tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70798411001498485312024-02-20T17:37:20.108-05:00... ponderings of a foolRantings of a Post-doc in the biological sciences.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger77125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7079841100149848531.post-57196070973888399802008-03-14T06:17:00.003-05:002008-03-15T05:57:07.508-05:00How is that fair or democratic?<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Markos_Moulitsas">Markos Moulitasas</a> (kos of the <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/">Daily Kos</a>) has been pushing that the Democrats divide the delegates from Florida and Michigan 50/50 (half for Senator Clinton and half for Senator Obama) to solve the problem of not seating the delegates from the two states at the Democratic Convention later this year. You see the Democratic primaries in those two states were held early, against the rules of the Democratic National Committee. The same thing happened on the Republican side. The GOP decided that the punishment will be that the delegate count from each state will be halved. In other words there was a punishment for not following the rules of the party but the votes would count and the Republicans in those states would get a say in who was the nominee from their party for president of the United States. <br /><br />What did the DNC decide? Well those brilliant Democrats decided to punish those states by not counting them. The major candidates went along. Senator Obama did not even end up on the ballot in Michigan because of this. He was on the Florida ballot. Senator Clinton was on both. She ended up winning both primaries (they were still held). The DNC was betting the nominee would have been secured by now, so it wouldn't matter. Boy were they wrong. Instead we have a situation in which Obama has a slight lead over Clinton in pledged delegates (those won through caucuses and primaries). Neither one may get enough pledged delegates to win the nomination. In that case, superdelegates will decide. These superdelegates are party officials, party elders, and those Democrats who were elected to high governmental offices. That doesn't exactly come across as being well very democratic, especially when the voters in MI and FL will not get a say. It will be a brokered election where back room deals come into play. While that made for fun viewing on West Wing, it will likely not play well in the real world. <br /><br />This brings us back to Kos. You see he is for Obama. Clinton needs the delegates from MI and FL in order to have a shot at winning (on top of big wins in PA and Puerto Rico). A revote along with the votes in PA and Puerto Rico may mean she will have more "popular votes" than Obama by the time of the convention while Obama will have a slight lead in delegates. This would be shades of the 2000 presidential convention. Gore won the "popular vote" while Bush ended up getting enough electors. Him getting enough electors of course being decided by the Supreme Court. For the Democrats it will be the Superdelegates playing the role of the Supreme Court. Obama camp would be in the uncomfortable position of advocating for a similar scenario that put Bush into office for him to be the nominee. They obviously do not want this but at the same time they don't want to offend the voters in Michigan and Florida, key swing states in the general election. Plus if they don't count and Clinton can convince enough superdelegates that she would have won if Michigan and Florida counted, she can win the nomination. By playing that angle, Clinton comes across as supporting the will of all the people. Obama would come across as attempting to suppress voters.<br /><br />The solution some are offering and Kos is pushing? Split it 50/50. The states get a "say" and Obama gets his pledged delegates. All is fine in the world. Of course all is not fine since there is a good chance Clinton could win both primaries. In other words the voters would not get a say. It would be sham and the nominee will be selected by the superdelegates, some of whom were part of the decision to strip the two states of their delegates to the convention. Of course this is a party that allows people to vote twice in Texas (they hold a primary and then a caucus, you have to vote in the former to participate in the latter needless to say certain demographics get underrepresented in the latter since they don't have the time). I am no fan of Clinton. Not voting for her in the general nor would I vote for Obama (the electoral college means my vote doesn't count so I say if that is the case I am going to stick to my principles). The Kos method is all about winning over substance, over democracy. This is personally what I think is wrong about American politics. It is all about winning the next election rather than you know actual leading through a democratic process. Not to mention it treats the people of MI and FL like they are idiots, it is patronizing them. Do we really need more of that in American politics?<br /><br />Updated:<br /><a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article/article?f=/c/a/2008/03/15/MN53VK8HS.DTL">Obama favors the 50/50</a> split. Clinton camp not so much. No real surprise. And yes, if positions were reversed, I think Clinton would be pushing a 50/50 split. Principles, what are those?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7079841100149848531.post-17138024805626910212008-01-25T06:53:00.000-05:002008-01-25T07:11:07.842-05:00Finally...Well as I mentioned <a href="http://ponderingofafool.blogspot.com/2007/10/absence.html">awhile back</a>, I have been busy writing away. Both the wet-lab work and the computer-based results were submitted together to the Journal of Cool Stuff . This was my first time submitting to J. of Cool Stuff. My advisor hadn't submitted there in awhile. The review on the computational work took 6 weeks. Minor revisions, mostly highlighting things for the reviewers that were not as obvious as we originally had thought. Easy fix. It took 8 weeks to hear on the wet lab work. Accepted pending minor revisions which included additional experiments along with curtailing the discussion or doing even more experiments. I took a week did the easy additional experiments (all yielding the negative results I expected with tons of caveats that make it hard to say anything conclusive about them, hence I did not do them in the first place, but we included all of that in the revised paper), and then we curtailed the discussion. The further potential experiments I am now doing and will turn into a short article, which in the end I guess puts me ahead of the game. I guess a thank you to the reviewer is in order.<br /><br />The work I did for collaborators currently is sitting in their hands as they write their part. Glad there was a delay since in the meantime I wrote a review with another post-doc in the lab for Building Blocks Journal which was reviewed & accepted within the span of two weeks for the holidays. Our lab has submitted research articles to Building Blocks Journal they are also turned around in the same amount of time. We already sent back the proofs. Still waiting on the proofs for the articles for Journal of Cool Stuff. The reviews for BBJ are very complete. Their editors actually push the reviewers to you know actually review in a timely fashion. Wish other journals did the same thing. Nothing worse than waiting, wondering if you are going to have to drop what you are doing to do additional experiments to satisfy a reviewer. Better to get it done sooner rather than latter. You have to be able to move on, move forward, so much better for peace of mind.