The definitive host

Science Online 2012: A Post-Mortem

2012-01-24T15:32:00.000-08:00

For those of you unaware, last Wednesday I travelled to the mystical land of Raleigh, North Carolina and attended a really unique conference entitled Science Online 2012. It is what is known as an “unconference,” where there are no lectures or presentations, but sessions that encourage and are built on discussion.

I could talk about all the fun that was had over there, the people I met for the first time in person (but have been talking to for years online) or the exciting times that were had. But, people have already written marvelous posts on that already (such as Ed Yong, Sarah Chow and more). Therefore, I will focus on a few things at the conference that really surprised me.

On the first day of the conference, after meeting countless people I’ve been talking to on Twitter for years, I decided to attend a variety of sessions. Most surprisingly, practically right out of the gate, one immediately blew me away.

The session, entitled “Sex, gender and controversy: writing to educate, writing to titillate” was moderated by the amazing @KateClancy and the incredible @scicurious about a blogger’s identity, comment moderation and the difficulty of being outspoken and passionate about science.

Prior to the conference, both Kate and Sci had posted blogs that received a lot of flack. And not constructive criticism, mind you, but a variety of hateful and mean-spirited comments that insulted their intelligence, status and even gender.

Now, I’ve been lucky, the readers of my blog have been quite kind. And some have criticized me about mistakes or called me out on a few things, but it was always done with tact. But never like those two ladies described, and while others recounted their experiences with similar situations, I was struck by the courage writers have.

Yes, we get criticized a lot, that is just a fact of nature.

It is one thing to get in a discussion about a fact or opinion, but another to discredit a the thoroughly researched and hard-worked piece simply because of gender. That is not right, that is not appropriate and that is not the age I thought we lived in.

But then Kate said something.

“You just need to keep going. Wipe yourself off, make your next one better and show them you are better than they are.”

Now that takes balls for anyone for anyone to do.

Even after attending numerous different sessions throughout the conference that one sticks in my mind as a clear standout.

Another surprising element from the conference was that notable bloggers/writers were happy to talk to everyone. While some people knew who I was (and that was fantastic), I was really surprised just how nice everyone was, whether they were “famous” or not.

But the greatest thing about the conference was how easily the friendships cultivated online, through Twitter, Facebook or whatever other social media platforms, seamlessly moved into meeting in person.

There are a few shout outs I must make, to those who made my time at the conference just that much more memorable. I have already thanked some of them via Twitter, but it is still an incomplete list. However, I am pasting those I have done here for all to see.

Favourite #scio12 moments:

My session with @DrRubidium, where we made people laugh (and think) using Mel Brooks movie clips
Talking at great length with @sciencecomedian and actually making him laugh more than once!

Holding court with the almost too amazing for words @jeannegarb in the #DSN suite (and later during the endnote)

Helping out @DrBondar and @sciencegoddess with the film festival (technical glitches and all)

Spending time with the fascinating @astvintagespace and bonding over space, university and telling stories

Getting my armpits swabbed for microbes by @DrHolly ... FOR SCIENCE

Meeting @experrinment and watching her draw & sketch fabulous works of art

@arikia and @hannahjwaters using very different "methods" to open my locked from the inside hotel room door

@scicurious #NuffSaid

There are more wonderful people who I met that I’ve forgotten and others who aren’t on the list but deserve to be.

See you all next year!

Childhood joy

2012-01-12T20:04:00.000-08:00

When I was a child, I started reading later than most kids (or so my parents tell me).

From what they say, it wasn’t that I found it difficult, just that I did not feel like I needed to. They tried to engage me with a variety of books, and I’d do it for a while, but quickly get bored.

Then, they found some books that interested me: dinosaurs.

I took to reading about dinosaurs like nothing else. I read everything I could get my hands on, from children’s books with more pictures than words, to big anthologies with printing I had to squint to read.

I was so ravenous for information, that my twin brother and I would beg our parents to take us to our local museum (the Royal Ontario Museum or ROM) to see the dinosaur skeletons. But, there was a catch – to see the dinosaurs, you had to go through an area known as “the bat cave” … which had nothing to do with Batman.

The cave was a S-shaped dark tunnel that featured real and fake bats on display, and I was terrified, because what young child is not afraid of the dark? I would cover my eyes and ears and walk through as fast as I could to reach the terrible lizards.

Seeing the Tyrannosaurus Rex was always a highlight of the trip, as it was considered the “bad boy” of the dinosaur world. Who would mess with something that had teeth the size of steak knives?

But, as much as meat eaters were fun to look at and imagine having as a pet, I was always drawn to the herbivores more. I am not quite sure why, but maybe it was because that in the evolutionary arms race, they had to protect, as opposed to destroy.

Everyone has his or her list of favourite dinosaurs, and I was no exception. I would tell everyone I knew about Stegosaurus with the golf ball–sized brain, the intimidating-looking Ankylosaurus and Dimetrodon, with its trademark sail.

I was so obsessed with dinosaurs that my brother and I would check books out from our school library over and over again, as we just couldn’t get enough of the information and pictures! We checked them out so much, that when our librarian retired, she donated those two most checked-out books to us.

The obsession went even beyond that.

During our countless trips to the ROM, my brother and I would correct the tour guides on pronunciation of nomenclature, locations where the bones were found, the time frame and more. I almost feel bad for the tour guides, but they should have known that stuff, right?

Not surprisingly, my first “dream” job was to be a paleontologist and travel all over the world discovering new dinosaur species.
Honestly, how good would a dinosaur that was named “Manly” be?

Over the years, though, as I got older, that dream slowly faded. But the enthusiasm and passion still remains.

And yet, whenever I visit a museum, I always make a point to visit the dinosaurs and just marvel at them. I enjoy watching the kids staring at them in wonder, listening to the tour guides explain who is who, but most of all, I love remembering a long-forgotten fact and sharing it with a child. Because you know the first thing they will do is go back to their parent/guardian and ask if they knew that … and if they didn’t, that’s a great joy for a child to experience.

I still love learning about dinosaurs and staring at them with wonder and a huge smile on my face. I still get excited if I see a Stegosaur, Dimetrodon or T. Rex.

I still love them to this day, as that kind of fervent passion never dies – it always stays with you.

So, don’t be ashamed of a passion you still carry with you from when you were younger. Whether it is comic books, video games, magic tricks or a love of prehistoric animals, they are amazing and help make up the beautiful mosaic that is you.

Separating work from play and Open Lab 2011

2011-12-30T07:15:00.000-08:00

It's amazing.

Last month, when I blogged about all the things in my life that have been keeping me away from blogging consistently, I was determined for that to end. I was steadfast in my attempts to continue to blog, even in the presence of other distractions such as work and friends.

However, that did not work out as well as I had hoped, and for that I deeply apologize.

I found it surprisingly difficult to work up the type of mental stamina and drive needed to blog after a whole day of writing and editing. By working in the editorial field all day, it becomes difficult to disassociate the writing process from feeling like "work."

So, instead I'd cook, go shopping, go for walks, catch up on television, come home for the weekend to see friends and family and even clean my new apartment.

Therefore, I have decided to make writing for this blog one of two New Year's resolutions that I plan to maintain.
Most people, myself included, do not have a good track record committing to resolutions. But, I managed to stick with all of the ones I made last year, and I plan to do so again.

If I do not continue to update this blog, and I have some great ideas that I'm working on for you, you all have permission to POLITELY remind me via whatever means you deem necessary (within reason).

Lastly, while most people who know me well have been told in person, those who I do not speak to regularly may not be aware of one particularly delightful piece of news.

A guest blog that I wrote for scientific American earlier in 2011 has been awarded a place in a collection of the best scientific writing published online of the year, entitled "Open Lab 2011," to be published in fall 2012 by Scientific American. The post, entitled Mirror images: Twins and identity focuses on what it is like to grow up as an identical twin and how important it is to carve out your own individual identity. Practically every single person I meet for the first time, when they learn I am a twin, will ask one of two questions: "Who's older?" or "What's it like having a twin?"

Writing that piece was one of the most enjoyable writing experiences of my career thus far, as not only was it an exploration of something that people find immensely fascinating, but it was also a highly personal experience to try to get people to understand what it is like having someone who is closer than a sibling or a significant other around all the time.

I am honoured, privileged and beyond thankful for the editors and judges who selected my piece of writing to be included in this collection. Thank you very, very much.

If you'd like to see the selection of the other articles/posts being included in the collection Open Lab 2011, please see the post here. They are all amazing writers and I feel extremely fortunate to be included among them.

A new job, a conference and Mel Brooks (or, why I have been absent recently)

2011-11-21T14:46:00.000-08:00

It's been a long time, hasn't it my friends?

I know I've been saying that a lot lately, but it seems as if the fates decided to throw everything at me in these past few months. Why they waited so long, I cannot say. But, these events have been keeping me so busy, that I haven't had time for much.

That said, it is time to fill you all in!

So, where to begin:

The biggest news of the day is that I have a new job working for a publishing company, where I will be working with a number of magazines in an editorial position. One of the best things about this new job, is that it is related to my field of study (biology, zoology and ecology), but distinctly different. I have been working with the company for about three weeks, and have already learned a lot.

With this new job comes having to move from Toronto to a small town about two hours away.
The logistics of the move, finding a place, etc ... has been a taxing endeavor, but I now have an apartment and will be moving in a few weeks!

The job also consists of quite a bit of travel across Canada, the US and even abroad, which I am always on board for. I am currently writing this in Northern Canada, where I will be participating in a conference for the next few days.

Also, there has been an intriguing development pop up for the new year.
I have been asked to speak at the Science Online 2012 conference this January, which I could not be more excited about doing.

I learned about this conference about a year ago, and was extremely sad that I could not attend in 2011 (it fills up fast). The conference is devoted to collaboration between scientists, writers, journalists and science enthusiasts to discuss the ever-changing world of science communication.
This year, I will not only be attending, but moderating a session with a friend from Twitter (@DrRubidium).

The topic we will be discussing, which is all thanks to you my loyal readers, is about blogging. Specifically, the talk will focus on how to integrate humour, your passions and your knowledge into one big entertaining, yet informative, mass.
The talk is entitled, "It's good to be the king! Blogging the Mel Brooks way."

What better way is there to talk about passions than to integrate my love of movies, science and social media into one presentation?
And here's an example of the sheer brilliance of Mel Brooks:

Gone, but not forgotten

2011-09-26T11:16:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my last September Series post, which coincidentally, is also my 150th on this blog! I hope you have all enjoyed this little experiment of mine, and from the feedback I've gotten, it seems like many of you do.
Therefore, if you'd like me to continue writing about different things every week (or have an idea for a theme month), please leave a comment below and let me know what you'd like to see.

For this final September Series post, I decided to delve into microbiology, a great passion of mine. I decided to look at it from a prevention, control and bureaucratic angle of a very resilient killer. I hope you like it.

As children, we are taught certain life lessons, such as not taking candy from strangers, looking both ways before crossing the street and not getting too close to wild animals, for fear of being injured and contracting a potentially dangerous disease. The most well known, and one of the most dangerous to humans, is rabies.

A strictly mammalian disease, the rabies virus will usually pass through a bite from an infected animal. The disease attacks the central nervous system, causing paranoia, hallucinations and the trademark agitation up to two years after initial exposure. However, once symptoms begin, it quickly becomes effectively untreatable and over 99 percent fatal.

The rabies virus, if left untreated, is over 99 percent fatal. Therefore, if there is even a risk of getting the virus from an animal bite, get the vaccine.

Since any warm-blooded animal can carry rabies and potentially transmit the disease to humans all over the world, prevention and protection are paramount.

In 2008, the government of Ontario proclaimed in a press release that one of the more dangerous strains, known as raccoon rabies, was “eliminated in Ontario.” This was stated because there were no reported cases in Ontario were seen since 2005, and according to the World Health Organization (WHO), once two years have passed with no reported cases, the virus can be claimed as “eliminated.”

However, according to documents obtained through the Access to Information Act, there were two reported raccoon rabies cases identified in 2005. The number of cases decreased to one in 2006, and to zero in 2007 through to 2010.

While the standing of the government via the WHO guidelines is valid, the time-line is not.
Meanwhile, there are two other rabies variants still prevalent in Ontario, known as “Ontario fox” and “bat,” which still appear north of the Greater Toronto Area.

In 2009, there were a total of 18 cases of fox rabies identified in wide array of affected species, such as cows, sheep, red foxes and striped skunks. But, in 2010, the only cases of the fox strain identified were 10 skunks.

Dr. Rick Rosatte, the senior research biologist for the Ministry of Natural Resources, has been working on rabies since the first case appeared in Canada in the late 1990s.

“Rabies is not eliminated,” he said. “It is a naturally occurring disease. I would never use the term eliminated, that’s for the politicians. I would say it is under control for the time being.”

Rosatte said that the ministry is always on the lookout for rabies, and has many control measures in place if something ever were to occur. And despite the claim that raccoon rabies is ”eliminated” from Ontario, he said that the threat is still ever-present, and closer than you might think.

“There are still cases of raccoon rabies in New York and Quebec, which are a little too close for comfort. We have measures put in place to try to limit the spread from those infected areas.”

Mark Gibson, a rabies and wildlife technician with the government of Ontario said there are three methods used to control rabies once a case is reported and confirmed.

The first is Point Infection Control, where animals are trapped and euthanized within a set distance of five kilometres from the rabies site. In the second stage, the animals are trapped, vaccinated and released within 10 kilometres of the initial case. The final method is aerial baiting, where baits containing vaccines are dropped from a plane within 50 kilometres of the reported site.

The aerial baiting method, according to Gibson, is by far the most effective preventative measure they have. “The baiting is probably the reason why Ontario has been rabies free the past few years.”

The baits are no bigger than a matchbook, but contain a blister pack containing a small dosage of rabies vaccine surrounded by beef fat and flavouring. “Imagine the blister pack is like the jam packets you see at restaurants,” said Gibson. “If you squeeze it a little bit, and then puncture it with a fork, what happens? It squirts! And hopefully, most of the vaccine will be swallowed by the animal.”

Gibson said that the vaccines provide young animals protection for about a year, while in adults, it can last up to three depending on how much vaccine the animal eats.

However, while raccoon rabies is being kept at bay, there are still two other strains of rabies that are keeping the control program very busy. The arctic fox strain is limited to southwestern Ontario, but the real problem is the bat strain.

According to Rosatte, the bats are almost impossible to trace because they migrate and their food, insects, cannot be vaccinated.

“Despite the surge in infected bats, there has not been a death from rabies in Ontario since 1967. However, just because it hasn’t happened yet, doesn’t mean it won’t,” said Rosatte.

“Rabies is not gone, despite what the McGuinty government says. It is still lurking in the background.”

The musical mosaic of science

2011-09-19T15:27:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago during my first post in my September Series, I wrote about how television, especially educational programs, made a significant impact in my life. I got a lot of positive reaction to that post, as well as other people chiming in about their favourite programs watched as a kid.

While I only discussed two animated programs, Loony Toons and Animaniacs, there are countless others that I used to love watching that would entertain and educate. And, I believe that is part of the reason why I love talking about science and the natural world as much as I do. There is a way to educate someone about complex subjects such as science and math that can be entertaining as well as informative. A perfect example happened to me just a few days earlier.

On September 16^th, a discussion began with people regarding Albert Szent-Györgyi, who would have turned 118 that day. The conversation began thanks to Google choosing to celebrate his accomplishments with a Google Doodle.

Szent-Györgyi is well known from a variety of accomplishments, most notably discovering Vitamin C, as well as the components and reactions that occur during the infamous citric acid cycle.

The CAC

The Citric Acid Cycle (Or Kreb’s Cycle) is a very complex set of reactions that occur in your body at all times to turn digested food into energy. Simply put, the cycle breaks carbohydrates, fats and proteins into carbon dioxide, water and usable energy (known as ATP).

As demonstrated in the figure below, the process is extremely complex to understand. But, it is even more difficult to learn properly.

Looks complicated, doesn't it? Believe me ... it IS

In grade 11, during the cellular energy unit of the curriculum, the entire class was presented with the CAC. My teacher, Mr. Thomson, knew what a daunting task it was, so he broke it up into steps and explained only what we needed to know to understand precisely what was going on (namely, tracking the amount of Carbon). I remember the teacher going over the process again and again in order to drill it into our heads. We did assignments where we had to draw the whole process of big pieces of paper and calculations tracking the amount of energy gained – all done to help us memorize the complex cycle for the test.

And, boy did I study for that.

I was up in my room for hours memorizing it, having my parents quiz me over and over until I had it down cold for the test. The result?
Ninety percent.

But, is there an easier way to learn such a complex topic?

According to Robert Krulwich from NPR, yes and no.

In fact, there are many ways in the technological age we live in today where you can find new and interesting ways to learn something. Just type a subject into Google and you’ll find a plethora of options showcasing everything from books to videos to interactive websites.

In the case of the Citric Acid Cycle, you can take a look at some videos on YouTube like this and this (which is by far my favorite). But, you don’t get the full understanding and details that can be provided by teachers, like Mr. Thomson, who genuinely care about getting you to understand the material.

Some students learn better in a classroom or with a textbook, while others excel using a more audio-visual technique. There is no wrong way to learn; just find the way learn the best and stick to that.

Expanding your mind

Looking up a video or reading a book when you have a specific problem in a field or subject is pretty easy, but what is you want to learn about something bigger? What if you want to learn a little bit about such complicated topics as astrophysics, cosmology or quantum mechanics?

Such topics are extremely complicated to understand, much less teach. I only know a tiny bit about quantum mechanics and the universe, just enough to understand a televised documentary on the Discovery Channel, PBS and the like.

But then, Joanne Manaster over Twitter introduced me to something of an experiment entitled, The Symphony of Science.

Created by John Boswell, the Symphony of Science are a series of music videos used to, according to his website, “scientific knowledge and philosophy to the public, in a novel way, through the medium of music.”

Not only are the music videos entertaining, but they also serve as a great way to introduce individuals to complex areas of science and the researchers that explore them. Boswell uses a vast array of methods to bring complex topics to life using archival footage, new documentaries and interviews with notable scientists like Richard Feynman, Brian Cox, Carl Sagan, Stephen Hawking and more.

What exactly is science?

Where did we come from?

Or what exactly quantum mechanics is?

There are a total of 11 videos, each of which focuses on a different aspect of science and research. The first few videos are a little rough, but entertaining all the same. Each one has a message that is worthwhile and of note.

But the most amazing thing is that each and everyone will teach you something (and the songs are pretty catch too)!

To watch all eleven, as well as free downloads of them all, be sure to visit the website!

Contagion Review - An infectiously intelligent worst-case scenario

2011-09-12T08:24:00.000-07:00

This is the second post in my September Series, where I am experimenting with different forms of journalism and writing. Last week, I wrote an article entitled Not Just An Idiot Box, which took a look at educational television, using examples from my own childhood to argue the point. This week, I decided to try a movie review. Beware of some spoilers and enjoy!

Is there anything scarier than an enemy you cannot see?

Horror movies have been taking advantage of this for decades, as it allows your mind to run wild with scary and horrifying possibilities. However, instead of some crazy murderer following you around your house or a spirit seeking vengeance upon you, something all together scarier and deadlier is all around you. All you have to do is pick up a microscope and look at the onslaught of bacteria and viruses that we are exposed to every day.

Sometimes, all it can take is one touch, one cough or one innocent gesture to expose someone to a potentially lethal virus. And that is what the Warner Brothers movie Contagion is all about, tracing the path of a virus from initial exposure and its eventual outbreak, all the way to pandemic and finally treatment.

Director Steven Soderbergh expertly decides to start the movie, not from day one like the 1995 thriller Outbreak, but from day two, the day after Gwyneth Paltrow’s Beth Emhoff is exposed to the virus. She returns home to her loving husband Mitch, played by Matt Damon, but quickly succumbs to the illness, followed quickly by their young son.

But, the bulk of the plot doesn’t follow the widowed Mitch being a hero of the story and saving the day. Instead, Soderbergh divides his story amongst many different characters, all affected by the virus somehow and doing their best to manage, fight back and most importantly, to survive.

"We don't have to weaponize the bird flu. The birds are already doing that"

As the virus begins to infect an increasing number of people, either from direct contact or secondary contact (infected person touches rail followed by a healthy person, who then picks up the virus), the movie widens its scope and focuses on characters from all over the world, from Atlanta to Hong Kong.

The acting is stellar across the board, but the cast is far too large to name everyone. However, the standouts include: Laurence Fishburne as a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) division chief who is portrayed with just the right amount of humanity, Jude Law as a blogger who is one of the first to report the illness but has ulterior motives, Kate Winslet plays CDC employee Dr. Mears who is literally scrambling to contain the outbreak, and Marion Cotillard plays an epidemiologist from the World Health Organization sent to China to track the origin of the epidemic.

Every storyline adds weight, and allows the viewer to experience another facet of the destruction and pain a viral outbreak can accomplish.

Matt Damon’s story is by far the most emotional of them all. His storyline showcases the human side of the disease, and what can happen when normal people become so scared for their own lives that they begin to do whatever they can to survive.

And that is where the film becomes elevated beyond a mere biological thriller, as it manages to resonate beyond the confines of one genre. The film is also an insight into our most basic human conditions, and what happens when even the simple act of touching something can be deadly.

As the tagline of the film rightly states, “nothing spreads like fear.”

A different view of a never-ending battle

Soderbergh spends a lot of time focusing the camera for just a fraction longer than usual on everyday objects, such as a glass, a doorknob or a handrail on a bus. It is like seeing a shadow moving across the screen in a horror movie, showcasing just how susceptible the people in the movie (as well as ourselves) really are. And that’s the take-home message.

Contagion is a movie with brains that keeps you thinking after you leave the theatre, which is the kind of movie I always enjoy. As well, it managed to highlight some pretty decent science that made me want to look through some of my old microbiology notes. I won’t say that the movie is a substitute for learning about viruses in an academic setting or using better hygiene, but its heart is in the right place and the intelligence and thought that was put into this movie really shows just how possible such an event is.

Now that’s the real scare.

For those of you looking for an in-depth look at the science behind the movie, I will not be going into it in this post, as movie reviews traditionally don't utilize a lot of science. However, for those still interested, be sure to read this great article where noted journalist and author, Maryn McKenna, spoke to the science advisor of the film, Dr. W. Ian Lipkin (who has also written a piece on the real threat presented by viruses for the New York Times, which can be read here).

Not Just An Idiot Box

2011-09-05T12:57:00.000-07:00

With my nephew of 16-months rapidly learning how to speak and walk, keeping him entertained with toys and activities is difficult at the best of times. And sometimes, the siren song of just plopping your child down in front of the TV for a little bit is very strong. Some parents avoid that temptation (like my sister and nephew), but others yield quickly and often.

There have been so many research studies and experiments done to figure out the effect television has on a child, with results bouncing between quite detrimental to beneficial. The debate continues to rage about how much computer/television screen time is too much, especially with all the programs geared specifically towards children on the air right now.

Some families strictly limit the time spent in front of the television/computer, like a friend of mine who lets her children watch 30 minutes of monitored tv a day, no exceptions and no excuses. Meanwhile, other families will let their kids watch whatever they want for hours at a time.

In my opinion, the ideal solution lies somewhere in the middle of the two extremes, striking a balance between un-educational and educational programs, as well as participating in other activities away from the television.

And yes, I did say educational programs. They do exist, and not always in ways you imagine.

For example, throughout my childhood, I watched a large assortment of programs ranging from Polka Dot Door and Fraggle Rock to animated shows like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and He-Man. They were all entertaining and some more than others attempted to imbue lessons within their shows, like accepting those who are different than you.

There are two shows that I watched as a kid, and would continue to watch if they were still on the air, that had a great impact on my education and development. The first show is one that has seen a bit of resurgence in recent years, while the other one is sadly gone, but not forgotten.

Practice Makes Perfect?

The show can be described in any one of the famous characters that it spawned: Foghorn Leghorn, Marvin the Martian, Speedy Gonzales, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd and of course, Bugs Bunny.

The list of classic characters that appeared in Looney Toons goes on and on, but for me, none more so than that one inseparable duo, locked in an endless cycle of predator versus prey.

Time and time again they would meet, with the results always the same – prey outwits/outmaneuvers predator, no matter how much we wish otherwise. The relationship viewers had with this particular predator was not one of fear or anger, but one of sympathy.

It’s not Sylvester and Tweety, Marvin the Martian and Duck Dogers or even Elmer Fudd and Bugs Bunny.

No. Instead think of the stereotypical Texas desert, lightning fast speeds, the borderline omnipotent presence of the ACME Corporation and “meep, meep.”

That’s right, it’s Wile E. Coyote and The Road Runner.

After everything they’ve been through, how could you not want Wile E. Coyote to, at least once, catch that blasted Road Runner?

The misadventures of the coyote with a credit line at ACME were enjoyable and entertaining, but as a child, I learned a few lessons that made a difference (aside from the fact that gravity will give you a few seconds before you fall to hold up a little sign stating “Help!”)

Wile E. Coyote, as evil as he is for wanting to eat the peaceful roadrunner (or sheep or Bugs Bunny as the case sometimes was), he is simply acting out the cyclical relationship of predator versus prey. But more than that, it was all about persistence.

No matter how bad it got, how much pain he endured, Wile E. always came back with more and more ideas to catch his quarry. But, there is a difference between persistence and sheer fanaticism, as the Coyote could stop at any time and find some other prey … or at least buy some food from ACME, they seem to sell everything else.

Chuck Jones, the creator of Looney Tunes, and the writers apparently created a series of rules relating to Wile E vs. the Road Runner, examples of which are:
No outside force can harm the Coyote—only his own ineptitude or the failure of Acme products. Trains and trucks were the exception from time to time.
The Coyote could stop anytime—IF he were not a fanatic. (Repeat: "A fanatic is one who redoubles his effort when he has forgotten his aim." —George Santayana).
Whenever possible, make gravity the Coyote's greatest enemy.
The Coyote is always more humiliated than harmed by his failures.

