What is making you happy right now

[Aimless]

In happy news, the ginger got a job she's been gunning for for half a year now. They kept trying to keep her in her current position so as to not destabilize that group but it became clear that she'd not only be v good in the new position but she'd also be less likely to go elsewhere. So now she gets to do slightly less depressing and slightly more lawyery things best of all, she gets to stay at her current workplace, with the colleagues she likes so much. As an added bonus, this comes with an 8% raise

So to celebrate I spent my day off setting up a nice dinner and we just saw a movie we've been meaning to see for a while. Everything was delicious and thanks to Easter we have a nice long weekend to look forward to, v. welcome after a couple of rough weeks. I are happies

[Lewkowski]

Just got back from http://www.mizuumicon.org/

Anime cons are pretty fun, this one was rather low key but still had a great time.

[Hazir]

Cute little video made with just a smartphone by a Syrian refugee in The Netherlands https://youtu.be/JLOTUAO628s

[Timbuk2]

Gary Linekar stated at the start of this footy season that he will present the first episode of Match of the Day next season in his underpants if Leicester win the Premier League title.

Now that they are, absolutely unbelievably, odds on favourites to win the league, Linekar looks like he will indeed have to.



[

[Aimless]

One of the most satisfying posts I've read this week:

http://steve-yegge.blogspot.se/2008/...ttern.html?m=1

[Ominous Gamer]

Why does that site load an article on Borderlands 2 gun discarders before loading your article?

[Flixy]

My declarations were turned down... Because my boss said I have to ask for more

And I have a job interview for something new this afternoon which would increase my salary with about €600 per month, so fingers crossed! First conversation went well and this is I think the final round.

[wiggin]

Marathon Monday in Boston is pretty damn awesome.

[earthJoker]

Just found out that Marathon Monday and Sechseläuten is on the same day (3s Monday of April)



Used to be a holiday when I worked in the city.

[RandBlade]

Twitter Link

[Ominous Gamer]

Turns out the ignorant asshole who ESPN fired for wading into the transgender debate on twitter was none other than Curt Schilling, the same asshole who drove 38 Studios into the ground and tried to bring Rhode Island with it.

[Flixy]

Had my last day at working for a vacation house rental service, tuesday I'm signing a contract at a company that makes a new type of artificial heart valves (and starts in human testing around this time). Quite a big change

Oh, but first, this weekend:

https://www.facebook.com/groezrock/v...4687009783765/

It's going to be cold on the campsite though

[wiggin]

Had my last day at working for a vacation house rental service, tuesday I'm signing a contract at a company that makes a new type of artificial heart valves (and starts in human testing around this time). Quite a big change

Which company? Is it Xeltis? My lab works a lot on implantable cardiovascular devices. Good luck! (Though, full disclosure: I'm not yet sold on the wisdom of resorbable valves/stents/etc.)

[Flixy]

Yep, that's the one! It sounds good as an idea, but I know literally nothing yet about how well it actually performs. Never worked in a cleanroom before either, suiting up was definitely a hassle the first time

[wiggin]

Cool! Are you in manufacturing, then, or R&D or what? Just guessing since you're in a cleanroom. (And GMP rules suck, as you will undoubtedly discover.)

I obviously don't know their technology with any level of detail (they're using some sort of electrospun scaffolds?), but I think there are real issues with the basic idea of bioresorbable CV devices. The mechanical environment is really critical for these devices, and bioresorbable scaffolds often have real issues getting the right elasticity/modulus in physiological loading regimes. This becomes a bigger issue as materials degrade (whose rate may be modified by the individual patient's disease state) and weaken. In theory it should be possible to repopulate and remodel the scaffolds at just the right rate to forestall these issues, but I question whether the technology exists to do that yet. There are also concerns re: cell organization and tissue deposition in vivo - you may get abnormal compliance developing if the valve doesn't grow perfectly after implantation, which can result in all sorts of serious flow problems (regurgitation, coarctation, etc.). Finally, blood-contacting materials are very susceptible to problems, and making something that will encourage cell infiltration and remodeling but won't cause, say, calcification, is a real challenge.

It's possible that Xeltis has solved these issues, which would be totally awesome. But most of the work I've seen on bioresorbable CV implants has been long on promise and short on results. I hope this is different!

[Aimless]

Congrats Flixy! If they offer to upgrade your heart-valves think v carefully before accepting

For my part, I think I've finally found a "good" life-insurance, courtesy of the oldest life-insurance company in Sweden (and possibly the world?). I've become a bit of a worrywart in my old age but this is also a bit overdue and I'd like to make sure my mother is financially secure for a while if anything were to happen.

[Aimless]

https://plus.google.com/u/0/10367439...ts/1aeEKJiqdeF

Happy but TERRIFIED

[Loki]

Late April Fools? I hope it's better than that genius pilot.

[Flixy]

Cool! Are you in manufacturing, then, or R&D or what? Just guessing since you're in a cleanroom. (And GMP rules suck, as you will undoubtedly discover.)

