Rattling On

 

I only have a bit of time to type, but I wanted to talk a little bit.  I am feeling rather keyed up.... in a GOOD way.

It was a quite pleasant day of "big voicing" all day long.  As mentioned, Wednesday is my busiest TEACHING day of the week.  I have roughly 6 hours of yammering to do.  And, I did it!  And, it was actually pretty damn fun (haha... at least for me..... not sure if the students enjoyed it as much).  :)

• In one class I was speaking about the nematode, C. elegans, and how it is a wonderful translational research organism that was especially instrumental in the advancement of fundamental research into organismal development. Sydney Brenner earned the 2002 Nobel Prize for his discoveries using this beast in understanding the developmental principle of apoptotic cell death during embryogenesis.  

 

• In another class I was describing the underpinnings of the processes of sex determination and sex differentiation that animal organisms undergo as they mitotically divide and differentiate from the initial zygote into a bi-axial, multicellular organism with a functional reproductive system.  I especially emphasized how in early development the organism is bipotential, meaning it has the capacity to develop into either the male typical or female typical body plan. 

  

• In another class, I was discussing the role of heavy metal contamination (specifically mercury) on how it would shape the morphology and organizing circuitry of the developing brain.  I then spoke of how these changes can affect responses in organismal behavior citing an especially interesting example where mecury exposure has been shown to alter the parental care behaviors displayed by certain Cichlid fish.   

Now, I am either going to escape for the day, or I may go down to my lab to fiddle around a bit with some of my beasts.  I am not sure yet which I should do.  I am going to be "baching" it again tonight (being a lonely bachelor) as my wife has a damnable evening workshop to attend where she can earn some needed CEUs for her job. 

In my mind, there are a variety of things I would *like* to do..... I imagine many of them frequently:

• I think it would be ENORMOUS fun to go swimming!  But, damable Covid precludes that.

 

• I think it would be beautiful to head home and drink a few beers and have a few pipes while I just lounge around on the couch with the dog to keep me company in my gently tipsy state.

 

• I think it would be fun to go home, drink a few beers, and have a few pipes, and head to the basement and work on my metal clarinet.  

But, what I probably need and should do is to go (shudder) shopping for some things for Valentine's Day for my wife.  I really do NOT like shopping.  I USED to like to meander around hardware stores or even the big box hardware stores, as I would look at most of the things I would see as something to potentially work with to create some sort of interesting doo-dad or other. And, I can still occasionally while away an hour or two meandering at a hardware store when I am feeling creative.  But, virtually any other store..... uh..... I would rather avoid it like the plague.  

So, I will try to high tail it through the typical culprit stores my wife likes gifts from, and I will also go to get cards, paper, etc.  And, I will try to wrap them all up and hide them before my wife gets her CEUs accomplished and is home again.  

Other thoughts:

• I do have my current project, the metal clarinet, all dismantled.  25 or so keys are off, numbered, and listed in the order of removal (so I can go in reverse when eventually putting them back), and I have a set of new pads, and some cork to shape.  

 

• But, before I can do any of the padding, corking, and other items, I am now in the phase where I am going to work to remove the deep tarnish and stain from the metal.  

 

• From my investigation of the make/model/and serial number of the beast, it is a horn that was produced in either 1927 or 1928. Even if it were in pristine shape, it would only be worth perhaps $500.  I paid considerably less than that (less than $50) because I was willing to take on a wreck and rejuvenate it (that is the fun part).  I do not really give a damn about its worth though.  I just what to have what will be a "pretty" looking, and playable metal clarinet... and I think it will be attractive to sit on a stand on my desk in my front office at the U.  I will likely be able to play it quietly when my next door office neighbor is not in his office.  The sound would not travel beyond that space.  

 

• I was sitting in my back office (the one that is deep, deep in the back of my laboratory).  It is my favorite hide-away, when I want to get away from folks.  I was in there this morning doing some last minute preparations for the "big lectures" and I was staring longingly at my pipe rack that has been there for decades.  It is an especially battered one with some of my more battered work pipes as well.  My back office is/was the place I would smoke my pipes most often (back in the day (sigh)). It is an office with an especially pretty view from the window as well.  Even though I am not smoking in there currently (sigh), there are still some lingering, very pleasant, very enticing aromas from pipes of the past, and of course, I do often open up the humidor jar in the pipe rack and take a deep breath in of the beautiful burley encased within.  I have almost always smoked a heavily vanilla tinctured, robust burley in the back office, as it has as an aroma I think almost everyone I met found pleasant. 

I need to quit yammering with my fingers and get going to go shopping. I think I would rather type.  

PipeTobacco