Happy Birthday Carl

Dance your PhD

Graduate students like to dance! Here are the top routines from this year's "Dance your PhD" competition.

Chemistry - This one gets extra point in my book for use of Lady Gaga.


Selection of a DNA aptamer for homocysteine using SELEX from Maureen McKeague on Vimeo.

Physics



Directed transport without net bias in physics and biology from Steven Lade on Vimeo.

Biology


How does your brain analyze incoming visual information? - Dance Your PhD contest 2010 from Maartje C. de Jong on Vimeo.

Cupcake Cook-off: a tool co-op benefit

Hammer Time is an emerging tool Co-Op in Fort Collins, Colorado. Here patrons can freely use an assortment of hardware and get advice on how to create whatever they want.  Charlie Malone wrote up a  wonderful summary of their core values over at Matter Daily. On Friday November 6th Hammer Time hosted a "Cupcake Cook-off" at the BeanCycle/Matter Bookstore to help pay for their home-base. People showed up in droves to taste-test the finest most wholesome, vegan, organic, alcoholic, delicious cupcakes Fort Collins had to offer.  The entries and attendance was phenomenal as the cup-cake trend surged through the bookstore with oceanic force.  Here are some visual highlights.  If I could provide a virtual tasting through the internet I would. Where is Willy Wonka when you need him?

Chocolate with meringue on top - dipped in hardening chocolate. 

Kale infused cake, spirulina provides chroma to the frosting, topped with apples gleaned from Fort Collins!

Espresso cupcakes with chocolate dipped pretzel handles.

Vegan

Chuncks of peach in the cake with cream cheese frosting and pecans on top

Lavender, earl gray, with lemon zest

Raspberry atop a raspberry liquor infusion

Banana cake with ginger cream cheese frosting, chocolate and salted peanuts

ABOUND SOLAR

I have written about this company 6 times over the last 3 years and each time I've thought they were near an IPO. Today I heard the first hint of news indicating the possibility for this fledgling solar cell company from Fort Collins, Colorado. The CEO of  Abound Solar - Tom Tiller - was quoted in this article indicating an IPO as something that might happen in the near future.  Perhaps I need to do a little source checking here as he is either misquoted or really does sound like a business-robot.

He said...

"We hit the knowledge to acquire this consort and create continuance in this process. If things go substantially and business markets are cooperative, as we intend toward the latter conception of incoming year, we strength study an IPO"

If I can translate to English, I think he is saying that  the technology they have developed has finally proven cost effective enough to warrant further expansion and possibly a public offering of  stock.  I'm not sure what language he is speaking in the last sentence but it seems positive.


The take home message?  Keep your eye out for this company going public soon.  Why?

Look at their biggest rival First Solar. This is what it did within the first year after going public.

$25 to over $300 a share in just over a year.

Solidarity Brothers and Sisters.

Autotune - Jon Stewart

Flu Season! Biochemistry on NPR. YAY!

Robert Krulwich - star of one of my favorite podcasts - RadioLab - narrates a molecular tour of viral infection. Medical illustrator David Bolinsky first came to my awareness through an animation he made in conjunction with Harvard University for the Biovisions initiative. That animation is titled "the inner life of the cell."  Set to dramatic piano/techno music it invokes emotion about a traditionally dry subject which is what I am striving to do here.  If you visit the revamped Biovisions website you can watch a high resolution tour of the mitochondria in action.   Bolinsky's work continues to amaze me.

Lost and Found

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Rally to Restore Sanity Lost and Found
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Rally to Restore Sanity

The Crux of the Rally to Restore Sanity

[Fort Collins, CO - USA] As the dust settles in the 2010 midterm election I continue to reflect on my short whirlwind trip to Washington DC last weekend to attend the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear.

Today it becomes exceedingly clear that people and politicians in the United States are now in a position where compromise and reasonable discussion must prevail over rhetoric and hyperbole. Jon Stewart railing against the cable TV conflictinator machine could not be more timely. I have read at least one keenly written perspective on attending the rally. Here I will attempt to share my own experience. 

I flew into Baltimore-Washington International airport on Friday afternoon. I paid $6 for a train ticket from Baltimore to DC and was on the train within 30 minutes after walking off the plane. While inside the clean and roomy passenger train run by the Maryland public transportation authority I sat amongst rally goers from Minnesota, California, Indiana, Missouri, and Ohio. There was a calm sense of pride welling up in all as we shared how and why we had decided to make the trek to DC. The Minnesotans were from Deluth and were doning custom made t-shirts with "TEAM SANITY" boldly painted on the fronts. 

It was an interesting bit of real-world foreshadowing that the cost-effective and time saving train ride left such an impression on me as the concept of getting on a "train" together was a recurring theme in the rally itself. The "fear-mongering" Colbert character refused to get on the peace train as proposed by Yousef Mohammed the artist formerly known as Cat Stevens, while Jon Stewart refused to get on the "Crazy train" Ozzy Osbourne offered up as he intereupted Cat Steven's performance. I have to say I was disappointed that the "act" did not allow for at least the completion of a few songs by Cat Stevens as I think his appearence was one of the most significant aspects of the rally. Anyone with an internet connection can watch the whole event here. So I'll spare the details of the rest here. 

I stayed in DC with a friend from high-school who so graciously put me up for the weekend. Fortunately she had a friend hosting a brunch on Capitol hill the morning of the rally. After a full spread of monkey bread, Dunkin' Doughnuts, Bacon and egg quiche and much more we were ready to walk to the mall. We wiggled our way politely into a comfortable spot right next to the "coffee party's" headquarters on the mall to take in the musical intro by the Roots and the first portion of the "show." At this point I was about 1/3 the distance back on the mall and had good view of one set of jumbo-trons. I was amazed by the calm mood of the crowd and the organization of the whole event. I never once felt any hostility or disorder. 

As Stewart and Colbert began presenting their "awards" I departed the group to try and get closer to the main stage. Here is where I observed sanity in action. The areas of the mall directly in front of the stage were fenced off and the number of people inside was being regulated by police officers. A sea of people stood waiting to be admitted and the policy of one out one in was maintained perfectly. When anyone in line started to get grumpy or make make demands of being let in the cops dealt with it by making fun of that person and they were shunned by the crowd to move to the back of the line. I thought this a wonderful testament to the power of people to assemble peacefully Though I missed 30 minutes of the rally my patience paid off and I was admitted to the front in a very peaceful and orderly manner. You can see the photos I took here. 

In the end I was happy to be near Jon as he made his plea with us in attendance and anyone watching. A plea to stop perpetuating the illness the 24 hour news cycle has inflicted on the American psyche. In the following 13 minute speech you can see why he called for this rally and Now after the election is over I see the importance of his timing. We need to stop demonizing each other and come together to make things better. The culture wars are not going to end with one side victorious but when both sides make those small concessions we seem to be able to make every day! If you watched the rally already it is worth watching this bit from the end again maybe a few times.

Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear
Jon Stewart - Moment of Sincerity
www.comedycentral.com
Rally to Restore Sainty and/or Fear The Daily Show The Colbert Report

Rally to Restore Sanity - best signs and other photos

All photos taken by Kristopher Hite Washington DC 10/30/2010
kristopherhite@gmail.com
Click on any twice to see high resolution.

 

Mad - in the mercurially induced sense of the word

By bro he means all Rand Paul supporters

Kareem driving the lane to Stephen's heart

R2 made my day. OK, maybe it was Cat Stevens.