1. I'm getting used to Google Chrome. There are some things I don't like about the browser that I preferred on Firefox (no AdBlock, no NoScript support), but it's definitely growing on me. I use Chrome about 70% of the time now.

2. Who goes to jail for this egregious crime? Sure, insurance companies are about the bottom line, but when someone gets sick AFTER they've entered into the contract with you, the company needs to stick to their end of the bargain. Heads should roll for this, though I doubt any will.

3. This worm (Dracunculus medinensis) has always given me nightmares, hopefully we can successfully eradicate it in my lifetime.

4. Note to self: Avoid any sort of Sun Mountain rain gear when buying next round of gear for field work.

5. Evidence of life on Mars? Perhaps we've been overlooking the planet's sulphur as evidence.

6. First Mars (#5), and now perhaps Titan (PDF, 9 pages)? Methane-based life forms possible.

This lack of acetylene is important because that chemical would likely be the best energy source for a methane-based life on Titan, said Chris McKay, an astrobiologist at NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif., who proposed a set of conditions necessary for this kind of methane-based life on Titan in 2005. One interpretation of the acetylene data is that the hydrocarbon is being consumed as food. But McKay said the flow of hydrogen is even more critical because all of their proposed mechanisms involved the consumption of hydrogen.

7. Related to #6. It'd be so cool to publish in a journal named Icarus. Totally cool!

8. Do not like writing up end-of-year performance reviews. I either need to start keeping track of what I'm doing, or find a new job that doesn't force me to do this.