Time to take a break...

So, today I actually started a sentence with: "Acording to my calculations..." Yikes. At least I was only among other super-nerds when it happened.

Also, I'm pretty sure there's no such thing as a unique snowflake

I came close to buying a titanium spork today. I need to stop looking at Steep and Cheap.



I still want it... but I can't explain why.

I shouldn't buy a dog... but probably will

Broadcasting Live with Ustream.TV

Actually... lighnting strikes the same place a lot of times

Out of 9351 songs in my iTunes library, my favorite one just played twice in a row on random. It melted my face a little. The good news is, I just read that men with scars on their faces are more attractive to women seeking a fling. So, I've got that going for me.

We'll see how this goes...

So, with Barack's upcoming inauguration, there are several things on my mind. Primarily, I'm quite pleased that McCain didn't win. Next on the list is money for science research. For those who weren't aware... we've been getting the proverbial shaft. We've reached a point now where around 15% of grants in basic research actually get funded. In fact, it's commonly mentioned that you have to have a certain number of hot keywords in a grant just to get it to be seriously considered. They all sound the same: "Blah blah blah Cancer blah blah cure blah microRNA blah blah nanotubes." Funded. Anyways, I'm hoping to see a gradual turn-around in this trend with our new president (or at least the absence of our current one). After all, it's the risky fringe science that often produces the greatest scientific leaps. Here's an article I read today related to this: NEW SCIENTIST.

The pool is ready!

...just in time for winter

OMG OMG OMG

Pre Tour Video


I GET TO SEE THIS ON THURSDAY... HAHAHAHAHA

TFIIB is too sexy

Quote of the day:

"Get your zinc finger out of my RNA output channel"

My Dog (thanks to the transitive property)

"Bless her... it's like she knew what I was going to do next"

Go Buffs????!!!

So, I go from supporting the head of a non-existent Native American tribe in Illinois to an animal that never actually existed in Colorado. When will I have a truly legitimate mascot? When? I won't cut this student habit until it happens. And just to keep the record straight... the chief is better.

Hmmm... Mike must be out of beer.

Fun With Photoshop

It rained for most of the weekend. I played video games until overwhelming guilt took over. I recognized, for the first time, that I'm way too concerned with productiveness. Any time that I'm doing something that's not particularly beneficial to my future, I feel this guilt. I've found though, that if the activity is social in any way, the guilt vanishes. But perhaps this can simply be viewed as an advancement of relationships, and is thus productive. Anyways... the rainy weekend eventually forced me into activities like reading, building a shelf, visiting the gym, and finally... Photoshopping. This program blurs the line (ha) between fun and work. Graphic designers, I envy you. Anyways, here's something I put together. I wish I had some good printing resources. This is the view from my bedroom window. My lab is located on the 8th floor of the left-most building.

AWESOME

HA! Just a few days after the new albums hit. My ears are drooling.

Schnorkel Fest 2008

So, I went to Jimmy Johns today (it's one of only four food establishments on campus so far). First off, I realized just how fast the crew in Champaign really is. So much so, that I began to wonder if Jimmy John collected all the best sandwich-makers from across the globe and assembled the ultimate team at his flagship Green Street location. Either that, or these Colorado folk just don't realize that I should have my sandwich handed to me before I get my debit card receipt. I mean, I'm hardly freaking, they need to step it up. However, I have made peace with this issue because they give me a free drink with my sandwich just for being a student. Due to said free beverage, I just realized for the first time that Jimmy Johns has bendy straws for their drinks! Was this the case in Champaign? No one will ever know. So anyways... I have an unlimited supply of bendy straws! I'll be buying an 18-pack of bottles as soon as I'm moved into my new place.

Children, Broadripple is Burning

So, since I've become something of an unofficial plug for the nukes, I thought I'd just remind everyone that the Daytrotter Sessions EP is out! Hurry and get it... because Dust of Retreat is getting sick of sitting in your music library next to maroon 5 (plus, some of you will be hearing these songs live in a couple days). I downloaded it on iTunes today. Love. Here's a song list:

Bookworm
My Baby (Shoots Her Mouth Off)
Broadripple Is Burning
Love Song for a Schuba's Bartender
I Am a Lightning Rod


As a heads-up... these are all very soft versions compared to what they play live.

Because Brackets Shouldn't Just Be For Math

This image courtesy of last night's trip to the Bluebird Theater on lovely Colfax Avenue. I like this band enough that they still occupy a reasonable space of my nano's modest 4 gigabytes. Now however, I may have to add some more... this show was fantastic. Apart from being propositioned by a girl who claimed to be "practically 18," I'd say it was the best night I've spent in Denver so far [I know... including the Margot concert (though the canopy club show still rules all)]. Any advice on how to start attracting more age-appropriate women would be welcomed. If anyone has the above keyboardist's number, that would be a good start.

Some Viewers May Find This Disturbing

I ran across this ad while searching for beer pong table dimensions. It frightens me deeply. Though, it also perpetuates the notion that, in most cases, it's almost worth it to acquire herpes. Almost. I may start asking my future partners (and opponents) if they're clean. At least Taps is relatively safe.

You Lucky Bastards

It's come to my attention that my favorite band, Margot and the Nuclear So and So's, has scheduled an extra show in Chicago (in addition to Lolapalooza). I'm seriously considering a visit to Chicago. But, since that probably won't happen, I figured I'd at least alert the readers of this blog. After all, about 75% of you love this band as much as I do... and live in Chicago. Rock.

