tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-204897262024-03-13T13:00:04.476-04:00@ElizabethJPetroElizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632290213115423477noreply@blogger.comBlogger1124125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20489726.post-62729526329492898812019-01-24T17:00:00.002-05:002019-01-24T17:00:51.035-05:00word of the day: sidelightThe word of the day is <b>sidelight</b>:<br />
<br />
<section class="css-171jvig e1hk9ate0"><h3 class="css-14jdhzg e1hk9ate1">
<span class="css-1jyjhkb e1hk9ate2"><span class="luna-pos">noun</span></span></h3>
<div class="css-1o58fj8 e1hk9ate4">
<div class="css-hcidu1 e1q3nk1v3" value="2">
<span class="one-click-content css-1e3ziqc e1q3nk1v4">1. an <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="item">
item
</span> of <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="incidental">
incidental
</span> <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="either">
information.</span></span></div>
<div class="css-hcidu1 e1q3nk1v3" value="2">
<span class="one-click-content css-1e3ziqc e1q3nk1v4"><span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="either">2. either
</span> of <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="two">
two
</span> <a class="luna-xref" data-linkid="nn1ov4" href="https://www.dictionary.com/browse/light">lights</a> <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="carried">
carried
</span> by a <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="vessel">
vessel
</span> <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="under">
under
</span> <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="way">
way
</span> at <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="night">
night,
</span> a <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="red">
red
</span> <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="one">
one
</span> on <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="the">
the
</span> <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="port">
port
</span> <a class="luna-xref" data-linkid="nn1ov4" href="https://www.dictionary.com/browse/side">side</a> <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="and">
and
</span> a <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="green">
green
</span> on <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="the">
the
</span> <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="starboard">
starboard.
</span></span></div>
<div class="css-w5xl3w e1q3nk1v3" value="3">
<span class="one-click-content css-1e3ziqc e1q3nk1v4"><a class="luna-xref" data-linkid="nn1ov4" href="https://www.dictionary.com/browse/light">3. light</a> <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="coming">
coming
</span> <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="from">
from
</span> <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="the">
the
</span> <a class="luna-xref" data-linkid="nn1ov4" href="https://www.dictionary.com/browse/side">side</a>.</span></div>
<div class="css-bqly5w e1q3nk1v3" value="4">
<span class="one-click-content css-1e3ziqc e1q3nk1v4">4. a <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="window">
window
</span> or <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="other">
other
</span> <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="aperture">
aperture
</span> <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="for">
for
</span> <a class="luna-xref" data-linkid="nn1ov4" href="https://www.dictionary.com/browse/light">light</a> in <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="the">
the
</span> <a class="luna-xref" data-linkid="nn1ov4" href="https://www.dictionary.com/browse/side">side</a> of a <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="building">
building,
</span> <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="ship">
ship,
</span> <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="etc">
etc.
