10/31/2004 11:12:00 AM|W|P|taoofcoffee|W|P|It feels good to be the hero sometimes. This morning, my general feeling has been that of a terrible mother, yelling at both the monsters (for different reasons, of course) on more than one occasion. And I'm thinking, Whoa, whoa, whoa. This is Sunday. Why I am I stressing so hard core, cruster?" So, I decided to try and turn things around and made the monsters some of my harvest pancakes. Big hit. Emilio said, "Mom, you're wonderful." I said, "Why?" He replied, "Because you made us pancakes and they taste so good!" Need I say more? Last night's trick-or-treating event was my best ever, here in Clovis, bar none. We went to 801 Housing, which is where the people in the Air Force live (inside town, as opposed to the base). Almost every house was participating and, by that, I mean their houses and persons were fully decked out in Halloween regalia and they were out in their front yards so you didn't even have to go knock on a bunch of doors. The streets were packed with trick-or-treaters and I thought to myself, "Aha! This is where everyone has been coming to trick-or-treat!" It was bloody fantastic! The kids had a great time, I had a great time and I have never seen a candy haul like they got last night! After eight o' clock, we came home and watched Harry Potter & the Sorcerers Stone. It was great. I love Harry Potter. It was the perfect ending to a perfect day. :-) So what the heck happened this morning? I thought I woke up on the right side of the bed. I think it has something to do with the fact that Sapito won't leave me in peace to drink my coffee. He's eyeballing it and I know he's just waiting for the chance to drink some as soon as I turn my back. I didn't think that drinking coffee whilst pregnant and nursing was such a big deal. I was wrong. My son is a coffee whore. I finished typing up all of my fisheries management notes, now I just have to memorize them. I want to hurry and get'erdun because I want to study for Vert Zoo. I am determined to keep up my curve busting streak. If my classmates are all content on being slackers, that's their problem. All they want to be are Conservation Officers. I am sad that today is the last day of October. It's such a lovely month. I have enjoyed immensely watching the leaves change and fall. We've had many mornings thick with fog and mystery. The nip in the air, the feeling that colder times are on the way. Snuggling under your afghan while reading a good book. October is so romantic. I don't quite know what to say about November.... Here's to the extra hour gift today! Tao|W|P|109924633959586396|W|P||W|P|taoofcoffee@gmail.com10/30/2004 11:11:00 AM|W|P|taoofcoffee|W|P|Ah weekend, blessed weekend. Happy quasi-Halloween, y'all! Looks like today is going to be devoted to carving pumpkins, trick-or-treating and more studying. All the really fun stuff like laundry, dishes and vacuuming will just have to wait...and I was so looking forward to it! So my coffee tastes absolutely fabulous this morning but I am a little disappointed in the new machines capabilities. It took almost 15 minutes to brew a pot! Ridiculous! Do they really think that their bells and whistles are what perk me up in the morning? Nay! It's a delicious pot of coffee that doesn't take long to brew. I have precious little time in the morning to wait around for coffee. I'm going to have to write the company, I think. I watched a movie, Saved, last night. It was not quite as funny as I hoped it would be, but it still got quite a few laughs out of me. I actually thought the actors were quite good (even Mandy Moore) and I really, really liked Eva Amurri (Susan Sarandon's daughter). I didn't like her in The Banger Sisters, but she was great in Saved. Any ways, I recommend it.
Keanu Reeves
He was a highschool drop-out too.
