Genetics

Some people have been worried about a "fat gene". A gene that dooms you to become fat. Forget about that, what about the "bitch gene"? Now that is something worth studying. Some refer to it as the "mi7n gene". It was shown to be on a locus close to the "open-mindedness gene" but they were quite distinct.
Further analysis is underway to look into the possibilty that Phoenicians, during their quests in earlier centuries contributed to spreading the gene in the New World along with other contributions to civilization. Now THAT, my friends, is a study worth publishing.

A Shit-Hole Full of Fools

Sometimes I wonder what have those thousands of years and hundreds of civilizations that passed through our region done to us? What have they offered? An accumulation of hatred, problems, disappointments, self-doubt, and wars.
Ever since we were small kids we were taught to brag about our past, the historic richness of our homeland. It was always implied to us that it is something to be proud of, but at times I start thinking that it is merely an act of stupidity.
For people like us, so rooted in their past and surrounded by all this history of conflicts, isn't it harder to start from scratch? At some point in time, that is what a civilization needs, starting from scratch. Putting all the past behind its back and moving on. Ataturk forced the Ottoman's to do so, the French revolution was successful in doing so, the Maoists of China attemted for a decade, and succeeded in seperating the past from their nation's future. The United States of America was built in a whole new continent... regardless of how successful those attempts and movements were, regardless of the names they hold, they made a difference.
We have been living in the shit-hole, this middle-east for centuries, going in circles, stuck to our past, not just stuck, but longing to go back to the old days, fighting our ancestors' battles and losing their wars over and over again.
I am desperate, I feel as if everyone I know is a fool who just does not grasp what we are going through, just endorsing hatred as an ideology and giving it names to avoid the guilt.
If only my people would educate themselves a bit, and try to understand the world, before asking the world to understand their complexes and insecurity.
What is this post all about?
Disappointment and despair.

Happy New 2006

I have been on a road trip from California back to Ohio. It was something to remember although we were in a hurry and it all took my friend and me 3 days and a half.
I am all out of time and I have a zillion things to do. This month will be a disaster in the lab.
Take care and make the best of this year. I hope I'll be able to do the same.