</span></span></div>
<div class="css-zv0a9i e1q3nk1v3" value="5">
<span class="one-click-content css-1e3ziqc e1q3nk1v4">5. a <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="window">
window
</span> at <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="the">
the
</span> <a class="luna-xref" data-linkid="nn1ov4" href="https://www.dictionary.com/browse/side">side</a> of a <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="door">
door
</span> or <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="another">
another
</span> <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="window">
window. </span></span></div>
<div class="css-zv0a9i e1q3nk1v3" value="5">
<span class="one-click-content css-1e3ziqc e1q3nk1v4"><span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="window"> </span></span></div>
<div class="css-zv0a9i e1q3nk1v3" value="5">
<span class="one-click-content css-1e3ziqc e1q3nk1v4"><span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="window">(https://www.dictionary.com/browse/sidelight)</span></span></div>
<div class="css-zv0a9i e1q3nk1v3" value="5">
<span class="one-click-content css-1e3ziqc e1q3nk1v4"><span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="window"> </span></span></div>
<div class="css-zv0a9i e1q3nk1v3" value="5">
<span class="one-click-content css-1e3ziqc e1q3nk1v4"><span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="window"> </span></span></div>
<div class="css-zv0a9i e1q3nk1v3" value="5">
<span class="one-click-content css-1e3ziqc e1q3nk1v4"><span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="window">"Then in 1969 came an unusual tree from Robert H. Whittaker, a plant ecologist at Cornell University for whom 'broad classification,' as he called it - numbering and delineating the kingdoms of life - was a <b>sidelight</b>."</span></span></div>
<div class="css-zv0a9i e1q3nk1v3" value="5">
<span class="one-click-content css-1e3ziqc e1q3nk1v4"><span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="window"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="css-zv0a9i e1q3nk1v3" value="5">
<span class="one-click-content css-1e3ziqc e1q3nk1v4"><span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="window"> - David Quammen, <i>The Tangled Tree: A Radical New History of Life</i></span></span></div>
</div>
</section>Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632290213115423477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20489726.post-61796241359864108192019-01-19T17:01:00.000-05:002019-01-19T17:01:04.284-05:00word of the day: bruitThe word of the day is <b>bruit</b>:<br />
<br />
<span class="one-click-content css-1e3ziqc e1q3nk1v4">to <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="voice">
voice
</span> <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="abroad">
abroad;
</span> <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="rumor">
rumor
</span> <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="used">
(used
</span> <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="chiefly">
chiefly
</span> in <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="the">
the
</span> <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="passive">
passive
</span> <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="and">
and
</span> <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="often">
often
</span> <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="followed">
followed
</span> by <span class="italic"><span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="about">
about)</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="one-click-content css-1jci32p e1iz2gwk0">
<span class="luna-date">1400–50;</span> <span class="luna-langn"><span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="late">
late
</span> <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="middle">
Middle
</span> <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="english">
English
</span></span> <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="noun">
(noun)
</span> <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="<">
<
</span> <span class="luna-langn"><span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="anglo-french">
Anglo-French,
</span></span> <span class="luna-langn"><span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="old">
Old
</span> <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="french">
French,
</span></span> <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="noun">
noun
</span> <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="use">
use
</span> of <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="past">
past
</span> <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="participle">
participle
</span> of <span class="italic"><span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="bruire">
bruire
</span></span> to <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="roar">
roar
</span> <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="<">
<
</span> <span class="luna-langn"><span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="vulgar">
Vulgar
</span> <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="latin">
Latin
</span></span> <span class="italic"><span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="brūgere">
*brūgere,
</span></span> a <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="conflation">
conflation
</span> of <span class="luna-langn"><span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="latin">
Latin
</span></span> <span class="italic"><span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="rūgīre">
rūgīre
</span></span> to <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="bellow">
bellow
</span> <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="and">
