Random thoughts

God created everything in 7 days. It's a biblical myth usually called 6 days creation. But we know that a day is one rotation of Earth around the sun. And according to the story Earth appears only on second "day", after the sun (light). So, considering that it should be called 5ish days creation.

Climate

This is interesting.

So apparently, Exxon accuses Rockefeller to plot a climate change conspiracy against them.

Interesting times indeed.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/21/science/exxon-mobil-rockefellers-climate-change.html

Pronauns

Peterson is right that legislature on the subject of pronouns is bad idea. It is rather silly that I can butcher person's name, but must use right pronoun. But he's wrong about being so stubborn on his refusal to call people whatever way they want. At the beginning of term every teacher takes students list in his or her or zie or per class and establishes how students want to be called.

And I have the same issue as Peterson, having a hard time to remember students names. But if there is no law forcing me do so whole pronouns story doesn't make much difference. I can't remember names of 90% of students (well ok, people), but now in addition to that I won't be able to remember their pronouns. In most cases names I remember are students who perform well in class or ask a lot of questions. If student makes those efforts in class, I will make an effort to remember names, nicknames, pronouns etc. I feel it is feir enough. 

Mozart - Requiem

This is one those thing which staed with me since childhood.
An amazing piece of music from first minute till the last.
  

Russia

Putin threatens to suspended Plutonium treaty. He want US to withdraw forces from Eastern Europe and cancel sanctions against corrupt officials and ones related to annexation of Crimea. 

Considering that US recently cancelled negotiations with him on Syria issues it looks quite interesting. Basically, he's showing that he's wants new negotiations.

Putin clearly demonstrated in recent years that for him process of  negotiations and all this hassle with Americans on the global stage is more important than solving issues on the table. Basically for him longer it lasts the better. Americans realized it long time ago, but only recently started to be practical about it. They started to do the worst! They started to ignore him. And I think it is right thing to do. As one the main rules of internet says: "Don't feed the trolls!".

Biggest problem though, it is absolutely impossible to say what Putin's reaction will be. 

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-usa-nuclear-idUSKCN1230YN

Trump support

Some good thoughts on Trump from Scott Aaronson.

Would Trump moderate his insane “policies” once elected?  I don’t know, but I’d say that electing someone who promises to ignore the rule of law, in the hope that they don’t really mean it, has one of the worst track records of any idea in human history. 

I think people support Trump for the same reason why second-graders support the class clown who calls the teacher a fart-brain to her face.  It’s not that the class literally agrees that the teacher’s cranium is filled with intestinal gases, or considers that an important question to raise.  It’s simply that the clown had the guts to stand up to this scolding authority figure who presumes to tell the class every day what they are and aren’t allowed to think.  (As far as I can tell, this has also been the central operating principle of right-wing shock artists over the decades, from Rush Limbaugh to Ann Coulter to Milo Yiannopoulos.)

[...] 

The truth is, there’s a movement that’s very effectively wielded social media to remake the public face of progressive activism—to the point where today, progressivism could strike an outside observer as being less about stopping climate change, raising the minimum wage, or investing in public transit than simply about ruining the lives of Brendan Eich and Matt Taylor and Tim Hunt and Erika Christakis and Dongle Guy and Elevator Guy and anyone else who tells the wrong joke, wears the wrong shirt, or sends the wrong email.  It strikes me that this movement never understood the extent to which progressive social values were already winning, with no need for this sort of vindictiveness.  It’s insisted instead on treating its vanquished culture-war enemies as shortsightedly as the Allies treated the Germans at Versailles.

So yes, I do think that the bullying wing of the social-justice left bears at least some minor, indirect responsibility for the rise of Trump.  If you demonstrate enough times that even people who are trying to be decent will still get fired, jeered at, and publicly shamed over the tiniest ideological misstep, then eventually some of those who you’ve frightened might turn toward a demagogue who’s incapable of shame.

http://www.scottaaronson.com/blog/?p=2777

Biologist life

So, I was looking for concise (slim) gene ontology (GO) annotation.
Being concentrated on my writing I opened new browser tab and googled "GO slim".
I feel like that little girl who searched for "wet pussy".

