well, I messed up weight watchers the day before weigh-in. I'm not going to weigh until Tuesday. I did that last week anyway. The reason I messed up was the discovery of the best ice cream ever. Ben and Jerry's Vermonty Python. Coffee liquor ice cream with chocolate cookie crumb swirls and milk chocolate cows. AMAZING

that is all

Did you know that the guy who plays PC on those cute mac vs pc commercials also wrote "The Areas of My Expertise" and is the resident history "expert" on the Daily Show? I didn't.

Aloe from an actual aloe plant turns purple on your skin overnight. I burned my hand a couple of times making dinner (apparently the stout I drank before was twice the alcohol of normal beer) and put aloe on the burns. I woke up this morning and my burned finger was all purple! Like I had been fingerprinted or a pen had leaked. It took a while to remember I put aloe there. Anyone else have this experience?

Genesis chapter 22

A couple of friends of mine would argue about the theological implications of God asking Abraham to sacrifice his son. Many read it as Abraham is willing to follow God anywhere. In this way he comes across as religious freak you can't relate to. Today I learned much about this passage, and only the first three sections. I know people know that Jews love to analyze the holy texts, and many think over analyze. But if you don't understand how something is written, you'll never understand what it is trying to tell you. The second passage, God says "Take your son". It is not properly translated. God actually says "Please take your son". God doesn't say please. But here he does because he knows what he is about to ask is large. It tells Abraham in one word to trust God, he's going to ask something big, but that it will be okay. He goes on: "take your son, your favored son (or 'the son you love'), Isaac." Ever wonder why he says it three times? Abraham interjects. "I have two sons." Then "I love both sons." Abraham is interjecting between God's words to make sure he knows what God is asking. Then the passage "offer him there as a burnt offering." The word there is used later in the bible to signify burnt offerings, an animal that was killed and then torched on an alter. But the word itself is really just offering. God pretty much asks, offer your son to me. He chooses his words extremely carefully, and because Abraham is listening carefully (because he hear the please), he will know God hasn't actually asked him to kill his son. Even when they're walking up there, when Isaac asks where the sacrifice is, Abraham says "God will provide." He knows God will provide something to kill, but not his son.

Oh, and medieval scholars saw the next part, where Abraham leaves the mountain alone and then two chapters later Isaac finally reappears, as saying Abraham truly went through with it and God resurrected Isaac. Either explanation trumps the Jesus thing, because the first shows that God already saved a favored son, and doesn't kill them for his love, and the second basically says, "hey, this already happened. Jesus is redundant." But medieval scholars were dark and depressing, and we don't follow their views anymore.

I hope I didn't offend anyone. I just really want to dig into this more. Language is so thick with meaning. I love going through it this way. I also wish it were still last year so that I could debate with Eric, Shannon and Christina, my favorite people all from different religious backgrounds and views. I guess long lj entries will have to do for now.

Yum.

Met someone named Lisa. She's got daughters a few years older than me and she's more fun than people my age. And a woman older than my grandmother told me she married young for the sex. I love my congregation!

I'm going to a Torah study group tomorrow morning. The reading includes Abraham stuff, 18:1-22:24, ending with the whole Isaac incident. I already have an answer to what the Rabbi will ask us about that passage, the most controversial part in Genesis. Abraham is calling Adonai's bluff. God had already given Abraham the promise that from Isaac, a great nation would emerge. Well, God's not going to get far with the people if they find out he breaks his promises. So Abraham called God's bluff. Just leaves a really fucked up kid. "Hey Dad, where's the ram? Hey Dad, why are you trying me down to the alter stone?!" Yeah, seeing your father raise a knife to you is totally going to leave you normal.

check out my latest article online. 

coupled climates

So I had "fun" in class today getting pissed at my teacher. I was so upset I had to email him to make sure he thought my pitch was okay. He doesn't have enough personal skills for me to get along with him in person, but he's fine in text.

I also sent in an application for an internship at ScienceNOW, the AAAS's science news website, and part of the journal Science. I've met the editor and pitched a few ideas, but all of them had already been picked up. I don't know if it'll happen, but at least these little things keep me busy.

To CHers: I'll be in the Thrill again on the 21-27
Obies: I'll be up first weekend of December and with Christina on our spring break.

crossing my fingers Rick will visit next weekend to keep me sane.

while I was getting my groceries out if my car, a guy drove past and said "nice car!" I couldn't stop smiling!

Okay, that's all I've got.

So sorry that the last entry's title gave so many worry. *rolls eyes*. Anyway, I would like to announce that I made bread.


I am off to purchase more materials for my new found obsession. I need a bread knife.

I spent an entire summer a few years ago cloning yeast. And though that may sound grippingly exciting, it was the stench that had me running. Yeast has returned as I start my first attempts at the age old art of bread making. Let me tell you, smells are not soon forgotten. However, this still smells bready, and not the nasty concentrated organism I handled in that lab. So I am marching onward. By the way, the recipe I am using can be found in the food and dining section of NYT, and could be accomplished by a child. I encourage all who thought bread making was an expensive hobby to check it out.

Yesterday I was giddy, but not from the elections. The results ended up only amplifying my excitement. The real reason isn't near as interesting as the elections were. I simply had many things due this week that needed to be worlds better than my previous work in order to prove myself and I accomplished them. Basically I did the boring and expected thing of being productive. One is a comprehensive description of the mechanism behind the electric eel's shock, another is a full, thought out story pitch for my final project in a class, another is an article that will be appearing in Geotimes today or tomorrow. It doesn't sound like much, but it made me happy.