and
</span> <span class="luna-langn"><span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="vulgar">
Vulgar
</span> <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="latin">
Latin
</span></span> <span class="italic"><span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="bragere">
*bragere;
</span></span> <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="see">
see
</span> <a class="luna-xref" data-linkid="nn1ov4" href="https://www.dictionary.com/browse/bray">bray<sup>1</sup></a><sup> </sup></div>
<br />
(https://www.dictionary.com/browse/bruit?s=t)<br />
<br />
"At the very least, the stories <b>bruiting</b> 'Oldest Life Form' were missing an essential point presented by Woese and Fox. A headline about 'Weirdest Life Form' might have captured that better."<br />
<br />
- David Quammen, <i>The Tangled Tree: A Radical New History of Life</i>Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632290213115423477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20489726.post-52301408358651023182019-01-18T16:43:00.000-05:002019-01-18T16:43:01.929-05:00word of the day: blepharitisThe word of the day is <b>blepharitis</b>:<br />
<br />
<span class="one-click-content css-1e3ziqc e1q3nk1v4"><span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="inflammation">Inflammation
</span> of <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="the">
the
</span> <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="eyelids">
eyelids. (https://www.dictionary.com/browse/blepharitis?s=t)</span></span><br />
<br />
"The twisting motion of spirochetes, such as the ones that cause syphilis and Lyme disease, evidently allows them to wiggle through obstacles that other bacteria can't easily cross, such as human organ linings, mucous membranes, and the barrier between our circulatory system and our central nervous system - a fateful degree of access. Even the less dynamic shapes, the short rods known as bacilli, the spheres known as cocci, and the rods slightly curved like commas, serve well enough the bacteria responsible for a long list of diseases: anthrax, pneumonia, cholera, dysentery, hemoglobinuria, <b>blepharitis</b>, strep throat, scarlet fever, and acne, among others."<br />
<br />
- David Quammen, <i>The Tangled Tree: A Radical New History of Life</i>Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632290213115423477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20489726.post-27357222038608711922019-01-17T15:56:00.000-05:002019-01-17T15:56:07.484-05:00word of the day: salubriousThe word of the day is <b>salubrious</b>:<br />
<br />
<span class="one-click-content css-1e3ziqc e1q3nk1v4"><span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="favorable">favorable
</span> to or <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="promoting">
promoting
</span> <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="health">
health;
</span> <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="healthful">
healthful:</span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="one-click-content css-1jci32p e1iz2gwk0">
<span class="luna-date">1540–50;</span> <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="<">
<
</span> <span class="luna-langn"><span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="latin">
Latin
</span></span> <span class="italic"><span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="salūbris">
salūbr(is
</span></span>) <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="promoting">
promoting
</span> <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="health">
health
</span> <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="akin">
(akin
</span> to <span class="italic"><span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="salūs">
salūs
</span></span> <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="health">
health)
</span> + <a class="luna-xref" data-linkid="nn1ov4" href="https://www.dictionary.com/browse/-ious">-ious</a></div>
<div class="one-click-content css-1jci32p e1iz2gwk0">
</div>
<div class="one-click-content css-1jci32p e1iz2gwk0">
(https://www.dictionary.com/browse/salubrious?s=t) </div>
<br />
<br />
"It was also a <b>salubrious</b> reminder to humans of our inescapable linkage to other creatures, including some very humble ones. We are, at the most basic level of classification, eukaryotes. So are amoebae. So are yeasts. So are jellyfish, sea cucumbers, the little parasites that cause malaria, and rhododendrons."<br />
<br />
- David Quammen, <i>The Tangled Tree: A Radical New History of Life</i>Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632290213115423477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20489726.post-11276500501631306872019-01-16T15:46:00.001-05:002019-01-16T15:46:30.283-05:00word of the day: perspicacityThe word of the day is <b>perspicacity</b>:<br />
<br />
<section class="css-171jvig e1hk9ate0"><h3 class="css-b8enzo e1hk9ate1">
<span class="css-b1yu5a e1hk9ate2"><span class="luna-pos">noun</span></span></h3>
<div class="css-1o58fj8 e1hk9ate4">
<div class="css-1i0g854 e1q3nk1v3" value="1">
<span class="one-click-content css-1e3ziqc e1q3nk1v4"><span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="keenness">
1. keenness
</span> of <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="mental">
mental
</span> <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="perception">
perception
</span> <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="and">
and
</span> <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="understanding">
understanding;
</span> <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="discernment">
discernment;
</span> <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="penetration">
penetration.