BLM

Let's see if I understand it right.
Pride parade is an event which gather all kinds of people, which support all possible inclusiveness and equality you can only think of.
So blacklivesmatter decided to harass the very crowd they can find the most support from demanding to make Pride parade less inclusive.

Wild thoughts

In a world where mosquitoes sucking fat instead of blood, swamps would be full of rich and glamorous people and Siberia would be a resort.

Для истории

Пророчество:
Следующая война России будет с Казахстаном.

Cordyceps militaris

Browsing some fungus stuff today (some think that this is the only thing I do in my life) and found very interesting paper on Cordyceps militaris [2]. Fungus with very peculiar appearance and priced remedy in traditional Chinese medicine. It likes silkworms and rice (I feel we have so much in common).

As you can see on the picture this fungus producing it's fruiting bodies on infected pupa, what means the harvest is not too big. And when it comes to almost any traditional medicine, more rare it is more diseases it can cure. For this fungus list goes on and on, it is basically anti-everything [1]. So no surprise that market value comes to $10 000 per kilo. Good news for consumers here is that they didn't find any known genes of mycotoxins in the genome. So, at least it's harmless.

Very little is known about it's life cycle. Cordyceps infects pupas and can survive in soil to a certain degree and that's about it. They are proposed as teleomorphic stage for Metarhizium spp.  Peculiar thing is that Cordyceps is heterothallic, but it can produce fruiting bodies even when only one mating type is present. Problem though is that those fruiting bodies don't produce asci (on 3rd picture a and b).

1. Das, S. K., et al. (2010), 'Medicinal uses of the mushroom Cordyceps militaris: current state and prospects', Fitoterapia, 81 (8), 961-8.
2. Zheng, P., et al. (2011), 'Genome sequence of the insect pathogenic fungus Cordyceps militaris, a valued traditional Chinese medicine', Genome Biol, 12 (11), R116.

Story about M.

So, I asked M. (my supervisor) today that we need some "Items" in the lab. We try to look it up in the lab again and couldn't find any. Then he says:
M: Ok, stay here, don't go anywhere, I'll bring you one!
Me: Are you sure? I can help.
M: No, no! Just stay here! Don't go anywhere!

Then he brings it.
Me: Should I return it after I'm done!
M.: *relaxed* No, don't worry about it.
Me: But, to where?
M.:*pointing his finger up* Exactly!

Film

Those moments when you develop a film are amazing. I still remember them since I was a kid. And when this guy was taking out his film from rolls after processing it you can feel how wonderful it is.

Those moments are priceless. You spend whole the day developing films you brought from a trip, all those pictures taken months ago. And now they are ready and you can finally see them. You hold your breath and impassionately putting it against the light, trying to recognize familiar faces and scenes on those negatives.

And what now. You take a shot, look at the screen, say something like: "Blah!". And delete it.

I love digital photography and probably will never go back to the actual film. But I miss those days and especially those moments.

Cakes

So, when, say, bouncer not letting you inside a club, because he didn't like the way you look it feels bad, but people manage to deal with that. But it's not ok to refuse service when it comes to homophobic bakers and florists. Why?

My guess would be that when it comes to food people feel totally different about discrimination. 

Just try to feel following situations:

Phrase "I'm not letting you in coz you should dress better" feels offencive, sad and just wrong. 

But phrase "I'm not giving you that cake coz your dress is ugly!" sounds so inhumane and facist.

NYR

This period, few days after New Year, starts to disturb me a bit. From every corner of The Information Ether around me I get pretty clear message: it is time to lose fat and hit the gym. This is very rare instance when information environment is so unified. I think it is time for all americans to create a name for this period.  So, came up with "Hunger Games". This like any other American holiday, say valentine's day. Except everybody buying LoseFat books, supplements and personal training hours. 

P.S. Unlucky for us, me and Greg, we decided to change gym and sign up for new one. We'll go to Anytime Fitness. Problem is they make an impression of one of those HealthyLIfeStyle cultists like GoodLife. And those gave me a really hard time trying push their shit last time.