Final Four Madness

The semi-finals is on an April Fool's day. Who on earth predicted the four teams!? I'm sure there tons of people of there--the ones who GUESSED the final four teams and the ones that predicted the teams based on the number of letters in a team's name. Yeah, that's it. It must be that team with the cutest players that will win National Championship. For me, LSU will take it home (just because they beat Duke, bwah haha) over Florida. George Mason is quite a Cinderella story, but it will end tomorrow, unhappily ever after.

So, what have we learn from all these nonsense? That random outcomes beat predictabiliy every time when tele-coverage is involved. Besides, basketball tourneys are hard to determine who the best team is, especially when the outcome is decided in the last five seconds! Silly sport! You guys should totally check out Women's Bowling. ::insert sarcasm here::

Up-to-date (4/4/06):

I got one prediction right. Congrats to the Gators for winning National Championships last night (defeating UCLA 73-57). Now that the madness is over, shall we turn to baseball insanity? Let's. SG and I are going to a Bosox game this Sunday despite the disappointing trades, ay yah!

Up-to-date #2 (4/5/06):

Big congrats to the Women's Terrapins for beating the Blue Devils!! Go Maryland!! I can't believe I missed that history-in-the-making game. Congratulations!! Woo hoo!!

US immigration debate

Evidently there are rallies all over the US regarding a supposed crack down on illegal immigration. Not that I saw any protests first hand, but this immigration politics is creating heated debates everywhere (except at my house). There are tons of opinions on the news. I think Matt Frie's take is somewhat valid:

The Dubai Ports saga was the hors d'ouvres. Immigration reform is the entree. [...]
Some want to work, make money and leave. Others want to work and stay for ever. [...]
The country is big enough to accommodate both. Despite the trauma of 9/11, the self laceration of Iraq and the shame of Abu Ghraib, the US can still be stirred by the creed of its founding fathers.

I haven't made up my mind regarding this issue. I am an immigrant. I have a lot of sympathy for people just trying to get ahead, just trying to earn a living. What's wrong with migrants coming here to work and become part of the community and contribute to paying taxes?

It's true that illegal immigration creates winners and losers. Winners include employers with cheaper labor. Losers include those whose wages drop because of the constant exploited cheap labor (Wal-Mart!). It's sad, but one must ask this question: Can the US survive without millions of illegal migrant workers? Hollywood and upper classmen would say no, because who will tend their enormous lawns?

Speaking of backyard labor, I need some help lifting the wooden fence I'd knocked down the other day. I swear it was the wind and the poor structure, but Mary said I'd leaned on it too hard. (huh!?)

An impromtu wedding poem.

Yup. One of my closest friends is getting married in two months! (Which means I have 60 days, 15 hours, 46 minutes and 10-15 seconds to find a date. anyone? anyone?) Much congratulations HN!! Without further ado, I've written this poem just for you.

There once was a lady, so lovely and fair.
She and her husband will make a nice pair.
They're tying the big knot this buds of May
A glamorous Vietnamese wedding is the day

There'll be people hugging and giggling.
You bet there will be drinking and dancing.
Singing your radiance magical joy
For this one true affection no soul can destroy.

Write me a love poem and read me sonnets
Tell all the skeptics our love's tenderness.
No more seeking here and there
This hot lady is taken, "I do" declare.

Congratulations again Ty!! By the way, I saw some nice gowns on the JCrew catalogue that might fit your budget. If you want good traditional bridal dresses, I suggest M'Jourdelle, which is right by your neck of town on 617 York Road. They look nice.

Look, SG. Chuck Norris facts.

Here's an ever-growing collection of absurdly most-improbably assertions about actor and martial artist Chuck Norris. Goes to show how "awesome" Chuck Norris really is. I do what I can, SG. Here're some of Chuck Norris Facts:

Remember the Soviet Union? They decided to quit after watching a DeltaForce marathon on Satellite TV.

- Chuck Norris doesn't read books. He stares them down until he gets the information he wants..

- If Chuck Norris is late, time had better slow the f*** down.

- When Chuck Norris sends in his taxes, he sends blank forms and includes only a picture of himself, crouched and ready to attack. Chuck Norris has not had to pay taxes, ever.

- Chuck Norris never goes hunting.... CHUCK NORRIS GOES KILLING.

- The quickest way to a man's heart is with Chuck Norris' fist.

- There is no theory of evolution, just a list of creatures Chuck Norris allows to live.

