memes
cagapakis | September 22, 2010Thanks to the internet, you can find out your pirate name and your Jersey Shore name, and now thanks to the EMBL-EBI learning tools, you can find your protein name too!
When you type your name into the box, the program reads the letters of your name as if they were the single-letter codes for amino acids. Since there are only 20 amino acids, if you have a B, J, O, U, X, or Z in your name the program reads it as "X" which just means any amino acid could go in that spot.
The amino acids are then translated back into one of the possible three-letter DNA codes for each amino acid, and that DNA…
cagapakis | March 29, 2010Another Hydrocalypse Industries original production, the Beard-ome presents imaginary work on the genomics of the beard. What's lying beneath your beard?
cagapakis | February 28, 2010My labmates and I love Lady Gaga. Like, love love love. Enough to make a parody fan video of Bad Romance. It is my pleasure to present to you "Lab Romance", a production of Hydrocalypse Industries. Enjoy!
Lyrics after the jump!
ø⸨°º¤ø⸸âø¤º°¨¸âø¤º°¨ ¨°º¤øâ¸LADYâø¤º°¨ âø¤º°¨ GAGA `°º¤ø¨°º¤ø⸸âø¤º°¨¸âø¤º°¨ ¨°º¤ø
Music by Lady Gaga, lyrics by Tami Lieberman and Jake Wintermute, performed by Jake Wintermute, editing by me and Patrick Boyle, dancing by the Silver Lab.
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oooh!
Oh-oh-oooh-oh-oh!
Caught in a lab romance…
cagapakis | January 27, 2010I sort of love the "KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON" posters that have become the darling of interior decorating bloggers and graphic design jokesters alike in the past few years. I even have one of the posters hanging in my apartment. Then I saw Merlin's version.
At first I LOLed, and then I was like "huh." How did we get here? How did this meme evolve from stoic World War II propaganda to hilarious Richard Dawkins jokes?
And thus, the phylogenetic tree of "KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON" posters was born:
High res here.
gregladen | September 25, 2009The Anglo Boer War (in what is now South Africa from October 11th, 1899 to May 31st, 1902) was a turning point in European style military history. Previously, infantry would operate in large blocks that would move forward, turn and open or close ranks, and winning an infantry engagement would involve getting your columns around the side or back of the enemy's columns, or simply overrunning them head on. This worked in part because although everybody had a firearm of some kind, the firearms held few bullets, took time to reload, and were inaccurate, and since they tended to be inaccurate,…
gregladen | July 20, 2009Did you ever notice how some verbal expressions have an extra meaning for you, just you, because of history? In reflecting on this, it is impossible to not consider such lofty topics as memes, cultural transmission, and ... well, meaning. A particular expression might invoke a memory of an event, or of a person who often uses that expression. That can be a pleasant experience, or an unpleasant one. If you know what I mean.
A moment or two ago a person who could only be described as annoying, whom I do not personally know, corrected me on Facebook. I had responded to Carl Zimmer's lament…
sciencewoman | June 10, 2009BrianR at Clastic Detritus introduced me to the perfect meme to wrap a tedious summer afternoon of work...What books are on my summer reading list? First let me say that *love* summer and breaks because I've always associated those times with a chance to do some of the reading that I've never managed to keep up with during the semester. And I don't just mean the teetering pile of journal articles on my file cabinet, but also the teetering pile of books near my bed. I hate paying good money for a book and then letting it sit around for years unread. Plus, with my blogger schtick I feel like…
terrasig | May 30, 2009I was tagged with a meme by BikeMonkey (whose initials "BM" make me laugh) at Sun Dappled Forest a few days ago but didn't have a chance to get to it.
Post your best/worst covers and tag some more muppethuggers. Oh and do a linkback to whomever tagged you if it wasn't me.
In the meantime, several of those tagged have posted many of those songs that the world agrees are among the best covers of all time: The Jimi Hendrix Experience's "All Along The Watchtower" is phenomenal and so beyond comparison that even its creator, Bob Dylan, is on the record as loving it so much that he adopted Hendrix…
thusspakezuska | February 26, 2009To avoid a paper review I should be working on...
Via Sciencewoman at Sciencewomen, the BBC Book Meme. Using the second list she has posted, supposedly the actual BBC book list. The ones I've read are in bold. I didn't bother starring the ones I plan to read, since my "plan to read" bookshelf is probably several miles long. Good intentions, we all know what road they pave. List is below the fold.
1. The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien
2. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
3. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman4. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
5. Harry Potter and the…
laelaps | February 18, 2009There are a number of things I have been meaning to blog about during the past week but for whatever reason they kept slipping my mind. Here's a brief collection of some neat stuff that I should have written about earlier;
Michael Barton, author of the Dispersal of Darwin, was interviewed for the the BBC's Pods and Blogs! I am certainly envious. You can listen in here.
A number of paleo-artists active in the blogohedron have started a new carnival, ART Evolved. The first edition will be posted at Prehistoric Insanity on March 1, and I certainly encourage you to check it out (if not submit…
laelaps | December 8, 2008All the cool kids were doing it, so I had to join in, too. [For those playing the home game, select the first sentence from the first post of each month and post the lot. I decided to include the first photo of each month, too.]
