Life is Beautiful

I WANT ONE!

2008-04-16T23:17:07Z

http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=559883&in_page_id=1770

Oh noes, i got tagged...

2007-09-20T07:55:52Z

Type your cut contents here.*
Each blogger must post these rules first.
* Each blogger starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
* Bloggers that are tagged need to write on their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
* At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names. Tagged by Vanessa

1) i have only got 5 socks without holes in them, cos Oscar keeps stealing them and eating them.
2) my laptop doesn't let me copy and paste things using the left mouse click drop down menu thing, it tells me i must use the keyboard controls, and i don't know why.
3)I have a Lj, bebo and myspace. i am ashamed.
4) I havn't listened to anything my physiology lecturer has said for the past 2 weeks, i've just obsessed over how much he looks liek david Bowie.
5) i just spelled 'said' 'sead'
6) When I'm bored i tug on my earings, which makes my ears red and sore, but i seem to do it anyway.
7)I threw a stone that was sitting on the deck up into the garden yesterday and kneecapped mum
8) Emily and Aimee and Hamish and Katie and I went to the playground under the cable car yesterday and made ourselves sick on the spinny round-a-bout thingie.

I tag Emily, Aimee, Jason, Cara, Nikki, Anne, Jen and Jo

Im so glad no one in my family ever throws anything away...

2007-08-06T08:47:29Z

...cos look what Nana found me in their garage!

(Sorry, one day i will master Lj cuts....i dont know why they've come out so grainy, i need to find someone to fiddle with my camera and see whats wrong with it.)

people are stupid.

2007-07-20T06:47:37Z

http://nz.entertainment.yahoo.com/070719/5/yca.html

eilyth @ 2007-07-11T20:01:00

2007-07-11T08:15:04Z

OMFG COLD.

Yay, back at uni! My classes are awesome, my timetable is arse. I start at 9 and finish at either 6 or 7 every day! You'd think that seeing as they're all co-ordinated by the same guy that he'd organise it better, but oh well. So far pathology is Win, and physiology sounds like it will be fun. Genetics I'm reserving judgment on (the lecturer did his PhD on algae, and shounds like he should be a simpsons character), and the lab should be ok. we got to genetically modify bacteria yesterday!

I have THE DEATH. Im afraid that the people sitting near me in class are going to stab me with their pens for sniffling and coughing the whole time. There's this really spastic guy in my classes, and i want to stab him with a pen. he's really hyperactive/ADHD, and always interupts the lecturer with really stupid redundant points that have only the most tenuous connection to what we're actually doing...we call him Ferret boy. and he's always late. and makes a huge show of bursting into the room and running up the aisle. im sure im not alone in wanting to club him about the head! (mkay, rant over.)

eilyth @ 2007-07-04T15:29:00

2007-07-04T03:32:27Z

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZyMeEXEVaI&mode=related&search=

this show is made of win. i love Stephen Fry.

Look, i did a painting!

2007-07-02T09:46:51Z

now that its finished im not sure if i like it, but i had fun anyway. Oscar is now a little blue around the edges, stupid cat.

eilyth @ 2007-06-23T23:33:00

2007-06-23T11:33:59Z

here you go kids!

Midwinter Christmas at Aimees:
http://s210.photobucket.com/albums/bb179/kirstenmines/midwinter%20christmas/

I hope that works.

eilyth @ 2007-05-21T17:52:00

2007-05-21T05:54:37Z

So on Friday night Sylvie and I finally got ourselves together and went to see the Heavenly Burlesque. It was really good, I was a bit worried when they said it was pat of the comedy festival, but apparently you can make stripping funny! It wasn’t so much burlesque as it was circus tricks, though the first act was a girl stripping behind a back lit screen, so it was all in silhouette. She went in wearing a fat suit and stripped that off after her clothes, which was entertaining. I think Sylvie said that she counted six bras coming off during her dance…The trapeze act was awesome, I wish I could do that! If I disappear one day its cos I’ve run off to Christchurch to join the circus school down there. My circus name will be cooler than Magenta Diamond though. There was a girl dressed as a dog (?) that did a really cool dance (to peaches, predictably) but the best part of that section was the film playing behind her as she danced. It was a person in a white dress dancing on a black floor, but it was filmed from the top, and looked like it was done with a really long shutter speed, but as a film (im sure you can do the equivalent of a long exposure with a video camera, cant you? Sylvie?) It was awesome.
After that we went up to the big kumara quickly to say hi to Tamsyn (I had never been to the big kumara, it wasn’t as bad as I had heard) and then shamefully decided that we could go home at 11:30 on a Friday…

