The state of Massachusetts has upheld the decision to legalize gay marriage, and as of today, the skies have not darkened or fallen.
I'm not gay (of course, I'm not married either, so to some degree, I'm speaking from ignorance), so whether homosexuals are given the right to marry or not has absolutely no bearing upon me. The term sanctity of marriage has been thrown around so often in the last few months that it's almost becoming a catch phrase, and to be honest, I'm not entirely sure that those throwing it around really know what it means. I'm not going to get into that here, largely because I don't understand how allowing homosexuals to marry has any bearing whatsoever upon the sanctity of marriage, and I really have no desire to argue a point when I don't understand its counterpoint. However, the idea of limiting the freedoms of a specific group, frankly, worries me.
Consider this: according to the Census Bureau approximately 50% if marriages occurring in the United States today will end in divorce. Most of those within the first ten years. In other words, the supreme court of Massachusetts has given a right which the rest of us are in serious danger of taking for granted. Like drinking from a public water fountain, or using a public washroom. Sound familiar? As I see people marching in protest and screaming about the sancitity of marriage (whatever that is), I see us as dangerously close to the days when different races could not drink from the same water fountain, different races could not vote, or had to sit at the back of a public bus. I see us as dangerously close to the time when one's rights and priveleges were determined by one's skin color. Now, it seems, they're determined by one's sexual orientation.
Bush has said, openly, that he would support an amendment to the constitution which will specifically prohibit gay marriage. If such a bill were to pass, it would be only the second amendment to the constitution ever designed specifically to limit the freedoms of its citizens. The last one was prohibition. That turned out well, didn't it?
Thursday, May 20, 2004
Wednesday, May 19, 2004
The laws of physics.
Just for the record. The laws of physics hate me. I'm not exactly sure why. What the heck have I ever done to them!?
Five Hundred, Twenty-five thousand, six hundred minutes.
I went this weekend with my significant other and, interestingly enough, my mother to see a production of Rent which toured its way through Calgary last week. It's taken a few days for the experience to really percolate.
A number of words describing it come rather quickly to mind. Not the least of which being masterpiece. It was truly an amazing performance and one that I'd recommend to anybody (Just not in Calgary, since it toured its way out of here on Sunday). It's a powerful show, with amazing characters and wonderful music. We had good seats too. Main floor, center, close to the front.
Yes, I enjoyed it. The music is rather catchy, too. I've had it bouncing around in my head since Saturday afternoon, and it really doesn't bother me that much.
Saturday goes in the books as a good day. A good show, the company of a beautiful young woman, a nice dinner afterwards, a walk in the park... Really, what could make that day any better? I'm really trying to think of something that could be added to it, and I'm drawing a complete blank.
Well, we went to a movie theater, just because we could, to see The Whole Ten Yards. That put a smidge of a damper on everything. Not exactly a movie I would pay full-price to see. Which works out well, since we went to the cheapie theatres. It was just a truly, truly amazing day.
On a separate issue, Calgary wins a couple of hockey games and the whole town goes nuts. It's like the whole city has hockey fever. Everybody and his brother is dressed in a hockey jersey. There's a Calgary Flames flag hanging on every other car (mine doesn't have one, just because I refuse to let myself get swept up in the hype). The whole town went nuts when we ousted Detroit. Not that I'm not as excited as the next guy about Calgary's recent success on the hockey rink, but c'mon people, curb your enthusiasm just a little bit.
Although, admittedly, being a Flames fan has to have been somewhat rough over the last few (like, fifteen) years. This is the first time we've made the playoffs in eight years, and nobody gave us a chance in hell of making it far. The most common viewpoint was that Detroit would flatten us in five games. Instead we beat them in six. To say that this was not unsurprising would be something of an understatement.
Interestingly enough, you see a lot more people playing street hockey as a consequence. Driving home has become something of a hazard because you have these twelve-year-olds running back and forth in the street trying to score. I swear someone's going to get creamed by a car that doesn't see them coming around a corner. Darwinism in action. It's out of sheer paranoia that I don't travel any faster than about 10 kph as I get close to home. At that speed, even if someone magically appears directly in front of my front bumper, I should still be able to stop in time. I mean, heck, I don't want to dent the front of my car... and twelve-year-olds are so hard to clean out of the front grille.
