What's in a Name?

The question rings true for my school right now. After going through a process, the school has determined a new name for itself. Previously, and when I came here, it was known as University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center. Quite the mouthful and commonly abbreviated as UCDHSC. The name served several purposes, for there are 2 campuses here in Denver. The downtown campus (typically known as UCD), and the Aurora campus (previously known as Health Sciences Center or UCHSC). After looking to shorten and make a better name for the school, it was decided that we would now be known simply as University of Colorado-Denver (or UCD). UCD will be composed of the downtown campus and the Anschutz Medical Campus (name changed due to a large chunk of money...by someone named Anschutz). Really, this doesn't affect me personally in any way, shape or form. But it does beg the question, what's in a name?

I actually liked the prior name, or at least the inclusion of Health Sciences Center. It was kind of fun to have such a huge frickin' name. UCD does roll of the tongue much easier, but doesn't really put much emphasis on the health sciences. I don't really think that the name change is going to affect enrollment or national prominence, but I could be wrong. People who get paid more than me get to make the decisions, so it doesn't really matter. The real question is if they will change the suffix on my e-mail address. We can hope not, because that's a headache I don't want to deal with.

My department/program is also contemplating a name change. However, this one involves getting longer instead of shorter. Currently, it's the Department of Pharmacology. The proposed change is Department of Pharmacology and Systems Biology. Apparently research has shown that enrollment increased at other institutions by the addition of systems biology. Again, as long as it stays pharmacology, it doesn't really affect me. I prefer the shorter name in this case (especially since I think systems biology is just some catch phrase). Oh well, it's really not up to me.

From the Anschutz Medical Campus at the University of Colorado-Denver, I'm signing off.... Enjoy your day.

The Holiday Movie Season

Well, as my loyal and trusted readers know, I regularly post about movies (although I haven't done a good list or even review for a bit...I'll remedy that shortly though). With the holiday season upon us (Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's), I figured I'd let you in on my "Must See" list from now until the end of the year. I'm not going to rank them, and will list them in order of release date. I will then say a few words about each (at which point you can easily infer an order of interest). Ok, on with the show....

November

American Gangster (11/2) - Denzel Washington (the gangster) and Russell Crowe (the cop) go back and forth as one tries to take down the other. Has the appearance of a good gangster/cop movie. Keeping my eyes on the reviews for this one.

Beowulf (11/16) - Robert Zemekis directed CGI movie. I have always liked the story of Beowulf, and have seen many very poor films about it. This one appears to have a budget and a good director, so I am very hopeful.

The Mist (11/21) - Film based on a Stephen King story. Stephen King's writing is so excellent based on the psychological aspects of his characters and that often translates poorly in film. A close eye will be on reviews for this film. It has the makings of a good suspense film.

December

I Am Legend (12/14) - A remake of The Omega Man (never seen it) starring Will Smith as the last human left on earth. Basically this is a vampire movie (as I understand it). I've liked Will Smith in most of his movies and look forward to this one.

National Treasure: Book of Secrets (12/21) - Sequel to National Treasure with Nicholas Cage. The original was one of the best adventure movies to come around in a long time, and was super fun. I am expecting more of the same from this one. Likely a theater viewing with the family.

Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (12/25) - A sequel of sorts to AVP. The original was ok (could've been better), but this one looks like a step in the right direction. From early trailers, this one doesn't try to set up a plot, but just lets the badguys go at it. This is a theater experience with my brother (it'll happen, budget be darn).

Now, there is a distinct possibility I missed a major release. It is also possible there is a movie that just hasn't been hyped yet that may pique my interest. Regardless, these are the films of interest coming out before 2008 hits the calendars. Let me know your thoughts.

Crazy...crazy...weather

Now being from Indiana, I'm used to weather fluctuations. In fact, I've heard (and repeated) the saying, "Don't like the weather? Stick around, it'll change." However, this weekend was probably the craziest example of changing weather I've ever encountered. This weekend was my departments retreat. Our retreat took place at Copper Mountain (about 2 hours out of Denver). It is impressive what a difference 6-8,000 feet makes. I went from moderate fall weather (mid-50s) to full on winter (low-40s as the high and snowy). That was half-expected though.