<br /><br />And now what? Well, it is work with a post-doc in the lab pushing for a paper, work on the further experiments discussed above for another and then also work on a third project that hopefully will turn out a paper before the year is out. Productive yes, which is good but boy can writing be draining.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7079841100149848531.post-71865823913606789132008-01-21T07:02:00.000-05:002008-01-21T07:45:35.308-05:00A day to remember what we forget as a nation...Today in the US is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. It is a day in theory we are to remember the work of Dr. King and by extension the Civil Rights Movement in this nation. Usually I am afraid to say we gloss over it looking at through safe feel good frames, of peace and brotherhood. We must force ourselves to remember. There is much still to be done. Equality is still a dream we are striving for.<br /><br />I offer these reminders on this day of the work still to be done, still to be thought about and discussed. What we must remember.<br /><br />The March on Washington in 1963 (The one in which Dr. King gave his "I have a dream" speech) was the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. What were they <a href="http://www.crmvet.org/tim/tim63b.htm#1963mow">advocating for</a>?<br /><br />Comprehensive and effective civil rights legislation from the present Congress — without compromise or fillibuster — to guarantee all Americans:<br /> Access to all public accommodations<br /> Decent housing<br /> Adequate and integrated education<br /> The right to vote<br />Withholding of Federal funds from all programs in which discrimination exists.<br /><br />Desegregation of all school districts in 1963.<br /><br />Enforcement of the Fourteenth Amendment — reducing Congressional representation of states where citizens are disfranchised.<br /><br />A new Executive Order banning discrimination in all housing supported by federal funds.<br /><br />Authority for the Attorney General to institute injunctive suits when any Constitutional right is violated.<br /><br />A massive federal program to train and place all unemployed workers — Negro and white — on meaningful and dignified jobs at decent wages.<br /><br />A national minimum wage act that will give all Americans a decent standard of living. (Government surveys show that anything less than $2.00 an hour fails to do this.) <br />[The minimum wage at the time of the March is $1.15/hour.]<br /><br />A broadened Fair Labor Standards Act to include all areas of employment which are presently excluded.<br /><br />A federal Fair Employment Practices Act barring discrimination by federal, state, and municipal governments, and by employers, contractors, employment agencies, and trade unions.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King,_Jr.">Dr King on the Vietnam War</a>:<br />"A true revolution of values will soon look uneasily on the glaring contrast of poverty and wealth. With righteous indignation, it will look across the seas and see individual capitalists of the West investing huge sums of money in Asia, Africa and South America, only to take the profits out with no concern for the social betterment of the countries, and say: "This is not just.""<br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King,_Jr.">Dr. King on capitalism</a>:<br />"You can't talk about solving the economic problem of the Negro without talking about billions of dollars. You can't talk about ending the slums without first saying profit must be taken out of slums. You're really tampering and getting on dangerous ground because you are messing with folk then. You are messing with captains of industry… Now this means that we are treading in difficult water, because it really means that we are saying that something is wrong… with capitalism… There must be a better distribution of wealth and maybe America must move toward a democratic socialism."<br /><br />The latter sentiments lead Dr. King to begin to push for what he thought of as the 2nd phase of the Civil Rights Movement, dealing with poverty across the board (the first phase being taking on the challenge of segregation) with the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poor_People%27s_Campaign">Poor People's Campaign</a> where he was going to champion for an economic bill of rights. He was assassinated in Memphis, TN before he had to chance to really push the campaign. Dr. King was in Memphis to support striking Black sanitation workers.<br /><br />We must remember. We have a long ways to go. We have a history of only going so far to deal with the inequalities in our society. We gave up on Reconstruction after the Civil War, turning the South over to the segregationists, rewriting our history to look poorly upon Reconstruction (Gone with the Wind anyone). We only ended segregation in name only. We failed to do the hard work of actual integration. Giving instead into <a href="http://ponderingofafool.blogspot.com/2007/03/why-leftie-does-not-vote-democratic.html">fears of "other" breeding the modern Republican Party</a> and with it the presidency of George W. Bush.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7079841100149848531.post-87127374028898923002007-12-29T09:54:00.000-05:002007-12-29T10:06:23.332-05:00BCS Nightmare II...So the BCS title game pits Ohio State (11-1) vs. LSU (11-2). A team with two losses could be the "national champion" of college football (well of the BCS division, aka the division formerly known as 1A). This would be a nightmare for the BCS. Why? Well those Warriors of Hawaii. They are currently undefeated. They play Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. If Hawaii wins, they will be 13-0. In other words they would have done what no other team in the division formerly as 1A could do this year, win all its games. You then throw in the other teams with two losses and you could have really muddled situation. Here are my rooting interesting this BCS season:<br /><br />Rose Bowl: USC v. Illinois - Got to go with the Pac-10 here. Plus, USC would have two losses (see above why that matters). If they blow out Illinois and LSU barely gets past OSU in the title game then how can you really argue that the Trojans shouldn't also be thought of as national champs?<br /><br />Sugar Bowl: Hawaii v. Georgia - The Warriors of Hawaii as discussed above.<br /><br />Fiesta Bowl: West Virginia v. Oklahoma - Going to go with the Mountaineers. Why? Why not. Both teams have two losses.<br /><br />Orange Bowl: Virginia Tech v. Kansas - Going to go with Virginia Tech. This would move Kansas to two losses and keep Tech with only two.<br /><br />BCS Title Game: OSU v. LSU - LSU.<br /><br />If all of the BCS games go the way I hope this will be the end of the season records:<br />OSU 11-2<br />LSU 12-2<br />Kansas 11-2<br />Virginia Tech 12-2<br />West Virginia 11-2<br />Oklahoma 11-3<br />Hawaii 13-0<br />Georgia 10-3<br />USC 11-2<br />Illinois 9-4<br /><br />This would be beautiful!