So Keanu is my crush today. It's been awhile since I've appreciated him for the good looking hunk of meat that he is. I think the Matrix ruined it for me for awhile. He was much cuter in his older films. I think once he gets past that slick Neo image, he'll be back in good form. As much as I would love to sit and pontificate, I really need to attend to my studies. Tao|W|P|109915710323668924|W|P||W|P|taoofcoffee@gmail.com10/29/2004 09:50:00 AM|W|P|taoofcoffee|W|P|Found this guy offa A's links page and thought this post was rather entertaining. It kind of reminded me of some of my Dad's philosophies on the human race (especially Americans). So check it out, will ya? Money Grab Later gators... Tao|W|P|109906520326475269|W|P||W|P|taoofcoffee@gmail.com10/28/2004 10:55:00 PM|W|P|taoofcoffee|W|P|So we had a little bit of a decanter accident (I say we meaning Sapito), so I had to run out to Wal-Mart and buy a new coffee maker tonight. I have to admit, I was blatently disappointed with WM's crap selection. It was either this one (which is rediculously over priced) or the Black & Decker "Space Saver" that is twice as big as any coffee maker I've ever owned. I've only owned Mr. Coffee and, dammit, I'm scared to try any other brand. You know what bothers me? Those cute, little, annoying "Home Cafe" one cup at a time coffee makers. I think that if you are going to go for that sort of malarkey, you can take your one lousy cup at a time attitude and your half-caff and stick it where the sun doesn't shine. (Which Beavis thought to be underneath a pillow until Butthead rudely clued him in- to paraphrase B&B, If the sun doesn't shine there, how do turds find their way out? To which Butthead earnestly replied that he thought they could see in the dark. Thank you ladies and gentlemen....) After yelling at Sapito at the top of my lungs for jeopardizing my morning fix, my throat is feeling like someone decided to loofah it from the inside out (which I'm sure is nothing compared to what you must feel, Mom). Point being that, if I cannot quit yelling at my monsters, my throat is never going to heal. Well, we finished data collection on the Red Shiners. Now we have to do a lot of background research on courtship behaviours. Yea. This little Ecology project is nowhere near as fun as I thought it would be. It's not too bad because at least Bruce and Q, my partners, are a lot of fun to hang out with. I have typed up about ten pages of Fisheries Mgmt notes and still haven't made it past October 11. In other words, I have a lot more to go. I am feeling very proactive about it, though. A lot better than the last series of all night cram sessions about a month ago. I still don't feel recovered from that. I fed Mrs. Brown's cats tonight and swept & mopped her bathroom & kitchen for her. She's been riding a wave of really nasty depression lately and I feel really badly for her. I decided that I am going to just tell it like it is to her, "Look, Mrs. Brown, I love you and think you're a wonderful person, but your house is killing you." I decided (yeah, me!) that we're going to sit down together the Saturday after next and go through *all* of her three years worth of unopened mail. After we've liberated her kitched counters, we are going to start tackling the 300 boxes of shit in her living room and start doing some serious Goodwill deliveries. We're going to designate one of her three bedrooms as a library/office area and the other as a guest area/storage room. We are going to uncover her dining room underneath 25 years of junk collecting. She is going to learn to love getting rid of that sewage!! Now, you may be thinking, "Boy, Jenny, that sure is swell of *you* to plan all of that for her." And I would say that I spend 4-6 weeks every summer (and Thanksgiving) at her house feeding her cats and tossing their poo for her and so this is beneficial to me too! No, seriously, that house has bad vibes that Hitchcock couldn't hold a candle to. I feel a desperate need to help. I just have to find a way to get her to let go of the past. I know how hard that can be.... Well, I need to jump in the showi-show and then get in bed. I am so glad that tomorrow is Friday. Tao *geek note: morphometrics are body ratios (proportions) and meristics are body counts |W|P|109902574699440054|W|P||W|P|taoofcoffee@gmail.com10/27/2004 01:52:00 PM|W|P|taoofcoffee|W|P|Before class today, I checked out my pal, A's, blog and it made me want to cry. I would have had I not been in a computer lab full of people. She talked about her battle with weight gain and how it's affected her life. I felt really bad reading it, like maybe it was entry that should have been password protected or something. A's so candid with her thoughts. I wish I could be more like her, but I am a total wuss. The thing is, I could totally relate. While our paths and reasons have been significantly different, emotions seem to be parallel. Any way you look at it, gaining weight sucks. Being on that rollercoaster of gain and loss, gain and loss, sucks. Here's to you, A, for not giving up and for being brutally honest with your supporters. I love you and will silently support you, k? ;-) So, school today....I don't know what it is, but I was just not feeling it today. I think it has something to do with the fact that we have been given so many damn formulas in the past three class sessions that I can't keep anything straight to save my life. Every time a prof starts