Newport Pics

Okay, so I think iPhoto is working now...however there were times this weekend where I honestly felt like strangling the makers of this often-confusing program...it is very "un-Mac" as a program in that it somehow manages to convert a simple concept (organizing photos into different folders) into a complex one...in general, I think one of the strengths of Mac products is that they make tasks simple and user-friendly, but for whatever reason their photo program misses the mark.

ANYWAYS, enough iPhoto bashing...here are some pics of Claire, Laure and the kids during their trip to Newport last weekend.

Crawling Races

Max is crawling like a champ and big sister Sophie occasionally will engage the little fella in some crawling races. This video clip (taken by sister-in-law Laure on a trip to nearby Newport, Rhode Island) also demonstrates Sophie's recent habit of gleefully saying "cheese!" at any point there is a camera nearby.

Your 2009-2010 Duluth Dominators

Okay, I admit that my posts on this blog are becoming less and less frequent...my best excuse now is that my computer's iPhoto is totally wigging out...as soon as I have time to iron out the bugs, I will definitely be back.

Until then, however, I will unveil the 2009-2010 Duluth Dominators Fantasy Football roster. I think you will agree that they are the immediate favorites for the MD Aware FF League.

QB Tom Brady, New England Pats: This will give me added incentive to follow the intense Patriots' coverage 'round these parts.

RB Maurice Jones-Drew, Jacksonville Jaguars: I'm pleased that I picked up the hyphenated back with the #3 pick overall, as he supplements his running game with some decent receiving numbers as well.

RB Derrick Ward, Tampa Bay Bucs: Probably the weakest link of this year's starting lineup, I'll have to hope that Ward is chosen as the preferred back in a platoon situation with Earnest Graham.

WR Greg Jennings, Green Bay Packers: The #1 target for QB Aaron Rodgers in a very competent offense.

WR Roy Williams, Dallas Cowboys: Somebody's gotta be the long-ball threat for America's Team now that bad boy Terrell Owens has been run out of town.

TE Owen Daniels, Houston Texans: Texans' tight end is projected for improved stats this year.
DEF Your hometown Minnesota Vikings should have a stellar defense this year.

K Nate Kaeding, San Diego Chargers: the Chargers are supposed to score a lot this year, and Nate is the man to kick the extra points.

Seattle-Bound

A few thoughts before I hop on the plane to Seattle, in order to attend my college roommate Jason's wedding:

1. Don't get me wrong: I'm going to miss my kids & wife over the next few days. But I have to say that the thought of flying on an airplane without the kids actually seems like a very pleasant, relaxing experience. I'm actually looking forward to the forced-downtime of a cross-country flight to catch up on some reading.

2. My college friends and I are going to have to think of some new excuses to get together now that almost all of us are married...

3. I'm very excited about Brett Favre's signing by the Vikings. It's not guaranteed to be a success, but at least it spices up the plotlines for MN's season and will likely guarantee a greater media coverage of Minnesota's games on the East Coast for me this year. Also, it would be awesome if Favre kills the Packers in their matchups this year.

4. Happy Birthay to my wife Claire today!!!

Bienvenue Tata Laure

Claire's sister Laure is visiting for the next 2 weeks!  We celebrated her arrival by an afternoon of fountain-swimming and hard-core playground action in the Charlestown Navy Yard.  Here are a few pics:

Blue Hills Lab Picnic

On Saturday we had a great lab picnic--at Houghton's Pond in the Blue Hills, about 30 minute south of Boston. It was a farewell party of sorts for two lab members (moving on to bigger & better things), and also served as a good excuse to engage in barbecuing activities and bocce ball (pics below).



Plus a bonus movie of Sophie & her friend practicing how to enthusiastically say "cheese" to the camera...

Look Out World....

...Max is crawling! Two mobile kids = lots more opportunities for mischief (or, at the very least, Max crawling over to steal Sophie's toys).

Goofing Around in Lab, Zebrafish-Style

It's been awhile since I've provided evidence of my goofing around in lab, so here goes: I've arranged a number of zebrafish embryos in a petri dish to spell out my first name.  This is what dorky scientists do when they aren't busy enough in the lab. 

On a more technical note, these embryos come from an experiment in which I injected something called "antisense RNA" targeting a gene we are interested in into the embryos when they are at a very early stage of development.  48 hours later, about half of them looked like they were wild-type (a.k.a., normal--those are the fish which are straight) while the other half looked abnormal--they have a curved body axis (which I was pleased to see, since it was what I was predicting the result of the experiment to be).  The variety of straight & curved embryos in the same dish was just too much for me to pass up an opportunity to arrange them in creative word designs & take pictures.  

A Day At Wingaersheek Beach!

There's low tide, there's lower tide, and there's Wingaersheek Beach in northern Massachusetts near the town of Gloucester. We went to this beach yesterday because it has an enormous "shallow end" that's great for kids. The water is quite warm (by Atlantic Ocean standards at least) and allowed Sophie to venture further into the water than ever before. Here are some pictures from the day's events:




Bonus Picture: good view of Max's two front teeth while smiling!