Okay, while yesterday's workout did wonders to clear out the lactic acid accumulated in my aching muscles from the day before, i have my doubts about today. My arms have become less and less functional over the course of the afternoon, to the point where lifting the phone to my head requires a herculean effort. Looks like i may just be doing cardio then heading home, where Veronica will be waiting to whisk me away to the evenings performance by the Stills at a Friday evening Popscene. Don't expect any freaky dancing from me tonight ... although people who know me don't usually expect freaky dancing from me under any circumstances.

Despite earlier promises to maintain some sort of physical fitness regimen, i've still been pretty hit or miss with regard to getting on the NordicTrack in our garage. After seeing the pictures of myself in Orlando, i decided strong action needed to be taken. While casually conversing with my radiochemist friend Fred, i found out he had started going to the Stanford gym every night and lifting weights followed by 30 minutes of cardio on the elliptical trainer. Working out with Fred sounded like a great way to keep me on track, so i joined his workout schedule starting Wednesday. Wednesdays are shoulder days, so we did barbells, dips, and military press, with some crunches thrown in for the abs. Yesterday was arms, so we did a lot of bicep and tricep curls, plus some more ab stuff. Today i can barely lift my arms. I was shaving in the shower this morning and i chopped the hell out of my chin, causing it to bleed for a good 45 minutes, largely because i can't effectively touch my chin at the moment. It's weird though, i feel destroyed now but when we head off to the gym again this evening, the first few reps of weights will clear this lactic acid right out. Hopefully by the time i head off for the SMI in Hawaii in late August, i'll be lean and ripped.

I've said it before, i'll say it again ... New Zealand has got indie pop down to a science. The Clean are such an amazing band, and have spawned so many other trailblazing outfits.

Easter weekend was spent helping Naomi and Geoff pick up a new scooter, a fairly well-kept Vespa Primavera, from San Jose, attending Noel and Juliet's daughter Josey's first birthday party in San Francisco (whipping up a batch of pork and shrimp balls for the pot luck festivities), taking in a Saturday night showing of the abysmal Scary Movie 4 with Veronica, and zipping up to Corte Madera for an Easter dinner with my aunt Betty and uncle Ted, held in conjunction with my cousin Joanna's birthday party.

After flirting with letting Manchester United back into the title race, Chelsea have got their act together again and now need at minimum a draw in one of their last three matches to guarantee the title. The emphatic way of winning it would be to squash title challenger United at Stamford Bridge a week from Saturday. This weekend we've got yet another grudge match against Liverpool in the FA Cup semifinals, which as always should be a tightly contested affair. We've beaten them four times running in the League, but have been pretty evenly matched in domestic and European cup play. I'm still not thrilled with our image, which has turned the majority of the footballing world against us, not to mention ensured us somewhat less than objective media coverage. But it's always worth it to see the unity of the players, under the leadership of Terry and Lamps. Word is German midfield general Michael Ballack will soon be signing a Chelsea contract ... i'm not quite sure what to make of that. He's a great player, but is a bit older than most of our signings and is coming into a squad already replete with world class midfielders.

For a long time i regarded Ride's Carnival of Light as their abandonment of their shoegazing roots, and refused to give it serious consideration as a member of the pantheon of brilliant recordings. But random iTunes excursions into it have convinced me i was mistaken. "Rolling Thunder" is a brilliant textured, instrumental melody, while "From Time to Time" is a mesmerizing pop song to rival the best of Going Blank Again. I guess i've finally realized the progression from Smile all the way through to the band's swansong Tarantula.

you will cry and i will cry
'cause all the love's alive tonight

Best song about oral sex. Ever.

Just can't find the time to post these days. Work is coming to a head, again. Which is not necessarily a bad thing. I'm coming to a decision gate in my career, in which i need to hunker down and focus on publishing papers and bringing in grants. The former is coming along ... i'm hoping to get out two myself soon, and both my current postdoc Ivana and my former postdoc Lan will be each sending out one within the next month. I've also been generating grant applications steadily, with three done last month and a very big one scheduled to go out by June 1. Given the current state of the National Institute of Health, it's very difficult to get things funded, but my current philosophy is to continually submit the strongest applications i can to a variety of funding agencies. My projects are expanding but i need to get more students in to keep the work moving forward. I'm staying positive but it's definitely crunch time for me. Atlas shrugged.

On the positive side, my soon-to-be-graduating masters student Raja finally installed our custom built collimator in the microCT scanner in the imaging center, and i must say it is fantastic. Raja and our engineer Fred did an amazing job constructing a flexible, functional device with such precision and integration that it looks like it's a regular component of the scanner gantry. We're now getting the motors working ... Raja sent me a worrisome email the other day in which he casually mentioned that he blew a few capacitors on the motor control board while trying to increase the current delivered to the motors, luckily it was an easy fix ... so shortly we will have a completely novel unit for small animal radiotherapy. That will definitely aid in my search for funding.

Also positive are the results of recent experiments conducted by my molecular biologist Ivana, in which we validate a new reporter gene strategy for use in low oxygen environments. Her experiments are really taking off now, generating some very interesting data for future papers and grants.