saying, d sub x or the sum of x sub i, I start groaning internally and watching the clock. I understand the importance of these "tools" of the trade, I just feel totally overwhelmed by them. Luckily, Dr. Keller post-poned the date of the next Vert. test, so I won't have to study for two tests at the same time. I started studying for Fisheries Mgmt and didn't even make it through Gill Nets. And that is just for lecture, I haven't even started with lab. This test is definitely going to be much harder than the last. Genetics gets worse and worse every day. My level of understanding is going down the toilet quickly. (or maybe it is like a negative power function?) I don't know if I posted, but I got a 71 on my last test. That is dangerously close to a D!! The teacher felt sorry for all those getting "F"s so he gave everyone ten points. So, in the end it is an 81. Still feel like shit. Yeah, yeah. That's about it. Other than, I wish I was listening to "Only the Lonely" by the Motels today. It's a good day for that song. Tao|W|P|109890757536528411|W|P||W|P|taoofcoffee@gmail.com10/26/2004 10:04:00 PM|W|P|taoofcoffee|W|P|Hey kiddies- this article is definitely worth a read! If you have seen Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas, then you are already familiar with the author, Hunter S. Thompson. RollingStone.com: Politics - Fear and Loathing, Campaign 2004 The new issue of Rolling Stone is chock full of Bush bashing, so you can imagine my jubilation. I am still miffed about my new National Geographic going into the drink. It had Darwin on the cover! I am definitely going to have to hunt down a replacement. I watched the show Laguna Beach on Mtv tonight and felt ashamed every moment doing so. It was 90210 all over again. If Mtv thinks they can pass this off as a "reality show," they are seriously whack in the head. It is totally phony and scripted. Precisely why I should be ashamed. I am a reality show addict, not a cheesy, teenaged drama addict! Speaking of reality- VH1's new show, Motormouth, made me laugh so hard I almost peed my pants. I am just like those freaks they secretly taped. I am always singing my heart out in the privacy of my ride. Those poor schumcks, all burping and farting and not having a clue. I bet my sister would have loved it. :-) I need to document this experience I had back in, oh, 1994ish, while I was house sitting for my aunt. I don't want to do it right now because the mood is not right. No, hush. Soon, soon. Audi, y'all. Tao *geek note: a deme is a local breeding population and is also the smallest unit in a population.|W|P|109884988847723761|W|P||W|P|taoofcoffee@gmail.com10/23/2004 09:53:00 PM|W|P|taoofcoffee|W|P|Ambition is like a drug, so thinks I. After some deep thinking whilst I was vacuuming, I came to a conclusion. Well, the conclusion came after I pondered a question. Are my current ambitions superficial? I have been living my life as of lately thinking that, yes, they are. I am highly ambitious because I need to rise above the rest, so to speak, to be noticed. How else will I be chosen come graduation time for employment? That is why I strive so hard to get good grades, to volunteer for crap research projects, to attend costly seminars. Because I need to get a job when I graduate. Yes, this is true. However, when I really got to thinking about it, another question was posed by Jiminy Cricket. Do I honestly believe that my ambition will lessen when I enter the workforce? No. I have to be honest with myself. Especially since I am attempting to go into a field that is so highly sought after and difficult to enter. In fact, it is so competitive that I may just be having a pipe dream thinking I can get into it. Once I start working, I am going to have to out perform my colleagues to enter said field and prove my worthiness. I now know why the class Valedictorian worked so hard. Peace out, my good readers. Tao |W|P|109859059638887792|W|P||W|P|taoofcoffee@gmail.com10/22/2004 09:34:00 PM|W|P|taoofcoffee|W|P|Just stumbled across this somehow (well, actually, I was mindlessly surfing the internet, to be exact) and thought I'd share:
Kerry
You preferred Kerry's statements 89% of the time
You preferred Bush's statements 11% of the time

Voting purely on the issues you should vote Kerry

Who would you vote for if you voted on the issues?


Find out now!
Some hillbilly from Georgia had pasted one on his site that had 100% allegiance to that asshole in office. That scares the hell out of me that people agree so much with the horseshit he's spreading around. I need a miracle on November 2nd. Help me out, people. Homegirl needs a J O B when she graduates. My kids would like to visit National Parks with their kids. When are we going to stop being slaves to oil? It's rediculous! I can't believe that we have made all of the advances in fields such as nanotechnology and structural engineering and we haven't figured out how to make a car run on something other than oil? (Alcohol doesn't count!) I'm embarrassed by those who are way smarter than I am and are not using their intelligence for the greater good. You all need to be spanked! So, today is Dad's birthday and I didn't make him a cake. I stood in the baking aisle at Wal-Mart for about 15 minutes debating the idea. After submerging myself in a rather deleterious funk, I high tailed it out of there. So, happy birthday, Dad. I hope you are having a fanfreakingtastic day wherever you may be.
That wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. School was long and hard to endure today. The highlight was the frog dissection, which I kicked ass on! Genetics...wil it ever get better or will I be whining like a baby all through the semester? Every day in class, I swear, I am trying to relate Genetics to carnivores and seeing if it helps my understanding or interests. Let me tell you, it's difficult when it seems like the only things Geneticists test are Drosophila and flowers. It doesn't help much that my teacher is a Botanist. (Floweres rule, Drosophila drool! ) Fisheries Mgmt was our moxnix discussion group that I also kicked ass on. Apparently, I was the *only* one (besides the graduate students and discussion leaders) who had bothered to read the paper. The rest of the guys espoused so much bullshit when ever posed with a question, I was in desperate need for some waders. It was hilarious and empowered me with a brief geek high for the day. (I was actually called geek about 4 times today, but in the nicest possible way.) Vert. Zoo was kinda funny. Dr. Keller wanted us to explain Genetic drift to hi and we all failed misarably (because Holly wasn't there to save us). We spent twenty minutes sort of laughing at ourselves, followed by ten minutes of lecture and another twenty minutes of laughing at ourselves. The latter was us trying to guess the 7 states with the highest fish species diversity. We were terrible. We only got one right, Mississippi. The second time we redeemed ourselves, the top 7 states with the most endangered fish species. We got five out of seven. Go us! Ecology was good. We got back on the fun track by talking population ecology dynamics. One of my favorite topics. It went pretty fast. Then I dissected a frog. It was a female but without the gross cavity full o' eggs. She was a pretty decent specimen, however she lacked a pancreas and ovaries. We had to check out other frogs for that. I felt really good about- I think I'll do a lot better on the next lab exam because herpes are a lot easier for me to understand than fish. I'm wasted. I can't ebelieve how early I have been going to sleep. I guess I'm getting old! Tao *geek note: crepuscular is a way of describing organisms that become active at dawn or dusk. |W|P|109850343592453040|W|P||W|P|taoofcoffee@gmail.com10/21/2004 04:17:00 PM|W|P|taoofcoffee|W|P|
Listen to wolves howling.
October 18-24 is Wolf Awareness Week, so surf on over to the NWF site and learn a little bit about the creatures I hold so near and dear to my heart. :-) Gray Wolf - National Wildlife Federation It's overcast today, but still beautiful. I'm listening to "Brick" by Ben Folds Five and appreciating how lovely it is. I actually practiced my violin today. I was inspired when I eavesdropped on two music majors talking in the coffeeshop at school. I still contend that if I wasn't a biology major, I would be a music major. I have two pieces of primary literature to read today and a summary to write regarding one of them. The one covering the range and habitat selection of Oregon Spotted Frogs seems interesting. The one on age determination (of fish) by means of spiny rays does not. That gem will be the focus of our round table discussion manana in Fisheries Mgmt. I'll try to keep my excitement to a minimum. Phew. I'm calmed down now. My virus has reached a new, miserable peak today. I told my Mom today that I found Jimmy Hoffa. He actually surfed up my throat this morning, riding a wave of most-foul mucus. I hawked him in the toilet and prayed for things to get better. I hate to be whiny, but, dammit, I'm sick! My throat hurts, my chest hurts and my nose looks like I've been on a week long coke binge. Such the attractive look around town. I am totally grateful for a day off today. I had an appointment this morning, but it went so fast that I'm not going to count it. *L* Instead I am going to count the drive I took through town today, admiring the foliage transformation in people's yards. It felt absolutely divine to just drive around, not a care in the world, and just revel in the diversity that is on our planet. Yes, that is why I am a biology major! Aha! I am feeling a little meloncholy creeping in for some reason. Probably because tomorrow is Dad's birthday. Maybe I will make a cake in his honor and try not to get depressed. I haven't jogged for awhile and that is bothering me as well. As soon as I can shake this parasitic DNA monger, I will start jogging again. I feel like I've gained weight and have become more lethargic. After all the hard work I invested to get where I was...well, it's just not something I am willing to throw out the window. I think that's enough out of me today. If I keep going, someone out there will shoot themselves. On that happy thought, tata. tao|W|P|109839702804829117|W|P||W|P|taoofcoffee@gmail.com10/20/2004 02:45:00 PM|W|P|taoofcoffee|W|P|What an incredibly beautiful day it is today! It is days such as this one that make me love Autumn so much. Precisely the reason why October is my favorite month. This October has been a little rough, however. My hope is that the month may have started badly but will end with a fantastic bang! Okay, I am so a dork. My Genetics test was bloody awful this morning. I thought the last one was a slaughter but it had nothing on todays monstrosity. I studied from the book for a couplf of hours last night but that wasn't most helpful today. It helped me with maybe two or three questions. You know it's bad when you've been struggling with the same question for ten minutes, not even on the last page, when the professor hollas, "5 minutes. Hurry, please." Oh, shit. The last page was done in a desperate flurry of synapsal firings that were probably not working towards good, but evil. *sigh* Why is it that I spend the least amount of time on the class that is, bar none, the most difficult? I thought I had vowed to improve my study habits? I thought I had changed. Nay. Not changed. I have an entire week to spend studying for my next Fisheries Management (&Lab) and Vertebrate Zoology tests. I am going to try and commit myself to study for those tests and not watch reality tv. On the other hand, I haven't been a complete schmuck. I now know what obsequious and sycophant mean. Good for me! Class time. Tao *geek note: a photophore is a biolumnescent organ that deap sea fish use as a lure to catch prey or as a "head lamp."|W|P|109830559571042292|W|P||W|P|taoofcoffee@gmail.com10/17/2004 10:16:00 AM|W|P|taoofcoffee|W|P|A- it's all your fault that I ended up like this! Your quizzes are too hard to resist! *LMAO* So I took this insanity-induced quiz... inspiration
You are Inspiration Soup!! You live to Inspire
those around you with your green beany, white
chunky, red soupy goodness. Many have come and
lit candles in your honor. You've inspired
them to become better people. Thank you,
Inspiration Soup... thank you.

