Sunnuntai Afternoon

Foreign Clouds

I'm finally getting over my cold, so yesterday I went on a bike ride to a nearby lake to take some photographs. The sun had been shining all day, but just as I began to settle in, ready to take some pictures (and I knew this would happen, which is why I broke the sound barrier getting there) it disappeared behind scattered clouds, hiding from me for the rest of the day. Still beautiful though, and not too cold. It hovered right around 35ºF for most of the afternoon.

To be alone under foreign clouds, with a frozen, snowpacked lake in front of me and a robe of birch trees at my back was solemn and peaceful, and is quickly becoming a favorite past time of mine. Just sitting. Just being.

This time of year is beautiful, the sun shines more and more, yet the snow is still here. I sure do miss the Arkansas springtime though.

Below are some photographs of our EvoGen research group here at the University: Maaria, Me, Anneli, Hannele, Laura, Tiina, and Venera. (And if there are any males out there looking for a graduate position in Evolutionary Genetics, let me recommend the University of Jyväskylä!)

Actually, we are a good group and they are all very kind, hard working and great company. I feel absolutely privileged.

Tell Arkansas "hi" for me.


Cheers,
Jackson

The Beavis Effect

Today I learned about the "Beavis effect". The Beavis effect is a statistical phenomenon in biology that refers to the overestimation of the effect size of QTL (quantitative trait loci) as a result of small sample sizes in QTL studies. QTL studies attempt to link phenotypic variation in an organism with genotypic variation... in other words, which genes (or gene regions) are responsible for certain traits in lving things. Human height, for instance, has been shown through these types of studies to be influenced by two loci (gene regions) - 9q22 on the 9th chromosome and Xq24 on the human X chromosome. Interestingly, the gene "ROR2" is located within that 9q22 locus and is responsible for growth plate development. (Liu, Y et al., Human Genetics, 2006)

I may be carrying out a QTL analysis in my own research, so I should be sure to use large sample sizes to avoid the Beavis effect.

Word to your moms.

(jackson)

Mina olen Jyväskylästa.

So Janee' and the girls are spending some time back in Arkansas. Yes, it's true; they left last Monday and will come back at the end of April. We decided that the timing is right and that it's best for the girls and for momma too (and if momma ain't happy....)

We have been unable to get Lillian into school here, which means the girls spend most days milling around the apartment; there's only so much time one can spend outside here. It's often too cold to stay out for very long and the NintendoDS and coloring books can only go so far. Furthermore, no school time for Lillian during the day means no personal (alone) time for Janee' (if you don't have kids yet, this will make sense to you when you do).

It's not been an issue for me; I spend 9 to 5 at the University and I'm usually quite busy feeding flies or extracting DNA, but I could imagine things might get a little stagnant around here for my lovely wife. If you have not yet spent 24 hours with Lillian and Edith (or 2 months straight, for that matter) you should give it a try and see how much gusto you have left when it's over... they suck the life right out of you! I think the Grammy or Mimi can attest to that!

I'm happy that the girls will be able to enjoy some warm Arkansas spring air, the Kings River, the cabin, and the grandparents, great-grandparents, and aunts and uncles. Lily can finish her spring soccer season with her little team, and perhaps get back into school for a bit. By the time they all return, it will be late April and the weather should be warming up around here. Although I miss my girls, I'm taking this time to focus on work and think about things - I'm trying to enjoy the solitude, although it's been a bit strange - just not what I'm used to. It is nice, though, to be able to sit down in a quiet room in the afternoon, in your home, and read for an hour. I had forgotten what that felt like.

Time like this is always good in the long run, and Janee' and I always grow from spending time apart from one another. I believe time apart may be the key to a lasting relationship (my grandmother told me that). And did I mention that we have Skype? It's quite nice that I can see the girls everyday... I mean, it's not like I'm on Jupiter or anything.

This week it got up to 10 celcius on our balcony (that's 50 degrees F). It has been hovering around 0 celcius (32 F) the whole week, so much of the snow is melting during the day and refreezing at night, making my bike ride to work hazardous and arduous.


I got a guitar a couple of weeks ago, since I have a gig coming up at the end of the month. I bought a Washburn acoustic and I love it. Definitely helps to pass the time around here, now that I am without little bodies and little voices bouncing off the walls.

Last night I went to a live Jazz bar called Poppari. The group "Jazzliitto" was really good - all Finnish. They have been playing together for about 2 years and their two sets were excellent. After the group was done, the sax and trumpet players stayed on to play while a DJ spun records. I had never actually been to a jazz bar, so it was a great experience all around.

Everywhere I go, I talk about music with folks. They tell me what they like and I tell them what I like. We usually end up exchanging band or musician names on paper and I always look forward to looking them up when I get home. Usually, they are heavy metal bands with humdrum sounds and mundane lyrics. I have heard some good stuff though; last night, Jazzliitto was good.

I've got all the girls in my research group - I am the only "male", as they like to say - listening to Johnny Cash, Hank Williams and some contemporary stuff like Band of Horses and MGMT. Ah, music.

Well, the sun is shining today with few clouds to get in the way. After lunch, which will consist of potatoes, macaroni, and a couple of lihapiirakka kottpirogat, I think a sauna is in order, and maybe a walk to the grocery store. And guess what - I can buy beer on Sunday. A sauna without a beer just wouldn't be right.
Below is a taste of Jazzliitto.


Tervesin!

Jackson