It's official ...

... I'm a twit.

retraction: *smile*

And this story does not make me happy to be a Jets fan today. First caught wind of this last night during the game, and read more about it today. Rex Ryan needs to get a better grip on his club.

Tuesday's Three Things

1. I'm hopeful for Percy Harvin. Hopefully sleep apnea was the cause behind his migraines and that his treatments will prevent him from getting any others. I wonder how many other people who suffer from migraines also have sleep apnea?

2. Will the Jets win a game this season? They played like total crap last night. I hope Cromartie isn't a Jet by next weeks game, and Dustin Keller needs to figure out what side of the first down marker is the right side to go out of bounds on. Pathetic.

3. Losing your wallet stinks.

It's pretty obvious ...

David Procopio, a spokesman for the state police, which is probing Staupe’s death, said it’s unclear how Staupe got the cyanide to Milford.

... how the lab tech got the cyanide -- which she used to off herself -- all the way to her house in Milford. She put it in a bag, put it in her pocket and walked home. Chemical inventory, in my experience, is one of the most overlooked things in a lab. I mean, come on folks ... how many times have you grabbed a bottle of Chemical A, B or C ... only to find it empty? It happens all the time. Hence, if it happens all the time ... people can walk off with things more often than we'd like to admit. Of course, situations like this will only result in more work for labs, to document chemicals and their continued status ... so thanks for that Emily. Then again, perhaps it's not such a bad thing.

Next question: Is the PI of the lab in which Emily worked, responsible in some way, shape, or form?

ETA: This article states that she was laid off, but still had keys to laboratories. Was she given some additional time to work in the labs, making her key-ownage valid, or does the university have a really poor policy to repo'ing keys of individuals they've just canned?

An Open Letter to both PC-ORD and Microsoft

Dear PC-ORD and Microsoft,

I wish you both could get your crap together. Could you at least talk to one another, civilly, for just a bit?

PC-ORD, why do you insist on only analyzing files saved in Lotus Workbook format? Who the hell uses the .wk1 extension anymore? Does Lotus even continue to exist? And Windows ... why did you make it such that Windows Excel 2007 won't save in .wk1 format, and that Excel 2003 only does so after you have to go in and edit the registry? Talk about freaking impossible! My institution wants me to let go of 2003, and I refuse to do so. I really have no choice in the matter! Not until one of you gets your act together and decides to play nicely with the other!

In the meantime, I shall hate you both.

Thomas Joseph

Boomer Sooner!

University of Oklahoma 47
Free Shoes University 17

What a glorious day to be a Sooner fan! I will admit, I was very nervous about this game, but we put on a show and won convincingly. Next year, Tallahassee!

Looking for a career in science?

Received the following in an email today:

When you're looking to move up the career ladder, look to ASCP's Online Career Center. It's the place where you'll find hundreds of jobs with top employers in your field.

Recruiters from top laboratories and hospitals like ARUP, Abbott, Roche, The Johns Hopkins, Beckman Coulter, Spectrum Labs, Cleveland Clinic, and many local facilities are there looking for you.

Start your search for the best job today at: www.ascp.org/careercenter

*smile*

It might suck to be a Mets fan, but stories like this make me glad I'm a Jets fan too.

*sigh*

Sad but true.

I'd say today is a sad day to be a Met's fan, but what does that really mean anymore? It's always a sad day to be a Met's fan.

Guest Post

I have a guest post over on Tales of the Genomic Repairman's blog on Lab Spaces.

Check it out! (Title: The Easy Pub)

I've seen it all ...

... got a review back a day or two ago on a manuscript from a journal we were submitting to. I won't mention the name of the journal, other than the initials were Plant and Soil, and the reviews were horrible. Reviewer 2 was a particularly pleasant person who left us the following gem of a comment: "No!!!"

Really?

Oh, and buttmonkey, the reason we didn't use effluent was because when you use effluent you add a multitude of confounding factors. We were looking at the effect of a single variable, that element being the whole impetus of the study. Idiot.

Nooooooooo!

If this program crashes one more time, I'm going to have a fit*!

*Another one at any rate.



PS: Figured out that starting by deleting peaks from the end does not cause the program to crash. It only crashes if you start by deleting peaks from the front. It also only crashes when you load up a second signal after processing the first. Go figure.

Busy ...

... data crunching. Be back later.

Tuesday Video

Feels like a Monday.



Face my destroyer.
I was ambushed by a lie.
And you judged me once for falling.
This wounded heart will rise.

And burn my shadow away.

Where is my silver lining!

I really think someone stole it. I should have stayed in bed today, honestly.

1. Trying to work with ChemSoft, only to be continually frustrated. When I choose the option "Print > To File" and click "Print" nothing happens. The dialog box closes and that's that. After killing a couple of trees testing other options, I finally find a folder that has about a bazillion Excel files now. Fun stuff. Next time Agilent ... at least tell us where the damn file is being saved!