What Weight Watchers recipe card from 1974 are you?
That picture looks positively vomitous! Blech. Did people in the 70's actually consume that? I feel really sorry for their intestines! So, I checked out my pal A's site, where I discovered a most flattering and charming birthday blog. Can't tell you how happy that makes me. :-) Anything my girl A says about me goes double for her. Trust me, you've never met a wittier, more intelligent and beautiful person. She's razor sharp and cuddly at the same time. My life hasn't been the same with or without her. You can laugh, but I spend days pining away for her because no one makes me laugh the way she does. Count yourself lucky if you ever have the chance to go camping with her. Not only does she master in preparedness, she brings a mighty fine wine. A, thanks for being there. *hug* That's it. That's all it took to make my day and everything else about it pales in comparison! Tao|W|P|109802981305311195|W|P||W|P|taoofcoffee@gmail.com10/15/2004 09:23:00 PM|W|P|taoofcoffee|W|P|I had a good day today. I am awfully tired right now, so I don't feel like writing much. This morning wasn't too horrible, so that's always good. Genetics was sucking eggs, but what can you do? Dr. Orians lectured for my combined Fish. Mgmt. & Vert. Zoo classes. The lecture was a bit on the stale side, unfortunately. Grabbed a lemonade with some classmates before Ecology. Felt out of place as usual. Dr. Orians lectured in my Ecology class as well, but it was far more interesting. He talked about why trees in Australia are so unique among the worlds species and the possible reasons for their being that way. Mainly because of nutrient poor soils and huge fire potential. It was really interesting. I was actually disappointed when it ended. Vert. Zoo lab was our Amphibian/Reptile diversity lab. Snakes, lizards, turtles, frogs and salamanders. Yeehaw! Next Friday we dissect frogs. I hope I am improved over my last frog dissection. What a nightmare that was! I have a Genetics test Wednesday and a paper due Friday, so I better get crackin on that. Buenos noches, Tao *geek note: lerps are coverings made by insects that parasitize gum trees in Australia. They are formed by excreted honeydew by the insects. These casings are often rich in starch and sugar and have been eaten by natives as candy.|W|P|109789701492196820|W|P||W|P|taoofcoffee@gmail.com10/14/2004 10:16:00 PM|W|P|taoofcoffee|W|P|Well, I just returned from watching Dr. Orians presentation on Alaska's North Slope. I thought it as very well presented, educational and entertaining. A lot of it was review from the speech I gave on ANWR (Alaska National Wildlife Refuge) back in public speaking, but so much more was news to me. He gave us background on the organization he was working for and why they were doing the study that they did. Basically they were hired by the Government to determine the cultural, biological and human aspects that drilling for oil or gas on the north slope would affect. It was interesting to see the slides showing exactly what permafrost looks like. You think you know until you see a cross section of it. Very cool stuff. Learning about the difficulties of working in such a harsh environment was fascinating. Everything revolves around keeping permafrost intact. The caribou information was pretty much review for me, but I thought the commentary on Bowhead Whales (Balaena mysticetus) was insightful. Especially as it pertained to preserving the culture of the native peoples on the coast. He spoke of the struggle of the people to retain their knowledge of whaling because someday the oil would dry up. They know that they will need to return to their traditional way of living sooner or later. I found it very amusing that the native people knew more about the effects of offshore seismic blasting (and subsequent avoidance by whales) and bowhead populations than the scientists the oil companies hired. Dr. Orians and his team when with the data of the native people for their study. Pretty cool. Overall, I feel better for having attended. I learned a lot and was able to better visualize a place I have read about often but have had a hard time picturing. I look forward to the two lectures tomorrow that Dr. Orians will deliver to my (combined) Fisheries Mgmt and Vert Zoo classes and my Ecology class later on. I think it's really neat that Dr. Orians could come to our little university and share some of his expansive knowledge with us. Chai time. Nighty night. Tao PS. As if a geek note is even necessary following that diatribe, thermokarsting is what happens after a regional melting and freezing cycle in permafrost causes a depression in the ground (erosion). Over an area, this can be a series of depressions which shallow lakes can form in. Preventing thermokarsting begins by not allowing the permafrost to thaw; extensive measures are taking to accomplish just that. Namely, gravel roads are 2 meters thick and the TA pipeline remains elevated above all permafrost.