I almost cried in the car...

...when I heard Eric Hodge of WUNC mention this story in the teaser of what was going to be coming up next on Morning Edition. And of course, I got to my parking lot and had to catch the bus before they got to the particular piece. But, thankfully, there's not only a write-up of the story (though not a verbatim transcript), there's also an audio clip available. I would suggest the audio clip - I mean, that's NPR's primary medium, and I think you miss out a little reading the stories they have composed for your listening pleasure.

**Ok, full disclosure, when I listened to this story, my eyes welled up. Judge me if you must. (But if you do, you have no soul.)**

CSA over :o(

Last week, (#19) we received:

eggplants
cantaloupe
zephyr squash
peaches
red grape tomatoes
sweet corn

And Wednesday, we brought home our last boxful (#20) for the season:

local honey
tomatoes
zephyr squash
slicer cukes
peaches
cantaloupe
sweet peppers

While we're sad we won't be picking up boxes full of fresh, organic, and local food each week from Vollmer Farm - it just means we'll be headed to the farmer's market more often.

weird picture of the day.

from the New England Journal of Medicine

Details can be found here.

delayed, but delicious

This actually happened a month ago, but I had intended to blog it and I had a picture, so I'm doing it now. Over the past several months I have developed a small (big) man-crush on Bobby Flay, from the Food Network. I think it's because while I'm jealous of his culinary talents (I'm not sure I've ever seen him lose an Iron Chef America competition), he also just seems like a regular dude I'd like to hang out and have a beer with. Or maybe it's because the Food Network is one of about six channels we still get on TV and Bobby Flay is on the air about 90% the time. Whatever it is, I think he's awesome.

For my birthday, my parents, upon learning of my man-crush (thanks for outing me, Meg), got me the Bobby Flay's Burgers, Fries, and Shakes cookbook. There are a ton of things in there I want to make, but the first one I tried out was the California burger, which is a pretty basic burger seasoned with salt and pepper and topped with pepperjack cheese (I think we improvised on the cheese because it was what we had), watercress, a slice of tomato, and an avocado relish, all on a toasted bun. If you ask me, avocado relish is just a fancy way of saying guacamole, but it was delicious nonetheless.

We've also tried out a couple of the milkshakes, the highlight of which was the double chocolate cheesecake milkshake. If you don't salivate just reading that, you're probably a robot. It was actually a hybrid of two of the recipes in the book, and it was pretty incredible. Sorry, no picture of that one. We drank them too fast. Writing this post is making me hungry. Maybe we should have burgers for dinner tomorrow...

I know no one cares, but...

After some much needed vegging this morning (thank you Downtown Live and Beer), I primed and painted my IKEA brackets and the wood I bought yesterday. And with Matt's help, we transformed our kitchen window from this:

To this:

I am pumped. I'm sure no one else is, but I'm excited because this little plant shelf will: (1) allow my plant collection to increase exponentially in number, and (b) block the setting sun from burning our retinas when we're working at the sink, but without blocking all that gorgeous natural light.

Gearing Up

It's been a long time since I've blogged anything, but I finally mustered up enough motivation to post something today. I'm going to try to contribute more in the future. Meg has lovingly mentioned to me that I'm not carrying my weight. I used to say the same thing to her when we first started this blog, so it's really only fair for me to take some flak for it.

It should come as no surprise that my first post after a long hiatus is about football. The season is right around the corner and I am ridiculously excited about it. The first NFL preseason game is tonight (!!!) and the Redskins play their first one this Thursday. I assume everyone has already blocked off September 13 on their calendar, which is opening day for the 'Skins.

As part of my wedding gift last year, Meg got me a Redskins flag to hang outside the house on game days. We didn't have a flag holder or a flagpole though, and had a surprisingly difficult time finding ones we liked at Lowes/Home Depot (apparently Fall/Winter is not a popular time to be buying flag-hanging equipment), so I resorted to hanging the flag from the top of the porch with packaging tape every Sunday last year. It got the job done, but it was perhaps not the classiest workmanship you've ever seen.

