Mascot
The calmodulin protein has two sites where it binds calcium ions in the cell; after it has bound them, it serves as a signal to other proteins of calcium levels within said cell. As an introduction to some of the basic conformational changes proteins undergo, we covered this figure in our cell biology slides yesterday.
What makes this amazing, though, is the caption which my professor supplied. She pointed out that the drawing looks like a really happy squirrel carrying two water balloons (or I thought possibly giant stuffed olives), whose tail is being attacked by two Pac-men.
This brings me to the final point - that picture above is going to look a little wonky because of the whole “switching gradually over to the new tumbledry” thing. Having said that, I can’t withhold the very beta redesign any longer. Check it out at tumbledry.org/ts/.
Put down the ducky - A Sesame Street classic - this is the extended version. And yes … it is amazing. Thanks, Katy!
Useful tips for those on Carroll Ave - The first link is pointers on finding house plants that are hard to kill. The second covers dealing with pesky cat allergies.
I hope the ladies at 1936 approve.
Bob Ross, Painting Extraordinaire - I don’t have really clear memories of Bob Ross and his painting show, but I know that it’s hard to argue with someone with such a life outlook: “we don’t make mistakes, we just have happy accidents.” More at Homestar Runner (thanks, Katy!) and the official Bob Ross website.
“The Show” continues to impress me - “First off, i’d like to apologize for whoever told you that your degree would be useful. That was irresponsible of them.” - Ze Frank
Ze Frank’s presentation at TED - TED stands for Technology Entertainment Design. Even if you don’t find the tech-geek humor funny, Ze Frank has some undeniably useful presentation practices that would be highly beneficial to the typical power point garbage. Via Waxy … you know waxy … the guy who coined the term “star wars kid.”
The War Over Salt - Via kottke.org a couple weeks back, I couldn’t pass up passing this link on the ridiculous amounts of salt americans consume and the consequences of trying to reign big food conglomerate’s use of the substance.
The fabled American Express black card - This thing began life as an urban legend which American Express picked up on - it’s basically a credit card that you can buy anything with: like, say, jets. The bearer is entitled to amazing perks: “A personal concierge - one person assigned to your account, with a direct phone number and email address …”
More at Wikipedia
Beer cannon - The best slow motion video of a beer can running through a cantelope that I have ever seen.
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