Seriously?

I went to ShopKo this evening and they already have their Christmas stuff out. Can you believe that? Actually, CostCo had theirs out like a month or two ago. Before you know it they're just going to keep it out all year long.

Did anyone watch The Office last night? I loved Dwight's butter-covered watermelon baby. When Jan came in with Astrid (aka Astird), I felt bad for Michael. He was so looking forward to the delivery.

I'm applying for a grant through ORCA (Office of Research and Creative Activities) and spent three very long hours working on the proposal tonight. I think they must make the submission process a pain in the butt so that not that many people will apply. If my research project is approved, I'll basically be running the control group for the study I'm working on later, involving the effects of drugs on the way the color blue is seen. Our hypothesis is that visual processing, particularly the way the color blue is viewed, differs with gender. The retina contains 4-6 million cones, the shortest of which you use to view blue light. If you're addicted to drugs, particularly cocaine, your dopamine levels (which effect your ability to feel pleasure and cause cravings) get all messed up and screw with your short cones. The long-term goal of the project is to come up with more effective treatment options based on physiological information and not just modifying behaviors. If all goes as planned we'll be able to use EEGs, ECGs, ERGs and GSRs* to help judge a little bit better whether treatment is working or not. Wow, I sound like I totally know what I'm talking about! It's much more interesting than it sounds.





*electroencephalograms, electrocardiograms, electroretinograms, and galvanic skin responses