Last night my dog Sam was barking in the backyard. I went outside to find a lion cub on the deck swatting at Sam with paws the size of dessert plates. I yelled at Sam to get in the house and immediately began to fear the presence of the parents of the lion cub. Sure enough, below the back staircase to the deck was an enormous, adult, male lion. Sam barked like crazy at it, and the lion bit at his face catching his lip in his giant fangs. People were calling at me from inside the house to get inside, but Sam was in trouble. Barely thinking, I climbed up on the railing of the deck and jumped off it drop-kicking the lion in the shoulders (seriously). Immediately I realized the futility of my actions and panic sat in. I thought about how I wished that I just slid down the back staircase, grabbed Sam's collar from behind and ran him back up the stairs. Then, with the thought in my head, next thing I knew, I had Sam's collar in my right hand and we were on our way up the deck.
And then I woke up.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Dream / Jobs
Last night I had a very, very long dream. In words, it is too long to type, but too good not to mention the primary features.
To date, I've applied to 6 jobs at MIT's Broad Institute, and I'm beginning to fear their careers page is a black hole for resumés. I've got to make some calls.
- I made friends with a real live gnome about 5" tall.
- I could fly like superman.
- I wore a deep sea SCUBA suit.
- I was late for middle school.
To date, I've applied to 6 jobs at MIT's Broad Institute, and I'm beginning to fear their careers page is a black hole for resumés. I've got to make some calls.
Two More Jobs at Broad
I applied for two new positions today...
Software Engineer II - Tuberculosis Database
Associate Computational Biologist - Genome Biology Program
...follow up phone calls tomorrow.
Software Engineer II - Tuberculosis Database
Associate Computational Biologist - Genome Biology Program
...follow up phone calls tomorrow.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Romance on the Road
Today 3 deer crossed right in front of my car on a back-road in Lexington. They politely waited until I came to a complete stop, then crossed to the other side where 2 of their friends were waiting.
On Sunday I took Ashley out to dinner at The Old Salt in Hampton. It was a cold calm night, though the wind at the beach was stirring up the surf. We drove up to New Market where Antje Duvekot was playing The Stone Church Meetinghouse. She played a great set with a new love song, and an old one called Merry Go Round that Bank of America recently paid her $50,000 to use in a commercial. (Listen). Meanwhile, Ashley and I doodled in my sketchbook as we listened.
I love nights like these, and I've been in dire need of a touch of romance as of late. I'm hopeless - I know. I offer no excuses, and yet it's still not enough for me that I write all this down. Driving home, Ashley sang me the first line of a song she wrote. That line has had me on cloud nine for three days. Here's to February and more pleasant surprises!
Oh my lover, won't you write me a love song?
With passion of clover, won't you paint me fields o' green?
Inspire my heart with sweet breath from your lungs.
I'm not coming home 'til you speak love to me.
On Sunday I took Ashley out to dinner at The Old Salt in Hampton. It was a cold calm night, though the wind at the beach was stirring up the surf. We drove up to New Market where Antje Duvekot was playing The Stone Church Meetinghouse. She played a great set with a new love song, and an old one called Merry Go Round that Bank of America recently paid her $50,000 to use in a commercial. (Listen). Meanwhile, Ashley and I doodled in my sketchbook as we listened.I love nights like these, and I've been in dire need of a touch of romance as of late. I'm hopeless - I know. I offer no excuses, and yet it's still not enough for me that I write all this down. Driving home, Ashley sang me the first line of a song she wrote. That line has had me on cloud nine for three days. Here's to February and more pleasant surprises!
Oh my lover, won't you write me a love song?
With passion of clover, won't you paint me fields o' green?
Inspire my heart with sweet breath from your lungs.
I'm not coming home 'til you speak love to me.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
The Best Idea I Ever Had
Last night I formulated the best idea I have ever had. I say this with no exaggeration. Here is how it formulated in my brain...
"If I could only listen to one album for the rest of my life it would be Incubus - S.C.I.E.N.C.E." I was thinking about how Alyssa and I were talking about our favorite music after dinner with Kevin. She liked Minus the Bear.