|W|P|109781377564154235|W|P||W|P|taoofcoffee@gmail.com10/13/2004 02:35:00 PM|W|P|taoofcoffee|W|P|It's been a few days since I have posted anything. I still need to write a commentary on my Fisheries Mgmt. field trip. It was, indeed, interesting. I don't have time right now to go into detail. It's almost time for fisheries mgmt. lab to begin. It's rainy outside, so that's lovely. I ate Chinese with some guys from class and had a good laugh. I can write more after Fisheries Mgmt lab because then I'll be waiting for the Fish & Wildlife Club meeting to begin. *sigh* It's my long day at school. There is a talk here that I want to attend tomorrow by Dr. Gordon Orians. He's one of the top Ecologists in the country (Professor Emeritus from University of Washington). He's going to be speaking about development on Alaska's north slope, a topic near and dear to my heart (ANWR). I hope I can get childcare. You know, I think that being a tree hugger for so many years has been a little damaging to my subjectivity. Being around people now who are so different than myself is helping me to see the other side of the spectrum. Not that I am going to stop being a tree hugger any time soon, just that I will be able to see another perspective. I have a bumper sticker on the way that says, "I don't just hug trees, I kiss them too!" That should get a rise out of the general pop. here. *LOL* That and my Kerry/Edwards sticker. I am so sick of seeing Bush/Cheney crap here. I feel like going out in the middle of the night and tearing these signs out of people's yards. I want to be mean. Yeah, New Mexico may be one of those really close states as far as the tally is concerned, but the liberal voters must be in a different part of the state. Yet again, I am feeling like a turd in a punchbowl. Sooner or later, I will get used to it. I'll write more later, Tao *geek note: Age determination in fish is done by using length frequency distributions, recovery of marked fish, or interpretation of layers in hard body parts (scales, otoliths, spines).|W|P|109770033900438520|W|P||W|P|taoofcoffee@gmail.com10/06/2004 09:22:00 PM|W|P|taoofcoffee|W|P|An Owl in the Bush Man, does Bush make me angry! I swear to you, if he wins, I will drink myself into a stupor! I have just about had it with conservatives in general. They seem to support some notion that being liberal means abortions, gay marriages and violating gun rights. *sigh* Just like being conservative is about greed, religion and being white? The whole idea of partisanship really drives me crazy in the first place. Why does there need to be two opposing camps? Why can't we find some middle ground and work outwards from there? I'm sure Bush has some good intentions for this nation. Protecting the environment and the lives of our soldiers just doesn't happen to be amongst them. A second term with him in charge seriously strikes fear in my heart. I am an environmentalist and I hope to work with wildlife after I graduate. Am I going to be able to find a job then? Or will Bush have sufficiently cut back the ESA list by then? Not only that, the war in Iraq really bothers me. Yeah, the situation needed to be dealt with, but like that? Did he really need to rush in there like some kind of monarchial John Wayne? I think the whole issue was really confused with 9/11 and that he gained the support of the American public by tugging on their heartstrings. Every time I hear about more deaths in Iraq, I think about the soldiers families. What heartache they must be experiencing and it makes me so sad. My back is killing me right now. Time to bust out the heat pad. It was a very long day at school today. Good news, however. The Ecology test was much easier than I had anticipated and I got a 94% on my Fisheries Mgmt. Lab test. The results are still out for the Fisheries Mgmt and Vert. Zoo tests. I'm on needles and pins. One more to go: Vert. Zoo Lab. It's gonna be a bitch. We have a review lab tomorrow, so I'll try to take advantage of that. Working with Bruce to set up tanks for our Ecology project. Fun. I'm super tired, so this is it. Tao
This tree hugger thinks Bush sucks!