- Chuck Norris does not sleep. He waits.

- Chuck Norris doesn’t wear a watch, HE decides what time it is.

- Remember The Virgin Islands? After Chuck Norris visited, they had to be renamed "The Islands."

- In the Bible, Jesus turned water into wine. But then Chuck Norris turned that wine into beer.

- Chuck Norris can divide by 0.

- There are no steroids in baseball. Just players Chuck Norris has breathed on.

Apparently, there're amazing facts about Jack Bauer too, Shmeedawg.

DC Wildlife Conservation Strategy

The DC government, particularly the Environmental Health Administration has prepared a Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy for the District of Columbia (as required by the feds). The agency attempts to restore and improve habitats around the DC areas that include the Anacostia River and its tributaries.

The CWCS document, prepared by biologists of the Fisheries and Wildlife Division identifies species of greatest conservation concern, the kind of habitats they require, and the current threats to their survival. Forty-five species have been identified as being of special concern. Among those species, my favorite Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus) is on the list because their woodlands are altered to developments. I hope conservation actions will take place swiftly.

If you're interested in DC wildlife and ecology, you must read the document. (Hat tip from SMW and MP, good job guys.)

How to make a Trynn Diesel

Ingredients: 3 parts success 3 parts brilliance 1 part energy

Method: Combine in a tall glass half filled with crushed ice. Serve with a slice of lustfulness and a pinch of salt. Yum!

Username:

Personality cocktail
From Go-Quiz.com
(via caltechgirl)

Why there aren't more women in science.

This is a very interesting article by Phil Greenspun from MIT on women in science or lack thereof on the premise of better paycheck opportunities.

The average trajectory for a successful scientist is the following:

(1) age 18-22: paying high tuition fees at an undergraduate college
(2) age 22-30: graduate school, possibly with a bit of work, living on a stipend of $1800 per month
(3) age 30-35: working as a post-doc for $30,000 to $35,000 per year
(4) age 36-43: professor at a good, but not great, university for $65,000 per year
(5) age 44: with young children at home (if lucky), fired by the university ("denied tenure" is the more polite term for the folks that universities discard), begins searching for a job in a market where employers primarily wish to hire folks in their early 30s.

This is how things are likely to go for the smartest kid you sat next to in college. He got into Stanford for graduate school. He got a postdoc at MIT. His experiment worked out and he was therefore fortunate to land a job at University of California, Irvine. But at the end of the day, his research wasn't quite interesting or topical enough that the university wanted to commit to paying him a salary for the rest of his life. He is now 44 years old, with a family to feed, and looking for job with a "second rate has-been" label on his forehead.[...]

Even a public schoolteacher actually does better than a scientist. Consider the person of unusual ability who takes that bachelor's in science and decides to become a schoolteacher instead of going to graduate school. At age 22, the schoolteacher is earning a living wage and can begin making plans to get married and have children. By age 30, when the scientist is forced to start moving around to those $35,000 per year postdocs, the schoolteacher is earning $50,000 per year. By age 44, when the scientist is desperately trying to switch careers, the schoolteacher is making more than $90,000 per year for working nine months (only the better school systems pay $90,000 per year, but remember that we posited a person with a high IQ and motivation sufficient to get through graduate school in science). Being a public employee and a member of a union, the schoolteacher cannot be fired but may at this point in his or her life begin thinking about a comfortable early retirement and some sort of second career.

(Hat tip from grrlscientist.)

I have a BS in Biology. When I chose my major, I didn't know how mch I'd be making in a career. I wasn't even exactly sure what I wanted to do as a career. With all the sh*tty stuff that's happening with me, I'm quite intrique with Mr. Greenspun observations. However, I do NOT have regrets of my choice. I have deep passion for environmental health. If I could get pay worrying about the environment, I'm cool with it. If I only make $30K a year for the rest of my life, I would be happy with it. I don't think it's all about the money. Hell, I know very well that my friends are out there with their B.A.s making $50-60K per year to start as consultants for credit card companies, or more as investment bankers (I'm happy for you, TL). Meanwhile, I make barely $20K as a technician.

