Good Weekend (!)

This weekend my first first-author paper of my postdoc was accepted for publication (in the Journal of Cell Biology) This is work I've been doing for 3+ years, and a manuscript I started writing up 9 months ago. The basic focus of the research is on how cells build and regulate the transient apparatus (shown below in purple) needed when the cells divide to accurately segregate their DNA (green) perfectly and equally into the two new cells.



In addition, this weekend our MPI-CBG Ultimate (frisbee) team "Ring of Fire" competed in a two-day tournament in Jena against teams from around Germany, and took home 5th place! out of 20 teams. (photos and video to follow...)

New Blog Name

I decided to change the name of this blog on the 1st blogiversary, and I finally did. Something now that references my hometown, my name, and my current residence. We'll see if it sticks. I think I'll start playing around with some photos on the title too.

Oh O'Reilly.

update: Link is down, try to watch it here.
And definitely check out the dance remix.

I saw this on Talking Points Memo. This is awesome.



The calmness with which the crew handles him and gets him to finish suggests this wasn't his first tantrum. But it doesn't make me dislike O'Reilly any more. Actually it makes me want to watch the spectacle that is his show. I used to watch it semi-regularly for the entertainment value.

Dreams - edition one

For several years I've been trying to write down my dreams as soon as I wake up from them. It's actually amazingly difficult. I really have to fight myself so that I don't convince myself in my sleepy daze that a) they are not interesting enough to write down, b) I won't remember the good parts, and/or c) I'm just too tired to be bothered with it all. So I'd say I only end up writing down 10-20% of the dreams I actually awake from, which is likely only a fraction of all dreams.
Anyway, they are interesting to go back and read. Often I don't even remember them when I go back and read them. I thought I would just post them on here.
I figured I would scan in what I wrote - sometimes seeing the chicken scratch is interesting in itself - and then transcribe it word for word - without interpretations or explanations.
Here's the last one recorded in my book by my bed - appropriately including science and German.

(click to enlarge)

Transcription:

26/4/08 3:45am

Somewhere unknown. Some bldg or complex.
developing Western. machine taken down. Must do manually.
woman shows me trays of chemicals. she hands me my sheet from developer ->
but now I don't know which tray. to go to next. I guess. and put it in. then kinda hold it up to my nose. At some point she looks and sees I've gone to wrong tray, and worse it's very toxic & I've inhaled it. We may need to get to doctor. Somebody needs to help us. We are walking thru building looking for help. I think I see a young woman, turn corner & she is not there. Like a ghost. Finally I run around the corner & she is there. "Entschuldigung, konnen Sie uns bitte helfen?" I say. She seems annoyed. Not helping. I see another woman. Then I see a third woman, but it is the same as the 1st. There are 2 of the first there. I start panicking. The chemical is making me crazy. Then I see 2 of the second. I tell the original woman we have to hurry to the doctor., I'm going crazy, I'm seeing two people (& not like double vision, like independently being, but identical replicates of people walking around). I'm panicking.

Favorite Songs of the Moment

One old one...
The Postal Service - The District Sleeps Alone Tonight




One new one...
Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - The World's Greatest (R. Kelly Cover)



Listen to the original here.
hat tip to Maria for the second one.

Bad omen?

While campaigning in Kentucky, Hillary Clinton thought it would be cute to tell voters to put their money in the Kentucky Derby on the lone filly in the field, saying "I want everybody to place a little money on the filly". This was the first female contestant even in the race in 9 years. Seeing how this horse was a 20:1 odd to win, it seemed an odd thing to say, since it seemed that the lone filly was destined to lose in her analogy. But it was actually worse.

I just saw the race results on CNN. The filly actually ended up finishing second behind the male horse, named "Big Brown".
But then shortly after crossing the line in second place, sadly the filly broke both front ankles, collapsed, and had to be put down there on the track.