2. Found an article today while perusing F1000 that is directly related to my own work. Said article comes to a similar conclusion on a particular genes abundance that I made, which means we're not the first ... but it's from a heavy hitter so it's a nice bit of confirmation. Problem? Yah, because it was packaged to be submitted today. Now I need to dust it off, make the edits and then glance over it again to ensure I didn't goof anything up.

3. Bought a new bed, which was sorely* needed. When are they dropping it off? They gave me like a five hour window ... which means I need to head home soon and wait for them. I know with the way today is going that they'll show up an hour after the five hour window is over.

4. ChemSoft crashed, and now I can't get it to work again, which means I'll need to uninstall and then reinstall. I HATE, with a white hot fire that burns my brain, this program!

*Ha ha ha, I made a pun.

Woo hoo!

I've been invited to guest speak at a Conference ... in China!

BIT’s 1st Annual World Congress of Marine Biotechnology (WCMB-2011)
Time: April 25-29, 2011
Place: Dalian, China
Website: http://www.bitlifesciences.com/wcmb2011/

Dear [redacted],
We would like to extend our invitation to you to be a speaker at our upcoming event: BIT’s 1st Annual World Congress of Marine Biotechnology (WCMB-2011) which will help to bring together scientists, managers, faculties, decision makers among all organizations engaged in marine biotechnology and encourage the development of commercialization of marine biotechnology. As we know your work in this field is a clear example of the leadership, so we would like to highlight your effort at our conference which will take place during April 25-29, 2011 in Dalian, China, with the theme of “Ocean, Life and Sustainability”. We express our sincere wish for your participation in this conference and make an oral presentation at one session of Track 5: Marine Bioenergy and Engineering, The details of the sessions are:

Track 5-1: Algae and Seaweed Biomass
Track 5-2: Marine Bioethanol
Track 5-3: Marine Biodiesel
Track 5-4: Marine Biogases
Track 5-5: Algal Biofuels Commercialization


WCMB-2011 will take the form of plenary lectures, oral presentations, posters, exhibitions and project matchmaking; it covers topics from breakthroughs in Marine Biotechnology R & D, Algal Biotechnology, Marine Natural Products and Valuable Materials, Marine Bioenergy and Engineering, Marine Resources and Environment Bioremediation to applications of Marine biotechnology. WCMB-2011 will provide an ideal platform for marine biotechnologist to debate and deliberate on issues that are critical for the progress of this emerging area and identify the challenges and opportunities for the development of Marine Biotechnology.

Your participation as a speaker at this year’s world congress would add great value for your organization and our attendees. Please contact Ms. Doris Han at doris@bit-ibio.com if you are able to participate. Thank you for your timely consideration of this invitation, and we look forward to hearing from you soon.

In addition, this major international event will be held in Dalian, one of the most beautiful coastal cities. After the conference, you are welcomed to join the Tech tour to experience the traditional Chinese culture and enjoy the delicious food in China.

The details of the conference, please visit: http://www.bitlifesciences.com/wcmb2011/

Best Regards,

Ms. Doris Han
Organizing Committee of WCMB-2011
26 Gaoneng St., F4
Dalian Hightech Zone
Dalian, LN 116025, China
Tel: 0086-411-84799609 ext 813
Fax: 0086-411-84799629
Email: doris@bit-ibio.com


PS: We expect your precious comments or suggestions on the structure of our program, also your reference to other speakers will be highly appreciated. We look forward to receiving your replies on the following questions.

1. Are you interested in delivering a speech in one of these sessions? Which session?


2. What is the title of your speech?


3. Do you want to co-organize one of the sessions or have any suggestions about our scientific program?

Full Program

Track 1: Breaking R & D in Marine Biotechnology

Track 1-1: Marine Molecular/Cell Biology and Physiology
Track 1-2: Marine Ecology and Microbiology
Track 1-3: Marine Organismal Molecular Biology & Biotechnology
Track 1-4: Genomics, Proteomics & Metabolomics in Marine Biotechnology
Track 1-5: Marine Metagenomics and Bioinformatics
Track 1-6: The Marine Biotechnology Research Toolkit
Track 1-7: Marine Extremophiles
Track 1-8: Marine Nanobiotechnology and Biomaterials
Track 1-9: Sustainable Aquaculture and Fishery
Track 1-10: Conservation, Bioinvasion and Climate Change

