Archive for the ‘Washington DC’ Category

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A Neurosigntist’s Wanton Disregard for Federal Authority of the Day (Or How I learned to Stop Worrying and Love the JuxtapositionFest 2009)

Saturday, July 11th, 2009
Protect THIS!

Awesome: This morning, I attended the Pentagon Force Protection Agency’s “Urban Shield” Operational Response test. The test was conducted to improve the operational response of emergency personnel to an outdoor airborne biological attack and to evaluate the effectiveness of various personnel decontamination procedures. Test volunteers were positioned at locations inside and outside of the Pentagon, and a single release of a biological particulate tracer material, referred to as garden powder, occured along a nearby access road. Post-release, volunteers were transported to a decontamination station near the Pentagon Navy Annex, where test volunteers underwent surface sampling to evaluate their exposure to the particulate tracer followed by one of two water-based decontamination protocols. Post-decontamination, volunteers underwent another round of surface sampling to evaluate removal of the particulate tracer.

Awesomer: The event marked a rare opportunity to break one of the forbidden laws of the Pentagon grounds: no photography.

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A Neurosigntist’s Point of View: Cross-Eyed

Tuesday, July 7th, 2009

Let’s talk about the reasons that your family is getting hit by cars and start with the fact that they’re looking into the sky when crossing the street.

Posted in Washington DC, friends and family, signs | View Comments

Keepin’ it Teal

Sunday, June 7th, 2009

After a satisfying 4-2 regular season, Change You Can Bocce was dominated by its milk chocolate-colored opponent, BB Chocolate, 16-8 in the first round of the playoffs. It was bad, folks. Real bad. NBA Finals Game 1, Lakers vs. Magic bad. And, we were the Magic, except nobody on our team was rocking the Stan Van Gundy mustache and only three of us can two-handed windmill dunk a basketball.

There are a number of reasons that could explain our rapid fall from grace. Maybe it was the unpredictable regular season schedule. Maybe it was The Captain’s inability to convince teammates to actually wear their $40 Teal uniforms during match play. Maybe we shouldn’t have discontinued our rigorous pre-game partner stretching routine. Maybe we should have given she-who-has-not-been-nicknamed a suitable nickname to go along with Dr. Clutch, The Captain, The Enforcer, The Beast, Mr. Awesome, An-HUGE and Unkle Unkool. Only time will teal.

I would like to formally apologize to our sponsors–though, it was your decision to sign us to a heavily front-loaded contract–and to the DC Bocce League for our embarrasing performance. We realize this means you will have to cancel the rest of the Spring Bocce playoffs, forfeit many nights of enjoyment at the Pour House, and delay the championship trophy presentation until next season when we return to form.

Unteal next season… Change You Can Bocce OUT!

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Spring DC Bocce League: Week 4-6 Recaps

Monday, June 1st, 2009
The spring season’s unpredictable bocce schedule has made it difficult to keep up with our weekly Change You Can Bocce recaps. I realize this has been a major inconvenience for the entire DC Bocce League, since each and every member experiences their share of awesomeness vicariously through our adventures. In any case, the playoffs start tomorrow, so you’ll have to deal with this ultra quick week 4-6 recap…

Week 4: The Teals Have Eyes

Our first experience playing on the declined portion of the park ended in disappointment. Deboccery took full advantage of An-HUGE, the Captain, and Dr. Clutch’s inability to master the slopes and won handily, 16-7. Despite losing, we had fun, and that’s really what bocce is all about. Well, fun and winning. But, mostly just winning.

Week 5: Tuesday Night Lights OUT!

One week after losing to Deboccery on the slopes, An-HUGE and the Captain returned for redemption. We immediately bolted to a 3-0 lead over our Texas Orange-colored opponents, Tuesday Night Lights, who were confused and intimidated by our intimate knowledge of the sloping greens. Unfortunately, they responded to our quick start with an unprecedented 16-0 run. Had we not been preoccupied with our own loathing and self-doubt, we might have noticed the nuclear explosion that was apparently taking place in the background.

Week 6: Leave it to Beaster
Leave it to The Beast to recapture the momentum and turn our season around. In perhaps the most closely contested bocce match in recent years, The Beast called his shot and then landed his ball of fury right next to the polina just as time expired for a 16-15 win. It was classic Beast. Though Step Off Biocce came up short this time, we expect to see them again in the playoffs. We’ll beat them then, too, but that’s another story.

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Casey Trees – A Science Cheerleader Report

Friday, May 29th, 2009

I’m proud to announce the first episode in an original video series that I’m producing for Science Cheerleader.com, a blog that promotes public involvement in science and builds awareness around important science policy issues. The project took shape this March when I met Science Cheerleader at the South by Southwest Interactive conference in Austin. After her panel, Back Off Man, I’m a Scientist: User-Generated Discovery, we discussed a number of possibilities for creatively engaging her audience and encouraging them to participate in science projects, including a video series that would “show by doing”.

In each episode, I will be taking part in local citizen science projects, interviewing volunteers and project administrators, and reporting back on my experiences. Armed with a bottom-tier HD camcorder, whichever friend I can con into holding the camera, and virtually no audio/visual editing skills, I hope to demonstrate first-hand just how easy and fun science can be. Am I up to the challenge?