And then this phrase formed in my mind because I've had work on my mind lately, "If I could only work for one company for the rest of my life it would be..." I had to stop and think. Because working for one company would be a huge thing. Would my life's work be in building computational tools to make experimental biologists' work easier and thus permitting breakthroughs in science? I like doing this type of work because it's the type of thing that helps people cure once-thought incurable diseases. However, it's a roundabout way of helping mankind.
Then I thought of A Christmas Carol (seriously), and how when Scrooge speaks of "good business" Marley tells him that "mankind was his business." This is a profound message, and whenever I see the play it gives me chills up my spine. So I thought again about my answer and finished the sentence: "If I could only work for one company for the rest of my life it would be mankind."
But what I like about advancing science is that it can help people on a greater scale. Yes, helping just one person is a great enough scale for that person, but in my head I wanted to be of more help. I thought, "I can't afford to help those less fortunate on a significant scale." Then I thought, "Some wealthy people can't help themselves despite their wealth." And so I came to the solution:
"Help the wealthy to help those less fortunate than themselves, and therefore, help themselves in doing so."
Of course there's a big difference between helping people in third world countries and just throwing money at them. This would have to be an up close and personal experience if anyone would come out better in the end. Nevertheless, all specifics aside, this is the best idea I have ever had. I write it here for two reasons. One, I don't want to forget it. And two, the best ideas should be given away so anyone can make them work.
"If I could only listen to one album for the rest of my life it would be Incubus - S.C.I.E.N.C.E." I was thinking about how Alyssa and I were talking about our favorite music after dinner with Kevin. She liked Minus the Bear.
And then this phrase formed in my mind because I've had work on my mind lately, "If I could only work for one company for the rest of my life it would be..." I had to stop and think. Because working for one company would be a huge thing. Would my life's work be in building computational tools to make experimental biologists' work easier and thus permitting breakthroughs in science? I like doing this type of work because it's the type of thing that helps people cure once-thought incurable diseases. However, it's a roundabout way of helping mankind.
Then I thought of A Christmas Carol (seriously), and how when Scrooge speaks of "good business" Marley tells him that "mankind was his business." This is a profound message, and whenever I see the play it gives me chills up my spine. So I thought again about my answer and finished the sentence: "If I could only work for one company for the rest of my life it would be mankind."
But what I like about advancing science is that it can help people on a greater scale. Yes, helping just one person is a great enough scale for that person, but in my head I wanted to be of more help. I thought, "I can't afford to help those less fortunate on a significant scale." Then I thought, "Some wealthy people can't help themselves despite their wealth." And so I came to the solution:
"Help the wealthy to help those less fortunate than themselves, and therefore, help themselves in doing so."
Of course there's a big difference between helping people in third world countries and just throwing money at them. This would have to be an up close and personal experience if anyone would come out better in the end. Nevertheless, all specifics aside, this is the best idea I have ever had. I write it here for two reasons. One, I don't want to forget it. And two, the best ideas should be given away so anyone can make them work.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Weekend, Interviews, and Photos
Tonight I have many scattered and relatively unimportant things to write, nevertheless I shall write them as they come to me.
First off, the Patriots are going to the Superbowl again! My whole family gathered together on Sunday and watched both games. I love this tradition. Speaking of traditions, Sunday also marked the finale of The Amazing Race. Ashley and I have been rooting for "the hippies" Rachel and TK from the start and they freakin' won! w00h00! Rest assured, soon enough we will applying for our chance to travel the world and win a million dollars! Saturday, the roomies and I threw a massively successful '90s-themed party. Good times were had by all who attended. Today (Monday) was strange, lots of little ups and downs that manifested themselves inside my head and my aching, feverish body. I'm happy to say, it is ending on a high note. I took a nice 2 hour nap and some ibuprofen around 7:00pm, and now I feel like a million bucks! Go figure.
This week has gotten off to a slow start, but I've still got a lot to look forward to. Tomorrow morning I'll help Silvi get started with my hexadecane research. Then Nick and I are meeting for lunch and our 3rd Matlab/C++ tutorial session.
