huge find for the medical field.

Even as mega-banks topple, Juan Enriquez says the big reboot is yet to come. But don't look for it on your ballot -- or in the stock exchange. It'll come from science labs, and it promises keener bodies and minds. Our kids are going to be ... different.
This is hilarious and also fucking unbelievable. From economy to stem cell research.

Elizabeth Gilbert muses on the impossible things we expect from artists and geniuses -- and shares the radical idea that, instead of the rare person "being" a genius, all of us "have" a genius. It's a funny, personal and surprisingly moving talk.
I found it very interesting how she describes the creative process.


Back to studying!
 
 
Current Mood: optimistic
Current Music: The Offspring - Hammerhead
 
 
Jagged Ice
22 March 2009 @ 09:47 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJqGTtnwWnY

FUCK BSG IS COOL
 
 
Jagged Ice
22 March 2009 @ 09:28 pm
Adama: Starbuck, what do you hear?
Starbuck: Nothin' but the rain, sir.
 
 
Current Mood: calm
 
 
Jagged Ice
15 March 2009 @ 12:54 pm
Guinness: Check
Apple Cider: Check
Battlestar Galactica: Check
Friends: Check
Free ganja: Check
Massive amounts of meat: Check
Video games: Check
Birthday gift to self: Check!

Birthday underway! Too bad I have to work today. Boourns, I say! Major thanks to all the wishes that have come in so far! <3
 
 
Current Mood: sleepy
Current Music: Goldfinger - Superman