</span></span></div>
<div class="css-hcidu1 e1q3nk1v3" value="2">
<span class="one-click-content css-1e3ziqc e1q3nk1v4"> <span class="luna-labset"><span class="luna-label italic"><span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="archaic"><i>
</i>2.<i> Archaic</i>. </span></span></span></span><span class="one-click-content css-1e3ziqc e1q3nk1v4"><span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="keen">keen
</span> <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="vision">
vision. </span></span></div>
<div class="css-hcidu1 e1q3nk1v3" value="2">
<span class="one-click-content css-1e3ziqc e1q3nk1v4"><span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="vision"> </span></span></div>
<div class="css-hcidu1 e1q3nk1v3" value="2">
<div class="one-click-content css-1jci32p e1iz2gwk0">
<span class="luna-date">1540–50;</span> <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="earlier">
earlier
</span> <span class="italic"><span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="perspicacite">
perspicacite
</span></span> <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="<">
<
</span> <span class="luna-langn"><span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="late">
Late
</span> <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="latin">
Latin
</span></span> <span class="italic"><span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="perspicācitās">
perspicācitās
</span></span> <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="sharpness">
sharpness
</span> of <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="sight">
sight,
</span> <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="equivalent">
equivalent
</span> to <span class="italic"><span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="perspicāci-">
perspicāci-
</span></span> <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="stem">
(stem
</span> of <span class="italic"><span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="perspicāx">
perspicāx
</span></span> <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="sharp-sighted">
sharp-sighted;
</span> <span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="see">
see
</span> <a class="luna-xref" data-linkid="nn1ov4" href="https://www.dictionary.com/browse/perspicuous">perspicuous</a>) + <span class="italic"><span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="-tās">
-tās
</span></span> <a class="luna-xref" data-linkid="nn1ov4" href="https://www.dictionary.com/browse/-ty">-ty<sup>2</sup></a></div>
<span class="one-click-content css-1e3ziqc e1q3nk1v4"><span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="vision"> </span></span></div>
<div class="css-hcidu1 e1q3nk1v3" value="2">
<span class="one-click-content css-1e3ziqc e1q3nk1v4"><span class="one-click" data-linkid="nn1ov4" data-term="vision">(https://www.dictionary.com/browse/perspicacity) </span></span></div>
</div>
</section><br />
"One of the bacteria he cultured and squashed was <i>Clostridium perfringens</i>, the microbe responsible for gas gangrene, an ugly form of necrosis that takes hold in muscle tissue made vulnerable by wounds, especially the sort that lay open among injured soldiers on battlefields. When he realized this, Luehrsen complained, but Woese 'just chuckled and said not to worry' in the absence of an open wound. He had been to medical school for 'two years and two days,' Woese said, and he could assure Luehrsen that <i>Clostridium perfringens</i> was unlikely to give him gangrene. Luehrsen took the episode as a lesson - not a lesson to trust Woese but to rely on his own <b>perspicacity</b> more - and never probed the matter of why Woese had quit medical school two days into his third-year rotation in pediatrics."<br />
<br />
- David Quammen, <i>The Tangled Tree: A Radical New History of Life</i>Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632290213115423477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20489726.post-75621656301903130142018-02-01T08:04:00.000-05:002018-02-01T08:48:26.606-05:00Word of the day: cognate<p dir="auto">The word of the day is <strong>cognate</strong>:</p><p dir="auto">1. related by birth; of the same parentage, descent, etc.<br>2. <em>Linguistics</em>. descended from the same language or form.<br>3. allied or similar in nature or quality.</p><p dir="auto">c.1645, from L. cognatus "of common descent," from com- "together" + gnatus, pp. of gnasci, older form of nasci "to be born" (see genus). Words that are cognates are cousins, not siblings.</p><p dir="auto">(<a href="http://www.dictionary.com/browse/cognate" target="_blank">http://www.dictionary.com/browse/cognate</a>)</p><p dir="auto"><br>"It was plain to see that these three religions all share historical antecedents with Nigerian Yoruba and Beninese Fon religions. They are clearly <strong>cognate</strong> religions."