Upon returning to Denver on Saturday, I arrived to weather flirting with 80 degrees. Yes, 80 degrees. Absolutely amazing weather. When I awoke on Sunday, I saw roughly an inch of snow on the ground and a high of mid-40s (some areas had near 5 inches). Yep, you read that correctly. 80 degrees on Saturday, and 40 degrees with snow less than 24 hours later. Let that sink and re-read it if you have to. I've gotten used to a bit of the whole freezing early, but decent late, and returning to freezing when the sun disappears. Even that did not prepare me fully for what I saw this weekend.

Any other fun weather stories, feel free to share.

Oh yeah, they are projecting near 70 by mid-week. "Stick around...it'll change." Sounds like a bit of an understatement to me.

The early TV season...

It's been a week and nothing major has really piqued my interest enough to write a post. I was just reading some reviews of TV shows this past week, and that was enough to make me decide to post about the early TV season. I'll inform you of the shows I watch and my thoughts thus far on each of them.

Sunday
The Family Guy (Fox, 9 EST) - As usual this show has been humorous in it's random and occasionally off-color way. Pretty much as expected.

Monday
Chuck (NBC, 8 EST) - Best new show of the year. Funny and entertaining. Pleasure to watch.
Heroes (NBC, 9 EST) - Thus far, it has been so-so. I think this show really needs to streamline. Too many new characters that I don't really care about, and not enough direction thus far in the characters I do like.

Tuesday
NCIS (CBS, 8 EST) - Has continued pretty much as expected. Still entertaining and generally light-hearted. Fun show to watch.

Wednesday
Nothing really. I tried Pushing Daisies, but have decided that it's not really the show for me. A little artsy fartsy and a bit campy.

Thursday
Grey's Anatomy (ABC, 9 EST) - Has rebounded well thus far. It's on the cusp of having everyone's life fall into the gutter (which was the biggest problem last season). Still worth watching though.

Other new shows that I've seen: Life (NBC, 10 EST...I think) - I watched a re-run of the pilot on a Friday night. It was ok, but by no means enthralling.

Ok, now you know. Still looking forward to the return of Battlestar Galactica, but until then, I'm pretty set in my TV viewing ways.

What to do with my hair?

Basically, I'm thinking of doing something different with my hairstyle, but I'm not exactly sure what I want to do. Let me set the stage for you. I have had a similar hairstyle for quite some time (~6 years or so). Well, here's a quick run-down of my past cuts:

Middle school and early high school - Comb over, wavy look (it was very trendy), but dorky (looking back on it)
Later High school and early college - Mid-length straight hair (nothing fancy at all)
College - Very short cut (buzzed on sides and very short on top), the only variations I made were based on sideburns and facial hair (off and on goatee).
Grad school - Same cut as above with a full beard.

So, no real changes for a long time. Over the past couple of years, I generally get a haircut every 3 months. This results in a mix of really short and grow out to mid-length (once it gets hanging over my ears). As of now, my last cut was in mid-June and I'm kind of liking a bit of the longer hair look. What I really like is the casual curl that my hair takes on. The ends have this natural curl that I'm tempting to run with. Here's what I'm thinking, and would appreciate your comments:

1) Let it grow and hang naturally
2) Let it grow and get a perm - likely with loose curls (although tight fro curls are an option)
3) Continue with my previous style (get scalped every 3 months)

The gist is I feel like doing something different with my hairstyle, and I'm not sure exactly what that something is. If you have additional suggestions, let me know. As for now, I'm likely to continue letting my hair grow in the foreseeable future. Economic impact is a push (more shampoo, but less haircuts).

Making Apple Cider

On Wednesday and at the invitation of my boss, I partook in an apple cider making party. The process was simple and the results very tasty. Everything was via manual labor and homegrown. The boss believes that this is a similar process to the old colonial days. Anyway, I'll detail the process and then load up some pictures (those others in the pics are my lab-mates)...and maybe even a video (if I figure out how to load it).

How to make apple cider:

1) Pick apples - luckily this was done before our arrival, because there were two large tubs full of apples

2) Wash apples - done by laying the apples on a grate (dog/kid gate in this case) and hose them down3) Cut apples in half - easier to mash and also allows for a worm check (discard bad apples here)4) Fill apples into masher - this was my job for the day and is self-explanatory

5) Mash the apples - done by turning a crank and making apples into little chunks of apple mash

6) Squeeze the mash - crank down on the mash and squeeze out the cider

7) Collect the cider

8) Drink and enjoy

Very simple and the result was the best apple cider I've had. I'm not much of an apple cider drinker, but this stuff is really good. So, here are the videos of making apple cider.