The 30 minute Safari

I'm a firm believer in day dreaming. I've always thought that if a child is found to be daydreaming when they shouldn't, they should be guided gently back to the task at hand. There is much harm that can be done to the critical thinking process when the imagination is curbed.

I went on an African safari last night. We spent days driving around the Savannah. We saw a pack of lazy lions. The king sunning himself on pride rock, overlooking his domain. We drove through acres of zebras, black and white strips mingling until we didn't know where in the herd we were. There was a group of hippopotami in one of the rivers we crossed. Three took notice of us. One snorted, spraying two water jets out of it's nose, while the other two gleeked. All the while countless birds surrounded the local water hole.

In the evenings, we sat around the campfire while the guides sang songs filled with tribal history and lore. It was quite peaceful, the soft glow from lanterns and stars adding to the relaxing atmosphere.

But all things must come to an end. Nick came home; I had to shut off the CD player, and get out of the tub. Next time, I think I'll travel the plains with the Paiute Indians.

Lab rat skin

Here in Kearney there is a pond that people are allowed to swim in. It's a little bit scary. They put something in the water that makes it green, and kind of thick. Nick thinks it's to keep algae from growing, and I tend to lean towards algae. Anyway, it also keeps you from seeing your feet. I don't like to not see my feet. Like I said, it's scary.

Nick was wearing his patented swim shirt, and I was just wearing my new swim suit. Needless to say, my shoulders, back, and neckline were exposed for the second time this year. Luckily no one looked directly at them; I would hate to blind someone. It started to get chilly (at least I thought so) after an hour or so. We got out and laid in the sun for 10-15 minutes to dry our suits before heading home. That's the only time that Nick took off his shirt. Nick's face was looking a little pink, so we left.

Both of our shoulders burned. Again, I ask, who has the lab rat skin?

"You're cute, and I love the way you use big words in your sleep"

"Why do you want a non-Newtonian liquid?" Confused? So was I. This was the first thing that I heard Saturday morning.

Apparently Friday night, I rolled over and said "I want a non-Newtonian liquid." I don't remember doing it, but he insists that it happend. Why is it that everyone who shares a bed room with me has nothing better to do than think up weired things for me to say while I'm sleeping?

Anyway, at his confused look, I explained how much fun could be had by playing with one (The Big Bang Theory showed the guys playing with starch water and a speaker. **see video above** I highly recommend trying it!). He then proceeded to say, and coincidentally what is now my favorite quote, the title of this blog entry.

Tweakin' Rabbits!

By way of introduction, the Flinn chemical storage system (which we are using in the stock room) classifies any chemical with a LD50 less than 250 mg/Kg as a severe poison. They further recommend that severe poisons are stored in a locked cabinet. So, I was searching for an archive of LD50's. I didn't find one. However, I did find this. While it wasn't what I was looking for, it definitely was entertaining.

For those who don't know what a LD50 is, it is a dosage (reported in amount of substance per kilogram of animal body weight) that will kill half of a population in a given time. If you want to know more...well, you're online...look it up!

So, back to the bunnies! For Psilocybin, the intravenous LD50 is about the same for rats and mice (280 and 285 mg/Kg respectively). However, for rabbits it's much, much less 12.5 mg/Kg. The moral of the story? Rabbits can't handle their 'shrooms!

Thanks go to Replay 13, who posted this image on photobucket. If you want it removed, just say so.

Hello Nebraska

So, we've been in Nebraska for about a week now. I've made a few observations, that in my opinion, everyone should consider before joining us out here. For instance...

1. It's flat. I still can't figure how people tell what way is north. I'm getting a little paranoid. Why do I need to see so far?

2. The air is trying to kill me! Everyone here is so OCD about their yard. While it's very pretty to look at, all the grass pollen isn't good for me.

3. People here actually obey the speed limit. I've always considered the speed limit to be a suggestion, and to only be followed if you are suffering from a serious lack of imagination. Here, if they're not going the speed limit, they're going five under.

4. The kindness is going to take some getting used to. At Walmart when you arrive at an intersection at the same time as another shopper, they actually stop! They even go as far as to insist that you go first. I swear, they even slow down when you're trying to get on the road. It's getting seriously annoying.

5. The people may be cautious, but the squirrels aren't. On campus the other day, I saw three squirrels out in the middle of the lawn (not the same lawn). Up to this point the only squirrels I've seen were running from bush to bush. I sat in an adjacent lawn, to watch one of them, while I ate lunch. I think it was trying to scare me off! Thank goodness that crow chased him away; I think I was getting a goosebump.

6. I don't think that I've ever seen so many road kill rabbits before. Today, we passed three in a two mile strech of road. I've yet to see an alive rabbit...apparently, no one else sees them either.