On Wednesday I have a phone interview with the Imaging Platform at MIT's Broad Institute. The research group there built a piece of software called CellProfiler which helps biologists perform automated phenotyping of thousands of images of cell plates. This type of stuff is extremely interesting to me so I really want this job. I don't usually get nervous for interviews... this one I'm very nervous for.
Thursday I have another phone interview with eScription, a privately held company that leads the market in speech recognition software for medical transcription. I was actually contacted by the manager of the speech recognition and natural language processing technologies group about a software engineer role they are trying to fill. I'm very confident for this interview, but I really need to see what kind of company they keep before I seriously think about working there.
I'm trying to get an interview with The MathWorks for a position working on their SimBiology product. I'm keeping my fingers crossed on this one because I've heard this is a great company to work for, and the nature of the work is right up my alley.
Lastly, I've posted some new and old photos on flickr. Here are a couple portraits of girlf'iend...
First off, the Patriots are going to the Superbowl again! My whole family gathered together on Sunday and watched both games. I love this tradition. Speaking of traditions, Sunday also marked the finale of The Amazing Race. Ashley and I have been rooting for "the hippies" Rachel and TK from the start and they freakin' won! w00h00! Rest assured, soon enough we will applying for our chance to travel the world and win a million dollars! Saturday, the roomies and I threw a massively successful '90s-themed party. Good times were had by all who attended. Today (Monday) was strange, lots of little ups and downs that manifested themselves inside my head and my aching, feverish body. I'm happy to say, it is ending on a high note. I took a nice 2 hour nap and some ibuprofen around 7:00pm, and now I feel like a million bucks! Go figure.
This week has gotten off to a slow start, but I've still got a lot to look forward to. Tomorrow morning I'll help Silvi get started with my hexadecane research. Then Nick and I are meeting for lunch and our 3rd Matlab/C++ tutorial session.
On Wednesday I have a phone interview with the Imaging Platform at MIT's Broad Institute. The research group there built a piece of software called CellProfiler which helps biologists perform automated phenotyping of thousands of images of cell plates. This type of stuff is extremely interesting to me so I really want this job. I don't usually get nervous for interviews... this one I'm very nervous for.
Thursday I have another phone interview with eScription, a privately held company that leads the market in speech recognition software for medical transcription. I was actually contacted by the manager of the speech recognition and natural language processing technologies group about a software engineer role they are trying to fill. I'm very confident for this interview, but I really need to see what kind of company they keep before I seriously think about working there.
I'm trying to get an interview with The MathWorks for a position working on their SimBiology product. I'm keeping my fingers crossed on this one because I've heard this is a great company to work for, and the nature of the work is right up my alley.
Lastly, I've posted some new and old photos on flickr. Here are a couple portraits of girlf'iend...
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Miscellany
I skied Waterville yesterday with Mike Baier and his friend Missy. Conditions were beautiful, no lines, and the park was a blast.
Last night I joined LinkedIn, a professional networking site, to help bolster my connections to people in my industry. I was surprised to find a LOT of people I've worked/studied under on here. Thanks much to Will at Brontes for linking me in!
Money is still painfully tight right now. With each day my bank account tightens like a noose around my neck. Rent was due yesterday, and I post-dated the check to when I get paid... never done that before, but my landlord said it was okay. I need to really start selling my unneeded books from college.
Last night I joined LinkedIn, a professional networking site, to help bolster my connections to people in my industry. I was surprised to find a LOT of people I've worked/studied under on here. Thanks much to Will at Brontes for linking me in!
Money is still painfully tight right now. With each day my bank account tightens like a noose around my neck. Rent was due yesterday, and I post-dated the check to when I get paid... never done that before, but my landlord said it was okay. I need to really start selling my unneeded books from college.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Finished another book today. Finishing books makes me proud of myself even though I'm not sure if reading fiction has any more value than watching a movie. At the very least it helps me read faster, and stimulates some thought.
Anyway, the book is called The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. It's written from the perspective of an autistic savant named Christopher. One night he finds his neighbor's standard poodle dead on the lawn with a pitch fork stuck in it. Christopher reasons that someone probably murdered the dog, and decides to write a murder mystery novel about it. Like Sherlock Holmes, he would play the part of a veracious detective to discover the dog's killer. His curiosity gets him more answers than he bargained for, and Christopher finds himself in the middle of his own dizzying suspense adventure.
