Derek J

Woo Hoo!

2009-03-09T18:58:07Z

I just got accepted into the PhD program at the University of Kansas! I'm moving out of Michigan!

Traditional Japanese Music - Smoke on the Water

2009-01-13T05:50:39Z

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=03e_1201105234

I really can't comment. Just watch.

In my effort to pay bills while writing my thesis...

2008-04-10T02:44:08Z

I work at Radio Shack!

Two more A's

2007-12-19T14:18:47Z

My graduate GPA is now 1.6 points higher than my undergraduate GPA. That's kind of strange.

Parakeet babies.

2007-12-05T01:16:13Z

We have finally named the parakeet babies (we now have 19 total...damn)

In order of birth

1. Ishmael (my dad suggested this without a reason...but we went with it)
2. Coco (after Cara's dog that died in the last year...it was 19)
3. Pippin
4. Julius Sumner Miller (duh! Physics is this bird's business).
5. Maui (after my cat that died in the last year...it was 19).

Robert Jordan (October 17, 1948 – September 16, 2007)

2007-09-19T12:13:57Z

This sucks beyond imagining. He died from complications from primary amyloidosis with cardiomyopathy (cardiac amyloidosis). He had been rumored to have died in the past few weeks, but he told everyone that it was just a rumor. In the past week or two, he had shared all the plot details of his last book with his wife and other family members.

From AP:

Best selling fantasy author Robert Jordan has died of a rare blood disease aged 58, it has been reported.

Jordan - whose real name was James Oliver Rigney Jr - wrote the "Wheel of Time" series, which sold millions of books since the first - "The Eye of the World" - was published in 1990.

Associated Press (AP) news agency reported that Jordan died at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston on Sunday local time.

He was working on the 12th book of his "Wheel of Time" series at the time of his death.

The books follow Rand al'Thor on his journey to battle ultimate evil.

Jordan had spent most of his life in Charleston, telling AP in 2003: "What I write is certainly not set in South Carolina, but I have had a number of reviewers comment on the fact that I write with a distinctly Southern voice.

"It goes beyond more than simply where the story is set. I believe it is something we take in in the air and the water. It's a matter of word choices - of the rhythms of sentences and the rhythm of speech in particular."

Jordan had worked as a nuclear engineer before becoming a full time writer in 1977, AP said. He is survived by his wife, Harriet McDougal Rigney.

Oh my god...i'm doing a meme

2007-09-15T13:22:16Z

1. Go to http://www.careercruising.com
2. Put in Username: nycareers, Password: landmark.
3. Take their "Career Matchmaker" questions.
4. Post the top ten results [i did 15 so that you could see 13, which was my original career choice]

Wow this is interesting. My current career choices that I'm working on are at #14 and #23. The thing that I started college for is at #7 (kinda). My lifelong ambition is at #36. The thing I would never consider is at #21. My thesis is currently related to #2 (again, kinda).

1. Paleontologist
2. Sport Psychology Consultant
3. Genetic Counselor
4. Taxidermist
5. Actor
6. Veterinarian
7. Special Effects Technician
8. Computer Trainer
9. Occupational Therapist
10. Dental Assistant
11. Naturopath
12. Public Health Nurse
13. Physician Assistant
14. Anthropologist
15. Psychiatrist

16. Addictions Counselor
17. Makeup Artist
18. Costume Designer
19. Set Designer
20. Oceanographer
21. Religious Worker
22. Community Worker
23. Professor
24. Marine Biologist
25. Corporate Trainer
26. Comedian
27. Casting Director
28. Psychologist
29. Print Journalist
30. ESL Teacher
31. Activist
32. Musician
33. Foreign Language Instructor
34. Critic
35. Library Technician
36. Writer
37. Political Aide
38. Humanitarian Aid Worker
39. Rehabilitation Counselor
40. Composer

I haven't posted since May?

2007-09-02T13:05:38Z

Damn, that's a long time.

Uh new stuff with me...

1) I am now writing my thesis proposal and should be done with my Master's in April.
2) I've lost 20 pounds and am the lightest I have been since high school.
3) I live with my girlfriend and we have a ton of parakeets. They poo.
4) I'm probably moving back down south for my PhD next year (Florida)

Yeah.

