Guest speaker

This post is my impression about St. Edward's guest speaker PhD Oleg Larionov. He presented his work on, “Total Syntheses of Amphidinolide V and Coraxeniolides.”

In the presentation, Larionov discussed the series of steps taken in his research. Larionov began with recognizing the synthesis of Amphidinolide in marine plant life. The minuscule amount derived from nature provided reason in forming total synthesis of Amphidinolide. The process of total synthesis was completed in a series of systematic steps. The first step included “a sequence of ring-closing alkyne metathesis” binding with cycloalkyne and ethene to form the macrocyclic skeleton. In return, the vicinal exo-methylene branches were developed. The process was successful in total synthesis and had direct correlation with the “cytotoxic marine natural product amphidinolide V.” The works of Larionov provides further intuition for later projects involving ring-closing alkyne metathesis.

Listening to Larionov speak was somewhat a demo of what I know I’ll be able to understand either eight years from now, or potentially four years from now. The in-depth knowledge implemented, has me look forward toward my years in graduate school; knowing one day I’ll be able to speak fluid in scientific theology. This presentation has also showed me the amount of time and dedication that has to be put into a research project. Even though Larionov research turned out successful, I am sure there have been a lot of flaws along the way. I am also sure some researchers could not fix these flaws and are force to go back to the drawing board, but you know I think that’s what drives scientist and researchers. If I’ve learned anything from this presentation it is a researcher, in any field, has their own motivation to research and wants to educate others in their interest.

The glory days of animation...

I can still remember when cartoons entertained. When writers sculpted witty and original plots one frame at a time to create family friendly programs actually worth tuning in to. These were golden times. These were the days when cartoons like Dexter's Lab, Johnny Bravo, and Ren and Stimpy ruled air; and stations like Cartoon Network kept their worth in society. These days are gone. Seeking a chuckle or two, I sat and watched the modern day cartoon a few Sundays ago, but found myself fairly disappointed. I thought to myself, "Is this what it's come to?" I felt violated by the crudeness of the humor on what is supposed to be a children's television show. It was loud and obnoxious and something I probably wouldn't even have like as a boy. Then it dawned on me. "Maybe I'm just too old. I've probably just grown out of my favorite past-times". So I went to the world wide web in search of episodes of my old favorites. I was able to unearth old episodes of my cartoon of choice, Dexter's Laboratory. I was in stitches. The freshness of the humor really surprised me. It was incredible to see how the creators are able to use the idea of a boy genius to educate kids in science and language arts while simultaneously cracking them up. Today's animators need to re-watch these shows and take notes. And maybe once again they will be able to put some worth while toons back on the tube.

Turkey Trot

It was Thanksgiving morning and as I was turning to the parade on my TV I realized I agreed to run the turkey trot with my siblings. In past years I ran and enjoyed the turkey trot but since college life has been a bit more busy than high school I have not ran as much as usual. Plus the city of Austin or whoever came up with the turkey trot decided to make it a 5 mile run instead of a 5k (almost a 2 mile difference). I like the idea of the turkey trot more than I actually like it. Basically you are burning the massive amount of calories that you are going to eat up later in advance. If you have never been to the Thundercloud turkey trot it is a sight to see. No where else can you find a group of people dressed up as indians yelling and chasing a person dressed up in a turkey costume. About three miles into the race I was feeling very fatigued, I was seconds away from stopping when I saw a little girl skipping in front of me like it didn't even faze her. I had to keep going, I was not going to let a little girl embarrass me like that. After the 4 mile mark I started to notice dogs passing me and that was the point where I gave up, I had to stop running. All in all I had a great time with my siblings plus 18,000 of my fellow Austinites. Next year if you are in town for Thanksgiving I strongly encourage you to make your way to downtown Austin to participate in the turkey trot.

The Intimidator

All the hype, all the glory

to his kind it was the big event

all who fear him knows his story

the Intimidator came and went

to die by your name is just right

for all your fans to see

going up against you was such a fight

you will be forever remembered as #3

spectating will never be as fun

so many laps you led

your prodigy is not done

we will miss the black and red

Second Chances?

A couple of years ago there was a big debate on whether or not an NFL team should give Michael Vick a second chance at playing football. After watching Michael Vick and the Philadelphia Eagles so far this year, it shows you that people headed down the wrong path can come back and be remarkable. As everyone knows Vick had the dog fighting accident, which is safe to say a terrible immoral thing to do. For whatever reason Vick was involving himself with these cruel activities but he paid his price, swallowed his pride, went to jail, and has come back a completely changed person. People forget that these professional athletes are still very young which most likely contributed to his poor decisions. Andy Reid, coach of the Eagles thought Vick deserved a second chance when no one thought he did. Vick has prevailed this year and is producing NFL MVP numbers. After tonight Vick and the Eagles are 8-4 and are at the top of the NFC East.

TIPS

There are so many things in this world that never get noticed. And I don’t mean people. I don’t mean those quiet, weird people that sniff or cough a lot and never wash their hands. I mean the books in high school libraries; I mean the stained white tee shirt in the lost and found. Things. Things no one wants or cares for or even acknowledges. I was at a coffee shop, drinking coffee - which was pissing me off in the first place, because it was just another reminder of the lack of originality in this world – when I noticed a tip jar. The loneliest thing in the whole place. Lonelier than the old man in the corner on his lap top, with no ring on his finger, and no hair on his head. Probably lonelier than me, even, which was saying a lot. Someone had taped an index card to the glass jar and written in a bold black marker, probably Sharpie, TIPS. At first, I thought, maybe, it was a donation jar for some kind of organization. Maybe… Totalitarianism in Perfect Synchronization? Or The Irate Persons of Syphilis? Or Typical Interest in Pirating your Salary? The last one seemed more likely. I’ve always been wary of giving my money away to organizations because I saw this documentary once about a Satanist cult that posed as an organization for sick puppies or kids or something. Not that it matters that it was a Satanist cult; it’s just the fact that you never know where your money is going. Your five dollars could have been intended for a dying cocker spaniel and instead it’s funding the construction of an Anton LaVey memorial.


And I must have sat there for three cups of coffee – because eventually everyone will tell time by how much they’ve consumed –before I realized it was a tip jar. I was an idiot for not realizing TIPS was literal, not some secret organization pining for my cash, but merely working individuals of the establishment pining for my cash. Which wasn’t any less worse, really.

Another good book to read: EAT, PRAY, LOVE

This book was all about making the reader want to do something in live, no matter how crazy the idea is. The book focuses on the author's trip around three different countries of the world after she discovers that her life is just miserable and chaotic. During her visit to all the countries she meets new people that helps her grow as a person and become someone better. In every place she visited she learned something new about her self. We as humans normally focus on doing everything in a certain way, or not eating certain things (because we can gain weight), we stress out about small things that really do not matter; this book shows us how we need to live life to its fullest, because we only live once, even when we feel that life is falling apart. During her year of traveling her main focus is to find peace in herself by praying, eating and loving. It is an awesome book and I would recommend it to anyone.