</p><p dir="auto"> - Henry Louis Gates, Jr., <em>Black in Latin America</em></p>Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632290213115423477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20489726.post-42960108889400623792018-01-11T17:12:00.001-05:002018-01-11T17:12:57.964-05:00Letter to the Baltimore Sun<p dir="auto">The Baltimore Sun published a letter I wrote to them: <a href="http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/readersrespond/bs-ed-rr-oprah-letter-20180110-story.html" target="_blank">http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/readersrespond/bs-ed-rr-oprah-letter-20180110-story.html</a> </p><p dir="auto">Text reproduced here:</p><p dir="auto">Dear Baltimore Sun,</p><p dir="auto">Do you ever ask yourself what might have happened if, in the very early days of the 2016 presidential election, you hadn't breathlessly reported every movement and tweet of a celebrity whose only qualifications for running for national office were wealth and fame? Have you soberly reflected on dictionary.com’s word of the year for 2017, "complicit," and asked yourself to what extent you too are complicit in the current state of the world?</p><p dir="ltr">If you have, then, why, after everything we have all learned, did you choose to publish, "Oprah 2020: She can run, but will she?" (Jan. 9)? Before publishing this article, did you ask yourself to what extent does it report what actually happened (Oprah Winfrey gave a speech as she accepted an award at the Golden Globes), and to what extent does it fan the flames of wild speculation that a celebrity whose only qualifications are wealth and fame might run for national office?</p><p dir="ltr">Did you hope that reporting on Ms. Winfrey's presidential run would make the idea sound as plausible as "Icebreakers called out as cold weather persists" (also on page 6), and that two wrongs would somehow make a right?</p>Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632290213115423477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20489726.post-89723242048211420102017-08-17T17:56:00.002-04:002017-08-17T18:04:02.100-04:00Today I'm thankful for: that time I went to that talk about the Core<p>Today and every day I'm thankful for that time I visited the University of Chicago as a prospective student and went to that talk about the Core.</p><p>I could go on and on about the Core, and how much it means that a member of the faculty took time to speak to prospective students about it, but for the purpose of today's moment of thankfulness, I'll just recount what the professor said.</p><p>He said that physics is not the study of nature. Physics is a mathematical model of nature.</p><p>And he said that history is not the study of the past. The past is gone; you can't study it. You can only study evidence that the past has left behind. And so history is a model of the past that we build based on this evidence.</p><p>That has stuck with me, and now, more than fifteen years later, I am thankful.</p>Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632290213115423477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20489726.post-30474970441675309672017-06-08T08:05:00.001-04:002017-06-08T08:05:12.001-04:00Today I'm thankful for: Jim Horn<div>Today and every day I'm thankful for Jim Horn.</div><div><br></div><div>Jim was a postdoc in Tony Kossiakoff's lab when I did my undergraduate research there. Prof. Kossiakoff was ostensibly the mentor, but Jim did all the mentoring.</div><div><br></div><div>Jim was (and I'm sure still is) smart, knowledgeable, accomplished, and affable, all at the same time. He was ceaselessly patient: if I ever said or did anything to irritate him, he never once let it show. He was unfailingly generous with his time and his expertise. He was quick with a smile and a lighthearted joke, which was never, ever mean or at anyone's expense.</div><div><br></div><div>He did good work and was an accomplished scientist. He was also a devoted husband and father. He set an excellent example for professionalism and work-life balance: he worked Monday through Friday, eight to five, with zero exceptions. He did not stay late when something did not go as planned. He did not come in on weekends if he felt like he was behind. I believe he read scientific papers on the train during his commute, but other than that, work was strictly at work, during work time. At work, he was focused, but also accessible and friendly.</div><div><br></div><div>So much of my idea of what it means to be a professional was formed from observing Jim Horn. I am extremely fortunate that he was there as a model during that impressionable stage of my life. It strikes me that I am older now than Jim was when I worked with him, and it is up to me now to set the example. Fortunately, I can remember what turned out to be a blessed time in the Kossiakoff lab, and keep looking to Jim as a role model, and I am thankful.