This first adventure with Casey Trees relied entirely on the steady camera work of Jackie Marks, several hours of audio/visual production training providing by my Uncle Rob, and the glorious music of Princess Ladyfriend. It was a true team effort, and I think we did a great job representing Casey Trees and their efforts to restore and protect the Washington DC tree canopy.

Science Cheerleader has quite a web presence. You can find her on ScienceCheerleader.com, Twitter, and her Facebook group, Open the OTA with Citizen Input, which is part of a larger effort to encourage Congress to reopen the Office of Technology Assessment.

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Armed with Gene Guns!

Wednesday, May 27th, 2009

Infectious diseases, gene guns, and the military — all on this week’s Armed with Science!

LISTEN to Dr. Connie Schmaljohn, senior scientist at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, discuss research investigating vaccines against two types of hantaviruses, which are known health threats to U.S. troops stationed in Europe and Asia. The research team used small amounts of genetic material, or DNA, from the Hantaan and Puumala viruses to develop the vaccines. These DNA vaccines are potentially more cost-effective, and the needle-free vaccination method used to deliver them is less painful. She discusses the research that led to the development of these vaccines and the path that lies ahead. Both vaccines are now in Phase I clinical testing, the first step toward licensure by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

​U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID)​
​​American Society for Microbiology

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EnvironMentors Celebration!

Friday, May 22nd, 2009

EnvironMented
On Wednesday, students, mentors, and teachers from across the nation met at the Deptartment of Agriculture to celebrate their work in the 2008-09 EnvironMentors program. Students presented their research projects and competed for a number of scholarships that recognized achievement in creativity, scientific rigor, and relevance to the environment. The event was highlighted by keynote speaker, Dr. Cora Marrett, Acting Deputy Director of the National Science Foundation, who discussed the important role that hands-on, mentored research programs will play in developing the next generation of scientists.

It was a challenging and rewarding year for both Lalaram and me. This was his first foray into scientific research and the associated ups and downs that come with interesting results and failed experiments. He demonstrated persistence, fought through a number of technical challenges, and ultimately produced a product worthy of a college student.

As I watched Lalaram growth, I learned a great deal about what it takes to motivate someone, to inspire them to contribute their strengths, and to pursue endeavors that seem at the time beyond their abilities. It was a enormously satisfying experience. Lalaram is also one of the only people I can consistently beat at Guitar Hero III, which is a huge confidence booster. I mean, he’s played like two times, but still, he’s pretty bad. That probably won’t last long — he has vowed to beat me this summer.

To all my sciency friends, I encourage you to visit the EnvironMentors webpage and consider the opportunity. You are just one click away from getting EnvironMented!

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Spring DC Bocce League: Week 4 Recap

Thursday, May 14th, 2009
A Teal of Two Schwettys

Fact: The only thing better than eating salmon for breakfast is eating salmon-flavored Schwetty Bocce Balls for dinner.

In Week 4 of the Spring DC Bocce League, Change You Can Bocce feasted on their salmon-colored opponent in a 14-9 shellacking for the ages. Though The Beast, The Captain, and Mr. Awesome were significantly outnumbered (2 humans, 2 dogs) by their opponent, Petes Schwetty Bocce Balls, their insatiable hunger for salmon-flavored victory was enough record their second consecutive win this season. You had to see it to believe it!

The win marked a critical step toward our goal of an undefeated season; indeed, few teams in bocce history have ever lost their Week 4 match and still managed to go undefeated. Will there be a challenger?

Do you have what it takes?

—————————————————————————————
Week 2, April 28: Change You Can Bocce 16, Bocce Ballers 10
Week 4, May 12: Change You Can Bocce 14, Petes Schwetty Bocce Balls 9
Regular Season Record: 2-0
—————————————————————————————

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Armed with Social Science!

Wednesday, May 13th, 2009

Listen to the first Armed with Science show covering the Defense Department’s efforts to leverage social science.

Drs. Ivy Estabrook, program officer for the Human, Social, Cultural and Behavioral Science program at the Office of Naval Research, and Elisa Bienenstock, Chief Human Science Officer at NSI, Inc., will discuss the Defense Department’s efforts to understand how theoretical and methodological approaches from social science can benefit the warfighter. They will discuss several programs sponsored by the Director of Defense Science and Engineering that aim to refine and scale empirical, quantitative and computational methods to meet the needs of the Department of Defense.

Office of Naval Research
National Security Innovations

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Casey Trees

Wednesday, May 6th, 2009
McClean Garden’s Tree Planting Event

Bigfoots and cherry blossoms aren’t the only highlights of springtime in our nation’s capitol. Spring also marks another year of Casey Trees community tree planting events, part of the organization’s larger effort to restore, enhance, and protect the District’s tree canopy.

As Citizen Forester’s, Jenny and I are trained in techniques critical for maintaining urban tree health and ensuring tree survival. This includes choosing the appropriate species and planting site, mulching and watering, and proper tool use and safety.

However, knowledge and skill aren’t the only keys to being a successful Citizen Forester. Self-confidence and positive-thinking also play an important role. Above, Jenny and I pretend our shovels are normal sized and that our muscles are just really huge. Four hours of this behavior can induce a rather inflated sense of grandeur. And there is nothing better for trees than an inflated sense of grandeur.

We do it for the trees. Everything else is a bonus.

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