Personal Update

Dear readers-who-haven't-abandoned-the-place-yet,

You may have noticed that calling my recent blogging as 'spotty' would be a bit of an understatement. And it is. I don't like resorting to excuses, but the truth is, there's some agonising deadlines coming up, many of which are kind of important to my life after graduation. That is, if I want to have food(=instant ramen) to eat and occasional internet access (for blogging! =D) after the university kicks me out in May, these deadlines must be addressed. After all, one must work hard to deserve a life of academic poverty and eternal job insecurity. The good news is, many of these deadlines will pass, hopefully having received appropriate attention beforehand, around 01 Dec, after which I may have a sliver or two of free time to share some epic protist awesum with you.

Thus please don't think I've forgotten or have become too lazy to blog – the guilt eats me alive day and night, if that makes you feel any better. But there's scarier guilt competing with blogging guilt at the moment. In case it's not entirely obvious – I'm applying to graduate schools. Since the average PhD lasts longer than the average marriage in North America, this is a bit of an important decision.

For now, here's some amazing crafts (surface scales) created by a 'lowly' amoeba, Cochliopodium (second from left in my blog header images), arguably putting Haptophyte coccoliths to shame:

(Kudryavtsev 2004 Acta Protozool)

PS: If any of you are going to ScienceOnline2011 in January, I'll be there!

Room D - “But it’s just a blog!” – Hannah Waters, Psi Wavefunction, Eric Michael Johnson, Jason Goldman, Mike Lisieski and Lucas Brouwers
Many young people are eager to communicate science despite their lack of scientific and/or journalistic credentials. While all science communicators face challenges, this subgroup has their own set of challenges including cultivating a following of readers from scratch, and high levels of self-doubt, often referred to as "imposter syndrome." What value does this rapidly-growing group of science communicators bring do the field? How can the science blogging community encourage and mentor young bloggers? How can we hold these individuals accountable to the high standards of science and journalism while simultaneously allowing them to make mistakes as part of the learning process? In addition, established and successful science communicators will be encouraged to share their tips and tricks with their newer colleagues. (Source: program)