</div>Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632290213115423477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20489726.post-92009614191542312502017-05-24T12:46:00.001-04:002017-05-24T12:46:07.023-04:00Today I'm thankful for: Henry JamesToday (and every day) I'm thankful for Henry James, who is said to have said, "There are three things of importance in human life: the first is to be kind, the second is to be kind, and the third is to be kind."Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632290213115423477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20489726.post-59575826178558994912017-05-23T07:27:00.001-04:002017-05-23T07:27:04.954-04:00Today I'm thankful for: my healthToday I'm thankful for my health.Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632290213115423477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20489726.post-51623437328355999462017-05-18T16:09:00.001-04:002017-05-18T16:09:53.982-04:00Today I'm thankful for: the way Mr. Bruemmer asked questions<div>Today (and every day) I'm thankful for the way Mr. Bruemmer asked questions.</div><div><br></div><div>My high school had assembly every day. (Well, some days we had something else in that timeslot, like advising or class meetings, but the entire high school convened a few times a week.) During assembly, we often had a guest speaker, and Q&A aftwerwards. Mr. Bruemmer, my ninth grade Non-Western world history teacher, twelfth grade War and Peace in the 19th and 20th Centuries teacher, and twelfth grade advisor (after Mr. Horlivy left), took detailed notes during every assembly. (Something else for which I am thankful: one day I overheard someone ask him why he took such detailed notes, and he said it was to help him pay attention. I started doing that, too.) At the end of every assembly, he asked a question. It's not that he didn't give students a chance to ask questions. At the beginning of almost every Q&A, there's an awkward silence as people are formulating their questions. Mr. Bruemmer filled that silence by asking good questions. By the time the speaker was done with the question, someone else usually had thought of something to say.</div><div><br></div><div>I always wondered how he did it, asking a good question at every single assembly.</div><div><br></div><div>In eleventh grade, I went to Close Up (https://mobile.closeup.org). There was a group from my school and a number of other schools, for a total of perhaps a couple hundred tenth- and eleventh-graders. We went to all different parts of DC, and met with all kinds of different people, learning about the inner workings inside the Beltway. Every time we met someone, there was an opportunity for Q&A. At every single Q&A (and we had perhaps a half-dozen each day we were there), there were exactly two people who asked questions: Colleston, and some kid from one of the other high schools.</div><div><br></div><div>By the end of the first day, I thought, this is ridiculous. There are perhaps a couple hundred of us, and I'm painfully shy, but what is everyone else's excuse? Here we are on the educational opportunity of a lifetime: why aren't people making the most of it and asking questions?</div><div><br></div><div>And then I decided I would start asking questions. If Mr. Bruemmer could ask a question at every assembly, I can ask a question at every Q&A at CloseUp.</div><div><br></div><div>And that is how I became That Kid at Close Up. You know That Kid: every class has one. I had hoped that by asking questions I would inspire other students into also raising their hands and questions, but it didn't work out that way. For the rest of Close Up, it was Colleston, me, and that other kid from that other school raising our hands and asking a question each, at each Q&A.</div><div><br></div><div>What amazed me is that it worked. Merely deciding that I was going to ask a question was enough to make me come up with one. The power was within me the whole time.</div><div><br></div><div>Isidor Rabi, the Nobel prize winning physicist, famously attributed his success to the fact that instead of asking him what he learned at school that day, his mother always asked him whether he asked a good question today (http://www.nytimes.com/1988/01/19/opinion/l-izzy-did-you-ask-a-good-question-today-712388.html). Today I firmly believe in the importance of asking good questions. The way you get good at asking questions is the same way you get good at anything else: you practice by asking questions. It's a terrifying prospect for introverts like me, but it can be done. Mr. Bruemmer showed me I could, and I am thankful.</div>Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632290213115423477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20489726.post-79662746308453183382017-05-16T11:05:00.001-04:002017-05-16T11:05:44.202-04:00Today I'm thankful for: the Harper Lecture<div>Today (and every day) I'm thankful for the Harper Lecture.