Fields of gold

The only truly wasted parts of my day are those spent on hold, waiting to speak to customer service. You'd think, at the very least, that there would be numerous alternatives to this phone-queuing. You would be absolutely right because you are aware of the internet. You may have even sent an Instant Message at some point! Barring any of that potential experience, though, I'm sure there are better phone-based alternatives. Could I just have a call back when a human is willing and able to speak to me rather than having to wait while the entire Sting catalog floats through my senses at 8 kHz?

On a directly related note, I learned today that some Cisco call-processing software had some pretty nice default hold music. It had some kind of mention in This American Life a few weeks back. I didn't hear that episode but the little tune is preferable to, er, just about anything else. It makes me nostalgic for all that great mid-90's tracker music. Even kinda terrible MODs would be just fine.

Nothing but flow-ers

I had a fair amount of trouble getting into anything like a flow state this week. It's not normally so difficult: I tend to stay focused on anything repetitive or anything involving researching a topic. The former situation isn't really ideal as I don't actually like those kinds of tasks. I just have to treat them as a kind of meditative exercise to even want to do them at all. The second situation is more enjoyable. It's really nice to sit back and query the total of human knowledge about a subject, whether it's the function of a particular protein complex or the discovery of phosphorus. This is the kind of flow state I can get into at work and at home.

Unfortunately, I find it very easy to get knocked out of a flow state. The most trivial email can do it in seconds. This week presented all manner of distractions and the inclement weather became just one of them. 

Messages in the ether

Just finished up two things yesterday: Greg Bear's Hull Zero Three and my Twitter account. The former took much less time; it's a quick read in a genre of science fiction known for its long-winded exposition and overwhelmingly massive scales. The novel benefits from a brisk pace despite leaving its plot obscured until the last quarter.* The Twitter account, however, was hampered by the network's breakneck pace. I never really felt compelled to post anything but the most sarcastic thought morsels there, at least partially because those were the kinds of tweets I actually found funny. The rest was largely dispensable.

Twitter just doesn't seem like an efficient way to convey any kind of idea except for the most urgent or expendable ones.


*I give it 3 out of 4 possible Oort clouds. I'm not going to explain the plot or setting or even note when it was written. I just didn't find it that notable.

A drug for when myosin starts actin up

Here's the slightly overstated science headline of the day: "Protein folding: Bringing dead proteins back to life". This is actually an overview of a larger scientific paper in one of my favorite newer life science publications, eLife.

The hyperbole isn't entirely undeserved as this is some pretty neat stuff. Myosin, famous for its role of moving things about inside cells, appears to gain efficiency and stability when a small molecule called EMD 57033 is around. This small molecule isn't a new discovery and has been studied for at least twenty years. What's new is its potential role as a pharmacological chaperone. Cells produce classes of proteins known as chaperones to keep proteins from misbehaving, especially when these proteins are being assembled and often after stressful circumstances (i.e., heat shock). EMD 57033 isn't naturally occurring in cells but it may serve a similar function as a drug.

Transmutation

Urine luck.

Today's artwork is The Alchemist Discovering Phosphorus, also known as The Alchymist, in Search of the Philosopher's Stone, Discovers Phosphorus, and prays for the successful Conclusion of his operation, as was the custom of the Ancient Chymical Astrologers. It is by English painter Joseph Wright, also known as Wright of Derby. The painting may or may not be about the historical discovery of phosphorus, a process which involved the reduction of urine, a fluid rich in phosphates.