One more thing: I'm taking a trip to Whole Foods for some fun shopping. Produce, cheese, and bread flour are on the list. I'll let you know if the bread that comes out (the current loaf is all-purpose flour) is worth people like us attempting.

I'm heading to the Thrill today. I'll be coming in tonight, and leaving on Monday morning. If Woodspeople are around, I would love a brunch/lunch at Weaver St. or perhaps window shopping somewhere. I think my Saturday dinner and evening have already been spoken for. Perhaps Sunday dinner, but I MUST be back for Desperate Housewives. My mom really wants to watch it with me.

Kim: I would really love to get up with you and talk about journalism and so forth. We could trade clips! Or something

Oh, and I've added a new field to my writing experiences: geophysics. I've been hired by Geotimes to write a few stories. So, I've written about Physics, Astrophysics, Biophysics, Engineering/Material Science, and now geophysics. Go me! Lol, these are all things science writers are loath to cover.

I've got a new article up on Wikinews. You don't get bylines, but it gives me practice and the opportunity to write what I want and the American Physics Society is paying me to spread the good word of physics. This one is on Brownian Motion.

http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Physicists_test_%27forgotten%27_Brownian_motion_theory

This weekend, I'm a professional. Well, I'm a professional with a neon pick tag on my nametag telling everyone I'm a student. This weekend, I'm at the National Association of Science Writers/Council for the Advancement of Science Writing conference. I'm also trying to get a story done on Brownian motion. All I remember is that Ian was obsessed with the concept.

Anyway, Steve's entry about being a journalist made me smiley and warm inside since I'm a journalist too! I've got all these sources and stuff, and I know news days before everyone else does. It's really cool. But I think I still want to get to the point where I write a book. So what should I write it on?

So my gas is still off. I can't remember if I even posted this (and too lazy to check), but there was a gas leak outside my house last night and they shut off the gas. Goddamnit. It's fucking freezing right now. I don't know what I'll do, probably not type, since I'll soon put on gloves. Bed is fine, I have a down comforter. I just don't know how to survive this evening. I wanted to get work done. Oh, no gas means no stove or oven. It's hard to eat healthy when you're relagated to the microwave.

Started Hebrew for Dummies. I need to know basic words and phrases if I'm going to keep up in my Intro to Judaism class. I've left my lessons drop, and have lost what little I learned last semester. My goal: chapter one.

Went to a environmental engineering talk today. Learned a bunch about the clean-up efforts of the Chesapeak Bay, and what the science says has happened since. I think I have a story.

PS: I'm not putting a mood. It's just too obvious and I use that icon way too much.

Monday mornings usually really suck for me, as they stereotypically do for people. But this morning felt nice. I was on the bus to work and this guy sat next to me and noted I was reading A History of the Jews by Paul Johnson. We started talking, and eventually I noticed he wore a kippah. He told a funny joke about marrrying sheiksha (sp?), ask Rick to tell it. We got off at the same stop, he was off to neuro lab. His name is Donnie, and I'm trying to find him in the JHU database. I had the biggest grin on my face when I walked to my next stop. Anyway, it just made my day.

In other news, I'm freezing in this office.

I have a real engagement ring now. Well, it's a small diamond on a gold band. No, I don't know how many karots it is, it was just affordable. It's very elegant and a picture will be coming soon.

I called mom to tell her. She sighed and said that she was hoping we could "talk about this." growl.

I've spent too much money on food with Rick. We bought filets and salmon and lamb at the market and cooked them all. We ate suishi for lunch one day, and soba the next. We ate dinner at an afganii restaurant, a mussel place (Bertha's mussels) and an expensive bar/restaurant called Brewer's Art where we drank way too much and are now really drunk. We are both broke. We've been to the aquarium, the Maryland Jewish Museum, a "duck" tour of the inner harbor. Tomorrow is the science center and the art museum and two more movies at home. If I'm not spoiled, I don't know what the word means.

In other news, my diet is spoiled for the week. But I finished Kusiel's Chosen. Holy shit, I love these books. Bit I've got to stop my fantasy fix and catch up on my jewish and philosophy of science reading. sigh. oh, I look forward to you, Blood of the Fold and Kusiel's Avatar. *happy sigh*

When you want to feel beautiful, an expensive and gorgeous bra with matching silky panties really does the trick.

The diet is going okay. I found I could let myself have coffee cake cause on the weekend I only ever have two meals anyway. It's nice to know how far you can go to treat yourself. Tomorrow I find out if this week did anything.

The Hubble peices are done, and as far as I'm concerned, good riddance. I wrote a piece on the evolution of electrocyte cells in electric eels, and today I work on something about a model earth that is hoped to produce a magnetic field like our own. I'm lonely here in Baltimore, but otherwise I'm extremely comfortable. I bought gourds and made a fall centerpiece. I also bought a pumpkin to decorate sometime next weekend. I actually have a front stoop, and kids live around and will trick or treat. yay! I've got a halloween party coming up and I need a costume. I thought I was free of figuring that out, but no such luck. Any suggesttions?

Miss you all!

check out this version of my article as well:

http://skytonight.com/news/home/4313892.html

check out my lastest published piece:

http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Hubble_discovers_16_new_planets