So this past Christmas she got me the flag holder and the flag pole, along with a Redskins decal for my car, which I had been asking for (it concerns me that people driving by me on the highway might not be aware that I'm a Redskins fan. Imagine if they assumed I was a Carolina Panthers fan, just because I happen to live in NC. It's unthinkable, really.). Being the wonderful and appreciative husband that I am, I let everything sit in the garage for 7 months until today.



I am officially ready for the start of the season! All we need now is an American flag to hang so we can be patriotic on the 4th of July.

HTTR! (That's "Hail to the Redskins" if you're a n00b.)

Discovery Health

I really miss having that channel. Mystery Diagnosis, Trauma - Life in the ER, The Critical Hour, the plethora of specials.

Recently, Matt was my Discovery Health Channel:

Last Saturday, we were painting our master bathroom (pictures/blog post to come), and Matt reached down to itch his foot. And found that. I wish this picture could show you how raised and angry looking it was. And it really didn't capture the array of reds and purples that were present. I quick quizzed him on symptoms - fever? achiness? throat closing in? He remembered that it had been itching him for a while - at least a week, but had never noticed the welt. Or the welt was new. Who knows.

We gave his mom a quick call (she's a nurse) and she asked a lot of the same questions we thought of before. We all decided that without any systemic symptoms, there was probably not a whole lot that could be done at a walk-in clinic on a Saturday.

I gave him some hydrocortizone cream to put on. He looked around online at tick and spider bite pictures. This was not a great activity for arachnophobia Matt.

It's been a week now, and he never developed any other symptoms and the rash has gone down significantly. So I guess we'll never know exactly what happened. But we have the pictures just in case...

CSA Week 18

This week's goodness:

peaches
tomatoes
butterbeans
sweet corn
zephyr squash
sweet pepper mix

We already ate all the peaches, but here's the rest of it:

Humor. Science. Baboons.

Earlier in the summer, I read A Primate's Memoir: A Neuroscientist's Unconventional Life Among the Baboons by Robert M. Sapolsky, PhD and have been wanting to extol it's very existence ever since.

In the Physiology class I took last semester, the professor opted to show a PBS/Nat Geo documentary on the day scheduled in the syllabus that we were to discuss stress and its effects on the systems of the body. Awesome, right? No lecture, no PowerPoint, no note-taking. It was awesome for those reasons and more. Stress: Portrait of a Killer was an engaging and straightforward introduction to some of the research that's been done, and is being done, on the stress response.

It's believed that most animals have this autonomic cascade of physiological events in place for instances of life or death - either trying to catch something to eat, or trying not to be the something that is to be eaten. It's a quick and efficient method to gear up all the systems that will help the organism succeed (cardiovascular, nervous, etc) and turn down/off the systems that are unnecessary (reproductive, digestive, etc). And this response is designed for a quick turnaround. Immediate on, immediate off. But humans, and it appears some other primates, have somehow coopted the stress response for less life-threatening occurrences - like peer pressure, societal hierarchies, and traffic jams - and are therefore experiencing these physiological changes for a greater amount of time. So why is this so? And what are the effects on our bodies, our systems, to this extended response? From the sampling of animal and human research they presented in the film - it's not looking good. There's evidence of increased risk for cardiovascular disease, arteriosclerosis, hypertension, immune suppression, memory loss, neuronal (i.e. - brain cells!) death, etc, etc, etc. Simply put by one of the researchers, Carol Shively, PhD, (I'm summarizing, I don't remember verbatim) Stress isn't some abstract concept - it's a critical health issue demanding attention.

Sapolsky and baboon. photo credit: John Heminway

I was so intrigued by the research presented in the documentary, specifically Sapolsky's methods, I borrowed his memoir from my professor. It turned out to be a hilarious and detailed account of his time in Kenya studying a baboon troop, intermixed with anecdotes about hard lessons learned, cultural differences, and interactions with other researchers, park rangers, government "officials", and new Kenyan friends. The book strikes a balance of humor and earnest, while being personal and scientific. Even the science is written about so accessibly that anyone and everyone would get something from it. If you're looking for an entertaining and informative read, I would absolutely suggest you pick this book up. Your body will thank you!