Thank you Wile E. Coyote for teaching me that persistence is a virtue, but that sometimes, the hardest thing to do is to admit defeat, re-group and move on when something truly is a lost cause. It is a difficult lesson to realize, but an important one to learn all the same.

But I realized that if a “super genius” could learn such a harsh one, than so could I.

Useful Knowledge

This next memorable show was also created by Warner Brothers Television, but premiered when I was nine years old, long after Looney Toons had already entertained millions of children. While the newer show was still animated with a lot of slapstick and gags, it also managed to educate, as well as entertain.

The show, Animaniacs, was produced by Steven Spielberg, who was actively involved in all manners of the show’s production and made sure that not only was the show entertaining, but also balanced that with quite a number of educational segments.

Animaniacs parodied a lot of pop culture and celebrities, everything from the Marx Brothers to the H.M.S Pinafore to Seinfeld, and even Spielberg himself! The content was directed at every age group, and was able to be silly without being immature and intelligent without being preachy.

Through elementary and high school, I was always surprised whenever something would come up that I already knew, not from the textbook or classes, but from watching an Animaniacs cartoon!

For example, what Canadian child could name most of the United States presidents in order to the tune of the William Tell Overture?

Or name all the U.S. States and their capitols to the toe-tappigly wonderful tune of Turkey in the Straw?

But the best of them all, and one I put to use in my final year of High School in my World Issues class, was “Nations of the World” set to the tune the Mexican Hat Dance. While it is a bit out of date now, the memory of it is locked away safely in my brain, so I still can name over half of all the countries mentioned in the song.

If you’ve never heard it, press play and prepare to watch it many more times and have it stuck in your head for years!

Shhhhh, TV

Television can entertain, it can marvel and it can educate, but it can also distract. Television, computers and other entertainment media have a wide array of applications, and deserve to be enjoyed and seen.

However, as good as watching an animal documentary may be or watching a sitcom about family, it is still entertainment, and cannot be substituted for the real thing. It has its place, as do other activities.

So, don’t spend all your time daydreaming about what you see on the television screen. Go out and do it, and take your kids with you.

They may complain about missing their video games, television shows and movies, but do it anyway.

That’s what PVR’s are for anyway, right?

September Synergy

2011-08-31T12:06:00.000-07:00

It's been a hell of a month filled with experiences that have made me soar and those that sent me crashing back down to Earth. Been quite a ride so far, with no sign of slowing down.

So, let me catch you up.

In the past month, I had two articles published on Scientific American regarding two very different subjects.

The first article came about when I was asked by noted Scientific American blogger, Jason Goldman, to write on his blog, The Thoughtful Animal, a post about animal behavior when he was on vacation last month. Knowing that I studied animal behavior and physiology, Jason couldn't have asked a better person.

The resulting article, entitled "The Right Stuff: What It Takes To Be The Ocean’s Top Predator," takes a closer look at the behavior of one of the most feared predators in the world - the Great White Shark. In the article, I discuss how sharks hunt using some very impressive adaptations, as well as how they adapt their attack strategies based on the prey they are attempting to catch. It was one of the most fascinating articles I've ever written, and I hope you all find it as interesting as I did!

The second article stemmed from a conversation I had with my sister Sara about how much I love animals and visiting the zoo, and that her 16-month-old son Anderson enjoys going as well. Therefore, we packed up a week or so later with my twin brother in tow, and ventured off to the Toronto Zoo.
The article, "In the flesh and before your eyes," was published last week on the Scientific American Guest Blog and uses the narrative of our trip to the zoo to discuss a wide range of issues, including conservation efforts, does a zoo do more harm than good and the price of poaching.

While it may seem like a very negative article, I believe it actually is rather hopeful and optimistic. But, you be the judge.

Lastly, I've been mulling over something different to do with my blog, and this month will be a little different. Every Monday starting September 5th, I will be putting up a very different kind of post. Some will touch on news and politics, others science and the natural world, and maybe even some pop culture or musings about life, the universe and everything in between. But rest assured, every post this month will deal with something note-worthy.

Keep an eye out for the first of these posts at the beginning of next week dealing with a topic that has never been discussed on my blog before. Stay tuned!

Fear Factor

2011-07-21T10:38:00.000-07:00

Fear is all around us: Whether it is a child afraid of the dark, a significant other petrified of heights or a friend terrified of public speaking.

It is everywhere.

Fear is good, for the most part. Biologically, it puts your body in a heightened state of awareness, allowing you to be ready for whatever situation comes your way, commonly referred to as the “fight or flight” response.

When you are scared, your body releases a cascade of chemicals (including catecholamine, acetylcholine and epinephrine) that cause a series of chemical reactions in your body that increase your heart rate, breathing and muscle tension. In essence, your body becomes primed to fight the fear, or take flight and escape.

Charles Darwin, in his book The Expressions of the Emotions in Man and Animals, describes the fear response with such amazing detail that I could not possibly do any better.

“Fear is often preceded by astonishment, and is so far akin to it, that both lead to the senses of sight and hearing being instantly aroused. In both cases the eyes and mouth are widely opened, and the eyebrows raised. The frightened man at first stands like a statue motionless and breathless, or crouches down as if instinctively to escape observation. The heart beats quickly and violently, so that it palpitates or knocks against the ribs... That the skin is much affected under the sense of great fear, we see in the marvellous manner in which perspiration immediately exudes from it... The hairs also on the skin stand erect; and the superficial muscles shiver. In connection with the disturbed action of the heart, the breathing is hurried. The salivary glands act imperfectly; the mouth becomes dry, and is often opened and shut.”

“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself”

As comforting as the subhead above, said by the former United States president Franklin Delano Roosevelt is, it can be difficult to realize that when you are paralyzed with fear. But, if you gather the courage and face your fears, like F.D.R. said, the emotion will no longer have control over you.

Like most people, I was scared of heights as a young child. It wasn’t bad, but looking up at a high building or down a substantial distance would make me slightly nauseated and dizzy. All in all though, it was an easy situation to avoid.

Then, whether out of love or simply perverse pleasure, my older sister got it in her head to take me on a rollercoaster at an amusement park when I was a young kid. I was understandably a bit nervous leading up to it, and there may have been some crying and pleading while waiting in line. But, my sister strapped me in and we went up, up and up … before we succumbed to gravity and went down like a ROCK.

Up and down on the coaster we went - my sister screaming for joy and me just screaming.

Then, something switched in my brain. It began slowly at first but began picking up speed like the coaster I was on. Suddenly I found myself screaming, not out of fear, but out of joy. Slowly, as the day went on and we progressed to bigger and faster coasters, my fear began to ebb until it was eventually transformed into enjoyment. That is not to say that I wasn’t still afraid of falling and such, but I could control my fear, embrace it and learn to enjoy the ride.

After that day, heights no longer scared me. I could go to the top of any skyscraper and look down with impunity, simply enjoying the view.

Then, three years ago this August, my brother Daniel and I did something that brought that fear right back to the forefront of my mind. If the tallest rollercoasters around didn’t scare me, then the only solution was to go bigger … three miles higher, to be exact.

It’s not the fall that kills you, but the landing

We went to Las Vegas for a vacation and decided to strap ourselves into a parachute, board a small plane, and jump out in an activity known as skydiving.

The experience was an interesting one, as we got a safety demonstration on how to properly fall out of a plane, how to get into the proper free-fall position (arms and legs out, slightly elevated above your head) and how to land (legs out, akin to going down a slide).

Seeing as it was my first skydive, I needed to be attached to an instructor in what is known as tandem skydiving. My instructor, whom we will call Scott (not his real name), was a shaggy-haired man who had completed more than 100 jumps at the time that we met.

The next step was to put on a very uncomfortable dark blue flight suit, harness and helmet that made you resemble a cross between a sperm and a Smurf.

Meet Smurf Twin 1 and Smurf Twin 2

Then, my instructor attached a cable from his harness to mine, so we could never be more than a foot or two apart, which put the tandem in tandem skydiving. Following that, we marched to the plane with eight to 10 other ‘teams’ and took our seats.

The plane was small and furnished with just a few benches: Scott and I sat at the very back of the plane, while Daniel and his instructor sat near the front. And just like that, we took off with a jolt to our destination three miles up and a few miles away from Las Vegas for our landing zone in the surrounding desert.

As we slowly spiralled up to our drop zone, the anticipation began to build and the fear began to manifest. I began to breathe heavily, followed by a light dusting of sweat on my forehead and hands, ending with my hands uncontrollably shaking.

“You nervous?” Scott asked, mildly concerned.

“No … yes … maybe,” I replied hesitantly.

“Any last words?” Scott said with a sly smile.

“I hope I don’t die.”

One small step …

And then, as the plane levelled off, the inside cabin filled with silence. You could feel the tension rise in the air as all the skydivers looked out the windows at the blue sky that was revealed. We were so high that you could slightly see the curvature of the Earth.

“Three,” said the Captain over the loudspeaker. “Two. One.”

“Go!”

A deafening roar filled the plane as the front door was unlocked and all the air flew out of the cabin. The wind was so loud that all communication was done by hand signals as the first skydivers disappeared.

Staring with my mouth agape, I saw my brother saunter over to the window, look at me with absolute fear, and then he was gone. I thought I heard him scream, but that may have just been the wind howling in my ears.

Slowly, all the skydivers moved to the front door and fell out.

Contrary to popular belief, you don’t actually jump out of a plane. It’s more of a lean forward until you fall type of experience.

Scott lead me to the door, so I was staring out at the sea of blue and brown, before yelling in my ear, “Are you ready?”

“Do I really have a choice?” I screamed back.

Scott smirked.

“No.”

“Then let’s go!”

Scott then tilted my head back, and began to rock back and forth, edging closer to the open door.

“One.”

I breathed deeply to calm myself.

“Two.”

I thought: This is really high.

“Three!”

I leaned forward and fell into the blue.

Careful, that first step is a doozy

A very interesting realization occurred as I fell, headfirst, towards the ground. As I left the plane, the cold air (due to the altitude) bit at my face and cut through my flight suit like a knife as I plummeted down. The sensation of free-fall is incredible, and I had never (or have since) felt anything like it.

As thrilling as the experience was, I understandably screamed and screamed and screamed until no sound came from my mouth. The anxiousness I had felt leading up to the jump was replaced by adrenaline-inducing horror, which then made way for pure joy, as seen by the real video of my skydiving experience embedded below, for your viewing pleasure.

NOTE: At a point in the video, I pinch my nose and pop my ears due to the differential air pressure (like in an air plane) as I’m falling. While it looks rather silly, it needed to be done, as it could get extremely painful.

Embrace the fear

As you could see at the end of the video, I fell to the ground in a fit of hysterics that lasted for a good five minutes. I was so excited and pumped full of adrenaline, that I could not even walk in a straight line when I eventually found my footing.

It really brought to mind the old adage, that whatever does not kill you, makes you stronger. I always took a literal view of that saying, but I believe I understand it better after my skydiving experience.

Stronger does not necessarily reference the physical, but perhaps the emotional and mental. By facing my fear gradually (first roller coasters, then skydiving), I was able to emerge an individual stronger than I was before.

But, what’s next?

After successfully falling out of a plane and landing safely, I thought there was nothing left to face. Until my sister found something entitled the CN Tower Edge Walk.

The CN Tower, located in downtown Toronto, is a very large spire that is the world’s fifth tallest free-standing structure that towers over the city at a height of over 550 meters (or 1,800 feet). And the Edge Walk is exactly what is sounds like: a walk along a 1.5 metre-wide ledge on the tower’s highest pod, which rests approximately 350 metres above the ground.

Hopefully I will be able to think of better last words this time!

What's in a Word?

2011-06-26T11:28:00.000-07:00

I’ve always liked language, which could explain why I love to read, why I’m a journalist and tell stories to other people for a living. Language has always fascinated me, especially its evolution.

For example: My nephew came over the other day, and being that he is just over 1 year old, he is starting to attempt to make sounds and words. He doesn’t say much, but what he does, he says a lot!

As of now, his new favorite words are “bubble” and “apple,” with the standard “mama” and “dada” thrown in every now and then for a bit of variety. Watching him discover the different sounds that make up words in the English language is fascinating.

But, having spoken English since I was a young kid, it has made me wonder more about the language itself and the little idiosyncrasies that pop up everywhere you go across the world.

Take my home, Canada.

Since Canada is so close to the United States, it is understandable that they heavily influenced our language. However, we were also proud members of the British Commonwealth (and still are), so we also put in a bit of British into our language as well. Put those into a pot, add some maple syrup, a hockey stick and a dash of snow, and you’ve got Canada!

But, like any species left alone to the forces of change, the Canadian language started to evolve and reflect more and more of our beliefs and history until new words began popping up in our vocabulary. Slowly but surely, unique words began to worm their way into our language and become speech staples that Canadians use every day without thinking.

Those little words and phrases that are unique or different are almost like a bit of shorthand for the people in that country, but outsiders can become immensely confused. As a kid, realizing that not everyone knew how to get a “Timbit,” what “poutine” is, or what a “kerfuffle” is, can be a bit of a shock.

That is very first hint that the world is much bigger than you can possibly comprehend at that moment, and opens up great new worlds of imagination and brilliance. Eventually, you uncover the notion that while not everyone is identical, each person is unique and different.

That grand realization can change your point of view forever.

For example, here’s a bit of Canadian language to test you and your friends with (as long as neither of you are Canadian!):

Do you know what a “toque” is (pronounced as: tuke)?
What about “pop,” “serviette” and “garburator”?
What are “loonies,” “toonies,” and “beaver tails”?
And finally, what does “eh” (pronounced “ayyy”) mean?

The answers for what the words mean be found below.

There are lots of words out there that may mean something to you and your neighbors, but not to anyone else in a different country that speaks the same language. Pay attention to what you say, and you'll be surprised how often these words come up!

Feel free to add some of your favorites in the comments.

Answers:
Toque – A knit or woolen cap usually worn in the winter
Pop– Carbonated non-alcoholic soft drinks like Pepsi or Coke. If you ask for “soda,” you’ll probably get soda water
Serviette – A napkin (from the French word for napkin)
Garburator – A garbage disposal found in your sink
Loonie – The Canadian one-dollar coin (so named because of the loon on it)
Toonie – The Canadian two-dollar coin
Beaver tails – Flat pastries that are deep-fried and resemble the tail of a beaver with a wide assortment of toppings including ice cream, powdered sugar and chocolate
Eh – Usually placed at the end of a sentence, akin to saying “right?” or “don’t you think”?

The Who in The Doctor

2011-06-23T13:05:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love time-travel stories because they deal with so many issues that are universal, such as love, loss, pain and betrayal. And a good time-travel story never uses the science fiction aspect as a gimmick, but as a mechanism to further the story and the characters within.

This is not the first time I’ve discussed time-travel on my blog, but I won’t be discussing parallel time-lines and paradoxes this time you can find that here). No, today I’ll be talking about something a dash different.

If you’ve been following my Facebook or Twitter feeds over the past week or so, you know that I have recently become a fan of the 2005 BBC television re-launch of Doctor Who.

Friends have been telling me for years to sit down and watch it, but I never did. I always figured that I didn’t need another science fiction television series in my life and that I watch more than enough TV as it is. But, a few weeks back, a conversation with some friends on Twitter finally changed my mind.

Thanks to discussions with @cthulhuchick, @TheNerdyBird and @katiedoyle, I finally sat down and watched the pilot episode of the 2005 re-launch. I was a bit hesitant, as Doctor Who has A LOT of history behind it, but they were very encouraging. As people who have known me for a while, they reassured me that the new series was designed for new and old fans and I trusted their judgment.

And they were right.

But why is Doctor Who so popular, even today?

I’m no expert in Doctor Who (I’m only on season 2 of six of the re-launch so far), so all I can do is tell you about what I have noticed from my experiences watching it.

First and foremost, Doctor Who has a pretty simple premise for a sci-fi show. It is about a man, known only as The Doctor, who can travel in both space and time and picks up companions along the way to share his adventures with. It is really not all that different than any wandering traveler story, except that the road here is space and time.

The doctor travels in a ship called TARDIS (pronounced TAR-diss) is an acronym for Time And Relative Dimension In Space and resembles an old 1960’s London police call box. The ship is piloted by The Doctor, who is the last of an immortal race of aliens known as the Time Lords who can see everything that was, is, or could be all at the same time.

You also never learn The Doctor’s name, hence he always introduces himself as “The Doctor” leading to some characters replying with the title of the show, “Doctor who?”

If all of this sounds like nonsense, let me boil it down for you: The Doctor is the last of his species and travels around both space and time righting wrongs and protecting the sanctity of life with people he meets along the way.

To date, The Doctor has been played by 11 different actors from 1963 – 2011, all playing the same character who, when near death, “regenerates” into a new body while still retaining all his previous memories.

Using travel in space and time as a device, Doctor Who allows many complex topics to be discussed in a very interesting way, along with some very unique and British humor and characters. Through these methods, Doctor Who can address a wide variety of topics such as health (in the episode “New Earth”), warfare (in “The Empty Child” and ”The Doctor Dances") and even on the evils of television (in “The Idiot’s Lantern”).

Not only that, but Doctor Who prides itself on being a family friendly show that fans of all ages can watch together. It doesn’t rely on blood, guts and sex like other science fiction shows tend to fall back onto.

How many science fiction shows can say that, and boast being risen from the ashes 16 years after its initial cancellation, and be more popular than ever? Who can answer that?

The Doctor can.

Father's Day Deluge

2011-06-19T10:45:00.000-07:00

Happy father's day!

I hope that you are finding a way to celebrate that suits you dad's needs, whether it be a big affair at a fancy restaurant, a small brunch or just sitting around with friends and family remembering times long past.

This blog post will be a little different, just like this past week. There has been a lot of family stuff that has required my attention, so I have not been online as much as usual. But, a number of things have caught my eye this week, which I want to share and discuss with you.

The first is a recent publication of mine on Scientific American celebrating, what else, but the good (and a few bad) animal dads. After all, in the animal kingdom, many father's do not do very much. In fact, they just inseminate the mother and wander off. But, in this article, the lovely Lauren Reid and I decided to showcase some truly magnificent examples of animal fathers picking up the slack and really showing off!

You can read the article here.

The next little bit I want to share with you is a blog post I stumbled upon last week, that was extremely well done. It was written by a fellow science writer, DeLene Beeland, who writes a great blog entitled Wild Muse who writes about evolution and ecology.

A recent post of hers was called Advice on Science Writing, and was extremely well done.

I get asked why I chose this field quite a bit, and my answers have slowly shifted from when I decided that was what I was going to do to actually doing it now. And it can be difficult to explain why you like doing something so much without sounding completely insane, as we all tend to do when we are passionate about what we do. In this post, DeLene perfectly encapsulates the difficulties of being a science journalist, but also the thrill.

Here are a few tidbits:

"It’s selfish, but writing about science allows me to learn with each and every story I work on, and that aspect is the fuel that keeps me running. It also gives me a small mouthpiece to communicate about issues I feel the general public ought to know more about: ecology, biological diversity and the affect of human development upon wildlife and natural systems."

"The language of science is not always easily translated for lay audiences. And the more highly trained you are, the harder it may be for you to be cognizant of that gap. There are some rock stars that can straddle both worlds and the languages codified by each, but for the rest of us mortals, we need to study the language of popular media, the way stories are constructed and told, and how ideas are imparted in persuasive essays and objective news stories. There are patterns, hierarchies and formulas that work well, and it’s time well spent to analyze them, learn them, and harness them for your own work. Your audience, and your editors, will thank you."

If you want to understand science writing and those that do it, do give the article a read. It's extremely well-done, and doesn't pull any punches with regards to the difficulty of the industry.

Finally, about a week ago, my dad pointed out an article to me on from The Toronto Star about an issue that I've spent a lot of time doing research and writing about: Invasive species.

Invasive species are animal that have been brought into a completely foreign habitat and thrived to a point of harming the local flora and fauna, and even causing extinction of native species. Examples are goats on the Galapagos islands, zebra mussels in the Great Lakes and the Nile Perch in Africa.

In Canada, there is a new threat: The Emerald Ash Borer or EAB.

Ugly little guy, isn't he?

The insect traveled to the northern United States in the late 1990s from Asia, and completely decimated the ash tree population there back in 2002. And since then, the insects have been spreading into over 15 states and all over Southern Ontario.

The insect is a master at what it does, and that is killing ash trees. The larvae burrow into the tree and make their way in a serpentine pattern, cutting off supplies of the trees nutrients and killing it. It is akin to being slowly starved to death.

But this is old news, as the insect was found in Toronto as early as 2007 (far from its predicted arrival in 2022). What is new is what is going to be done about protecting the almost 900,000 ash trees in the Toronto area. The answer?

Nothing.

The city is not taking an preventative action, and instead focusing on replacing every tree with other species instead of battling the insect and letting up to 95 per cent of all the ash trees in Toronto die. Sadly, not much can be done for a tree once it is infected, and must be destroyed to prevent further spread.

There are preventative measures that can be taken, such as injecting a tree with the drug, TreeAzin, a biological pesticide. But Brian Hamilton, the Emerald Ash Borer Program Specialist for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), says that TreeAzin cannot save an already infected tree.

"Once injected, the chemical kills the larva under the bark and is absorbed into the leaves. And the double whammy is that, if an adult female EAB eats the leaves, she becomes sterile and cannot produce any offspring."

While TreeAzin is a good solution for uninfected trees, it is extremely expensive to administer, and any time money is involved (and we're talking hundreds of thousands of dollars), the purse-strings tighten. A few other control methods are being explored in the United States, such as utilizing stingless wasps from Chinese forests as a natural predator of the EAB. However, this is just another example of introducing other (potentially less harmful) species to eliminate others in a foreign environment.

But is doing nothing, like Toronto is, the best option?

I should hope not.

What Lurks In The Deep?

2011-06-05T12:23:00.000-07:00

The world is such a fascinating place, and yet there is so much that we do not yet know, especially regarding the deepest depths of the ocean and the creatures that lie within it. Due to the limitations of our bodies, it is extremely difficult to explore that world, but by studying animals that make the daily trek from the depths to the shallows, we can begin to create a picture of life in the deep.

Some of these very creatures are from the molluscan class of animals known as cephalopods (squid, octopuses and cuttlefish). Personally, nothing quite draws me in like a cephalopod, which is why I was excited to read the book Kraken: The Curious, Exciting, And Slightly Disturbing Science of Squid by Wendy Williams.

The book was a magnificent read, and I learned a lot about cephalopods, such as that some squid species will rip off one of their own arms to escape a predator, exactly how cephalopods have greatly impacted human medical care, and how the incredible camouflage mechanism of the cuttlefish works.

Thanks to the website Deep Sea News, you can read my review of Williams' book here.

If you are at all interested in this highly unique class of animals, please give the review a read and be sure to pick up this book!

Of all the animals I have seen in my life, there is something in the eyes of a cephalopod that make you think that as you are staring at them, they they are staring back at you just as intensely.

P.S. For all of you English majors/teachers/experts who are scoffing at my use of "octopuses" instead of "octopi,"I have news for you: they are both right!

Don't believe me? Watch this video!

Perfection Isn't Perfect

2011-05-19T11:53:00.000-07:00

We may make jokes that we are the perfect versions of ourselves, but realistically, who can say that? I’m a good person and friend, and yet mistakes are inevitable. Mistakes are how we learn and grow into better people.

You may know not to touch the red-hot coils on an electric stove, and have been told not to repeatedly by your parents, siblings and friends. But, you may not remember the lessons until you accidentally do just that. The pain is what you will remember, not the warnings. And even then, you will still use that stove, and the moment you forget that painful lesson, you get burned.

After all, everyone needs a reminder now and then, even those we place on a pedestal, even superheroes that are considered the best of the best. Of course, I am talking about Steve Rogers, who is also known as Captain America.

For those unfamiliar with the comic book lore, Steve Rogers was a young man who wanted nothing more than to be in the army during World War II. But, he was too small for his age, weak and sickly looking. The army disregarded him, despite his pleas.

That was, until he got the opportunity to enroll in a program entitled Operation: Rebirth, designed to help soldiers reach peak physical perfection. He was the first candidate to receive the treatment under the supervision of Professor Abraham Erksine, and the last, as Nazis killed Erksine and destroyed all his research shortly after Rogers received the treatment.

But, the “Super Soldier Serum” had already worked its magic on young Rogers. He became taller, possessed enhanced musculature and reflexes, and became the symbol for the war effort. He became Captain America.

Captain America, or “Cap,” rapidly became known throughout the world as an amazing hero and patriot. His iconic costume was based on his own design, modeled after the American flag, and his trademark shield was made of an indestructible alloy that he can toss like a Frisbee. He fought his nemesis the Red Skull numerous times, as well as other villains, including an infamous cover of him punching Hitler in the jaw.

But, throughout all of that, one thing stayed the same in the Marvel comic universe. Even when surrounded by other superheroes with fantastic skills and abilities, the writers kept Rogers a man. He was an extraordinary man with skills superior to that of any Olympic athlete, of course, but still a mortal man with limits.

But what is perfection?

The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines it as the quality or state of being perfect or an exemplification of supreme excellence. But what is excellence?

To me, the key thing to note is that, like beauty, perfection is in the eye of the beholder. The attributes you ascribe to your “perfect” self are different than mine, which are different than those of the Emperor of Japan.

Just remember that nobody is perfect, and if someone says they are, they are lying. In fact, if anyone calls you “less than perfect,” take it as a compliment. If everyone was perfect, there would be nothing to strive for!

The upcoming Marvel film appears to address that head-on, by painting Rogers (played by Chris Evans) as a man with something to prove, not just to himself, but everyone around him. The trailer, embedded below, has a very poignant quote said by Dr. Erksine on why Rogers was chosen for the program: “Because a weak man knows the value of strength."

The Ups and Downs of Physics

2011-05-10T12:10:00.000-07:00

It has been an interesting week!

On May 2nd, I went to the university where I did my undergraduate degree, and held a workshop on science communication (as I mentioned in my last post). I also had a new post pop up on Scientific American entitled "A True Duck Hunt - Interview with Donovan Hohn," and I was going to write about both of them, until I went to a popular amusement park on May 7th and experienced something that had never happened to me before.