Track 2: Algal Biotechnology and Phycology

Track 2-1: Algae Ecology, Cell Biology, Biochemistry, and Systematics?
Track 2-2: Algae and Cyanobacteria in Extreme Environments
Track 2-3: Micro-algal Biotechnology
Track 2-4: Algal Cultivation Techniques toward Seaweed Farming and Aquaculture
Track 2-5: Biotechnology Improving Algal Production & Productivity
Track 2-6: Algae Photobioteactors
Track 2-7: Robust Algal Processing & Downstream Production
Track 2-8: Algae in Health, Nutrition, Cosmetic and Feed Industries
Track 2-9: Harmful Algae Blooms and Green Tide
Track 2-10: Applications of Algae in Wastewater Treatment, Carbon Capture & Recycle

Track 3: Marine Natural Products and Valuable Materials

Track 3-1: Resources, Isolation and Identification of Bioactive Marine Natural Products
Track 3-2: Marine Chemistry of Natural Products
Track 3-3: Eicosanoids from Algae
Track 3-4: Marine Peptide and Protein and its Functions
Track 3-5: Marine Microalgae Polysaccharides
Track 3-6: Marine Enzymes with Unique Functions
Track 3-7: Natural Products and Materials from Sponges
Track 3-8: Marine Biopolymers and Applications
Track 3-9: Materials in Preventing Marine Corrosion
Track 3-10: Novel Composite Materials for Marine Applications

Track 4: Biomedical Applications of Marine Biotechnology

Track 4-1: New Drug Screening from Marine Microorganism Metabolites
Track 4-2: Discovery of Marine Biomarker, and Biological Active Compounds
Track 4-3: Marine Products for Biomedical Assay
Track 4-4: Anticoagulant and Anti-thrombic Marine Products
Track 4-5: Antiviral and Antibacterial Marine Natural Products
Track 4-6: Anti-Tumor, Anti-metastatic Marine Natural Products
Track 4-7: Other Biomedical Applications of Marine Biotechnology

Track 5: Marine Bioenergy and Engineering

Track 5-1: Algae and Seaweed Biomass
Track 5-2: Marine Bioethanol
Track 5-3: Marine Biodiesel
Track 5-4: Marine Biogases
Track 5-5: Algal Biofuels Commercialization

Track 6: Marine Resources and Environment Bioremediation

Track 6-1: Metagenomics and Synthetic Genomics for New Marine Resources
Track 6-2: Marine Industry Processes and Products
Track 6-3: Bioremediation for Bacterial Biofilms and Biofouling
Track 6-4: Bioremediation for Spilled Oils on the Sea
Track 6-5: Novel Marine Biotechnology for Conservations and Environment Protections

Track 7: Business Forum on Marine Biotechnology

-5 Open Sessions for Free Organizations by both Tech and Product Suppliers and Investors
-Open Space for Interactive Forum (please propose)

Problem is ... I don't do any marine microbiology. So, is this an elaborate case of spam? Is it a scam? I hesitate to click on the link (heck, I probably should not have even provided it).

One of those days ...

Blast from the Past

If you don't know the proper conditions with which to precipitate DNA using EtOH, here is an article that will show you how it's done ... old school style* (PDF, 2 pages).

Moral of the story: Spin your DNA down for 30 minutes.

*Old school in this case being 1985.

It's Always Something ...

Currently playing on iTunes: Hells Bells by AC/DC.

So just got back a review on a manuscript I'm a 2nd author on. It's a collaboration I struck up with the help of a senior researcher at the institution I work at. He was friends with a couple of guys, and they needed some microbial work done. Since I'm the lone microbiologist here, the match was made fairly easily. Bonus, they've become good drinking buddies (and at this point owe me lots and lots of free beer).

At any rate, we put together a manuscript on a problem that my collaborators face in their neck of the woods. It involves agent X, used to deal with issue A. When exhausted, it is disposed of in manner NG (which stands for "not good"), which creates issue B, and effects crop 1 and 2. Got all that?

It's some fairly straightforward work, and I was asked to look at the impacts on microbial diversity. They shipped me samples, I did my work, I wrote it up and sent it off to them. They worked it into the overall manuscript, we beat and banged on it a bit and then sent it off. Well we got the reviews back last week.

Reviewer 1: Loved it. Had nothing but praise for it. Comments were all of a paragraph in length. Either they did a last minute review and couldn't be bothered with it or not, I have no idea. I love Reviewer 1 regardless.

Reviewer 2: Someone pee'd in their Wheaties before they did this review. They picked every nit that could be picked. Heck, they even took issue with my use of the word "microbial". I mean really, dude? All told, their review was three single space pages long. We've all decided that we don't like Reviewer 2, but would love to take Reviewer 1 out for a beer.

So now ... off to address the comments of Reviewer 2. Hopefully we address them to the satisfaction of the Associate Editor so this puppy doesn't have to go out for a re-review.

Odd packing?!?!

Taping a cellphone to a Pepto-Bismol bottle and stuffing it in your suitcase is NOT an example of odd packing. I still don't know why, if you had them flagged before they left the US, you let them get to Amsterdam. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot TSA!