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7079841100149848531.post-80737385887682036082007-12-26T19:01:00.000-05:002007-12-26T19:15:05.025-05:00Back...Well it has been a bit. I have been "productive". I submitted two journal articles and a review. The journal articles were sent off of a month a half ago. The review was submitted on Friday. Last week, I also got the comments on one of the articles I submitted. The reviewers thought the paper should be published pending revisions of clarity and to address their ideas (or lack thereof). Incorporating their comments did improve the paper which is good. The only problem was my PI wanted the revised manuscript submitted on Friday as well. Of course the PI (who I do like and is usually good about work/balance) had to go home (significant other wanted PI home by a certain hour, so did mine but I am not as high up on the totem), so it was me submitting the review and then the revision. Now they are off. Of course, they are sitting there. PI was hoping someone this week would look at them. I don't think that is going to happen. We shall see. The other paper is still listed as "under review" so hopefully I hear something in the new year. If it was to be rejected I would think we would have heard by now. It is much easier to reject outright than accept/accept pending revisions. We shall see on that. Hopefully it is fine. At the very least no new experiments. I have moved on to two other projects with the goal to get them finished and manuscripts submitted before my wedding in July. I can be slightly crazy like that. I hope to apply for faculty positions in the fall so two more papers would be fantastic. I will be an author on another article hopefully submitted before the spring, but I won't be a first author but rather a contributing one. So it will be a busy new year but I do resolve to blog more. It is good therapy as is reading all the wonderful other blogs out there. Happy End of 2007 CE to all.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7079841100149848531.post-39322047065955937492007-11-24T08:04:00.000-05:002008-01-25T07:22:11.089-05:00Rooting interests or the BCS nightmare scenario...LSU, who was ranked <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/ncaa/polls/bcs/">number one in the BCS rankings</a>, lost last night to unranked Arkansas. This sets up the nightmare scenario for the lords of the BCS as the Warriors of Hawaii kept winning (they are 11-0 now). If this week Missouri beats Kansas, UConn upsets West Virginia, and Oklahoma St. beats Oklahoma, and Missouri then looses next week in the Big-12 championship game it would mean Ohio State at 11-1 would be number 1 and going to the championship game. Number two would be unclear but most likely it would be a team with two losses. The same scenario can come to be if West Virginia wins this week but then looses to Pitt next week. In other words a team that has lost twice in a season would be going to the BCS Championship Game over Hawaii, a team, if they beat Washington next week, that went undefeated. Kansas under this scenario would have only one loss and would also be out of the big game. The BCS would be shown to be the joke it is.<br /><br />Besides how do you pick one two loss team over another? How it is set up now, if a team lost two weeks ago would be in better shape than one that losses this week or next (including one that would have only one). It is absurd.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7079841100149848531.post-80918386954819875992007-11-19T07:43:00.000-05:002007-11-19T08:01:00.902-05:00Sociobiology, evolutionary psychology and Chimps. Oh my!Over on <a href="http://scienceblogs.com/evolvingthoughts/">Evolving Thoughts</a>, John Wilkins is going to make the case for sociobiology. He starts out by <a href="http://scienceblogs.com/evolvingthoughts/2007/11/the_two_wilsons_on_sociobiolog.php">distancing sociobiology from evolutionary psychology</a> taking the position the latter takes an overly adaptationist view of evolution. It should be interesting to say the least.<br /><br />What I am still waiting on is to find someone to discuss the article published in PNAS a couple weeks ago entitled <a href="http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/104/45/17588?ijkey=22b4bfde20606a43a2f6a3e148739d4e04c514a3&keytype2=tf_ipsecsha">Phylogenetic analyses of behavior support existence of culture among wild chimpanzees</a>. The authors, <a href="http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/104/45/17559">as summed up in the commentary by Andrew Whiten</a> accompanying the article, "conclude that the phylogenetic trees that best describe the affinities between the behavioral profiles of different chimpanzee communities are not compatible with a genetic explanation and instead support the cultural interpretation." In other words, Chimps might have social learning and the cultures that go with that. An interesting question is then, did the last common ancestral ape of Chimps and humans also have social learning/culture? If so, how does that impact how we view human evolution? If yes, then the evolution of humans in terms of brain development/intelligence/behavior/etc. must be looked at in both a biological and social context (really the interplay between the two).Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7079841100149848531.post-35955088048404342002007-11-01T16:26:00.000-05:002007-11-01T16:46:58.104-05:00Remember in '08, Vote Colbert!Colbert's campaign is over before it really began. The <a href="http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/TVGuide-News-Blog/Tv-Guide-News/Stephen-Colbert-Loses/800026257">Democratic Party in South Carolina</a> has decided not to allow Colbert to be on the ballot in their Primary. He paid the fee ($2,500) but they have the option of not letting him enter if they don't think he can win. <br /><br />I have to say given they have that option, why do they charge a fee? At least it is not as crazy as the GOP. The fee for them is $35,000. Talk about crazy! Forget about paying for a campaign, someone who is working class can't get even in the game for the two major parties. <br /><br />Just for this my vote for 2008 is going to be a write-in: Stephen Colbert. I encourage others to do the same. The system isn't broken, it is just set-up in a manner that isn't for, of and by the people. Colbert is a vote for pointing out the absurdity of it all in a nation that tries and sells itself as a democracy. <br /><br />For those of you thinking you will be wasting you vote, REALITY CHECK you usually are wasting your vote in a presidential election. The way the electoral college works means if you are in a solid Blue or Red state, it doesn't matter who you vote for. Even in "swing" states the margin of victory is so significant in actual number of votes that you choosing to vote Colbert isn't really going to matter. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/06/magazine/06freak.html?_r=1&oref=slogin">Look at the numbers</a> and think. Your vote is already being wasted. If that is the case, why not send a message? What do you have to lose? I say vote Colbert in '08! Write him in. Send a message!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7079841100149848531.post-55580601629166632192007-10-24T17:26:00.001-05:002007-10-24T17:45:25.346-05:00Absence...Sorry for the lack of updates. I have been busy preparing three articles.