But for you to understand it, I’ll have to back up a little.

Approximately seven or eight years ago, I worked at that exact amusement park for two spring/summer’s in the merchandise section. I had been to that park many times throughout my life, and had long enjoyed the samplings of roller coasters and other rides that were present. I hadn’t been scared of a roller coaster for a long time, not since I was a child, and believed that it would be fun to work there.

As all employees did, I started out as a cashier in a store, and rapidly got promoted to cash lead within that first year and really enjoyed the job! The second year, I was promoted to a manager, but I did not have as good a time, and stopped after that summer. But, due to a variety of situations, I hadn’t been back since.

So, I was looking forward to heading back and seeing what had changed and go on the new rides that had popped up the last number of years. And, it was a blast! Had a great time with the friends I went with, and went on tons of rides.

But then, at around 3:30pm, we went on a wooden roller coaster and just as we were about to go down the first hill … it stopped. We just sat there in the car, at around a 45-50 degree angle; all the while a voice kept stating over the loud speaker that there was a “delay” and a “technical issue.”

Where my friends and I were stuck, right near the very top of the first hill.

Really makes you wonder about the faith you put in the hands of the engineers and ride operators, doesn’t it?

During this stop, I spoke with my friends about what it means, how long we were going to spend up there, and then the ride started again (total elapsed time was only about 5 minutes).

Now, I do not know if I was more conscious of the ride, but it was much bumpier than usual, even leading into the flat stretch leading to the platform. That was, until it stopped AGAIN.

This time, after three minutes, the ride attendants manually released our harnesses and had us venture along a rickety wooden walkway to the platform. I spoke to the manager there, and our compensation was a “front of the line” treatment of any coaster of our choice. After a brief discussion with my friends, we decided on the one close-by.

As we made our way up to the next ride, we were told that we would be seated at the very back on the next car. But, to our surprise, THAT ride broke as well. So, the manager told us we were now able to receive two “front of the line” treatments, but not before my friend asked if we could get a free ice cream sandwich in lieu of that. I proposed cash, but he rejected both.

We then made our way to the first of our new set of coasters, and were understandably nervous. After all, two rides had broken, and we were not feeling confident on the third time being the charm.

But, to all our surprise, the ride went off without a hitch. The ride was thrilling and totally alleviated any and all stress we might have had regarding the safety and maintenance of roller coasters at an amusement park.

The second of the “front of the line” coasters was one of the busiest in the park, and we had visited it much earlier in the day. This time, sitting in the back, we all strapped in and made jokes until the ride started up the first hill.

You could tell that all of us were thinking he exact same thing: Please don’t break! And it didn’t.

But what did happen was just as interesting.

As we went up the first hill, the drop following was a nail-biting 75 degrees and the cars quickly accelerated to approximately 125 km/hour (or 77 mph) for over 3 minutes, according to the ride’s website. Quite a ride!

Watch out for that first step .... it's a DOOZY

The first time I had gone on it earlier that day, it was an exciting ride. But this time, seated at the very back, it was much more intense. For a brief moment, as I came out of the first drop, black spots appeared in my vision from the intense G forces.

It was a thrilling and adrenaline-pumping ride, which afterward left my friends and I utterly exhausted. It was just that draining.

But, it got me thinking about the physics of it all.

When the car is pulled up the hill on the track, it slowly builds up potential energy (stored energy) that will be converted to kinetic energy (motion) once it falls [see point W on the picture below]. Therefore, when the car reaches the top of the hill and begins its descent, all that stored energy is converted into the energy of motion, helped along by our old friend gravity [point X].

A roller coaster at the top of the hill (W) has an abundance of potential energy, but no kinetic. But, after the first drop at point X, all the stored (potential) energy is converted into the energy of motion (kinetic). Approaching point Y, potential energy is regained as kinetic is lost, which then is switched at point Z.

Basically, each loss in height corresponds to a gain of speed (potential to kinetic), and each gain in height corresponds to a lack of speed (kinetic to potential).

As you begin to fall, that momentary sensation where you are lifted out of your seat is known as negative G forces (or negative Earth’s gravity), where you experience the sensation of feeling like you weigh less than usual. In contrast, when you come out of the dive and go up the next hill, you experience positive G forces (or increased Earth’s gravity) and feel you weigh more than normal.

The best way to think about it, at least for me, is by using the example of NASA”s infamous “Vomit Comet,” which trains astronauts how to handle zero G situations, such as being in space.

What they do is fly in a series of parabolic arcs, similar to those that a roller coaster experiences. The only difference is that it is much, much faster, and so the G forces you feel are more pronounced and sustained.

But, for every yin there is a yang, and when the plane goes up, you experience the proportional positive G’s.

For example, if you weigh 150 pounds, and go up on the vomit comet, on a stable and level flight, you would weigh 1G (or Earth’s gravity), or 150 pounds.
When you begin to go up the arc, you will experience 2G (or double the Earth’s gravity) and it will feel like you weigh 300 pounds.
But, when you approach the top of the arc and begin to go down, you will experience 0G (known as weightlessness) and will weigh 0 pounds.
And then the whole process begins again.

Provided by: SpaceTravellers

There are other forces acting upon you during a roller coaster ride as well, such as centripetal and centrifugal forces, which help you stay in your seat instead of falling out during a loop-de-loop.

Centrifugal forces are pushing you to the outside of the loop (this is what you feel when you go around a sharp turn and your body is thrust away from the direction of the turn), while centripetal forces are balancing those outward forces and keeping you in your seat throughout the loop … even if your stomach may be left on the starting platform.

In fact, most rides that have loops would be safe without restraining devices, based on the physics alone. Luckily for us, there are laws against that, so engineers and designers of coasters need to have them equipped on all rides to keep everyone safe in the event that something does go wrong.

So, the next time you are screaming your lungs out as you plummet to the Earth on a steel or wooden track, give a quick shout out to physics for making it all possible.

I would like to thank the lovely and talented Summer Ash, an astrophysicist (who can be found here on Twitter). She was invaluable in helping me remember my Grade 12 physics, and made sure the science and explanations made perfect sense.

Preparing For The Presentation

2011-05-01T08:50:00.000-07:00

Back when I used to perform in plays (musicals mostly), I would always feel the nervous butterfly sensation I am feeling now. It is not unpleasant, but still rather irksome and unsettling.

I didn't matter if I had one line to say, or a whole song to sing, the nerves were always there. It wasn't about not knowing my lines or the choreography, as I had memorized them both weeks before, but more the stress of not being what the audience expected.

The same is true when you are giving a public talk.

Thanks to my acting experience, I had a lot of exposure to talking, singing and just making a fool of myself in front of a large group. That came in handy back in Grade Six, when I won a public speaking contest at school, and the prize was presenting it to the whole school at an assembly. The topic, of course, was the life and times of Albert Einstein.

I've come a long way since then, but the nerves are always there. Whether it is waiting for the curtain to rise in my elementary school gym or walking into a lecture hall to give a talk, you are always nervous.

And that is what I am doing on Monday May 2nd.

I am heading on out to the university where I spent my undergraduate education, and speaking to a room of graduate students and professors on the basics (and how to improve) science communication. If anyone would like the details, please email me, and I will send you all the details.

I would now like to thank each and every person who helped me put this presentation together:

My family and friends for all their support and feedback
Tanya Noel for her boundless support and enthusiasm
Nancy Parmalee for her watchful eye
Carin Bondar for her amazing friendship and attitude
Elisa Tersigni for helping me flush out the idea

And everyone who I spoke to for help and advice, as well as those individuals who were happy to take the time out of their busy day and give their advice. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to the following people (all of whom I've met through social media):

The infectiously awesome Maryn McKenna
The hilariously scientific Brian Malow
The "yes it is really him and he actually knows who I am," the amazing Carl Zimmer
The intelligent beauty that is Joanne Monaster
The queen on multi-tasking Arikia Millikan
The Tennille to my Captain, Nancy Parmalee
The incredibly amazing Carin Bondar
And lastly, THE Ed Yong.

And as a little treat to those who have read this long, and suffered through my thank you's, here is the title card of my presentation (which I designed myself).

Looking Back

2011-04-22T08:06:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of blogs popping up here recently, but I have not forgotten. I’ve been very busy the past few weeks with stuff popping up that needed to be done rather quickly, as well as being sick twice!

For those of you that missed it last week, I had a new Scientific American Guest Blog post entitled, “Regeneration: The axolotl story,” on the unique amphibian known as the axolotl. It is a fascinating animal, and I hope that you all will give it a read. It was a lot of fun to write!

Other than that, I’ve been working on a number of things recently that should be popping up in various online publications and in print soon, as well as working on a seminar and workshop I’m planning at a university to increase communication between scientists and the media. Suffice to say, it should be an exciting few weeks.

But, that is not what I want to talk about.

A year ago today (April 22, 2010), I finally arrived home after completing my Masters of Journalism degree at a university in Ottawa. The month of April was primarily spent working on my Masters Research Project or MRP on the status of the endangered black-footed ferret. I had officially handed it in a day earlier, packed a large duffel bag and left the city until graduation.

It’s been one hell of an interesting year!

I’ve loved and lost, made countless friends over Twitter (and I do consider them friends), and lost other friends for a variety of reasons (some sensible, some not). I applied to jobs by the bucket load, but initially made little headway. I did a few freelancing pieces here and there, before I got a job writing press releases for a science journal in the United States, where I learned a lot.

I expanded my online presence by being one of the first bloggers to join up with LabSpaces, which I still love to do. When my position at the journal ended, I received other freelance job offers through Twitter, some of which I accepted, others not.

And then, in the New Year, I wrote my first post for Scientific American about my experience in South Dakota pursuing the black-footed ferret for MRP. There was such a good response to that piece, that I have since written other posts for them about ugly animals that deserve love on Valentine’s Day, the biology of snake venom, what it is like growing up as a twin, and more!

Many things have changed in the past year, and I had plenty of ups and downs along the way. It is not easy breaking into the journalism industry, especially as a science journalist. It has been tough at times, but I want to say thank you to all my friends in real life, my family and my Twitter friends. You all have been so supportive of me, and of that I am most thankful.

Hopefully, some day soon, I can pay you all back in kind.

It's Elementary, Watson!

2011-03-20T14:55:00.000-07:00

What a week it has been!

So much has been going on that I hardly even know where to start!

Earlier this week, my next Guest Blog for Scientific American went live, which focused on how twins (both identical and fraternal) forge their own identities. Being an identical twin myself, it was a very interesting article to write, as it took hard work to separate myself from my brother and become an individual.

The post is entitled "Mirror Image: Twins and Identity" and I've been getting a big response to it. Special thanks go out to my parents, my brother, Amy and Jaclyn Jacobs and Elise Milbrant for helping me with this project.

Also, the great Epic Writing Adventure came to a close this week, as the month went up. Because of an unexpected increase in my work load, I was not able to finish what I set out to do (finishing the novel). However, it got me writing and I am well over 15,000 words into my novel. It is good to know that whenever things die down, I have this little side-project to work on.

Rest assured, it will NOT be forgotten!

And lastly, a new episode of The Definitive Answers is now live! This installment focuses on three questions asked by some elementary school students in New York City.

Remember to email science questions to: askdavidquestions@gmail.com

And, for those eagle-eyed viewers out there who saw my shirt in the above video, I ask you this: "What do Androids dream of?"

The answer (for those who don't know), is "Electric Sheep."

Thank you, and enjoy!

NOTE:

I made a mistake while listing the weight of the African Elephant. I said that they weigh "220 pounds," which is, of course, ridiculous. Football players weight more than that!
That number was how much a baby African Elephant weighs at BIRTH, but male bull elephants can grow to upwards of 10,000 pounds!!!

I am sorry for the confusion.

The Definitive Answers - Part Deux

2011-03-03T17:03:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the delay in reaching the next part of The Definitive Answers, but its been a crazy few weeks filled with family stuff, sporadic Internet connectivity, participating in The Epic Writing Adventure and other stuff I don't even want to go into.

But, I have not forgotten!

I've continued to get emails with questions from people, so I decided to make a YouTube video that answers three interesting questions posed to me recently.

In this video, I answer three animal-related questions from Lucy in Edmonton, Jenny in Chicago and Matthew from Alberta.

Remember: Submit your questions to askdavidquestions@gmail.com, and I'll answer them in the upcoming editions of The Definitive Answers.

Enjoy!

UPDATE: Please note that when I mention the nictating membrane, I was actually referring to the structure known as the tapetum lucidum. I had gotten my notes mixed up with research on sharks that I was making earlier in the day. Thank you Neil for the correction!

The Art of Dissection

2011-03-02T12:11:00.000-08:00

The smell in the air was pungent and nauseating during that day in grade 10, you could smell it throughout the school. Students were talking cheerfully, as they were clearly excited to begin today’s big project, despite the smell emanating from two large plastic buckets at the front of the class.

Looking at my lab partner, we exchanged hesitant glances before lining up to receive our experiment for the day on a large black pan. Looking around the room, some students looked enthusiastic about what was about to occur, while others looked pale and scared.

“Ok class,” said the science teacher. “Time to get started.”
Grabbing the sharpest of the implements on the lab bench, I brought the business end of the tool into the pan. Getting the nod from my partner, I used the scalpel and cut into the animal before me, beginning the classroom required earthworm dissection.

As “gross” as some people considered the dissection, I enjoyed it. I liked seeing what I had read in real life and finally make sense about the inter-connectivity of the biological systems. All the five dissections I did in high school (earthworm, locust, perch, cow eye and fetal pig), all presented different challenges and learning experiences to discover.

My favourite part of dissections was learning about an abstract idea from a lecture or the textbook, like that pigs have three bronchial tubes (one goes to the left lung, while two go to the bigger right lung), and actually observing it in front of you. Seeing a picture in a book is not the same as seeing it in the flesh (pardon the pun).

The best way to remember those observations, at least for me, was by drawing pictures of the lab animals. I knew some people in university who took pictures of the specimens with a digital camera, but that felt like cheating.

I don’t draw on a regular basis, but I occasionally doodle things of a scientific nature, such as beakers, chemical structures and viruses. But the most detailed pictures I ever drew in my life, those I spent a lot of time to make as good as my limited art skills would allow, were for university dissections.

Take, for example, the picture of a squid below that I drew in my second year of university in a class called “Animals.” It may not be the greatest quality or even that life-like, but I was happy with the result.

The pre-dissection squid (genus Loligo)

The post-dissection squid

These types of drawings, both in review and even now six years later, I can remember various aspects of the dissection. I remember my friend accidentally punctured the ink sac in her specimen, and how I was shocked to see how spotted with pigment the mantle of the squid was.

My drawings may not be colourful or even drawn very well, but you can tell I enjoyed doing the dissections. I enjoyed it because it was my experiment, my results, and my observations.

Now, there are individuals who are anti-dissection. The proponents of this say that dissections show disrespect for the life of an animal, desensitize students to animal cruelty and is a traumatic experience for those forced to do it. Meanwhile, there are others who say that dissections are the only way to understand some abstract concepts, that it provides hand-on experience that is vital to understanding anatomy, and it can act as a potential catalyst for students to become interested and enter science careers.

I tend to fall in the positive camp, but there is one anti-dissection statement that I’m on board with: that dissections should not be mandatory, but optional. And that alternative solution should be available to everyone, but emphasis should be placed on completing physical dissections, but the computer simulations should be available if wanted.

I only used a computerized dissection in lieu of the real thing once.

Back in grade 10, one of the animals we had to dissect was a fish, which was a problem. I have an allergy to fish and can suffer from anaphylaxis if I eat it, and the smell of fish makes me nauseated.

After bringing in a doctor’s note (required by my teacher), I was excused from the physical dissection and allowed to use the “new” virtual dissection program on the class computer. It was one of the most boring and un-educational experiences in my biology career. The interface was horrible, the animation and graphics looked terrible, and after pointing out an organ, it would disappear from the screen and never re-appear.

Suffice to say, I learned nothing.

For the end of year exam, we had questions based upon the animal specimens we dissected, and I knew nothing about the perch. My memory was blank, because the dissection did not hold my attention. In fact, I had to spend a lot of time reading and re-reading the textbook and notes to understand it. But, with the earthworm and locust, I remembered the dissections vividly because I experienced it and made notes based on my observations, not those of other people.

I was disappointed I did not get the chance to dissect a fish, but with my allergy, I understood the precautions. But, I was determined that the next time I had to dissect a fish, I would find a way to do it.

My next shot would not appear until the end of the Animals course.

That course took us through all major groups of animals, and each lab was devoted to a different type of phylum. As part of the course, we got to dissect and observe a lot of different animals, from nematodes to locusts, which all culminated in the massive two-day dissection of a dogfish shark.

The spiny dogfish shark (Genus Squalus)

Knowing this was coming, I spoke to my professor and we took all types of precautions: I had a change of clothes in case anything got on me, my Epi-Pen was nearby on the odd chance I had a reaction, and I wore less absorbent gloves. The precautions might sound a bit much, but the university, my professor and I did not want to take any chances. There were other options available to me, but I did not want to take it.

The experience with the dogfish shark was incredible, as we not only explored various organs, but also the circulatory system, eyes, reproductive organs and cranial nerves. The animal stunk to high heaven, and I had to excuse myself more than once to get away from the putrid smell, but it was a great experience.

In my life thus far, I have dissected countless animals, including a few rats, snakes, lizards, lots of insects (locusts, cockroaches, etc…), a sea urchin, some puffer fish and almost 100 frogs (a few Leopard frogs, but mostly Xenopus for my thesis).

Below, you will find a selection of some of the dissection drawings I did in the animal course. I am extremely proud of the crayfish and starfish ones, as my dissections and drawings were so good they were saved and used as demonstrations for other classes.

I spoke to a lot of my friends in real life and over Twitter about the dissection debate, and there was no consensus. But no one I talked to, even those who didn't go into science, said they despised the dissection component of their school experience. In fact, everyone said they either enjoyed the experience, or at least found it interesting

However, the debate over dissections will never go away. There will always be students who do not wish to participate and those who do. But, at least for me, the combination of hands-on experience and drawing what you see (not what you wish to see) helped cement me on my scientific career.

I could not possibly put it better than noted doctor and author Abraham Verghese on the subject of dissections in schools, “The living studying the dead. The dead instructing the living.”

Note: The topic of art in dissections came to mind when I read a recent blog post by a friend of mine, Andrea Kuszewski. She discussed how to create scientific-based art, as well as how it can be used to enhance learning. Since I will not win any awards for my art skills, far from it in fact, it was fascinating to read about the amazing learning experiences that can come up from an illustration and brought to mind the idea for this post.

Also, you can click on any of the illustrations in this post to see a high-quality version of my drawings (if you want to see that kind of thing).

The noble crayfish (Genus Cambarus)

The scorpion (Genus Centruoides) and the garden spider (Genus Argiope)

One of my proudest dissections ever performed - the starfish (Genus Asterias)

Week One: The Adventure Continues!

2011-02-22T08:54:00.000-08:00

Before I get to the update on my adventure into writing a novel, I had another article published in the Scientific American Guest Blog about so-called "ugly animals."

In the spirit of February (the month of "love"), I decided to write a post dedicated to animals that may not be the cutest or most lovable, but still deserve some love ... or at least respect. You can read the whole article, entitled "Ugly Animals Need Love, Too" by just clicking here.

Now, onto the main event - The Epic Writing Adventure continues (Week One)!

I decided against blogging my progress every day, as that could be rather boring, with instead doing a weekly catch-up post to tell you how I have been doing in this little adventure.

Last week, I picked up the 15 or more pages I had written on "The Black" about a year and a half ago, and read all five chapters (plus the prelude) and noticed something. There were a lot of consistent themes and errors throughout my rough draft.

But, equipped with a red pen for corrections and a blue for added content, I persevered. And there were some substantial changes that were made, especially in the first few chapters and prelude.

The greatest asset, that I have found, was an outline of the story I wrote almost two years ago on my computer at work during the summer of 2009. There I laid out all the main characters, the overall narrative structure of the plot, and even some dialogue I wanted for important scenes. If you learn anything from this, or are attempting the writing adventure on your own, an outline is a great thing to have (even if it is just a few points written down).

An outline helps you with flow, but most importantly, organization. The worst novels I have ever read were just scattered thoughts, like buck shot fired at a target. Just random thoughts thrown into a rough narrative structure.

You don't want to end up with this - just a random assortment of plot points

I am at almost 7,000 words at the moment, and I am still going strong.

I have also decided to throw you, my faithful readers, a few tidbits of information about the novel. As I know you are all looking forward to reading it when it's done!

First off, the main character's name is Roger Wilks, and he is a lab technician at an experimental biotech company, testing various drugs on animals. He also recently broke up with his girlfriend, which shattered him to the very core. He needs something to grasp onto in his life, and so he dove into work. But that was not what he needed. He needs friends, a purpose and a mission.

Lastly, the themes of fate versus free will and the subject of destiny play a significant role in the novel, as (eventually) Roger is confronted with two branching paths: one that has been laid out before him, and one he must forge himself.

Which will he choose? Which would any of us choose?

The Beginning of the End

2011-02-08T12:15:00.000-08:00

With The Definitive Answers going strong, this seems like the perfect time to pile on even more onto my plate (but I couldn't be more excited!)

As long-time readers know, I began writing a novel in the summer of 2009 entitled, "The Black." It all started with a few sentences I wrote down at my job, that blossomed into a chapter that quickly became a whole synopsis of a novel. And so, I began to write.

On the right side of my blog, you will see the first five chapters of The Black, which people have shown genuine interest in me finishing. However, when school started once again that fall, it went on the back burner. It was never forgotten, just often swept-aside in favour of other projects.

But, that time has ended.

In collaboration with a friend on Twitter (@genegeek), this is the start of what we are calling, "The Epic Writing Adventure."

The rules are simple:
1) Write a novel that totals at least 30,000 words (or write your thesis – just set a goal)
2) We have exactly one month to do it (February 16th - March 16th)
3) To monitor our progress, follow me (@davidmanly) and @genegeekon Twitter, or simply search #TheEWA hash-tag on Twitter
4) After the month, we will edit the novels and perhaps even look into ways to publish
5) ANYONE is welcome to join in on the writing adventure!
6) This adventure is open to both fiction and non-fiction, or even any type of long-form journalism or thesis.

If we get enough people involved with this, we will design a badge for your blog or wall so you can marvel at your great accomplishment once we're done!

And simply because you have read the first few parts of my novel that I have put on my blog, doesn’t mean you know how the story begins. What I wrote before was simply a rough draft to keep me writing … you haven’t seen anything yet.

Things will be changed, edited, moved around, but the core story will stay the same:

“The Black” tells a story of a young lab assistant, who after a lab accident begins to view his past in flashes, starting from the moment of the accident to when he was born. But, the thing is, memories do not stop surfacing. Memories from before he was even born …”

Stay tuned for more!

The Definitive Answers

2011-02-03T13:44:00.000-08:00

This marks the official beginning of my question experiment which I have decided to call, "The Definitive Answers." You like it?

Are you ready? Let's get started!

Out of all the questions I have received at askdavidquestions@gmail.com, I chose three for the official first post. If I did not select your question, do not worry, as I will get to them all soon!

Thank you all for your questions, keep them coming and help me spread the word!

Enjoy :)

It's A Brand New Day

2011-01-26T12:29:00.000-08:00

It's a brand new day of a brand new year with a (somewhat) brand new blog!

But before I get to the reveal of The definitive host 3.0 upgrade, I have some other news to share first.

I have another post up on the Scientific American Guest Blog, this time about some of my favourite animals - Snakes!
The post is entitled, "Biting the hand that feeds: The evolution of snake venom." I had an absolute blast writing it, and I hope you will all enjoy reading it.

Now, on to the main event. But instead of you reading what is coming up with my blog, let me tell you.

That's right, this blog will now have a significant amount of time spent answering YOUR science questions that you have always wondered about but never quite understood. Is there anything you or anyone who know has always wondered about?

So go ahead, ask away!

I will try to answer each and every question I get, and if I cannot, I will find someone who can. But, for this to succeed, I need your help. Promote this blog, get people involved, and I think this could turn into something really, really special (but only if you help).

Please submit questions to: askdavidquestions@gmail.com

Thank you, and stay tuned!

A New Year, A New Start and New Possibilities

2011-01-05T07:40:00.000-08:00

Happy 2011 everyone!

It is five days into the new year, and I hope everyone is still sticking to their New Year's resolutions (or at least trying to).

I am excited and thrilled to say that the new year has started off with a bang, as something I wrote was chosen to be out on the Scientific American Guest Blog.

Yes, one of the most prestigious science magazines asked me to write a post, and I said yes without hesitation. But, now I was faced with the daunting task of what to write about.

Those of you who read my blog regularly know that in the summer of 2009, I embarked on a journey to South Dakota for my Masters of Journalism project to find an endangered species. My adventures were a very interesting one, and I always thought that there was more than enough material for my project as well as another article.

I pitched it to SciAm, and they loved it!

So, here is a more in-depth look at me spending a few days with "The Ferret Hunters"

Twelve Months of Manly

2010-12-14T18:47:00.000-08:00

I have decided to do something which I have yet to do here on my blog, and that is participate in an Internet fad, which in this case is called "Twelve Months."

The rules are simple:
-Post the link and first sentence from the first blog entry for each month of the past year.

So, let's see what turns up!

January:
Two interesting things have happened to me over the past few days. (I had just gotten a letter in the mail from the Prime Minister's Office)

February:
Yeah, I know it's been a while. Yeah, I know you all have been eagerly awaiting my next post. (Posted all my tweets about the science conference I went to)

March:

April:
NO Posts (Had just graduated and began looking for work in earnest)

May:
Welcome, welcome, welcome! (Changed the name of my blog to "The definitive host" from "Musings of a Manly.")

June:
Sorry for the long delay between posts, but it's gotten surprisingly hectic over here. (Posted my Masters project on black-footed ferrets)

July:
NO Posts (Working for someone in Texas)

August:
NO Posts (Went to Europe)

September:
NO Posts (Started a new full-time job, and did not make me want to write even more)

October:
Hey there folks, sorry for my prolonged absence! (Posted all the links to my LabSpaces posts that I had been making over the past few months)

November:
NO Posts (Sorry ... but the job was eating up a lot of time)

December:
Are there aliens among us? (About the Arsenic Aliens story)

Quite the busy year, eh?

