This is why America's science education needs to step up its game... NOW

pegd said... I have 4 boys. When I was pregnant with #4 the odds were less than 20% for it to be a boy.

Char said... the chances of having a girl is around 50%. For each pregnancy. No matter how many boys you've had before. (ding ding ding!)

fairylights said... 50% per pregnancy, although there are some, er, natural ways to try and swing the balance in your favor. One of them worked with our third child, but they sure as heck aren't full proof. (?)

Mooshki said... Actually, pegd, if all of your kids have the same father, I think the odds were even better than 50/50 that your fourth would be a boy, because the first three were a sign that he has a genetic predisposition to father sons. (facepalm)

pegd said... Yes Mooshki, you're right, my ob/gyn told me I had less than 20% chance for a girl with the last one (think the actual # was around 15%. My boys have the same father. (Your OB/GYN needs to go back to medical school... or take high school statistics, post haste.)

Checking in on some checklists

Here are some lenticular clouds, just because I wanted some colorful-ness up in here.


Two among my most recent posts were checklists - the first being things I wanted to accomplish this year, and the second being acts I hoped might be at Coachella this year. Here's an update on those.

- Finally getting to go to Vail with Casper for New Year's
- Coachella 2011
- Trying lots of new restaurants
- Getting back in shape (working on it! Taking zumba and kickboxing at school. Still not ready for p90X I don't think)
- Beating Super Mario Galaxy
- Staying sober (JUST KIDDING!)
- Passing qualifying exams
- Getting published (ALWAYS working on it)
- Becoming a better cook
- Finishing classes
- Possibly being able to afford a full-frame DSLR camera
- Mobilizing my street gang and forming a motorcycle unit
- Improving my h4x0r skillset (working on this too!)
- Fixing the audio insulation on the right front door of my car
- Learning to drift
- Learning another language

And here's my Coachella wishlist. I bolded the names that are actually going to be there this year! Sweet!

David Bowie
Daft Punk
Duran Duran
Roger Waters
Lady Gaga
Yeasayer
Kode.9
Skream
Sasha / Sasha & Digweed
Gabriel & Dresden
Moby
The Pixies
Grace Jones
Royksopp
Janelle Monae
Flying Lotus (missed him last year, really butthurt about it)
Burial
MSTRKRFT
Fatboy Slim
Pendulum
Goldfrapp
Bjork
Roisin Murphy
Caribou
Alanis Morisette
Santigold
Bat for Lashes
Snoop Dogg
The Roots
PNAU
RJD2
Cut Copy
UNKLE / James Lavelle
Massive Attack
Garbage
Rolling Stones

So actually I didn't do that well this year! HOWEVER. The following is a NEW LIST (omg.) of people who are on the lineup that I am pretty stoked to see:

Magnetic Man (Benga and Skream aren't playing individually, but they are playing as Magnetic Man. Sweet!!)
Ozomatli
Sander Kleinenberg
Robyn
Tame Impala
THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS! (why the f weren't they on my list anyway??)
Scissor Sisters
Empire of the Sun
Animal Collective
Caspa (again, why wasn't he on my list?)
Death from Above 1979
Delorean
DJ Zinc
Kanye (yeah, I'm down to see Yeezy)
Leftfield

Thank you for being so good and reading all of those words. Here is a silly bird for you!

I'm smarter than most people in general, so I'm definitely smarter than everyone else who has seen this movie.

I read a (possibly made up) statistic once that something like 75% of surveyed Americans believed that they were smarter than the average American. Now certainly, perhaps the sample group for this survey was in fact composed of above-average Americans. But generally speaking, this is impossible, if we accept that the "average" represents middle value of the data set. If 75% of people were on one side, and 25% on the other, then "average" wouldn't be a true middle.

Knowing what I know about people, and observing time and time again interactions with strangers where it's not just that someone makes a mistake -- it's that s/he is a MORON -- this kind of illuminating survey doesn't surprise me at all.

I think about that idea of most people thinking they're smarter than most other people almost every time I read pop culture critiques. I tend to see a lot of comments like "Well, of course we (the readers of this sophisticated critical review blog) understand that it is satire, but I'm worried that it will send the wrong message to the majority of viewers, who aren't likely to understand what the director/author/playwright/musician is really trying to say." It's the elitist assumption that you are smart enough to get it, but most other slackjawed Americans aren't. The irony of course is that I read this kind of thing often enough that it is no longer a select group of legitimately brainy critics declaring their analytical superiority. It is truly a rather cliche viewpoint among many, many media consumers that they (individually) are privy to the true interpretation (thanks to their huge-ass brains,) but we're all stuck with feeble minds that can't process what we just took in.