<br /><br />One was relatively easy. Our collaborators are writing the majority of the article. I just had to write-up the results I got along with the methods associated with them. Sent it off and it is in their hands now. <br /><br />The other two papers though are of my own data. The plan is to have them printed back to back in Journal of Cool Stuff. Paper 1 is on the wet lab work I have done to understand MyFavProtein. It went through multiple revisions beforing going to the Advisor. The Advisor did not like it. Some of his comments made perfect sense and have greatly improved the article. Other comments contradict what I learned in the last couple of papers I wrote with my Advisor. It is maddening. <br /><br />For example, in previous paper we ended the introduction with a paragraph stating what the paper is about, laying out the basic questions answered. Advisor for that paper thought I did not provide enough details in that paragraph. It ended up being like the abstract but without all the numbers. Given that, I wrote the last paragrpah in the intro of the current paper in a similar manner. The Advisor's response? Cut it- stating that you shouldn't put in any details which is a complete reversal of the Advisor's previous advice. What is a post-doc to do?<br /><br />The 2nd article is computational work I have done, placing those results into context with the known experimental results. This is the first time I have written such a paper. Needless to say the actual writing of this paper is not easy. I have a draft finished. It currently is sitting on the desk of a fellow post-doc in the lab who is trained in said computional analysis. This other post-doc is extremely laid-back. You have to constantly stay on him/her otherwise things never done. Unfortenately for me, he/she has a backlog of work for others that take priority over mine, so I wait. In the meantime, I work on figures and table, looking at a computer screen all day. No fun!<br /><br />Once the articles are out it is on to writing a review. It doesn't end!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7079841100149848531.post-68561849170595263762007-10-11T17:17:00.000-05:002007-10-11T17:33:09.517-05:00Give a little and help improve science education...Many of the fine folks over on <a href="http://scienceblogs.com/">Science Blogs</a> are taking part in <a href="http://www.donorschoose.org/homepage/main.html">DonorsChoose Blogger Challenge</a>. The money raised goes to directly helping science education in American schools. Many are for equipment that many districts can not afford to get on their own. It is a shame teachers have to beg for money but that is the system we have in America. <br /><br />It is only getting worse under Bush but things really weren't that great under Clinton. Neither party really has a plan to deal with the disparity in funding for education in America. As long as we base it on property taxes, students living in poor districts are going to be behind.<br /><br />The teachers behind these projects want to engage their students to critically think which is vital, many times through hand on learning. <br /><br />So go DONATE and advocate for CHANGE - Do NOT accept things as they are!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7079841100149848531.post-83498538667343677362007-09-29T22:57:00.001-05:002007-09-29T23:23:26.030-05:00GradU asking for money...Well my GradU has hunted me down and is now asking for money since I am now an alum. They have a whole bit trying to make it seem as if alumni donatins helped pay for my graduate studies. What a load of bull****. <br />Facts:<br /><br />1) My first three years I was on a training grant that my department got from the NIH. It paid for my tuition, my stipend, and my health benefits for the first three year. <br /><br />2) After that my Grad Advisor's grant covered all that. <br /><br />3) Yes that included tution- a real racket since after my first year I took only one course (in my second year). <br /><br />4) What was I doing instead of taking classes? Mostly working away in lab which brought a couple publications and helped my PI renew his gratn. I did work as a TA as well but I was providing a service and getting compensated accordingly.<br /><br />5) Overhead at GradU hovers just below 65% so in theory the space, electricity, etc. I was using in lab was being paid for. The lab consumables was being paid for by my PI's grant. Oh by the way GradU charged labs for internet access above overhead, the same for phone service. Tuition in other words was gravy. The tuition is waived for those in the humanities and GradU doesn't charge for internet access in their offices.<br /><br />6) GradU was constantly finding ways to try and cut costs that required us grad STUDENTS to do more work that used to be done by paid university staff.<br /><br />Alumni donations did not really help pay for my education. They did pay for part of the building I worked in but a lot of the costs were paid for by grants. <br /><br />Needless to say, I really don't feel I owe GradU anything. Maybe if the department asks for money since they don't recieve much from the university (got to keep costs low, don't want to spend that overhead on the department generating it. Much better to pay for a new Dean of something or other whose job it is to look to make sure the University it extracting as much overhead as possible while providing the least amount of service. For a brief period of time they cut back on trash pick up in the labs. That did not go over well. <br /><br />Got to love a university run like a company.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7079841100149848531.post-15582253863982187572007-09-24T18:58:00.000-05:002007-09-24T19:19:41.453-05:00What's Up, Postdoc? September Carnival...Hi all,<br /><br />Sorry for the slight delay in posting. Really enjoyed reading what everyone has posted - always informative and fun. In keeping with this month’s theme, maybe some of you can give me advice on how to be a great blogger while keeping up with life and lab.<br /><br />On to the <a href="http://postdoccarnival.blogspot.com/">What's Up, Postdoc?</a>">September Carnival...<br /><br />Given the numerous professors (<a href="http://scienceblogs.com/principles/2007/09/the_academic_physics_job_marke.php">Chad</a> at <a href="http://scienceblogs.com/principles/2007/09/the_academic_physics_job_marke_1.php">Uncertain Principles</a>, <a href="http://infoproc.blogspot.com/2007/09/crisis-in-american-science.html">Steve Hsu at Information Processing</a>, <a href="http://sandwalk.blogspot.com/2007/08/job-prospects-for-graduate-students.html">Larry Moran</a> at <a href="http://sandwalk.blogspot.com/2007/08/purpose-of-graduate-education.html">Sandwalk</a>, <a href="http://genomicron.blogspot.com/2007/08/why-would-advisors-encourage-students.html">T. Ryan Gregory at Genomicron</a>, and <a href="http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2007/08/the_most_daunting_numbers_ive.php">PZ Myers at Pharyngula</a> to cite a few) talking about the not so great academic job market for those in the sciences, this month’s theme of advice seems very appropriate especially as <a href="http://bayblab.blogspot.com/2007/09/what-type-of-pawn-are-you-chess-and.html">we try to stop being pawns of science</a>. <a href="http://unglaschluppe.blogspot.com/2007/09/physics-phds-and-industry.html">Schlupp</a> at <a href="http://unglaschluppe.blogspot.com/">I postdoc, therefore I am</a>, <a href="http://scienceblogs.com/transcript/2007/08/bleak_times_for_postdocs.php">Alex</a> at <a href="http://scienceblogs.com/transcript/">The Daily Transcript</a> and <a href="http://ponderingofafool.blogspot.com/2007/08/oh-what-great-news.html">I</a> at the <a href="http://ponderingofafool.blogspot.com/">Ponderings of a Fool</a> all talk about the market with the advice being know what you are getting into. <a