But don't you worry, as this trend of months going by without a post shall continue no more!
One of my New Year's Resolutions is to write more on my blog, as well as workout more and finish my novel ... it's going to be a great year :)

Aliens and Arsenic: A Love Story

2010-12-04T11:52:00.000-08:00

NOTE: THIS POST IS TAKEN FROM MY NEWEST LABSPACES POST WHICH CAN BE FOUND HERE

Are there aliens among us?

Short answer – No, at least not yet.

Despite the journalistic frenzy that was the NASA press conference held a few days ago, the paper published in the journal Science about a rather unique organism that was hailed as “extraterrestrial” by the news media fell short of its promise.

Sadly, the organism they discuss is clearly terrestrial, albeit an odd one.

In the paper, the author’s discuss a bacterium that was able to use the element arsenic instead of phosphorus, but I’m getting ahead of myself. First, a little information is needed regarding DNA.

DNA possesses a backbone of a phosphate bound to a sugar molecule. The phosphate is a phosphorous atom bound to four oxygen atoms. Now remember this, it is important.

Arsenic, which is directly below phosphorus on the periodic table, shares many of the same properties with phosphorous. In fact, arsenic can bind with four oxygen atoms to create arsenate, which behaves in a very similar way to phosphate.

Now, what the researchers did in the science paper was go to Mono Lake in California and find an “extremophile” bacteria, which is a bacteria that can survive in extremely harsh conditions (such as very high salt, temperature, high concentrations of acid, etc…). The scientists then isolated a strain of the bacteria in the lab and began to examine it.

In the lab, the researchers fed the bacteria essential nutrients, including phosphate, with little arsenic. Then, they gradually removed phosphate and replaced it with increasing concentrations of arsenic.
Over time, there was no phosphate left in the nutrients and only arsenic. By probing the DNA and proteins of the bacteria, they found that the organisms were using arsenate instead of phosphate.

Basically, they had created arsenic-based life. They did not find arsenic-based life, but had experimentally created it.

This is where the news media got it wrong.

It’s just like my mom when she got me to eat spinach. She would place a few leaves of spinach into a salad, saying it was a different type of lettuce, and I would eat it all together and not be able to tell the difference. Gradually, the salads became more and more spinach and less lettuce, until there was no lettuce left.

When asked if I liked the ‘salad’ and I replied with a big yes, did my mother admit that there was no lettuce in the salad - just spinach. From then on, I began to eat spinach.

See, the bacteria uses phosphate just like us. They prefer it!

But, they are adapted to live in Mono Lake, which has high concentrations of arsenic (the ability to survive there is amazing in and of itself), and can incorporate it into their biological mechanisms when absolutely necessary.

Also, by taking a look at a diagram from the paper below, you can see that all was not well with the arsenate bacteria. In fact, the arsenic bacteria (D) took longer to grow than their phosphate counterparts (C), despite their increased size.

As well, the arsenic-reared bacteria had huge vacuoles (fluid filled sacs) within them. What those sacs mean is up to interpretation, as arsenic-based compounds are not very durable in water. Perhaps it was to segregate water from the fragile compounds?

Suffice to say, the discovery was cool, but it is not extraterrestrial life. It was alien, but not unlike a genetically altered E. coli or Drosophila.

Other questions also rise up regarding a phosphate-free existence:
-       What about ATP/ADP/AMP?
-       Were there traces amounts of phosphorous used in such low amounts that they were undetectable?
-       What about all other DNA replication, translation and transcription?

This research is interesting, and has some great potential, but is lightyears away from proof of extraterrestrial life.

Here is the paper from Science:
Wolfe-Simon, F., Blum, J., Kulp, T., Gordon, G., Hoeft, S., Pett-Ridge, J., Stolz, J., Webb, S., Weber, P., Davies, P., Anbar, A., & Oremland, R. (2010). A Bacterium That Can Grow by Using Arsenic Instead of Phosphorus Science DOI: 10.1126/science.1197258

Also, here is a great article written by Carl Zimmer about the discovery, where he actually interviewed the lead author and researcher in the paper:
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/

What I've Been Up To Lately ...

2010-10-19T13:56:00.000-07:00

Hey there folks, sorry for my prolonged absence!

I assure you, I have been extremely busy with juggling my four jobs, and as you can probably guess, they keep me pretty darn busy. So, I have decided to do something about it.

From now on, whenever I make a post on another website, I will link to it here. That way, everyone can see just how hard I've been working.

So, here are the link to all my latest posts for LabSpaces, starting with my very first one on the effects of the Gulf oil spill entitled, "The Effects of Oil on Wildlife."

My next post was about the unique research currently being undertaken with snakes, called "It's What's on the Inside that Counts."

Following that, there was a lot of news about the World Cup of Soccer. So, I decided to take a very interesting look at a rather unique animal involved in the World Cup - An octopus named Paul in "Ink-credible Invertebrates."

Then, dabbling into a field in which I have enormous interest (infectious diseases), I decided to write a post about a rather unique way scientists are fighting malaria. The post was entitled "All the Bite, Without the Risk."

After being asked by numerous people that read my blog on LabSpaces, I then decided to tell them all just "A Little Bit About Me."

Before I went on my trip to UK and Europe (which was AMAZING), I was fortunate enough to be able to watch the greatest tv of the year - Discovery Channel's Shark Week. Inspired, I wrote about what I believe to be "The Best Week of the Year."

Upon returning the Canada, there was one story about my trip that I felt like I must share with those who read my LabSpaces blog. It happened to me in London, in a very old Abbey, called Westminster. Read all about what happened to me in "An Unexpected Surprise in London."

In my continuing quest to try something new, I decided to use my brand new iMac and put up a video review of a book that the author had sent to me. Check out "My First Ever Video Book Review!"

Every month from now on, LabSpaces creates unique questions for the bloggers to answer. The one for this month was "what you would do if you weren't doing what you're doing now?" So, read the rather interesting answer of mine in "What I'd be doing if I wasn't doing science - A Musical."

Lastly, my most recent post was about how horses have adapted to run, and why when they fall, it is often an injury that they cannot recover from (the post was inspired by seeing the movie "Secretariat," starring Diane Lane and John Malkovich).
My newest post is called "Off to the Races!"

Whenever I write a new post, I will post the link here for all to see.

Until then, you stay classy!

My Absence Explained!

2010-06-28T17:17:00.000-07:00

I am sorry I have been away these past few weeks, but I assure you, I have a very good reason!

The week before my Master's of Journalism graduation, I got offered a few opportunities to keep me busy. And since then, I have gotten three different jobs with three quite different websites. That is why I have not been blogging, as I have been quite busy writing content for these various websites.

So, I decided that I will list them here (as well as under my recently published articles area), so that you all can keep tabs on my latest works without me updating my blog every day.

1) The first opportunity that came my way was through Twitter. I had been speaking to the owner and operator of a website for many months, and she came up with a brilliant idea - to have two people watch the TV show "Lost" from the very beginning, one that has seen the show before and one that has not. The website is called the Geek Girls Network, and I have become their very first male contributor :)

Now, in case you didn't know, I have been a large fan of Lost since the beginning, so I was offered the role of the veteran in this little experiment - hence the name of the posts, "Lost for Veterans."

The introduction to the posts can be found here, while the first post (covering the first half of season one), can be found here.

The posts will be updated every week or two, so check the website (www.geekgirlsnetwork.com) regularly.

2) The second job also came from Twitter, as a friend of mine re-tweeted that a website was looking for another writer to add daily content on a wide variety of nerdy topics (such as pop culture, movies, interesting stuff found on the internet, TV shows, video games, and much more). So, I applied, and after a few days of seeing what I could do, they hired me!

The website is called Nerdbastards, and you can check out the link below to look at my profile, and see all the latest articles I was written for the site. I write stuff every day, so please check back as often as you can, as there is something for everyone on the site.

Here's the link: David Manly's Profile

3) And lastly, as this job just began this past week, is a weekly science blog on the website LabSpaces. I had been communicating with the owner and operator for a while over Twitter, and when he re-designed his website, we came up with the idea of having weekly updated content from individuals with knowledge on a particular field. I was offered to write posts about zoology and ecology, which as you know my blog, are two great obsessions of mine.

Without a any hesitation, I accepted and I put up my first post yesterday regarding the effects of oil on wildlife in the Gulf region. Please give it a read, as it was an absolute pleasure to write. The link can be found here.

If I do not update my blog as often as I should, I apologize, but it will primarily be because of all the time spent doing these three jobs. So, if you'd like to know what I'm working on, check those three sites! And feel free to comment on any and all posts, as I really do appreciate your feedback.

Lastly, I must say, all three of these jobs were presented to me due to my presence on Twitter. For those people who said it was a waste of time, I say, "Oh, really?"

Black-footed ferret project COMPLETE

2010-06-12T21:16:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the long delay between posts, but it's gotten surprisingly hectic over here.

I've got a few things on my plate that are keeping me busy, and some will be posted here (as well as on other sites as well), so I will keep you posted.

But, I just wanted to direct you to a project of mine that began while I was finishing up my Master's of Journalism degree. The project deals with the plight of the endangered North American black-footed ferret, a cute mammal that has been in danger for many, many years.

I decided to create a multimedia website devoted to discovering what happened to cause its classification of endangered, what is being done in the United States and Canada and what the future could hold for the magnificent animal.

Thanks to an intrepid young web-designer and all the fellow students and professors who helped me out with this project, it became something that I am immensely proud of.

So please, do go check out all the video's, slideshows, text and photo galleries I have there ... and learn about an animal that needs our help.

Check out: "Back from the brink: The story of the North American black-footed ferret."

Lost in LOST

2010-05-27T13:26:00.000-07:00

NOTE: If you do not watch LOST, or have not watched the series finale yet, please be advised that this post may not be for you.

If you follow me on Twitter, you know that I have been an avid watcher of the TV show LOST since the very beginning. I was amazed throughout the entire first season, slightly disappointed with the second, and was heavily disheartened by the third. But, when the third season ended with one of the best scenes, I once again dared to hope.

The fourth season got much better, and continued into the fifth. This last and final season, number six for the series, had its ups and downs, but changed up the formula in a very interesting way. And, last Sunday, it aired its final episode.

Recently, I re-watched the final episode and took notes to address some of the good, the bad, and the weepy sprinkled throughout the episode. Also, each segment will be divided by an important quote (in bold) from the episode.

And be warned, SPOILER ALERT!

For my re-watch, since I already knew the ending to the story, I was able to keep an eye out for some references that didn't occur to me during my initial watch, but gently hinted at the stepping stone answer.

Firstly, the ending has been discussed by countless people and will continue to be debated for a long time to come. People have praised it, and people have chastised it, but you all have to appreciate what they did. This is my attempt to explain it to those of you who are confused (I will get to the rest of the episode in a bit).

I've been told lots of random theories about the ending from friends, and this is my take on what makes the most sense.

Jack - "There are no shortcuts, no do-overs. What happened, happened. Trust me, I know. All of this matters."

The quote speak volumes. Just like they did with the nuclear bomb explosion at the end of the last season, they could NOT simply re-do the timeline and forget everything that we had seen on the island. Everything that happened on the island was important to their growth as individuals.

One of the most important things to realize about the flash-sideways, is that TIME is RELATIVE.

Just because we were seeing them all together at the same time as the "present" time on the island, does not mean they were happening simultaneously. With the flash-sideways universe (much better name than purgatory or way-station or stepping stone in my opinion), time no longer matters to you. When you die, time ceases to exist.

While Jack died in the forest, many survivors of Oceanic flight 815 lived many years and died at their own time. One example clearly illustrates this from when Ben and Hurley were talking at the church.

Hurley - "You were a real good number two."
Ben - "And you were a great number one, Huge."

This hints that they lived many years after Jack's final moments on the island, perhaps even centuries after.
NOTE: It has been revealed that on the complete series box set, there will be a special feature (about 10-14 minutes long) about the Ben and Hurley years on the island

Another note on the ending - I would have preferred someone else in the Deus Ex Machina role, other than Christian Sheppard. I believe Desmond, as our guide through the time-space continuum, would have been an amazing fit.

But, that said, the conversation between them in the multi-faith church (did you notice all the faith symbols scattered across the room and in the stained glass window? See the picture above) had a lot to cover and I thought they did it relatively well. It involved a lot of careful wording to let the audience know what was going on, and while they painted with broad strokes as to not focus on any religion to much, it was a little heavy handed at times.

Here's the entire church conversation between Jack and Christian for you to examine:

Christian: Hello Jack.
Jack: I don’t understand. You died.
C: Yeah. Yes I did.
J: Then how are you here right now?
C: How are YOU here?
J: [realization hits] I died, too.
C: That’s OK. It’s OK, son [hugs]. I love you son
J: I love you, too, Dad. Are you real?
C: I sure hope so. Yeah, I’m real. You’re real, everything that’s ever happened to you is real. All those people in the church. They’re all real, too.
J: They’re all dead?
C: Everyone dies some time, kiddo. Some have been before you, some long after you.
J: Why are they all here now?
C: There is no now, here.
J: Where are we, Dad?
C: This is a place that you’ve all made together so that you could find one another. The most important part of your life was the time that you spent with these people. That’s why all of you are here. Nobody dies alone, Jack. You needed all of them, and they needed you.
J: For what?
C: To remember, and to... let go.
J: Kate... she said we were leaving.
C: Not leaving, no. Moving on.
J: Where are we going?
C: Let’s go find out.

What I think you need to take from all of this, is that the theme of this season was all about letting go and moving on. Think about that for a second: Letting go, and Moving On.

Every main character from season one let go of their personal baggage and was able to move onwards. These are only the main Losties who were at the church in the end and were characters from season one onwards.

Sawyer - Killed the real Sawyer and found love
Sayid - Embraced who he was and found redemption in love
Kate - Finally stopped running, and found love
Hurley - Found his purpose (helping people) and found love
Locke - Finally accepted that which he could not change and accepted help
Jack - Embraced his destiny and his true purpose, and yes, found love
Charlie - Embraced his destiny and found love
Claire - Embraced motherhood and found love
Sun - Became a more independent and self-sustaining woman, and re-affirmed her love
Jin - Realized that work was not all the was to his life, and re-affirmed his love

**I am not including Shannon or Boone, as their story lines were not as prevalent as the others**

Do you see a pattern there? Love. While it may not necessarily be romantic love, but I think it is more about a connection. To be "woken up," it needs to be done by someone who had a profound impact upon your life.

These awakenings caused a lot of crying by millions of people. Therefore, here they are in order (for those interested).

1) Sun and Jin remember in the hospital
2) Sayid and Shannon in the alley
3) Kate, Charlie and Claire giving birth to Aaron
4) Locke in the hospital moving his toe
5) Sawyer and Juliet at the vending machine
6) Locke and Ben outside the church (not an "awakening," but still very moving)
7) Hurley and Ben outside the church (also not an "awakening," but very emotional)
7) Jack and Christian

Desmond - "No one can tell you why you are here but you"

Now, here are a few unanswered questions from the finale that were quite obvious to me upon a second viewing.

- Did everyone when they were "awakened" remember their deaths?
- Was Richard indeed ageing (remember the grey hair?) because of Jacob passing on his duties to Jack?
- How did Lapidus survive being struck by a large door underwater in a submarine, make it to the surface on pontoons and wait for rescue for a day or two?
- How did Boone "awaken"?
- How did the cave turn the Man in Black into the Smoke Monster, if he was unconscious (or dead) and all that is down there is a pool with a cork in it?
- If Eloise in the flash-sideways universe knew that it was a type of purgatory, why didn't she leave when she "awoke"?
- Why didn't Miles, Farraday or Charlotte "awaken"?
- Why after Jack and Smoke-Locke's battle did it suddenly stop raining?
- Why didn't Jack bless the water in the Oceanic bottle before giving it to Hurley (like Jacob did for him, and his mother did for Jacob)?
- Wouldn't Richard be more terrified by being on an airplane for the first time in his life?
- Why did Kate change from her dress at the concert (and the one she was wearing in the car with Jack), to another one in the church?

Hurley - "It takes as long as it takes."

With all those answered question from the finale, and all the countless mysteries that were left unsolved (there are tons), what did I think?

I believe that Lost ended the only way it could have - focused on the characters. Every main character had a few moments in the massive finale, and saw their personal stories get resolved before moving on.

Do not get me wrong, I love science fiction and was thrilled when they introduced time-travel, alternate universe, etc... into Lost. But, what you always must remember, is that Lost is a show about people. Granted, the people are in rather bizarre situations on an island with killer black smoke that can assume the form of the deceased.

One final note - for those who watched in the U.S. or did not see ads for what was coming up next on television, your probably saw something like this:

It was released yesterday that it was NOT planned by the producers or creators of the show. The final shot was supposed to be on Jack's eye, and that was it. The images of the Oceanic flight wreckage was placed their by ABC executives to give viewers a chance to collect themselves and think before the news. These shots, however, let some people to believe that no one survived the initial place crash and the entire thing was a lie.

It was not their intention, just an ill-fated decision by ABC executives. It all still happened.

With all the good, bad and mysteries left unexplained, Lost was still a very impressive show. But, it was not perfect and they did stumble quite a few times ... remember Jack's tattoo episode?

Still, it was a hell of a ride.

David
The definitive host

FEED ME!

2010-05-20T13:18:00.000-07:00

Plants never quite held an interest to me. I understood their vital roles in the ecosystem, I admired their beauty and their survival in the harshest of climates, and I spent a long time learning how they grow, evolve and reproduce.

But, they never were able to keep my interest compared to animals, which is why I studied zoology and not botany.

However, there are a few species of plants that I do like, and here they are:

Sundew

From the family Droseraceae, these plants look and act in an interesting way. At first glance, they appear to have some dew on the ends of their long leaves. But, like most plants, looks can be deceiving - they are true killers.

The droplets of dew are not dew at all, but a sticky substance known as mucilage that will trap any unlucky insect that happens to be attracted to the glistening globs.

Once the insect touches down to sample the fake dew, the true marvel of the Sundew is revealed. The plant then contorts its tentacles to the centre of the leaf, and traps the insect with a barrage of sticky globs of mucilage.

Once the insect is cornered, there is no escape.

It is survival of the fittest at its best.

Pitcher Plant

In researching the pitcher plant for this blog, I came upon something very interesting, but I will get to that after the description.

Examining the pitcher plant (most of which fall within the Family Sarraceniaceae), nothing too extraordinary leaps out, other than their long tube. They seem perfectly innocent upon first glance. But, these plants are a marvel of evolution.

The pitchers live in nutrient deficient areas, like most other carnivorous plants, and have to supplement with the only other source available - live prey. What makes the pitcher plants so unique is the way they go about it, which is distinctly less active than the Sundew.

The leaf attracts insects with the promise of nectar, which is located on the underside of the leaf, right above the mouth of the tube. If the insect strays too far to reach the sweet nectar, it falls into the pit below and drowns in water. It is then dissolved and used as food for the plant.

No fuss, no muss.

And what was the surprise I discovered? The species known as the purple pitcher plant, Sarracenia purpurea, is of great importance to one part of Canada.

According to the website, newfoundlandlabrador.com, the pitcher plant is of great importance.

"For many Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, the pitcher plant represents a flexibility and distinctiveness that we associate with. In 1954, the Newfoundland Cabinet designated this unusual and interesting plant as the official flower of the province."

Venus Fly Trap

No list of carnivorous plants could be complete without this magnificent example. It is likely the most famous killer plant, and it cannot be denied that it is one of the most impressive example of unique adaptations and predatory strategies.

The Venus Fly Trap (Dionaea muscipula), like the Sundew and Pitcher plants, primarily digests insects and arachnids.

The trap is set up like all the others, with a lure of sweet nectar. But, the fly trap possesses many minuscule hairs strewn along it. If an animal contacts more than one within a few seconds, it triggers an action potential that causes the trap to be sprung.

The closure of the plant is quick, and creates a prison from which escape is not likely, and then the prey is slowly digested.

Here is a video showing Pitcher plants and Venus fly traps in action, featuring none other than the amazing David Attenborough:

And, for those who are interested, here is a website where you can BUY Sundews, Pitcher plants and even Venus fly traps!

http://www.flytrapcare.com/store/

By the way, the title of the blog is an homage to the movie "Little Shop of Horrors," which features a very large killer plant that needs human blood to grow.

David
The definitive host

You have nothing to fear ...

2010-05-12T11:51:00.000-07:00

I was almost done this post yesterday, but my browser crashed, and for some reason, it did not save. SO, I had to start the entire post again from scratch.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Two weeks ago, I saw the re-booted Nightmare on Elm Street movie that was just released, and while it was not a bad movie, it was not good either. They tried to emulate the original, which was the one thing I had hoped that they would not do.

However, when I left the movie, I began to think about just how powerful fear is. After all, we have all been frozen by fear at some point in our lives. You may put on a brave face, you may try to hide it ... but it's true.

But, what exactly is fear? Why is it so important? And why do people love being scared so much?

To find out, I spoke to Andrea Letamendi, a psychologist who specializes in treating patients with anxiety, phobic and traumatic disorders.

Letamendi says that fear is an important biological response, as it primes the body against a perceived threat in order to survive. "We rely on the experience of fear as an indicator," she says. "It's a sign that we need to flee or fight."

The fight or flight response is a mechanism that allows us to quickly metabolize a great deal of energy to step back and flee, or step forward and fight. This is shown by an increased heart rate, tunnel vision, increased blood flow to the large muscles, and the release of a chemical known as epinephrine, more commonly known as adrenaline.

The brain interprets any and all threats in a similar way, whether it is a relatively benign perceived threat (such as public speaking) or an extremely dangerous one (like a hungry cougar about to pounce).

This cartoon, aside from its terrible animation, gives a pretty good explanation about the fight or flight response.

Click Here

However, fear is only useful when the proper responses are activated and you learn from the experience. According to Letamendi, "anxiety and phobic disorders are a result of poor interpretations of the physical fear response - a dysfunction in perception of fear."

Letamendi also says that the reason why scary movies and haunted houses are so popular, is because the individuals who enjoy them realize that it is in a controlled environment, and that they are safe. But, it must be noted that not everyone responds to fearful stimuli in the same way.

"Not everyone gets pleasure out of feeling fear," says Letamendi.
"Not everyone likes getting scared."

But, fear is a powerful emotion. It can make the most banal activity to you seem an insurmountable obstacle to others.

Even Letamendi admits she is terrified of Freddy Kruger and will never see those movies, despite all her knowledge and training.

But the real question is: do we truly have nothing to fear, but fear itself?

Sleep tight.

David
The definitive host

Welcome to Blog 2.0!

2010-05-11T07:49:00.000-07:00

Welcome, welcome, welcome!

As you have most likely noticed, there are a few things different about my blog, so let me walk you through the changes.

1) The colour scheme has been slightly altered. Nothing dramatic, just a few tweeks here and there

2) I have a rather large picture at the top of my blog from my undergraduate thesis. It is an immuno-histochemical stain of a cross section of a frog kidney, with different colours representing different components within.
Blue shows DNA, red is for tight junction proteins (which holds cells together), and lastly, green stands for the sodium-potassium ATPase pump (which controls the levels of sodium and potassium within the blood).

3) The title has dramatically been changed.

My blog is no longer entitled, "Musings of a Manly."

It served me well in the two and a half years I have had this blog, but as Bob Dylan says, "The times, they are a changin'."

Let me explain.

I started this blog when I was finishing up my undergraduate degree in Biology, and was simply looking for an outlet for my writing. I wrote about anything that came to mind, but since my life focused around school, that was one of the prevalent topics.

However, since I will be receiving a Master's degree in Journalism in a few short weeks, it was time to change this blog to something more akin to what I want to do as a career. For anyone who has met me, you all know what that is - science journalism.

Therefore, I wanted a title that had a scientific meaning to it, but that a normal person could say and understand in some way, shape or form.

Numerous ideas came up, and were seriously considered. Some of the options were: Blog-ology, View from the lab bench, and Occam's Razor.

And then, while thinking about parasites (which I do quite often), I came up with the current title of my blog - The definitive host.

The title, even if you have not studied science, still makes sense. However, if you know anything about epidemiology, the study of diseases, then it has added meaning.

4) And lastly, the most significant change will be the content.

While it will still be my blog, the focus will shift from my life to a more focused view on science and that which I find interesting. While I will primarily write about all aspects of science that peak my interest, I will also discuss movies, video games, technology, comics, etc...

I do not expect all of you to continue reading my blog because of these changes, especially those of you who have no interest in reading about science or technology, but I urge you to give it a chance.

Thank you, and I hope you enjoy what I write!

Signed,

David
The definitive host

P.S. And yes, I pick up the pen and start writing "The Black" again, as I know some of you have been anxiously waiting to see what I have in store for you. Have no fear, the next part is coming!!!

Taking Aim

2010-03-25T09:30:00.000-07:00

This is a piece of personal journalism that I wrote for one of my classes, and I very much enjoyed writing it. So, I hope you enjoy reading it as well :)

A few years back, I decided to try something new.

When people say that, they will usually buy new clothes or shoes, or perhaps go to a different type of restaurant. Not me.

No, back when I worked the summer at Camp Wahanowin as the head of Nature, I decided to try something I had always dreamt of doing, but never had the chance. Something I had only seen in movies and read about in books.

I wanted to learn archery.

Something about the feel of an arrow in your hand, the weight of a quiver on your shoulders, and the sound of a bow as you released the arrow into the air enthralled me.

I was determined to learn.

So, at breakfast one day I approached the head of archery, Brandon, and asked if he had any free time this morning to give me a lesson. He looked at me for a moment, smiled a crooked smile, and told me to be there for second period.

After breakfast I walked towards the Nature building, which was a large outdoor paddock with a small shed where I kept all the animals. Or, as the kids began to affectionately call it, "Creepies and Cuddlies," due to the wide variety of creatures I had in my care. I fed and cleaned the cages of all the animals, everything from a chinchilla and rabbits to a ball python and tarantula.