CSA Week 17

We're down to the last few weeks of our CSA. Last Wednesday we received:

seedless watermelon
athena cantaloupe
green slicer tomato
red slicer tomato
red carmen peppers
sweet corn

Matt made fried green tomatoes last Thursday - it was a delicious surprise to come home to. And the carmen peppers were sweet - excellent with baby bella mushrooms, onions, and garlic on a homemade white pizza.

CSA Week 16

Mostly for the Moms...

fresh salsa kit
yellow squash
slicer tomatoes
snap beans
red grape tomatoes
crowder peas

*For the record: We are currently hunting for a delicious way to prepare butter (or lima) beans. Most recent attempt (steamed, then tossed with sauteed onions and simmered in a little milk) was not good enough to remove them from my "no thanks, I'll pass" food list, where they reside with ketchup, Oreos, and plain milk (as a beverage).

CSA Week 15

Finally, we remembered to grab a picture! This past week's box contained:

sweet pepper mix
red grape tomatoes
zephyr squash
butter beans
slicer tomatoes

homemade rosemary and olive oil bread.

I like cooking. Kinda. Sometimes. (Lucky for me, Matt enjoys it!) But I'm not one for following recipes. I tend to use them for inspiration and foundation - then see what else I can come up with. Additions, omissions, substitutions. I think I like the risk - will this be any good? (And once again, lucky for me, Matt's curious enough to go along with it!)

I do not usually enjoy baking. I rebel against measuring cups and spoons. The accuracy requirement intimidates me. While in many other areas of life, I am on board with following directions and executing procedures and protocols as indicated, this is not one of them. I have a few items I am able to produce with a mild amount of consistency: congo bars (shoebox brownies), fresh apple cake, shortbread, banana nut muffins, lemon poppy seed cake, and a few varieties of cookies. I am drawn to recipes with short ingredient lists and concise instructions.

However, recently, I have ventured into a new arena. And so far, it's been delicious.

We're complete suckers for crusty loaves of bread with chewy, soft insides. Toast with breakfast, alongside a bowl of homemade soup, paired with cheeses, grilled panini sandwiches - I could go on and on. And we have a beautiful rosemary bush that smells so good when you walk by, you'll find yourself salivating. And now, thanks to the interwebs, we have a recipe for an easy Rosemary and Olive Oil Loaf.

Each attempt has yielded slightly different products, and I'm still looking around online and in my beloved Joy of Cooking (a staple kitchen reference - thanks Mom!) for tricks and tips to work on the texture and finish of the loaves. So while they aren't yet close to artisan, they are pleasantly idiosyncratic. And yummy.

Before:

After:

Eat.

CSA update

One of these days, we'll remember to take a picture before we eat it all!

Week 14
red grape tomatoes
sweet corn
blueberries
cantaloupe
slicer tomatoes
pink eye purple hull peas

This is mostly for our parents, but for anyone else who might be curious, here's what the last two months have brought us from Vollmer Farm.

Week 13
blueberries
sweet corns
slicer tomatoes
leeks
yukon gold potatoes

Week 12
blackberries
blueberries
sweet corn
collard green sprouts
beets
turnips
walla walla onions

Week 11
sweet corn
snap beans
strawberries
zephyr squash
ishikura green onions
lettuce

Week 10
burgundy beans
purple top turnips
new potatoes
moneta beets
mixed greens
early jersey cabbage
strawberries

Week 9
cauliflower
leeks
zephyr squash
snap peas
strawberries
baby lettuce

Week 8
strawberries
cauliflower
slicer cucumbers
new potatoes
green onions
tomatoes

Week 7
bi-color squash
moneta red beet
zucchini
lettuce
cauliflower
strawberries

Week 6
baby specialty lettuce
strawberries
broccoli
early jersey cabbage
zucchini
green onions
sweet potatoes

Week 5
baby specialty lettuce
strawberries
baby turnip greens
green onions
broccoli
tomatoes

not so happily ever after.

Via How About Orange - A photo project that explores alternative endings for some famous tales.

A wedding anniversary and some flying pigs.