Some days I'm cynical and feel like most people are idiots. Some days I'm depressive and feel like I'm the biggest idiot in the room. I've met people who look stupid but are smart, and I've met people who act smart but are actually kind of ignorant, and I've met people who say really bone-headed things but actually kick ass in school. And all of that probably depends on the day I catch them on, too.

Day 30 - Whatever tickles your fancy

Here's a New Years' Resolution - finally finishing that 30 Day Challenge I began back in, er, July. [facepalm]

In any case, this is the last post of that "challenge," which I obviously failed, and it's an open post. The last thing I wrote about before starting the challenge was Coachella, so it seems only fitting that the last post of the challenge might be a wishlist of acts I would love to see at Coachella this (or any) year.

I feel like I need to mention that I know one of my favorite groups ever, Incubus, would not be asked to perform (at least not in the near future, but they may eventually if they prove to have any staying power, at which point they'd be a "throwback" invite) since they have zero indie cred. (Sorry boys, I love you, but you're not a Pitchfork darling.)

So I decided to put on my list acts that I think would feasibly be asked to come to Coachella, even if they wouldn't per se choose to perform. I also didn't include acts that I already saw at Coachella - not because I wouldn't want to see them again, but because it's redundant - however, because I'm not super up on knowing everyone who's ever played Coachella, there may be people on my wishlist who have already played the festival.

David Bowie
Daft Punk
Duran Duran
Roger Waters
Lady Gaga
Yeasayer (this is a cheat, since I saw part of their set last year, but now that I'm much more familiar with their music I'd love to see them again)
Kode.9
Skream
Sasha / Sasha & Digweed
Gabriel & Dresden
Moby
The Pixies
Grace Jones
Royksopp
Janelle Monae
Flying Lotus (missed him last year, really butthurt about it)
Burial
MSTRKRFT
Fatboy Slim
Pendulum
Goldfrapp
Bjork
Roisin Murphy
Caribou
Alanis Morisette
Santigold
Bat for Lashes
Snoop Dogg
The Roots
PNAU
RJD2
Cut Copy

...and this list is probably incomplete. But my brain hurts good enough for me to think I wrung all of the ideas out of it, at least for now.

ADDED!:

UNKLE / James Lavelle
Massive Attack (I can't believe I forgot this one, DUH)
Garbage (another duh, obvious one)
Rolling Stones (rumored this year for some reason? That would be sick.)

Day 29 - Hopes, dreams, and plans for the next 365 days

In the next year, I am looking forward to:

- Finally getting to go to Vail with Casper for New Year's
- Coachella 2011
- Trying lots of new restaurants
- Getting back in shape
- Beating Super Mario Galaxy
- Staying sober (JUST KIDDING!)
- Passing qualifying exams
- Getting published
- Becoming a better cook
- Finishing classes
- Possibly being able to afford a full-frame DSLR camera
- Mobilizing my street gang and forming a motorcycle unit
- Improving my h4x0r skillset
- Fixing the audio insulation on the right front door of my car
- Learning to drift
- Learning another language

Should be a busy year!

It's that time of year!

Day 28 - my year, in great detail

This past year was mostly about:

1) My first year in grad school
2) Moving back in to, and then moving out of, my parents' house
3) Figuring out changing relationships
4) For the first time, feeling uncomfortable with my body

Even though this whole post is supposed to be "in great detail," I've already written ad nauseum about #s 1 and 2, so I'll err on the side of not boring what little audience I have by repeating myself.

As for point 3 - this past year has found me in the familiar position of experiencing that managing "school-based" relationships/friendships once school has ended is just, plain and simple, kind of freaking difficult. Particularly with my not living on the Westside, I've seen very little of most of my closest college friends, and I've felt very much on the outside of a group that I used to be very much a part of due to, at least in part, geographical inconvenience.

I love where I live now, but its distance from, well, pretty much everyone, as well as my growing lethargy (another problem I'll address in #4) kind of result in an atrophied social life.

And, as for #4.

I feel like I need to make a few disclaimers here, because (annoyingly enough) I can't rely on being able to bring this up to people in person without being told, essentially, "Oh shut up, you're so skinny." So. Ahem.

Yes, I know in the past I was very much the ectomorph. I know that I am, overall, slender. I know that a lot of people would love to have my body, and so I'm working on not disparaging it as, generally, a sucky body; sadly this is kind of difficult to do . My complaints are very specific -- and very relative -- to how my body has been in the past, when I was in better shape, and to how I know my body can be if I took better care of myself.

Therefore, what may not be clear to other people, but what is clear to me, is that I dress well enough for my body to give it an overall flattering shape, and to, in fact, hide the weight I have gained. I know that in order to pull this off, I currently cannot wear more than half of the jeans in my closet, because they're giving me a gnarly muffin top. I also know that I've always had high cholesterol, despite being on the low-normal side of BMI. So even though everyone knows I'm a goddamned bacon fanatic, now that I'm starting to try (and lord knows this will take time) to eat fewer fatty and sodium-filled foods, I don't want to hear it about how I don't need to be on a diet. Losing weight would be nice, but my main objective here is to finally treat my cardiovascular system like the delicate flower that it is.

