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karenc
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Name: Karen
Birthday: 10/9/1980
Gender: Female
Interests: basics: sleeping, eating, skiing, reading
Expertise: haha
Occupation: Government
Industry: Legal
Message: message me
AIM:  kaydewd
Member Since:
5/29/2002
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| the cutest thing i've seen in forever!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqXYwNDrU8k
little korean boy in diapers singing 'Hey Jude' ... future K-pop star in the making...
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| My revelation on my aging came as I learned that James Franco (of Spidey) is taking classes somewhere on the UCLA campus.
2-3 years ago: holy @#*&$...I'm going to figure out where the class is and stalk him. AHHH i can't wait!
Now: ehhh...whatever I'd rather go home & just stalk him on the internet, take a nap & study or veg out.
Older? Or have I finally found 'better' things to do with my time...?
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| It's been awhile since I wrote something non-patent application related, so I'd like to try to revive my normal English skills with a quick entry. It's going to be totally random and probably somewhat nerdy since that's what's been on my mind recently.
So, the past few days I've realized how I've always chosen not to take any political stances because I intensely dislike conflict so by remaining ignorant of conflict, I do not have to become involved in any politically related conflict. Ignorance = bliss, right? However, in my case, ignorance = laziness, so I've decided to read one bbc news article (if not more) a day. I've heard that bbc and npr are unbiased news sources.
Another factoid that crossed my mind today as I sat during the 2nd of a two day course on polymorphs (i.e. crystalline) chemical structures was how complex nature and the human body are. This all started from a quick case study we learned about in the class. So for every chemical structure that is made, there are a ton of ways that in its pure form, atoms can pack themselves to form a molecular structure. Generally, the most thermally stable form tends to win out. However, several factors can influence the way these atoms pack - temperature, solvent (i.e. type of liquid) in the immediate environment, pH, humidity, etc causing it to pack in a different form than its most stable one. These effects are ginormous!! In particular, there was a chemical compound (the name is escaping me now) that was developed, put into animal trials, human clinical trials, etc. These type of trials involve producing the drug on a much smaller scale than what is required for mass production, and in the testing stages, the drug was effective -a seeming success.... UNTIL... it came to mass producing said drug. During mass production, large quantities of the drug were made and stored at room temperature. Unfortunately, drugs manufactured in these large doses were ineffective (!!) Why? Due to the different conditions, although the actual chemical structure by formula was identical to the one tested, the way its atoms packed together had led it to form an entirely different structure (spatially) altogether! Think of it as carbon in its elemental form. It can exist either as graphite or diamond. Both graphite and diamond are composed of the same material (atoms) but due to the way they're packed together, they form completely different compounds with different properties. Anyway, the drug was ineffective because it wasn't soluble (i.e. didn't dissolve) in the blood, so it couldn't target whatever it was supposed to. Say good-bye to $15-20 million dollars. What a sad story, huh?? I was especially struck by the capricious nature of atoms. Scientists think they can be understood, tinkered with, and then those atoms go and run amok.
Omg, I just read the first sentence of my entry and realized I was supposed to write something non-patent related yet ended up writing a huge story about the very thing I was trying to avoid. Ack!!! Well, I found it interesting. Anyhow, I just picked up Francis Collin's book "the Language of God" in which a scientist explains and argues for faith. It should be an interesting read. I already started and had to stop and think a few times. OoOoo deep(ish) reading....
I just remembered what my original thought was going to be before I started going off on my nerdy tangent: my building has the coolest front desk receptionist ever!!! Fidel just spent 20 min teaching me about the mechanics of a tennis serve. I have yet to practice his tips but I can't wait to try. woohoo - thanks Fidel!
One of my roommates moved out *tear* ... so it begins... the start of a new era.
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| I  vacations in Greece. Sunshine, laid-back friendliness, hearing different languages spoken all around and of course, the biggest decision being where to eat... 
Olympic Stadium in Athens - the end point of the marathon 
View of the remains of Zeus's temple 
Erechtheion (completed in 406 BC) 
The famous Parthenon atop the Acropolis of Athens, Greece 
View of Athens from atop the Acropolis 
Columns 
Nighttime view of Acropolis 
Little Venice in Mykonos 
The streets of Mykonos 
 
Sunset over the beach + Petros the Pelican visits us for dinner 
One of the many beaches 
View of Mykonos 
Views of Santorini - the island formed by volcanic eruptions  
Atop the active volcano  
I'm in major vacation withdrawal now... | | |
| i'm so happy that i'm done with the lab part of microbiology!! i plan to empty my head of all memories of escherichia coli and staphylococci aureus and other little goodies ASAP. i can't wait until next Monday 8 PM (ish) when i'll be done done done!!! work and lab class in the evenings was draining me of all energy. i don't know how people do it but soon enough, i'll have hours of my life back. woohoo!
greece will be a nice recharging time. 
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