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Spaghetti

I am not in much of a thinking mood today as a result of a long, tiresome day of writing and paperwork for the Human Subjects Committee (HSC) that I am a member of. The HSC should be a straight forward committee that looks over and approves the research of faculty that involves the study of humans, but it is anything but straight forward.

There are two blow-hards on this committee that get so involved in minutia and stupid crap that even the simplest proposal does not get immediately approved and the researchers get justifiably riled up. My foray into serving on this committee was just because of that reason. Three years ago, I submitted a HSC proposal for get this... a study where I talked to people who knew a relatively famous but deceased scientist who had died 30 years before. Basically, I was trying to get historical information from these people about what it was like to work with this professor... in his lab, in other University matters, and in speaking to relatives I could find. This is perhaps the simplest form of "human subject" use that could even afford to go under the scrutiny of the HSC. In fact, in a vast majority of universities, interviews of people for historical purposes DO NOT require HSC approval. Yet, from the the date I submitted my VERY SIMPLE, two page proposal, to the date I finally received approval was FIVE LONG MONTHS!!!!! It was outrageous and because of this lunacy, I decided to get involved in the hopes of reforming the committee.

I became a member of the committee roughly a year and a half ago, and I regret the decision for the most part. The two blow-hards make the job so annoying and frustrating. The others on the committee are good people who work hard to make the work of the HSC good, but the blowhards (who happen to be the Chair of the committee and his "right hand gal") impede every step.

I do not really need the hassle of this committee, and I am formulating my plans for a graceful exit in the next 6-12 months. It is not worth it... I used to feel I was a Don Quixote, and would gladly tilt at windmills to do what is just and right, but as you dear readers know, I have lost that drive... and though I *do* desperately want that drive and conviction back, this committee may not be the best place for me to test my mettle in that way.

So, my mind feels like a bowl of spaghetti, and oddly enough, that is what I shall make for dinner tonight. My wife is mired in the midst of her own enormous project deadline, so this will be my night to handle dinner. I shall make a tomato based, vegetarian sauce with large chunks of bell pepper and onion, make a high fiber, whole wheat pasta, grate ample fresh Parmesan cheese, season the sauce with ample garlic, basil, oregano, a little bit of thyme, and a good dash of rosemary. I will also make an Italian style zucchini dish to accompany the spaghetti. Add to this, spiced garlic bread, a huge salad, and wine and the meal will be complete.

PipeTobacco