Friday Fragments (9/30/11)

Well this week has been quite the crap-shoot of productivity.  At the times when I needed to be productive and get stuff done, I wasn't able to focus between the upcoming football, ridiculously ever-changing weather, and random activities around the lab.  And other times when I had time to just sit back and relax I decided to to go big instead of go home (my ass still hurts from plyometrics on Tuesday but whatever).  So, I have about an half hour to burn before my last requirement for the week on campus, my major professor's is giving a seminar to another department...and there's free refreshments!

Anyway, I wasn't prepared for a Fragments this week because I have just been lazy and forgotten to save interesting articles.  Plus, I have spent a good amount of my usual time spent of science and news articles looking at the Purdue vs Notre Dame preview and fantasy football stats. See Hammerandrails.com or BoiledSports.com for good Purdue sports blogs!

Side Note: Quick shout out to my brother, Adam, is 0-3 in our fantasy league but is by far the best manager I ever had in a fantasy league.  The dude writes extensive weekly reviews about the match-ups, previews upcoming games, and has created a ton of weekly "trophies" for me to waste time looking at during the week.  It feels some much more legit when I win!  Thanks dude! (I should also note that he isn't completely terrible at fantasy football, but he drafted Arian Foster [bust #1] and Peyton Manning before the surgery [bust #2]).

I digress, so I do have a few interesting links for you to finish your week up with...

-Being in the field of pharmaceuticals I get asked the same question a lot; "Why do drugs cost so much?"  I could (and will someday soon) explain the situation and my view on how the system works and how I believe it should work.  But until then here is a very well written article to explain some of the dynamics of the pharmaceutical industry.  I disagree with the idea thrown out at the end that the industry will enter an "Ice Age" soon but otherwise it is a very good article. (About 5-10 minute read)

-If you have ever seen those annoying QR codes and wondered what reasonable application they can have, look no further.  Wikipedia is going to start incorporating them into, well, anything and everything!  The Indianapolis Children's Museum is already using them.  I personally think this is a great idea!

-AlphaDog robot project...the video speaks for itself (hint: it's creepily awesome).

-I believe I may have noted about new injection techniques earlier but here is quick article about the advancement of needles and the future of injections.  This is standard IPPH stuff.

-Lastly, if you remember back in the spring there was talk of "alien life" found on earth.  Well, if you are really hurting to waste some time, this review over at PopSci.com is a great look at the debacle that is/was the "new life" form and the subsequent fallout for the scientists involved.

Alright that's all I got right now. Oh and don't forget to Boiler Up this weekend against the Crying Irish of Notre Dame!