At any rate, Greenspun's hypothesis suggest that women shouldn't major in science in the first place, because of lack of good-paying jobs compared to other potential majors. It's true to some degree, but if you look at it in the long run, who's happier for doing what they love even though the pay is crappy (I'm gonna cry after I finish this post :-) It's the lifestyle you lead that matters. Psychologists certainly suggest that money does not buy happiness. Sure, I've been teased and quietly been ridiculed by my Viet peeps, housemates and family because I've failed to become a success story. My defense mechanism is rational reasoning to myself cuz surely, they're not gonna listen and understand. Despite my professional/financial/personal setbacks, I truly want to see more women in science. We gotta improve the education and we gotta have an economic force that make science cool again. When young girls can look up and appreciate their elders as the wicked shmart people around, and doing science as an everyday job, we'll start making some progress. Here are some names of Women in Science (clockwise from photo: Rosalin E. Franklin, Dorothy C. Hodgkin, Admiral Grace M. Hopper, Maria Goeppert-Mayer, Helen S. Hogg, Rozsa Peter, Roger A. Young, May N. Chin, Emmy Noether, Lise Meitner, Lillian M. Gilbreth, Annie J. Cannon, Rosa S. Eigenmann, Ada Byron--Countess of Lovelace, Mary Anning and Sophie Germain. My inspirations come from friends, secret admirers and peers in the science tracks (you know who you are). I don't stereotype.

"Science is a wonderful thing if one does not have to earn one's living at it." -- Albert Einstein

It's a thought-provoking article. You should read all of it and dispute or agree with Mr. Greenspun's observations.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Well, luck o’ the Irish to ya! St. Patty’s harkens me back to those college days filled with kegs and eggs at Mama V's and the Pub taverns. (I'm not sure what all the eggs are about, eh!)

Omigosh, I have to mention this! Go GW!! I'm so thrilled of the win. You know what will make my St. Patty's Day complete and insanely happy? GW kicking the Blue Devils' bottocks!! Irish whiskey all 'round. I have not a drop of Irish blood, but I'm proclaiming myself an Irish for a day. So, drink! drink! drink (water, of course ;-)! Oh how I wish GW beats Duke, that'll be my National Champion game right there.

Here's an Irish Friendship Wish for youse all:

May there always be work for your hands to do;

May your purse always hold a coin or two;

May the sun always shine on your window pane;

May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain;

May the hand of a friend always be near you;

May God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.

-unknown author-

Lads and lassie, please be careful tonight. Don't drink and drive and watch out for the trolls.

March Madness and early spring

At this time of the year, my beruit buddy, SS, and I would fill out our NCAA Basketball bracket. I never fail to piss somebody off about the whole ordeal. Geesh, sensitive folks. It's also because I know crap about bracketology. I don't read the sport pages, unless it is handed to me. I listen to ESPNradio whenever I can, but the technicians insist 97.1 FM, which drives me nuts to unimaginable borderline insanity. I am trying hard to bond with my housemates watching Hallmark Lifetime movies, but having to listen to contemporay soft rock all day, it will be the death of me. Then again, I was told that my cause of death will either be by a lethal car accident or cancer. So the death I'm talking about is really psychological. Back to the brackets, I usually earn 10 to 30 points at the pool. (Given that I cheated by looking at the top 25.) I'm very lousy at predictions.

There was this girl in Dr. Pella's physics class who had dead on 64 points for predicting National Champion and even had an extremely close score number last year, rooting for the Tar Heel. SH was close also, predicting Illinois at the Championship game. I dropped out by the third round. This year, for the sake of feeling lucky, I am not filling out the brackets until the Final Four. However, I'm cheering for GW as a phenomenal local team. Luke Winn over at SI mentions GW and Gonzaga's seed pool. Tune in on March 16 when George Washington vs. UNC-Wilmington game at 7:10 pm. Go GW!! I will certainly NOT root for the Blue Devils that night (b/c they rejected me! yes, it's personal).

If all of this NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament nonesense is boring you, which I can understand (oh bite me, SS), I suggest you walk outdoors and gaze at the flowering blossoms, the spring bulbs and the singing birds. This warm weather spike is definitely unusual, but it's quite rewarding for nature viewing pleasures. Here's a prediction of the blooming of the Cherry Blossoms (March 27-April 1). Definitely check out the Tidal Basin if you're visiting or are in the DC area. And while you're in town, head over to the Mall for the 14th Annual DC Environmental Film Festival. I highly recommend The Anacostia: Restoring the People's River. I have seen the film, and sure enough, there are hot, wicked smahrt, dedicated passionate multi-talented people in the flick. AWS rocks! There are two viewings: March 17 at 12 noon at the National Museum of Natural History, and March 25 at 11 am at the Anacostia Museum Center for African American History and Culture. (Thanx to GG and JA)

Deforestation on Easter Island, 1200 A.D

It seems that Easter Island extinct much later than Jared Diamond and other scientists had predicted. The cause of the collapse: deforestation. The news is here.

