I did my part for Japan's economy (伊東美咲)

At the same time I supported my favorite actress, I also helped out Japan’s crashing export market. I finally got my imported Misaki Ito (伊東美咲) calendar for 2009. She’s so cute! Now when I’m working I can just look up and there she is. And that’s a good thing – because we all know she’s never coming to the Midwest. I don’t blame her – it’s very cold here.

So all day long I work on stuff and, once in awhile, look up at the calendar. So now it’s like: Numbers, numbers, numbers – Awesome! Reading, reading, reading – Cool! Writing, writing, writing – Excellent!

My lab mates are like, “Who is that?” I tell them, it’s Misaki Ito (伊東美咲). They say, “So you have her calendar?” So I tell them, “Yeah - it’s for research purposes.” SWEET!

Okay, just so that you don’t think I’m too weird, I actually thought this was the kind of calendar you could write daily notes on. But you can see that there's nowhere to actually write anything. Oh well. Am I going to move it? Hell no! It’s for research purposes.

- Just a peasant

If you click on the photo to enlarge it, you can just barely see the vertically arranged month and days on the right. Maybe I'll take a better photo later.

Happy Valentine's Day

If this rose is not enough then get some free hugs here.

- Just a peasant

Yes . . . yes it is funny

You read it right - Concept A Bitch.

When you work in a reproduction lab there are often some very humorous days. When this nutrient supplement for pregnant dogs arrived I had several hours of good fun. I respect any company that just says it like it is.

That’s right beeyatch – Concept A Bitch! Buy it today!

Incidentally, do you notice how yellow the light in the photo is? This photo was taken in our embryo lab and the lights have yellow filters to protect the embryos while we’re working with them outside of the incubators. Many years ago one study in embryos suggested that full spectrum white light was harmful to early embryos and that yellow or red light was less harmful. I don’t how much of a difference it really makes but I do know that the red lighting bothered the human eye and tended to freak people out. Hence, the yellow light filters.

- Just a peasant

Photo – if you didn’t see it you might not believe it.

Putting out Vigor (元気を出して) with Misaki Ito (伊東美咲)

My Japanese is just not good enough so I apologize ahead of time if anything I say here is incorrect.

There is a new, three-part TV show - Putting out Vigor (元気を出して) - with Misaki Ito (伊東美咲). It seems to have aired in October of 2008. As to the content of the show I am a little uncertain on this but the show seems to be based on the theme of a musical composition. I think it has something to do with different approaches to life and love with people in their 20s, 30s, and 40s. If you go through the links there are some pictures and an interview with Misaki Ito. Here is a direct link to shots from the show. If you go here, you can find the 2nd episode with Misaki Ito. It's not translated so it's a good time to practice listening skills for Japanese. I can't believe I lost my Japanese dictionary!

And yes, I know there are a lot of other actors on the show but, on this blog - she is just that awesome!

As for the photo above, it is not from the new show but from her appearance at the Sex and the City movie premier in New York. X marks the spot. I think she really - really - likes this wedding dress. Maybe she’s trying to give a hint to her boyfriend or something. HaHaHa. Okay, just joking – it’s none of my business. But she does look quite excellent.

- Just a peasant

Special

A lover’s job is to make the other person feel special. Plain and simple. In fact, I would argue that this might be one of the most important ingredients in any relationship. However, there is certainly never any guarantee.

I think long term relationships begin to suffer not from daily routine but from a daily routine that is never punctuated with efforts to make the other person feel special. And I do understand the conditions that allow this kind of relationship to continue on without making the other person feel special. Yet, I myself could never stay in a relationship where I’m not special to my lover. I mean if you’re not special to them then what’s the point of staying?

All over the internet I’ve seen relationship surveys that, at some point, ask, “What is your perfect date?” Then they list several romantic options which might involve concerts, plays, candlelight, bubble baths, fine dining, wine tasting, sports events, philosophical discussions, and many other things.

Yet it seems to me that something is missing. What would I consider a perfect date? My perfect date is when my companion and I do something - that she wants to do.

Those surveys never offer that as an option. Interesting.

- Just a peasant

Photo (click to enlarge) of an unexpected, close encounter I had with a Great Blue Heron while hiking on the Oregon Coast. Hiking can be an interesting date too.

Those exploding stars

Yesterday, I mentioned the super nova of stars that could affect life on Earth. I was referring to some specific examples that have very low probabilities of affecting our solar system.

In the constellation of Sagittarius, is a binary-star system known as Wolf-Rayet 104. When these stars eventually go nova there’s a small – very small – chance that a gamma-ray burst will strike our planet. On the Bad Astronomy website, this subject and its probability, is explained. Even with the evidence in 2009, that the angle of inclination of WR104 is higher than previously believed, the chance of being hit by a radiation burst, within the next few hundred thousand years, is significantly higher than the chance of an apocalypse on December 21st, 2012.

Another star of interest is IK Pegasi out in the constellation Pegasus. Its only 150 light years away. Maybe not close enough to kill us but close enough to make us jump when it does goes off.

Yet, even with these low probabilities, super nova events should not be underestimated. Here is an interesting theory involving species extinctions during the Pliocene era related to a passing interstellar cloud of exploding stars. And no matter what, our own star, the Sun, will eventually burn out turning Earth into a toasted marshmellow. If you want to see a really cool size comparison of our Sun to other stars go to this video. VY Canis Majoris in the largest known star of our galaxy. You'll see.

And, to a certain person that asked, I'm sorry but I do not believe in Astrology or the interpretation of Zodiac signs, though you are correct, I would be Sagittarius. In fact, I believe that Zodiac signs and Astrology, whether Western or Eastern, are ultimately a subtle form of prejudice. They attribute a preconceived idea of behavior and character to a person based upon the year or time of birth during the year. This is no different from racism that attributes specific behaviors to people based on either the color of their skin or on their country of birth. And that’s just nonsense - plain and simple.

Incidentally, the magnetic pole of the Sun flips every 11 years and already flipped in 2007.

- Just a peasant

Photo from Wikipedia entry on Super nova