href="http://geekymom.blogspot.com/">Laura, The Geeky Mom</a>, brings up another important point, <a href="http://geekymom.blogspot.com/2007/09/doing-what-you-love.html">do what you love</a>. <br /><br />That advice is reiterated to those joining labs this fall. <a href="http://labcoats.blogspot.com">Lou at A Scientist’s Life</a> has <a href="http://labcoats.blogspot.com/2007/09/advice.html">9 points</a> for those new graduate students and post-docs. The Mad Hatter at <a href="http://amadtea-party.blogspot.com/2007">A Mad Tea Party</a> advises that you <a href="http://amadtea-party.blogspot.com/2007/09/for-right-reasons.html">shouldn’t postdoc</a> unless you are doing it for the right reasons. Want to know the wrong reasons? Read the post. The <a href="http://propterdoc.blogspot.com/">Propter Doc</a> has a <a href="http://propterdoc.blogspot.com/2007/09/advice-for-new-people.html">4 points for picking the right project</a> as well as advice for <a href="http://propterdoc.blogspot.com/2007/09/silent-hopes.html">getting advice from a senior member in the lab</a>. <a href="http://naturalscientist.blogspot.com/">Jenny F. Scientist</a> tells it <a href="http://naturalscientist.blogspot.com/2007/09/dear-first-year-grad-students.html">straight to the new graduate students</a>.<br /><br />Of course once you are in a lab, advice is useful. <a href="http://balancinglife.blogspot.com/2007/09/charge-challenge-and-chance.html">Sunil on Balancing Life</a> points us to what the recently departed Daniel Koshland had to say about scientific discovery, <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/317/5839/761">The Cha-Cha-Cha Theory</a>. Sometimes the <a href="http://joolya.blogspot.com/2007/09/lab-notes.html">advice in lab</a> is amusing as Jooyla, who is <a href="http://joolya.blogspot.com/">N@ked Under her Lab Coat</a>, discovered. <br /><br />Lab work eventually leads (or so we hope) to writing. Sometimes the writing just doesn’t happen. Brad at <a href="http://geneticredundancy.blogspot.com/">The Unbearable Lightness of Being a Postdoc</a> advises how to <a href="http://geneticredundancy.blogspot.com/2007/09/how-to-stop-writer-block-thoughts-and.html ">overcome writer's block</a>. <a href="http://incoherently-scattered.blogspot.com/">The Incoherent Ponderer</a> discusses what do when a <a href="http://incoherently-scattered.blogspot.com/2007/09/mia-co-authors.html">co-author goes MIA</a> jumping of from a post from <a href="http://science-professor.blogspot.com/2007/09/when-coauthors-go-missing.html">Female Science Professor</a>. <a href="http://unglaschluppe.blogspot.com">Schlupp</a> goes into <a href="http://unglaschluppe.blogspot.com/2007/08/paper-writing-from-sidelines.html">writing from the sidelines</a>. <br /><br />Not all communication is to those in the sciences. <a href="http://blogs.usyd.edu.au/labrats/2007/09/dont_know_why.html">Black Knight</a> and <a href="http://bayblab.blogspot.com/2007/09/scientists-arm-yourselves-against-dna.html">Bayman</a> delve into the need to explain sciences to the rest of the public.<br /><br /><a href="http://whatis-wrong-withyou.blogspot.com">Dr. Brazen Hussy</a> <a href="http://whatis-wrong-withyou.blogspot.com/2007/09/oh-great-and-wise-internets-please.html">asks</a> and <a href="http://whatis-wrong-withyou.blogspot.com/2007/09/internets-have-spoken.html">receives advice</a> about applying for a dream job in which she also gives advice on finding jobs. Getting that job requires an application with a CV. <a href="http://incoherently-scattered.blogspot.com/">Incoherent Ponder</a> weighs in on whether to <a href="http://incoherently-scattered.blogspot.com/2007/08/faculty-job-search-p2-to-tweak-or-not.html">tweak or not</a>. <a href="http://youngfemalescientist.blogspot.com/">Ms. PhD</a> gets <a href="http://youngfemalescientist.blogspot.com/2007/09/course-of-your-life.html">varying advice</a> on <a href="http://youngfemalescientist.blogspot.com/2007/09/cv-questions-continued.html">perfecting your CV</a>. <br /><br />The <a href="http://incoherently-scattered.blogspot.com/">Incoherent Ponder</a> cautions us all to <a href="http://incoherently-scattered.blogspot.com/2007/09/netiquette-series-part-5-think-before.html">think before we send that e-mail</a>. <br /><br />And a post by <a href="http://daybydayfemalescientist.blogspot.com/">Day By Day</a> reminds us to take that break from lab in the <a href="http://daybydayfemalescientist.blogspot.com/2007/09/wouldnt-it-be-nice.html">here and now</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7079841100149848531.post-8635147772374329432007-09-20T09:45:00.001-05:002007-09-20T09:45:48.679-05:00September carnival...The September <a href="http://postdoccarnival.blogspot.com/">Postdoc Carnival</a> will be pushed back to September 24th! I now have a presentation Monday morning, so everyone will have an extra day to get submissions in! <br /><br />The theme will be advice.<br /><br />Of course all other topics related to being a postdoc will also be gladly accepted.<br /><br />Links to the submissions can be sent to postdoccarnival "at" gmail "dot" com or ponderingfool "at" gmail "dot" com.<br /><br />Happy blogging!<br /><br />PFUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7079841100149848531.post-65376241427627927692007-09-15T07:06:00.000-05:002007-09-15T07:46:15.414-05:00Cheaters and casting doubt...The New England Patriots were <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3014677">caught cheating</a>. The rules clearly state that teams should note tape other teams in the manner the Pats did. The Pats did exactly that. This was after the NFL sent a letter to all the teams reminding them of the rule because of suspicions that the Pats had done that last season against the Green Bay Packers. The <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3018338">NFL fined the team $250,000, the head coach, Bill Belichick, $500,000 and took a draft pick away from the team (a 1st road pick if the team goes to the playoffs this year)</a>. <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?id=3018407">John Clayton</a>, <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/don_banks/09/13/spy.reaction/index.html">Don Banks</a>, and <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/peter_king/09/14/belichick.reax.ap/index.html">Peter King</a> all weigh in on why it was not enough. You also have this from <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/dr_z/09/13/cheating/index.html">Dr. Z</a>:<br />"Marinelli was the defensive line coach in Tampa Bay when the Bucs beat the Patriots in the 2000 regular season opener and did a good job controlling New England's offense. After the game the Patriots' offensive coach, Charlie Weis, was overheard congratulating the Bucs' defensive coordinator, Monte Kiffin.<br /><br />"We knew all your calls, and you still stopped us," Weis said. "I can't believe it.""<br /><br />We will never know if Weis was being completely honest or just exaggerating for effect (i.e. whether they were cheating then or not) but the cloud will hang over the Belichick era of the Pats. If I were Norte Dame, I would take pause that is for sure.