12.12pm
Monday
29 August 2005
If the red-haired gene carries this risk [of
increased chances of skin cancer], why has it not died out?
The answer is that it is indeed much more common in northerly
climes, where it may also offer an advantage. One theory is
that the red-haired melanins help the skin to create vitamin D
in colder climates, thus reducing the risk of diseases such as
rickets.
An alternative explanation is that the pale skin that often
goes with red and strawberry blonde hair is so attractive that
it helps women who possess it to get mates.
--Nigel Hawkes, timesonline.co.uk
A fun weekend, including hold 'em, Jenga, pool, Bomberman, lots of cleaning and a raspberry peach pie. This whole week is booked like mad already, leaving me no time at all for the delicious library books I got while browsing there for hours on Saturday afternoon.
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Had my first day "back to school" last week, as Dr. Randall invited me to sit in on her fab graduate algorithms course. Being around other students again made me immensely self-conscious, but once we started in on approximation algorithms and sketches for proofs, I was engrossed and my head full of sparking neurons.
I'm 100% certain that I'm going to do what it takes to start my Masters next year, but the dawning reality that I might have to live in a hovel for years and STILL emerge crippled by debt is encouraging me to reassess just why I would neglect the option of one of the best computer science graduate programs around, which would cost a quarter the price of NYU, and is a stone's throw away. The main thing I'm desparate for is a change, which would perhaps not be dramatically attained by returning to the scene of the crime which was my undergraduate work, but maybe could be discovered by taking a summer off to live in Cambodia, or something of that nature. The idea of blowing off Tech for an irrational desire to live in NYC, even if it means going to a school with less rigor and scientific prestige and an intensely extravagant price tag, seems in some phases to be absurdly silly.
But I still have a weekend extravaganza planned at the end of September, thrilling dinner plans, an enticing conference, and we all know NYC has a suave demeanor and charm to spare. She may just sweep me off my feet, that cold-hearted bitch.
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ACK I HAVE TOO MUCH WORK TO DO OK BYE