Evolutionary Gems

Nature published 15 excellent examples of evolutionary thinking based on data gather from the fossil record, habitats, and molecular processes.

Beer: Steamed or Lager

I read this historical story from 1909  about a marital dispute that turned violent over whether steam or lager beer was better. 

 

As written in the SF Chronicle:

"Nobody but lowbrows drink steam beer," she said, and with that, he says, she raised her bottle and struck him on the head, blow after blow until he fell unconscious. Policemen Reilly and Rooney, called by neighbors, arrested Jennie and removed John to the hospital. 

I don't think I'll be bringing up the "tastes great vs less filling" argument at home again!

Movies and Events I Liked This Week

- "The Walker" with Woody Harrelson: excellent casting

- "Gonzo": a documentary about Hunter S. Thompson

- "Caprica": Battlestar Galactica movie

- "My Name is Bruce": super cheesy horror movie starring Bruce Campbell

- Rafael Nadal losing at the French Open!

- The NBA not getting their dream LBJ vs. Kobe matchup

LLS Man of the Year Gala

We attended the LLS Man of the Year gala this past Thursday night.  Our friend, LG, was in the running but lost out to some guy that raised over $50K for the cause.  Insanity.  We had a good time, however, and won the silent auction for 2 tickets to the 2010 Iron Man 2 premiere and a dinner at the Wilshire in LA.  I didn't realize how many stars were going to be in the sequel - Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johannsen, Gwyneth, Robert Downey, Mickey Rourke, etc.  Should be awesome!

Tenaglia Show

We went to see Danny Tenaglia spin at Ruby Skye last weekend.  Great show and music!

SF Sex Scandals

Before he was a song by the Cherry Poppin Daddies or a character in the comics, the Ding Dong Daddy was a major polygamist - 16 wives!  I read about him in this story from the Chronicle as well as a host of other famous San Francisco sex scandals.   Some of the more interesting were Gordon Getty (mistress in LA), Issac Kalloch (minister), and the cable car nympho.

Monkeys in our Guest Room

And now there are THREE monkeys in our guest bedroom!!

New Mechanism of Blood Clot Formation

An Australian team has discovered a new mechanism for the formation of blood clots that is not affected by aspirin, clopidogrel, or warfarin.  This new mechanism involves shear gradient dependent platelet aggregation.  You have to check out the videos in the Supplementary Information section.  Very cool!

Conan on the Tonight Show

I read this pretty in-depth story on Conan O'Brien today in the New York Times.  It was written as he is moving on to take over The Tonight Show.  I hope his show is a success and we get lots of Triumph segments!

No on Prop 8 March Today

The CA Supreme Court upheld Prop 8 today that prevents gay couples from getting married.  What a joke!  I hope the reversal is put on the next ballot and wins in a landslide.  The march down Market Street this evening was huge, and I'm glad it didn't get in my way of getting to Tulan!

Breaking Bad

I didn't think anything could take the #1 spot on TV away from WWE, but Breaking Bad is awesome!  I can't wait for the season finale next week!  30 Rock is a close 3rd.

Giants Hat

We finally found a hat for my head!  Today was truly a momentous day!

Giants Game and Braves Protesters

We went to the Giants-Braves game today on the spur of the moment after having brunch at Town's End.  We had tickets on the 1st base line, but moved to the left field bleacher section to sit in the sun.  But, as we went in we passed a group protesting the Atlanta Braves name and mascot.  YES!  We also need to get rid of the Cleveland Indians and the Washington Redskins names as well as all the others!  I saw Gwen Knapp from the Chronicle interviewing the leader of the protest as we walked in and she wrote a column on the subject in Wednesday's paper (title of entry links to the article).  The Giants kicked their butts 8-2.

New Community Justice Center

This story from the SF Bay Guardian highlights some of the isses that the new CJC in SF is facing.  It sounds like the pet project of the Gavinator is being treated more like a "homeless court."  In the face of a monster budget crisis, is this really a reasonable way to allocate resources?  Get these people some real help!

Carleton-Olaf Rivalry - Wind Turbines

Apparently, Carleton and St. Olaf have to fight about everything!!  My dad sent me this story from the Star and Tribune.  Basically, Carleton put up a wind turbine, so St. Olaf did too.  Carleton sells the energy it generates to Xcel Energy while St. Olaf uses it to supply 25% of the college's electricity.  Now, Carleton wants to put up another turbine and maybe more if it could afford it.  Can't we all just agree that Carleton kicks lame Ole butt and move on??

CA Tax Loophole

I read this article today written by Phil Ting from the assessor's office in SF.  His idea for solving some of the state's budget crisis?  Close the corporate property tax loopholes!

Carleton-Giants Game 2008

The picture and update of the Carleton-Giants game we hosted back in the summer was 2008 was published this week in the Carleton Voice.  I hope our next update gets into the spring 2010 issue or even earlier!

Akhenaten's Strange Physique Linked to Aromatase

In this story, the strange physique of Akhenaten is linked to P450 aromatase excess syndrome and a mutation in the P450 reductase gene.  Akhenaten was an Egyptian pharaoh from the 18th dynasty and his physical features were depicted in statues as a mixture of man and woman.  His form was even compared to something akin to a humanoid praying mantis.  The original paper is published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

HIV Antibodies Produced by Muscle

In this report, the researchers describe experiments where they injected a gene into muscle tissue that was then used to successfully produce antibodies against SIV (the monkey version of HIV).  The monkeys were then infected with SIV.  The monkeys that had the gene inserted did not become infected, but most of those that did not ended up dying of AIDS.  The paper will be published in Nature Medicine.