On May 3, we celebrated our first wedding anniversary by running in the Cincinnati Flying Pig Half Marathon. Yup, that's right. A group of 6 of us piled into a rented minivan and ventured to Ohio for a ridiculously fun weekend of roller coasters, skyline chili, and running. On the morning of May 3, at way too early an hour of the day (or as my family likes to call it "before the butt crack of dawn"), we lined up with thousands of other people to run 13.1 miles. But no one looked quite like us.

They don't give those medals to just anyone, you know.
(Just everyone who runs the race)

"today is our 1 year wedding anniversary! what are we doing running with you people?!"

our mini herb garden.

Baby steps.

Our goal is a flower, fruit, herb, and veggie garden. We're starting small. I started this container herb garden back in March. Here's what it looked like right after planting (complete with the cute garden stakes Matt's mom got me for Christmas!):

And here's what it looks like today:



And it tastes delicious.

oh hai.

A classic Rockie yawn. I feel the need to submit this to icanhascheezburger.

blog hiatus...

is now over. Apologies.

Life got in the way of blogging about...life.

case closed.

A few days ago, I noticed one of my pots of pansies looking sad. And a little squished. See Exhibit A:
Then last night, I caught the culprit in the act. See Exhibit B:

I think the bunny sometimes sits up there and feasts. But I do not have the proof. Yet.

state worker furloughs

This was announced yesterday morning by Gov. Perdue. With the amount of speculation that's been going on about this in the last few months, I guess I'm not too surprised by the use of furloughs. It will be interesting to see how exactly this will impact the different state agencies and departments when the details emerge. And needless to say, I'm waiting to see what this means for me too (while being very thankful I still have a job).

fresh and local foodstuffs

Wow - have we been happy with our CSA! Today we got our 4th box of goodies from Vollmer Farm. It contained:

totsoi
strawberries
radishes
broccoli
collards
tomatoes

And here's a recap from the last few weeks:

Week 3
baby specialty lettuce
strawberries
sunburst tomatoes
sweet potatoes
turnip greens
*bonus - a reusable tote bag

Week 2
baby specialty lettuce
strawberries
green onions
sunburst tomatoes
spinach
collards
*bonus - a bottle of Betty Vollmer's Poppy Seed Dressing

Week 1
baby specialty lettuce
strawberries
green onions
seedless cuke
sunburst tomatoes
sweet potatoes

And we're hoping to fit in a trip to Vollmer to check it out...and to take advantage of strawberry season - it's the only place in the state with organic pick-your-own berries.

composter update

Our Earth Machine is installed! I set it up a few weeks ago, and it's already at least 1/3 full - maybe even 1/2. Use the provided Matt scale bar to assess the true size.

Black Mountain Greenway Challenge!

On Saturday April 4th, we participated in the Black Mountain Greenway Challenge 10K. (I tried to link to it, but the website is now mysteriously missing on the supermation infohighway.) I found out about the race a few months ago while randomly searching the NC race calendars. The proceeds went towards the Greenway project in Black Mountain, and the event was hosted by the Pisgah Brewing Company. And as if that wasn't enough motivation to sign up - neither of us has done a 10K before and this one actually fell on a perfect weekend in our half-marathon training schedule. We were pumped.

We drove out that morning (the race wasn't until 2pm) and both the drive and the weather were gorgeous. There was a nice turn out - a little over 300 people ran - and it was pretty much split between the 5K-ers and the 10K-ers. The course allowed us to see a lot of the beautiful area, while "appreciating" firsthand the difference in elevation and terrain of Black Mountain versus Raleigh.

After the race, there was the requisite post-race party - but this one will forever hold a special place in our hearts. There was live, local music. There was delicious organic, gourmet pizza and ice cream (the way to my heart is through my stomach). And there was plenty of awesome Pisgah beer on tap! All the runners got 2 free pints of their choice. We tried: Pisgah Pale Ale, Endless Summer Ale, Pisgah Porter (Matt's fav), and the Nitro Stout (my fav).
After a few hours relaxing in the sun, we started our trip back East. And made one of the best detours EVER. Google Maps and our GPS tried to sabotage us, but our stomachs could not be denied. We eventually found our way to Lexington Barbecue (a.k.a. - Lexington #1 or Honey Monk's). Before we walked in, I told Matt that even though I was starving, I was going to eat slowly and savor. We ordered a chopped plate and a coarse chopped plate, which are accompanied by hush puppies, fries, and slaw. Suddenly the food is brought to us. And our conversation ceases. For pretty much the whole meal. Except about halfway through, when we talk briefly to coordinate switching plates so we get to try both styles. Maybe the next visit (which, despite the distance, we hope will be soon!) we'll be a little more civilized.

am i a bad person?

