Animal Rights, Microbes and Six Feet Under.

Summer is here already and I am going to work in the morning in a short sleeve shirt and it's going to get hotter still. I now go out to my garden and read my books. When I go walking I have my sunglasses on. So the weather is incredible and certainly makes things easier.

I am now studying microbial life and while I thought I had finished a major part of biochemistry it turns out that microbes have their own complex biochemistry of metabolism and so I am still learning it. The overall material is now becoming extremely complex in both technical information and study. I have to get my tutor to help me work out a better plan for studying because it is becoming so deep and it is only going to get even harder. I am enjoying what I am studying a lot but the sheer volume of information is extremely overwhelming.

One area that has begun to interest me is animal rights and animal testing. I was basically flung straight into animal testing in certain chapters I am covering and it didn't say much in the way of ethics. So this played on my mind and I have since started to read up on Animal Liberation. Right now I am reading 'Animal Liberation' by Peter Singer and it is an amazing although horrific read and has a very strong potential to change my worldview.

I finished reading Darwin's Dangerous Idea by Dan Dennett. I recommend it for anyone interested in the philosophy of evolution. I am currently watching Battlestar Galactica Season 4 and Season 1 of Six Feet Under. Both are excellent television series. I am also watching Mysterious World by Arthur C. Clarke from the 1980s, and am still playing Resident Evil 5. I am also reading Richard Dawkins Unweaving the Rainbow.

Sherlock Holmes, Cells and the Spring

While there was the odd spell of cold weather it seems that spring really is here and it gets hot too. I had to wear a t-shirt outside this weekend but resumed some bird spotting and binocular astronomy. The bad news is that the economy is still having some problems.

I finished the major part of biochemistry and am now back on genetics and will soon be turning to microbial life. The biochemistry was indeed as savage as expected. I understand the principles but could do a lot better. It really is another world and a lot is expected from me. I only had 6 weeks to cover it and the depth of the material is most certainly something that should take many months to learn. So the pressure is on. I have had to restructure study plans and methods to make way for this.

I finished reading River Out of Eden by Richard Dawkins. Watched The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. The Return of Sherlock Holmes and am currently playing Resident Evil 5. What more can I say really other than a month vanished mostly into the abyss of organic chemicals, proteins and how cells deal with them. Still its what I signed up for. :)

Economic woes, Biochem and Facebook

It is only today that I feel somewhat comfortable in saying that spring is probably here and the first buds are showing on the trees and flowers. It is a good sign but it may be the only good sign. It is a time of economic gloom unfortunately. While the business I am in is not directly affected by this economic recession it is indirectly and there have been some cutbacks. I still have my job and am in the work force (something many don't have the luxury of) but delays have forced payments to be put ahead by six weeks so many of us will be dipping into savings. In terms of finance, this year, 2009, will be a very bad year and there is nothing anyone can do. Everyone, globally, is being hit by it. On a more positive note 2010 looks set to be a better year for me. I have some projects that are promising and that should make things a bit better. Also I have my health so I can't complain.

My study has now moved onto biochemistry, a part of life sciences that requires me to learn about cellular processes and organic chemistry. I believe this is the part that many biologists do not particularly enjoy because it departs so much from furry cuddly things and becomes more about protein structures, cell organelles and transportation with a heavy emphasis on pathways and cycles so complex as to render even the best biologist feeling helpless in spaghetti-like diagrams of endless chemistry. This is all just straightforward memorizing and learning the details. Biochemistry shows no mercy but I still like it, all the same.

I watched South Park Season 2, two Sinbad films (7th voyage and tiger eye), Plan 9 from outer space, Eye of the Needle, Eastern promises, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Robin Hood (with Earl Flynn), It came from outer space, 1 Million years BC and played F.E.A.R 2 and finished playing Dead Space. I also watched David Attenborough's The Life of Mammals and Life in the Undergrowth. Above all though, probably the most interesting thing about this month was the fact that I am beginning to use Facebook more and more. What a very popular site and a very novel way of networking with people. I can only think of good things in store for Facebook.