Furthermore - exercise. I've quipped here and there about how boring I find the routine gym trips and how I just generally can't stand it. But one of the things I learned in the last year from working in and with cardiovascular and obesity-related labs is that exercise isn't just about losing weight. It's about improving your overall metabolism, and how the combination of even moderate physical activity and improving metabolic biochemistry can lower your liver fat and improve your sensitivity to insulin, which means less risk of diabetes! And that's great for me since Type II runs in my family. So this exercise thing? I need to just do it.

I'm only looking to lose about 5-10 pounds in fat weight, but I know not to cry if at the end of my body makeover I'll be the same weight I'm at now, since ideally I'll have some more lean muscle going on. I need at least enough to not always be tweaking things or getting injured all the time. I need my body to be more hardy.

So, that's my story. Yay 2010!

OMG Yes.

There is a peculiar notion that pervades Social Justice activism, and it is that the task of upholding the level of discourse rests solely on our shoulders, and we are somehow failing at it. Everyone else – the trolls, the privileged assholes, the evo-psych “men are attracted to women because x and if you aren’t doing x why are you even alive” guys – they all get passes on upholding the discourse. Because the logic goes that we can’t possibly expect them to treat us any differently. We must be constantly defending our right to exist, our right to have discussions that aren’t taken over by people who don’t want there to be a discussion, and our right to set the terms of the discussion. And whenever we stop responding, stop defending our right to speak, the other side declares that our position must be indefensible. Because when they debate, they are representing their own views and opinions, but when we debate, we are supposed to be the sole representative of the movement at large.

(A Very Special Episode of Grey Areas: Privilege Denying Dude Edition)

Hey Leighton

Hey, no problem - I'm so glad I let you borrow my Pierre Hardy sandals. They looked great with that dress. But you're done with them now, so please send them on back to me any time!



It would really mean a lot to me :]

Day 27 - My month, in great detail.

I still haven't finished this monkey-fighting "30-day" challenge, so to that end:

Oct 20-26th
In lab, I was finishing up some DNA extractions from saliva samples. Roxy had a hipster themed birthday party, and I was studying for some upcoming midterms. I don't remember much else from this week. Apologies (?)

Oct 27th - Nov 2
I took Thursday and Friday off of lab to study for my midterms, which were on November 1. One went okay, and the other was absolutely the #1 worst job I've ever done on any test. I haven't gotten the grade yet, but if it is anything higher than an F- then the profs were very generous in grading heaping amounts of bullshit. Emily and I had our housewarming party on the 29th, and it went well. There was a lot of food and a lot of booze, which, for me at least, tends to set a party firmly on the side of awesome. It was a low-key costume party, which is perfect for me at this stage in my life. I didn't vote on the 2nd.

Nov 3-9
I drank a lot of beer in the week following my midterms. This was mostly because I hadn't had much beer to drink in the prior weeks while I was both studying and pretending to study. As a consequence of drinking so much beer, I don't remember much about this week, other than Casper and I getting food poisoning at Chipotle. And thusly falls an idol. But I'll probably get back on that horse sooner than I think, since I'm weak when faced with carnitas... just probably not at that location.

Nov 10-17
I was finishing up RNA extractions from blood in lab. Casper and I took a scenic drive through Malibu and parts of Ventura county. We ate Taco Bell, on account of this being a vendor that (dubiously) has not given us food poisoning. I am currently procrastinating while working on a take-home midterm, which involves a lot of asinine copying down of minute details from a paper about pesticides and Parkinson's disease. About 50% time I've typed Parkinson's today, I've unintentionally not capitalized the "P."

Overall notes - I've been working out. I still hate it, it hasn't gotten easier, and I'm too damn impatient to wait however long until my body starts looking like Alessandra Ambrosio's. (Ok, I'm just playing, I know I don't and won't have her body, but damn, she's had a kid, she's really kicking my ass into the ground here.) Anyway, my plan for the time being is just to utilize the gym to get into decent enough shape to try to start P90x again. By that token, I hear that 30+ minutes of cardio 4-5 days a week is what I should be aiming for, so depending on my mood I divide up that time on the elliptical and the bike, or just sit on the bike. (See? I even exercise lazy. But I still break a sweat, and my legs are definitely feeling it, so it can't be all bad.)

Also, I'm getting better at cooking, though my range is still limited to what I know and what I can afford. But I'm trying to branch out within that restriction, particularly by trying to learn about different vegetarian sides that I can pair with the enormous piles of protein that I'll inevitably want to throw on the plate. As always, I make bomb-ass salads.

Only three more posts left before I've done all 30 days! Ha.