…Which actually turned out to be a good thing, as I ended up on the road to palmerston north at ten to seven on Saturday morning, where I ended up with a very small, very talkative four year old boy called Damien in my possession. He was very cute, but I don’t think he stopped talking for more than a few breaths for the whole 4 hours I was watching him. Now I know how my parents felt! Luckily he was a bright kid, and wanted me to tell him about how rainbows are made and why plants are green, and good questions that I could actually answer and not feel bad for lying to him. Im so mad though, I manage not to get sunburned all summer, and now I get sunburned at the end of may! What the hell? And so my nose is peeling a bit, most unattractively.
I cant wait for the holidays.

(PS: So So Moderns EP friendly fires is on sale at the CD store and its freaking awesome, you should buy it. also, if you are looking for something to read, the Unbearable lightness of being by Milan Kundera is beautiful. yay for czech philosophical novels!)

Help!

2007-03-30T08:37:11Z

Im going to a 21st, and the theme is 'come as your favorite movie character'. and i have no idea! my first thought was Rocky Horror, but i dont have magenta-ish hair, and i dont really want to run around a party where i dont know anyone but my workmates in sequined hot pants, so columbia is out too. Then i thought of Sally Bowles, but theres the hot pant issue again. a zombie from Shawn of the dead could be cool. or there's alice or the white rabbit or the cheshire cat, if i wanted to be predictible. what do you lot think?

All suggestions appreciated!

'Mice cloned from skin stem cells'

2007-02-16T08:16:13Z

mostly for emily, but the rest of you might find it interesting too!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6353919.stm

eilyth @ 2007-02-12T21:06:00

2007-02-12T08:07:33Z

Craftwerk this thursday! southern cross bar,5-7pm. we should really try to get a stall next year...

eilyth @ 2007-01-30T20:22:00

2007-01-30T07:24:42Z

So So Modern, disasteradio, and frase+bri, SFBH feb 27. You all have to come, cos its my birthday! Or else!

eilyth @ 2007-01-14T19:11:00

2007-01-14T06:14:33Z

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=90458550

Anyone want to come? i know its pretty freaking expensive, but it'd be so (so) cool! and if theres a group of 5 of us then theres a discount...

Kittieskittieskitties

2007-01-07T06:20:44Z

Type your cut contents here.

eilyth @ 2006-12-23T21:27:00

2006-12-23T08:27:17Z

Is anyone else unable to send mail from their gmail accounts? or is this happy episode all for me? Argh!

Happy Christmas, by the way

from the SSM myspace...

2006-12-20T07:50:15Z

what are you doing this new years? did you know that we are playing ON NEW YEARS EVE in wellington at bodega? if youre from out of wellington then you should TOTALLY come, so it at least feels like we've gone for an adventure out of town. we'd love you for it and it'll be great to do this cross-city exchange thing... shall we try hire a pool or something? what do you think? well if we can tempt you then maybe these other acts will sway you.....

Kill Surf City
Over the Atlantic
Tommy ill
Disasteradio
Dj G Fab Roadkill
DJ Blink

anyone want to come with me?

eilyth @ 2006-12-01T20:41:00

2006-12-01T07:41:18Z

I GOT C+ FOR CHEMYSTERY! NEVER AGAIN DO I HAVE TO TAKE THE VILE SUBJECT! I THINK MY HEAD IS GOING TO EXPLODE!(yeah, i know that most people dont get excited about a C+, but im so damn happy i passed...)

Just to let you know...

2006-11-27T20:14:40Z

We had to have Petal put down over the weekend. She had a big malignant tumor under her diaphragm, and it had metastisised and spread to her lungs, so she was having huge trouble breathing and eating (and life without food for her was dire!) She was old, she was nearly 13, so it was really the only option. So its sad, but i thought some of you would want to know.