I saw this experiment mentioned in a CNN article a few days ago. The experiment has an interesting design, if you have the time to read the original paper published in Animal Behaviour, but the Reader's Digest version goes something like this: while most agree that hermit crabs (and other decapods) have nociceptive abilities (detecting and avoiding noxious and/or harmful stimuli), the investigators found evidence that the hermit crab may actually feel pain, and remember it. They found that future behaviors from crabs in the "shock" group differed from those in the "no-shock" group (ie - the natural, survival-driven behavior), supporting the conclusion that the change in behavior may be motivated by the memory of the "shock" experience. I should point out that these shocks were kept below the level that would cause the immediate evacuation of the crab from the shell - the idea being that while the shock was meant to be uncomfortable/painful, it was not enough to superseded the most salient survival motivator for the crab - avoiding vulnerability by remaining in the shell, which is their main line of personal defense. [sorry about the ridiculous plethora of clauses in this paragraph, I'm feeling lazy about editing]

So I read this experimental paper, and I have to admit, my knee jerk reaction was to cringe at the thought of the hermit crabs' relative - the blue crab - being steamed alive in a giant pot so it could be eaten. And then I started to salivate. Because that crab is being cooked with Old Bay. And someone is going to get to pick the meat from that crab. And then dip it in more Old Bay. Or maybe melted butter. Or vinegar. And that someone is going to get to drink cold beer between bites. They'll be sitting at a table (probably of the wooden, picnic variety) that is covered in brown paper as the tablecloth. And maybe they're in a backyard, or out on a restaurant's deck overlooking the water. And that someone is going to spend hours picking, eating, drinking, and chatting with friends and family.
And that is one of the things I loved most about Maryland Summers.

our very own earth machine.

Matt and I picked up one of these sweet things for ourselves this weekend - courtesy of Orange County Solid Waste Management. We've gone back and forth about making a composter ourselves, but then I heard about the OC Solid Waste sale (thanks, WUNC!) and thought it was a great deal.

The Earth Machine is made of recycled, UV-resistant plastic and has a 10-year warranty. Lookout earthworms and other helpful microorganisms - Guig's Gourmet will be open soon for you to feast away on assorted fruit and veggie scraps, coffee grinds, tea leaves, grass, weeds, and leaves.

The Pour House

On our way home tonight from The Pour House, I promised Matt that I would blog about the AWESOME show we went to tonight. We saw the Benjy Davis Project opening for Pat McGee. BOTH WERE AWESOME. They moved from the stage into the crowd in the middle of the show and even asked for a volunteer who could play the guitar to play with them and sang right in the middle of the crowd and Matt and I were front row for the first part and for the in the middle of the crowd part. Also, we talked to Pat after the show and told him how great this show was - we've seen him a number of times in a bunch of different venues and this one was so different. It was small, and intimate, and crowd participatory. I mean, Pat McGee didn't even come out with a set list - he just took requests from the crowd and played what he felt. AMAZING! Anyway, we give our stamp of approval/WE LOVE IT to The Pour House. 30 beers on tap - all $4.50. We drank many of them. GOOD NIGHT!!!!!111

update two.

the latest article in the N&O about the new farmer's market.

farmer's market update.

Background: Jess emailed us a blurb about a month ago she found in the N&O about the NC Cooperative Extension considering a new Farmer's Market in N. Raleigh. I called the Coop Extension that morning to tell them I thought this was a great idea and I offered my support. They asked me if I would be willing to consider being on an advisory board. I said yes. They said we'll call you back. They called me back later that week. I missed the call. They left a message. I listened to the message. I promptly forgot about said message. I never called them back. (LAME, I know!)