My sentiment of the evening.
|W|P|109711934227751605|W|P||W|P|taoofcoffee@gmail.com10/05/2004 07:37:00 PM|W|P|taoofcoffee|W|P|I've survived another day. Boy, did it rain today! Wow! It was raining when I woke up at 7:00 and pretty much kept raining all day. I love it. This fall has been so strange, but refreshing. We usually get all of our rain in the spring and early summer, so this has been a real treat. It is supposed to rain more this week, so that's cool. I just hope it subsides by the weekend so we can go electrofishing. Doc said we will still go, either way, but if it rains, we will have to purse seine or something like that. Ew. I still haven't studied for my ecology test tomorrow. Guess tonight I will be burning the midnight oil again. That weird song I heard about a week or so again is called "Underwear Goes Inside the Pants" and it is by Lazyboy. Weird. I saw the most annoying thing on Taboo last night. The program was called "Altered States" and it was basically about drug use in various cultures. Mostly hallucinogenics. Any ways, it was all quite interesting until they showed this segment where a couple of "soul searchers" from San Francisco wanted to go try some ritualistic hallucinogen in Peru. Well, this drug was part of a Shamen's healing ritual and these punks just wanted to do it to try and reach some inner level of themselves or something. It was horseshit. They ended up getting violently ill from it and wasting everyone's time. That's what you get when you want fast food enlightenment, peeps. The thunderstorm is back so I am going to cut this short. I don't have the greatest faith in my surge protector. Wish me luck on my tests, Tao *geek note: Male lions exhibit cooperative breeding by forming coalitions with other males. These coalitions compete against others for reproductive access to a pride. Paternity is based on dominance among the males. Large coalitions are often related, where lower ranking males are benefited by inclusive fitness.|W|P|109702775964605148|W|P||W|P|taoofcoffee@gmail.com10/04/2004 03:27:00 PM|W|P|taoofcoffee|W|P|CIA - The World Factbook -- Greenland I've had Greenland on the brain today for some reason. I really wanted to know if it was officially North America - it is. It is, however, "ruled" by Denmark. Lots of snow*. Cold. Largest island in the world. Barely 55,000 inhabitants. Most people there are Inuit. I wish I could go visit there. I bet it would be quite the eye opener. Hmmmn. Back to reality. My Vert. Zoo test today was both wonderful and strange. Did I just write that? No, seriously, it was both easier than I imagined and harder than I imagined. Make up yer mind, would ya, girl? I know for a fact that I missed all of the extra credit- how embarrassing. I also missed one fill-in-the-blank for sure. As far as the short answer essay? That's up to Dr. Keller to decide. I think I did a pretty good job, but I can't judge my grade by that. I hope I don't get anything lower than a B. So, Ecology test is Wedensday and I have yet to crack my notes. A lot of this is review from other classes, so I am going to try to rely on previous wisdom (doh!) to get me through. Oh, I'll go through my notes a couple of times, but I really need to devote my studies to the Vert. Zoo Lab terst on Friday. I am sick to my stomach about all of these tests, not to mention my Ecology project. I think I have decided to do focus on Elm tree distribution in abandoned fields/lots. Something like that. I just can't do insect stuff- it doesn't interest me much. I need to try to work with something semi-interesting to me. I am so tired. I was up until 1:30 cram studying. When will I ever learn? (I fell asleep listening to the movie "Coal Miner's Daughter." I think that used to be one of Dad's favorties, along with Cannery Row.) Tonight better be an early night for the preservation of my sanity. Tao * If you have never watched "Smila's Sense of Snow," I highly reccomend it! P.S. I don't have the heart to make a geek note today. P.P.S. Hi, Mom!