Jmemorize, adaptations and tea

It is full swing biology study now with work and revision taking up my life and this will continue throughout the year into October. Since I don't drink or smoke I have managed to put together a semi-impressive tea collection that includes English breakfast, earl grey, ceylon and gunpowder tea. I get through like five cups per day. I had some English Afternoon tea but it didn’t last too long. If I can get more I will. The mornings are still a little chilly and even though they had bad weather in Ireland and England it wasn't too bad here. Here the spring is short though and the days get better fast although there can be the odd surprise snow.

My study is mostly about how organisms survive the winter, digestion, genetics, reproduction and immune systems. I use Jmemorize to remember things. I highly recommend this system of flash card learning. It really does improve one’s learning capabilities. What a super little simple program it is too.

I played Dead Space, Mass Effect and Half-Life: Source. I watched Deep Space Nine: Season 6 (the best DS9 season so far) and 24 season 2. I also watched David Attenborough's The private life of plants and The Life of Birds. I watched some films like Southland tales, Frost and Nixon Watergate interviews and Sinbad. However the highlight was reading a book called Adaptation and Natural selection by George Williams. It is an excellent book on the scientific criticisms of some forms of evolution, namely group selection, and aims more at selection at the level of the gene. I will read it again someday. I am currently reading Darwin's dangerous Idea by Daniel Dennett and Thus spoke Zarathustra by by Friedrich Nietzsche.

Protoctists, Life in the Freezer and The Story of Philosophy

As I write this the land is white, midway in winter and after New Year 2009 I am now back to work. I had a really good Christmas and got a prehistoric fossil shark tooth (Otodus obliquus). Also my course materials for 2009 arrived and so I commenced study right away and am currently studying about uniformity and diversity which is an introduction to classification systems, the kingdoms with a focus on protoctists and biological investigation and experimentation. It is very interesting.

I watched Galaxy Quest again (funny comedy), Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, David Attenborough's The Trials of Life (animal behaviour), Lost worlds vanished lives (fossils) and Life in the Freezer (antarctic), The Incredible Hulk, The Mist, Rambo IV, Soylent Green, Fantastic Voyage and Iron-Man. I am also playing Little Big Planet, Assasin's Creed, Warhawk, Half-Life 1 again and Mass effect. I also got a bluetooth headset for my PS3.

I finished reading The Story of Philosophy: The Lives and Opinions of the World's Greatest Philosophers by Will Durant and I highly recommend this book. What it does is to give you a synopsis of the defining points in the history of philosophy and how it changed how we lived. It also creates a synthesis between what our scientific discoveries mean to us being human. It is a really important fusion and can change your perspective on life.

Passed year 1 Science, The Selfish Gene and The Extended Phenotype

It snows from time to time but the weather is not too cold yet although I do have my winter jacket, gloves and hat on I walk home comfortably in the evening. The good news is that I passed year 1 of science and so year 2 of biology awaits me. I should have the first materials in the next few days. I look forward to studying pure biology. It will be a challange.

I finished watching Star Trek Deep Space Nine - The Complete Fifth Season, South Park - The Complete First Season and am currently on Terminator: Sarah O'Connor Chronicles Season one. DS9 is always good (being a Star Trek fan), South Park is something I am glad I started watching again because it is very funny and the Terminator series passes the time. I am also nearly finished David Attenborough’s The Trials of Life.

Two great games made their way to my home. Fallout 3 (epic fun) and probably the best team player game I have ever played, Left 4 Dead. Fighting zombie hords has never been so intense. I highly recommend it.

I am nearly finished “The Story of Philosophy” by Will Durant. I finished The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins, The Descent of Man by Charles Darwin and The Extended Phenotype: The Long Reach of the Gene by Richard Dawkins. Both the Dawkins books are deep world view changing books. The Extended Phenotype is profound.