The Empty Bottle
August 2

Surrounded by Models

Since moving to Colorado, I couldn't help noticing an increase in the number of attractive, athletic-looking girls I see on a daily basis. They're everywhere. At first I thought this was just me being single for the first time in a long while, but now I'm beginning to suspect that it's just another Colorado trend. In fact, I think this probably applies to the male population as well. Then this morning, I came across this interesting obesity distribution. The numbers don't seem skewed too extremely between Illinois and here, but take it from me... it's noticeable.

better stonger faster

Dear laptop designers,

That's thin enough.

Thanks,

Brad

"And I'm Sleepin' Alone In A House I Don't Own"

Topic For Discussion: Should I fear my roommate? 0r at least be packed and ready to bail at a moment's notice.

So, last weekend I came home to Brighton on a Sunday afternoon, slightly hung over from the previous day/night's doings in the big city. I walk in the door, and my roommate's bastard child runs up with a giant grin on his face. The boy proclaims in a proud voice, "my mom is in jail." My instinct was to shrug my shoulders and walk upstairs. Instead, mostly for the boy's benefit, I acted shocked and surprised. I wanted him to realize that this type of situation can generally be regarded as unfavorable and not to be striven for.
With this incident, a fresh realization had finally crystallized for me. In this current living situation, I feel as though I'm ready for anything and scarcely surprised. It's an uncomfortable feeling. However, I can at least embrace the fact that I will have captivating stories to tell about this strange time. And the next place I live will seem that much more awesome by comparison. Although the air mattress is really growing on me. Yeah, must escape.

Epinephrine and it's link to "Oh Shit" moments

I'm pretty sure I experience what I like to call an "operational crisis" more than twice as often as the average person. These events are the ones in which you realize that you've gotten yourself into a problematic situation a moment too late and wish you could turn back time. However, my uncanny ability to enter these situations is almost balanced by my creative problem solving abilities (which I will now flaunt).

Today's major catastrophe was the locking of my keys in the car, while on the job, with the radio on, about 50 minutes away from the nearest spare key. As the door swung shut, I remember thinking, "hey, I like this song." After the ensuing curse-fest, I got tactical. The obvious solution would be to accept responsibility for the mistake and call my boss. Unfortunately, I already used that maneuver the last time I locked my keys in the truck. Yes, this is the second time in about a month on the job. All I can say in my defense, is that I enter and exit my vehicle about 75 times per day and sometimes I forget a step in the exit routine. To make the situation more ominous, I feared that my boss might be harboring some resentment toward me because he received a speeding ticket on the first occasion that he had to rush a spare key out to my stranded, dumb ass. Yes... I was not eager to call him. So, I brainstormed. I could either break the window and blame it on a rogue moose (though I remain skeptical, I am assured they live in Colorado), or I could break into the vehicle by some other means.

So, I tried to channel McGuiver as best I could. Fortunately, I'm constantly surrounded by barbed wire in my profession. I managed to liberate a small amount of thick-gauge wire from a nearby fence and bent it (using a small slot in a tree trunk for leverage) into what I thought might be an appropriately-shaped "jimmy." I proceeded to insert this crude device into the seam between the window seal and the passenger window itself. A half-hour of many different movements, terrible scraping noises, and wire reconfigurations (each one more advanced that the previous) went on before I decided that this piece of wire was not doing the job, although I did manage to induce some wiggling of the little lock thing. Apparently, the simple hook shape and upward tug method only works on cars that are used in films. So instead, I tried shoving it into one of the holes under the door handle. This felt desperate, but by some miracle, it worked. I was able to push the wire forward and make the lock wiggle. After some further manipulation, I got the lock to rise up about half way. I couldn't get it fully unlocked, because the wire would begin to bend as I pried harder and harder. Thinking this half-up configuration might be enough (ha), I pulled on the handle. Mistake. This made the lock return to its fully locked position. But now confidence had kicked in. After bending my wire in two and wraping the now parallel wires for double the strength, I was able to raise the lock all the way. I was so happy to get the door open I sat down in the passenger seat with my head laid back for about 10 minutes, thus bringing my non-working time for the day to a comfortable 1 hour. That's your tax dollars at work boulder county.

So, if anyone needs help jacking a Ford Ranger, now you sort of know how. And I'll be keeping my "spare key" in the bed of my truck for the next time my cerebellum drops the ball.

Things I've Learned at Work

1) Barbed wire is simple, but not to be underestimated
2) The life of a Frog is just panic punctuated by boredom
3) Horses are nice
4) Real-life people get West Nile Virus
5) Gore-tex is the coolest material ever

futile plea of the day

Dear online dating sites,

Stop it.

Hopefully never yours,

Brad

Personal Renaissance

I love music right now. In particular, the radio has gained new life since my relocation from flatville. I've been listening to a frequency-modulated station lately that showcases a lot of local bands. That being said, if you haven't yet heard of these 2 groups... check them out. Soon they'll be well known and consequently worthy of less respect. But before the time when everyone is singing along in your favorite bar, you get the chance to hear them untainted, in all their catchy glory. Very catchy indeed.The Flobots -- Particularly, check out Handle Bars from the album Fight with Tools
3OH!3 -- Don't Trust Me from the album Want

Aside: The second of these was played by the band at a local prom... somehow.

Just Another Day At The Office

Sometimes, I like my job...

--8 separate shots stitched together in photoshop with minimal attention to detail

See Brad Blog... Blog Brad Blog

So I'm hopping on the bandwagon with this, my inaugural blog attempt. I have no idea what sort of posts I'll be inclined to exhibit here. In any case, I expect it to be filled with digressions and random transitions (not all of which will be sound). On that note, what is the deal with the word bandwagon? Was it cool to see a wagon filled with band kids at the time when this word infiltrated common speech? I submit a first suggestion for an update: winner-mobile. Eh? Well, hence, the blog title...

Off the top of my head, I'd say that's a pyramidal neuron.
Did you get a laugh?