<br /><br />The <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/don_banks/09/13/patriots/index.html">cloud that hangs</a> over the Pats though does call into question their three Super Bowl victories under Belichick. <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3017964">ESPN</a> is running a story on the Eagles who played the Pats in the latter's last Super Bowl victory and them questioning whether signs were being stolen in that game where the Pats had an uncanny ability to call screens whenever the Eagles were going to blitz. This could be just good play calling or it might be an indication of something else. <br /><br />Lets take a look at those three victories:<br /><a href="http://www.nfl.com/superbowl/history/boxscore/sbxxxix">2005: Pats 24, Eagles 21</a><br />Score going into the 4th quarter? 14 to 14. <br /><a href="http://www.nfl.com/superbowl/history/boxscore/sbxxxviii">2004: Pats 32, Panthers 29</a><br />Score going into the 4th quarter? 14 (Pats) to 10 (Panthers) The Pats won a field goal with 4 seconds left in the game.<br /><a href="http://www.nfl.com/superbowl/history/boxscore/sbxxxvi">2002: Pats 20, Rams 17</a><br />Score going into the 4th quarter? 17 (Pats), 3 (Rams) The Pats won on a field goal in the remaining seconds of the game.<br /><br />All three games were slim victories. The first game was the only game that was not close going into the final quarter. Knowing the signals would be the difference in these games, especially when you consider two of those games all the offense needed to do was maneuver into field goal position. <br /><br />That is not to say the did cheat but it does give one pause and why so many associated within the NFL are taking it so seriously. Such a level of cheating possibly determing who wins the Super Bowl is a big deal. Pro Football is a multibillion dollar business. This calls into question the outcome of who wins the champsionship. The largest sporting event in the US.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7079841100149848531.post-51170094801598257902007-09-10T13:40:00.000-05:002007-09-10T13:56:45.026-05:00On tenure again...<a href="http://suburbdad.blogspot.com/2007/09/tenure-and-spinach.html">Dean Dad</a> talks about junking tenure maybe replaced by a series of long-term contracts. His perspective is from being an administrator at a community college. It might make sense there, I don't know enough to comment. With regards to research universities though for those in the natural sciences <a href="http://ponderingofafool.blogspot.com/2007/03/on-tenure.html">it is absurd</a>. <br /><br />Why? Science faculty already have to stay competitive in order to keep getting grants. The grants pay for the research, internet access, going to conferences, having students and oh yes part of their salaries. In other words they are already competing and staying productive. Of course in exchange for giving up tenure, universities would have to give up something-money. After 5-7 years of being a grad student and then spending another 3-4 years as a post-doc and then 7 years at an institution as a junior faculty member, scientists want a little security. Lowering the security means universities would have to pay significantly higher salaries. Given the nature of contracts and the competition involved there would be bound to be more movement than there is now leading to more expenses. Would the university really gain that much more? Science faculty already have to stay productive. The difference in overhead dollars brought in would be minimal and that is what the university wants hence that is the primary determinant in getting tenure. Most likely universities would be unwilling to pay for giving up tenure. Without the increase in pay, it would be silly for faculty to give up on tenure. It is a no go. It would get faculty to be better teachers. Under certain scenarios it would actually favor faculty focussing more on research than being good teachers/mentors.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7079841100149848531.post-84371990501415002722007-09-09T18:56:00.000-05:002007-09-09T19:05:40.502-05:00PAUP Help...I have been running phylogenies and have been having this problem with PAUP running maximum parsimony where it is supposed to find the 1000 most parsimonious trees.<br /><br /> Elapsed Taxa Rearr. -- Number of trees -- Best<br /> time added tried saved left-to-swap tree(s)<br /> 33:22:11 - 247089521 1000 628 223551<br /> 33:23:11 - 247154671 1000 627 223546<br /> 33:24:11 - 247315353 1000 627 223546<br /> 33:25:11 - 247430339 1000 627 223546<br /> 33:26:11 - 247587809 1000 627 223546<br /> 33:27:11 - 247713071 1000 627 223546<br /> 33:28:11 - 247815620 1000 626 223543<br /> 33:29:11 - 247946647 1000 626 223543<br /> 33:30:11 - 248070084 1000 626 223543<br /> 33:31:11 - 248213054 1000 626 223543<br /> 33:32:11 - 248347299 1000 626 223543<br /> 33:33:11 - 248481072 1000 625 223543<br /> 33:34:11 - 248565681 1000 625 223543<br /> 33:35:11 - 248698430 1000 625 223543<br /> 33:36:11 - 248808469 1000 625 223543<br /> 33:37:11 - 248972895 1000 625 223543<br /> 33:38:11 - 249090122 1000 625 223543<br /> 33:39:12 - 249167303 1000 691 223543<br /> 33:22:11 - 247089521 1000 628 223551<br /> 33:23:11 - 247154671 1000 627 223546<br /> 33:24:11 - 247315353 1000 627 223546<br /> 33:25:11 - 247430339 1000 627 223546<br /> 33:26:11 - 247587809 1000 627 223546<br /> 33:27:11 - 247713071 1000 627 223546<br /> 33:28:11 - 247815620 1000 626 223543<br /> 33:29:11 - 247946647 1000 626 223543<br /> 33:30:11 - 248070084 1000 626 223543<br /> 33:31:11 - 248213054 1000 626 223543<br /> 33:32:11 - 248347299 1000 626 223543<br /> 33:33:11 - 248481072 1000 625 223543<br /> 33:34:11 - 248565681 1000 625 223543<br /> 33:35:11 - 248698430 1000 625 223543<br /> 33:36:11 - 248808469 1000 625 223543<br /> 33:37:11 - 248972895 1000 625 223543<br /> 33:38:11 - 249090122 1000 625 223543<br /> 33:39:12 - 249167303 1000 691 223543<br /><br />The number of trees left to swap went up and rapidly went from 691 to 975 at last check. Has anyone had that happen? I haven't seen it before and trying to make sense of it. Any help would be greatly appreciated.<br /><br />Thanks!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7079841100149848531.post-58029464117681050832007-09-09T09:07:00.001-05:002007-09-09T09:07:37.474-05:00Septemeber Postdoc Carnival-SubmissionsThe September <a href="http://postdoccarnival.blogspot.com/">Postdoc Carnival</a> will be on September 23rd! I (the <a href="http://ponderingofafool.blogspot.com/">Pondering Fool</a>) will be hosting.<br /><br />With the start of the academic year & the scurrying around of new/returning students, the theme will be advice (that could be to an undergrad, a grad student, a new postdoc, etc.).<br /><br />Of course all other topics related to being a postdoc will also be gladly accepted.<br /><br />Links to the submissions can be sent to postdoccarnival "at" gmail "dot" com or ponderingfool "at" gmail "dot" com.<br /><br />Happy blogging!<br /><br />PFUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7079841100149848531.post-85049201029074456302007-09-02T16:36:00.000-05:002007-09-02T16:52:35.438-05:00Blogger day (a day late)...On the 1st was Blog Day 2007. It is a day in which bloggers direct their readers to other blogs which the author likes to read.<br /><br />Here are my five:<br /><br /><a href="http://anteriorcommissure.blogspot.com/">Anterior Commissure</a> - A talented graduate student "exploring the intersection between hormones, brain, and behavior." She also delves into communicating science. Very prolific blogger (especially relative to me). Wonderful discussion of science.<br /><br /><a href="http://minorrevisions.blogspot.com/">Minor Revisions</a> - A post-doc discussing life. Always a great read. Stories I think any of us in science can relate to on some level or another.