Weird morning.

2007-05-23T13:34:48Z

There are some Starlings that have made a nest inside one of the dryer vents on the second story wall of my building. This is background information.

Cara and I noticed something sticking out of the vent yesterday morning and were wondering what it could be. Cara suggested it might be a dead baby bird. I thought so too. As we stood there, the mother bird kicked it out of the vent and it fell on the ground. It was indeed dead. We buried it under a leaf under a tree.

Later that day, I went to get food while Cara went to my house to await said food. She happened to notice another baby bird, which I named Poseidon and was perhaps 4 or 5 days old, lying in the same spot as the old. This bird was very much not dead. After some deliberation, we took it inside and tried to call animal rescue. However, every place was closed.

As the phone calls continued, I went to look and see if there was a way to return it to the nest. This was not possible, however, it was possible that there was another baby bird in the same spot. In this case, possible means that there indeed was another baby bird. I named him Odysseus. We took him in with his brother/sister. We then went on a field trip to get bird formula having already purchased a bird cozy and a syringe earlier.

We are now taking care of two baby Starlings...they poop a lot. However, we will give them to a care provider later today. I'm going to miss them though.

The End.

Okay.

2007-04-12T00:34:51Z

We have just purchased our seventh parakeet.

For those following at home...we now have..

1. Navi
2. Tat'l
3. Ta'l
4. Chuthulu, the Lord of Chaos and Death (he's mine).
5. Giles
6. Majory Stuart Baxter (from salad fingers)
7. Cloud

Some have their wings clipped...and one or two will even climb on me. Needless to say, our apartment next year will be kinda loud.

Yup...

2007-02-22T15:56:47Z

Having Mono is the bee's knees!

I enjoy selling things on ebay.

2007-02-18T20:49:08Z

Cara has birds and I like to redecorate their homes. I move a perch every which way. I feed them peppers with my hands. I move water dishes, toys, and anything that is not nailed down. I enjoy the birds when they are let out to fly around the room. I do not enjoy when they poop.

Where am I? What have I been doing?

2006-11-21T14:36:09Z

I forgot about this thing.

1) School is going well. I'm getting my thesis proposal together and should have it done by May. That means a few more months after that and I can graduate. Go team me.

2) Wednesday is the two month anniversary of Cara and I. If I was going to rate our relationship on a scale of cheese to genocide, I'd probably say "wicked sweet." I am leaving for Georgia on Wednesday for Thanksgiving and she is coming with me for that event. It's pretty awesome.

3) I was Jack Skellington and Cara was Sally for Halloween. Cara has some pictures up on facebook and I think Jeremy is going to send me more...eventually.

4) I played racquetball with Jeremy, Cara, and Nicole. I proceeded to hit the ball directly into Jeremy's jugular. It looked painful.

5) The Nintendo Wii looks awesome. There was a driving game. It was also awesome.

6) I want some fucking Super Popeyes over Christmas break. Is that possible?

7) I am also a giant dork.

Note to myself

2006-10-07T14:15:41Z

Why are my books so fucking expensive? Cultural Anthropology books seem to be a lot cheaper. Jeremy, you are a bastard.

1. 2004 - Crews - Human Senescence - $99.60 Crew's book is pretty much my largest reference. I need to own this

2. 1997 - Schulz-Aellen - Aging and Human Longevity - $79.95 I'm not familiar with this one. It could be useful

3. 2003 - Overall - Aging, Death, and Human Longevity: A Philosophical Inquiry - $55.00 This might be crap. I do need to start looking at some things out of the biology perspective, however.

4. 2001 - Kirkwood - Time of Our Lives: The Science of Human Aging - $25.00 Kirkwood's Disposable Soma - I need to study under this guy

5. xxxx - Ungar and Teaford - Human Diet: Its Origin and Evolution - $81.95 The University of Arkansas' own Peter Ungar...I need to get Fogel to introduce me to him. This may or may not be critical to my thesis as it begins to take shape.

