We now have too many posters from professional meetings for the wall space in the lab, so we have to pack some of 'em up. I foolishly put the packing tubes on top of our circular files. Trouble is, they rolled into the gap behind the files, with no side access, and jammed the files. 
Today a man won several million dollars playing the nickel slots.
1789 -- George Washington inaugurated 1st President
I've got to stop listening to Morning Edition on NPR. When I hear stories like the one below, it doesn't start the day off on the best foot. Although this did make a "nice" ending for my evolution class today...
1429 -- Joan of Arc leads Orleans France to victory over English 
Whew, thank goodness Katie & Shannon explained the whole Hannah Montana thing to me, so I could understand tonight's newscast. Otherwise I'd have been sitting there wondering "why is she blonde, now brunette, now blonde?", "who's this Miley Cyrus chick?", "why is Hannah Montana in a photo shoot with that doofy country star guy who lost on Dancing with the Stars?", and "why would anyone give a rat's ass about this story??" Okay, so the last question remains...
1686 -- 1st volume of Newton's "Principia" published
Big excitement today. Slept in, fed the cats, cleaned the house, did laundry, worked on school stuff. Made some yummy homemade spaghetti sauce. Watched a bad movie. That's about it. Try to keep pace if you can. 
1521 -- Ferdinand Magellan was killed by Filipino natives
At the AAPAs, we held an auction to raise money for graduate students to attend the national meetings. I bid on a few items and 'won' a signed copy of Mary Doria Russell's newest book "Dreamers of the Day." She received her degree in biological anthropology at the University of Michigan in 1983, hence the offering at these meetings. It was quite kind of her to give us items to offer, and I was the lucky benefactor of her munificence!
1865 -- John Wilkes Booth was shot in a Virginia barn, either by the soldiers or by his own hand.
Boy or Girl? The Answer May Depend on Mom’s Eating Habits
Mystery Of Ancient Supercontinent's Demise Revealed
Are Big Brains Smarter?
Intelligent design film far worse than stupid: Ben Stein's so-called documentary ‘Expelled’ isn't just bad, it's immoral
Did Lincoln's assassin escape? Science may finally lay debate to rest
NBC just had a special on texting, and has provided a 'translation' page. I definitely need it, tho' don't text much because I'm quite literally all thumbs. The ratio of keypad to thumb size feels much like the picture to the right....
There was a very interesting piece on NPRs Morning Edition about the new Darwin Online Project. They have made all of his writings, notes, letters, etc. available for free. Including free downloads of his books. Pretty cool. Apparently the site has been swamped with hits. Take that creationists!
Congratulations to Jim McKenna for winning the Sheedy Teaching Award. It isn't posted yet, but I'm sure you'll be able to find information about it shortly at the ND News & Information page. He also won the Freshman Year teaching award (I can't remember the name). Quite the year!!
Our flight from DC to Cincinnati was about 2 hours late, making the connection to South Bend really really tight. I made it, but my luggage didn't. I knew better than to check it but was tired and didn't feel like lugging it around. I grabbed some dinner in the DC airport...which about midnight became a mistake. So in the end, my bag is in limbo, and my 'system' is quite cleaned out compliments of some food poisoning. 
After two days in humid DC, I bear a frightening resemblance to the image on the left (...yep, when my hair totally frizzes out, my lower facial prognathism and supraorbital torus become much more obvious).
We had a long trip into DC yesterday. From our vantage point, we just saw clouds, as we circled the airport for 20 hours (in 20 minutes blocks of time). By the time the 4th round of a 20-minute hold came along, we were told that if a 5th were ordered, we'd have to go to Dulles to refuel. Didn't happen, fortunately. It was pouring...and I wisely packed both my hooded jacket and umbrella in the roller bag that was sitting out on the tarmac, so got drenched. 
The Paranoid Style in American Science
The More We Know About Genes, the Less We Understand
Record $500,000 paid for 27 bottles of red wine
The Costs of Meat and Fish: The animal protein in our diets can have a high environmental cost
Gave exams in both classes today. And yet, came home bone tired. Can't really explain it - maybe an empathic connection to the students?? 
Now in a complete non-sequitur -- what's up with this polygamy case? Isn't it illegal to have more than one wife (at a time) in America?? And don't we have a legal age for marriage?? The kids seem to be brainwashed into buying the misogynistic angle for god-sanctioned multiple underage sex partners, but do we ignore the reality?? And the women?? I watched an interview with 3 of them yesterday and I don't think they could put together a complete or marginally complex thought between them. It was really quite sad to watch. I admit grabbing 400+ kids in one felled swoop with paramilitary 'efficiency' may have been an overstep -- but some of the arguments against said tactics sure seem to be shifting focus from glaring issues about the treatment of women and girls.
It was so sunny and nice when I got home,the boys and I sat out back for awhile. I worked on an exam for tomorrow, Maz ate grass that he will no-doubt throw up on some item of my clothing this evening; Wiley laid down on the picnic table next to me and watched the world go by; and Lemur chased every single thing in the yard that moved. It is amazing how utterly happy being outside makes these little tykes. Guess I need a wet rhinarium to fully appreciate the sensation.
I've noticed Lemur is a little slow in learning his name. He seems quite intelligent in other ways, so this didn't make much sense. Until I realized last night that during the evening I referred to him as: snugglebutt, stinky-Mcdinkus, Mr. Big Head, megashedder, cutie-pie, bossy-mouth, and fatty-fatty-two-by-four. 
...and taxes. 'Tis the day. My mother got me back a nice chunk o' change this year, due in part to the fact that I have too much withheld each year. But it works as a 'savings plan' of sorts, so I've never changed the paperwork. 
Long but productive day. I had a good meeting with the department chair about some recent unpleasantness in the lab, informed all the NSF-REU students of their fellowships (and got back some very enthusiastic responses), and managed to get things reorganized in the lab. Makes for a boring blog entry tho' -- but my father complained that I'm not writing enough lately, so this is what you get ;-)
Fish Are Jumpin'Why do stingrays and other aquatic creatures leap through the air?
How to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse
Apple to New York City: Bite Me
Oldest Recorded Song is Heard 
Scientists Flesh Out Plans to Grow (and Sell) Test Tube Meat
What's Wrong With All Those Planes?And why didn't anyone notice at some point in the past 28 years?
Back from the AAPAs, where the students did a nice job with their posters -- really held their own with some of the top names in skeletal biology and bioarchaeology. One professor took Shannon's picture with her poster to show her undergraduates. That's a first. Positive feedback, very well attended.
Shannon did most of the driving (hence the Bug figure above). We learned that Katie has apparently angered the storm gods (the driving rain moved out pretty much the moment Shannon got behind the wheel). Plus, I got two songs for my iPod, learned some ND dorm lingo, found out how MySpace works, and perhaps most importantly...finally understood Hannah Montana.
Today Sarah, Laura, Shannon and Katie gave their first professional presentations. Pictures of each follow. Afterwards we went to a GREAT German restaurant for some Bavarian eats. Tast-ee. Issa joined us, as did Robin (fresh in from Germany as it turns out). Tomorrow we attend a few talks, a luncheon, and then make the drive home. And then sleep, alot!
