Scientific Ink

Author: Dunrie

  • “Baby” photos reveal threads of our future selves

    Friends of ours had a baby shower today. A few days ago, the mom-to-be asked if we would bring baby photos for a game they were playing. I didn’t think I had any baby photos, so I emailed my mom and Dave’s mom to see if they could locate and scan a photo to share. We then brought them to the party where they were put on a bulletin board and folks had to guess who was who.

    Vici prepped the wall of baby photos

    Well, my mom was at my sister’s in Atlanta, helping to herd my sister’s little ones, so she was far away from “the historical documents” and unable to find a true baby photo. But they searched and did find one from when I was 4. Dave’s mom found a great one of him when they were visiting his grandparents who were living in Africa. Maybe I’m projecting, but what strikes me about each of these photos is how much of our adult personality is already apparent.

    Rock, paper, scissorsIn mine, I’m intent on the photographer, seeking to engage (playing rock, paper, scissors?), but also overwhelmed and attempting to hide behind my hair.

    There’s something magical about Dave’s. To my eye, there is very little resemblance between his adult self and the tot in the photo – he’s no longer blonde, his Roman nose isn’t there yet…and still there’s something very Dave-like in the attitude/the glance. It’s a kind of intent absorption, a “don’t bother me, I’m busy here”, and of course an engineer’s interest in things with moving parts. Sheila recognized the photo instantly as one of him because of his expression.

    Don't bother me

    Note – I realized this morning that this is entirely circular. I’m guessing the reason these photos charmed our moms enough to have them select them from whatever else they had was particularly this thread. From the set of all photographs, our moms picked the ones that most captured us. 9/16/2007

  • Bathroom Renovation

    Our big news is that we had our bathroom gutted this summer. On August 6, they came in and knocked our old bathroom out, tossing it in pieces out the little window, down a chute, and into a skip in the driveway. It came apart quickly. It has come back together a bit more slowly.

    My husband put his engineering degree to use in rigging up a shower in the basement out of 2 garden hoses, a submersible sump pump, an inflatable kiddy pool, and an outdoor shower setup. I was completely skeptical and imagined trekking to the Ann Arbor Y for showers, but it’s been absolutely fine.

    When they first ripped out the old fixtures, plaster, and floor, I was shocked at how tiny the room looked. And, I wondered why we’d bothered writing that very big check to destroy this very small room. It seemed impossibly small when it was empty.

    It’s starting to look like a real bathroom now, and the design decisions we made are starting to twinkle out at me, reminding me that I really did dislike cozying up to the toilet just so I could wash my hands in the sink. The big improvement was a pocket door, by freeing up the space for the door swinging into the room, we got to give the toilet and sink some distance from each other.

    It’s not done yet, but we’re seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

    Folks who contributed include:

  • Three Cups of Tea

    Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a TimeI remember where I was on September 11, 2001. I was at my old job, working on a computer, not tuned into the news, when a colleague called and told us to tune into CNN. A rushing sense of unreality, helplessness, and shock followed. Then, we invaded Afghanistan, and I worried about the long-term effects of our military intervention as well as the immediate suffering it would create.

    (more…)

  • Whose bone is this, anyway?

    Mystery bone – from above, originally uploaded by dunrie.

    I have a doctorate in biology. But I studied plants and insects. And neither plants nor insects have bones, so I’m officially excused from having to know what this is.

    We first thought it was a cranium, but it didn’t seem to have the characteristics I’d need to key it out on online keys. Anyway, I’m completely stumped. The “eye sockets” seem much too small to be….pretty much anything. I’m hoping one of my bio-friends knows the answer. Bueller…? Bueller?

    Note 9/6/2007: this appears to be an avian pelvic girdle – thanks AnnaBess! We’re guessing a cormorant, which would make sense given the number of cormorants out on Waquoit Bay and the Vineyard Sound.

    Mystery bone - side

    Mystery bone - bottom

  • Striped Bass log

    The big one, originally uploaded by dunrie.

    My sister-in-law is doing graduate research on Christmas Island in the Pacific. The food choices are limited (tuna, tuna, and more tuna), and she has a funny blog entry about the forms of tuna they’ve eaten, including tuna salisbury steak and tuna patties with gravy.

    Well, Dave and Nate both caught big striped bass on our fishing trip, and we’ve been having striped bass in many forms.

  • Silly stuff

    1. What is your occupation? Director of Happiness (aka project manager).
    2. What color are your socks right now? No socks. Bare feet.
    3. What are you listening to right now? Girish.
    4. What was the last thing that you ate? Leftover paella from New Bedford Portugese joint.
    5. Can you drive a stick shift? Yes.
    6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Fuschia.
    7. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Patrick, a colleague at PV.
    8. How old are you today? 37.
    9. Favorite drink? Oolong tea in the morning. Sometimes jasmine, sometimes Earl Gray.
    10. What is your favorite sport to watch? Football.
    11. Have you ever dyed your hair? Nope.
    12. Pets? 1 Cat + lot of inverts in a salt water tank.
    13. Favorite food? Whatever my husband cooks, he’s a really good cook. Whatever we get from our CSA.
    14. What was the last movie you watched? Don’t recall.
    15. Favorite day of the year? Any day I’m up north at the cabin, especially in winter when the wind is really blowing.
    16. What do you do to vent anger? Sulk, pout, fret, then I go for a walk or go for a intense bike ride.
    17. What was your favorite toy as a child? My stuffed bear, “Bear”.
    18. What is your favorite fall or spring? Fall, it’s moodier.
    19. Hugs or kisses? Hugs from friends, chocolate kisses from everyone else.
    20. Cherries or Blueberries? Blueberry pie. Fresh, unadulterated cherries.
    21. Do you want your friends to email you back? Ummmm, this is a blog entry.
    22. Who is most likely to respond? don’t know.
    23. Who is least likely to respond? don’t know.
    24. Living arrangements? Own a home.
    25. When was the last time you cried? Not keeping track…. Reading The Time Traveler’s Wife, yesterday.
    26. What is on the floor of your closet? Shoes & cat hair.
    27. Who is the friend you have had the longest that you are sending this to? My sister.
    28. What did you do last night? Hung out with family.
    29. Favorite smells? Good cooking.
    30. What inspires you? Good books.
    31. What are you afraid of? Loneliness.
    32. Plain, cheese or spicy hamburgers? Cheese please.
    33. Favorite dog breed? My stepmom’s springer spaniel Nikita is awesome.
    34. How many years at your current job? 2 months.
    35. Favorite days of the week? It varies, any days I can get out cycling or do yoga.
    36. How many states have you lived in? 2.
    37. Ever driven motorcycle or heavy machinery? Nah.
    38. Who’s your favorite NFL team? My heart says the Lions. Reality says the Patriots.
    39. Do you have a house phone that is NOT cordless? Yes, in case of a power outage.