The book has received much acclaim, but I think this review says it best...
Anyway, the book is called The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. It's written from the perspective of an autistic savant named Christopher. One night he finds his neighbor's standard poodle dead on the lawn with a pitch fork stuck in it. Christopher reasons that someone probably murdered the dog, and decides to write a murder mystery novel about it. Like Sherlock Holmes, he would play the part of a veracious detective to discover the dog's killer. His curiosity gets him more answers than he bargained for, and Christopher finds himself in the middle of his own dizzying suspense adventure.
The book has received much acclaim, but I think this review says it best...
"Heart-in-the-mouth stuff, terrifying and moving. Haddon is to be congratulated for imagining a new kind of hero."
-The Daily Telegraph
...because this book is told from the perspective of a different kind of person. Haddon's empathy is astonishing in his writing. What at first seems dispassionately funny will leave you with a smile and a tear in your eye.
New England Snow and Ancient Empires
It is beautiful outside. I drove to work from Salem this morning and everything was caked in pure white from the storm yesterday. Every branch of every tree was laden with snow. Dark wet tree bark, cold shadows, and jet black pavement brought the contrast to a threshold as though the scene were drawn on paper in India ink. Even the signs on the highway were difficult to read through the frosting.
As for other climates, tickets are officially purchased for both Mexico, and Peru! I'll be snorkeling and exploring Mayan ruins in Cancun with Ashley and her parents from April 19th to the 26th. And from May 8th to the 20th, Tim and I will be hiking the Andes from Cuzco to the Inca ruins of Machu Picchu.
My excitement is immeasurable!
As for other climates, tickets are officially purchased for both Mexico, and Peru! I'll be snorkeling and exploring Mayan ruins in Cancun with Ashley and her parents from April 19th to the 26th. And from May 8th to the 20th, Tim and I will be hiking the Andes from Cuzco to the Inca ruins of Machu Picchu.
My excitement is immeasurable!
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Virginia Mae Leva
What a week this has been. Jon's grandmother passed away on Sunday. Ginny's wake and funeral was held yesterday at HL Farmer & Sons Funeral Home in Haverhill. The place was beautiful, and there were so many people there. Jon gave the most beautiful eulogy I ever expect to hear. I laughed at the funny memories, and, oh man, did I cry. There wasn't a dry eye in the house. In Ginny's life, she affected so many others through her love and hospitality, and she was loved in return. I'll miss her, but I will remember her.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
A Little Less Conversation, A Little More Action
The job hunt continues, but I'm glad to say everything else is moving along really well. Today I spoke with a rep. named Mike at Bank of America in Bedford, and finally got my finances squared away. I had $160 in overdraft fees removed, a new checking account set up, and got approved for a new credit card to link to my checking for overdraft protection. The guy reminded me of Jon a lot, and anyway, he completely made my day. Now it's just a matter of working a lot and saving every penny to pay for rent, my ski pass, and plane tickets to Cancun and Lima! Yikes!
Tonight I got talking to Nick who's also fishing for work. He has a second interview with MIT coming up, which is very cool. It would be amazing if we both ended up working in Cambridge together, but right now things are still completely open for me. It's anyone's guess where I'll end up. At any rate, we talked about how a lot of the jobs he's been applying for like to see experience in C++, and some of the jobs I've looked at like experience in Matlab. The timing couldn't be better to teach each other these things. Thursday we're meeting in Lowell to get started. I'll be teaching Nick C and C++, while he teaches me Matlab! I couldn't be more excited. I keep thinking about the order of the topics I'll teach and the problems I'll give him to solve... the same things I've learned time and again in so many languages...
