Another thing that makes me want to bang my head on furniture:

Rice during her Iraq visit: "This war came to us, not the other way around."

Aside from the fact that he has a right to a trial by jury tried to proof beyond a reasonable doubt regardless of what he did, he could also be intending to use an insanity defense.

I think he has every right to plead not-guilty, I just think, man, that's gotta be a tough case.

Happy Birtday Vortex!

Congrats on the teaching gig, ita!

What I don't understand is how someone would be allowed any freedom of movement in a courtroom after shooting a previous judge and jury. Can you represent yourself effectively while shackled up in one of those Hannibal Lecter cages?

I'm happy for AH, but sad for the Echolls family.

Happy birthday, Vortex!

I can't believe I missed the therapy chicken talk.

I just got some really sad news about a couple I know -- they've both had cancer over the past couple of years (breast for her, some obscure blood thing for him), and he is apparently dying. It's just so sad. Would you all keep a good thought for Aileen and Brian? Thx.

Can you represent yourself effectively while shackled up in one of those Hannibal Lecter cages?

I don't think the Atlanta guy is representing himself. But they could put him in a glass room, like they did to Eichmann at his trial. I think in that case it was to protect Eichmann from the audience, rather than the other way around, but it's not unprecedented.

(The LIRR guy, who did rep himself, wore a suit and no handcuffs, and did not especially seem insane, until he opened his mouth.)

P-C! Congrats on the finishing of the thesis! (what was it about? Can you say it in words that I can understand?). The waiting part is not so nice, though. Do you have things to do to keep you happily busy while you wait?

P-C! Congrats on the finishing of the thesis! (what was it about? Can you say it in words that I can understand?).

Thank you! It's on voltage-gated potassium channels and lipid interactions. Basically, cells need channels for potassium ions to pass through and create an electrical current for many, many reasons, one of the main ones being muscle contraction, an important muscle being the heart. Voltage-gated channels, as you might expect, respond to changes in voltage (which is how an electrical signal is propagated, it goes from cell to cell depolarizing the membrane). My thesis is on how the membrane lipids (since the channel is stuck floating in the membrane) influence channel function. The meat is an examination of various lipid metabolites that have been shown to enhance or block the current, or affect the kinetics (how fast the channel opens and/or closes). For the most part, we have no bloody clue how they do the voodoo that they do. Well, we have a few bloody clues, which it was my purpose to point out, but we haven't proven anything yet.

...Did you get all that?

The waiting part is not so nice, though. Do you have things to do to keep you happily busy while you wait?

I have the first season of Oz to finish, and I need to find a job. Oh, you said "happily." Well, I need to go to the library and read Rob Thomas's books.

...Did you get all that?

Yup. Voodoo, no clue, few clues, pointing. Oh, and there was something about electricity and cells and channels and kinetics.

No, actually that's very interesting. Did you know what you were looking for when you started, or did you just shoot at several directions at once and checked what made an impact? Do you have analytical results, or only experimental ones?

Oh, you said "happily."

I must insist.

I still didn't get a chance to even open the book you gave me as a present in August. Lame me.