7. The main rental agency isn't interested in renting apartments. Odd, considering that they own most of them. I've called them several times. Each time, I got the distinct impression that I've woke the guy up; and he would really like to go back to bed, but the phone was annoying him. Needless to say, we didn't rent from them.

Well, like I said, we've only been here for a week. I'm sure that there is plenty more that will take some getting used to. All in all, I think that I am going to enjoy it here. We've found a place, and should be able to move in next week. I really enjoy my job, and I've even made some progress on the chemical storage. I can't wait to see what what happens next.

Good-bye Planet Utah

Now that I'm no longer living in Utah, I thought I'd take some time to list a few things that I will miss. So here they are (in no apparent order, of course).

I miss...

1. the University of Utah. I have made many friends there, and I am sad I won't see them every day. Believe it or not, I'm even missing having to track down Chuck. It makes me sad to think that I've heard him say "I'm only here for a minute, but you wanted to see me..." for the last time.

2. the traffic humor. I was curious about this 'traffic congested area', so I checked it out one night. Just my luck, it was a slow night.

3. the freak of the week. How am I going to live if I don't get to hear about all the wannabe Darwin Award recipients out there? My favorite one happened in Utah. A kid tried to steal a car. He missed the fact that there was a cop was sitting in it. Here's my favorite part. When the cop made his presence known, the kid crapped his pants, putting quite the damper on his get-a-way.

4. the marque signs. Yes, Nebraska has them, but they just are not the same. I really miss the sign that said "Bobby told me to put something up here, but I can't remember what."

5. being close enough to family that we could visit regularly. What was a 4 to 6 hour drive is now a 15 to 20 hour drive. Some may say that's still too close, but I really love the red sands of St. George. I also love the sign on I-15 that says "Idaho is too great to litter." Silly me...I thought Idaho didn't litter because it wasn't sentient.

6. fighting with the TGA. I'm going to miss Steve. If you have a problem with a TGA, call Steve. He'll know how to fix it. Never mind that he's the sales rep. That must be why he can tell when I'm joking! Surprisingly enough, I'm even going to miss the techs that don't know a joke when they hear one (I know that super glue out gasses in a vacuum. Seriously, I was joking when I asked if I could super glue it back together.)

7. public transportation. UTA has opened my eyes to a whole new world, and it's completely full of crazy people. Let's see....there was the guy who wanted to put nitro glycerin in his diesel fuel, a 50/50 mixture of course....the guy who dared me to give him my phone number....the guy who asked me to marry him....after that, I stoped taking TRAX after dark.

8. the protesters at temple square. Not necessarily the protesters themselves, more their signs. One time someone was picketing with an Oreo cookie advertisement.

9. the weather. If you don't like it, just wait five minutes. It'll change! Of course, if it changes to something you don't like, you only have to endure it for five minutes.

Were moving!

The rumors are true, we are officially moving to Kearney, Nebraska next month. You are reading the blog of the new Instrumentation Technician at the University of Nebraska at Kearney (assuming the background check goes well).

I applied for this job while Nick was still in Nebraska. At first we did a telephone interview, and I seriously thought that I blew it. (I have never really caught on to the whole self promotion thing that is so essential for job interview success.) A week later they decided that they wanted to fly me out there.

I went, and all five of the questions that I prepared to ask were answered in the first ten minutes of the first interview. And wouldn't you know it, I couldn't think of a single new question to ask! What a time to develop stage fright. I felt like such a heel, not asking any questions.

I was wined and dined in fine style. I stayed at a nice hotel, ate cheesecake at Old Chicago, and went in the very first Cabela's. I got a tour of the campus and the town. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The faculty was enthusiastic, full of new ideas and eager to teach. They displayed many of the qualities that are common to my favorite professors. I was impressed from the onset by the variety of instrumentation available for student use. And I love their vision of teaching through hands on research. Needless to say, I was impressed and excited for the opportunity to work with them.

The flight back was quite a bit bumpier, and I almost didn't make it without being sick. Can you imagine getting sick on the plane, while the airports are blaring the latest breaking news of the 'swine flu'?! I would have been horrified. Luckily my flight was late, and I missed the connecting flight out of Denver. That gave me some time to get my rebellious stomach under control. It was still noon the next day before I could walk without the fear of showing everyone what I ate for breakfast, and well into the evening before I felt back to 100%.

They called to offer me the job before my stomach even settled. I asked for a couple of days to decide. I had to make sure that Nick was really ok with moving out there, and that we were ok (if not optimistic) about his job prospects there. I also had to wrap my head around the idea that we really were going to move twice in as many months! That's what I get for staying in the same place for three years. Thank goodness I insisted that we keep most of our moving boxes!