<br /><br /><a href="http://incoherently-scattered.blogspot.com/">Incoherently Scattered Ponderings</a> - A physicist who has gone from being a post-doc to an assistant professor. Always an interesting perspective on things. Very educational for those who want to know about that initial stages of being a faculty member.<br /><br /><a href="http://mommyscientist.blogspot.com/">Dr. Mom</a> - Another person who has been making the transition from being a post-doc to being a productive faculty member. Always excellent for those wanting to know about starting the tenture trek.<br /><br /><a href="http://sciencewoman.blogspot.com/">On Being A Scientist and a Woman</a> - Another recently hired faculty member thus completing the triology. Wonderful reads on being a scientist, a daughter, a mother, a wife, a woman, a person starting to set up a lab.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7079841100149848531.post-7475184784261468662007-08-29T15:20:00.000-05:002007-08-29T15:32:11.849-05:00Why?Can I ask why does Bill Kristol keep going on the Daily Show? He has been on about 5 or 6 times. Jon Stewart uses him as a punching bag and he laughs along. I can see why the Daily Show keeps booking him, it is funny. Maybe Kristol enjoys being laughed at but there got to be better ways to have fun in life or maybe he is punishing himself for being the champion of the neco-con movement? I ask because it is just strange.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7079841100149848531.post-2292649473318030972007-08-28T12:30:00.000-05:002007-08-28T12:56:45.532-05:00Posts to read...The latest What's Up, Postdoc? is up on <a href="http://coolimmunology.blogspot.com/2007/08/postdoc-carnival-whats-up-postdoc.html">The Ways and Means of the Immune System</a>. Check it out. Always a good read and Vero has done a great job!<br /><br /><a href="http://twicetenured.blogspot.com/2007/08/august-scientiae-carnival-balance.html">Twice has the August edition of Scientiae</a>. Wonderful posts are linked to so go read it!<br /><br />A <a href="http://ponderingofafool.blogspot.com/2007/08/oh-what-great-news.html">follow-up on the job prospects</a> of those in the biological/biomedical sciences, here are some more posts on the matter:<br /><a href="http://scienceblogs.com/transcript/2007/08/bleak_times_for_postdocs.php">The Daily Transcript</a><br /><a href="http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2007/08/the_most_daunting_numbers_ive.php">Pharyngula</a><br /><a href="http://sandwalk.blogspot.com/2007/08/job-prospects-for-graduate-students.html">Sandwalk I</a> <a href="http://sandwalk.blogspot.com/2007/08/purpose-of-graduate-education.html">Sandwalk II</a><br /><a href="http://genomicron.blogspot.com/2007/08/why-would-advisors-encourage-students.html">Genomicron</a><br /><br />Larry Moran at Sandwalk talks about how things should be and how is as an advisor as does Gregory on Genomicron. The problem is many faculty I have encountered are not like that. There are many talented graduate students and post-docs who do not have good mentors. Advisors who try and keep their trainees eyes only on becoming research faculty. That is not healthy. More must be done at the university level. The only problem is that their is no incentive for the institutions to actually do anything. Why rock the boat when you have plenty of overhead dollars flowing in? Especially when rocking the boat means spending some of that money?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7079841100149848531.post-78074603402637768762007-08-28T12:14:00.000-05:002007-08-28T12:27:44.230-05:00To do...In the next month and a half:<br /><br />Need to write-up the last two papers from my thesis.<br /><br />Figure out what adding Protein X to Protein Y as the latter modifies RNA Z does to the reaction.<br /><br />With another post-doc write-up the results showing Protein X forms a complex with Protein Y especially when RNA Z is present based on those results whatever they are. <br /><br />Finish biochemical characterization of an enzyme for our collaborators who solved the crystal structure of said protein and need my results to publish in a higher journal.<br /><br />Turn 30.<br /><br />Start new project studying if a certain metabolic enzyme from E. coli can be used as an antibiotic against a different group of bacteria.<br /><br />With another postdoc, see if we can in an archaeal species replace an archaeal signature gene with a totally different bacterial gene whose gene product accomplishes the same task as the archaeal one and see if the replacement stresses the organism under various growth conditions.<br /><br />Prepare a group meeting.<br /><br />Start writing a review on thesis topic. <br /><br />Today, doing the boring laying the ground work (i.e. purifying substrates) to do the experiments I want to get done while giving me the time to do the writing that needs to be done as well. What fun!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7079841100149848531.post-12054244681646038692007-08-23T12:02:00.001-05:002007-08-28T07:13:37.073-05:00Oh what great news...<a href="http://www.nature.com">Nature</a> has an <a href="http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v448/n7156/full/448848a.html">article on the data</a> being released from the <a href="http://opa.faseb.org/pages/PolicyIssues/training_datappt.htm">Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology</a> regarding the job market for those with PhDs in the biological and biomedical sciences (BBSs). The upshot is that the number of tenure track positions has pretty much flatlined since 1981 (hovering around 20,000) while the number of people receiving PhDs has increased to 7,000 in 2005. Needless to say most of those with a position are not leaving soon, creating a situation in which only 30% of those with PhDs in the BBSs have a tenure/tenture track faculty position (down from 45% in 1981). More and more, people are turning to industry (30%). The doubling NIB budget went towards many things, greatly expanding faculty positions was not one of them.<br /><br />There is nothing wrong per se with PhDs leaving academia. People have different interests and talents. The problem is when you have graduate/post-doc advisors who cling to the idea of looking down at those that don't pursue a career in academia (usually narrowly defined as a faculty member at a research university). Those people are pushing an unrealistic set of expectations upon their advisees that is unhealthy. The numbers just do not support it. Anyone selling that notion is selling a pyramid scheme that primarily helps the advisor and his/her university & borders on "criminal" in my mind. <br /><br />A PhD in theory should be about learning a set of intellectual skills on how to approach a problem, how to think and analyze data, etc. that can be applied to any number of career choices. That is a good thing. The US for one is a place that needs more people with scientific minds not less but realistic expectations have to be put forth. <br /><br />What can be done? Well more money would help. Money to create more faculty positions while not increasing the number of graduate students a proportional amount. This would also create more competition between faculty members to attract students. This could only improve the quality of mentorship. In addition, create and pay for more higher paying research staff positions. There are people who are good researchers but are not cut out to be faculty members. Create room for those people. Let their skills be used appropriately Actually have career development staff at the university to aid graduate students and post-docs looking for positions outside academia. Really, why should faculty members have to carry this burden alone? Universities are getting overhead. It should be expected they then provide the proper resources for research labs. Career development without question fits there.