Believe it or not!

True or False, did this merman from the Great Lakes really exist?

Crazy Stats

How many times can you do something wrong before you do it right? Well, in my case, I cannot say because I am still doing it wrong. Currently I am analyzing my M.Sc amphibian data, which has become a hair-pulling, exhausting, painful learning process. I believe I have re-analyzed my data at least 5 different times (either modifying what data goes into the analysis or changing the actual statistical analysis used). Sometimes I wish I had a little more guidance; allowing me to avoid these unfortunate wrong-doings. But then again, they are teaching me to think-by-myself, analyze data multiply ways, and learn from my mistakes and introducing me to myriad statistical packages and functions that are out there. On the bright side, I sought out a statistician yesterday and I believe he has put me on the right track. This new statistical journey will involve a Nested ANOVA and Split-Plot analysis. Let us hope this is my last time doing this.

Wednesday Night Tradition

Last night I went to my friend Mika’s house to watch this weeks “America’s Next Top Model” and have dinner. We, and others, are addictive to this show! However, I cannot put my finger on the reason to this addiction. Maybe it’s the social aggressiveness of each model-to-be, and their interactions; I’m just not sure. The funny thing is they’re not all drop dead gorgeous. Yes they are pretty but each one brings something different to the table. Whether it is cockiness, bitchiness, confidence, comical, or unique attitudes, they all contribute to an attention-grabbing show. Unfortunately the girl that I thought would make it to the final two was voted out last week. Yep, this is another reality show! Now, I have no idea who should be “America’s Next Top Model”. Nobody is shining through.

Just before the show came on, Mika made her famous Berry Smoothie. Boy was it good. Sadly, I developed one of my infamous pain striking stomach aches that are usual provoked by certain foods (whip cream, chip/veggie dip, sour cream, cream cheese). The only thing that may have triggered the stomach ache would be the yogurt. Or the two tall glasses I drank. For my sake, I hope it was just a freak occurrence and not one that will be provoked by yogurt in the future. If yogurt ends up triggering these acute stomack aches, I know the next thing to cause this type of pain will be ice cream. If this does happen, I couldn’t carry on living without my triple chocolate chunk ice cream (or various flavours of chocolate ice cream).

Deciphering a Dream

Last night I had a dream. Now it wasn’t a nightmare, or a pleasant dream, but a cliffhanger! I hope it wasn’t a glimpse into my future. The place where this dream took place was in Ellie’s office. Ellie, Claire, and Liv and me were all there. I was sitting in the middle of the room and all three girls were sitting at their respective desks. I cannot remember what we were talking about, but I do remember who came in and started to talk to us. It was my tall, dark, handsome guy that I have been crushing on! He remains nameless because my detective work has not allowed me to figure out his name. But don’t worry, I will figure it out. Well, he started talking to all off us about…well I cannot remember the exact conversation but I do recall that he started signaling me out by asking me specific questions about who I am and what I do. It was going so well, but then he said bye and left the office. I was caught off guard. I didn’t know if you would be returning or not. Does anyone know how to decipher dreams? I sure hope it isn’t saying that I am doomed to lead a solitary life with my many loving poodles and hairless dogs (no cats or other kinds of dogs because I am allergic to them), fish, and herpitiles (amphibians and reptiles).

A So-So Conference

A week ago, I attended The Wildlife Society Conference in Canmore, Alberta. One of the main reasons (other than learning what research is being carried out across the province and going to Banff) why I attended this conference was to give an oral talk on my research. In my mind (and my friends) my talk went well. I didn't forget anything or faint infront of ~150 people. Moreover, Mika gave an extraordinary talk that should have taken home the prize ($100.00) for best oral presentation. All-in-all, I learned about various wildlife species and management/conservation implications.

I would have to say that the conference was ordinary and didn’t stand up to other ones that I've attended. However, the quality of talks was above average. I ended up attending a great deal of them on the last two days of the conference. The first day was a field trip (we stayed long enough to see a wildlife over-pass corridor.) and the seconded day was jam packed with talks that didn’t hold my interest (with an exception of a Grizzly Bear session). Unfortunately during GB talks I was stressing about a talk that I was giving the next day, I couldn’t focus on the speakers and their presentations. When I am asked “How was the conference?” I simply reply, “The talks were great”. I don't dwell on another other aspect of the conference. On the other hand, since Oz has only been to two in her during her academic career, she would probable say that it was the best she has attended, relative to one she attended last month (PUBS).

The best part of the conference occurred during the second day of the four-day long conference. The morning sessions sounded dull so some friends and me set off to Banff. We had a great time hiking around lakes, seeing a merman (half man and half fish) skeleton, visiting a dissimilar, appealing, yet smelly sulfur stream, and visiting many candy/chocolate stores. I really enjoyed spending the day with Mika, Oz, and Krissy. Too bad the rest of the conference couldn’t have been based on various hikes through Banff.

Body Modification

Why is it when I really want something I never do anything about it. This comment encompasses myriad things, but right now it is directed at one thing: piercing my nose. I have always wanted to do this, but have never had the courage. Multiple times I have walked to Strange City (a tattoo and piercing parlor) to have my nose pierced, but found myself walking past the doors. I just couldn’t bring myself to go in. However, twice I actually went in, but was unsuccessful in actually having my nose pierced. This happened because of two reasons: 1) they were too busy, and 2) my nose was slightly swollen (because I must have hit it in my sleep).

It is not that I am afraid of the piercing instrument nor the potential pain that may be associated with it; it is the post-piercing effects that truly scare me. I don’t like the idea that I could scar, develop the ominous, hideous bump, or that the stud may slightly hang out of my nose (until it heals and then I can have it sized properly). In addition to the aesthetics appearance, there’s the professional appeal. Lately I have been thinking about what I actually want to do with my life after my masters. I may go into consulting, work with government or non-government organizations, or try teaching high school science. The question that arises is: would a nose piercing be unprofessional? All of these factors contribute to my uneasiness about nose piercing.

After all of this, I have come to the conclusion that next week I am going to get my nose pierced. Well, with my track record (number of times I chickened out beats successful entry into the piercing building) I hope I will be able to!

Now the next thing to do is determine what side I want pierced. My friend told me that you should pierce the side that feels right. Meaning one side should out way the other. But I don’t favour one side over the other. Hmmm, this shouldn’t be a hard decision.

Coinciding with the nose piercing decision, I am also in-decision about tattoos. Someday I think that I will get a tattoo. But first I have to figure out where I want it and what I want. Currently I would like to get some kind of frog tattoo on or around my ankle/foot. But this is still up in the air.