Update: This morning on the news, we caught part of a story about the new location - and the guy they were interviewing was the guy I was supposed to call back. (I'm SUPER lame, I know!)

Anyway, this is exciting!

guess who else is on Twitter...

no, it's not me.

But NASA is.

And here's the latest update on the Discovery launch attempt that I mentioned in a previous post. I can't imagine how frustrated everyone involved is, but at least they're on the side of caution.

The Hawkeye State

This past weekend I traveled to Iowa City, enabling me to not only to visit a great friend from college, but also to see where my grandparents lived and went to school after they were married over 60 years ago. I wanted to share just a few of the many highlights from the trip:

* trying a bunch of midwest/Iowa-ian beers that I'd never had before

* eating at the Hamburg Inn, a restaurant that my Grandma remembers going to with my Grandpa

* visiting the library and checking out and copying my grandpa's archived Masters thesis in Chemistry, A Spectrophotometric Study of the Sulfonium Polyhalide Complexes (complete with the greek symbols handwritten in since the typewriter didn't have those keys)

* drinking at Joe's Place, which my Grandma told me they used to go to - only once or twice, I'm sure...

fun and educational!

Don't you want to know the context of this picture?!

In my Physiology class, we're currently in the thick of learning Cardiovascular Physiology, and today my professor suggested checking out the Electrocardiogram educational game from nobelprize.org for fun. I've only tried a few of the medical ones, but it appears that the site has an expansive collection across the Nobel Prize disciplines.

And you know I have a sweet spot in my heart (well, actually, in my limbic system - a set of structures in my brain) for Neuroscience-related topics...don't you want to learn how to make this doggie drool?

Or maybe play with Mr. Split Brainy to find out about the two hemispheres of your brain and how they talk to one another and work together via the corpus callosum?

i'm ants-ies in my pants-ies.

As you can see, we are creeping closer and closer to prime produce time. While I'm throwing around the idea of trying to grow a few things in our backyard, I'm way more excited about our CSA box from Vollmer Farm and weekly trips to the Farmer's Market. (And there's a rumor that there might be a new market opening this summer somewhere in N. Raleigh. Hopefully, I'll have more details on that soon.)

Tar Heel Trot 5K

Spur of the moment decision - we ran the Tar Heel Trot 5K Saturday morning. They had a great turn out despite the rain, and it was actually pretty warm (in the 50's), considering how much colder it got later in the day. Money raised goes to Friends For an Earlier Breast Cancer Test, an organization out of Greensboro, NC.


I thought this was worth documenting...it's a good look for us, wet and stinky.

Eno River Hike

I'm a week late in posting, but here are a few photos from our latest hiking adventure at Eno River State Park. This footbridge at the start of the trails was pretty awesome - that's Matt pretending to be Indian Jones.

And evidence of what's now becoming a tradition...cold Bojangles chicken and biscuits for lunch.

albert haynesworth?!?!

ummmm..... wow. Dan Snyder is back to his true form.

link.

delicious.

Matt made this black bean hummus one night last week. We really liked it. A quick and easy snack - it's a different take on traditional hummus. And it has a nice kick to it (for those of us who aren't Spades, who laughs in the face of the Scoville scale).

um, what?

I've been told I'm a gullible person.

That being said, is this for real?

NASA = not so much

While the idea of personally traveling to/in space scares the crap out of me, I am fascinated by that weird and wonderful vacuum. I commend NASA and its employees for their creativity, ambition, and courage. And I recognize that with progress and discovery, come risk and missteps.

Unfortunately, recent events seem to continue to fall in the "uh oh" category:

The space trash problem. (Perhaps we could try a modified version of Leave No Trace)

Shuttle equipment problems. (Latest update from NASA)

CO2 Hunter epic fail. (Appears to be $273 million down the drain)

never in a million years...

...did I think this would happen.

I couldn't believe my ears when I heard that on the radio on my way home from work (listen to the audio clip on the link above for the full story).

I'm not gonna lie, that place was pretty gross to visit when Matt lived there.

since I found these pictures on my camera...

...you get a few photos with blurbs.

Halloween Fun

with (Tina Fey impersonating) Sarah Palin and Joe the Plumber.