Tonight I got talking to Nick who's also fishing for work. He has a second interview with MIT coming up, which is very cool. It would be amazing if we both ended up working in Cambridge together, but right now things are still completely open for me. It's anyone's guess where I'll end up. At any rate, we talked about how a lot of the jobs he's been applying for like to see experience in C++, and some of the jobs I've looked at like experience in Matlab. The timing couldn't be better to teach each other these things. Thursday we're meeting in Lowell to get started. I'll be teaching Nick C and C++, while he teaches me Matlab! I couldn't be more excited. I keep thinking about the order of the topics I'll teach and the problems I'll give him to solve... the same things I've learned time and again in so many languages...
- i/o
- variables and arrays
- conditionals
- loop structures
- file i/o
- basic math and math.h
- functions
- recursive functions
- pointers
- structs
- linked lists, stacks, trees, and graphs
- classes and object orientated programming
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Life of Pi
Last night I finished Life of Pi.
Piscine Molitor Patel, known to all as Pi, grows up on a zoo. Whether out of curiosity or sheer boredom, he studies and learns to embrace the religions of Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism. The political situation in India becomes such that Pi's father decides that they must sell the zoo and leave the country. The cargo ship the family is on tragically sinks in the middle of the Pacific ocean and Pi finds himself stranded in a lifeboat with a Hyena, a Zebra, an Orangutan, and a Bengal Tiger named Richard Parker. Before long, it's just Pi, Richard Parker and the Pacific. Pi, armed with years of applied education in zoology, knows he has no chance in killing the 450 lb beast with the few tools he has available. Instead, Pi finds his life and Richard Parker's locked in a delicate equilibrium. As much as the tiger depends on Pi's ability to provide food and water, Pi would die of loneliness and despair without his companion.
This book was fantastic, it makes profound connections between religion and story telling, between science and nature, and between life and love. My brain is still spinning.
Piscine Molitor Patel, known to all as Pi, grows up on a zoo. Whether out of curiosity or sheer boredom, he studies and learns to embrace the religions of Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism. The political situation in India becomes such that Pi's father decides that they must sell the zoo and leave the country. The cargo ship the family is on tragically sinks in the middle of the Pacific ocean and Pi finds himself stranded in a lifeboat with a Hyena, a Zebra, an Orangutan, and a Bengal Tiger named Richard Parker. Before long, it's just Pi, Richard Parker and the Pacific. Pi, armed with years of applied education in zoology, knows he has no chance in killing the 450 lb beast with the few tools he has available. Instead, Pi finds his life and Richard Parker's locked in a delicate equilibrium. As much as the tiger depends on Pi's ability to provide food and water, Pi would die of loneliness and despair without his companion.
This book was fantastic, it makes profound connections between religion and story telling, between science and nature, and between life and love. My brain is still spinning.
Friday, January 4, 2008
I Was Never One for Fishing
Job hunting is HARD. When considering my options between a doctorate and working in industry, the easier of the two seemed obvious. I suppose I expected the fish to just jump in the boat as they have in the past.
The problem with being a UI designer swimming in the biotech ocean is that the only sea life that is interested in you is back in the old design pond. Fish are not jumping in my boat. Frogs, crabs, clams, boots, and sopping wet ham sandwiches are jumping in my boat. No fish. The kicker is what the frogs, crabs et al. are willing to pay. The fish, on the other hand, are only interested if you have a PhD and 5-10 years of experience.
Today I caught myself reconsidering the doctorate. It would mean taking ONE qualifying exam in algorithms, then smooth sailing with visualization research in bioinformatics. Oomph! The more I think about it, the more idealistic it sounds... except, of course, for the part where I don't have any money.
Short term goals:
The problem with being a UI designer swimming in the biotech ocean is that the only sea life that is interested in you is back in the old design pond. Fish are not jumping in my boat. Frogs, crabs, clams, boots, and sopping wet ham sandwiches are jumping in my boat. No fish. The kicker is what the frogs, crabs et al. are willing to pay. The fish, on the other hand, are only interested if you have a PhD and 5-10 years of experience.
Today I caught myself reconsidering the doctorate. It would mean taking ONE qualifying exam in algorithms, then smooth sailing with visualization research in bioinformatics. Oomph! The more I think about it, the more idealistic it sounds... except, of course, for the part where I don't have any money.
Short term goals:
- Apply for Associate Computational Biologist position at Broad Institute, MIT.
