This Thanksgiving weekend my lab-mate (Rafael) and I wanted to go on a road trip. As it turned out, Rafael’s dad (who lives in Brazil) scheduled a business/pleasure trip to The Midwest which entailed him arriving in Kansas City on November 27th. Unbeknownst to him, at the time, was that November 27th happened to be Thanksgiving Day in America! Therefore, beginning Thanksgiving morning, Rafael, Rafael’s dad and I took a road-trip toward Branson, in the south of Missouri.
Our first destination was Springfield, MO where we spent a few hours eating and visiting the famed Bass Pro Shops flagship store, an outdoor-goods store that has its own indoor waterfalls, rivers, aquariums and shooting range. After that the majority of our time was spent in Branson. Here are some of the highlights.
Thanksgiving dinner: We were grateful to get to Branson just in time to eat a late Thanksgiving dinner at a traditional family-style restaurant. On a related note, I managed, for seven straight days, to eat at least one Thanksgiving-type meal a day (i.e. turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing). I was a very thankful man.
Festivities: As soon as Thanksgiving was over, and indeed before it had even begun, Christmas was EVERYWHERE in Branson. And I mean EVERYWHERE! The first night we went on a 2 ½ mile driving tour through a park that was covered in holiday-light extravaganzas and cute little animatronics displays. The second day, at the theme park Silver Dollar City, every single building was bedecked in bright lights, and the highlight of the night was a spectacular coordinated show where the giant central Christmas tree, along with the surrounding shops, blinked on and off and changed colors in synchrony, dancing along with the music which was broadcast all throughout the park. It gave me some serious goose bumps (or maybe I was just cold).
Attractions: For the first time ever, I went Black Friday shopping! Which felt to me just like shopping, but early in the morning. At least I was at a really lovely mall built along the river. Then I went to the TitanicMuseum, which was a really well-done production, with both artifacts and elaborate recreations of the Titanic experience. Finally, we saw the Dolly Parton Dixie Stampede (Christmas version, of course)! It was a four-course dinner served to a very entertaining show, which began with an incredible juggler, ended with some remarkable horse riding and competition, and included singing, magic, ice-skating and a nativity scene that descended from the ceiling.
Finally, we decided it would be fun to go into Arkansas for just a bit. We traveled around through a couple of towns, and decided we would go to Bentonville, where we could see The Original Wal-Mart, and where we could drop in on my aunt and uncle! (And cousins). It was great fun to be spontaneous, to see the family growing up (I think Brett is about 6’10” by now, while Jenna can speak excellent Spanish), and catch some football highlights of KU winning a crazy game. Below you see the Pluimer family, with me, next to the humungous Christmas tree. Assuming that Brett is about 6’10”, I’d have to say the tree is about seventeen feet tall!!!
Autumn is one thing that I have really come to appreciate out here in the Midwest. Today’s Epic Ballade is dedicated to the Great Kansan Fall, in words and photographs:
Ahh, there is nothing like a home football game on a sunny fall day. The picture below was taken from my buddy’s apartment complex. You should take note of three white vehicles, each employed by a towing agency. They are at his complex to tow away non-residents who are parked there to go to the football game, and who do not have a permit. If you look closely you can see that my vehicle is also parked in this lot. Fortunately for me, my friend had already procured a parking pass for me, specifically for times like this.
The campus of the University of Kansas is known for being a remarkably beautiful campus, and this is particularly the case during autumn. It sits atop a hill, where one can see for miles off into the distance, and it is full of small hills and valleys covered with deciduous trees. I took the opening photograph, as well as the one shown below, on campus.
Of course, at some point, the leaves are all gone and all that is left are bare branches. Below is a photograph which I thought was creative, of just such a tree (as seen from a restaurant).
But just because the leaves are off the tree, doesn’t mean they’re useless! In this picture, I had just climbed up the tree to the left, and jumped off into a huge pile of leaves. Which, in many senses, was the encapsulation of a Great Fall.
First off, for those of you who have contacted me about the family tree, I plan to get those invitations out ASAP after I add a couple of photos. For now, a post about politics and the economy (a la Epic Ballade).