Snow Day, Inauguration Day!

this actually happened in January.

A few weekends ago, Matt and I took a Saturday to visit Hanging Rock State Park. We both love hiking, and we’ve done a bunch of trails in MD – including sections of the Appalachian Trail, Great Falls, and Cunningham Falls – and we have some great memories of the Cascades near VTech.

Lately though, we haven’t been anywhere besides Umstead State Park here in Raleigh. Don’t get me wrong, we love Umstead. It’s big and beautiful, right down the road from our house, and we especially like the Sycamore Creek trail. We also have fond (haha) memories of running Sal’s Path (of DEATH). However, in wanting to get to know NC a little more, we headed out west a little ways to Danbury.

After stopping at Grayson’s Café for a breakfast sandwich (me) and a breakfast burrito (him), we hopped on I-40W. Then it was onto a series of progressively smaller roads as we passed by Greensboro, and headed north of Winston-Salem. Somewhere around Walnut Cove, we picked up some Bojangles’ chicken and biscuits (sorry, I just drooled on the keyboard) to have for lunch later. As the roads became smaller and the land less developed, our ears started popping and we knew we were close.

The park was awesome. And since we chose one of the coldest days for this adventure (I don't think it ever got about 25 degrees F), it wasn't crowded. We felt like we had the whole place to ourselves. As you can see from the photos, we were bundled up and loving it!

Globalization of Clinical Trials

Researchers from the Duke Clinical Research Institute and the Duke Translational Medicine Institute wrote an interesting article that was just published in the New England Journal of Medicine. If you don't have the time to read the full paper (it's really not that long), you can find a brief summary of their manuscript in this article from the Triangle Business Journal (affectionately known as the TBJ, thank you Jess). I did notice that only two of the authors are mentioned in the TBJ write-up (the only two who are affiliated with UNC, in addition to Duke), and there’s actually no mention of the Duke Institutes, which all the authors are affiliated with. It makes me a little curious about how the TBJ found out about this...possibly a UNC press release?

Nonetheless, this is a complicated issue and I found the authors’ discussion of the historical and current situation well-balanced. By enumerating both the pros and the cons, of globalizing clinical trials, they not only aid in the understanding of the present trend, they also initiate the necessary discourse about the ethics and the response. Moreover, they conclude with a number of proposals, “next steps” as they put it, empowering the academic, medical, and legislative worlds to respond.

**A curiosity: All of the authors on this paper reported conflicts of interest (which they are required to document in order to publish) – which you can only find details about in the Supplementary Appendix online. Turns out they all have involvement (intellectual and monetary) with a wide variety of Pharma and BioTech companies.**

Krispy Kreme follow-up

I just wanted to updated everyone on our grand achievements yesterday at the 2009 Krispy Kreme Challenge. Meg and I both signed up as "casual runners," as opposed to "challengers," which means we were given a dozen donuts but we weren't actually obligated to eat them all. My goal going in was to eat six donuts, which I thought was extremely ambitious for me. I actually finished eight and I am quite pleased with myself.

^^^ times 8!!!

Here is what Meg said about her goal: "I think I can do four, and if I can do four I can do six, but I really wanna do eight." Take that to mean what you will. She finished five. I'm very proud of her.

The run back from the donut shop actually went a lot better than I expected, although in hindsight I think that probably had something to do with the extreme sugar high I experienced midway through. I think without that burst of energy the challenge would not be possible.

As gluttonous and ridiculous as the whole concept is, it's actually a lot of fun. When you look out and see 5,000 other people all lining up excitedly to punish their bodies in the name of children's medicine, you can't help but get excited about it yourself in a weird, "why am I doing this?" kind of way. Plus, it makes for a great story. I will not be eating donuts for breakfast this morning, however.

this is a test.

There's been no action on here in a long time. Thought I would make sure it still works...


Random update: Matt and I are running with 5,000 of our closest friends tomorrow morning in the Krispy Kreme Challenge!!!

If you're not familiar with it, I suggest you browse the website a little. Or check out SportsCenter. Yup, that's right, ESPN will be covering this fantastic feat of digestive and cardiovascular exertion!