</div><div><br></div><div>The Harper Lecture is that most Chicago of pastimes: a cerebral lecture followed by Q&A and swank hors d'oeuvres. It was exactly the sort of thing I did for fun as an undergrad, and it's what we alums continue to do for fun. I really treasured my time at the University of Chicago. The Harper Lecture reminds me of that treasured time of my life, and I am thankful.</div>Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632290213115423477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20489726.post-10510243329083741002017-05-09T08:36:00.001-04:002017-05-09T08:36:23.281-04:00Today in thankful for: the right to a trial by jury<div>Today I'm thankful for the really positive experience I had serving as a juror. </div><div><br></div><div>My understanding of what it would be like to actually serve as a juror was formed mostly from reading <i>Homicide</i>, by David Simon. Reality, however, was nothing like that. All of the jurors were very engaged, paid close attention to the trial, and took their responsibility very seriously. Each of us did our part to serve justice, to listen to one another, and to genuinely consider what everyone had to say. Our judicial system is not perfect, but it's much better than I thought it was. I'm glad that we have a right to trial by jury, and I am thankful.</div>Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632290213115423477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20489726.post-38868219878939653432017-05-05T08:48:00.001-04:002017-05-05T08:48:55.776-04:00Word of the day: consigliere<div>The word of the day is <b>consigliere</b>:</div><div><br></div><div>a member of a criminal organization or syndicate who serves as an adviser to the leader.</div><div><br></div><div>(http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/consigliere)</div><div><br></div><div>"The two men were often in agreement about how to approach their cases—Bharara has called Zabel 'my <b>consigliere</b> and my closest friend'—but Bharara relied on him especially for his insight into white-collar opponents and their highly compensated defense lawyers."</div><div><br></div><div> - Sheelah Kolhatkar, "Total Return: What happened when the Feds went after a hedge-fund legend", 16 January 2017 <i>The New Yorker </i>(http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/01/16/when-the-feds-went-after-the-hedge-fund-legend-steven-a-cohen)</div><div><br></div>Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632290213115423477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20489726.post-52645379024252652242017-05-04T07:23:00.001-04:002017-05-04T07:23:33.164-04:00Today I'm thankful for: Star Wars<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: Helvetica;">May the 4th be with you! Today I'm thankful for Star Wars.</p>Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632290213115423477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20489726.post-63125774635262543552017-04-27T07:32:00.001-04:002017-04-27T07:32:08.497-04:00Today I'm thankful for: that really lovely time I had on my 21st
birthday<div>Today and every day I'm thankful for the really lovely time I had on my 21st birthday, 11 years ago yesterday. </div><div><br></div><div>I turned in my honors thesis that morning, and I felt like in an enormous weight had been lifted from me. (In hindsight, this was probably a sign that I was not going to enjoy grad school.) To celebrate, I bought myself a copy of a Piled Higher and Deeper anthology from the Seminary Co-op, and read it over Thai coffee at the Social Sciences coffee shop. After Greek class, I went to get a haircut at the Reynolds Club. I knew my friend Suzanne looked up to me, but I hadn't appreciated quite how much until she decided to tag along with me to my haircut and sat with me during the whole thing so that we wouldn't have to end our conversation. She was telling me about the difference between Virgil and Homer: Homer (as we both knew well) has difficult vocabulary but simple grammar; whereas Virgil, apparently, has simple vocabulary but complicated grammar.</div><div><br></div><div>I went out to dinner that evening in a hip neighborhood I had never been to before with, among others, Annie Roberts, Teresa, Matt, Logan Bee, Justine, and Nick Reich. Nick told me his younger brother's birthday was on April 26, 1986, Chernobyl Day. I ordered a glass of sangria with dinner, and while the server did card me, she did not comment on the fact that it was my 21st birthday. Ron and Carolyn weren't able to come to dinner, but they did sign the birthday card, and it meant so much to me that people thought enough of me to do that.</div><div><br></div><div>I still have the shirt that I wore that day, and every time I look at it, I think of that day, what a nice day it was, and how touched I felt that people took the time to spend time with me. It's a memory I'm always going to treasure, and I am thankful.