Politics
As you may know, the United States just had a national election. In case you care, here are some of the things that happened on the local and state levels here in Douglas county, Kansas:
We re-elected an incumbent Republican senator (Pat Roberts), elected a Republican congresswoman (Lynn Jenkins) over the Democratic incumbent (Nancy Boyda), and elected a Democratic state senator (Tom Holland) over the Republican incumbent (in this race the Libertarian candidate [for whom I cast my vote] managed a respectable 5.4% of the votes!)
We also approved THREE SEPARATE local sales-tax increases. One for roads and infrastructure, and two to rescue our local bus system, which is unpopular, inconvenient, hemorrhaging money, operating at a huge loss, and is only afloat now because of large amounts of taxpayer money.
Also, contrary to what you might have guessed, the turnout in our fair county during this election was actually lower than it was four years ago.
The Economy
I am happy to report that the economy is doing just swimingly as far as I can tell. My evidence is this: the cheapest tank of gas I have filled in ages!
Kyle (my brother) was asking me for some family tree information for a project of his the other day, which got me to once again crack open the genealogy documents that I have. Noticing some holes here and there, I decided to spend some time online looking for some old relatives. In particular, I was looking for some great-great-great-grandparents on the Norris side, and I found them! Below is a picture I found online featuring James Riley Norris, bottom left (my great-great-great-grandpa), and Elizabeth (Garman) Norris bottom right (my great-great-great-grandma).
I think you can clearly see some resemblance between James Norris and my dad, no? If not, the picture below should help (James is on the left):
James moved from Kentucky to Missouri, where his son Simeon (aka Albert) grew up. Simeon worked as a farmer then as a street-car motorman. Simeon's son William was a grocery store merchant as of 1930 (according to the U.S. census) and paid $15 a month rent on his house. William had a son named Billie, who happens to be my grandfather, and that's about all the history you probably care to hear right now.
Feeling inspired, I decided to put some of the informationI had on an online family tree at ancestry.com. I would ask the readers of this post (especially those who are relatives of mine) to look at the tree and tell me if the information is correct. There should be birth and death dates and locations for everyone on the tree. If you notice info that is wrong or can fill in info that is missing, please let me know via email or by a response to this post. Later on I will be adding marriage info, pictures and great-great-grandparents and beyond, but I want to make sure the basics are down first. Thanks!
Unfortunately, to access the full interactive version you need to send me an email at razjericho@yahoo.com and I will personally 'invite' you. In the meantime, you can enjoy a bare-bones version here. Please let me know if you experience any difficulties. Enjoy, and then get back to me!
KU hosted a “Carnival” the other night, and Amanda and I decided to check it out. It turned out to be fun, with a ferris wheel and games and rides and everything! The turning point of the night was when Amanda and I played the horse-racing game, pictured below.
She managed to place second, and I managed to win! Which meant that I won my choice of ridiculous-looking overstuffed animals. I chose this chubby wild boar with flames coming out of its rear. We hit it off immediately, and I called him Billy the Wild Boar.
We did everything together! We went on rides together…
We played games together…
We even went on the spinny whirly doodad ride together…
Then we got sick together…
Then we recovered by drinking some Diet Coke together (but we agreed it didn’t really taste that good)…
Finally, when we worked up our appetite again, we ate cupcakes together…
Oh, and I also had a good time with Amanda as well:
Now Billy the Wild Boar lives in my truck. He sits on the dashboard and intimidates any would-be car burglars. So far he has been 100% successful!
I am no longer taking “classes”, I am no longer studying for my oral exam, and I have not recently gone on any crazy vacations, which means that I have had a fair amount of free time lately. And I have had free weekends! Here are some samples:
For KU’s second home football game, the Student Union sponsored a pre-game tailgate with free hot dogs, chips, sodas and T-shirts to all students. I went with some friends and got absolutely stuffed over an hour-and-a-half of eating. The whole time there was a lovely little praying mantis sitting at our table, and it seemed as though every time I would get up or move seats, the mantis would turn so that it could face me.
The next weekend KU played a nationally-televised road game, so I went out to watch the game. As you can see, Rafael, Amanda and I all wore our free T-shirts from the previous weekend. Interestingly enough, the dude in the background with the blue shirt (to the right of my head) is purported to be the student who designed our T-shirts. What a coincidence!
