At Least My Hair Looks Good
I know this will shock all of you, but I planned to do more than I was able to over spring break. In fact, by Friday I was in tears about not getting anything done and the fact that I never will. Fortunately, the last two days have been slightly more productive and I can say that while my papers are not written, the labs are not graded, and I still don't know much about echinoderms, my closest is to the point that I can find my clothes (which are clean) and my freshly cut hair looks great.
8 comments:
Did you change your hairstyle, or just get a trim? If it's significantly different, perhaps you could be arm-twisted into posting a picture?
I can't possibly imagine how you would end up setting over-ambitious spring break goals... no such thing ever happens here (wink wink)
My spring break is just starting, so right now I'm thinking about all the things I should try to get done. I know that I won't get to half of it. Today for example, I was going to work on the clam paper. But instead I did taxes. All morning (and this doesn't include federal, which I had done already). I had 3 states that I had to do taxes for and it was a huge hassle. But now all I have to refill out the forms and get them together to be sent. I think that is all I'm going to try to do today.
Do you have questions about echinoderms? Cause if you do, I'm more than happy to help. But I understand that you might not have specific questions. How is the world of invertebrates going, by the way?
My hair is such that my beloved department secretary noticed immediately and told me how good it looked and neither nor my husband, nor my generally observant female colleague noticed a difference. It's 3-4 inches shorter (but still almost to my bra strap), has long layers around the face and, for the moment at least, it parted in THE MIDDLE. So, no, not different but does look much neater.
I don't have any particular question about echinoderms. It's a group that doesn't seem to have as many cool weird traits as others (I mean the whole penta-radial symmetry, water vascular system, tube feet, weird development, etc. are weird, but I haven't come across many bizarre mating rituals or parasitic diseases or chemical defenses or nematocysts). Overall I am loving invert. I'm actually enjoying it more than botany, which is saying something.
Wow Sparkling Squirrel,
Don't know how you keep up with your insane schedule anyway. I'm not surprised you needed down time over break. (Of course sometimes I think I live in time warp anyway -- where things get done at 1/8 the normal rate or so...) Did you get any relaxation over break?
Well, there is the whole regeneration and fragmentation thing. Growing new arms is pretty cool. And what about sea cucumbers - the tube shaped echinoderms that invert their stomach contents when attacked by predators (I think their are echinoderms, but don't laugh at me if I am confusing them with something else- that is pretty gross (but gross is a good way, not parasitic worm gross).
Don't worry, sea cucumbers are in fact echinoderms. And I have had one spit it's guts out at me before.
There are two weird/cool things that I can think of when I think of this group.
1. The have some of the strangest development of any animal. The different classes all have their own larvae type which is bilaterallly symetrical and swims around in the water column. But did you know that the adult forms just from a pouch on one side of the body? All of the elaborate larvae features (and some of them are quite fancy) are basically thrown away (they deteriorate and get reabsorbed at settlement). These aren't the only organisms to throw away larval structures but it is very dramatic and strange in echinoderms. You kinda have to see it to belive it (during development the adult looks like a tumor growing on the side of the larvae)
2. I'm pretty sure that echinodermata is the only phylum above sponges with documented asymmetrical body forms. The fossil record is quite good for this group, and there is good evidence that it contained many members with completely asymmetrical adult body forms, which I think is kinda cool
Gross! Did the guts get you?
That's really interesting about sea cucumber development. I told Nate about the adult tumor at dinner. He thought it was pretty weird. Reminds me of the tunicate and how they go from a swimming larva to a sedentary adult. It's sort of counter-intuitive (given human development) that a juvenile stage should seem more complex and self-determining (well, in terms of mobility anyway) than the adult.
This is why I LOVE you guys!!! (Among other reasons, too) Hairstyles AND cool stuff about echinoderms.
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