Civilisation, The End of Faith, Expelled and Lost 4

The leaves are now gone from the trees and my winter jacket is on. The results from my course have been pushed forward until December. I have prepaid for next year studying biology but should start January 2009. I needed the break but I do feel a little purposeless and I suppose anxious because they delayed the results. Having said that, in less than 8 weeks time I will be sure to be up to my eyeballs in ecology and biochemistry and wishing I was on this break… but it isn’t a break because I am working a lot on technical writing and support for a company here in Brno. They are releasing a portal to their site builder and the project is colossal.

I finished watching Heroes - Season One. It’s not bad, sort of like X-Men though. I also finished watching Kenneth Clark’s ‘Civilisation’ a 13 part documentary made during the 1960s that looks at European history through art. It was a precursor to Attenborough’s works and Carl Sagan’s Cosmos. I enjoyed Civilisation and it gave me a perspective on human development that I had never thought about before. To top it off I also finished watching Lost 4. Shame it was so short (because of the writer's strike) but it was a lot of fun. If you haven't watched Lost then I suggest you check out what could be one of the best shows on TV.

I played the games Crysis and Bioshock. I recommend them both if you have the machine to run them. I also played Unreal 2 but wasn't impressed. I finished reading The End of Faith by Sam Harris. It put a whole new perspective on 9/11 for me. It is also one of the most controversial books I have ever read. Speaking of controversy, a new documentary on Intelligent Design has been released that paints evolutionist to be Nazis. It is called Expelled and is a horribly dishonest anti-science piece and what I think is dangerous propaganda.

The better news is that I have several books I am reading right now. I am halfway through “The Story of Philosophy” by Will Durant. “The Selfish Gene” by Richard Dawkins and “The Counter-Creationist Handbook”. I am also playing a new called Dead Space. Scary stuff for Halloween… :)

The long wait, David Attenborough, Autumn

Officially my course finished at the end of last month and I am waiting for exam results due November. I think unless there is some major problem that I should have passed the year. I am confident enough to have already booked my place for second year science, biology. I will be doing another extensive program for 2009 but this will be focused on life science. So it is goodbye physics, pure chemistry, earth science, health science and environmental science, hello biology with lots of organic chemistry and smatterings of inorganic chemistry.

So now I got some time to burn until 2009. I was going to get another shorter course in but decided to take the break instead. In the meantime I am preparing a new biology site that will focus on evolution and will be used primarily for my own research and studies. I am planning to release it in 1st quarter of 2009 but I may wait longer.

We moved into new offices a few weeks back. We are on the top floor and I can see the whole city from up here. I am currently in the same city that Gregor Mendel discovered the laws of segregation with his pea plant experiments.

As for television I have just finished Season 1 of The Wire. Good show. I am also watching Heroes Season 1 and David Attenborough’s The Living Planet. If you haven’t watched his nature shows then you should because they are incredible.

I finished playing Call of Duty 4 and the multiplayer is stunning, thoroughly immersive, great game. I replayed the first Unreal game for the nostalgia.

The autumn has been here now with a few weeks. In Brno the weather changes almost overnight. One day the trees are green, the next the leaves are on the ground.

Chemical evolution, Final exams and The X Files

This has been a very busy month for me. I had to study the final book of the course about the possibility of life elsewhere. There was a lot about chemical evolution and how to detect life on other planets (what to look for). Chemical evolution is extremely interesting and I found everything here an eye-opener. I got my exam back for the quantum stuff I worked on last month and I am happy with my result. Now it is just a matter of dealing with the last exam which is a test about three times the size of the other exams and which includes everything I have studied to date. It took me 2 weeks to finish and I posted it off today. I need to pass this exam to pass the course so it is very important. I haven't had much time to catch up on my hobbies but I did manage to finish Season 9 of the X Files. It took me close to 2 years to get through all 9 seasons. I watched them on and off and I am glad I did. it was a wonderful experience. I also finished reading 'On Human Nature' by E.O Wilson. The book is largely about genetic determinism in terms of sociobiology. I found the concept stunning. I managed to get a little tree and bird spotting done this month. Summer is still here in Brno and even in September I go to work in shorts and short sleeves. Oh and I have decided to do Biology next year, so it is almost certain that I am studying to become a biologist now.