March 23, 2010

The defense, the defense party and the T-dock dissolution party

A lot has been happening in and around the Alizé II. First of all, I finished my 5.5 year pursuit of a doctoral degree in developmental biology - second of all, a bunch of family and friends got together to celebrate this event - third of all, our small community on T dock at Shilshole marina has begun to disband. Gary has left Seattle for greener pastures in Portland. So, we got together to mark the event.
the boss and I in a last minute strategy session minutes before the defense presentation.



a luciferase activity slide from the talk.

and then the Prosecco after the committee members signed their names to the final doctoral exam warrant.
Andrew Prendergrast baked me a cake designed with a melanophore, a xanthophore and an iridophore - the cell types I have been researching.

The Curran family with Ashlyn, my soon-to-be-baptized god-daughter.


My dad enlightening some friends to something, maybe Woody Guthrie, maybe ice climbing, maybe soft drink sales projections - who knows?
My Dad having a moment with my boss.
We rented out the back room at the College Inn that evening and had Indian food brought in.
Tor Linbo envisioned this as a 'Last Supper' moment. So he framed this image accordingly
the 2010 Raible Lab photo

and
the T-dock dissolution party.




a new marine head

This is the latest Twist n' Lock Jabsco Manual. She is a real beauty. To welcome her in properly I also replaced the adjacent plumbing. The install was a bit of a task - but I think a new head is critical for a happy boat.

The old electric head often became a point of tension with my crew in the past. It was pretty awful - wires were corroded - the motor was weak - fuses blew - outflow was shoddy, inflow was worse - the whole concept of an aged electric head is just a bad idea on a sailboat.

I captured the following video about a year ago.
I think it highlights the tension and discomfort that was created by the old electric system.

Although the crew was trying to stay upbeat - i think you can tell that mutiny was just around the corner.