The next weekend (on a Friday afternoon) I got to hear my first ever tornado siren! Apparently a tornado had been spotted touching down somewhere in the county, and we were supposed to go to the basement. However, from our porch on the fifth floor of Haworth Hall, we had a perfect view in the direction of the purported tornado. Unfortunately, we did not see so much as a strong wind, but I did get a picture of a dark sky and circled the general area where the tornado was supposed to have been.
Finally, the weekend after that Amanda and I went on a quick drive into rural East Lawrence, where we toured a farm and picked our own fruits and vegetables (tomato and okra mostly). Then we went down the road a bit to an apple orchard and picked our own apples!
Believe me, numerous conversations like this have in fact occurred. So the purpose of this brief post is to explain the significant difference between Microbiology (which I taught last semester) and Molecular Biology (which is what I research, and what I am currently teaching).
Microbiology
Microbiology is in essence the study of microscopic, often single-celled, organisms, such as bacteria, fungi (including yeast), and even viruses. Interesting experiments in microbiology could include things like: what makes Salmonella bacteria so pathogenic, and how can its outbreak be prevented? Or: how do I identify this unknown infectious organism that was found in this patient? Or: what are the ideal conditions for using yeast in bread making?
Molecular Biology
Molecular Biology, on the other hand, is concerned with biology at the molecular level, and processes that are involved at the cellular level, such as DNA, RNA and protein synthesis, and the interactions among these molecules. My lab, for instance, is interested in how various genes and proteins are involved in maintaining the cell’s ‘skeleton,’ and how these proteins can be persuaded to reorganize and induce the cell to move. The techniques in molecular biology are many and varied, but some of the most ubiquitous and important are DNA gels and Western blots (protein gels), shown here.
Caveat
Of course it is possible that one could perform Molecular Biology on microbes, in which case one would be studying both Molecular Biology and Microbiology. This, however, is not really the case for me. Therefore, I am merely a Molecular Biologist. Thank you for asking.
Last weekend my friend Thomas Kuhn and I decided, while it was still summer, to take an unrehearsed, unstructured tour through the heart of Kansas. Here are some highlights.
The first stop, and the only stop that would really be considered a “conventional” tourist attraction, was in Abilene, Kansas to view Dwight D. Eisenhower’s memorial library, museum, resting place and childhood home. It was a very nice place in a fairly small town. I really came out of the museum admiring the man as both a general and as a President.
For the rest of the journey you must understand that we were in the middle of Kansas, and that the middle of Kansas does not have much in the way of natural wonders, historic places or cultural significance. Therefore, most of the places we visited were either oddball, weird, kitschy or a combination of the three.
For instance, in Minneapolis, KS there is a place called ROCKCITY(!) where one can pay three bucks to play among these natural oddities of large granite rocks strewn about a field the size of a couple of football fields.
Or take the town of Lucas, Kansas, which houses the FolkArt Museum, displaying only oddball pieces of art, such as an exhibit inspired by toilet seats and outhouses. Meanwhile the most famous attraction in Lucas, and inarguably the weirdest attraction in central Kansas, is a place called the Garden of Eden. Basically, this guy owned a house in the middle of town, and he decided to start building a bunch of large (maybe 30-foot-tall) concrete sculptures around his house, inspired by themes from the Bible and populist politics. The “garden” itself is quite a work, but the kicker (on the weirdness scale) is that the guy built himself and his wife a mausoleum in the backyard, where visitors can view his body in a glass coffin.
We camped at a lake with a lovely view and lots of privacy. We managed to grill ourselves some delicious meat and enjoy the lovely evening. Unfortunately, around 3 am, a ridiculously powerful storm came through and pounded us, so much so that both Thomas and I had to stand up inside the tent and push against it for over a half-hour to prevent it from completely collapsing upon us. When there was finally a lull in the storm, we abandoned our soggy ship and spent the rest of the night in the car. When we woke up in the morning, it was another beautiful day.
Finally: the event around which the whole trip was planned. It pretty much speaks for itself, no commentary needed. For in the small town of CawkerCity, my friend, can be found the WORLD’S LARGEST… ball of twine!