A number of words describing it come rather quickly to mind. Not the least of which being masterpiece. It was truly an amazing performance and one that I'd recommend to anybody (Just not in Calgary, since it toured its way out of here on Sunday). It's a powerful show, with amazing characters and wonderful music. We had good seats too. Main floor, center, close to the front.
Yes, I enjoyed it. The music is rather catchy, too. I've had it bouncing around in my head since Saturday afternoon, and it really doesn't bother me that much.
Saturday goes in the books as a good day. A good show, the company of a beautiful young woman, a nice dinner afterwards, a walk in the park... Really, what could make that day any better? I'm really trying to think of something that could be added to it, and I'm drawing a complete blank.
Well, we went to a movie theater, just because we could, to see The Whole Ten Yards. That put a smidge of a damper on everything. Not exactly a movie I would pay full-price to see. Which works out well, since we went to the cheapie theatres. It was just a truly, truly amazing day.
On a separate issue, Calgary wins a couple of hockey games and the whole town goes nuts. It's like the whole city has hockey fever. Everybody and his brother is dressed in a hockey jersey. There's a Calgary Flames flag hanging on every other car (mine doesn't have one, just because I refuse to let myself get swept up in the hype). The whole town went nuts when we ousted Detroit. Not that I'm not as excited as the next guy about Calgary's recent success on the hockey rink, but c'mon people, curb your enthusiasm just a little bit.
Although, admittedly, being a Flames fan has to have been somewhat rough over the last few (like, fifteen) years. This is the first time we've made the playoffs in eight years, and nobody gave us a chance in hell of making it far. The most common viewpoint was that Detroit would flatten us in five games. Instead we beat them in six. To say that this was not unsurprising would be something of an understatement.
Interestingly enough, you see a lot more people playing street hockey as a consequence. Driving home has become something of a hazard because you have these twelve-year-olds running back and forth in the street trying to score. I swear someone's going to get creamed by a car that doesn't see them coming around a corner. Darwinism in action. It's out of sheer paranoia that I don't travel any faster than about 10 kph as I get close to home. At that speed, even if someone magically appears directly in front of my front bumper, I should still be able to stop in time. I mean, heck, I don't want to dent the front of my car... and twelve-year-olds are so hard to clean out of the front grille.
Red Tape.
I hate beurocracy. That's really the only way of putting it. I really, really, really hate beurocracy. I hate that there seem to be people out there whose only apparent purpose in life is to make sure that as many obstacles as humanly possible exist between me and whatever I'm attempting to accomplish.
Yes, I hate beurocracy.
Don't get me wrong, I dislike a lot of things, but one of the few things I can actually use the word hate for is beurocracy.
So I get an Email from our animal care center asking me to clarify a few things about the use of animals in our experimentation. We get these every once in a while. I think it's just the Animal Care center's way of telling us that they own our asses. As much as we deny that fact. They really are the most powerful people in the building. With a select few exceptions, they can effectively shut down research in any laboratory in the building with the stroke of a pen, simply by denying them the use of animals.
Don't get me wrong. I'm rather happy that they do do this. It makes sure that we're treating our animals with humanity and dignity. This needs to be assured since our experiments have a 100% fatality rate. We're doing experiments on rat hearts. Since the procedure requires the removal of the rat's heart, the rat itself is usually somewhat non-viable, and we, as a lab, have often gone to what many would consider ridiculous lengths to ensure that the animal feels no discomfort. In part because any person in our lab has the power to pull the plug on any research being done here, and not one person in our lab would hesitate to do it if they felt we were being inhumane.
That part, I agree with. But every so often, we get a message from the animal care center asking us to clarify a few issues about our protocol. Ugh. First off, this usually occurs about five months after the protocol has been accepted. Which means, in a perfect world, we would have used approximately half the rats our protocol asked for. Likewise, they ask questions which are so assinine and so vague that you have absolutely no chance of ever responding to them in a satisfactory manner.
1) Justify the use of animals in your research.
2) Justify the number of animals used in your research.
3) What happens to the animals after an unsuccessful procedure?
4) What are the criteria for describing a procedure as successful?
5) Describe anesthesia.