Once done, I grabbed my water bottle, locked up the animal shed, and cut across the baseball field towards the other side of the camp, where archery was located.

Archery was by far the largest area in the camp, and was comprised of two large fields at its front and back, and a large wooden wall between the two, covered with hay.

In front of the hay were three large and pristine archery targets that had yet to be hit by arrows. Looking around, I noticed Brandon re-stringing a bow under a tent, listening to the soothing music of the Beatles.

After handing me the bow, Brandon grabbed a handful of arrows, placed them in a quiver, and walked towards an orange line spray-painted on the grass.

He then demonstrated the proper way to hold the bow, notch the arrow, and how far to draw back the string before releasing it.

"Aiming," said Brandon pointing at his near-perfect shot, "comes after learning how to shoot."

"How very Zen," I quipped, as I grabbed an arrow with yellow and orange feathers.

Imitating what Brandon did, and channelling my inner Robin Hood, I pulled back the
string, made sure my elbow was kept straight, and released.

TWANG!
"OW!"
THWACK!

I dropped the bow and looked at my left arm. My inside forearm was red and raw from the string of the bow hitting the exposed flesh. And even worse, my arrow had not even hit the target. It was a good six feet to the left.

Laughing, Brandon handed me a piece of leather with two straps.

"I forgot to give you an arm guard," he said with a wink, "to protect your non-draw back arm. But, you'll never make that mistake again, will you?"
Wincing, I strapped the piece of leather to my injured forearm, and tried it again.

TWANG! ... THWACK!

Three feet.

"Take a breath before you fire, and exhale as you release the arrow," said Brandon, channeling his inner Yoda.

"Yes sensei," I chuckled.

Calming myself, I drew another arrow out of the quiver and notched it onto the string. Taking a breath, I drew it back and closed my right eye, focusing my left on the yellow bullseye.

TWANG! ... THWACK!

I couldn't believe it; I had actually hit the target. It was the outer white rim, of course, and only worth one point, but nonetheless, there was a hole.

I continued to take more arrows from the quiver and fire them at the target, while Brandon fixed the various broken bows and arrows that were in a large pile inside the tent.

We continued with this routine over the next few weeks. My improvement was slow, but steady. Brandon would watch occasionally, giving me pointers here and there, but pretty well left me alone to hone my skill.

One day at Nature, while I was about to feed a rat to the ball python the campers lovingly named Mr. Squeeze, Brandon stopped by and told me some interesting news.

"There's going to be a councillor-only archery contest before camp ends," he said while staring at the snake dislocating its mouth to feed on the frozen rat. "You should enter, you've definitely improved."

"How long do I have to practice?" I said anxiously.

"About a week or so. You in?"

"Definitely," I said, smiling.

I decided to keep on practicing as hard as I could, and hope that I would do well.

I practiced whenever I could fit it in, whether it was dawn, lunchtime, or dusk. I was committed.

When the day of the competition finally came, for pure fun, I had gone to the drama department and was dressed in a rather appropriate costume: Robin Hood.

The competition proceeded in rounds like most do, and either by pure luck or sheer skill (I'm still not sure which), I ended up in the championship round. It was, hilariously, between different heads of camp programs: Swimming, archery, nature, canoeing and riflery.

We lined up in a row, pulled arrows from our quivers, and took aim at our own individual targets. The closest one to the bullseye would win.

I closed my right eye, took a deep breath while I pulled the string back, and released.

TWANG! ... THWACK!

Not Your Average Microbe - A Review of SUPERBUG by Maryn McKenna

2010-03-21T14:54:00.000-07:00

Based on my background, as well as my thesis, many people assume that I am an animal guy through and through. Granted, my thesis was on frog salinity tolerance, and I know quote a bit about a vast majority of animals – but that is not my only area of interest.

I took a microbiology course in 4th year, due in large part to my mother saying I would enjoy it and having a passive interest in how the so-called "lower organisms" worked.

Man, was I wrong.

I learned to love microbiology and learning about bacteria and viruses – how they work, how they kill, how they fight and how they die. It all interested me, and I soaked up all that information like a sponge.

If there would have been more microbiology courses at my university, I would have taken them and perhaps changed my thesis into something microbial. I still love learning about bacteria and viruses, and will take any opportunity to expand my existing knowledge base.

That is why I was thrilled to get an advanced copy of Maryn McKenna's new book SUPERBUG, coming out on March 23, 2010, which deals with the development of MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus).

MRSA is what is known as a superbug, it is multiple-drug resistant and impressively deadly. It takes massive amounts of drugs with often serious side-effects to even have a chance of beating it.

MRSA - Courtesy of GiantMicrobes.com

While it was historically known as a disease that only occurred in hospitals in people that were already suffering from a weakened immune system – that is no longer the case. A new completely different strain has come up that affects people who have not had any contact with hospitals. It is known as community-acquired MRSA, and is surprisingly lethal.

McKenna's style is aptly suited to this type of book, as there is a lot of medical jargon that requires a deft hand to explain to people with little to no knowledge in that particular area. This is accomplished through what I can only describe as a massive amount of interviews and research with individuals who have been affected by MRSA.

This book raises a lot of issues regarding the sanitary procedures performed at hospitals, the over-prescription of antibiotics in both people and animals, and the sheer speed in which MRSA can adapt.

Reading this book may seem like some sort of scare tactic, and it is. But it is the sort of thing people NEED to hear.

And the best way to do this is to let the people whose lives have been affected speak for themselves, and McKenna realized this and only breaks away from a narrative for context. Simply put, it is a superbly written science book that reads like a novel.

I don't want to spoil any of the surprises lurking within the book, and there are many regarding the health care industry, misplaced government spending and agricultural practices that would shock you.

There are also parts of this book which may be difficult to read if you are squeamish, specifically where she describes the various symptoms that people infected with MRSA had to deal with. And, not all the people you meet throughout the book survive, as MRSA is an indiscriminate killer.

SUPERBUG is a very impressive book that has some very important lessons to teach us about microbial evolution, and the huge effect it can have on the human population.

It's been a while ....

2010-02-28T18:53:00.000-08:00

Yeah, I know it's been a while. Yeah, I know you all have been eagerly awaiting my next post.

I know, and I apologize. But, this term has kept me incredibly busy, and when you spend every day reading and writing, its hard to get the motivation to do it for fun. If I were paid to do so, that would be different (and I am currently accepting sponsorship offers) ;)

So, here is something a little different.

For those of you who do not know, I am on Twitter (follow me! @davidmanly) and have become quite an avid Twitter-er.

Therefore, so you can all know what I was up to in San Diego ... here are my Tweets from when I left Ottawa for San Diego to my return.

Ohhh, and zoo pictures will be up soon :)

Enjoy!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In San Diego, getting ready to go to some receptions. Little nervous, as this is my first time to meet and talk with prof. writers 5:45 PM Feb 18th

Ok, off to shoot a video and then attend some receptions ... wish me luck! 5:54 PM Feb 18th

http://twitpic.com/140j6f - This door-knocker prevents disturbances and potential molesters from coming to you hotel 6:12 PM Feb 18th

http://twitpic.com/140myt - I saw the sign, I opened up my eyes and saw the sign ... 6:32 PM Feb 18th

'Think Canada' button is firmly on my chest. Wooo Canada! #aaas 8:43 PM Feb 18th

Being given a pep talk by the president of the #aaas, who is also a Nobel laureate. 9:53 PM Feb 18th

Wooooo Plasmodium falciparum! I love parasitology and microbiology :) 10:20 PM Feb 18th

I'm in the same hall that has hosted #SDCC Marvel and DC panels, and yet, I am learning about aquaporins. Wooooo ;) 10:26 PM Feb 18th

I'm in the same hall that has hosted #SDCC Marvel and DC panels, and yet, I am learning about aquaporins. Wooooo ;) 10:26 PM Feb 18th

OK, ready to hear about the science of superheroes! Wooooo! #aaas 11:23 AM Feb 19th

Apparently, Masi O. and Milo V. from TV's Heroes are supposed to be here #aaas 11:27 AM Feb 19th

All about making science 'real', and they worked on Watchmen, new Tron, Fringe and Caprica 11:44 AM Feb 19th

Watchmen screenwriter and author of Physics of Superheroes are also here. 11:47 AM Feb 19th

Saw a video with Brian and Stewie talking about science and the awesome reach-around that it is 11:57 AM Feb 19th

19/50 of top grossing films are sci-fi or superhero related 12:00 PM Feb 19th

Day after tomorrow ... bad film with bad science 12:03 PM Feb 19th

Two good scientists in movies: Foster in Contact and Williams in Good Will Hunting 12:14 PM Feb 19th

Screenwriter from Watchmen is great and talking about the plausibility of science 12:21 PM Feb 19th

Death of Gwen Stacy is perfect example of kinetic motion and gravity 12:31 PM Feb 19th

Thank Quantum Mechanics for your iPod 12:38 PM Feb 19th

So happy. Shrodinger's cat thought experiment is being discussed 12:39 PM Feb 19th

Science of Dr. Manhattan finally explained! :) 12:46 PM Feb 19th

Science of different powers on TV's Heroes. Now? Invisibility and flight #aaas 12:59 PM Feb 19th

Last speaker: How do superheroes evolve? 1:13 PM Feb 19th

Best sentence so far: "A mutational innovation" #aaas 1:18 PM Feb 19th

Choanoflagellates ... ancestor of multicelluar animals? 1:28 PM Feb 19th

I just met the woman who is the science advisor for the show Breaking Bad #aaas 1:50 PM Feb 19th

Worst sci-fi movie of all-time from the panel. The consensus is The Core #aaas 2:07 PM Feb 19th

Panel is done ... 90 minutes till my next one about food allergies. Off to exhibit hall 2:15 PM Feb 19th

In the food allergy presentation discussing allergen detection and even a possible cure #aaas10 4:34 PM Feb 19th

No definite cure for allergies, so main way is reading food labels! Do you read them? #aaasa10 4:51 PM Feb 19th

One food contains multiple possible allergens that an individual could be allergic too #aaas10 4:57 PM Feb 19th

Cure possible? A researcher has shown that daily exposure to allergens do increase tolerance. #aaas10 5:26 PM Feb 19th

They expect that within 3 years, a treatment for allergies will be available, besides carrying an Epi-Pen #aaas10 5:41 PM Feb 19th

In a rather dry, but very important seminar, regarding scientist communication with policymakers #aaas10 6:56 PM Feb 19th

Ig Nobel prize discovery - the "rescue bra" which can quickly turn into a respiratory mask. I kid you NOT 8:57 PM Feb 19th via mobile web

http://twitpic.com/1483pm - The amazing RESCUE BRA! 9:05 PM Feb 19th

One last thing for #aaas10 today. Apparently, the first stage of love (obsessed stage) in the brain is identical to that of someone with OCD 12:24 AM Feb 20th

Just got into my first seminar of the day: Repairing our DNA. I'm looking forward to this one! #aaas10 11:27 AM Feb 20th

Room was EMPTY, but now starting to slowly fill up #aaas10 11:31 AM Feb 20th

One human cell has around two meters of DNA! WOW! #aaas10 11:35 AM Feb 20th

First presenter: DNA mismatch repair systems and why use model organisms #aaas10 11:44 AM Feb 20th

Fascinating stuff about yeast genetics (gene loss from genome rearrangements) and the rate of this is much higher than we thought #aaas10 11:54 AM Feb 20th

But don't worry. Our cells have numerous repair mechanisms to combat this (but, nothing's perfect) #aaas10 12:01 PM Feb 20th

"There is a method to my madness" - Comforting thoughts from a cancer/DNA biologist #aaas10 12:08 PM Feb 20th

New speaker discussing Xeroderma pigemnentosum (cannot repair UV dna damage and creates many cancerous lesions) #aaas10 12:17 PM Feb 20th

Over 400 cancer genes have been identified (aka oncogenes) #aaas10 12:24 PM Feb 20th

Last presenter: Importance of DNA double-strand break repair #aaas10 12:33 PM Feb 20th

Chemotherapy agents damage DNA, which can cause cancer #aaas10 12:33 PM Feb 20th

Students are falling asleep to the left and right, but it is fascinating (double-strand break repair mechanisms) #aaas10 12:42 PM Feb 20th

BRCA2 (known to be involved with breast cancer) is very important in double-strand break repair #aaas10 12:45 PM Feb 20th

Ahhhh snoRNA, how I missed you (pronounced snore-nah) #aaas10 12:56 PM Feb 20th

I asked a good question. Yay me! #aaas10 12:59 PM Feb 20th

Did you know that particle physics helped make the shrink-wrap around Butterball turkeys stronger? #aaas10 1:36 PM Feb 20th

Ok, break for lunch! In an hour, I'll tweet from a press briefing about stem cells #aaas10 2:01 PM Feb 20th

Awaiting the news conference to begin #aaas10 2:58 PM Feb 20th

We need to think of cancer as a disease of stem cells, as that is where most begin #aaas10 3:17 PM Feb 20th

For stem cell therapy - "The science is just NOT there yet, but will be soon" #aaas10 3:23 PM Feb 20th

Umbilical stem cells work for a small child for blood-related cells. No lung, no brain. They are unproven #aaas10 3:28 PM Feb 20th

Met a nice girl from Texas today, and now I'm off to do an interview about women in science #aaas10 5:43 PM Feb 20th

Back to the hotel ... exhausted, and it's only 8pm 11:05 PM Feb 20th

Watching Frost/Nixon on TV ... good times :) 11:46 PM Feb 20th

"I'm saying, that when the President does it, it's not illegal" 12:38 AM Feb 21st

Mmmmm, Canadian Press breakfast .... #aaas10 11:18 AM Feb 21st

About to attend a presentation about women in science in US, Canada and the world #aaas10 11:30 AM Feb 21st

European Union has 27 countries with over 500 million people (bigger than the US) #aaas10 11:50 AM Feb 21st

"Women are not daunted by science, but are daunted by careers" - EU Commission #aaas10 12:06 PM Feb 21st

"Science is not biased, but people and employers are" - US representative #aaas10 2:31 PM Feb 21st

Had lunch and now in a sustainability lecture regarding communities #aaas10 5:14 PM Feb 21st

It seems that the public does not trust scientists to put society's goals above their own goals #aaas10 5:26 PM Feb 21st

Little Timmy took a drink, but he will drink no more. For what he thought was H20, was H2S04 5:44 PM Feb 21st

http://twitpic.com/14mecm - You gotta start 'em young! 6:05 PM Feb 21st

I'm excited for this talk: Mutators vs. Anti-Mutators in Evolution and Medicine #aaas10 6:31 PM Feb 21st

Canadians everywhere are in mourning. So disappointing. However, we still have hope! #GoCanada 10:07 PM Feb 21st

Unexpected meeting with @MiPiAi was fantastic ... made a day that was not going well turn great 1:22 AM Feb 22nd

I lost my umbrella today 1:22 AM Feb 22nd

GO CANADA! Ice dancing was grrrrrrreat 1:36 AM Feb 22nd

Got up and my computer has a problem. But, off to breakfast and then the zoo. No conference for me today :) 1:46 PM Feb 22nd

*Phew* Did most of the San Diego zoo in like 4-5 hours. It was a good day 8:20 PM Feb 22nd

Heading out to my first ever #TweetUp, with the fabulous @ArkhamAsylumDoc. Great way to finish up my last day in San Diego :) 11:01 PM Feb 22nd

#GoCanada! THAT'S how you ice dance 2:40 AM Feb 23rd

Airport fun!!! 1:16 PM Feb 23rd

http://twitpic.com/14xzf1 - Woooo! Exit row! I'm the go-to guy in event of a landing to open to door. Go me! 2:32 PM Feb 23rd

Landed in Chicago, had a quick bite of McD's, and now waiting to take off back to Ottawa. Hopefully it won't be too cold :) 7:20 PM Feb 23rd

http://twitpic.com/15041y - Hey David, it's Canada. Welcome back ... Sucker 9:33 PM Feb 23rd

Ottawa Life

2010-01-29T16:51:00.000-08:00

For an assignment, we had to observe something and write an article about it. So, I decided to observe Ottawa citizens on the Rideau Canal one afternoon.

Enjoy!

An Ottawa winter is not complete without ice skating on the Rideau Canal.

Having officially opened on January 14 to the public, one of the hallmarks of an Ottawa winter officially began.

Even with the below zero temperature and wind cutting through jackets like a knife, the skaters were kept warm by the smiles on their faces and the excitement in their hearts, despite the consistent flailing of limbs as people fell.

"But Daddy, I don't know how!" screamed a little girl wrapped up in a pink winter coat and a Disney princess hat, as her father tied up her skates.

Her father simply grinned as he zipped up his suede jacket, and adjusted his black hat and gloves.

"Don't worry honey, I've got you," he said, as he gently helped her onto the ice.

Within seconds of taking her first careful steps onto the ice, her reddened face changed from an expression of fear to that of unabashed joy, all the while screaming for her father not to let go.

But, like all parents teaching their children to ride a bike, the father let go after a few short minutes without telling her.

"You're doing it honey!" he shouted a small distance behind her.

As she looked back at him, her smile became impossibly wide as she said; "now I'm better than you, Daddy."

Watching this as they skated by was a young couple dressed in matching brown and blue parkas.

The man's face was drenched with sweat as he was holding onto his girlfriend's arm like a vice. And, as if taking a cue from the little girl in the princess hat, she raised her voice at him and said that if a child could do it without any fear, so could he.

"I mean, you've got to be at least three times her age, Jack, and she's already a better skater than you!"

"I wanted to go see a movie," said the man with venom in his voice, "but no, you wanted to get some exercise. You know I broke my arm skating!"

Briefly skating away from her boyfriend, the woman did not see that a large man in a trench coat was passing by. She collided into his chest and fell down onto the ice with a large thud.

Her boyfriend erupted into a chorus of laughter as he helped her up, clearly enjoying the sudden reversal of roles.

As they resumed skating, holding each other tightly, they passed the young girl and her father, removing their skates.

"Did you have fun, honey?" said the man in a hopeful voice.

"I fell down Daddy, but I'm ok, see?" said the girl with an infectious smile, causing her father to give her a large hug.

"But Daddy?" said the girl once the hug was done, "can Mommy come next time? I want to show her what a good teacher you are."

Her father, obviously touched, grinned and grabbed her hand as they walked away.

Who am I?

2010-01-12T19:15:00.000-08:00

Two interesting things have happened to me over the past few days.

1) Over Facebook, I installed an application that tested how original your parents were in naming you.

Now, I know that David is a relatively common name, but I was shocked and highly entertained about what came up.

And I quote:
"Your parents get an F+ for originality.

Ranking - 'David' was the 5th most popular boy's name in your birth year.
Rarity - 87% of boys had rarer names that year. (Grade: F+)
Peak year - 'David' peaked in popularity in 1955.
Current rank - 'David' is currently the 14th most popular boy's name.
Current name - Your parents might name you 'Daniel' today (current #5)."

Read that last line again ... my parents MIGHT name me DANIEL today. DANIEL. The name of my identical twin.

You think that means the universe is trying to tell me something?

2) This was just weird.

I checked out my Master's mail box today while I was going to go edit some radio stuff, and noticed that I had a letter. Intrigued, I looked at the envelope.

This is what I saw:

*Click on it to see a larger image, believe me, it's worth it*

Intrigued that it was from the PRIME MINISTER'S OFFICE, I opened it. And, I saw this:

*Same deal. Click on it to see a larger version of the picture*

Apparently, when I called the Prime Minister's Office last term about Senate reform (see my Capital News Online article about it on the right), they actually DID receive my message. However, seeing as the letter was addressed January 4 2010, and my article was due at the beginning of December 2009, it did me little good to receive it now.

But apparently, Harper appreciated my request and asked the signer to give me his thanks.

So, Harper was told about my request. That means he heard my name, and did not want to be interviewed by me. I've only started my journalistic career, and have already been blacklisted by the PM.

I guess that means I'm a bonafide Canadian journalist!

"The road goes ever on and on ..."

2009-12-31T15:42:00.000-08:00

Well, another year is drawing to a close. And what a year!

But first, the past decade has been an interesting one filled with changes for me.

In 2000, I was in high school, and was ready to start an everlasting love-affair with biology. I was always a science nerd, but high school was one of the first times I thought 'Yeah, I could do this.'

Look how far we've come.

After high-school and getting my honours bachelor of science in biology/zoology, I decided to go into writing/journalism. JOURNALISM!

Looking back, I can understand why people got so confused. Also, I was recently reminded of something my OAC English teacher said to me after we received our essays back.

She said that I was a "wordsmith," and that I have a way of making everything that I am discussing, whether talking or writing, and making it sound like it is the most important thing to know or listen to at that particular moment. While some of my professor's in J-school may not always agree with bits of that, it was nice to be reminded of that.

As for good ol' departing 2009, there is only one way I can sum-up the year, and that is through my top five movies of the year!

#5) Watchmen

Yeah, it wasn't the greatest movie out there, but it was damn good fun (especially if you've read the graphic novel, which I suggest everyone do!) The book was the only graphic novel to be named one of TIME magazine's "All-TIME 100 Greatest Novels" list. And by the way, Rorschach is the best.

#4) Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince

Yeah, it's Harry Potter. But so what? Sure they glossed over many story points, and the reveal that (SPOILER ALERT) Snape was the Half-blood Prince really didn't have the emotional impact that it had in the book. But, it was an enjoyable movie that had action, adventure, drama and comedy, which is more than I can say for most movies released in 2009.

#3) Zombieland

What an unexpectedly good movie! It has copious amounts of violence, blood, gore, humour and Woody Harrelson having probably wayyyyy too much fun in his role. If you want just a great time, see this movie. And the cameo in the film, which I will not spoil here, is A-friggin-MAZING!

#2) The Hangover

This movie was a bit of an odd one. It didn't have any big stars, and the premise seemed a bit ridiculous, but somehow, it all worked. Not only did it work, but it worked amazingly well. And Zach Galifianakis as the brother-in-law was simply fantastic to watch, and hilarious throughout the entire movie. Just watch it, and if you don't like it, even just a little, I don't think we can be friends.

#1) Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

You're probably thinking: WHAT? SERIOUSLY?

Yes.

I went into this movie with low expectations, thinking that it was going to be another ok animated movie. But it was great. And it had so many science jokes, I was blown away! :)

And you could tell everyone was having a great time doing voices in that movie, from the sheer fun that Bill Hader, Anna Faris, and everyone else seem to be having. And honestly, who wouldn't love a movie that had Neil Patrick Harris as a monkey, giant food falling from the sky, a guy in a literal chicken suit, and a phone-call between a son and his father attempting to send an email, which had me rolling in my seat.

Go see this movie, but PLEASE eat first. I am not joking, you will be binging for food like nobody's buisness. Head my warning!

HAPPY NEW YEAR, FOLKS!

Winter activities, Ferrets and the virtues of Twitter

2009-12-20T11:37:00.000-08:00

Every day that passes by, is another step closer to my eventual return to Ottawa and journalism.

Recently, I've been taking it easy and relaxing with friends and family.

However, do not think I've shirked my many responsibilities that I have to do when I'm home. I have started reading a book which needs to be reviewed for science journalism at the beginning of January, as well as watching my MRP footage and taking notes about the shots I took.

The worst part is watching myself doing the stand-up's and video diaries which I made in South Dakota.

It's odd watching yourself on video, and since I was the only one there, I just kept the camera running as I did take after take.

So, there are many takes of me flubbing my lines, and since the camera was running and I was miked, you can hear me talking to myself in the badlands of South Dakota. It's very funny, but at the same time, slightly cringe-inducing.

Whatever shape my MRP takes, it will be interesting, that's for sure.

I also need to start thinking about how I can set up a website for it....

Anyway, I had an interesting experience with the last article that I had to hand in for 2009.

The article was about my experiences tagging along with a company that did crime scene and biological clean-up. I really needed an outside source to discuss how important safety is in that particular industry.

I tried calling police officers and the like, but no one was getting back to me promptly. That was, until I mentioned what I was writing about on Twitter.

One of the people who I follow, and have had Twitter conversations with on various occasions, mentioned to me that she is in the industry. Not only that, she also knows a lot about the various safety concerns that can crop up.

I got a source, for a school assignment, via TWITTER! Seriously, how amazing is that???

Thank you so much, Adrianna. You saved the day! :)

Winter vacation!

2009-12-08T17:07:00.000-08:00

These past few weeks have been a blur of activity (especially that last week .. WOW!).

But, I persevered and survived it! Even have something to show for it :)

Check out the link to the right, or hyper-linked here for my recent article that I wrote for Capital News Online entitled: Coming to terms with the Senate.

While it is about the threat of Canadian Senate reform, not the most exciting topic I admit, I like to think I did a pretty good job with it.

What do you think?

Also, here is a little challenge for you called "Where's David?" Below is the link to the Editor's Notebook, and can you find where I am?

HINT: I appear twice.

Editor's Notebook

My Soap Box

2009-11-28T11:55:00.000-08:00

Well, it's that time of the year. A time where University students scamper home and spend days in seclusion, in that last final push to finish all the assignments before the end of term.

I have three assignments. While two of three have extensions, I still would like to finish them as soon as possible. So, suffice it to say, this week is going to be very, very busy.

But, that is not the purpose of this post.

If you have hung around me long enough, you will know that I am not a fan of a particular slogan used by Canadian Blood Services. The slogan is: "Blood. It's in you to give."

Every time I hear it, it makes me angry.

Frankly, no. Blood is not in me to give.

MY blood is in ME to keep ME alive and well. Blood has a myriad of functions within the confines of my body, but all are designed to keep me alive.

I think donating blood is a spectacular thing, as it can help numerous people, and there is always a shortage of blood in ER's. I encourage everyone to give blood, as well as sign their organ donor card. I've signed my donor card, so that I could help as many people as I can with my organs if something were to happen.

But, the slogan from Canadian Blood Services seems to imply that the sole purpose of my blood is for me to help others.

NO.

Now, if you take a more metaphysical approach at the slogan, it could mean the power to give can be found within myself. If that is the purpose, why not say something along the lines of: Blood. YOU can save a life.