</div>Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632290213115423477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20489726.post-38456424116316945502017-04-25T17:51:00.001-04:002017-04-25T17:51:26.664-04:00Today I'm thankful for: that time April invited me to BaltiCon<div>Today (and every day) I'm thankful for that time April invited me to go to BaltiCon.</div><div><br></div><div>I had never been in all my years in Baltimore, but once April called it to my attention, I got so excited I got an entire weekend pass and went to see the Girl Genius radio play, in addition to the day I spent with April. I saw a great artist talk (which I never would have seen if April hadn't suggested it), got a little stuffed dragon souvenir, heard Connie Willis, and April bought me a copy of Doomsday Book. It was so sweet of April to invite me. I am lucky to have friends who think of me, and I am thankful.</div>Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632290213115423477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20489726.post-76797440594109427702017-04-24T17:49:00.001-04:002017-04-24T17:49:46.240-04:00Word of the day: tyroThe word of the day is <b>tyro</b>:<div><br></div><div><ol><li value="1" style="margin: 0px 0px 7px -16px; padding: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">a beginner in learning anything; novice.</span></li></ol><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">1611, from M.L. tyro, variant of L. tiro (pl. tirones) "young soldier, recruit, beginner," of unknown origin.</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">(</span><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/tyro)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">"Over the next thirty years he worked in seventeen campaigns across Europe. But he made his first important discovery while a <b>tyro</b>."</span></div><div><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"> - Sam Kean, <i>The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons: The History of the Human Brain as Revealed by True Stories of Trauma, Madness, and Recovery</i></span></div><p style="color: rgb(54, 54, 54); font-family: AvenirLTStd-Light; font-size: 16px;"></p></div>Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632290213115423477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20489726.post-12730075788641113952017-04-24T07:26:00.001-04:002017-04-24T07:26:38.783-04:00Today I'm thankful for: xkcdToday (and every day) I'm thankful for xkcd. This one remains one of my favorites: https://xkcd.com/552/.Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632290213115423477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20489726.post-57431257956739795162017-04-20T07:30:00.001-04:002017-04-20T07:30:23.664-04:00Today I'm thankful for: umbrellasToday (and every day) I'm thankful for umbrellas.Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632290213115423477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20489726.post-64885376376800067222017-04-19T07:30:00.001-04:002017-04-19T07:30:47.274-04:00Today I'm thankful for: the new green of spring leavesToday (and every day) I'm thankful for the new green of spring leaves.Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632290213115423477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20489726.post-90284974062059535582017-04-17T07:30:00.001-04:002017-04-17T07:30:05.539-04:00Today I'm thankful for: that time Morgan watched the babies so I could
see Twisted MelodiesToday (and every day) I'm thankful for that time Morgan watched not just Alice and Katherine but also their friend Ramona so Michelle and I could go see Twisted Melodies. This is just one of many examples of how he goes above and beyond for me. I really am lucky to have him, and I am thankful.Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632290213115423477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20489726.post-9638316292225258602017-04-05T17:32:00.001-04:002017-04-05T17:32:59.942-04:00Today I am thankful for: lilacsToday (and every day) I am thankful for lilacs.<div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-JojamPXhE_g/WOViil6uGPI/AAAAAAAAWZU/1JEXaFXx9_I/s640/blogger-image-19127667.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-JojamPXhE_g/WOViil6uGPI/AAAAAAAAWZU/1JEXaFXx9_I/s640/blogger-image-19127667.jpg"></a></div><br></div>Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632290213115423477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20489726.post-22903550424049288452017-04-03T07:01:00.001-04:002017-04-03T07:01:40.537-04:00Today I'm thankful for: my parents visitingToday (and every day) I'm thankful that my parents came out to visit us this weekend. We had a great time!Elizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09632290213115423477noreply@blogger.com0