The drywall problem continues

The Chinese drywall story is back in the news. National Public Radio has an update.

My dog has quite the lifestyle

Molecule of the Day points out how easy it ought to be to put our dogs on diets. Feed them less, right? So why are there diet drugs for dogs? Maybe it's about our inability to control our interactions with food, even to ask our dogs to abstain. Or maybe it's about sharing our concerns about weight with the family members that so far have been blissfully unaware of this American obsession. Or maybe there are drugs out there that could have use in people but just haven't made it through FDA approval.

Whatever the reasons may be I have to laugh as I think about these as lifestyle drugs for dogs. My dog has quite the lifestyle. No work, free food and drink, lots of affirmation and attention, and no responsibilities to anybody.

That was fun.

A helpless audience of GS199 students were subjected to 50 minutes of joy-filled rambling by me today, on the subject of Green Chemistry. Oooh I had fun! I hope that they did, too. It was an interesting experience, explaining this to a general audience. I appreciated their interest. It is a very fun story to tell, optimistic and varied and full of good characters.

Featured tales of Green Chemistry successes were the ibuprofen synthesis, TAML oxidant activators, and Non-fluorous, highly CO2-soluble materials.

Links are to the EPA summaries of the projects.

Now it's time to get out and enjoy the weekend.

What are they looking for?

Tis the season that recommendation letter-writing is beginning to wind down, just as the school year is beginning to wind up. I think this week is the first time in about 3 months that I haven't had somebody's letter request sitting on my to-do list. I'll admit it: I am relieved.

It's not that it's a job I don't like, it's just that it is a job. Crafting a letter that is honest, professional, and that gets the message right can be a difficult thing to do.

As I look out over the sea of expectant faces in my new classes I know that this coming year will bring more requests. I'm already watching for the qualities of character I hope to be able to write about later. Those would include things like flexibility, honesty, drive, and the abilities to both listen carefully and act decisively.

Students out there who know or think they know that they'll be seeking admission to medical or other professional health programs, studentdoctor.net has an article that does a good job of explaining how to think about and manage your presentation of yourself in your personal essay. Much of what is here is also relevant to how you might want to be perceived for letters of recommendation. This might be valuable reading.

Why I adore Hans Rosling....

It's not entirely explainable with words or simple graphs. It's best understood by actually watching him operate with his animated data. See his new TED talk here.

OSU pals make the Oregonian!

...this work brought to you by my favorite peeps at OSU. These folks have previously brought us wonderful research on air quality at our very own Mt. Bachelor Observatory, with help from some great students at COCC.

glycosides in my garden

Memorial Day always has felt like an odd holiday for me. Growing up the only real memorial thing that would happen is that my mom and dad would each take their mothers to the cemetery to put flowers on the headstones of their spouses. There wasn't much for direct links to the military, it seems. But Memorial Day was always a day to work on some project outdoors. As an adult I still find myself planning for and doing work around the house during the holiday weekend.

So today I went to the nursery and bought some plants and tree bark for my yard.

I knew I wanted to get some digitalis, because there was some growing here when I moved in and I find it gorgeous in a showy kind of way. But I also love it that digitialis is the source of commonly prescribed cardiac glycoside digoxin. I didn't realize until I did a little web searching today that the plant actually is not just a little poisonous--it contains enough of the glycoside to really mess you up bad even if small amounts are ingested.

I also picked up some kinnickkinnick, which is Arctostaphylos. I bought it because it will look good and do well where it needed to go, but it turns out to be darned interesting, too. Turns out it is a relative of the familiar manzanita, and like digitalis, it contains a glycoside compound that is biologically active. In this case the glycoside is named arbutin. It inhibits the formation of melanin and has been used in herbal treatments for urinary tract problems. But these extracts have been the subject of some concern since they may be carcinogenic.