Tagged - part 2

The meme goes on...this is great to be able to eek out 4 posts.

Five Things on Today’s To-do List

I never have less than 15 things on a to-do list.

1. Check on my babies…glioma cells (brain cancer cells) to see if they are confluent. If not, which is likely, feed them with 5 ml of DMEM. [done] In the pics, in one area of the flask, they cover about 80% of the surface, but in another area they are sporadic at best. I need the entire flask to be about 95% covered (aka confluent) to run my experiments. In the lesser filled picture, you can see two interesting things. First, the big cell in the middle has lots of appendages, this is what characterizes astrocytes. Second, this cell is huge! Most remain below 100 micro-meters (µm) and more often less than that. But at 200 µm, this baby is gigantic! Look closely and you will see two circles in the middle. They are two nuclei. The cell has finished mitosis (division of DNA) and about to start cytokinesis (separation into two cells). Pics were taken this morning.
2. ecard for Mom. [done] I promise to be better with real cards when school is over.
3. Figure out and get ½ completed of my Thermal Systems Design paper on the design of an impulse blade for a steam turbine. The velocity triangle calculations are simple enough mathematically but conceptually I’m not there yet.
4. Clean house a bit, got a guest coming, oooh, and buy flowers for the entry-way.
5. Write “Tagged – part 2” of the meme from Beth. [in progress while enjoy downloads from her...now done]
6. Review notes for micro-/nanotechnology test on Tuesday.
7. Do laundry! I need to have something to wear on Monday eve...I have a reception at Gracie Mansion with the Mayor thanks to my work with the Mayor’s Office of Television, Film and Broadcasting to move the industry to using cleaner fuels when doing onsite shooting. (It has been fairly successful, but there is a press lock down until it all comes together, so don’t ask any questions, I can say a thing.) I so need new shoes and I'm such a shoe guy, ugh! That's student life. I don't have time to shop.
8. Bring tools purchased for Eng w/o Borders (EWB) to campus. [½ done]
9. Email a Rotary Club on Long Island about the art auction our EWB chapter helped them with and see if they have decided on how much of the proceeds will come to us. This impacts how many students can travel on the assessment trip in Aug 08.
10. Thank you letter and 501(c)3 letter to a Rotary Club in Brooklyn for their contribution to EWB. Also ask if they will hook us up with a Rotary Club in San Pedro Sula, Honduras.
11. Practice piano and voice. (Usually in the morning but I slept in, the ol’ bod’ needed the rest.)
12. Write up Aero-thermo-fluids lab on parallel and crossflow heat exchangers. This one may take some time as the theoretical results from the correlation equation are way off from the experimental results.
13. Email condolence to friends who lost their baby at 20 weeks of pregnancy. Pray they find peace and recover together. [done] Try not to cry. When I found out they were pregnant, I immediately offered to babysit and we were all so excited. And now...my thoughts recall the expriences of several friends who have endured this sorrow and for all the compassion and love, I can do nothing ... so I pray. (This is not just another item on the to do list, yet at the same time that is today's blog. Everyday has incredible highs and lows, so I included it.)
14. See what classes are available in the summer and fall and fill out the forms.
15. Find a sneaky way to remind my potential new boss how much I get paid so that when I move I still get the same amount of cash. I currently work in bio-medical engineering which is great but my area is energy, so I have an opportunity to do solar nano-wires. If the EE department can come up with the $, I will work both this summer part-time and switch next semester (Fall 08).
16. Get an extra set of keys for the apt made.
17. Fill out dental forms, new dentist.
18. Oh, shit! My week for lab duties. I’ve decided not to do any aliquots of chemicals as we are low on people for the moment so they are not being used up fast.
19. etc., etc., etc. and a whole list of stuff that ain't gonna get done until after exams...

I must admit, this list is light on homework. Most projects are done and I’m waiting for finals. I also have an unusually light final schedule as the three tough engineering classes have open notes finals. I just have to review a few things.