New archaeological evidence suggests that Easter Island, mysterious home of titanic stone heads, was first settled around A.D. 1200, much later than previously thought.

Once there, the colonizers quickly began erecting the famous statues for which the remote eastern South Pacific island (map) is famous. They also helped deplete the island's natural resources at a much faster rate than previously thought, the study says.[...]

Scientists have long treated Easter Island's extinct society as a textbook example of a once thriving civilization that doomed itself by wiping out its natural resources.[...]

Instead the Polynesians immediately began destroying the trees and giant palms, using the wood for their canoes, for fires, and perhaps for moving statues.

Easter Island is a good example that show the trend toward deforestation. Today, there's an increase of tourism on the island, coupled with a large inflow of people from Chile, which threatens to change the Polynesian identity of the island, but that's a political dispute. Presently, the island is covered almost entirely in grassland, sad.

Happy International Women's Day (belated)

Yesterday, March 8, women around the world were remembered. I took my niece and nephews to the dentist, tutored BJ and RT, tried to put the wooden fence back up, tried to clear off the spray paint on Cammy (curses!), begged my dad to hand over my passport, prayed for a normal job, vaccumed the entire house, and Tammy-god forbids, I took Rocky out for a joy ride, haha. Poor thing, he was shivering in the car. Why was I not treated like a queen on this holiday? It's an occasion for men to express their sympathy and love to the women. Where are my chocolates!? Oh wait, I gave that up for Lent, damn.

Anyhow, IWD is a big deal in Viet Nam. The Vietnamese recognizes the importance of women. Around the world, nations are celebrating economic, political and social contributions of women in their society. Americans don't seem to celebrate this day maybe because it doesn't involve a tradition of eating, let alone discuss about feminism. Honestly, I'm all for gender equality and women's rights. I do not demonize men (though some needed to be). I believe in taking responsibilities for one's action. Treat others as you would want to be treated. At any rate, ladies, have a happy happy Int'l Women's Day, heck, make it a month and treat yourself to a fine book. I suggest Dragon Ladies: Asian American Feminists Breathe Fire. (Disclaimer: I have not yet read the book, but it's on my to do list.)

24 carat gold, 13.5 inches tall statuette

Yup, you guessed it. It's Oscar trophy of the crusader knight, holding a sword. The 78th annual Academy Awards is this weekend. Who wouldn't want to hold that britannium Oscar statuette? My favorite part of the coverage is the guests on the red carpet. Occassionally, there would be a witty comment from the winners, but all in all it's a pretty boring celebration (if you're nominated but not picked). This year Jon Stewart will be the "smart, engaging, irrevelent and funny" host! I'm tuning in. Here's the list of the nominees.

Best Picture:
• "Brokeback Mountain"
• "Capote"
• "Crash"
• "Good Night, and Good Luck."
• "Munich"
Foreign Language Film:
• "Don't Tell"
• "Joyeux Noël"
• "Paradise Now"
• "Sophie Scholl - The Final Days"
• "Tsotsi"
Actor in a Leading Role:
• Philip Seymour Hoffman -- "Capote"
• Terrence Howard -- "Hustle & Flow"
• Heath Ledger -- "Brokeback Mountain"
• Joaquin Phoenix -- "Walk the Line"
• David Strathairn -- "Good Night, and Good Luck."
Actress in a Leading Role:
• Judi Dench -- "Mrs. Henderson Presents"
• Felicity Huffman -- "Transamerica"
• Keira Knightley -- "Pride & Prejudice"
• Charlize Theron -- "North Country"
• Reese Witherspoon -- "Walk the Line"
Actor in a Supporting Role:
• George Clooney -- "Syriana"
• Matt Dillon -- "Crash"
• Paul Giamatti -- "Cinderella Man"
• Jake Gyllenhaal -- "Brokeback Mountain"
• William Hurt -- "A History of Violence"
Actress in a Supporting Role:
• Amy Adams -- "Junebug"
• Catherine Keener -- "Capote"
• Frances McDormand -- "North Country"
• Rachel Weisz -- "The Constant Gardener"
• Michelle Williams -- "Brokeback Mountain"

The only film I saw from the list was Syriana with SG. Jorge Clooney was amazing. Come Sunday, I bet he'll win an Oscar. The film is about the influence of the oil industry and the dependence of the US on oil. It talks about how the US is willing to kill reformists to ensure chaos in the Middle East and control of the oil. Oil, big oil, oil executives, oil analysts, oil geography, oil politics, big time oil power brokers, oil (can I say oil again?) It's a good flick, though, I don't know why it's called Syriana.

