Archive for August, 2006
Wednesday, August 30th, 2006
Science v. The Law, The Court of Me (2006)
Although I’ve only spent a week studying the law, I’ve already begun to see the similarities and differences between the law and science. In matters of law, just like in the field of science, there aren’t always black-and-white answers. In science, however, we make our best educated guess and do experiments to elucidate the answer. If you’ve guessed wrong, or the answer is contrary to what anyone would normally guess, you’re out of luck. I spent much of my graduate career trying to figure out if my guesses were correct; some were and some weren’t. In the law, however, it is the responsibility of the lawyer to persuade the judge to believe his particular version of the gray area. Thus, instead of relying on technology or Mother Nature, we rely on our own abilities – our ability to argue, to persuade, to think critically and creatively. I would rather rely on my own abilities over a kinase assay any day! Now, to be fair, in matters of the law, just as in the field of science, one is at the mercy of outside influences beyond control, such as judges and jury. I’m not saying that either one is better than the other, merely that I seem to have a preference and I’m still glad I made the decisions I’ve made.
Comments Off - Posted in Life by blaine_5
Saturday, August 26th, 2006
One week down, 77 to go!
So I’ve successfully finished my first week as a law student. It was mostly Orientation, with just Thursday and Friday classes. I met some impressive alumni (including a Judge and two IP attorneys), all of whom were incredibly friendly and helpful. All three of them mentioned that they loved their careers and wouldn’t do anything else, which I thought was a great sign. I’ve met a number of my classmates, and every single one of them has been extremely friendly. All of them have really interesting stories, and I feel that this is a very diverse group of people, which will undoubtedly make my experience all the richer.
I will say, however, that it was difficult to find time to do my work with the full schedule of Orientation. Trial by fire! But I sat down today and did my best to get organized, which always makes me feel better. Tomorrow I have a full day of studying and catching up before I can try to get ahead. I’m definitely very happy with my decision to go to law school, and I’m am anxiously anticipating the weeks ahead.
By the way, the E-man now has 3 molars! Last week he was miserable and we assumed that the molars were the cause. I don’t remember, of course, but I bet it’s pretty painful to have those teeth poke through the skin. Now that this round of teeth has subsided, he’s happy as a clam. My wife’s mother and sister came down to visit him for the day, and he was Mr. Ham all day. He played hard all day and didn’t want them to leave. A few minutes later it was time for bed, and it was only a matter of seconds before he was asleep in my arms. As he lay there with a hint of a snore and a smile on his face, I had a hard time giving him up to the crib.
4 Comments » - Posted in Life by blaine_5
Tuesday, August 15th, 2006
A beautiful day at the park
Yesterday was a beautiful day and we were up north visiting some family. We decided to go to a nearby park and play for a while. The E-man had a great time!
3 Comments » - Posted in Life by blaine_5
Tuesday, August 15th, 2006
We love our brand-new Spiderman futon
About a week ago, Mommy bought the E-man a Spiderman futon. His cousin had a similar one and he loved playing with it.
1 Comment » - Posted in Life by blaine_5
Friday, August 11th, 2006
My last day as a graduate student
Today I handed in 5 copies of my dissertation to be bound and distributed. I’ve spent the past week making corrections and adding an extra appendix as per the committee’s suggestions. I’ve also been cleaning out my bench, my reagents, and my office. I’m here at my empty desk right now, writing my last post from this computer before I uninstall my browser. Yesterday the lab went out to lunch at a mexican restaurant and we had a great time. Words cannot express how much I’m going to miss this lab and this stage of my life. I’ve worked with these people for 6 years of my life, week in and week out. The people in this lab, I already know at the young age of 30, are some of the best people I’ll ever meet in my lifetime. I know I’m only a short distance away from them now as I start law school, but things will be different when I come back to visit. I was more than ready to move on when I started writing my thesis, and I’m very eager to start the next phase of my life, but even before I’ve left this phase I miss it terribly. It has been difficult, challenging, humbling, and sometimes exhausting, but I’ve loved every minute of it. And I’ve loved the people I’ve worked with. If only everyone was as lucky as I was when choosing a lab to work in. Thank God that I made the choice I did 6 years ago when I started.
Comments Off - Posted in Life by blaine_5
Thursday, August 3rd, 2006
Dr. Me, PhD
Just wanted to let everyone know that today was the defense of my dissertation, and it went surprisingly well. The last 3 days have been the longest and most stressful days of my life, but once I got started (today at 1pm), it all just flowed. I passed with flying colors and I now get to put ‘Ph.D.’ after my name, just to look important! These last six years have been a lot of hard work, and today was the capstone. Now all I have to do are some corrections and additions to the thesis, nothing major, and then turn it in for publication. After that I’ll clean out all my stuff, and my time as a graduate student will be over. I have a feeling that after a few days as a 1L (a first year law student), I’m really going to miss it.
2 Comments » - Posted in Life by blaine_5
Wednesday, August 2nd, 2006
A little fun
This is the Life Experiences Meme, which I grabbed from Cynical Dad - go check out his list too.
So all I do is bold the items I’ve managed to accomplish so far in my 30 years. Although I look forward to fulfilling a lot of the items over the next 30 years, some of them don’t look like much fun!
01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain - Mt. Marcy, the tallest point in New York State.
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said ‘I love you’ and meant it
09. Hugged a tree - I have some weird friends.
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea - Just a few weeks ago, actually!
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise - I’ve actually only done this once, on spring break in Florida during my junior year of college. Got to see the sun rise on the Atlantic.
14. Seen the Northern Lights - I went to St. Lawrence University in Upstate New York near the Canadian border, and because I was so far north the Northern Lights were absolutely amazing.
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars - as a teenager my brothers, some cousins, and friends would camp on a little creek with a swimming hole, it was always a ton of fun.
20. Changed a baby’s diaper - uhh, a few.
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope - I consider myself an amateur amateur astronomer
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse - On 10 May 1994 while in high school, a great memory. We got to skip class!
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking - Anytime I drink too much at a party.
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was shit faced
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign - For my german exchange student to take home - I still can’t believe he made it!
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland - The best 10 days of my life ever.
52. Been heartbroken longer then you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow - I worked summers on a farm when I was 13 and 14.
56. Alphabetized your CDs - I have a problem, ok?
57. Pretended to be a superhero - Pretended?
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Posed nude in front of strangers
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater - The drive-in is the best deal around.
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites - In Ireland.
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice - Another incredible spring break in college.
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage - Most of the class was in a play our senior year. My english teacher wrote the play, and believe it or not, he called it “Skin Deep.”
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Had a one-night stand
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror.
96. Raised children
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
98. Created and named your own constellation of stars
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived.
105. Wrote articles for a large publication - My journal articles from work.
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Petted a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild - When I was younger, my siblings and I were playing with a kickball, and one of us kicked it into a nearby field. I went in after it, and when I kicked it back out, my foot sunk into it. Turns out there were a bunch of giant puffball mushrooms. My parents sliced them, battered them, and fried them - they were really good.
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet - Boy was my mom pissed!
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school - My wife says this is all I do!!
131. Parasailed - I loved every minute of it.
132. Petted a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions - I’ve never been to a college reunion.
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146: Dyed your hair
147: Been a DJ
148: Shaved your head
149: Caused a car accident
150: Saved someone’s life
