parakkum ([info]parakkum) wrote,
@ 2005-02-23 16:08:00
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Because I think this one is actually interesting...
The current LJ thing is "Ten Things I've Done That You Probably Haven't," Here's my push at it:

1) Gotten genuinely lost alone in the San Bernardino mountains and found my way back (hurrah for Boy Scouts)

2) Participated in a traditional Japanese wedding in the Meiji shrine in Tokyo

3) Participated in a somewhat less traditional Hawaiian-Japanese-Jewish wedding in a synagogue in Milwaukee

4) Broken someone's ribs

5) Discovered a novel mechanism of protein regulation

6) Made genetically modified organisms

7) Been the top-ranked Mechwarrior player in San Diego

8) Certified as an EMT

9) Earned my Eagle rank (again, Scouts)

10) Watched a nuclear reaction with my naked eye (other than the sun, naturally)

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[info]nowhun
2005-02-24 12:42 am UTC (link)
Ha! I've done #3 :)

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[info]parakkum
2005-02-24 04:01 am UTC (link)
Indeed. :)

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[info]schrodingersgnu
2005-02-24 01:20 am UTC (link)
6: Done that. Some kind of bacteria to make a variant an azure dye, IIRC... Long time ago, though, when I thought I wanted to become a biochemical engineer.

9: Sort of did that, used to be a Scout in Sweden for about ten years.

10: What exactly does that entail? Any kind of luminiscent watch usually employs a nuclear reaction...

BTW, where in the Bernardino were you lost? We're thinking of doing some hiking this weekend, if the bleeding rain will ever let up.

7: Now THAT is impressive. The tabletop game?

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[info]parakkum
2005-02-24 04:01 am UTC (link)
I got lost on San Gorgonio, if I recall the mountain's name properly. It was quite a while ago.

I hadn't thought of radioactive decay when I wrote #10. :) Back in eighth grade as part of science fair I toured General Atomic, and they have a research reactor under twenty feet of distilled water. You actually get to see it flash and everything.

...and yeah, the tabletop (miniatures) game. I've stopped playing since moving and the changeover to the new base set, but I was the top ranked player for most of the last year and a half or so (maybe more...I didn't realize I was until someone else pointed it out to me). It was a welcome distraction from grad school, and the supported tournament format has the nice side effect of letting you accumulate prizes that you can then trade online for other units you need. I now have solid collections of Republic, Spirit Cats, Banson's Raiders and Jade Falcons units available for casual play with my friends up here (that is, if we're not playing War of the Ring, Star Wars Miniatures, Ticket to Ride or something else people already know how to play).

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[info]schrodingersgnu
2005-02-24 07:57 am UTC (link)
Gorgonio... Don't think I've been up there. Nice?

Ah, that is pretty cool. My undergrad college had their own research reactor as well, until the swedish goverment decided that sweden wasn't going to do any more research on reactors, and not only cut funding but actually banned it. A very weird form of goverment censorship... So the closest I've gotten is to play with the uranium fuel. Looks like licorice.

I used to love BattleTech, but it was such a huge investment, and I simply couldn't afford the miniatures. Consequently I mainly played at conventions... :(

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[info]parakkum
2005-02-24 08:12 am UTC (link)
Well, it was pretty, but I did spend much of the night on my own on a mountain, so I don't know that my feeling for it would be generally applicable.

We used plutonium sources in my undergrad physics class, but I haven't actually seen the plutonium. I only used radiolabeled chemicals once during grad school.

Battletech was one of the first games I owned (1985, I think). I never had many miniatures for it, preferring to play with the stand-up paper playing pieces. However, Mechwarrior was a great concordance of light rules and really cool models. It gave me a great fun return over the last few years of grad school.

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[info]schrodingersgnu
2005-02-24 08:19 am UTC (link)
Hey, if you still thought it was pretty, that's a pretty ringing endorsement :)

Nuclear Chemistry was part of the curriculum for me, as was a visit to a nuclear plant as part of the course in "Turbine and Heat Exchange Techniques"... That visit might be the only thing I remember from the entire class. Oh, no, wait.. there is something in there... Yes, alternate stream heat exchangers are more efficient than parallell stream. Oh joy.

Hey, so are you still in grad school? I thought you were, but from your last comment it looks like you moved on... Gnu confused.

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[info]parakkum
2005-02-24 05:40 pm UTC (link)
I completed my degree at the end of August, 2004, and left the lab at the very beginning of November, 2004. I've been working at my new job since the beginning of January.

Thus, I was, until quite recently, a grad student.

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[info]schrodingersgnu
2005-02-25 03:43 am UTC (link)
Ah, that explains it. So what do you do now? You actually found a job right out of biology grad school?

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