- Keep birthday-calling Tim and telling him how flabby and old he is.
- Beat Meng in another game of chess.
- Print photos.
- Pick up Check
- Mail thank-yous
- Birthday present for Tim.
- Build a lamp (purchase base, cut bamboo, wrap twine, etc)
- Radiator fluid for car
- Buy ski pass
- Fill out deferment form
- Finish Cebula contract
- Finish Brontes contract
- Get a job.
- Save money.
- Paint more.
- Frame photography.
- Cancun in April
- Machu Picchu in May
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Gain Weight in '08!
Is everything moving in slow motion right now, or is it just me? I'm stuck with a familiar feeling of being trapped in mud... I've written about this feeling before, I know I have.
Today I woke up in Salem and made it to the Brontesaurus by 8:30. As usual, I ate a triple-decker egg, ham, and cheese sandwich for breakfast. I finished a few UI glyphs, sat through a presentation, ate a ham and swiss sub for lunch, and sent Greg a graphic for the training manual. I also caught up with Alex, and he agreed to let me use him as a reference in my search for a employment. He even surprised me with a Starbucks gift card for Christmas. His wife just gave birth to their first son before the holidays, this at the same time as they were moving into their new home. I can only imagine the excitement and exhaustion.
As for me, it's "Blank Slate in '08." I need to format my life and defragment my brain.
I'm also partial to the slogan: "Gain Weight in '08."
Anyway, I've gotten distracted, I was stuck in mud... I suppose I accomplished a few things today. My to-do list may not be diminishing, but at least I'm crossing things off as fast as I'm writing new ones down. Besides, I'm making some money, which right now is of paramount importance considering I'm on the verge of selling snowballs to the kids on Mount. Pleasant.
After work, I put myself through a good workout at the gym that left me feeling refreshed and stinky. When I got home however, I was unfortunate to find that we're having a problem with our water heater. I couldn't withstand the cold shower for more than 15 seconds.
The rest of my night I spent reading Life of Pi. It's safe to say it... I'm addicted to this book. I highly recommend it to anyone with a curious mind and a strong imagination. I love it. Half the reading I did at home, the other half at Eggroll where I also caught up with Mike, Meng, Tina, and Sengly. I gave them 3 games for the cafe for Christmas (Candy Land, Battleship, and Chess). Hopefully they'll get many miles of use out of them. Seriously, who doesn't love Battleship?! 2B or not 2B?
2B.
Today I woke up in Salem and made it to the Brontesaurus by 8:30. As usual, I ate a triple-decker egg, ham, and cheese sandwich for breakfast. I finished a few UI glyphs, sat through a presentation, ate a ham and swiss sub for lunch, and sent Greg a graphic for the training manual. I also caught up with Alex, and he agreed to let me use him as a reference in my search for a employment. He even surprised me with a Starbucks gift card for Christmas. His wife just gave birth to their first son before the holidays, this at the same time as they were moving into their new home. I can only imagine the excitement and exhaustion.
As for me, it's "Blank Slate in '08." I need to format my life and defragment my brain.
I'm also partial to the slogan: "Gain Weight in '08."
Anyway, I've gotten distracted, I was stuck in mud... I suppose I accomplished a few things today. My to-do list may not be diminishing, but at least I'm crossing things off as fast as I'm writing new ones down. Besides, I'm making some money, which right now is of paramount importance considering I'm on the verge of selling snowballs to the kids on Mount. Pleasant.
After work, I put myself through a good workout at the gym that left me feeling refreshed and stinky. When I got home however, I was unfortunate to find that we're having a problem with our water heater. I couldn't withstand the cold shower for more than 15 seconds.
The rest of my night I spent reading Life of Pi. It's safe to say it... I'm addicted to this book. I highly recommend it to anyone with a curious mind and a strong imagination. I love it. Half the reading I did at home, the other half at Eggroll where I also caught up with Mike, Meng, Tina, and Sengly. I gave them 3 games for the cafe for Christmas (Candy Land, Battleship, and Chess). Hopefully they'll get many miles of use out of them. Seriously, who doesn't love Battleship?! 2B or not 2B?
2B.
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