6) Describe analgesia.
7) Describe narcotics used.
8) Which antibiotic agents are to be used for this protocol?
9) Describe the anticipated condition of the animal following a successful procedure.
Unbe-fricking-lievable. And the questions don't get any better as you go along. It's annoying.
Yes, I hate beurocracy.
Don't get me wrong, I dislike a lot of things, but one of the few things I can actually use the word hate for is beurocracy.
So I get an Email from our animal care center asking me to clarify a few things about the use of animals in our experimentation. We get these every once in a while. I think it's just the Animal Care center's way of telling us that they own our asses. As much as we deny that fact. They really are the most powerful people in the building. With a select few exceptions, they can effectively shut down research in any laboratory in the building with the stroke of a pen, simply by denying them the use of animals.
Don't get me wrong. I'm rather happy that they do do this. It makes sure that we're treating our animals with humanity and dignity. This needs to be assured since our experiments have a 100% fatality rate. We're doing experiments on rat hearts. Since the procedure requires the removal of the rat's heart, the rat itself is usually somewhat non-viable, and we, as a lab, have often gone to what many would consider ridiculous lengths to ensure that the animal feels no discomfort. In part because any person in our lab has the power to pull the plug on any research being done here, and not one person in our lab would hesitate to do it if they felt we were being inhumane.
That part, I agree with. But every so often, we get a message from the animal care center asking us to clarify a few issues about our protocol. Ugh. First off, this usually occurs about five months after the protocol has been accepted. Which means, in a perfect world, we would have used approximately half the rats our protocol asked for. Likewise, they ask questions which are so assinine and so vague that you have absolutely no chance of ever responding to them in a satisfactory manner.
1) Justify the use of animals in your research.
Insufficient number of humans we don't like.
2) Justify the number of animals used in your research.
Large number of rats we don't like.
3) What happens to the animals after an unsuccessful procedure?
They die.
4) What are the criteria for describing a procedure as successful?
They die, and we get good cells from them.
5) Describe anesthesia.
Anesthesia: A state of depressed neural activity, often associated with preoperative preparation, or beurocrats.
6) Describe analgesia.
Analgesia: Absence or relief of painful stimulus, such as that felt when I am done jumping through beurocratic hoops.
7) Describe narcotics used.
THP, Heroin, Cocaine, MethCathanone... Oh, you mean for the rats? None.
8) Which antibiotic agents are to be used for this protocol?
Refer to Question 4.
9) Describe the anticipated condition of the animal following a successful procedure.
a) absence of breathing or heartbeat
b) absence of heart
c) exponential decay of body temperature from 37 C to room temperature as a function of time
d) total lack of response to painful stimulus
e) total lack of response to pleasurable stimulus
f) severe reduction of arterial and venous circulation
g) systolic blood pressure=0
h) diastolic blood pressure=0
i) anoxia in all tissues
j) cessation of digestive processes.
k) cessation of kidney function
l) cessation of hormonal activity
m) cessation of liver function
n) loss of pancreatic response
p) absence of measureable neural activity in central nervous system
q) absence of measureable neural activity in peripheral nervous system
r) rigor mortis
Unbe-fricking-lievable. And the questions don't get any better as you go along. It's annoying.
Tuesday, May 18, 2004
On Dru
So, I decided to start a blog, just because I've got a literal ton of creative energy to vent and decided that here and now is a decent place to vent it.
Also because I'm pretty sure that I'm starting to annoy my friends when I send out a mass Email that really doesn't say anything more important than my own musings on the universe as a whole.
So, who is Dru, exactly? Good question, and I really wish I could provide something which would be satisfactory as an answer.
I suppose the best way of putting it is that I've always been unlike just about everybody I know. I've always walked just a little be out of step with the rest of the universe. Not that this is a terribly bad thing, mind you. I just tend to favor doing thigs a little different than most people. In a lot of ways, I'm a very difficult person to put in any specific category.
I'm a scientist (hopefully a PhD. in biophysics before too long), but I also consider myself to have very strong faith. I'm a geek, but also sort of a cool guy to have around (or at least, I like to think so). I study martial arts, but nobody believes me when I tell them that. I climb walls on a regular basis, just because I can (again, nobody seems to believe it when I first mention it). I kill rats on a regular basis because my work requires it. I enjoy broadway musicals, but I possess a Y chromosome.