Native American Migration

This paper supports the idea that modern day Native Americans are descended from a group that emigrated in one wave known as the single ancestral population theory.  This group from a number of different Universities used genetic markers (esp. the 9-repeat allele) and sampling from 41 popluations from Alaska to Chile as well as natives from Greenland and the Asian side of the Bering Strait.

Rydberg molecule observed

This image is from the Nature website detailing a story about the observation of the Rydberg molecule for 18 microsec using Rubidium atoms cooled to absolute zero.

First Carleton-Giants Game of 2009

We hosted our first Carleton-Giants game party of 2009 on Saturday in The Beacon Clubhouse.  We had a great turnout and raised some money for LG's Man of the Year campaign for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  Around 25 friends and Carls showed up for the pre-party and enjoyed a few beers and gyro pizza.  The weather was fantastic - super sunny and hot - but, the Giants ended up losing 9-6 to the Mets.  Afterwards, we went to a party to see AU and AW in the Marina and enjoyed great views and fun people.  What a great Saturday!

Lazy Bum!

Truly motivating!  I'm going to get right to work now!

The Sherman Brothers

I read this story in the Chronicle's Datebook today about the Sherman Brothers (not the group in the picture, I just liked the cover).  They were the composers of several songs  - most memorably (at least for me) the songs in the  Mary Poppins movie.  Although they were successful working together, apparently, outside the studio they couldn't stand each other.  The families were estranged until two cousins from each side got together and made a documentary that is about to hit theaters this week.  It sounds like an interesting story!

Drum Ceremony 2005

 This video of my drum ceremony was shot back in 2005 in the garage at my parent's house in Benson, MN.  The medicine man leading the ceremony is Robert Kakageesick from Buffalo Point, Manitoba.  

Breezy's

I saw this restaurant in Hayes Valley today.  The name reminded me of the cat we had as kids.  From the reviews, it sounds like a good place for lunch and tapas!

Calvin Rocks

This strip reminds me of how I wake up KL each morning.

Influence of Fruit Juices on Drug Disposition

This paper is a nice review of the in vitro and in vivo data describing the inhibition of drug metabolism by grapefruit juice and other juices.  It turns out the story isn't so simple as in vitro results are very rarely replicated in the in vivo clinical trials.  It appears as though grapefruit juice is the only real culprit we need to worry about so far.

Zachary's Pizza

Went to Zachary's on Monday to have a few slices of the best pizza in the world - the Zachary's special with pepperoni.  RH and I had a good long talk about his baby on way and due on 7/15.  Too bad MW is in Spain cause his ears would be ringing!

Preserved Baby Wooly Mammoth

I read this story on the almost perfectly preserved wooly mammothnamed Lyuba that was discovered in Siberia.  The little baby probably died after falling into a mudpit and drowning.  In the article they also talk about ways that could be used to bring wooly mammoths back to life using DNA technology and IVF.

Franky Goes to Surgery

Poor little Franky went into surgery on Friday too!  We took him to the vet and he found a number of "foreign objects" lodged in his stomach.  We had to operate immediately and they ended up getting them all out.  Thank goodness!  We hopefully pick him up in 24 hours and bring him home.

Thomas' Bday at Custom Burger

We planned a little party for TLs' bday at Custom Burger on Friday night and we had a pretty good turnout.  I got to try out my new FlipHD, sing Happy Birthday twice, drink several maragaritas, kicked out of the bar area, and eat some delicious onion rings.  They have some of the best in the city!  However, the burger quality has been severely compromised and I don't think we'll be back there in awhile.

Tad's Steakhouse

Tad's Steakhouse in Union Square has the best deal on a steak dinner in the city.  It may not be fancy, but the cut of meat is big and juicy.  You get a side salad and choice of potato for less than $20.  It's cheaper than cooking a steak at home!

Erin's Birthday at Velvet Cantina

Margaritas, mole, and a mob of people.  About 12 of us had dinner at Velvet Cantina in the Mission to celebrate Erin's 35th birthday.  She got a few gifts including getting a big kiss from AR that DA caught on tape.  I hope that had nothing to do with him getting sick later!!

Hosted an LLS Fundraiser

We had a great time hosting an LLS fundraiser for LG's Man of the Year campaign.  We ended up getting tons of food donated and spread out for approximately 30 guests.  We raised a respectable amount of money and then headed over to our place to watch Pacquiao destroy Hatton in 2 rounds.  What a great night!

Digital Karnak Project Rocks!

This website is super cool!  There are digital reconstructions of the ancient Egyptian area of Karnak and lots of cool informational short videos about what life was like there 4000 years ago.  It shows the timetable of the building of the temple infrastructure as it evolved from ruler to ruler. 

The US Honors a Treaty??

Has hell frozen over?!  I saw this story today about an Indian woman winning damages against the government after being assaulted by an Army recruiter.  The Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868 requires the government to compensate her for lost income, emotional distress, and pain and suffering.  I wonder why the Sioux Indians would want that language in the treaty.  There must've been a few incidents back in the mid-1860's for them to want that added.  The US finally honored a treaty!  Amazing!  Now if they finally give them back the Black Hills, it will be even more amazing!