<br /><br />Undergraduate advisors also need to be more honest. Let those students thinking about attending PhD programs know the numbers and what is reasonable. Give them the knowledge they need to make an informed decision, that is your job. <br /><br />We also need to improve the pay teachers receive. We need more science teachers teaching at the pre-college level. Make that a more attractive option. This also requires money to be spent on the resources to let science teachers teach well. Science is fun. Well thought out experiments are hands on learning. They get students to think, to learn and are significantly less boring than a lecture. <br /><br />What else can be done?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7079841100149848531.post-66134776774668092552007-08-20T05:54:00.000-05:002007-08-20T06:15:49.171-05:00The heat, oh the heat...The dog days of summer seem to be lifting a bit. My energy is returning. Heat and humidity I do not do well in. I wilt. It is a little pathetic. Lab becomes salvation with its A/C and cold room. Of course, just because it is salvation doesn't mean I work anymore just means I become a blob appreciating the sanctuary. Blobs, well at least this one, do not write much. Part of that was because I did escape some of that heat and humidity for a bit. It is never enough though. Why oh why did I choose to do my post-doc here? Oh well. It is one of the downsides though of staying in academia - there isn't the same degree of freedom of choosing a place in the country or world to live. Jobs are tight, you have to be somewhat flexible in that regard. This was a deal-breaker for a classmate of mine in graduate school. She left science completely because of it. Only so much any person can sacrifice in the name of science.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7079841100149848531.post-35162372065579902392007-07-20T18:02:00.001-05:002007-07-20T18:17:07.545-05:00Ummm anyone see something wrong with this?<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/TV/07/20/blitzer.ap/index.html ">CNN is covering itself and well makes itself look good</a>. What type of society are we living in when a newscaster is being covered by the newscaster's news organization about doing his/her job? When we are all engaged in framing wars what becomes of actual discussion based on facts? Do we really want news organizations actively engaging in framing even more than they have in the past?<br /><br />From <a href="http://scienceblogs.com/framing-science/2007/04/at_the_journal_science_a_nisbe.php#comments">Matthew Nisbet regarding framing</a> and why more scientists should tap into it:<br />"That's the power and influence of framing when it resonates with an individual's social identity. It plays on human nature by allowing a citizen to make up their minds in the absence of knowledge, and importantly, to articulate an opinion. It's definitely not the scientific or democratic ideal, but it's how things work in society."<br /><br />A new organization should not be the one's encouraging citizens "to make up their minds in the absence of knowledge". They should be the one's you know giving them knowledge. Isn't that their job?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7079841100149848531.post-16692354916581292562007-07-20T07:36:00.000-05:002007-07-20T08:02:59.561-05:00Movie round-up...Sorry for not posting. I haven't really had a good excuse other than writer's bloc. I have been enjoying the summer movies though that have come out. The blockbusters I have been overall more enjoyable than those that <a href="http://ponderingofafool.blogspot.com/2007/06/movie-round-up.html">come out in late spring</a>where it was last in a trilogy after last in a trilogy or so it seemed. Though some of the "smaller" movies were very enjoyable. On to the latest batch of movies:<br /><br />Ocean's Thirteen - Recaptures the charm of the first movie. The details of the plot are silly but the story knows that. It is all about the banter, the winks, the nods, the fun of having all these actors on screen together. It is Clooney's love letter to Vegas. Enjoyable, escapist fun.<br /><br />Sicko - A well done Michael Moore documentary on the American health care system. Not so much about those without insurance but rather those with insurance & the rationed care they receive. The movie has numbers that back up what they say. I would have loved more but I am not exactly the average movie goer. The stories are one's I am familiar with having seen first hand what managed care leads to. My mother used to be a nurse. Insurance companies are what drove her away. There are Moore gimmicks but they are a welcomed relief. You need periods to laugh while watching this movie otherwise you would leave depressed. My fiancee teared up a few times while watching. Well worth it to see and start the dialog about changing our system.<br /><br />License to Wed - This film stars Mandy Moore, Robin Williams and John Krasinski (The Office). It got lampooned by critics doing a little better at the box office than people expected (not great by any stretch but not a bomb). My fiancee and I enjoyed it. The audience we say it with laughed out loud a number of times. It is an amusing film with the simple message of communicate with your partner. Nothing deeper than that really save to set up the characters in silly situations. It isn't a deep movie but rather a light hearted movie with laughs. Sometimes in life that is what you need.<br /><br />On to the blockbusters:<br /><br />Transformers - Growing up I loved the Transformers. I watched the cartoons and had the toys even bought the comic books. This movie is a pure summer flick. It is just plain fun. There is humor and a little suspense thrown in but all in all eventually it comes down to stuff blowing up and robots knocking one another around. Very big thumbs up from me. My fiancee was not looking forward to seeing this but she dragged me to Pirates (which she was disappointed in) so our of fairness she say this with me. To her surprise, she enjoyed it as well. Not with the same glee as I did. It is a movie for the 10 year old kid in all of us.<br /><br />Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - I don't read the books so I know this franchise only through the films. The last movie was a little too patriarchal for my taste. Order of the Phoenix though was enjoyable. The shortest of all the Harry Potter movies which was good. Things moved along and who can resist a rebellion story against teachers overexerting their authority? Not me that is for sure. The overall plot of all the series starts to actually build. The movie has the task of having to end without completing the story but does so with a sense of closure. A thumbs up from me. My fiancee is a big Harry Potter fan (she reread book 6 to prepare for the final book coming out on Sat) and she really liked it.<br /><br />Overall a good bunch of movies to enjoy. Other than Sicko, nothing deep or Oscar worthy (save for special effects and the like) but honest to gosh fun. Nothing wrong with that.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2