PS: im not really sure how this i'nsert images' thing works, so hopefully its ok....

eilyth @ 2006-11-07T20:04:00

2006-11-07T07:04:55Z

Anyone want to go see the Mint Chicks on saturday night? tickets are $15 from real groovy. And its after chemystery! hurrah! i cannot wait to never have to take the stupid subject again! unless i fail, in which case i'll have to take it next year (i may have to commit hara kiri if that happens).
Uhm, so yeah. i have nothing else to say. Someone come with me!

eilyth @ 2006-10-19T19:51:00

2006-10-19T07:04:10Z

http://www.dmusastore.com/Detail.bok?no=401

I want these! Even with shipping, they'd still be about $100 cheaper than if i waited for them to arrive in a shop here(not that they ever would)...its silly really!

I'm so bad at studying. I should get a t-shirt that says 'procrastinators unite! (tomorow!)' .On the bright side, im so eager to avoid study that the house is spotless. I even cleaned out my wardrobe, which is always a daunting task. i have no idea how i manage to accumulate so much crap in so little time!

I ramble. I'm sorry! i worked out how to use paypal, thanks to everyone who talked me through it ^__^ one day i will work out how to use the internet without a guided walk through!

and good luck to everyone with exams!

(I hope the link works!)

eilyth @ 2006-10-11T05:13:00

2006-10-11T05:15:21Z

could someone please explain paypal to me? im so confused!

eilyth @ 2006-09-02T18:11:00

2006-09-02T06:19:05Z

Best day at work EVER!

Rob (the boss) in his infinite wisdom put Jenny and me in charge of blowing up the helium balloons for fathers day. It was so funny, especially once hana realised that we sounded like micky mouse becaue of the helium, not because we're incredibly talented mimics. Her accent (she's chech) was hilarious once she'd had a few balloon-fulls of helium. We all felt like crap for the rest of the afternoon, but it was worth it. I think the customers thought we were high, cos everyone was laughing so hard. but oh well.
And i get to do it all again tomorow! except i have to be there at 8:30am...arse.

eilyth @ 2006-08-11T21:55:00

2006-08-11T10:01:28Z

Dammit, I've lost my cellphone! Emily, do you remember me having it between the bus stop at vic and home? i've tried ringing stagecoach, but of course they're not there after 5, or something stupid, and the lost property at vic wont be open till monday...damn phones! of course, someone has probibly picked it up and stuck their own sim card in it, but i hope not, i dont want to have to learn a new number! If i do need to get a new one, i'll stick my new number up here...

Essay

2006-06-14T07:52:58Z

For anyone who's interested, this is my BMSc brain essay. I got 28/30 for it, i was happy ^__^

Male and female brains are different. Our very genetic makeup automatically divides us into two distinct sexes, and our chromosomes heavily influence our mental ability. Research has been done on this topic for decades, and it seems that each new theory put forward debunks the one before it. I have tried to use the most recent research in this essay to show how the X and Y chromosomes influence intelligence, and put forward some theories on why men and women have different mental traits. I will also show how X-chromosome inactivation leads to specific sexually dimorphic traits being expressed in women.

Men and women are undeniably different, both physically and mentally. Stereotypically, women can’t navigate, and men can’t read facial expressions. While the differences between the male and female abilities are rarely so clear cut, there is neurological evidence that shows how these stereotypes came into existence. Women tend to use the left hemisphere of the brain more, which houses the controls for fine motor skills, language and analytical skills. Men use the right hemisphere more, and this means that they are generally better at spatial arrangement, mental imaging and have better musical abilities. Obviously this is not an exclusive relationship and there is a lot of crossing over between hemispheres, as the right hemisphere contains the part of the brain involved in reading facial expressions and showing emotion, both of which have been shown to be more of a female trait that a male one. (Burton, 2006) The most significant, obvious difference between the sexes is the X and Y chromosomes. The Y chromosome does, after all, contain the SRY gene, which determines the sex of an embryo. Although both chromosomes are important in human development, the X chromosome carries most of the load. The Y chromosome has very few genes on it that affect mental functioning, and so has little effect on mental sexual dimorphism. The X chromosome, on the other hand, has approximately 931 genes coded for along its length, and of these, 333 have been found to play a role in the development of human intelligence. X linked traits have been found to include verbal skills, social skills and memory. There is even evidence beginning to be put forward that shows that some X-linked genes may behave differently depending on whether they are in a male or female brain. Because males only have one X chromosome, any defects in the coding will be immediately obvious. This means that men are far more likely to express neurodevelopmental disorders such as dyslexia, autism and attention deficit disorder. Women, having two X chromosomes, are less likely to show these disorders, because they have a 50% chance of ‘inactivating’ the X chromosome with the deleterious gene on it. (Skuse, 2005) The X chromosome has many repeats on it, 56% compared with 49% repeats on other chromosomes. This helps to minimise the risk of damaging a coding section of DNA, and shows that the genes on the X chromosome are considered important enough to protect so stridently.

