Had a very busy Friday, attending my first episode of the new weekly Radiation Physics lit review, in which i got to impart the findings of two papers from a recent issue of Physics in Medicine and Biology. Somehow i got assigned one paper on non-invasive measurement of blood glucose levels using optical coherence tomography and one on receiver operating characteristic analysis of mammography systems ... not my cuppa but interesting nonetheless. After an afternoon catching up on correspondences and setting up meetings for this week, i headed off to my softball game. Fred and Zac had organized a rematch/grudge match between the two MIPS teams. I took my customary spot at first, and off we went. We had a defensive duel going on for a few innings, until our opponents (the Radicals) unloaded for eight runs. Fred then went to a new strategy, suspiciously and potentially illegally having all the Rays men bat in succession. We closed the gap and may or may not have tied it in the bottom of the ninth, depending on who you talk to. Fred convinced everyone to play another inning, so the Radicals went up to bat. We got our three outs without allowing any runs, but unfortunately on the last play our pitcher Tom took a line drive shot off the top of his right foot, and went down writhing in pain. It's even more unpleasant considering that in the second inning the same thing happened to his left foot. Eek. We decided to call it a game.

I sped home and fed the Tara dog, then showered, beautified myself (as much as possible), and drove up to SF to fetch Veronica from work. We had a nice dinner at Sanraku, before queueing up for the 11pm showing of ... yes, here it comes ... Snakes on a Plane. Jenz was having her birthday festivities there, and succeeded in collecting perhaps thirty people for the show. A really silly movie no doubt, but we had a blast because of the mood of the audience. This was Rocky Horror atmosphere ... everyone shouting things at the screen and being smart alecs. Right up my alley, and lots o' fun. I made my best quip when Samuel Jackson and Julianna Margulies got cuddly at the end, shouting "snakes in my pants!". I'm funny.

I had to head home and forgo the post-movie 1am dancing at the Stud, as i was due to attend a mini-symposium at Stanford the next morning. I succeeded in rising at 7:30am and making my way over to the Stanford Cancer Center, and heard a few hours of lectures on the future of robotic radiosurgery. It was a good overview of the field, and when my interest level dipped i did some brainstorming about future research. I returned home around noon to find that our neighbors had hired some workers to trim their palm tree, which was growing against the fence dividing our properties. They had the wood chipper running full steam, and were chainsawing branches left and right to feed to it. We let them come into our yard to tidy, and while there one of the workers found a squirrel nest that had fallen from the tree with a trimmed branch. Lo and behold, two tiny baby squirrels were inside, a little jostled and dazed but okay. Veronica checked a few online FAQ's and resolved to make a warm nest in a box for them, laying it at the base of the tree for their mother to come fetch them after the workers left ... apparently unlike other animals squirrels don't abandon their young if they have human smell on them. We went out for lunch and shopping, and upon returning found the nest empty. I'll go with the happy analysis ... mommy found her young and took them to a new nest.

I never really listened to the Durutti Column much, but was encouraged to do so while expanding my Factory Records collection. Steve Coogan as Tony Wilson as God in 24 Hour Party People sums up the Vini Reilly outfit excellently ... "it's good music to chill out to".

Returning home from the symposium, i also checked the footie scores on Soccernet and found the news was good and bad. Good that Liverpool and Arsenal could both only manage draws against lesser opposition (newly promoted Sheffield United and perennial underachievers Aston Villa, respectively). Bad that my fantasy footie performers had completely crapped out ... no goals for Thierry Henry, Luis Garcia, Damien Duff, or Tomas Rosicky. A whopping total of 4.5 points for my Liverpool-based defense, featuring a completely underwhelming -2 points for Jose Reina in goal. Egad. I'm in last in my league, a staggering 90 points out of first and ahead of only the three people who didn't complete their rosters and hence have zero points. An inauspicious debut to say the least.

V wasn't feeling well on Saturday night, so i figured we would miss Fred and Amanda's birthday party for their one year old son Ethan and his 87 year old grand-uncle. She napped while i played Me and My Katamari on the PSP. That game gets so fun once you begin rolling the large (10+ meters) katamaris. I made it through 7 or 8 levels before V woke up and said she was feeling much better, so we readied and made it to the party a scant 3 hours late. Luckily Fred had just finished his host duties and was happy that we were there so he could eat with us. We chatted until 12:30am, with me taking frequent conversational breaks to play peek-a-boo with Ethan.

I arose at 10am on Sunday to learn that Chelsea had made an excellent start to the season, clobbering bogey team Manchester City 3-nil at Stamford Bridge thanks to goals from John Terry, Frank Lampard, and Didier Drogba. The Drogba goal in particular was brilliant, a diving header to turn a low Wayne Bridge cross past backup City keeper Nicky Weaver. Positive omens all around, from impressive play from Bridge to stake his claim as a starting wing back, to a solid performance by the still-young Arjen Robben, to a commanding display in central midfield by Michael Essien (soon to be locked in battle with the recovering Michael Ballack for the starting spot beside Lamps). I'm not sold on the just-completed signing of Dutch fullback Khalid Boulahrouz ... i remember him gouging Cristiano Ronaldo in the World Cup with a studs first challenge. As much as the annoying Manchester United and Portugal winger deserved it, i'm not sure someone nicknamed "Khalid the Cannibal" is a good addition to a squad that had too many cards last year ... a poor 15th in the fairplay table, down from our usual position between 5th and 10th. I must shamefully admit i'm holding out hope that we sign longterm target Ashley Cole from Arsenal, although the arrival of Boulahrouz dampens those hopes and also causes worry that wantaway defender William Gallas may soon get his wish, to the detriment of our defense. Despite Chelsea's good Sunday performance, of my fantasy players Andriy Shevchenko earned no points and Michael Ballack didn't play. Fan-freakin-tastic. United also played well, destroying Fulham 5-1. But god durn it my only United fantasy squad member Gabriel Heinze also didn't play. Apparently my fantasy research is fundamentally flawed. I think my problem is that i'm relying on big-team, big-name players instead of signing lower-profile but high-return players from smaller clubs. Despite the fact that i read Soccernet religiously, i'm seemingly still not well-versed in the nitty gritty statistics of English footie.

The rest of my Sunday was spent on the domestic tip, aiding Veronica in painting our kitchen, replacing an old electrical socket and two dimmer switches, and doing loads upon loads of laundry. I passed out in the armchair around 11pm after folding my last batch of towels. I didn't even get to watch the new Venture Bros., but luckily it's waiting for me on Tivo. I did see the latest Metalocalypse, which was quite good. Really dark, biting, evil sense of humor in that show. As any show with a character named Murderface should be.

V and i fly off to Hawaii on Friday, a direct flight to Kailua-Kona followed by a short island hop to Honolulu. Watching Snakes on a Plane, in which the titular plane is on its way from Hawaii to LA, a week before flying the opposite direction wasn't a good morale-booster. Anyhow, i'm contemplating taking scuba and/or surfing lessons while there. So maybe i should be more worried about sharks.