I'm already feeling the loss of my radiochemist Lan, who departed Stanford earlier this month to return to Shanghai where he is taking an Assistant Professor position. We've been discussing a host of new experiments in the laboratory and the clinic involving novel PET radiotracers, and we'll need a good radiochemist to spearhead tracer synthesis. Hopefully i'll be able to hire a replacement shortly. In the meantime, Lan is keen on collaborating across the Pacific, so we'll be working out those mechanics and hopefully producing more good results.

When i allow my mind to drift from work ... and i must say that's happening more and more infrequently, as more often my mind is instead drifting towards work ... i've been revisiting my hobbies, some ever-present, some rediscovered. I've started reading Electronic Gaming Monthly again, my favorite of the console gaming magazines. It's got me hyped for the next-gen systems. Although the Xbox 360 is still lacking a formidable stable of games, i'm very impressed with what i've seen of Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter. My sister Hilary's boyfriend Jeff has a 360 and this is the game that's occupied him lately. My interest in the 360 is therefore rising, but i think i'll be holding off for a while, for three main reasons. The first is that the games i'm really keen on, the next-gen editions of Splinter Cell and Halo, keep getting pushed back. The second is that the PS3, despite possible similar delays, looks like it will kick Microsoft's console's ass. And the third is that i'm thinking of spending money somewhere else ...

That other expenditure focuses on the "rediscovered hobby" i alluded to above. I've taken an interest in classic scooters again, and am thinking of buying one. It would a good commute vehicle, anticipating nice summer cruises along Alameda de las Pulgas through ultra-rich Atherton. I'm keeping an eye out for an aesthetically pleasing classic Vespa that runs well ... something like a Vespa Rally or Sprint, with at least a 150cc engine but preferably 200cc. I'm interested in learning more about working on scooters, but for starters i'd rather pay a bit more for something reliable than get a deal on something that needs work. It'll probably be a few months before i find something and convince myself to fork over the money, but if anyone sees something that meets my criteria, let me know!

Veronica took me to see Jim Gaffigan at the Palace of Fine Arts last Friday. I wasn't even aware that PoFA had a theater, but it turns out there is a very nice one next to the Exploratorium that holds 1000 people. Mr. Gaffigan was as hilarious as his cd The Last Supper, interspersing classic old jokes ("hooooot pockets!") with equally amusing newer material. We had second row seats and were worried that either Gaffigan or his opener would be picking on us, but neither of them were very interactive with the audience. For better or worse.

Other social activities that i've taken part in recently have included visiting Geoff and Naomi's new apartment on 26th Ave. in the city, attending Veronica's officemate Stephanie's surprise birthday party with her family at Bucca di Beppo last night, catching up with old friends Greg, Noel, Juliet, and co. at a few gatherings last week as well as little Josey's first birthday party tomorrow in Golden Gate Park, and dinner with the folks as well as my sister and Jeff at the Palo Alto Creamery last Sunday.

I think there's something in the water in New Zealand, or some crazy Mystery Spot-like geophysical anomaly. How else do you explain the brilliance of the multitude of indie pop bands hailing from the Oceanic nation? Not a mediocre INXS in the bunch ... they all excel at their chosen genre.

Lately i've also been checking out new-ish albums by Pretty Girls Make Graves (some growth, some filler ... not a mesmerizing third effort but there's certainly room for growth), the Jack White/Brendan Benson project the Raconteurs (excellent excellent excellent, a wonderful fusion of the most alluring aspects of each songwriter), Built to Spill (a great return to form after a five year hiatus), Lilys (Kurt Heasly never stops shifting musical styles, but he always crafts engaging records), the Black Angels (bluesy, droney indie rock that at times gets predictable, but succeeds in constructing a lush, atmospheric experience), Comet Gain (the C-86 descendants still impress with their lo-fi, noise-laden anthems), ¡Forward, Russia! (praised by Editors, the boys from Leeds add another dance punk album to the pile, albeit one with promise), and the Stills (unfortunately, not nearly as interesting as their debut). Lots of great sounds to start off 2006 with a bang.

It's weird, it doesn't matter what i'm doing these days, my thoughts inevitably return to work. Which is good, and bad. Atlas shrugged.

Some of the men of MIPS after a night out at the less-naughty-than-advertised Pleasure Island in Downtown Disney. I really need to lose weight.

Another photo of my reptilian friend from the Gaylord Palms resort. This one is probably more reflective of the relationship of alligator and man ... i look scared s@$tless and he looks devilishly content.

I made a new friend in Orlando. He was surprisingly docile ... just sat there in my arms, like a pair of fine shoes that breathed.

Our living room is approaching completion. The Asian corner in our dining room has been supplanted by the Asian wall shown here. Shown on the screen is either Spanish, Italian, or German football, i can't remember which.

I've been holding off recounting the rest of my Orlando adventure until my radiochemist friend Fred sends me some accompanying digital photos. However, as he's probably knee-deep in more important matters, i'll proceed and give you visual documentation when he can send it my way.