6. 1994 - Finch - Longevity, Senescence, and the Genome - $48.00 This one is new to me. I need to find it

--------------------------------------------

Articles to find...

Kirkwood, T.B.L. 2002. Evolution of Ageing. Mechanisms of Ageing and Development 123: 737–745

Hawkes et al. 1998. Grandmothering, menopause, and the evolution of human life histories. [PNAS] 95(3): 1336-1339.

Williams. 1957. Pleiotropy, Natural Selection, and the Evolution of Senescence. Evolution 11:398-411.

This is on PubMed somewhere. Campisi, J. 2000. Cancer, aging and cellular senescence. In Vivo 14(1):183-8.

--------------------------------------------

Lit Review for proposal..

1. Discuss antagonistic pleiotrophy, disposable soma, free radical wear and tear, telomeres.
2. Issues dealing with animal size, heartbeat, and lifespan
3. Nutrition and diet on longevity.
4. Do I really want to deal with Hawkes? Menopause?
5. Age-1 gene, clk genes?

Awww....

2006-09-30T14:00:42Z

My journal looks so empty. It makes me sad. Waxi!

Cara left to work and go to some kind of festival...so let us have basketball!

Well...

2006-09-15T09:09:51Z

my life just took a dramatic turn for the better.

Ultimate frisbee makes you super smart...

2006-09-08T20:03:07Z

ignoring that whole 'correlation does not imply causation' nonsense.

http://www.ivygateblog.com/blog/2006/09/ultimate_frisbee_gets_high_marks_gets_high_marks.html

Steve Irwin died.

2006-09-04T14:17:43Z

This just plain sucks.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060904/ap_on_en_tv/obit_irwin

I can't think of a compelling reason to update...

2006-09-01T23:34:51Z

...yet, the plot thickens.

The search for a thesis topic, a reason to actually be in school, is fast approaching an ending time. "The time is near." However, it is still quite fuzzy and does not fit into a box of any type of construction. It resists the bonding powers of even duct tape.

Life currently consists of running over zombies with a lawnmower in a game that has very small text, thus making progress impossible. This does not concern me. The simple act of running over zombies is much like a Pac-Man in the days of yore. It is a task that is entertaining and rewarding on its own and needs no complex motives, story structure, nor a beginning, a middle, or end. God bless my 360.

My car is entirely functional. A truth, for a second consecutive year. Distance is not an obstacle and time is irrelevant. If it exists, then probability suggest that I could reach there with sufficient motivation. Unfortunately, classes will begin next Tuesday which will keep me bound to this place.

Fin.

Snakes on a plane.

2006-08-20T15:08:25Z

No false advertising in this movie. There were snakes...and they were on a plane. Although, I wonder why they felt the need to explain how they got there.

Back from Atlanta

2006-08-10T01:26:51Z

I'm back in the 'zoo after six weeks or so in Atlanta. My parents have a pretty decent house and all seems to be good on their end.

My cat is 18 years old and now has some kind of neurological disease that makes him incredibly unsure of where he is or where anything else in the house may be located. He's also only six pounds now. I got some good pictures of him though.

I also spent a lot of time with my nephew. He's a really dumb kid as proven by the fact that he worships me now. He turns two in August and he's already well on his way to becoming able to use chopsticks.

That's it.

Rock!

2006-06-13T23:55:01Z

Here is two children covering James K. Polk...it's absolutely wonderful.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txdCkWQBClQ&search=tmbg

FYI

2006-06-04T23:30:46Z

If someone asks if you want to doodle...don't try to construct alternative meanings for the term. The standard one is probably sufficient in most situations.

Snakes on a Plane.

2006-05-30T16:39:57Z

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0417148/

I just cannot fathom how awesome the world will be after this movie is finally released. This is the start of a new franchise and a new holy trilogy.

Snakes. They're on a plane. With Samuel L. Jackson. How can this not rule?

A letter to John Pickering...and others.

2006-05-16T20:54:30Z

You no longer need the Bob Ross video game.
http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/games/adventure/captainplanet/robotsofzarm/index.html

This makes all entertainment obsolete.