Fresh Start

I spy a new blog!

My Facebook gets littered with several notes, of which most are deleted shortly after creation. So, as a bit of a creative outlet, I'm starting up a new blogger. I have one already for some poetry I wrote, but that one is pretty dead. So it goes.

So what's this "random musings" thing I speak of? Well, I'm not the genius behind it. All namesake goes to professor and dean within the College of Natural Sciences at UT, Dr. Laude. Every week he writes out a random musings for his chemistry students which details pertinent information for the week and other random oddities, such as the fabled poetry corner. So, to spread the amazingness of these random musings, I continue them. Except, mine are probably less chemistry related and slightly more random. Once again, so it goes.

Where to begin on such a bleak evening? Daylight savings time is upon us and I find myself going to work at night. That was the nice thing before this time change - I went to work as the sun was in the process of going down, not when it was fully down for the count! But, with the coming of daylight savings, a reminder utters forth that winter is on its way. I don't understand why I love winter so much. Maybe it has to do with the fact that I only get to endure the colder temperatures (mind you, mid-30s is about as low as it gets in Texas) for about a week before it's right back to shorts and t-shirt weather. Texas is so bi-polar it doesn't even eye the line of hilarity.

Tomorrow will be an insanely busy day for me. I have a quiz at 8am in medical terminology, I need to register for classes (assuming any are still open...this is beyond ridiculous), I have a meeting with a former research adviser, class at random intervals, work, a meeting at 5 followed by a related meeting at 6, physics homework due, and o chem homework due. Intense, to say the very least.

What avenue should I venture down next? It never truly hit on me that I probably shouldn't have accounts to these sorts of things. After all, I work, and I have student mentees. Who knows what sorts of black mail opportunities could arise from the senseless jargon I type here. Then again, searching my name doesn't give you much anyways...except a lengthy list of links that will detail several cross country or track meet results from my time in high school...or any of a select few links that will discuss my highlights in high school leading up to me being ranked as second in the class. My how those were the days.

Is there anything meaningful to discuss at this peculiar hour of the night? I could talk about fluids and how the physics versus chemical side of them aren't adding up right now. Based on some mathematical formulas we have been given, it would seem that an object's ability to float on some fluid has nothing to do with the density of that fluid. But, if we go back to chemistry, we know it does. After all, ants can float/walk on water, but they can't do the same on liquid nitrogen (really low temperatures aside). And we can talk about the intermolecular forces that are at work and say this is due to the weak instantaneous dipole interactions found in liquid nitrogen molecules (which posses less than 1 kJ/mol of energy in those bonds) versus the hydrogen bonding of water molecules (which each have around 20 kJ/mol of energy stored up). Alas, why is it that chemistry and physics can never get along? Was it because Schrodinger and crew had to completely kill classical physics with their black body radiator ideas and this whole Particle/Wave Duality mess? Alas, if only everything was like chemistry. The world would be a much better place.

And, now is a better time than most. Being a part-time biologist (I'm also a biochemist...leaning more towards being a chemist), I'm offended at the laziness many biologists posses. For example, I'm currently conducting research on a particular protein. Though, no one mentioned the fact that there are at least two proteins that go by the exact same name! Why can't we be like the chemists? Every single compound has its own unique name. If nothing else, we can still distinguish molecules based on R/S or E/Z configurations, cis versus trans, Markovnikov regioselectivity or non, carbocations versus carboanions versus radicals, and so much more. I should probably end this tirade here before I completely convince myself to stop being a biologist.

It's interesting how one class can seemingly change your life. I used to hate chemistry. I never wanted to hear that word in any context. Ever. I would literally shudder anytime I heard it. And now, after freshman chemistry, I love the stuff so much. If there were more avenues with it, I'd probably be a chemistry major right now. Absolutely amazing.

Alas, I'll have words of wisdom or something when next I write. It's late and I should be sleeping instead of musing. Until another time, I bid the hoi polloi farewell and good night.