The rest of the AMI wasn't particularly inspiring. I have to blame the conference organizers for this, as myself and others frequently found ourselves either staring at a day full of nothing of remote interest to us, or having to choose from three simultaneous sessions that were right up our alley. Not a great job by the conference organizers. Luckily, i again had a great time hanging out with the Stanford MIPS crowd. We somehow managed to pull off a 15 person dinner at Gloria Estefan's decent Cuban restaurant Bongos on Monday night. Fred, Sandip, Andrei, Cesar, Min, and i then hung around the "Pleasure Island" portion of Downtown Disney ... not as naughty as its name suggests, c'mon, it's taken from Pinocchio. We drank Corona and danced until 2am, first at the 70's/80's club then at the techno joint Mannequins with its rotating dance floor. Which became harder and harder to enter and exit as it got later and later.

Fred, Ivana, and i opted to relax a bit more the following night. After attending the Gaylord Palms alligator feeding at 6:30pm, we waited in the short line to hold one of the beasts. Photos forthcoming. We then hit the hot tub and pool for an hour before a relaxing late dinner at the hotel's steakhouse. Fred and i managed to get lunchtime massage appointments at the hotel spa the next day. I headed to mine after the final session of the meeting, a relatively interesting discussion of the mechanics of drug and imaging agent clinical trials and FDA approval. I was unaware that i was supposed to arrive early to change, so i was hurried into my robe and on to my massage. My masseuse Nancy informed me that i am incredibly wound up and tense. Not surprising. The massage was nice, but it didn't hit me how much it had relaxed me until i was on my flight home. The travel wasn't too bad, particularly my first leg from Orlando to Chicago as i managed to get upgraded to United's intermediate "economy plus" class, which gives an extra five inches of legroom. Although that may have been a curse in disguise, as it made my stint in regular economy on my Chicago to SFO leg that much more unbearable. That flight was also delayed by an hour, so i didn't touch down in SFO until almost midnight. Veronica and Bob had been waiting at the airport for me, and whisked me home. I gave V a pair of mod earrings i'd picked up at a pop art boutique in Downtown Disney, and found she'd bought me a cool Vespa calendar for my office.

V had relayed some sad news to me earlier in the week ... our old friend Noel's father had passed away suddenly on Tuesday. Our Boston roomie Rudha was flying in from New York for the memorial, so i returned to the airport on Thursday afternoon to pick her up. We then headed to SF and hung out with Greg and Paul for a while, before rendez-vousing with Veronica for dinner at the yummy, low-key Pakistani/Indian Darbhar. On Friday we again met up with old friends for the somber occasion of Denis Wales's memorial in Palo Alto. However, in keeping with Noel's dad's wishes, the event was less grieving and more celebration of a life. For me, it was an opportunity to catch up with a few long lost friends. It was also my first encounter with Noel and Juliet's little Josie, a scene stealer to rival Ana.

Friday was also sad for me in that it was my postdoc Lan's last day at Stanford. I took a collection of Radiation Oncology friends to the California Café. Lan did some great work while here, and it's now on my shoulders to translate his preliminary findings into long term projects and funding.

V and i met up with Geoff and Naomi for brunch at the Brickhouse early Saturday afternoon. Then while V got ahead on some work, the rest of us did some shopping around Union Square. I failed entirely in my search for a few new pairs of pants. Retrieving Veronica, we then made what i thought would be purely a window shopping visit to Room and Board. Contrary to my predictions, V and i emerged with an antique Chinese trunk while G and N ordered a bed frame and mattress set. Unfortunately, i had not anticipated that our new trunk would not fit in my Jetta's trunk or front or back seats. Geoff came to our rescue by running off to fetch their Scion, so the rest of us hung out on the Room and Board sidewalk and guarded our purchase. We spent the rest of the evening at Greg's apartment watching movies and having pizza and pasta with Greg, Rudha, Noel, Juliet, Josie, Blue, and Paul. Our viewing included about half of the Fallon/Barrymore vehicle Fever Pitch (actually, not that bad), Clerks (it seems Kevin Smith's dialogue gets worse with every viewing, but it's still a hoot), and the Thora Birch British horror crapfest the Hole, which Veronica and i actually saw in an Edinburgh theater with Rudha's cousin Jillian. Geoff and Naomi headed home shortly before we did, with us resolving to solve the trunk conundrum the following day.

Geoff kindly agreed to drive our Chinese box down to us on Sunday afternoon, while hitting Target and EB. I spent most of my Sunday further tidying the house, bringing the kitchen up to my exacting standards and washing most of our bedding. When the trunk arrived and V positioned it to her liking next to our new entertainment center, we placed a collection of blankets and pillows in it that had previously been littering the sofa. We also moved the other Chinese box to rest on top of the trunk, obliterating our "asian corner" but in the process creating our "asian wall". Photos also forthcoming.

You'll notice a few new journal viewing options at left. Experiment to your heart's content. If you have an account (which i highly encourage, so i may keep tabs on you ... bwa ha ha), your viewing preference will be remembered. I've also added a few new old photos to the images section. Enjoy.

After the Bats show, i'm revisiting New Zealand pop and investigating some bands i'd missed on my first study of the genre, including Able Tasmans, Toy Love, and the Great Unwashed. Good stuff.