Why am I so compelled to stay late each night only to prove to myself that an experiment will not work? It’s analogous to the race horse that struggles so hard to gallop around the track only to end up where it first started. Wouldn’t it have been a lot easier not to have started running at all?

I’ve been taking the shuttle bus to do some experiments over at the Schepens Eye Research Institute recently. One of the things I missed since I had started walking to work rather than taking public transportation, is having an isolated period of time to do stuff. Of course, I could be studying. But instead, I’ve taken on a renewed addiction in playing Tetris on my cell phone. I know it’s pathetic, but I guess that’s why they call it an addiction! Among other things I’ve recently grown addicted to are the website SpikedHumor.com, specializing in funny and outrageous video clips, as well as the recently-released demo of Age of Empires 3. The demo itself is still very buggy, but the graphics and game engine are impressive. Check out this screenshot of my most excellent army!

It’s hard to believe that my 3-day-trip to Stanford is already over. Since last Sunday, under orders from the commandant, I was sent to Palo Alto on an assignment to learn an electroporation technique from a lab at Stanford. This, I had thought, meant having a chance to bask in that California sunshine, munch on some fresh fruits, and maybe even catch up on some papers while lying beside a swimming pool as beautiful women play volleyball in their bikinis. =P But alas the experiments turned out a lot more time-consuming than I had anticipated. And without a car, I was pretty much limited to the lab and the hotel. Nevertheless, my hosts were gracious enough to put me up at a pretty nice place, and even treated me to a luxurious dining experience at The Three Seasons in downtown Palo Alto. I was also happy to meet up with some old college friends, and even finished reading The Elegant Universe, an undertaking almost a year in the making. Hopefully, the technique will prove useful and breathe some life back into my experiments back home.

When Melody noticed the newly-released Simpsons 6th Season DVD box-set, her immediate thought was: “Glenn’s not gonna like this.” Indeed, when I went to BestBuy yesterday and saw the bright yellow plastic box shaped like Homer’s head, I became overwhelmed by a sudden fear. How in the world am I going to fit this into my neatly-aligned row of DVD boxes? Just then, a note fell out of the box with the words “To All Those That Fear Change” printed in bold letters. I gave a sigh of relief as I read about their alternative packaging offer to get an unimaginative old style replacement box designed specifically for us “anal-retentive nerds who like their DVD boxes to line up perfectly on the shelf.” Heheh. Well-played, Mr. Groening. Anyway, the week’s been otherwise the same old thing, with the exception of a trip down to New York for Leo’s wedding. Beside satisfying our Japanese noodle craving once again, we also decided to try something new. I will not expound further, but let’s just say that it’s a privilege to have such an understanding girlfriend. =)