It's still quick, punchy and to the point, exactly what you need in a slogan.

So, come on Canadian Blood Services, change that slogan!

My Weird Life

2009-11-19T14:00:00.000-08:00

So tired .... my body is aching from lack of sleep, and plain ol' overwork. And the proverbial IN pile never seems to decrease, no matter how productive I am.

*sigh*

And, to make my life EVEN busier, I took on a little side project.

A friend of mine I made via Twitter, Dr. Debby Herbenick PhD, runs the website called My Sex Professor (Located here). In case you cannot tell by the name of her website, she is a sex health researcher with Indiana University.

Once day, over Twitter, she mentioned something about weird facts. So, I sent her one about how flatworms "penis fence," and she LOVED it.

She asked me if I knew any more weird animal mating facts.

Naturally, being the kind of guy who is obsessed with learning everything about animals he can, I said "ohhh yeah."

So, she invited me to Guest Blog.

And here is the final product, called "Weird & Wild: Five Ways Animals Get Creative About Sex."

It was a BLAST to research and write.

As I told someone earlier today, I really haven't had that much fun writing since I started J-school. Tells you something, doesn't it?

I hope you enjoy reading it, and let me know what you think!

Making a Splash

2009-11-07T21:37:00.000-08:00

Check out my newest addition to my most recently published articles on the right ... except this time, it was a podcast!

Once again, it was another hard week.

But, it's all in the past and everything went well on Friday.

Check out the podcast, and enjoy!!

Blood, Sweat and Journalism

2009-10-24T15:13:00.000-07:00

This has been an exhausting week.

Let me set the stage.

I was one of the people assigned to the Multimedia Team this week, for my course about online journalism. We decided that our over-arching theme would be about the 80th anniversary of the Person's case.

For those who do not remember (such as me,until my partner informed me), in 1929, a case was presented for making women formally recognized as 'persons.' This was spearheaded by five elderly women from Alberta, known as the 'Famous Five'.

My role, along with my partner, was to create an interactive timeline of events that occurred to Canadian women.

It was a lot of work.

My partner, Sage, was great. We divided and conquered.

I took care of all the audio elements and interviews, and she took care of all the visuals.

I won't get into all the trouble we had finding sources and obtaining copyright, but it was very difficult.

On Thursday, we all met at 11:30 am to put it all together. And, other than some hiccups at the beginning, all was well.

That was, until the online application we were using decided to not cooperate. It was supposed to be able to handle multiple audio clips. But, every time you added more than one, the previous one disappeared.

So, at 6:30pm, seven hours after beginning, the decision was made to scrap the ENTIRE thing and start over using Flash.

Suffice to say, that sucked. Seven hours of work ... poof! Gone.

Credit must go to the Technical Instructor, who almost pulled an all-nighter to put it all together, as well as helped everyone else in the program with their separate multimedia elements.

The link to the multimedia elements, entitle "Tough Cookies," will be located under A Selection of my Most Recently Published Articles on the right of your screen.

Please look at the other multimedia elements by Laura and Meg, as well as all the other articles located on the capitalnews.ca website.

Ohh, and my job for the next issue? Podcast interviewer. While I haven't picked a topic yet, guess what the theme will be based around? You guess it: Science!

Kinda

2009-10-18T15:45:00.000-07:00

Perplexed by this blog's title? Go ahead, read it again. I can wait.

Still confused? Well, let me enlighten you.

I am almost sick, not quite, but getting there. So, I have christened myself "kinda sick." Hence the name of the blog.

What does it mean? Well, it means that I wake up with a sore throat and a massive headache, but drugs keep them at bay. I get nauseated, but carbonated soft drinks quells it. And my work has suffered.

See, I wrote a to-do list this weekend with seven things on it. How much have I crossed off completely?

Two.

But, two others are ALMOST done (just waiting for another source to contact me, and someone to proof read the second). So, I was moderately productive which, given my current state, is some what a miracle.

Other than that, nothing much is new on my end. This week is going to be a very busy one, especially tomorrow, where I have two interviews, one TA meeting and a night class. Sounds like a barrel of monkeys, right?

And now, in my kina drug-induced delirium, here is a list of my five favourite TV shows.

Top Five Shows to Watch:
5) Grey's Anatomy - It's a drama that everyone can get into. Plus, hot doctors!
4) House M.D. - House is the guy you love to hate, simple as that
3) How I Met Your Mother - Three letters sum it up: NPH
2) Castle - Nathan Fillion is amazing and Stana Katic is Canadian!
1) The Big Bang Theory - Fun, smart, hilarious and filled to the brim with science

A Flash in the Pan

2009-10-06T18:42:00.000-07:00

Already another post? Is David actually sticking to his commitment to blogging more?

That's right folks!

Life is still moving onwards at a fever pace, and I'm just trying to survive the ride.

Just a short post today, as I have a new article to unveil :)

I'll put the link to the right of this post under "A selection of my most recently published articles." It is from my summer at NSERC regarding a new method to create paper that disinfects and purifies water of harmful bacteria.

It is entitled, "NSERC Article - BioActive Paper"

Check it out!!

The Return of the King (and new The Black chapter!)

2009-10-03T18:25:00.000-07:00

Howdy folks!

Sorry for the long departure from my Blog, but as I have been so fond of saying as of late, "school is slowly eroding my life."

To be honest, it is not that bad, just fairly busy. And this week was a doozy.

That said, I will never go almost a month without blogging again!

So, here's a quick catch-up.

- School is progressing, but I don't get to see all the J-school friends as much, as we are all taking different classes
- I'm taking one class which is so boring, but the people (most 4th year Bachelor of Journalism students) have piqued my interest
- Night classes suck
- Have a new article up under My Most Recently Published Articles (I was the producer of a piece for a school online newspaper about election preparedness.) It went fairly well, and feel free to check out all the other stuff on the site.
- The next chapter of "The Black," entitled, "The Path," is JUST BELOW THIS!

Sorry for the long while in posting this, but I hit some writer's block. Then, I finished it and I just kept getting distracted and did not put it up. But, here it is! I hope you all enjoy it, and the next chapter will be up soon.

Chapter 5 - The Path

My life went onwards from that point pretty much as it always did. The only thing different were the occasional headaches, but I figured that everyone got those every now and again, so why worry, right?

As for what happened with Jen in the lab, I tried not to think about it. And eventually, like all things pushed to the back of your mind, it stopped coming up. That was, until eight days later.

I was in the lab, testing the memory retention of the experimental rats with a quite complex maze. The rats were rewarded with cheese once the maze was solved, and then had to repeat the maze over and over again until there were no mistakes. Then, every few days, we would test them again. If there were no errors, the mice were rewarded. If there were errors, then they repeated it again and again until there were none.

“Rat number six, placing into the maze. Starting clock,” I said into my portable voice recorder, as I picked up the rat with a number ‘6’ painted on its back.

“3….2…..1… release,” and I dropped the rat at the beginning on the maze.

“Number six is progressing nicely, as it has not required any re-training since the initial maze run. It has now reached the half-way mark, and … wait, number six has stopped moving. Come on buddy, move. Get your stupid cheese.”

“Hmmm, ok, well, I’m going to poke its back with my gloved finger, to get him moving …. No reaction. I’ll try it again, but slightly harder… No reaction.”

“Skin seems oddly soft,” I continued into my recorder. “Almost like poking oatmeal. I think something may be wrong with number six. End testing.”

As I turned off the recorder, I turned and yelled “Hey Jen! Get in here!!!! I think something may be wrong with number six!”

While I heard Jen walking towards me from the adjoining room, I leaned closer to number six, picked him up and examined him closely. His eyes were not the normal red of the test rats, they were darker. The eye was almost completely black, like something coloured it in with a marker. But the pupils, the pupils were dashing back and forth like it was still moving around the maze, instead of being stationary in my hand.

“Its eyes,” I whispered to myself. “It’s eyes. They’re black. Black. Black like I saw a week ago. The black … it’s back … the black … the black.”

As if that was some sort of trigger, my peripheral vision began to fade to black.

NO! NO! Not again! I shouted, but all that came out was the faintest of whispers. And then the pain began.

I tried to fight it, but the pain increased so fast and so strongly, that my body could not fight it. My mind, in order to protect itself, lurched into unconsciousness.

And just like before, there was darkness.

Black shadows.

White. Bright.

Sunlight.

Where am I?

Wait, I know this place, I was camping here a month or so ago, with Rachel. This is where it ended. It was a campground just a few hours away. We went because it was going to be converted into cottages the following week.

I guess it was fitting that my heart was to be broken on a campground that was going to be torn down. Rachel always had a thing for symbolism.

And then, I heard something, so I naturally went forth to investigate. And I saw our tent; we were still sleeping beside one another. A squirrel had just dropped a nut close-by.

This must be out last day, before she broke it off.

Without warning, the green began to fade from the trees and the sunlight began to dim. All light and colour was being replaced with blackness. Within seconds, I was surrounded by darkness once again. Except this time, there were stars above my head, little pin-pricks of light.

A house came into view, with a pumpkin sitting out front, carved into the shape of a vampire. Around the house was nothingness, as if I was staring at it through a telescope. Kids dressed in colourful costumes would materialize through the darkness, walk across what I could see, and then disappear on the other side.

Then, a man approached the house dressed in a trench-coat and walking with a cane. At his mouth was a meerschaum pipe, and atop his head was a deerstalker cap.

I recognized him. He was Sherlock Holmes, or, as the case was, it was I, dressed as Holmes. This must be the night, the night I met Rachel …

I kept whispering that final word, Rachel, as I opened my eyes and realized that I lay face-down on the lab floor covered in sweat.

As I heard Jen come into the room and yell for help, my mind was still reeling from what I just saw.

Were they visions? Or just vivid memories?

Was the drug causing the same thing in me as number six?

Only one thing was certain: I was experiencing notable events of my life, in reverse order.

But if they continue, what would happen when there are no more memories left to remember?

David vs. Year Two

2009-09-10T15:59:00.000-07:00

Well, year two of my Master's program officially began a few days ago. It's been an interesting ride so far, filled with plot twists and exciting revelations. Who knows what is in store for me this year?

Now, for some updates.

Those of you who I speak to/communicate with regularly, know that I am missing a "second language requirement" for my degree. Because I go to school in Ottawa, where a significant portion of the population is bilingual, the powers that be decided to make it a requirement to graduate. Seeing as I was a strictly Biology student, there was no need for me to take any foreign languages.

So, I decided to do something about it this year. While the school would prefer the language proficiency to be French, it can really be any language used around the world. Therefore, I decided to take a first-year sign language course. I thought it would be interesting, and an excellent skill to possess.

I also signed up to take the French proficiency test, which the school holds twice a year. It was a pass/fail deal. Worse case scenario, if I failed that, I would take the sign language course and get the requirement done that way.

The French test was on Tuesday, and I got the results yesterday.

By some sort of inexplicable event ... I passed it! Cool, eh? So, that requirement for my degree is all done! And, I lose a course I was going to take this semester, so more time to do other sorts of school work.

Other than that, nothing much else has happened here. Yet.

Tomorrow is when the real work begins.

But, as a J-school friend said to me yesterday, "Just eight more months. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. Now, we just need to survive."

Words to live by, eh?

Ohhh, and I've been asked by a few of my fellow students about how soon until Chapter 5 of The Black will be released. I must say, I'm genuinely taken aback when people say they like my story. It does, and will always, put a big smile on my face when people talk about it. Hey, even negative stuff makes me happy, as you are reading it and really thinking about it. Criticism is welcome!

And don't worry, Chapter 5 is coming, and it's tentatively entitled, "The Path." hope to finish it and put it up this weekend.

100th Blog Post!

2009-09-07T20:46:00.001-07:00

Well, here it is: The 100th blog post. And what better way to celebrate than with a new article that I wrote being published?

If you look at my blog, under the articles menu, the newest one is entitled NSERC - NEPTUNE. It's about a Canadian undersea observatory that was launched two months ago. Check it out, it's pretty damn cool!

Other than that, not much to report other than the fact that school begins tomorrow. How will it go? What will life be like as an MJ2? Will I ever finish this ferret project? Will I manage to stay sane?

Tune in and find out for the next 100+ blog posts.

Thanks for reading! =)

David vs. Wall, South Dakota

2009-09-03T13:34:00.000-07:00

It had been a while since my last blog post, and for that I apologize.

I returned safely to Toronto from South Dakota, but I was very tired, and it took me a while to get back to normal.

Some of the details of my trip will have to be a little vague, as it will eventually go onto my website. Same with the pictures I took, as I cannot allow them to enter the public domain just yet.

I started out my trip to South Dakota, with a flight from Toronto to a major U.S. hub airport: Chicago O'Hare. Then, I caught a connecting flight to Rapid City, South Dakota. After picking up all my bags (including all of the friggin HEAVY camera equipment), I picked up my rental car, plugged in my GPS and drove the hour to Wall, South Dakota. Haven't heard of it? I'm not surprised.

Picture the middle of nowhere in your minds. Add some mountains in the background, a population of just of 800 people and a town that lasts for roughly 12 blocks. TADA! That is Wall.

Wall is small. Very small and very quiet. And when I mean quiet, I mean eerily quiet.

Anyway, I checked into my motel, unpacked and went to Wall Drug, the biggest store in Wall.

The reason? I needed toothpaste, as the security woman at the Toronto airport threw out my toothpaste.

I then called my contact in the ferret program and arranged to meet him at 6:45 pm, to work ALL night. And we did.

Most of the work I was helping with was driving around in 4x4's trying to spot Black footed ferrets, which is surprisingly difficult. Then, once you spot one, you place a trap to hopefully catch it. If the ferret is caught and is not already marked, you bring it into the medical trailer for various tests and vaccines. Once completed, the ferret is released back into its burrow.

That process went until 7:30 am the following morning. To make a long story short, it was a looooooong night.

I went back to my motel, showered, ate and went to bed until 4 pm. I then woke up, ate and showered again, and then got ready to repeat the whole process over again.

After the second night, I got the chance to explore the National Park where I was working a bit, and got to see Bison and Prairie dogs in the wild. This was in addition to the ferrets, grasshoppers, rabbits, deer and badgers I observed during the night.

My last day in Wall, after the third night, I interviewed the man I was working with, as well as some more footage for my site.

I then went back to the motel, recorded my last video diary (yes, I made video diaries), packed up and left.

By the end of it, even though it was only three days, I was massively sleep deprived and my sleep/wake cycle was all shot to shit. But, I think I got some good footage of various animals, interesting interviews and some good footage of the ferret program.

Suffice to say, it was a crazy time in a small town.

Here's hoping it turns out as well as I hope! I will keep you all updated as it develops.

Now, this is NOT a picture I took, but it should show you just how cute and adorable the ferrets are. Enjoy.

Chapter 4 - The Aftermath

2009-08-18T14:59:00.000-07:00

Newest chapter of my e-novel, or short story (not exactly sure exactly what the final form will be). Read, enjoy, comment/critique.

Chapter 4 – The Aftermath

“Ohhhh, fuck.” I said matter-of-factly.

“Holy shit,” said Jen, her jaw still open. “What happened?”

“Well, what do you think happened? I INJECTED MYSELF WITH THE DRUG!” I yelled at her.

I was so angry, but not a Jen. I was angry at myself. ‘How could I let this happen?’ was all I could think about. And then, it suddenly dawned on me ….

“The kiss,” I whispered.

“What? What do you mean 'the kiss,'” said Jen as she slowly walked towards me. Her face showed genuine concern, almost love.

“When we kissed before the final trial mouse, do you remember that?”

“Yeah,” said Jen, blushing.

“While we were kissing, you sighed.” And I pointed my fingers in a gun-shape at her face.

“No, I didn’t,” said Jen throwing her hands up, as if to protect herself from the imaginary bullets fired from my fingers.

“You did.”

“No. I didn’t.”

And then, realization dawned on her face.

“When we kissed, and I drew you close," she said, almost in a whisper, "the auto-injector must have gone off!”

“Yes!” I shouted. “The ‘sighs’ we both heard, must have been the pressurized auto-injector going off.”

All of a sudden, an intense stinging pain burst forth from my head, causing me to grab my head with my hands, as if to prevent my head from exploding.

The pain was excruciating, as if someone was drilling a hole into my head with a hand operated drill, while simultaneously beating me with a large wooden beam.

The feeling spread downwards from my head to my neck, shoulders, torso, groin and legs. I collapsed onto the floor in a screaming and writhing ball of pain.

Then, my eyes felt like someone was trying to take them out with an ice-cream scooper. The edges of my periphery vision began to fade to black, spreading into my vision like black ooze. The pain began to lessen as my vision became more and more obscured.

And then, my vision was consumed, by the black.

Nothing but black. And then, a pinpoint of light.

It began to slowly increase in size, but increasing in speed.

The black was completely overtaken by the white, except at the periphery.

Stationary shapes in the white came into view.

Jen. She was the shape directly in front of me.

She was wearing her lab coat, just like before the pain began.

She was looking at me with genuine concern, but it looked like she was trying to remember something. Finally, like when she tried to solve a complicated problem, her face showed elation as she came up with the oft eluded answer.

“When we kissed, and I drew you close … the auto-injector must have gone off!”

The black then began to slowly creep back into my field of vision.

The place seemed familiar, as did what she just said. Looking around, I saw someone standing directly across from her. It was … me?

How was this possible?

I looked unkempt. My hair was a mess, and I was staring at Jen in an accusatory way.

“Yes!” I heard the other me shout at Jen, while the black slowly began to slowly creep back into my vision.

“The ‘sighs’ we both heard, must have been the pressurized auto-injector going off,” the other me said.

I saw myself throw my hands upon my head, and begin to scream. It was a blood curdling scream, one that someone would make when their insides were being slowly cut by a million shards of glass.

The black then totally engulfed my visual field, until there was no light. There was nothing. Just the black.

Then, a sudden flash of white.

I opened my eyes and I felt my sweat-stained face upon the cold-hard linoleum of the laboratory floor. The whole body pain was gone, but my body felt weak. And my head ached like someone tried to open it with a sledgehammer. And, I was very hungry. Famished, in fact.

As I slowly got myself up, I saw Jen at the opposite wall, on the phone, talking in hushed tones. Seeing me struggle to get up, she quickly hung up and ran to my side.

“Roger! Are you ok? What happened?” she said, fighting back tears. She ran into me and threw her arms around me, holding me close. “I thought that the worse had happened. Just when we discovered our feeling for one another, it seemed like you were dead. You were … you were.”

And then, she succumbed to her tears and placed her head in the crook of my neck, soaking it with her tears.

“I was so worried about you, but I’m glad you’re here,” she said in between sobs.

“Me too,” I said, weakly.

Looking up, and wiping her eyes on her lab coat, she said, “But are you ok? What happened to you?”

“I … remember the pain, and then my vision went dark when I went to the ground. And then, there was nothing, until I saw you. You were talking to me about the accident. It was when we figured out what had happened.”

“You mean, what happened just a minute or so ago?” said Jen, with a questioning look on her face.

“Yeah, it was weird,” I said, shaking my head. “It was nothing, don’t worry about it. Just my brain re-booting after a shock to my system. Of course it would remember what just happened.”

“I’m sure that was it,” said Jen, hugging me surprisingly hard.

But I knew that wasn’t the truth. It was too vivid to be just a memory of what happened. It was extremely vivid. It was if I was living it again, but not quite. As if I was a simple observer of what had just transpired in my life.

And that, my dear readers, was the point in someone’s life, specifically my life, where it changes forever.

And, it was just beginning.

Julie, Julia and Joe, and Feeling the Love at Work

2009-08-13T18:59:00.000-07:00

*YAWN!*

It's been a rough day for your Musings Master. Hell, it's been a rough week and summer.

Let's start from the beginning, as I've kept the humorous events of my life hidden for the past week.

I saw two movies over the weekend, Julie & Julia and G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra.

Joe was an interesting movie, and not in the good way. It was your standard popcorn high-action movie, with guys running fast, stupid dialogue (ex/ the standard, "hit it again, bitch!"), guys with their shirts off and women in skin-tight costumes. Well, that last one isn't that bad! lol

The acting was sub-par, but some of the action scenes weren't bad. It was a decent time waster, as I like to say.

The better movie was Julie & Julia. I saw it because I love Meryl Streep and I LOVE Amy Adams. Despite the estrogen to testosterone ratio being very out of whack and weighed heavily to the estrogen side, it was a very good movie. I really enjoyed it. It had some humour, some heart-warming moments, put a smile on your face, and made you quite HUNGRY (it is a movie all about cooking, after all).

I stick by this statement I told my Mom.

"Julie & Julia was a funnier movie than Apatow's Funny People." Doesn't that seem illogical?

And at the end of J&J, people clapped. I see a lot of movies, and this is a very rare occurrence. When is the last time YOU remember clapping at a movie?

I have only done so a few times, as I only do so when a movie far surpassed my expectations or was simply amazing.

Spider-Man
Jurassic Park
Iron Man

As for the rest of the week, work has been slowly lurching towards its inevitable conclusion on Friday, like a wounded gazelle trying in vain to escape a lion who just took a large bite out if its thigh. Who I am in that comparison, I do not know.

And now for the ULTIMATE work story.

My last day at work is tomorrow (Friday), and I booked off the afternoon of Thursday (today) as I needed to go to school and get some forms, hand in others and obtain all my camera equipment. I booked off from 12:30 pm - 4 pm a few weeks ago. Remember this, it becomes important later.

There is an assistant who is not the best at her job because she constantly makes little mistakes and ask people to do parts of her job for her. When I had to hand in some completed articles at around 11:15 am today, she asked me if I was free for lunch, and this is how to conversation went:

Me - I am actually having lunch at 12, as I need to leave here at 12:30 pm.
Secretary - So, you won't be here at 3 pm?
Me - No, I need to get all my camera stuff from school, and then get a refresher course with the camera
Secretary - So, no?
Me - *laughs* Yeah, no.
Secretary - Ohh, that's bad.
Me - Why's that bad?
Secretary - Well, we had a surprise farewell party for you at 3 pm. *pause*
Is there any way you can come after?
Me - Not really, 3 pm is when I am picking up the equipment, and then I need to check that it all works. And then bring ALL the stuff home.
Secretary - What about after that?
Me - I have no idea how long it will take to do all that. And then I'll need to walk and take the bus all the way back to work, which will take around 40 minutes, for a party that would be over? Sounds a little pointless.

She then said she was going to speak to the boss and see if we could move it up.

About 5 minutes later, she walked into my cubicle and told me that the boss is super-busy (which is true), and cannot move it. So, there is nothing she can do.

So, to sum up, my work planned a FAREWELL PARTY for me, but neglected to see if I was even free at that time. But, they had it anyway, when I wasn't even there. And there was going to be cake!

When asked if I could have a piece, the response I got back sums up my experience this entire summer.

"If we remember and don't eat it all, we'll try to save you a piece of your own farewell cake."

Can't you just feel the love?

Chapter 3 - The Experiment

2009-08-07T09:10:00.000-07:00

Before you get started on the newest chapter of my novel, "The Black," turn your attention to the top right of my blog. For easy access, I will now catalogue all the entries for my novel there, so you can visit any chapter you want at the click of a mouse.

As always, comments and/or feedback is appreciated.

Here it is, the newest chaper entitled, "The Experiment."

Chapter Three - The Experiment

No matter how much I used the new painless auto-injector, I was constantly surprised of just how sci-fi it was. It was sleek and metal, with a mechanism at the top where you insert the medication. I didn’t know precisely how it worked, but you inserted the meds, placed the other end on the injection site, pressed the trigger, you heard the tell-tale HISS sound and you were done! I swear it worked like a hypo-spray out of Star Trek.

ANUBIS’ main source of income was being hired out as an experimental laboratory for new drugs or compounds. Companies would send us various things and we would test them out on various animal species. Having an outside laboratory confirm your findings goes a long way in the patent process.

“You make it, we try it,” should have been the company slogan.

Placing the F vial, containing the control saline into the injector, I began the test.
But first: “Hey Jen!” I yelled.

“I’m starting the test! You …,” I stopped when I saw her walk into the room.

“Sorry I’m late,” she said, “but I was feeding the frogs, so sorry if I smell like cricket crap.”

“I’ll forgive you, this time,” I said with a smirk and a wink. “Shall we?”

Jen picked up the first member of the Partridge mice, and place it on the table. Exerting just a little bit of force, she placed her hands on the mouse and pushed down. Her hands were positioned directly above the mouse’s legs, so that it could not move.

“Ready,” she said.

“Ok, P-trial test beginning at 9:35 am. First mouse.”

I placed the injection head right where the mouse’s skull meets its spine and pressed the trigger … HISS.

“I love the auto-injector,” said Jen, as she placed the mouse into another cage with a big ‘I’ on it, standing for Injected. “It makes holding them down so much easier when they don’t struggle.”

The process went like an assembly line until all of the P-trial mice were vaccinated with nothing but saline.

“Nurse,” I said, looking at Jen.

“Yes Doctor?” said Jen in her sexiest voice

“Sponge.”

Without another word, she picked up a nearby sponge and wiped the sweat off my forehead. Our faces were mere centimeters apart, and she smelled like freshly picked apples. We just stared at each other, and it seemed that the temperature of the room increased at least by 10 degrees.

The attraction between us at that moment was palpable. I never wanted her more than at that moment. She was everything I would possibly want in a woman: Smart, confident, very pretty and loved to laugh.

“Roger …” whispered Jen.

“Yes?”

She giggled.

“What?”

And then, she just kissed me.

It was weird, but in the best way possible. All thoughts vanished from my brain, and I was just totally in the moment of Jen.

After what seemed like an hour, we broke apart.

Jen smiled, and said, “Will that be all Doctor?”

I cleared my throat and laughed. “That was …”

“I know,” said Jen.

What the hell, she did just kiss me, I thought. Might as well go for the f-ing plunge.

“Would you like to do something tonight?” I said nervously.

“Only if you promise to kiss me back like that again,” she said, while brushing her bangs out of her eyes. “And we need to finish our experiment first, and then we can discuss our plans for tonight and breakfast tomorrow.”

