oh pizza hut online ordering system….you are so evil! you will be the death of me and of my plans to be not fat….

Main Entry: angst
Pronunciation: ‘ä[ng](k)st, ‘a[ng](k)st
Function: noun
Etymology: Danish & German; Danish, from German
: a feeling of anxiety, apprehension, or insecurity

Main Entry: ¹bit·ter
Pronunciation: ‘bi-t&r
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English biter; akin to Old High German bittar bitter, Old English bItan
1 a : being or inducing the one of the four basic taste sensations that is peculiarly acrid, astringent, or disagreeable and suggestive of an infusion of hops — compare SALT, SOUR, SWEET b : distasteful or distressing to the mind : GALLING <a bitter sense of shame>
2 : marked by intensity or severity: a : accompanied by severe pain or suffering <a bitter death> b : being relentlessly determined : VEHEMENT <a bitter partisan> c : exhibiting intense animosity <bitter enemies> d (1) : harshly reproachful <bitter complaints> (2) : marked by cynicism and rancor <bitter contempt> e : intensely unpleasant especially in coldness or rawness
3 : expressive of severe pain, grief, or regret <bitter tears>

Happinesses grate on me like maggots in a putrifying wound. Nauseating, painful, squirming, horrifying…but necessary, preventing of poisoning of self and of life and of blood.

I feel alone but I know I’m not.

I feel sad if I feel anything but alone.

I will be all right. I will work and I will strive and I will sweat and I will bleed and I will cry and I will sleep and I will need and I will want. I will eat and eat and eat good food, happy food, healthy food. I will drink coke as though it were the tears of god. I will go on. Heh…my heart will go on even…though hopefully without the help of a Celine Dion soundtrack.

I will be okay.

Clearance shopping…

2 camoflauge body pillows…originally 19.99 each, for $3 each

3 pair of blue Hanes His Way Undies…25 cents each….

I’m in love with these boy underpants…why do they make me feel cute and sexy? Does it really matter?

Final draft + title

MC1R variation is not linked to small-scale melanic plumage patterns in two passerine birds.

Studies that link molecular variation in the melanocortin-1 receptor (MC1R) gene with total body melanism in vertebrates have recently become models for understanding the molecular basis of adaptive variation in natural populations. We examined whether MC1R variation can be correlated with small-scale melanic plumage patterns by comparing  MC1R sequences in melanic and non-melanic subspecies of two passerine birds: Swamp Sparrows (Melospiza georgiana) and Grasshopper Sparrows (Ammodramus savannarum). The levels of variation found in each species were typical of passerine birds but no fixed nonsysnonymous substitutions were found that correlated with plumage differences in either species. We conclude that variation in the coding region of the MC1R gene is not responsible for these small-scale pigment pattern variations and that variation in this gene may only determine rare instances of large-scale, whole body melanism in birds and not more common small-scale patterns.

what’s your favorite way to burn off food?

I want…

ah spring.

Is love in the air for EVERYONE?

(except the ducks who are getting gang-raped on campus…they’re excluded by sheer male:female ratio —unless they’re lesbian ducks…in which case I recommend that they flee the midwest and head to the west possibly Oregon or Washington because I like it there.)

What the shit am I talking about?

*shrugs*

I’m going to go finish cleaning…or something…

Abstract attempt #2

Studies that link molecular variation in the melanocortin-1 receptor (MC1R) gene with total body melanism in vertebrates have recently become models for understanding the molecular basis of adaptive variation in natural populations. We examined whether MC1R variation can be correlated with small-scale melanic plumage patterns using a comparison of MC1R sequences between melanic and less melanic subspecies of two passerine birds: Swamp Sparrows (Melospiza georgiana) and Grasshopper Sparrows (Ammodramus savannarum). The levels of variation found in each species were typical of passerine birds but no fixed nonsysnonymous substitutions were found that could be correlated with plumage differences in either species. We conclude that variation in the coding region of the MC1R gene is not responsible for these small-scale pigment pattern variations and that variations in this gene may only determine large-scale, whole body melanism in birds.

I’m on a shaving strike.

Well onto 4 months since I’ve shaved anything but my pits…and I only shave those because I have about thirteen hairs in each, and those just look silly all sticking out and stuff…

I wish I had a good reason to be on a shaving strike. But I just don’t wish to shave. Perhaps I’m lazy. Wait, no…I’m saving money on razors!