|W|P|109692524892259815|W|P||W|P|taoofcoffee@gmail.com10/03/2004 10:04:00 AM|W|P|taoofcoffee|W|P|Rectal Gland of Squalus acanthias: Just a little something to go with your morning coffee. ;-D|W|P|109681949668446760|W|P||W|P|taoofcoffee@gmail.com10/02/2004 09:39:00 PM|W|P|taoofcoffee|W|P|I definitely wouldn't mind owning this little beauty: Stainless Steel Captive Bead Ring - SteelNavel.com. *L* I probably have too much nose jewelry already. That's what happens when you are friends with a tattoo shop owner. No tattoos, though. I can't make that kind of commitment. So what am I doing blogging? *L@me* Will I ever change? I was on eBay too. I left a binary trail! Whoops. Once an addict, always an addict. I did spend a good 3 solid hours studying today. The rest of the day was spent running more errands. It was pretty darn cold this morning, so I need to get into the winterizing spirit. And just so y'all don't think I am a total schmuck, I am going to resume studing as soon as the monsters go to sleep. They've been more than a handful today. My throat actually hurts from yelling. Time for some Oregon Chai. :-) I am breaking in my new hiking boots (bought on eBay!) and they feel *damn* good! Way better than my old ones. Someone just called me asking for Jose. I told him, "There is no Jose, there is only a Zuel." He didn't understand. I made fajitas tonight for dinner. They weren't as good as they usually are. I even added a new variety of pepper. I think it was the seasoning. The peppers said, "hydroponically grown." Made me think of BC bud. *L* Today was a pretty good day. I hope I can be even more productive tomorrow. What I am the most nervous about are remembering my scientific classifications and the dates of the Geologic time scale. I'm a bit miffed about that. It's one thing to know when Ostracoderms went extinct, fine, but does it really matter if we know when the Carboniferous period starts and Paleocene ends? It's pretty stinkin' arbitrary if'fn you ask me. If it is not directly connected to an extinction or to evolution, what's the point? They do it to make us crazy. That's it. Chris Isaak has been providing the study soundtrack. It's been awhile since we've chilled together. Thanks, Chris (& Silvertone) for the tunes.

I could swim in his voice....
Tao|W|P|109677477877806169|W|P||W|P|taoofcoffee@gmail.com10/01/2004 09:42:00 PM|W|P|taoofcoffee|W|P|People Against Wolves I just spent an hour writing an email to this guy to try and reason with him. I don't know why I bother sometimes. It just incenses me so much that there are so many false and half truths about wolves floating around on the internet. Any redneck with a phone line and an IQ of 70 can put up a web site. It's not right. I do choose my battles, though. Today was long and painful. I was up until 2AM last night watching the debate and so it was another night with a sorry excuse for sleep. The debate was pretty entertaining, though. I can't wait for the next one. If anything, my decision to vote Kerry was cemented last night. There's just no good reason to stay with Bush. We dissected a Mexican grey perch in Vert. Zoo lab today. It stunk to high heaven but was relatively simple to explore. Way easier than the "Spiny Dogfish" shark. I have a Vert. Zoo test Monday, an Ecology test Wednesday and a Vert. Zoo lab test Friday. Plus I leave for the field trip Friday. It's going to be a hellacious week. I plan on holing up this weekend and studying like a fiend. No eBay, no blogger, nada. I must say no. As difficult as this seems to me, I need to prioritize now more than ever. The discussion in Fisheries Mgmt. was like butt-ah today. For some reason, I can't spit a meaningless question out to save my life when Doc is sitting there but as soon as he leaves, I start running off at the mouth. He must think I am a total stooge. I think I have stage fright. *LOL* Genetics was Mitosis and Meiosis, so basically, a Biology II review. Easy. Vert. Zoo was cool. We discussed the mechanisms that aquatic organisms use to flourish in a not-so-easy place to live. My favorite part was counter-current exchanges. We talked about the Tuna's counter-current heat exchange in Ecology, but today was was all about rete mirabile*. Really neat stuff! Ecology was strange. At first, I was *all* excited because Doc said we were going to discuss mating behaviour, one of my all time favorites. Then, in mid lecture, he kept coming up with these really weird examples that I couldn't make heads or tails of. It didn't help that Blake kept maing me laugh by imitating Doc (okay? okay?). I hate it when he does that because I feel disrespectful when I laugh in class. He also gave us a terrible question for our quiz: describe optimal foraging. Blech. (It's October, my favorite month!!) I spent all afternoon trying to run errands before things closed down for the weekend. I also went out to eat for the first time in about 2 months. I so didn't want to cook tonight and I though, "What the hell?" It was yummy. Alright, I'm signing out. Tao *geek note: Go here to find out about counter-current exchanges. It explains it very well, IMHO.|W|P|109668855390468948|W|P||W|P|taoofcoffee@gmail.com