“Break … fast?” I said, my voice cracking just a little bit.

“Well,” said Jen, “if you play your cards right.” And with that, she walked to the fridge to get the trial drug.

Smiling despite myself, I moved the empty P cage and the control mice to the other side of the lab.

Grabbing the empty TI (Test Injected) cage and placing it on my bench, I threw the empty P-trial vial into the glass container for removal and recycling.

Jen returned with the memory test drug (B-vial) and went to grab to Brady mice, while I prepped the auto-injector.

When she returned and placed the mice on the lab bench, I was all prepared to begin. “B-trial test beginning at 10:07 am. First mouse,” I said.

Grabbing the first mouse, she put him on the table; I placed the injector above his spine and HISS. Done.

Just like the control, it proceeded perfectly, like an automated assembly line. After a short while, I said to Jen, “How many mice do we have left?”

“Just one more,” said Jen. And winking, she then said, “Then we can discuss about what we’re going to do next, and maybe cut out early to start our date earlier.”

“Sounds good to me,” I said with a big smile. “Bring me our last patient.”

As I grabbed the auto-injector, Jen picked up the mouse, and placed him on the lab bench.

“You know Roger; I’ve wanted to do that for a while.”

“Me too.”

“I don’t know why I’ve waited for so long,” said Jen. “I suppose I was just nervous that you would not reciprocate.”

“Are you kidding?” I said, placing the injector above the mouse’s spinal cord. “I’ve had a bad crush on you for the longest time, but I wasn’t sure about how you felt about me.”

“I think you know now,” said Jen, and leaned in to kiss me. Wanting to feel her lips upon mine again, I moved my hands and leaned in to meet her. Our lips met and the feeling was even better than the first time.

After a short while, I heard her sigh in content, and we unlocked our lips.

“Ok, we really need to finish this, then we can resume,” I said.

Jen, smiling and blushing a little bit, grabbed the mouse and I placed the auto-injector above the spine and pressed the trigger.

But, nothing happened.

Pressing the trigger once more, there was no HISS. Pulling out the B-vial, I noticed that the drug was all gone.

“Jen,” I said calmly. “Was there an extra mouse?”

With a look of concern on her face, she said weakly, “No.”

And then, all of a sudden, all the colour that was present in her face drained away.

“What’s wrong?!?”

“Roger,” she said, her voice slowly rising in pitch and intensity. “Your ARM!”

Looking down, I noticed that the left forearm of my lab coat was spotted with a few drops of crimson. Lifting the coat, I saw something that sent a chill down my spine: A small puncture mark, made by an auto-injector.

That was it. That one mistake, that one slip of judgment, one lapse in concentration, changed my life forever. That moment lead to everything that happened to me: the headaches, the flashes, the asylum, the ‘friends, ’and of course, the death.

The Move

2009-08-04T09:12:00.000-07:00

Friday was an interesting day at work, but not the good kind. Let me tell you why.

My cubicle, which I share with another student, is right near the boss’s office. While not the ideal place for a perpetual slacker (but highly productive when properly motivated), I made do. I was right near the action.

Granted, it is the government, so there never really was any action. But, if there was, I was RIGHT there to seize it by the reins and yell, "Woahhhh Nelly!"

Then, my boss walked into my cubicle.

Boss - Hi David, and _________ (her name kept secret cause I hate her. Haha, I'm joking of course)
Me - Hi?
Boss - So guess what? You're MOVING! YAY!!
Me - *dumb and blank look*
______ - Why?
Boss - We're getting a new staff member on Wednesday, and we want her to have this one. Paperwork's all done, so you'll move before lunch. Bye!

What you have to understand, is that my last day is August 14th, so I had nine days left (not including Friday), so I reallly didn't see the point in the move. As well, there are plenty of other empty cubicles nearby.

But, I packed up my stuff, and asked to be shown to my new cubicle, thinking it would be close by.

Boy was I wrong.

If you were to have a copy of the architectural plans for this floor, and drew a diagonal line from my old desk (upper left) to the lower right, you would hit my new cubicle.

I am LITERALLY at the lower right corner of the 13th floor. I am surrounded by 2 walls, and 2 cubicle walls, creating, in essence, a box.

A box in which someone would be insane to come visit me.

There are a few bright sides though:
1) I have my own cubicle now
2) The other student (referred to as ______) is right beside me in the next cubicle, and I can talk to her whenever I want
3) I am so far removed, that I could fall asleep or cut out early and no one would be the wiser. Muahahahaha!

Speaking of which, time to put on the iPod and nap.

But before I go, here's a link to the new Weird Al music video, making fun of the White Stripes. Watch it, you'll like it! It's made by the JibJab guys, and it's very funny!

New Weird Al Video - CNR

Chapter 2 - The Lab

2009-07-28T09:25:00.000-07:00

Few updates before we get to the meat of this post.

- I had my 25th birthday on July 24th. Went to work, but ended up going out with people afterwards, and had a good time. Thakns to everyone who was there, you guys rock!
- The weather in Ottawa is f-ed up. We have had rain almost every day for 2 weeks.
- I have discovered scientist tweeters on Twitter. LOVE IT!

ANd now, after a much delayed release, here is the third part in my ongoing web-novel series entitled, "The Black." I have decided to name the posts in which they are featured the titles of the chapters (for easier reference).

Here are the Prelude and Chapter 1

Enjoy!!

Chapter 2

I finally arrived at work, a full 20 minutes late, but there was a huge line at the security checkpoint.

“Shit, Dr. Thomson is going to be pissed,” I said to myself.

Quick side note: Security was always such a big deal for ANUBIS. I mean, it’s understandable, as we dealt with many pending patents and experimental drugs. Seems like such a waste of time, as nothing ever happened … that is, until today.

“Hi John!” I said, as I passed thorough the metal detector to the next line, where John was examining everyone’s employee ID’s.

“Hey Roger. Man, you look like shit,” said John with a sly smirk on his face as he took my ID and scanned it into the machine.

John Johnson was a black man in his prime. His face was inviting and friendly, but his body would have made Achilles jealous. He was a very intimidating figure, and god help you if you got him angry. As John himself was so fond of saying, “If someone really pissed me off, I’d break them into three separate pieces.” And, the toothy smile that always followed that, made you really believe that he could, and probably would.

Naturally, I laughed and said, “Yeah, my alarm kicked my ass this morning. It was a tough night, you know?”

As if sensing my demeanor, John put his right hand on my left should and said softly, “You ok man?”

“I mean, I don’t want to pry, but heard about you and Rachel. I’m sorry. I know you loved her, and I feel terrible for introducing you to her.”

“You didn’t deserve what happened to you.”

John introduced me to Rachel at the Halloween party last year. Our costumes matched perfectly, I was Sherlock Holmes and she was Watson. It was like it was fate, which I never believed in before.

But, after all that happened next, how could I not?

“I’m okay man. It sucked for a bit, but the pain has slowly subsided,” I said, staring at the floor.

And John, in all his wisdom, knew not to press the issue and just gave me a pat on the back.

“You should hurry up,” he said. “I mean, you’re really, really late. Doctor Thomson is going to have your ass!!!!”

And with that, I bolted down the hallway and down the stairs to the underground Thompson lab. I jumped down the stairs as fast as I could, feeling the bones and tendons in my legs straining under the repeated movement. When I reached the sub-basement, I threw open the door and ran down the hall, took a left and then a right, finally reaching the lab door.

“Well Roger, I’m glad that you finally decided to show up,” said Dr. Thompson, with a visible scowl on his face.

That wasn’t anything new, as the balding man always scowled.

“I’m sorry sir,” I said, biting my tongue at the verbal abuse that my brain was screaming back at him. That was something I learned after a few very similar occurrences to these, when I was punished for my ‘disobedience.’

Honestly, you’d learn to hold your tongue too, if you had to clean out the monkey laxative experiment cages.

“Well, get back to work,” shouted Dr. Thompson. And he retreated to his office, where he slammed the door.

I then, after a sigh of relief, walked to my station and began getting ready for the day. I washed up, put on my lab coat, affixed the goggles to my head (for easy access should I need them), lay out my dissection kit, put on gloves and sterilized my work area.

I walked into the adjoining room and spoke to Jen, our other lab technician, whose sole responsibility is taking care of the animals.

Ahhh, Jen. She was very pretty, with light brown hair and caring eyes. As biologists, we’re not supposed to name the animals, but she always did (usually after celebrities). We had flirted back and forth occasionally, and I considered asking her out. But, then Rachel came into the mix.

Ever since Rachel and I broke up, there’s been a little bit of a resurgence in the flirting, but not by much. But, my attitude did perk up a little when I saw her.

“Hey Jen!” I said, smiling.

“Hey Roger!” she said in her lovely sing-songey voice.

“Wow, you look like shit.”

“Hahahaha,” I laughed. “John said the exact same thing.”

Jen smiled mischievously, which made her look even more attractive, and said, “Yeah, I know. He texted me a minute ago, and told me to tell you that.”

I gave her a mildly flirtatious grin, followed by a punch in the arm, with a dash of more force than was probably warranted.

“Let’s get back to work, shall we?”

“Fine, fine, you party pooper,” said Jen, rubbing her shoulder. “We have a few trials on tap for today, mostly with the Partridges and Brady’s.”

After noticing the confusion on my face, she added, “Remember, the P and B mice for the memory drug trial? I named the families the Partridges and the Brady’s.”

“Right, I remember.” I said. “Which are the control, and which are the trial mice?”

“The Brady’s are the trial mice, and they are located on lab bench 1”, said Jen.

“The Patridge’s are located on lab bench 2. The trial drug is located in the fridge with a ‘P’ label, and beside that is a vial of saline for the control mice with a ‘B.’”

“Thanks, darlin’,” I said with a smirk. “Same old deal, one shot into the spinal?”

“No problem, it’s my job! And you are right, 15 cc’s into the spinal cord,” she replied with a smile, as I turned and walked back into the main lab.

Seeing the two cages filled with rats, I grabbed both and placed them on my bench, before grabbing the medication.

In the fridge, there were two vials, B & P.

B was a new test drug called Agent 3266. Not the most catchy name, but if it works, the marketing guys would have a go at it. Beside it was the P vial, containing good old saline, for the control rats.

I took both vials out, put the in a holder and transported them to the lab bench.

Looking around, I realized I had forgotten where I left the most important piece of equipment.

“Hey Jen!” I yelled.

“Yeah?” came the voice from the other room.

“Where’s the auto-injector?”

“In the drawer with the orange tape on it!”

“Thanks!” I yelled.

I opened the drawer and saw it: the new painless auto-injector.

It was specifically purchased to eliminate unnecessary pain in lab animals, and as I was about to realize, humans too.

Musings of A Manly (I HAD to use it as a title eventually!)

2009-07-24T14:22:00.000-07:00

Well, it’s finally here. My 25th birthday.

What is age, but a number?

I’ll tell you what it is, it means I have survived 25 years on this planet without dying, 25 birthday-related near-catastrophes and most surprisingly, 25 terrible Canadian Winters.

What have I learned in my 25 years on this blue orb we call Earth? Frankly, a lot about animals and biology, a bit about math and chemistry and literally nothing about poetry or how the f#@$ you play Lacrosse.

So, in honour of the 25th Anniversary of my birth, here are 25 memories that I shall share with you. Keep in mind, they are not ranked in any particular order, this is strictly a stream of consciousness thing.

1) One of the first memories I can remember is making snowmen in kindergarten using cotton balls. Remember that? And was it just me, or did cotton fluff + glue + young kids = a BAD combination?

2) I broke my left clavicle (collar bone) in senior-kindergarten by falling off a stack of big wooden blocks. To this day, I am still unsure of how it happened. I remember falling and waking up at Sick Kids Hospital staring up at an X-Ray machine with glow-in-the-dark Ghostbusters stickers around it.

3) In my life, so far, I have broken my left collar bone, various toes and fingers, bruised a few ribs, dislocated my left shoulder and sprained my left and right ankles.

4) Last night, I watched old cartoon theme songs from the 80’s and 90’s. Such highlights included: Transformers, Sonic the Hedgehog, Captain Planet, Teddy Ruckspin, Batman: The Animated Series and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. In hindsight, I watched a LOT of TV as a kid. I suppose it was one of the quickest ways to silent two crying twins very quickly.

5) I once got lost at the Metro Toronto Zoo as a child. From what I remember, I was distracted looking at the gorilla’s, and by the time I turned around, my entire family was gone. So, using an intelligence far beyond my years, I found a security guard and proceeded to regale him with my story. As my Dad is so fond of saying, “we found him explaining, as only David can, the situation to a security guard.”

6) I used to want to be a paleontologist, as I was obsessed with dinosaurs when I was a kid (please see earlier post, David's First Love). That was my IDEAL dream job, but it fell to the wayside. However, it is still something I am immensely interested in.

7) I acted a lot when I was a child, especially in musicals (yeah, yeah). But I loved it. Something about being on stage and having everyone pay attention to you was thrilling. Most of them were school or camp plays. The two best roles I ever got, were being Captain Hook in Peter Pan (I loved being evil, and my brother was Smee. I’m not too sure how he swung that, as it was originally given to someone else. Always curious about how Daniel did that …) and the other role I loved was Benny in RENT (the rich apartment building owner). To be honest, I miss it.

8) The first adult book I ever read was Jurassic Park. Guess why? That's right ... DINOSAURS

9) I am a big fan of movies, as is everyone in my family. I will watch almost anything to completion, and most likely enjoy a part or two. However, there are only two movies that I have begun to watch, but never completed. The first is Starman with Jeff Bridges (sorry Dad) and the reasoning behind it is lost on me, as it was a long time ago. The second is Lawrence of Arabia with Peter O’Toole … and it was just too damn long and made me really, really thirsty.

10) More old television shows. Remember Fraggle Rock, Today’s Special, Thundercats and Denver the Last Dinosaur? That was high quality television … not like the crap out there today!

11) I started wearing glasses in grade 10, and I was amazed that I could see individual leaves on trees from a distance away. They were always greenish blobs with a trunk.

12) As an admitted science guy, people say that I must have loved Bill Nye the Science Guy. And it’s true, I enjoyed it. But, three other shows did not get enough credit: Inquiring Minds, The Magic School Bus and Beakman’s World (the best science show EVER).

13) I went to overnight camp a lot, and had a great time. One time in particular was not, however, as three days before Parent’s Day, I got a black fly bite on my left eye-lid. It swelled up like nobody’s business. I couldn’t see out of it, and it HURT. Luckily, I took some weird but great tasting medicine (tasted like banana) from the health centre and I was better just in time to see my parents.

14) More on overnight camps: You ever tried tubing? Basically, it’s a small and circular flotation device with 4 handles (for a 2 person tube) and it is pulled behind a speedboat. SO MUCH FUN! One day, during an exceptionally hard water day, I went tubing and fell off. According to my brother, who was at the dock at the time, I “skimmed along the surface of the water like a thrown rock.” All I can remember was it really, really hurt!

15) I miss my old Nintendo Entertainment System (AKA the NES). Our grandparents brought it to us from the States, before it was even released in Canada. It was amazing. Some of the best games ever! Duck Hunt, Tetris, Super Mario Brothers 3 … the list goes on and on.

16) One of the most terrifying and thrilling moments of my life happened at the exact same time. It was when I went skydiving in Las Vegas last year with my brother. I was scared and exhilarated at the same time. By the time it was over, I was so pumped with adrenaline that I could not even stand! I would do it again in a heartbeat. Please see the video on Facebook ... it's AWESOME!

17) I’ve pet a cheetah … true story. Happened at a behind the scenes look at the Metro Toronto Zoo from a Reptile Biology (AKA Herpetology) course at York. Felt like a really, really big cat. It even purred when I pet it.

18) I want a pet snake. Preferably a python of some sort, like a Ball Python or a Green Tree Python. I do not know why I have such a fascination with reptiles, but I do. They are fantastic creatures, from which we should not be afraid of. They deserve our respect.

19) The celebrities I have met: Adam Sandler, Al Gore, Brent Spiner, Jonathan Frakes, Malcolm McDowell, Shawnee Smith, Sean Astin and Colin Farrell.

20) This is harder than I thought … Ummm, I like cheese

21) Everyone always asks if my twin and I ever used to play tricks in school, and we did, but not often. It was fun, though.

22) Halloween costumes I wore as a child: Home-made Ghostbuster outfit, Superman, Captain Hook, part of a 2-headed alien, Jason, the Devil, a Mad Scientist, and, an escaped mental patient (loved that one).

23) Turning 25 makes me feel old

24) When I was a kid, using an amateur science kit, I blew up our basement and sent our cat Mr. Fluffy to a different dimension … yeah, that’s not true. Never happened. Never even had a cat. It's tough to come up with 25 things! Had a dog, though.

25) And to end it off, a complete and utterly useless fact about animals:
A complete examination of 200,000 ostriches over 80 years showed that NONE were found to every bury their heads in the sand.

When Home isn't Home, and the 40th Anniversary of Apollo 11!!!

2009-07-20T10:28:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm sick.

I stayed home from work today, but they are still finding ways to slowly encroach upon my life. That being said, I have just a few short weeks left until I can finally cast aside the shackles of public affairs, and pick up the shackles of a Master's of Journalism. Joy.

It's not that I hate Ottawa, I don't. It's just not 'home.' You know?

Even though I've been here for almost a year, it's not home. When I think about my future, it is not in Ottawa. Ottawa is for politics, not scientists. Ottawa is where scientists go for money, I should know, as I currently work there.

But, to put a happier spin on this post, it is the 40th anniversary of the Moon landing. SO, here are 10 interesting space & moon facts:

- The official name of Earth's Moon is, "the Moon" with a capital M. All other moons are with a lower-case m to show the difference
- "Buzz" Aldrin's mother's maiden name was Moon, and his real first name is Edwin
- At 62,000 feet of elevation, without a pressure suit, your blood would boil (known as the Armstrong line)
- Every year, the Moon drifts 3.8 cm away from the Earth's gravity
- 55 per cent of Americans know that the sun is actually a star. What the other 45 per cent think it is, I have NO idea
- During a full Moon, the Earth's temperature increases by about 0.02 degrees
- There are THREE golf balls on the Moon
- Neil Armstrong's footprint on the surface of the Moon will remain intact for approximately 10 million years
- Only 20 seconds of fuel remained in Apollo 11's lunar lander when it landed on the Moon
- If you heat moon dust to 800 degrees Centigrade, it turns into water

"Sir, it is time for you to write your book"

2009-07-15T07:22:00.000-07:00

I was at work, and I saw that this movie will open up the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).

I had heard of it a while ago, but, like all the info we are exposed to everyday, it disappeared from thought.

So, with my intrigued rekindled, I watched the trailer.

It gave me CHILLS.

The man is my hero, and is a man of revolution. He changed the world, like few seldom have. He stood up to adversity, and faced critiques from all angles.

I have learned much about him from self-interest, my own research, and a course I took in university. He is one of the men I would have at my table, for that age-old question, 'If you could have dinner with three people, living or dead, who would they be?'

I have absolutely no reservations in saying that THIS man, through his life and what he achieved, changed my life. My love and interest of science has grown and evolved since I was a child, and I firmly believe that I would not feel as strongly about it if it were not for this man.

The man is, of course, Charles Darwin.

The movie is entitled "Creation," starring Paul Bettany as Charles, and Jennifer Connelly as his wife, Emma. It also stars Toby Jones as Thomas Huxley, Darwin's most feared and vocal supporter, earning the nickname "Darwin's bulldog."

Please watch the trailer, and I hope that I will be able to see this movie one-day.

David, a Country Club, South Dakota, and a Delayed Space Shuttle Launch

2009-07-14T15:39:00.000-07:00

I have been out of touch lately, I know.

For the past two days, I was stuck in a two-day office retreat at a Golf and Country club in Quebec. Now, I use the word 'retreat' sparingly, as it was not a fun event, not by a long shot. It was more of a, let's review our business practices, kinda thing.

As a summer student, I was told to go. And I knew that I would be bored, as all the information would be fairly useless to me. But, that did not prepare me for how bored EVERYONE ELSE was!

I saw lots of people falling asleep during the various presentations (I won't name names, for fear that they are following my blog), but some very high-level people were nodding off! It was very, very funny.

Because I have been out of the office, I have not had a chance to continue my story, and therefore could not complete the next chapter of my novel. It's ALMOST done, and should be up in a few days.

Before I get to some news, here is something that I was privy too today.

The golf and country club is VERY fancy, like, antique fireplaces, varnished wood and tablecloths kinda fancy. It also has tons of rich old people. During a break in the meetings, I stepped outside and saw three elderly gentlemen smoking cigars. An employee of the club approached them.

Employee: Excuse me sirs, but do you need any help?
**Old Man 1 looks at him from top to bottom**
Old Man 1 (in a Francophone accent): Son, you couldn't help me if you tried!
**All the men laughed, followed by the employee nervously chuckle**
**Old Man 2 took a looooong puff of his cigar**
Old Man 2 (in a dry British accent): Sorry son, but we're still waiting for another member of our party. You run along like a good chap.

I thought these types of things only happened in old movies! Old rich people golfing on a weekday, probably plotting shady business practices, new investments or who to leave out of their wills.

As for David news, I finally booked my trip to South Dakota! Why am I the only one cheering? ... Jerks.

I'll be leaving at the end of August for a few days to film Black-Footed Ferrets in South Dakota.

There are no direct flights from Toronto to South Dakota, apparently, because NO ONE GOES TO SOUTH DAKOTA!!! I just hope everything goes well there.

Lastly, the Space Shuttle is having a doozy of a time, eh? I don't think the shuttle Endeavour will EVER get off the ground. They were supposed to launch in June ... JUNE! And the launch has been delayed again, because of weather.

Makes you feel good about the mental power of NASA, when they delay a multi-billion dollar launch because of weather. Don't you think they would be able to forcast it? They're figgin NASA!

Despite the shuttle not launching yet, my article about it was.

The link is at the top right of your screen ... enjoy!!!!

Geek News and Unique Characters on the Bus

2009-07-08T14:42:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post today, as being bored at work today made me EXTRA sleepy.

- First off, remember those MacGruber skits from SNL? Yeah, they're making THAT into a movie. You heard me, a MacGruber movie
- Next, in more movie re-making Armageddon, the Blade trilogy is getting a reboot. Apparently, focusing on a half-vampire wasn't enough. The 'new' trilogy will focus on the villain from the first movie, Deacon Frost
- And lastly, a Geek God has written and directed the premiere of Dollhouse season 2. He is the series creator and love of Geek girls everywhere, Mr. Joss Whedon

For all those who are wondering, I am working hard on my next chapter of my novel. I have come up with a title, it's called "The Black." I will continue to post chapters as I write them onto my blog ... or perhaps even start a new one devoted entirely to it? I'm not too sure. Should be ready by the weekend, but, I cannot guarantee.

I saw a lot of interesting people on the bus ride home today. Everyone has a story, and I wonder what their are:
- The woman with a screaming child who says, "I wanted the RED ONE! RED ONE!"
- The female teenager with a black streak on her white tank-top
- A man reading a Calculus textbook
- A man in a business suit, with a large orange stain on his tie
- A woman reading the 4th Twilight book, dabbing at the tears flowing from her eyes
- Ans most bizarrely, a middle-aged woman wearing pantyhose on her left arm

The Novel, Part II

2009-07-06T12:24:00.001-07:00

So, here is the next chapter of the story/novel I am writing. Remember, it is only preliminary, and feel free to share and criticisms or comments. It's the only way I'll grow ;)

But, before the unveiling, some news!

- New trailer for Diablo Cody's latest, called Jennifer's Body. It's everything you would expect from her, and looks really, really good.
WARNING: TRAILER IS RATED R. Not suitable for kiddies, guy with heart problems, or excitable pee-ers.

- One of my favourite shows, Dexter, returns for season 4 on September 27th!

- In the land of Hollywood, movies are constantly being re-made into different versions of themselves. BUt, who ever would have thought that a movie would be turned into a TV show ... on ABC Family. The movie 10 Things I Hate About You, based on Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew, was released in 1999. I remember watching it in the theatre with my sister! And now, they are making a new show, entitled, surprise, surprise 10 Things I Hate ABout You.

And now, what you all have been (hopefully) waiting for!

And here's the title I'm thinking of for the story/novel ... The Black.

Here is the first chapter!!! Enjoy!!

Chapter 1

This is a tough thing to write. You know how when most people are kids, they have some sort of a journal? Well, this is sorta like that. But, this is more like a recollection of the events of the previous few weeks in my surprisingly busy life. I mean, with all the death and stuff that has happened around me, you would think I was in the middle of the Apocalypse.

Hahahahahahahahaha. Now that’s funny. I mean, like pee yourself laughing funny. But, I’m getting ahead of myself. You’ll understand that joke once I get started.

First, some background about your protagonist, me!

My name is Roger, and I am currently a 25 year old from New York City. I was born in Canada, but that doesn’t matter to the story.

I graduated high school, went to college, and got a degree in biomedical engineering and ancient history. Eccelctic resume, eh?

I now work for a biotechnology company known as ANUBIS. It stands for some stupid shit that makes no sense, but, it’s a job.

According to the business card in my wallet, right next to the wallet condom that every guy has, ANUBIS stands for ANother Unique Biological Investigative System.

My specific job description is that I am a laboratory technician. It’s as boring as it sounds.

Basically, I do all the grunt work that the egg-heads are too busy to do. I receive experimental drugs from different companies or researchers, and test them on various animals (anything ranging from mice to monkeys).

Now we can get started.

It all began about six weeks ago.

I had just broken up with my girlfriend, Rachel, and was pretty down in the dumps about my life. Yeah, it’ s sappy and cliché, but what do you want me to say? It’s the truth, and believe me, this truth is stranger than any fiction you could ever imagine.

Right. So, here begins the story.

I awoke from my sleep with a jolt. I vaguely remembered having a strange dream about a man in a hotel room laughing. It was slightly disconcerting, but, it was only a dream.

The dream slowly faded away, like all dreams do, given enough time. Shaking it off, I them proceeded with my usual morning routine.

