Perfect (or relative in this case, not sure) pitch just boggles my mind. Think about it. No, really think about it. Understanding music intuitively. That’s like hacking a language at a basal level. Understanding binary intuitively. And some of our brains are just .. born with it. Insanity.

Random song on Spotify: 9 yo: Oh there’s so many fun bits of melodies in this song! Me: What do you mean? 9yo: The way it moves from a G to …. (Carries on speaking in what could very well be a Klingon speech on battle honor) Me: You.. you get all of that from the song? 9yo: yes! You.. don’t?

Ok, full draft of an R01 complete. Now to spend the next three months obsessing over every single word. Is it wrong that I’m exhausted but at the same time really excited?

Should I? Probably not. But it made me happy, and what good is happiness if it isn’t shared? There’s something we’re looking into as a potential mitigating therapy for an ultra rare pediatric condition. I’m writing an R01 on the mechanism. There are now three children showing improvement. :)

It soothes my chaotic mind to tell (enterprise compliant) AI: this is the mess I want to put to words) - And it gives me a complete bullet point list of ordered topics. I cannot do that easily.

Hey, Bluesky hivemind, bit of a niche thing: 7yo wants a music player for her birthday. No specifics, so I’m at a loss. What do I get her? Bonus if it connects to Spotify as all my physical media is an ocean away.

Original trilogy - girls: Yay!! Phantom menace - girls: Huh? Trade.. wars? Me: Oh yeah. I forgot. George went full Lucas on this one. Ya never go full Lucas.

The girls (7, 9) and the boys (six days shy of two) just danced to Footloose in the living room at 7:30 in the morning.

Me: “Ok, I’m going to go out for my afternoon run!” Twin 2’s first full sentence in the whole wide world: “ Daddy stay with I.” Me: “Well that wrecked me.”

Arco is a phenomenal movie. Gorgeous. The girls loved it and I did plus all the feels. (Also, mentions a falloff and has Nuka Cola?)

Muppet show. Sabrina Carpenter: I love a kink! 7yo: What’s a kink?

Writing our R01. Spouse: the children are making so much noise, do you want me to ask them to stop? Me: Stop? Never.

Nobody: Me: LET’S GET DANGEROUS!! 7yo and 9yo: ??? Me: I am the terror that flaps in the night! (Running away)

“Specific aims v29__q” For June. For a June submission. Sigh.

Could not be prouder to be helping out: www.ywhagfoundation.org

Everyone, I have four children, and I can say there aren’t a lot of firsts. You’ve seen most things in one version or another. Yet. Yet. Today. One of the twins ate all the sprinkles and left the cookie.

How I mess up 352.73: - In Portuguese, a booger is called a “macaco do nariz”, literally a nose monkey. Yesterday I was cleaning the nose of one of the twins, and mentioned he had some. Then I flushed them. Cue the saddest possible little boy thinking I had flushed actual monkeys down the drain.

“wait… it’s over?? We never find out why the day repeated???” (Both) “Daaaaaad!!!” - Did you like it though? (Both) “yes!!” (We skipped a few bits. They’re too young for the whole thing. We kept some bits that may have surprised you.)

Sad: I see a Manhattan plot.

Anyone writing neuroscience/Neurodegeneration grants wanna team up for a writing group? I’d love to get more input and learn from people!

They say we're young and we don't know We won't find out until we grow

7yo: They made more movies?? Me: Yup! 7yo: Dad, but without Darth Vader, the bad guy team already lost! You can’t have more stories just with the good team? Me: Oh cutie pie, have I got news for you! So, capitalism is…

Oh man Vader’s death hit HARD. Lots of follow up conversations.

-I love this song! -Sweet Caroline is a lot of things. -? -It’s played at Fenway. That means that no other baseball field plays it. But, when we got to the US, something terrible happened in Boston. Other fields then played showing they were with us. For me, it means love. -I like that. -Me too

On brotherhood, part 2: The only acceptable time for this is when you’re about two years old. Baby A: Bro, love you. Baby B: Love you, bro.

On brotherhood, part 1: A) We bought two little Elmo couches for each twin to sit down. B) They both sit down. C) One couch remains unused.

Me to spouse holding a baby, trying to get it to sleep: - Would you mind reading this figure panel to see if my schematic makes sense? It’s a first draft. - Sure. Spouse returns: - Good news bad news. Good: it reads well. Bad: the baby fell asleep to RhoA Prenylation. Whatever that is.

Ok, so the twins have one major difference from the girls. While the girls where chatty and communicative I thought the twins were faster movers (they were) but slower talkers. Incorrect. They talk a TON. But only when they are 100% sure. Example: No one: Twins: whole alphabet + 1 to 10

So what do you do when you get this jittery “I think we got it, I really think we’ve got the mechanism!” Feeling? I need to be able to turn it off or no one will stand being near me all weekend.

“Poor Gerald felt so sad. Because when it came to dancing he was really rather bad.” Twin A, looks intensely at the giraffe and whispers: - I (emphasis on I) love you.

And now my vpn access is broken. Curse you Anyconnect.

We’re in a complicated place, funding-wise. What do we feel about a patreon on the (non-existing) lab website?

That’s no moon! That’s a spa.. oh no never mind it’s a moon.

Also, time from me starting to b able to KO’ed baby 2m 40s. Proud to be a bore, I guess.

Twin difference 23156: Baby A I dozed off with a song. Baby B listened to an convoluted story about ducks quacking in the forest and the ensuing tragic lack of communication with the bear population. It had hand puppets. The poor baby was trying to follow the story, until he couldn’t stay awake.

“Oh yeah the kids can go to school in their pjs ( never mind the freezing weather) but they have to pay.” Sigh. That’s not the lesson we want to teach here. We want to teach you can wear pjs and crocks to Walmart for free!

Update: flying!! Finally, seven hours after scheduled!

They did!!

And we just got out and are waiting to see if American has a spare plan around here somewhere.

Well we are four hours past schedule departure and have been sprayed with anti frost twice, refueled to make it to an alternate airport if needed, and now the pilot window heater is broken, so back to the gate to get it fixed. Maybe. At least flight isn’t super full, so I have leg room.

It ain’t easy, you know? Being green.

Update: I am on a plane. Doesn’t mean it will fly, but odds are looking up.

Ok, arrived at Chicago from LAX, what are the odds I get to leave?

New achievement: working in an R01 on airport.

It’s so funny how I can interact with everyone in these apps, but will stand in a corner not mingling at all in social events. If you ever see me at a conference come say hi - I can’t do it.

I am tired. Good conference. Lots of good people working on ALS. I am tired. I like California. I am tired. Flight got moved early, leaving on a red-eye. Still. I am tired.

Why is the conference app gamefied? “You need x points to be the top at the conference!!” Who, literally, cares?

Ok, so flights are canceled. Guess I’m staying in Pasadena for now.

Spouse: I’m sorry I accidentally broke your favorite coffee cup! Me: Oh not a problem, I’m sure we can just buy a new one… $42 plus shipping??? I’m drinking tea from now on. On a plastic cup.

For #FluorescenceFriday iPSC-derived cortical neurons, with some of the progenitors still there! 🟢TUJ1 🔴SOX2 🔵DAPI