Procrastinating (of course)
1) While my gel polymerizes, I am taking a moment to read "How to write consistently boring scientific literature," in the May 2007 edition of Oikos. I like to think I'm able to interject some personality into my writing, but the need to adhere to strict word-counts and other publication requirements will surely leave my writing a dry, brown husk. Maybe I should sprinkle my papers with pictures of my dog.

2) A meme just for myself:
Titles of Dissertations I Would Have Written if I'd Chosen Other Educational Paths
--The Physics of Curly Hair: A Study in Spring Mechanics and the Impact of Atmospheric Humidity on Keratin Alpha-Helix Rotation
--Atheists are Nice People, Too: The Fallacy of Equating "Morality" with "Christianity"
--Chicago's Social and Political History as Reflected in its Literature
--Urban Development Patterns in the Age of Highways and Railroads: Concentric Rings or Spiderwebs?
--The Rise and Fall and Rise of Feminism in America: The 1920s, 1950s, and the 1960s and Beyond
--The Future of Sprawl: The Long-term Fate of Low-density, Automobile-oriented Development in Aging and Expanding Metropolises
--Don't Mess With the Nuns: Chicago's North Park Village and the Fight to Save Urban Green Space, a True Story

The key to a good dissertation, of course, is the colon in the title. No good can come of having no colon.
- posted by Diane @ 12:06 PM