Stretch, Poop, Stretch, Eat, Shower, Pee, Change and leave the apartment by 8 am.

Like a Swiss watch. Always perfectly timed. Except today.

I sneezed while stretching, couldn’t poop, was out of cereal and toilet paper, and I forgot to do the laundry. Because of all those things, I left the apartment at 8:23 am. Twenty-three minutes later than I should have.

What would have happened if I had left at my normal time of 8 am?

To be honest, I did not know. But I do know that I wouldn’t be where I am right now, writing my ipso-facto memoirs, so that what happened to me, my friends and the planet, will not be lost by the annals of history.

David and his Soapbox

2009-07-02T08:28:00.000-07:00

Well, it’s that time of the week again. I am once again bored outta my mind at work, and trying in vain to think of something to do.

Therefore, I have decided to try something a little different with this blog post (taken from the page of the oh-so-glorious TheParkBench, TheParkBench) and celebrate the nerdy way of life.

First off, the news:

- Uranium found on the Moon

Uranium … was found on the moon. Yeah, exactly.

According to the article, a Japanese probe has identified Uranium particles on the surface of the Moon. The article states that this could potentially pave the way for future settlements on the moon. And yet, all I could think of was something from the great nerd TV show, Futurama. That if this does happen, all that will result is a campy Disneyland on the surface of the moon.

Which reminds me, I should get a Fun-gineering degree.

- Kari Byron, the fantastically gorgeous member of Mythbusters (in actuality, the only girl on the show), has given birth! She gave birth to, according to a Tweet from Grant Imahara (one of her two co-horts in the busting of myths and @grantimahara on Twitter), that “Stella Ruby born 11:35pm 6/28/09, 42 hours of labor, weight: 8lbs 12oz. Both Kari & baby in good health.”

- I have been saying it for as long as I can remember, and it pains me to say this, but over 800 unique and wonderful species have gone extinct within the last 500 years. And the worst part is, according to a report by the IUCN (International Union on Conservation of Nature), that over 5,000 species are now at risk!
According to the report, “The new analysis shows 869 species became extinct or extinct in the wild since the year 1500 while 290 more species are considered critically endangered and possibly extinct. At least 16,928 species are threatened with extinction, including nearly one-third of amphibians, more than one in eight birds and nearly a quarter of mammals.”

Over 800 Species Extinct!

Seriously people. Something must be done. If we loose our wondrous biodiversity now, it will be gone forever. Forever is such as scary word, but aptly fits this scenario.

Well, turns out my MRP is increasing in relevance every single day. First newspaper coverage on Black-Footed Ferrets (which I will be visiting at the end of August to film), 2010 being named the official year of Biodiversity (WOO!) and now a report by the IUCN declaring over 5,000 species at risk of extinction.

And now, to end this small rant, three final words:

SAVE THE SPECIES!

And now, becasue I really should not end a blog post on a slightly sad note, here is an article that is funny, and yet, disturbing simultaneously. Check it out, it's very telling about advertising and the media that was represented at the time.

Top 10 Ironic Ads from History

Some Light Comedy

2009-06-27T21:21:00.000-07:00

Before the videos, check out these two other blogs. They have some fascinating insights ;)

How to meet and woo nerdy guys

5 tips on proper geek male maintenance

And now, what you have all bee waiting for! Here are some video's for all the geeks and nerds out there. Courtesy of YouTube and a few others:

Robot Chicken Super-villain carpool

Dr. Tweetlove, Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love Twitter

2009-06-21T10:06:00.000-07:00

Do you get the title reference? Of course you do!

So, yes, I finally relented on Friday and joined Twitter.

Why you ask? Well, I was bored at work (as per usual), and I know that most of my J-school friends are on it, and I never really gave it a chance. So, I decided I would check it out.

It's interesting, and I have a better feeling of why so many people are so addicted to it. And, it's good to see what all my great J-school friends are up to (since we don't have regular school contact until September).

If you are on Twitter, feel free to follow me. My name on Twitter is VERY tricky. Are you ready? It's: davidmanly

Now, for what I promised on Twitter, and have told some people about.

Because I am so bored at work, I have decided to start writing a bit of a novel. Yes, a novel. I haven't been working on it for long, and I just have the first two chapters done along with a rough plot outline.

However, I decided to put the Prelude on my blog, and see what people think. Feel free to post your comments, or email me what you think. It is by no means finished, as it is only a rough draft, and feedback is appreciated.

Enjoy!

Prelude

“It was a dark and stormy night …” laid typed on the laptop.

Wow, how unoriginal, the man at the keyboard thought in a small hotel room.

The room was your standard cheap hotel room just off the highway. Nothing fancy, besides a desk with a lamp that seemingly resembled a tortoise shell, a bed with a beige comforter and a small desk and chair.

Seriously man, he thought. A thousand monkeys typing at a hundred typewriters can write Hamlet … and you cannot even write a decent opening line!

Fed up with himself, the man deleted the sentence with a quick flick of his wrist.

Another productive night of doing nothing. An excellent waste of time of just waiting for that singular moment which will define you. That which will show everyone who you really are.

Angrily, the man stood up and walked to the window next to his desk. Without any hesitation, he flew open the yellow time-tinted blinds.

A full moon emerged from behind the dark clouds, and as the moonlight swept over him, he felt oddly nervous. Well, not nervous. More anxious. Anxious for what was to come tomorrow.

It's finally time, he thought.

All those years, all the meticulous planning. Our plan will finally come to fruition. My brother and sister will be pleased.

Now, what you must know about this man, is that he is not evil. Not by any sense of the word. He simply takes the path of least resistance, which often takes him into dark and dangerous situations that others would simply run away from in fear.

He was not one of those men.

In fact, you would be hard pressed to find someone who was less human than this man.

Whilst staring at the moon, the man began to look forward to tomorrow. Because tomorrow … tomorrow, would be his beginning. And yet, for many others, it would be their end.

And then, he smiled.

DOH ... RAY .... EGON!

2009-06-16T16:46:00.000-07:00

So, here's the thing. I was going to blog about everything that is wrong with my job, the people I work with, how BAD I am at ironing (I have two burns on the same arm to prove it) and the like.

That was, until, I remembered what month it is: June, 2009.

In this month, 25 years ago, something extraordinary happened. No, it's not my birthday (that's in July).

Do you want a hint?

June 8, 1984.

That's right ... GHOSTBUSTERS was released.

While I did not see it when it was out in the theatres, when I did ... it was one fo the few movies that defined by childhood. It joined the ranks of Star Wars, Jurassic Park, the Land Before Time (as a kid, who DIDN'T love that movie?) and, of course, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

The movie, in case you had a deprived childhood, is about a group of paranormal scientists who decide to hunt and capture ghosts for a living, when the dead begin to rise in New York City.

I could talk about how good the movie is, my favourite characters, that my Mom made my brother and I homemade Ghosbusters outfits for Halloween when I was a young kid ... but I won't.

I will say one thing. When someone is drunk with their also drunk buddies and peeing at the side of the road ... I will bet you, someone will say, "Don't cross the stream!"

It is impossible to pick an all-time favourite quote, as there are so many. But, here are some of the best ... but, in all honesty, just go watch it. It is a classic.

Dana Barrett: Are you the Keymaster?

Dr. Egon Spengler: There's something very important I forgot to tell you.
Dr. Peter Venkman: What?
Dr. Egon Spengler: Don't cross the streams.
Dr. Peter Venkman: Why?
Dr. Egon Spengler: It would be bad.
Dr. Peter Venkman: I'm fuzzy on the whole good/bad thing. What do you mean, "bad"?
Dr. Egon Spengler: Try to imagine all life as you know it stopping instantaneously and every molecule in your body exploding at the speed of light.
Dr Ray Stantz: Total protonic reversal.
Dr. Peter Venkman: Right. That's bad. Okay. All right. Important safety tip. Thanks, Egon.

Dr. Peter Venkman: Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... mass hysteria!

Winston Zeddemore: Ray. If someone asks if you are a god, you say, 'YES!'

And, I leave you with this. Who can forget ... the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man?

Maybe Blanche Was Right

2009-06-09T16:45:00.000-07:00

It’s been a very odd, yet boring week. Let me explain.

Work is … going. But, I actually got my first thing published on the web site! The link is posted at the top right of my blog. Exciting, eh?

Sadly, that is all I have noticeably added to my clippings in just over a month.

Before any of you ask, I know that it does not say my name in the article posted to your top right. It's sad, I know. But, that's how they roll, and, "the dude abides." I've been waiting to use that in a blog post!!!!

And before I forget ... a shout out to my bro! HI DANIEL!
(Told you I'd mention you in the next one ;)

Anyway, I have decided to focus on something interesting that happened recently.

Actually, interesting is not the right word … I saw something extraordinary yesterday on the bus.

On my way home from work, a very attractive blond-haired woman in a blue dress (hereby abbreviated as WiBD) walked on about two stops after me. Behind her was a woman with two children (one in a stroller, the other looked to be about six), both of which were very fussy. In her haste to get onto the bus and sit down, she ignored the cries of the six year-old to get a transfer to hold onto. When they finally sat down, the six year-old began crying very loudly for a transfer. The WiBD then, got up from her seat (which was subsequently taken by a very ungrateful person), walked over to the mother, smiled, and gave the kid her transfer. This is the conversation that followed:

WiBD – There you go, honey.
*Gave the kid the transfer*
Child – *crying stops*
YAY! Mommy!!
Look what the pretty lady gave me!!!
Mother – I saw, and I cannot thank you enough.
WiBD – It was my pleasure
*smiles*
Mother – But what about you? Won’t you need to pay again for the next bus without a transfer?
WiBD – It doesn’t matter, really.
It’s only three dollars.
Who cares when you get to see a child smile like that at something we take for granted?
*Kid looks up at Mother, and smiles a goofy little kid smile*

When WiBD came back and noticed that her seat was taken, I stood up and gave her mine. She initially didn’t want it, but due to my charm and persistence (or that she was tired … what do I know?), she eventually took it, and we had a little conversation.

A few minutes later, a seat opened up near the front of the bus, and she went up to take it after thanking me once again.
The, the very next stop, a woman in a wheelchair got on and WiBD immediately got to her seat (which was part of the lift-up wheelchair seat), and lifted up the seats to make room for the wheelchair.

Then, she walked right by me, and gave me a very subtle wink and a smile, before getting off at the next stop.

Some people, eh?

It is amazing what some people do just altruistically. Altruism is doing something for the good of someone else with no gain, or a significant drawback for yourself.

Here are some examples (found in animals … of course). Thanks to Wikipedia and various other internet sites/books for some of the information.

- Dogs will often adopt other animals as their own (such as cats, squirrels ducks, and in one case, a tiger!)
- Dolphins will support sick or injured animals by actually pushing them to the surface so they can breathe … sometimes for hours
- Chimpanzees will help others similar to itself (even humans) without any reward
- Vampire bats have a “buddy system” according to Gerald Wilkinson, where if a bat had a successful night of feeding, it will regurgitate blood for its less fortunate companion
- Vervet monkeys will give calls to warn fellow monkeys of a predator, even though in doing so, they attract attention to themselves and increase their own chance of being attacked (same with prairie dogs and meerkats)
- Walruses will adopt orphans
- Some ants will sacrifice themselves for the good of the hive

That is all I have for now, but you all know, that no matter how monotonous my life gets ... there's always something interesting on the horizon for me.

It's Time For ...

2009-06-02T15:09:00.000-07:00

I watched a lot of TV as a kid. Some crap, of course, but also a bunch of educational shows. And there were some which I started to watch as a kid cause they were funny, and continued to watch for the education presented in a unique way.

Those who know me know that Beakman's World was my favourite show as a kid, but, that's another post :)

This is devoted to a show even my Dad enjoyed .... Animaniacs (produced by Steven Spielberg).

Here are two perfect examples of how I learned US state capitals AND the nations of the world. Keep in mind, they were done in the late 80's early 90's and some, like the nations of the world song, have many errors. See if you can name the ones he DOESN'T mention.

But, just sit back, crank up the volume, and enjoy! Who knows, you might even learn something ;)

An Odd Phenomenon

2009-05-27T19:59:00.000-07:00

It all began when I first moved to Ottawa.

I began noticing people who very closely resembled friends from Toronto. Usually, it would warrant a second look, to confirm that it was NOT them.

However, there have been a few times when I thought I have seen a few of my best friends from Toronto here in Ottawa: Inna, Elisa, Sahab, Amanda and Jen.

After about a month or two in Ottawa, I stopped noticing.

Then, a few days ago, I sat next to 'Jen' on the bus. It was creepy. It was not just someone who slightly resembled her. It was someone who LOOKED like her, complete with the outfit and sunglasses.

However, there was one major difference ... 'Toronto Jen' is much, much prettier.

Therefore, I have come up with a name for this phenomenon:
Ottawa Twin Syndrome.

I spoke to a friend of mine about this, and she is slightly nuts (which I am as well, so we get along brilliantly) and we came up with something. It is a commonly held belief, that people say that they must have someone who looks like them somewhere in the world. Therefore, if this is true, it is not beyond the realm of possibility that some of these individuals that resembled my good friends reside on Ottawa.

And now, for something everyone needs ... spontaneous DANCING from So You Think You Can Dance Season 4. Three of the best.

*I apologize for the low quality of the last one ... it's the best I could find. There used to be a better one ...*

UPDATE:
I completely forgot about this one!!!!
Thanks Sara!

"These are a few of my favourite things ..."

2009-05-22T20:42:00.000-07:00

At work, I'm frequently bored. Not because there is nothing to do, but because it all requires me to do the same thing over and over and over again. And, anyone who knows me knows, I hate repetitive tasks that can repeat ad infinitum.

So, I was reading Claire's blog (which is VERY good, and I recommend everyone check it out) about sea lampreys, and I got an idea. So, here are two lists from the Mind of Manly.

My Favourite Animals
These are not in any particular order, but they are all my favourites.

The Blue Shark

Beautiful, Streamlined and Blue. I first saw this animal on an episode from Discovery Channel's Shark Week, and I was amazed. Everyone knows and is fascinated by the great white (yours truly included), but something about this shark spoke to me. And after a while, I figured out what it was. As a kid, I went to Nature Camp, and one day we were asked questions about sharks, and told that the winner would get a prize. Of course, surprise, surprise ... I won. And what did I win?
A fossilized shark tooth. The tooth of Prionace glauca, the Blue Shark.

Przewalski's Horse

It is the last truly wild horse left on the planet, and is endangered in Mongolia. All the other "wild" horses out there and just escaped captive horses. And plus, the horse has a mohawk ... what's cooler than that?

Green Tree Python

It's a snake. It's a python. It's green. How could I NOT love this animal?

Grey Wolf

Self-explanatory.

Now, after four favourites ... how about four of the weirdest/ugliest/most fascinating?

David's Weird List

Greenland Shark

This is the top of the food chain under the Arctic ice, but not much is known about it. How long it lives, how it mates, what precisely it eats are still unknown. Some scientists believe that they can live for hundreds of years, even more than a sea turtle. As well, it moves slowly to conserve heat in the frigid water, and if you look closely on its eye, it has a nematode parasite attached to it. That's right, it's BLIND.
Ohhh yeah, and it's meat is poisonous.

The Pangolin

I love this guy. It's one of the weirdest animals I have ever seen, and I love it. It walks on two legs, but all hunched over like it is carrying an immensely heavy backpack. And, when threatened, it will curl up like a porcupine, leaving nothing exposed but its scales. But, the STRANGEST thing abut them?
Recent genetic tests show that they are most closeley related, not to armadillos or anteaters like you may think, but to mammalina carnivores (lions, tigers, dogs, cats, etc...)

And, finally, the one that ranks near the TOP of my list....
The HAGFISH

Hagfish (or slime eels) are not really fish, nor are they eels. They have four hearts and two brains, and their bones are made of keratin, so they are VERY flexible. They also have barbels around their mouth, which are used as chemosensory organs. They also live at the bottom of the ocean and feed on carcasses. But, since they have no jaws, the contort their bodies into a knot, and move that knot up and down their bodies to create a shearing force. However, the best, and weirdest thing about them, it their slime.
When frightened, scared or about to feed, they secrete a slime protein. When it interacts with water, it turns into a sticky and slimy goop that is impossible to get off, yet insanely slippery. And they produce a LOT of this stuff.

Check out this video, and you'll see what I mean:

Now, there are TONS of other animals that I would like to show you, and I'll perhaps do more at a later date. But, here are the names of some more:
Star-nosed mole, the Aye-Aye, Aardvark, Echidna, Tapir, Sloth, Anteater, Hammerhead shark, the Oryx, Babiursa, Axolotyl, Black Mamba, and the list goes on and on ....

That's NASTY

2009-05-17T18:27:00.000-07:00

Today was a very interesting day, in that I went to go see the movie, "Angels & Demons" and saw some interesting things on the way there.

This post is not about the movie, which was enjoyable, but more about what I saw.

This post is about people, and the nasty little habits they have. Over the day, the acts I saw got progressively worse and worse.

The day began with a walk to the O-Train (Ottawa's light rail transit system), and I saw a woman walking her dog. Her dog took a poo on someone's lawn, and she didn't pick it up. What she did was pick grass from the person's lawn and put it on top of the poo, as if to disguise it.

Next, while I was waiting for the O-Train, a woman came into the little bus shelter wearing a very bizzare set of clothing. She was wearing a pink fuzzy sweater, with a brown T-shot on top. She was also wearing a black skirt with yellow knee-highs. And she completed her outfit with pink sandals. Now, that wasn't the nasty part. The worst part were her TOES.
Her toe nails were long, yellow and dirty. Not like a little yellow or a little dirty ... but, like jaundice yellow and brown dirty. It was really, really gross. I couldn't even bring myself to look at her nails, to see if they were the same.
I take care that my nails are cut and clean, and what kind of person doesn't do that before they wear sandals? HONESTLY!

Then, within the movie theatre, there was an elderly woman sitting two rows ahead of me on the opposite side of the theatre. About 1/3 of the way into the movie, she began to cough. And it was not a muffled cough, but a full-on hacked and disgusting cough. It sounded like she was going to cough up a lung! And then, to make matters worse, she started to dry-heave. Finally, after about 20-25 minutes, she left the theatre and never came back.

And finally, on the O-Train on the way home, there was a guy sitting close to me with a handkerchief. Periodically, he would sneeze into it, and he was obviously ill. Then, once, he sneezed and did not cover his mouth and spewed it ALL over the O-Train window. He then, almost unbelievably, began to try to wipe it with his snotty handkerchief. But, as you can imagine, that only made it worse.

Honestly, it was hard not to laugh!

But, then, it went from laughable to gross in about 1.4 seconds. Because, once he realized the clean up was useless, he removed the handkerchief from the window, brought it to his mouth and proceeded to suck on whatever was in it.

Isn't that UNBELIEVABLE GROSS?

It's the Little Things that Make Me Smile

2009-05-14T19:18:00.000-07:00

Every now and then, you see something that makes you smile.

Not a polite smile, like what people do after a really bad joke.
For example, What did one snowman say to another?

Smells like carrots.

Not a chuckle or a chortle, not a smirk, but a genuine smile. A smile that you used to do when you were a kid. Like when you got that perfect birthday present, or a new bike, or meeting the Ninja Turtle 'live' at Universal Studio's. After so many years, I still believe that that one moment, with the Ninja Turtle, was a moment of purest joy that I have ever experienced. Thanks Mom and Dad.

While this was not a moment of pure joy, this was a moment of happiness. This thing made me smile like a little kid.

Seriously. That's BRILLIANT.

And, for a sprinkle of philosophy in this post:

Sometimes you're the snake, and sometimes you're the bird.

My Life, Such As It Is Right Now

2009-05-08T20:51:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was a GORGEOUS day in Ottawa after I finished work. On my walk home, the sun was shining and there was hardly a cloud in the sky. It was beautiful. It turned a crap day into a very enjoyable one.

I went for a nice long walk outside after I arrived home and changed, and pondered about getting a bike to ride in Ottawa this summer. I personally think it would be a good idea ... thoughts?

With regards to my internship, what is good about it, as compared to school, is that I don't have much to do on the weekends anymore. There's no articles to write, research to do or assignments to grade ... just sleeping in and taking it easy.

My internship is really not NEWS, it's more PR. Which most likely means that I won't get as much clippings as compared to others working at a daily paper or magazine. However, the odd time I may get pulled off what I'm working on to write a news brief, media release or a Q&A.

And that's all that has been going on with me these days. Get up, have breakfast, go to work, have lunch, back to work, come home, have dinner, watch TV and go to bed. Not really exciting.

As for my plans for the day, it's very simple. I'm going to relax for a bit more, and then go see the Star Trek movie :)

Do Our Part

2009-05-06T17:41:00.000-07:00

It's day three of my internship, and things are going well. I have my own cubicle, computer, filling cabinet AND desk! The government treats us well :P

All I'm doing now is doing preliminary research on a wide variety of topic in order to determine which will best suit the needs of this project. It's not the most exciting thing in the world, but I'm happy to do it (and get paid for it too ... lol).

I had a whole bunch if funny ideas in my head of what to write in this post. But then, in my wandering of the internet, I saw this:

I really, really like that video ... and not just becasue it has a frog in it ;)
And if you are curious, that is a CGI Leopard frog (Rana pipiens).

As many of you know, I think that the rainforests and our our planet are an amazing source of biodiversity, and need to be conserved.

Do your part ... recycle, be as green as is possible within your means, save energy and, most importantly, believe that we can make a difference.

Why? Well, isn't it enough I asked you?

What about the Prince of Wales?

David's First Love

2009-05-01T22:36:00.000-07:00

I'm heading back to Ottawa on Sunday to start my internship working for a Canada government funded science organization ... should be an interesting time!

And after that, at some point near the end of August, I will be heading to South Dakota to do research and filming for my MRP about endangered species. Anyone know anything interesting to do in South Dakota during the day because I will be primarily occupied with night shoots?

The most interesting thing that has happened to me in the past few days is that, as many people know, I am a wee bit of a clutz. I bump into stuff, fall occasionally and hurt myself in new and interesting ways. Someone once said that it is because I am so pre-occupied with tons of thoughts in my head, that I forget the normal stuff (like not tripping).

Case in point, I was walking up some stairs to a sidewalk, and putting my phone away and I tripped. So, valiantly, I used my hand to percent any damage to the phone. And, in doing so, my left hand scraped against the pavement. It hurt, but I dusted myself off and continued walking to my car. That is, until about 30 seconds later, when I noticed that blood was dripping onto the sidewalk.

So, holding my hand up and looking like I was raising my hand to a question no one asked, I walked into a gas station and used their bathroom to wash up and asked them for a Band-Aid. Suffice to say, I will soon have a new scar add to my collection ;)

Now, to the meat of this post.

Do you remember your first love?

I'm not talking about your first person who ever loved, I'm talking about the first time you just immediately fell in love with something.

I remember mine quite vividly and fondly.

Dimetrodon synapsid

When I was a child, my dad introduced me to dinosaurs and I was transfixed. The idea that massive creatures roamed the Earth 65 million years ago and have disappeared fascinated me. I went a little nuts and tried to learn as much as I possibly could about every dinosaur.

I checked out library books, read encyclopedias and visited the Royal Ontario Museum enough times to drive my parents bonkers. It was enough that when the school librarian retired, she gave my brother and I some dinosaur books that we checked out dozens of times. Even more impressive, is that we would actually correct the tour guides on museum tours.

I wanted to be a paleontologist and discover dinosaur bones for the rest of my life.
That was the first indication that I wanted to pursue a life of science. As my mom said once, "I knew at once from your love and passion for dinosaurs that you were destined for science."

This obsession continue through my elementary school years, and even influenced the books I read. In grade 5, I started reading adult books beginning with Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton, which I still possess to this day.

And when that movie came out, I literally had a smile on my face the entire time. THAT movie defined my childhood, and I truly loved it. My brother and I saw it at least eight times in the theaters.

Parents, sister, mom, dad, grandparents, aunt and by ourselves twice ;)

Dinosaurs had a profound impact on my life.

Through them, I learned about he theory of evolution when I was a kid.
As well, when religious leader told me that I was not supposed to believe in dinosaurs because they did not exist, it shattered my faith. He said that "God put the dinosaur bones into the ground to test our faith," which was the first time I thought that religion was not for me. Dinosaur bones could be felt, touched, studied, analyzed and dated. Cold, hard facts.

But, what happened to me wanting to be a paleontologist?
Sadly, it fell by the wayside to a brief stint wanting to be an actor, followed by a zoologist.

But, I will forever credit dinosaurs with beginning my love for science.

And, what are my favourite dinosaurs? There are far too many to name, but the ones that immediately come to mind are:
Dimetrodon (pictured above), the T-Rex (Sue, the most complete skeleton ever found is pictured below) the Stegosauraus (also pictured below) and the Pterodactyl (also below)

Tyrannosaurus Rex

Stegosaurus

Pterodactyl

Life Will Find A Way

2009-04-23T21:08:00.000-07:00

First off, I am NOT dead ... just a temporary hiatus as I went home to relax and unwind from the stresses that have accumulated during the school year.

It hasn't all been fun and games though, as a few interesting developments have popped up.

Firstly, I have an internship and there is a chance it could be one of the elusive 'paid' positions, with even an opportunity of a part-time job after the summer ends.

Secondly, my major research project is shaping up and beginning to semi-come together. I have narrowed down my focus, thanks to my supervisor, and even streamlined my budget! As for what it's on, that will be the subject of a later post.

And lastly, I saw a VERY interesting show last night. It was entitles, "Life After People" and it extrapolated, based on scientific observations, what the Earth would look like if all the humans suddenly disappeared. If we all went POOF, what would happen in: one day, a week, a month, a year, 10 years, 100 years, 500 years, 1,000 years?

And it ended with a a very interesting statement, that life existed before people, and life will continue afterwards. However, one thing is for certain, after 1,000 years, nearly all traces of humans presence will disappear.

Kind of makes all your troubles seem small and insignificant, eh?

And that made me think of a line from one of my favourite movies of all time, Jurassic Park.

"All I'm saying is that life ... finds a way"