show puppies

Honey and Gracie were treated to their fall beauty shop appointment yesterday. Gracie hates going; she's not a fan of the blow dryer cages, or her mommy leaving her somewhere that isn't home. When we got home, I realized that Honey's ear infection was not improving with the home treatment, so off to the vet. Honey loves the vet. Three medications, two shots, and a box of heartworm prevention later... I was less of a fan, but maybe that is just my pocketbook speaking.

finally, feminism i can agree with...

I've been struggling recently with figuring out how to express my opinion on the topic of women's equality, feminism, "women in science", and the like... lucky for me, someone else did it perfectly.

http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=510560

Thank you, Virginia Fisher.

place coding

The broad topic of the first question of my qualification exam involves place coding in the auditory system. more specifically, I'm to examine frequency selectivity in the normal and impaired auditory systems, discussing the importance of tonotopic organization, and the potential perceptual consequences. I'm not sure what the exact question will be like, but it will involve these topics. Today I'm hoping to do something of an outline going over these main topics and getting a better idea of how the literature fits together.

In a nutshell... the tonotopic organization of the basilar membrane is essential for frequency selectivity. The basilar membrane is graded in stiffness, meaning the mechanical tuning leads to the system having "good" frequency selectivity. This tonotopic organization is maintained throughout the auditory system, including the CANS. Phsyiologically, this has been demonstrated in various experimental paradigms including basilar membrane input/output functions, auditory nerve fiber recordings, recordings made in higher brain centers, etc. However, it is equally important to demonstrate these phenomena behaviorally. This is where psychoacoustics comes in.

And now, back to my notebook :-)

hobby shmobby

ok, here is the deal. I have been so busy keeping up with the demands of graduate school for the last few years that I've completely lost touch with my hobbies... I haven't touched a piano for years, haven't completed more than one knitting project in well over a year, haven't been to a musical arts event in I don't even know how long, haven't put on my dancing shoes (well except for recent WIUX dance parties)... you get the point. I'm about three weeks from having my schedule clear up a bit, and now I can't decide what to do! Insanity. Should I volunteer somewhere, pick back up one of my long lost hobbies, get involved in a "just for fun" group... the possibilities are endless.I know for sure I want to pick my knitting up again this fall/winter, but just can't get into it much when it's 100 degrees out. I'd LOVE to play the piano again, but quite frankly have lost the courage to try it. I'm pretty sure that my fingers have forgotten "the moves" and I'll completely suck now... but it's definitely not off the table. If only I could find a private, quiet place to play . (I miss my Steinway, mom!)
I started leafing through the seemingly endless volunteer possibilities in Bloomington. The two best options so far seem to be the WonderLab (kids science center) or the Pets ALIVE spay/neuter clinic (I know that sounds weird, but obviously surgeries don't freak me out).
Then there are the new fun possibilities: ceramics class, photography class, knitting circle, or yarn spinning, etc.
Man, I never thought that figuring out how to spend a little spare time would be so difficult.

So what do you think?

patio garden

my oh my... how my garden has grown

A Summer in Review

As I prepare to begin another fall semester at IU, I though I would take some time this morning to reflect in the fun I had this summer. I often find that my hasty answer to the "do anything fun this summer" question is "not really"... I guess that really isn't a fair assessment of this particular summer.

The summer started with a pretty fun event: my sister Shannon turned 21! We had a great night out, and I had the chance to finally meet a lot of her friends (whom I love by the way).
I had a blast with my families this summer. Weekends at home were wonderful and relaxing. Spent some time with Ann and Tom before my birthday... went to a baseball game, spent some time fishing on the lake (caught nothing), laughed at the dogs when the wouldn't stop getting in the pond...(This last picture was taken right next to the spot that Richie and I got married three years earlier)

The next week, we celebrated three lovely years of marriage. Richie took us to Restaurant Tallent (where we were engaged); we had a sublime meal. I highly recommend this restaurant to anyone looking for fresh, unique, seasonal food in Bloomington. Next time we go, we will try the chef's selection taster menu.
Next up for our summer of fun was a sushi night at home
and June birthday (including mine) celebration at the Bloomington speedway. I'm really not a race fan, but I have to say, it's one thing you should definitely experience here in town one time...
In mid-June, I traveled to Florida to meet my beautiful new nephew and have some fun with my sister Brit. The beach was beautiful, but couldn't compare with the newest love of my life...
When I returned to Bloomington, I spent a little time at home... took our annual visit to the Taste of Bloomington, spent some fun times with friends at home...
Then, of course, we had to check out Ann's new ride... and the new Southern Illinois winery... (mmm... Sangria)And of course, what summer would be complete without at least a few visits with my family, and my best buddy Cooper! This summer Cooper learned to dance, swim, and is starting to work on his first words... he grows up way too fast!
We also got the chance to try out our sea legs when Sarah's family took us out on their boat. Mom rocked, Jim rocked, and I... well I made it up on my skis, but it wasn't pretty (I still have the bruises to prove it!)Of course, this post isn't an exhaustive list of fun times this summer... I also spent a little bit of time with Carrie, friends here in B-town, and lots of time with Richie and the dogs at home... but I ended the summer last night at the second WIUX dance party with Shan, Mike, and the rest of the WIUX crew...
Thanks for the fun summer, everyone!!!

Car Goes Crunch

My poor husband had a car minor accident today. Everyone is fine (thank God), but the car didn't fare so well; we can no longer open either passenger door. Hopefully everything will go smoothly with the insurance adjuster, but I'm prepared for this whole thing to be a major pain in the bum.

I was waiting to be picked up when the nastiness happened. Right afterward, Richie called a secretary to ask if she could tell me about it so I could come meet him at the accident site. Unfortunately when she told me, she failed to use the words "he's ok", so I walked about 5-6 blocks in a minor panic. Here are some shots from the scene...

I actually think this picture is kind of neat with the clouds on the windshield (which we just had replaced so the car didn't look ghetto- HA!). Just ignore the whole crunched in door...
We're pretty sure that the other guy's car is going to be totaled... it doesn't look to bad from the picture, but there were various parts of the engine on the ground from another view.

They say bad things come in threes... hopefully we don't have more in store.

Coffee shop banter

I'm sitting here in a crowded dimly lit coffee house trying to drown out the artwork being pounded on next door and the interesting discussion about photography going on next to me...

I'm supposed to be drafting my thoughts on one of my qualification topics: the mechanisms of generation of otoacoustic emissions. Not an easy question to answer (mainly because there isn't really a perfect answer yet)... but I intend to give it my best shot.

summer's over folks

well, almost. it's the week in Bloomington that I dread each year... welcome week. The week that my lovely quiet town is overrun again with undergraduate students. I will be avoiding campus at all costs this week, so if you are trying to find me, look somewhere that freshman don't know about yet. Soma would be your first best guess.

Tomato season has arrived. Our two well cared for tomato plants have begun to bless us with yummy red fruit, more than we can possibly consume. Want to make some salsa? Come and pick a few tomatoes at our place. Maybe we should throw a salsa party. hmm...


Quals are in three weeks. My stress level is starting to grow, I can't wait until this is over. Beginning to wonder what on earth I am going to do with my time when I'm not taking five classes and/or studying for qualifications... maybe I'll actually have a bit of spare time for some hobbies again!