Two of my favorite quotes: "You are innocent until investigated" and "You want to know what the business world thinks of you? We think 100 years ago you were living out here in tents in the desert chopping each others heads off and that’s exactly where you are going to be in another hundred. So, yes, on behalf of my firm I accept your money." Disturbing.

Up-to-date: Here's the list of winners at the Oscars. Congratulations to Crash for Best Picture!! Two thumbs up for Ang Lee!!

Omigosh! Three 6 Mafia performing "It's Hard Out Here For a Pimp" at the Oscars AND won Best Orginal Song in Hustle & Flow. I'm stunned. It was soo wrong. I have nothing against black folks, but this performance of pimps and hos just doesn't do it for me. Can we say coonery or buffoonery to the black community? It's a definite head shake. Pimpdom ain't cool, kids.

Asian oyster in the Chesapeake, a good invasive idea.

The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the US (166,534 square kilometers or 64,299 mi²). It is famous for the fishing industry on blue crabs (tastety Callinectes sapidus), clams, striped bass and oysters. However, the Bay's environmental conditions have been poor. There has been massive fish kills due to algal blooms, overharvesting, runoff wastes and diseases that make the water so turbid, depleted in oxygen, to say the least. Oysters serve as natural water filters, but its population is severely declining. This debate on the introduction Asian oyster, to revive the lagging native ones has been ongoing for a few years now.

For centuries, bountiful harvests sustained little towns around the bay. But these days the harvest of native oysters, decimated by disease, pollution and overfishing, is measured in tens of thousands of bushels a year, a tiny fraction of the 20 million bushels that were once taken.

Now officials in Maryland and Virginia are considering a radical approach to saving the oyster fishery and, they say, perhaps the bay itself: introducing an Asian oyster that appears resistant to the two parasites that have killed off so many of its Chesapeake cousins. Indeed, the Asian oyster is one focus of a three-year study undertaken by federal agencies, working with state officials and scientists, on ways to revive the harvest. [...]

Even as they consider Asian imports, scientists also say it is too early to give up on other, native approaches to restoration. Among the findings of the latest oyster research is an untapped potential for techniques like genetic altering of native oysters to create disease-tolerant strains, as well as wider use of sterile native oysters, which grow faster because they do not expend energy that would otherwise be used for reproduction.

I've been fortunate to work with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, as an intern, to realize that the water quality of the Bay is "icky". Restoring its health is tough because much of the polluting substances arise far upstream in tributaries. Millions of dollars has been poured into restoration efforts, and we are not any healthier. There are risks when introducing alien species, but aquacultural studies have proved potential revival of the native oysters, or so I've read. I'm for the introduction of Asian oysters into the Chesapeake. I think local governments should consider this option. These oysters are not snakeheads or kudzus, God forbids. So, let the Asian shellfish help restore the harvest. It will be beneficial.

My inevitable inferno

(Via Caltechgirl)

Since I have a few years left to live, I'd like to know which level of hell I'm heading to:

The Dante's Inferno Test has banished you to the Fifth Level of Hell!
Here is how you matched up against all the levels:

Level	Score
Purgatory (Repenting Believers)	Very Low
Level 1 - Limbo (Virtuous Non-Believers)	High
Level 2 (Lustful)	Low
Level 3 (Gluttonous)	Moderate
Level 4 (Prodigal and Avaricious)	Very Low
Level 5 (Wrathful and Gloomy)	High
Level 6 - The City of Dis (Heretics)	Low
Level 7 (Violent)	Moderate
Level 8- the Malebolge (Fraudulent, Malicious, Panderers)	High
Level 9 - Cocytus (Treacherous)	Low

Take the Dante's Divine Comedy Inferno Test

According to Dante Alighieri in The Divine Comedy (or the above quiz), I am condemmed to the 5th level of inferno. In this wrathful and gloomy level, I will be fighting other fellow sinners in the swamp-like water of the Styx River, and the slothful, trapped beneath the water. Sweet! I hope they'll provide me high pink waders and some cool weapons for battle.