January - "I have a secret"
I got some good news last night that I'd love to share, but I think I'm going to keep my lips sealed for until the official announcement is up elsewhere.
February - "Got another one!"
Apparently Sb has been snapping up quality science bloggers at an extraordinary rate, and the latest member of the collective is Maria of Green Gabbro.…
terrasig | December 6, 2008Brothers Bora and Drug reminded me that it is time for the early December traditional meme of recording one's first sentence of each month's first post.
Just as an aside, on my visit with this week with Anton and Bora to Ernie Hood's Radio In Vivo show to promote ScienceOnline'09, Ernie asked, "how do you pronounce Terra Sigillata?"
You'll recall, I hope, that we named the blog Terra Sigillata because it was the name of the first trademarked drug: a planchet of fat and mineral-rich clay from the Greek isle of Lemnos. However, terra sigillata is also a kind of clayworks that is finished with…
awild | November 30, 2008Apparently the leafy green banner above is insufficient camouflage in the blogosphere. The Myrmecos Blog has been noticed by the meme-passers. Three times this week.
Bug Girl has tagged me with the "Six Random Things". Adrian Thysse would rather have me do "Five Things". And Huckleberry Days linked me with a "Superior Scribbler Award".
This unexpected recognition gives me plenty to blog about apart from the usual buggy fare, but the meme-passers will have to forgive me if I take my time. It's a busy week. I'm giving the departmental seminar tomorrow, and I've got piles of new RNA…
thusspakezuska | November 19, 2008I haven't done a meme in forever. I was going to spend time today writing something substantive in response to the many thoughtful comments on my blog post on the proper way to be a woman in science. Or on some new topic. But instead I'm producing a response to this meme. Blame PhysioProf.
5 Things I Was Doing 10 Years Ago:
Graduating with my 3rd advanced degree, an M.Ed. in secondary ed, mathematics
Moving to Kansas
Buying my first house
Starting my first job in Big Pharma (as opposed to the contract research world)
Becoming a gardener
5 Things On My To-Do List Today:
Do my stretching…
terrasig | November 16, 2008As if I don't already have enough to do, Comrade PhysioProf tagged me with this meme last night. I was also fortunate to be tagged by Isis the Scientist in her new digs at On Becoming a Domestic and Laboratory Goddess. So, since these folks seem interested, here goes:
5 Things I was Doing 10 years Ago:
(1) Gleefully watching my first PhD student complete and defend her dissertation.
(2) Liberating myself from a demonic, parasitic spouse.
(3) Starting a long-distance relationship with PharmGirl.
(4) Releasing my first co-authored book.
(5) Preparing my tenure dossier.
5 Things On My To-Do…
terrasig | October 28, 2008I'm swamped again in meatspace but just had to leave a thank-you to all of my tag-ees for responding to my tag by Comrade PhysioProf to post six random things about oneself.
Among the things I'm trying to finish tonight is an interview from a student in Miss Baker's high school biology class in Maryland who will be attending ScienceOnline'09.
Anna has asked me some questions about this conference and why I go. I'm reminded that I first met Tom Levenson last year at this conference and we have maintained a friendly e-mail relationship. What strikes me in my interview with Anna is that Tom and…
terrasig | October 27, 2008The blogger who I thought among all held the greatest disdain for any of these silly little narcissistic blogger games, Comrade PhysioProf, has tagged me with a meme.
1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them.
5. Let each person know they've been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.
So here are six random things about me:
1. I belong to the Y-chromosome haplogroup J2: my markers carry the path of M168 > M89…
laelaps | February 8, 2008It's been a while since I've posted a meme here, but I was recently tagged by Dr. Vector and I simply must continue this one. Indeed, I've been hit with the Writing Meme, which says that I should;
1. List 3 writing tips
2.Tag 3 people whose writing style you admire.
When Matt tagged me he wrote "I want to know how he writes so damn much all the time. It's embarrassing!" so I'll use that as a starting point;
1. Coming up with little gimmicks like "Photo of the Day" or "Osteometric Point of the Day" help to keep me consistent. (I nearly wrote "help to keep my regular," but I don't want to…
laelaps | November 10, 2007As I have been tagged by Julia, here is the "Meme of Four";
4 jobs I have had:
1. Police Department Road Crew (painting lines in the street, fixing traffic signs, etc).
2. Blockbuster Video/Suncoast Video/Hollywood Video Sales Rep.
3. Target stockroom/sales floor
4. Biopesticide Database Maintenance/Design
4 movies I love to watch over and over:
1. The Lost World
2. Young Frankenstein
3. Raiders of the Lost Ark
4. Monty Python's Life of Brian
4 places I have lived:
1. Clark, NJ
2. New Brunswick, NJ
3. A few blocks away from #2, still in New Brunswick, NJ
4…
laelaps | November 9, 2007[The image has been removed as it seemed to be part of a spamming scam.]
I guess this just goes to show that if you throw enough species names around on your blog it'll fool the ranking mechanisms on these things. If you want to give it a try yourself, you can do so here. (I don't think Laelaps truly requires very much background to understand, though, and if it did I wouldn't be a very good blogger.) Check out how Chris, and Bora have ranked, as well.