The Rose's Grove

Hey, neat! My allergy to nickel can be traced to a single receptor! And it triggers reactions in Humans, but not in mice!

Apparently '"this is the first time that an inorganic agent has been found to activate this pathway" of the innate immune system.'

Researchers estimate that about 5–10% of the population in the industrialized world is allergic to nickel on contact, and that figure reaches 10–20% in young women, who are more likely to be exposed to the metal in jewellery — particularly earrings and other piercings — that contain the metal.

Neat stuff there, and some good progress toward a more complete understanding of how allergies work in general.

Gacked from zinjadu: ( 65 Things Meme )

Hey, look. Apparently it's Atheist Pride Day.

It's also the official first day of spring and the Spring Equinox, and Ostara! (Okay, those last three things are technically all the same, but they mean different things to different people, so... why not?)

So here we go! Happy Spring! Happy Middle-of-Spring! Happy-Equal-Day-And-Night-Headed-Toward-More-Day-Than-Night! And Happy Atheists. Happy me, being an atheist (ooo, are you all shocked by that coming-out? I know, it's a bit unnerving...). Tonight I will go home and celebrate my atheism by snuggling up with my cat and falling asleep on top of one of my biology books, or maybe my laptop. Hell, I might even do some laundry and have something to drink first. Because we godless atheists are wild that way. ;)

Oh, and for the record, I read the Sun "spoiler," and was so underwhelmed. I still hope it isn't true, but I rather suspect it will be. If it isn't, you can bet it won't be for lack of RTD trying. And while I'm on the subject of RTD, I just have to say - a Hugo nomination? Really? For "Turn Left", of all things? I certainly hope this won't be the year that Moffat breaks his winning streak - even though "Silence in the Library" and "Forest of the Dead" were, in my opinion, the worst things Moffat's written for Doctor Who, they were still worlds better than "Turn Left." Not to mention lacking a lot of seriously iffy gender and race issues. So there. I can only hope this was a pity vote from someone aware that this is RTD's last season. :P

This entry written entirely without benefit of cough medicine or other medications. Believe it or not, I'm actually worse on meds. A cold is bad enough on my brain.

Note to self: Must break this habit of sitting on my right leg/foot. It leads to very awkward situations such as I've been in this evening, whereby my right leg spends all evening feeling increasingly tingly and awkward because it's been tweaked. Hell.

More thefridayfive:

( Because it's Friday! )

Crap. I'd really hoped we could do better than this - I love my state, and I had genuinely hoped we'd be smarter and kinder than this.

Anyway. Enough of politics.

We ended up skipping the bar last night, as Fey wasn't feeling well and I was tired from work, so instead ordered a pizza and watched some B5. It was so much fun actually watching the show with someone else who loves it, for a change. Especially since so far, I've been so very impressed by the 3rd season - they've really made amazing progress. The guest actors are actually good now, they seem to have hired someone who actually knows how to coordinate fighting stunts (thank goodness), and the plot is really hitting full steam. It's a beautiful thing to see.

Aaaaand I just got a reply from one of our software vendors, who has apparently decided that it would be a good move to start calling me Jenny. After recieving one email from me. I do not encourage this. There is a small pool of people in the world who are allowed to call me Jenny - if you can, you are either family (or know me through my family), or a friend from my highschool or earlier. I've made these exceptions because these people have known me too long to be expected to change what they call me. That's it.

( On the politics of names... )

Anyway. Getting back to work now. I just had to bitch about that.

Brought to you by the letter R, and gacked several, but most directly from narsilion.

This is how it works: Comment on this entry and I will give you a letter. Write ten words beginning with that letter, including an explanation of what the word means to you and why... Once I give you a letter, post this in your own journal!

( The Letter R )

You're a Slytherclaw!: By nature you are rational
and a realist. Some people may call you cynical
and elitist but this doesn't matter to you. You
don't depend on other people's opinions to
determine how you live your life. You are
generally cautious and prefer to weigh the
consequences before you act. In conflicts you
prefer to remain neutral and aloof. You value
intelligence and you are a natural diplomat,
you can convince people to do what you want
them to do. Your weakness is that you sometimes
think more with your head than with your heart
and it leads to isolation. With the
intelligence of a Ravenclaw and the subtlety of
a Slytherin you will be sure to achieve all
your goals!


Which Mix of the Hogwarts Houses are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

The last question really tore me. Remus... or Snape.... or maybe Hermione?

And then zinjadu told me which to answer, and, like the uke I am, I rolled over and went with her decision.

Gacked from shadawyn and lovelies, among others:

The problem with LJ: We all think we are so close, but really we know nothing about each other. So I want you to ask me something you think you should know about me. Something that should be obvious, but you have no idea about. Ask away.

Naturally, people who know me in person may be exempt, if they wish to be - especially my housemates (past and present) as they probably know more about me than anyone really wants to. ;)



I recieved the joy of an email from far away, today - maymargaret is alive and well, and I'm jealous as all hell of her (as usual)!

Things I've learned over the last year:

1. Don't fuss too hard if you don't get what you want--in a few months, you might just look back and realize that it turned out for the best.

2. Having friends to come back to makes the first few weeks of school a whole hell of a lot more fun.

3. There's nothing better than having friends in classes with you. It makes life easier in more ways than I can explain, although your professor may not thank you for it.

4. There's nothing worse, when you're already worried about a paper, than looking over and seeing that your roommate, who's writing the same paper, is doing things in a totally different manner than you.

5. Once it's in your head, the Buffy Musical *will* take over your mind and apply itself to almost anything. And if you've listened to it enough, anything (up to and including finals) will seem like the subject for a song. (yes, I still need to write "Finals: The Musical.")

6. Slash fanfiction is insidious--don't think you can just read a bit and then walk away unscathed. I won't even *talk* about online RPGs.... *shivers* Oh, and Cassandra Claire, from what I can tell, is well on her way toward world domination... and I think I like it! ;)

7. If you need to get somewhere on a time-schedule, make sure you have a very organized person in your group. They'll make life *much* easier. Plus, they always have cellphones, and frequently have the bus schedule memorized.

8. If you mention that someone has a medical condition, theater personnel will trip over their feet allowing you to take whatever in that you need.

9. No matter how smooth it seems in your mind, opening a bag of candy inside your purse never really works, and the skittering sound is a lot more conspicuous than just the sight of a bag being taken out of the purse.

10. History, in it's entirety, is conflicted and ambivalent. This is all you really need to know about it.

There may be more of these later, as I think of them.... This is just the stuff I could remember off the top of my head. Many thanks to Cora, who helped me come up with some of these.