I obviously don't know their technology with any level of detail (they're using some sort of electrospun scaffolds?), but I think there are real issues with the basic idea of bioresorbable CV devices. The mechanical environment is really critical for these devices, and bioresorbable scaffolds often have real issues getting the right elasticity/modulus in physiological loading regimes. This becomes a bigger issue as materials degrade (whose rate may be modified by the individual patient's disease state) and weaken. In theory it should be possible to repopulate and remodel the scaffolds at just the right rate to forestall these issues, but I question whether the technology exists to do that yet. There are also concerns re: cell organization and tissue deposition in vivo - you may get abnormal compliance developing if the valve doesn't grow perfectly after implantation, which can result in all sorts of serious flow problems (regurgitation, coarctation, etc.). Finally, blood-contacting materials are very susceptible to problems, and making something that will encourage cell infiltration and remodeling but won't cause, say, calcification, is a real challenge.

It's possible that Xeltis has solved these issues, which would be totally awesome. But most of the work I've seen on bioresorbable CV implants has been long on promise and short on results. I hope this is different!

Manufacturing, and yes, electrospun scaffolds. That's right now also about the extent of my knowledge so I don't know if they solved these issues (and am not a biologist so I don't know much about those either ). I do know they've put the material in sick children already, so considering they are now doing a more advanced test, I'm assuming it didn't go catastrophic


Groezrock was amazing, though freezing cold (especially at night on the campsite). I'll see if I can find some proper pictures/videos later

[Wraith]

Late April Fools? I hope it's better than that genius pilot.

That was an ashcan copy. It was only made to hold onto the rights. It was never meant to be good, just fast & cheap. IIRC, the whole thing was filmed in a single day.

[Loki]

Given the sheer incompetence of everyone involved, I'm going to wait for the "major studio" release before becoming optimistic. Hopefully, it's not MTV.

[Aimless]

WOO

taxes done

took several minutes due to having to report expenses in order to get deductions r/t apartment sale and because the tax office's website is being hammered right now I do not envy people who have to spend a ton of time working this stuff out or have to do it on paper.

I heard some of my colleagues moan about the high tax-burden on young doctors the other day. I'm v early in my career and am getting back what amounts to a net median monthly salary in Sweden even though we belong to that privileged group of people who can live well, save money and live relatively free from that constant feeling of financial insecurity. They should be moaning about the govt. getting a low-interest loan or something (because it isn't even interest-free). Young childless doctors in dual-income households Sweden have it cushy. We have working-conditions and contracts that would make overworked junior doctors in other western countries go green with envy. We don't have an income problem, we can count on being able to repay our debts quickly, we don't have an unmanageable tax-burden compared to others in our society. What many people in this group seem to have is a spending problem and a lack of perspective. To some extent the spending problem is influenced by eg. the broken housing market. But to imply even for a second that we're as a group financially burdened is ridiculous.

In more cheerful news my sis signed mum up to audition for a fun play and she got a part as an extra of sorts along with some other people that seem fun. It's been a rough couple of months for her and she hasn't been on stage since her college days so she's v excited. It also looks like if all goes well we might be able to build her a nice house back home in farawayistanabad in a few years and as much as the thought scares me I know that it's gonna be better than if she's forced to stay in Sweden for much longer. This country can suck all the joy out of an immigrant's soul. So fingers crossed

[Aimless]

AND I finally managed to recover a crashed firefox session with an atrociously large number (so large that I'm ashamed to even hint at its size) of important tabs!!!

Goodbye all other crappy useless browsers, until next time.

[wiggin]

I just learned that Stephen Hawking's official title is a professor of Theoretical Cosmology. What makes me happy is that this means that whoever came up with the title thought that there was a chance they'd have to name a professor of Applied Cosmology. I really hope that some day we need that title.

[GGT]

Young childless doctors in dual-income households Sweden have it cushy. We have working-conditions and contracts that would make overworked junior doctors in other western countries go green with envy. We don't have an income problem, we can count on being able to repay our debts quickly, we don't have an unmanageable tax-burden compared to others in our society. What many people in this group seem to have is a spending problem and a lack of perspective. To some extent the spending problem is influenced by eg. the broken housing market. But to imply even for a second that we're as a group financially burdened is ridiculous.

I'm kinda surprised that any medical student/intern/resident in Sweden has complaints! Like you said, other westerners would be green with envy. Not sure the disparity can be attributed to loan burdens and housing costs, since your Swedish peers live in clean, modern apartments with their stipend. They'd be appalled if they saw the US equivalent.

[Flixy]

Psv are champions again! Last match of competition If the party's as good as last year it will be amazing

http://bbc.com/sport/football/36187511

Shame it's the last year with philips as shirt sponsor, end of an era

[Ominous Gamer]

Home buying attempt 1, first offer made...

[Ominous Gamer]

Offer accepted! Now to get past the inspector and appraisal...

[Timbuk2]

Wow! Place looks really good Minous.

Always amazed at how much space you merikans have compared to the little properties we put up with.

Looking at your pic above, place that size would command an asking price of $3m - $4m round where I live.

[earthJoker]

$4M? That's even expensive for our standards.