hot trends of 2007

We all know that i live at least three blocks away from the outskirts of Hipville.
Taking a month off from the world gave me a chance to catch up on what is really important in this life: internet fads of years past. You know, like playing 47 on-line versions of Mah Jong and browsing lolcats to find the one that suits your personality.

bowties make me happy

the Force was not with them

We have been trying various experiments with Peeps for our summer theater program at work.
In response to Frack's fervent wish from yesterday's comments, I did indeed bath a Peep in 30% H2O2


oops; mayhaps i should have worn gloves



 (hydrogen peroxide that is 10 times more concentrated than the stuff you have in your bathroom cabinet; if you get it on your skin, it instantly lyses the cells, as illustrated brilliantly by the photo of the idiot at right)

Just like it did a great job stripping my skin, the Peep's sugary blue layer was quickly dissolved and then much more slowly some of its marshmallowy innards were broken down. It wasn't very interesting, frankly, except that the eyeball floating in the solution never did break down.

However, what was interesting happened yesterday when i combined burning magnesium ribbon with Peeps; it looked a little like they were brandishing light sabers.

You could even get them to look like they were dueling, or more likely (since all Peeps are brethren in sugar), to look like they were crossing sabers in a Jedi salute.



We are the three Peepskateers!

Through many trials i was able to find about the right length of magnesium for a brilliant white burn that lasted long enough to look awesome, but not long enough to set off fire detectors. Unfortunately, there were some injuries:

 

                  In fact, by the end there was quite a bit of Peepy carnage. I like to call this picture, Peeps Bonfire Gone Horribly Wrong

ohhhhh, the humanity

Yes, this really is what i do for a living. Now, if you'll excuse me, lunch is over so i need to go secure the newly delivered tank of sulfur hexaflouride (heavier than air gas that will make me sound like Barry White) and then go practice slingshotting water balloons at the museum.

crafty bio geek-out

During the work restructuring and grand cleaning i went through 16 years of accumulated stuff. In a take-away pile inside of an old convention bag i found instructions on how to make my own pet neuron from pony beads. Do i like crafty projects? check Do i own pony beads? check Do i know someone who has an undergrad degree in neurobiology who currently teaches AP biology, is an EMT and is going to medical school next year? check One afternoon i sat down and tried to make a pet neuron. And i tried. And i tried. I'm not gonna lie: those were the most poorly written directions i have ever read. They were atrocious. How could any educator from any museum have allowed them to be printed? After a few attempts i tried to just go off of the xeroxed picture, only to find out that the picture and the directions didn't even match each other. UGH! After quite a bit of time and a lap full of ugly, half-formed, mutant neurons i decided to take matters into my own hands. Firstly, i decided to dump the bulky pony beads and go with smaller, sleeker, pretty rondelles. Then i decided to make each anatomical part of the neuron a different color since i figured it might end up being used during a class session. After playing with the proportions i was happy when i finally had an identifiable pet neuron complete with crystal dendrites, a rosy cell body, a red axion and brown synaptic terminus. I liked the name Clive, but fTM Matt has declared his name to be Heathcliffe. Is it wrong that something so ridiculous can make two grown people so happy?