This post approximately marks the end of my second year of living here in Lawrence, Kansas. In some ways it feels like these two years have gone by very quickly. But in other ways they seem to have packed in many years’ worth of experiences, responsibilities, events and adventures. So, if you average the two feelings together, I suppose it feels like the past two years have lasted for exactly two years.
So to celebrate, here is a “Where Are They Now?” post, looking back at previous episodes of The Ballade and bringing them up to date.
Shoes
To begin with- a sad note. I tried very hard, and I appreciate the efforts of a number of you who attempted to track down a pair of my favorite shoes in response to a September 2007 post of mine. Unfortunately, the feat seems to have been impossible. Instead I had to buckle down and buy a different pair of shoes from Adidas, which is rather a nice pair, but nothing compared to my old And-1s.
Vehicle
One of the more popular stories of the last two years was from November 2006, where, as an addendum, I posted about a little pink scooter that I had won, known as The Thugmobile. It seems now that nearly everyone who knows me also knows about the scooter, and some people who don’t know me also know about the scooter. Where is it now? Well I sold the thing through Craigslist (the response was huge) and I believe it is now used by some 11-year-old girl.
On an unrelated note, the previous month (October 2006) I had posted a quick note about the relatively moderate price of gas in the Midwest. (Prices have since increased at least 75%).
Music
In March 2007 I posted about how a song of mine had made it to National Public Radio (!) and was grateful for the support of all my friends and family in promoting it. While it did not win the contest, it did catch the attention of a local Lawrence student journalist who wrote up a story and produced a short video about my music “career” and my Presidential Project. She even managed to track down (and get a quote from) my childhood piano teacher! In other news, the Theme & Variations for piano that I posted in August 2007 has recently surpassed 5,000 views on YouTube.
Teaching
Finally, my first semester of teaching (microbiology lab) went quite well. Next semester I will teach genetics lab (which is much more in line with my specialization). I recently received the student evaluations from my micro lab, and they were all very good comments. The biggest (and funniest) critique was from this female student: “I wish that my TA would not spike the ball so hard at my face when we play intramural wallyball”. Ha!
[Editor’s note: for this post, I am indebted to my labmate Rafael Demarco for the pictures he took for me in Wisconsin. Thanks Rafa!]
Returning from my trip to California, I arrived in Kansas City late at night. I then had about twelve hours to unpack, pack, sleep and meet up with my lab to travel back to the airport for our science conference in Madison, WI. Unfortunately, with my hectic goings-on, I neglected to charge my camera. Therefore, all of the pictures shown were taken by my labmate.
The first item of interest was that, due to overbooking of the coach section, Rafael and I got a free upgrade to first class! I felt quite special, and didn’t know just what to do with all my extra legroom.
Upon arriving at the airport, we got a rental car, and checked into our rooms…
And were treated to an insane amount of buffet-style catered foods. It was delicious! And I think I am still recovering (three weeks later) from all the food I ate during the meeting. Unfortunately, Rafael did not take any pictures of the food. Come on Rafael, what were you thinking? Instead, here is a picture of a bunch of urns. Or are they vases?
Each day, most of our time was spent sitting in a large auditorium and listening to lots of 15-20 minute talks. We had about a 2 hour lunch break and a 2 hour dinner break. Dinner was then followed by poster sessions, in which numerous students, grad students and post docs presented their research to the crowds filtering through the room, sipping drinks and munching hors d'oeuvre. Unfortunately, Rafael didn’t take any pictures of the hors d’oeuvre. Come on Rafael, what were you thinking? Instead, here are pictures of Rafael and I both presenting our posters:
Finally: The University of Wisconsin, Madison is pretty nice. It is unique in that it is a college town (similar to Lawrence), but that it also is the state capital. The university is very large, and I didn’t really enjoy the large streets that intersected the campus (much preferring KU’s lower-traffic, more scenic campus). The one thing that was really cool, however, was the terrace, looking out on the lake (which happened to be right next to our meeting area). The terrace is an extension of the student union, where one can buy all sorts of food and drink, and is a very open, colorful place for students, families, couples and anyone else who wants to hang out by the lake. I spent quite a bit of time there, soaking up the sun, relaxing, and listening to some bands.
It was a nice time. I learned a lot, had some good conversations about my research, ate some good food, and had an all-around lovely trip.
