You may wonder what I did during the time when I dropped from 10th to 51st most prolific poster on the board. Or, more likely, you couldn't give a fuck. Either way, i thought I'd tell yer. The Ph.D. thing is going well, if terrifyingly busy. I have two coauthored manuscripts in peer review at journals, three more in prep. I met up with Phil this past weekend in Chicago, but sadly didn't hang out with anybody else (Sorry, Jen). I do field work about one day a week, so I still get to SCUBA dive on the City of Austin's dime. Survey days are getting colder, though - it'll be really brisk when February's surveys roll around. I'm working on describing a couple of undescribed salamander species from the western edge of the Edward's Plateau - little guys that are isolated in tiny springs practically in the Chihuahuan desert. I have an NSF fellowship, I am writing a couple of federal grants. So.

So yeah, I've been absent on the board for quite a while. The only nonschool stuff I do these days is play soccer occasionally, cave even more occasionally, and continue to brew beer and wine. I'm bottling a "Moose Drool" clone this weekend, a pumpkin ale, and a couple of gallons of wine.

I'll try to drop in here more often - miss this place. I've still been listening to a lot of podcasts. My favorite albums the last couple of days have been Black Mountain, Decemberists, and Silver Jews.

- colin

Gosh, Colin, you've been a busy lil' beaver!! SCUBA diving and salamander discovering sound like fun! We miss ya, hon. I hope you do post more often.

And...pssst, I'm going to Tejas in the spring, hope we get to meet up!

we will. i'm hangin' with swiateck later today.

Chad is the best -- watch out, though, that boy is WILD!!

What were you doing at the GSB again?

There was a conference called "dbec" (developmental basis of evolutionary change) in the ida noyes hall, we had our keynote in rockefeller chapel and short sessions in the basement of GSB. I think I was probably in the same building as you at the same time. Oh well. University of Chicago is a gorgeous campus, though.

Thanks for giving us the update, Colin. Sounds like all is going according to plan.

Things here are good. I went to Europe last month. It's been cloudy since I got back, except today!

Where are you submitting the papers?

You certainly were. I saw a lot of signs near the classrooms saying that various sessions were in them. I didn't know what it was.

That sounds pretty cool.

And that Silver Jews album is solid.

Copeia and . . . Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, I think. I'm not the primary author on either one, though, although I am primary author on one of the grant proposals.

dude, are you gonna have a salamander named after you?

glad to have you back...sounds like you're gonna be nice and stocked up for the Obner All-Skate '06

are you talking about SXSW?

Yessiree -- I'm hoping you'll be part of that visit as well, m'dear.

oh yea, I'll be there...last year I had a trip to Ireland on tap so I couldn't really do much more than just popping in for a day...I wanna hang out for a few days this time so I've gotta get my shit together

did you ever decide if your gonna do the wristband thing?...I'm thinking that this is the way I should go

Nice. Grant season just ended thankfully, although I'm finding that as a postdoc there are lots of limitations. I got my name booted off an equipment grant because I don't have a proper university appointment.

How was yurp? And what part? And were you being a ninja?

I have to keep checking in now and again to renew my Obnish vows.

Damn, them evolutionary biologists know how to live it up.

Everything from cave spelunking to deep sea diving.

shallow spring diving, in this case.

I was hoping that you'd be on an NSFW scholarship....

Paris and Italy. It was sick. I was not being a ninja, but I'm always an ambassador.

It should please you to know that I am working on a paper on sexually antagonistic coevolution . . . in worms.

Is it called "Wuh Fuh?"

Tentatively titled "Fecund females, manipulative males: the toxic side effects of sperm competition in the nematode Caenorhabditis remanei"

Is it a 'brief communication'?