I believe that there's more to learn about God (or Allah, or Jaweh, or Vishnu or whaever particular higher being you ascribe to) by watching a sunrise than by reading a book (or worse, by listening to someone's interpretation of that book). I have nothing against organized religion as a path to spirituality, as long as those that practice said religion realize that there are other, equally valid, paths. It's those who are so set in their beliefs that they won't even accept the possibility that other faiths may be just as true as theirs that, frankly, scare me. In short, I believe organized religion to be a path, but not necessarily the path. To me, finding one's own spirituality outside any specific religious framework (which I have been trying to do for the last year) can be equally valid. And if I'm wrong, well, I go to hell. I'd rather be damned for who I really am, than blessed for trying to be someone I'm not.
I completed a Bachelor's degree in physics at Bishop's University in 2002 and have since been pursuing a PhD in biophysics. With a little luck, I will defend my thesis in June of 2005. After that, I haven't the faintest clue what's next.
I have been studying Bak Fu Pai (Kung Fu, White Tiger Style) for the last almost-year, and it has helped me rediscover my own spirituality which I'd been sorely neglecting for the last twenty-five years. I'm also, consequently, in the best health (physically, mentally and spiritually) of my life. In my twenty-five years, I don't think I can recall the last time that I felt this alive.
I've been seeing a wonderful young woman for almost a year now, and she's added more to my life than I think even she knows. She's my constant reminder of just how blessed I've been.
Anyhow, if you find my postings too boring, swing my my friends Mike & Rose, since they always have something interesting to say.
Signing out,
dru
Also because I'm pretty sure that I'm starting to annoy my friends when I send out a mass Email that really doesn't say anything more important than my own musings on the universe as a whole.
So, who is Dru, exactly? Good question, and I really wish I could provide something which would be satisfactory as an answer.
I suppose the best way of putting it is that I've always been unlike just about everybody I know. I've always walked just a little be out of step with the rest of the universe. Not that this is a terribly bad thing, mind you. I just tend to favor doing thigs a little different than most people. In a lot of ways, I'm a very difficult person to put in any specific category.
I'm a scientist (hopefully a PhD. in biophysics before too long), but I also consider myself to have very strong faith. I'm a geek, but also sort of a cool guy to have around (or at least, I like to think so). I study martial arts, but nobody believes me when I tell them that. I climb walls on a regular basis, just because I can (again, nobody seems to believe it when I first mention it). I kill rats on a regular basis because my work requires it. I enjoy broadway musicals, but I possess a Y chromosome.
I believe that there's more to learn about God (or Allah, or Jaweh, or Vishnu or whaever particular higher being you ascribe to) by watching a sunrise than by reading a book (or worse, by listening to someone's interpretation of that book). I have nothing against organized religion as a path to spirituality, as long as those that practice said religion realize that there are other, equally valid, paths. It's those who are so set in their beliefs that they won't even accept the possibility that other faiths may be just as true as theirs that, frankly, scare me. In short, I believe organized religion to be a path, but not necessarily the path. To me, finding one's own spirituality outside any specific religious framework (which I have been trying to do for the last year) can be equally valid. And if I'm wrong, well, I go to hell. I'd rather be damned for who I really am, than blessed for trying to be someone I'm not.
I completed a Bachelor's degree in physics at Bishop's University in 2002 and have since been pursuing a PhD in biophysics. With a little luck, I will defend my thesis in June of 2005. After that, I haven't the faintest clue what's next.
I have been studying Bak Fu Pai (Kung Fu, White Tiger Style) for the last almost-year, and it has helped me rediscover my own spirituality which I'd been sorely neglecting for the last twenty-five years. I'm also, consequently, in the best health (physically, mentally and spiritually) of my life. In my twenty-five years, I don't think I can recall the last time that I felt this alive.
I've been seeing a wonderful young woman for almost a year now, and she's added more to my life than I think even she knows. She's my constant reminder of just how blessed I've been.
Anyhow, if you find my postings too boring, swing my my friends Mike & Rose, since they always have something interesting to say.
Signing out,
dru
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