The Dragon Cane

My dragon cane arrived on Friday and I've already scared a few of the neighbor kids away with it! After that, TL, MH, and MAM over for a nice steak and sweet potatoes dinner. I went to get an MRI of my knee today and didn't like being in the small space one bit! Luckily, Theresa the MRI technician at CPMC was super nice and patient with me. But, no way I can get all the way in that tube without getting knocked out!

Knee Injured

MAN! I messed up my knee on Friday evening! It looked like a MESS! Finally got to see an orthopedist in SF on Wednesday and hope to get an MRI this week so I know what I'm in for!! Luckily, I was able to change my flight to SF to a direct flight on Sunday, so it wasn't so uncomfortable, but it was LONG! I did get wheelchair assistance from the nice people of United during my entire time at the airports.

Baltimore Day Six

10/22 - I had a nice little lunch at the ESPNZone and a dinner at Fleming's. Unfortunately, HW wasn't able to finish his work in time to join me!

Baltimore Day Seven

The day after the conference ended, I spent the first half of the day walking around the harbor. I first went to the Lebanese Taverna and then ventured into the Baltimore National Aquarium. I did not regret it! I walked in at the perfect time as the 4D Immersion movie was to start in 45 min and the Dolphin Show another 45 min later. When I walked in there was a stingray feeding just starting. The 4D movie was pretty neat and I can't wait for more movies to adopt this format. The Dolphin Show was filled with lots of tricks and kids screaming while they got splashed with water from the dolphin fins. In the meantime, I saw lots of different really neat exhibits including a tropical rain forest, atlantic coral reef, Australia wild extremes, and Jellies invasion. I left pretty impressed!

Baltimore ISSX Day Five

For dinner, we went with a bunch of people from Celsis IVT to the Waterfront Bar and Hotel. We had tons of food and then afterwards we went out to a small bar around the corner to watch the MLB playoffs.

Baltimore ISSX Day Four Part 3

After today's sessions, we walked over the USS Constellation for a drinks and apps party put on by Xenotech. The funniest thing was watching the sailors try to get the cannon to go off. We then headed over to the Top of the World Trade Center for more drinks and apps. FUN TIMES!

Baltimore ISSX Day Four Part 2

This video is of the cannon FINALLY going off loud on the USS Constellation.

Baltimore ISSX Day Four Part 1

During the break in the action at the conference, RC and I decided to take a water taxi on the harbor to Fell's Point for some lunch. We heard it was a good place to eat. The guy that was running the water taxi stop was pretty funny and very adamant about people staying at the top of the ramp while the taxi landed. The taxi was pretty slow and there wasn't a whole lot to see, but there were lots of little spots in Fell's Point to eat. Oh, and our taxi had a weak name compared to the other taxis parked at the stop! Unfortunately, the Indian restaurant we wanted to go to, was not Indian anymore and not even open for lunch. So we decided to walk to the next one, India Rasoi, which took about 15 min. The food was pretty good, but the walk had taken us to about 3 block from the conference hotel. So much for the $9 water taxi! On our way back to the conference, we passed what has to be one of the nicest Sewage Pumping Stations I have ever seen!

Baltimore ISSX Day Three

During the lunch break, RC and I ventured into Little Italy and at ate this little spot called Sabatino's. It was in a pretty unremarkable location, but the experience was memorable because our server had the most gravelly voice I think I've ever heard. The food turned out to be pretty good, but RC's pasta primavera turned out to be huge and she could only eat about 1/10th of it. After the sessions, we headed out to dinner with some folks from Cyprotex to a crab place called Obrycky's. There we were given a bib and a mallet and then learned how to smash the heck out of the crab with the mallet to get the meat out. I had steak.

Baltimore ISSX Trip Day One-Two

Arrived in Baltimore very late on Saturday night 10/17 and headed to get some dinner at James Joyce with a rep from BD. The view from my room on the 21st floor was a little gloomy, but it was a nice harbor view where I could see lots of boats and the water taxis roaming around. I headed down to the Hotel Restaurant to watch the Vikings-Ravens game. I was pretty quiet as there were a BUNCH of people from a diversity conference that were also there cheering on Baltimore. After awhile, the bartender outed me as a VIkings fan and I heard it from them after that. Luckily, they won on a missed Baltimore field goal with 2 seconds left! Then, they heard it from me! It was so sweet! I then met up with some Biotrove and BD people to head out to Ale Mary's for some dinner and Belgian beer. It was a nice little spot and the best thing on the menu was the Cheesy Tots!! Yummers!

Merkel Cells

I think I'm obsessed with Merkel Cells! This paper is the 2nd in 3 months that I've looked at that describes these important cells. The same team that showed that Merkel Cells were involved in touch using Atoh1 knockout mice have used these same mice to show that they originate from the skin and not the neural crest. These cells were first discovered back in 1875!

Good Ol Southern Style Meal

I tried my hand at making BBQ ribs, cornbread, baked mac and cheese and homemade coleslaw with radicchio. It turned out to be pretty good and I think even my in-laws from Alabama would've liked it!

Fleet Week and the Blue Angels

Last weekend we went to a party at G and R's in Telegraph Hill to watch the Blue Angels at Fleet Week. The day didn't start off to well with a 45 min walk because we couldn't find a cab. Once we got there, we had a nice up close look at the planes, but the show was cancelled after about 15 min due to fog. But, we still had fun hanging out on the roofdeck and then heading out to Sip and Vessel with TZL. What a LONG day!

Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize

This past weekend, Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize after less than a year in office. I hope he can carry through with this "call to action!"

Dinner with Whitey and the Bulgarian

Whitey O'Shea cooked up some steaks and risotto last Tuesday evening for KL and me. Afterwards, we sat outside on their deck and watched him break a chair by sitting down on it. It was a rather special evening!!

LB's Relative on Law and Order??

I see a slight resemblance!! Haha!

iPhone Trap

SNAP!

Milbert's Bday

This cartoon made me think of Milbert!

Nero's rotating dining room

I read this story about the discovery of the fabled rotating dining room of the Nero Golden House palace. The room was supposed to actually rotate as the Earth rotated. His parties sound super wild and crazy!

http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/sep/29/eu-italy-neros-dining-room-092909/?science&Index=174020

Moon on Sunday morning

What a great bright full moon we had this morning!!

Turtle Tower and LovEvolution

We met up with D and L and their friends Pete and Andrew at Turtle Tower for lunch this past Saturday. The Vietnamese stir fry beef, imperial rolls, and noodle soup were all VERY good. We then walked down to the LovEvolution party at City Hall. It was pretty crazy and it has changed ALOT since it was called LoveFest!!

Dumplings!

My dad used to make dumplings for us on Saturday or Sunday mornings. We used to top it off with some nice burned butter - super healthy! I've started the tradition up for us in SF and this Sunday marks the day I made a batch that was AWESOME! I guess anything with burned butter would be awesome, but today was especially good! I hope this means that the Twins will win today!

Last Giants Home Game of 2009

I went to the Giants last home game of the season on Thursday afternoon with a few work colleagues. The weather was great and the game had a little bit of everything. Lincecum was dominant as usual, 2 of the Arizona coaches got ejected, Rich Aurilia played his last game as a Giant, Randy Johnson pitched for the save, and the Giants won! Great game! I was even able to eat a hot link and garlic fries!