Here is a photograph of the members of my (well, really Dr. P's) lab

I love working with all of you and I am blessed to spend my time with such nice and gifted people.

Like a Lion Seeking What it Might Devour

I have been under attack over the past two years.  Ultimately, this is a spiritual assault.

Without going into details, someone is telling lies about me and I recently had conformation that my suspicions were correct about some details about the nature of the falsehoods.  People that know my character know that these lies have no merit; that I don't say things like that. They also know that I have my integrity. But, as my friend, Shayma said, even if the dirt you're throwing doesn't stick, it leaves a mark (think of picking up mud and hurling it at a earthen middle eastern house the mud doesn't stick but there is a mark.  (Shayma is Iraqi and she was trying to translate the heart of the words from Arabic into English.)

Another dear friend, Pam, has reminded me of this video and how the lion is the enemy and wants to destroy the little girl (the innocent) but can't (the plexiglass is God's protection.)

Now, I am supposed to be brave like this little girl but that takes faith that the lion has 0 chance of breaching the plexiglass but I must remember the plexiglass represents God's protection and God never fails! So far, I have weathered these attacks and have seen God protect me.

I hope this blesses someone else as much as it has blessed me and I wish nothing bad for this person that is attacking me. I hope someday whatever is tormenting him to the degree that he wants to hurt other people would be healed. I pray that this person would come to know God's love, grace, and protection but in the meantime before the lamb can snuggle up and nap with the lion, I am thankful for thick plexiglass.

Miss representation Trailer

Ok, this issue is huge, it is why girls start out so bright and interesting and end up occupying much less than the 51% of positions of power that would correspond with their demographics.

And when a woman dares to become well-known in her field, we are distracted by petty issues such as her looks or the origin of her breasts.

Toward the end of this trailer, we are asked what we can do about the way girls and women are objectified in the media and there was precious little to be done.

This state of affairs is pathetic.

Why should you pay attention to *my* opinion?

Because I have five daughters and they don't give a damn about what other people including the male population thinks about their breasts, their asses, or their attitude. They do all of this without coming off hostile or on the rag (or pms'ing.)

First daughter plays bass guitar in a band. They have been on MTV and have a contract and have a contract to be music on a couple of TV series. (I honestly don't have the details.)

Daughter 2 is a pediatrician.

Daughter 3 is the assistant estimator in the commercial division of a construction company.

Daughter 4 just graduated from Carnegie-Mellon University with a degree in Civil Engineering and Public Policy.

Daughter 5 just won the Vex robotics tournament today. They won yesterday's robotics tournament yesterday (and won the Judges award for their design and ability to articulate the team's design.) She is 12 and the youngest member of an all-girls' team. I will post footage of her 'bot, it is really cool.

I'll find some footage and edit this post.

Don't fall into the culture trap or that of the patriarchy.

Stop telling little girls how pretty they are (who cares, do we love them less when they're ugly?)

Think about the role' models.

Help them with their interests and let them know they can accomplish whatever they have in their heart to accomplish.

Oh, yes, and if you want to cut on a woman who is a public figure, stay on target.

I don't care about her looks.

I don't want to know where her breasts come from.

I don't want to confuse her with a female dog that is ready to breed.

I want to speak a language where the opposite of emasculate is effeminate.

Odds and Ends

Just need to update this blog.

Here is a picture of Fi
And Pat and Julianna.

I got my apps into UDel but I don't think I'm going to apply elsewhere.

I don't see myself driving into inner-Philly, the trains (two of them) to Drexel is 1 1/2 hours each way and the subway to Temple Medical campus is dangerous.

Here are a few more pictures.....

Joseph and Jessica (and Kev's wonderful pizza.)

Pat and me being goofy.

Jeanette and Joey

Pat and Fiona

SGM = FUBAR

Oops, they did it again. It isn't enough for SGM to side with pediphiles because they have a Y  chromosome and, donchaknow, God put males on the top of the pecking order.
Never mind they have books and parenting classes which were discredited (causing them to kick me out of their congregation as the result.)

Now, these geniuses are telling people that it's better to watch porn than to read a Christian blog in which people freely (and generally respectfully) opine about these things.

So, here is my joke,

"Why would the Senior Pastor at Covenant Fullofit tell his members to look at porn instead of reading a Christian blog?" "They're going to be screwed by the leaders, they should know what it looks like."

Conversely, they sure as hell shouldn't be doing something as scandalous as thinking for themselves, that might lead to falling into all sorts of sin, dontchaknow!

6 Degrees

My mom just got home from vacation and brought home an amazing story but she didn’t get the names and email addresses of the main characters in the story that could be made into a drama complete with a happy ending.

I really want to test the theory of six degrees of separation as well and I will put this on my blog and facebook and allow everyone to gain access to this tale because I am a storyteller but this is not my story and I so dearly want to give credit where credit is due. My mother spent the past three weeks on a cruise through the Panama Canal. She had a wonderful time and enjoyed sharing her table with a cute German couple, a set Irish lifetime BFF’s as well as a lovely couple originally from Rhodesia.

Apparently the Rhodesians belonged to the merchant class having been the owners of a department store before the troubled times. But revolution came to their homeland and our couple (they will be J and Z.) As Rhodesia was tumbling into chaos, J and Z escaped with nothing more than their two young children and the scant clothes on their backs.

Uprooted without means of support of any sort, J and Z spent time in a refugee camp before the opportunity arose for them to be allowed to achieve resident worker status in England, Canada, and several other countries. J and Z felt as though they had nothing to lose and a new life in a safe country to gain so they signed the paperwork and waited for the word that would determine their future in an unknown land.  They were fortunate to have Canada selected to be their new homesite.

They were told that Canada was a cold land.

They responded by packing a sweater for each member of their little family.

Under those circumstances they arrived at Toronto’s Airport.

They lived in Toronto Airport for three weeks.

About the time, some random man from the Toronto metro area started feeling an intense sense that God wanted him to go down to the airport because someone needed help.

Since this story is told through the eyes of J and Z, I don’t know how this man felt I’m assuming he went through the normal human angst upon sensing such specific direction from God (or was it that pizza he ate last night?)

But he did listen to that direction in spite of the disarming specificity of details.

After several trips to the airport, the Canadian man, (we’ll call him R) finally discovered our little refugee family that was living in the airport with nothing but the clothes on their backs (including a sweater but no coat.)

Mr. R. went out and secured a wardrobe for each family member including a warm coat, hats, gloves, and scarves.

R went on to find the family a decent apartment in a safe part of the city and furnished the apartment albeit with Salvation Army finds.

He helped J and Z find work so they could support themselves with dignity.

Eventually, the family moved to Vancouver where the J found work managing a chain of restaurants eventually buying into the business. Their children took advantage of educational opportunities and the daughter is now a doctor and the son is a professional in another field (my mother cannot remember the details.)

I want to test the six degrees of separation. I want to discover the faces and names that belong to this story. J, Z, R, and little ones, your story is an amazing testimony of the goodness that can be found in people when they listen to the small still voice God uses when He speaks into our lives.

Paper is Published!

Our paper went to publication today. Here is the link to the abstract.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0091305711002796

Just want to thank Dr. P. for being the best advisor and my family for putting up with me.