Because women have two X chromosomes, one is essentially inactivated early in the development of the cell. If both were left active, the cell would have a double copy of all of the genes on the X chromosome, which could be fatal to the cell. During the early development of the cell, one X chromosome, called Xa, is marked. The cell then proceeds to inactivate any other X chromosomes in the nucleus. It does this by activating the non coding Xist gene on the chromosome to be inactivated (called Xi). When a cell begins early prophase, Xist levels increase on Xi, producing non coding Xist RNA, which coats the chromosome and effectively stops it from producing any coding RNA by modifying its DNA and associated proteins. It is a permanent change to that X chromosome, and it will never be able to be re-activated. . It is unusual for RNA to have such an intimate relationship with an entire chromosome, but Xist RNA seems to take up the entire space in the nucleus that is occupied by Xi. It appears to be totally random which X chromosome is switched off in each cell, though in mice the paternal X is always switched off in the first 16 cell divides (after this it becomes random). It is unknown whether or not this is the case with human embryos. One theory stated that during the meiosis cycle that produces sperm, ‘meiotic sex chromosome inactivation’ occurs. This would mean that the paternal X chromosome would arrive in the fertilised egg in an inactive state. However, new evidence has shown the paternal X chromosome to be active and transcribing genes at the very earliest stages of embryonic development (Reik, 2004). Once the Xi chromosome is switched off, it forms a lump on the inside of the nuclear membrane called a Barr body. This is one of the easiest ways to tell male and female cells apart, as it is visible in the nucleus through some microscopes.

But activation is never fully complete. Even though the chromosome is switched off, some genes avoid inactivation. It is not random selection; specific genes appear to be left active in all cells. This gives the female a double dose of these genes, and this is a major contributor to sexually dimorphic traits. About 15% of all X-linked genes avoid inactivation on the Xi chromosome. Researchers are not sure exactly which genes are left active, but with one third of all genes on the X chromosome being linked to mental functioning, it is highly probable that some of the chromosomes left active will affect intelligence. Biallelic expression of some genes could be the cause of females having better communication skills and a better memory than men, though this is just a theory at this stage. There is a gradient of active genes along the Xi chromosome-the genes furthest from the Xist site appear to be the least tightly inactivated. The largest numbers of active chromosomes on Xi are found on the ‘short’ arm of the chromosome, some in the psuedoautosomal region, which makes sense as no autosomal chromosomes are subjected to inactivation. In an experiment performed at the Centre for Human Genetics in Cleveland, USA, 244 transcripts of X linked genes were tested. 34 genes were expressed in nine inactive chromosomes, and of these 34, 31 were mapped back to the short arm of the chromosome. Scientists believes this proves that the two arms of the X chromosome are evolutionarily different, which may be a reason for so many of the active genes on the Xi chromosome being found on the same arm.(Carrel et al, 1999)

X chromosome inactivation is probably one of the leading causes of sexual dimorphism, simply because it can only happen in women. Any expression of a double allele is going to cause differences, and because so many genes for mental functioning are coded for in the X chromosome, the chances of some of the biallelic traits being linked to intelligence are high. This does not mean that women are more intelligent than men, or have any major advantage; it simply means that the sexes have inherently different skills and abilities.

I didnt include my bibliography, cos i figured you wouldnt actually care.
Also, can anyone tell me more about sponsored+? it sounds interesting!