Despite having read Judge Jones' ruling more than 24 hours ago, I'm still musing over it.

To get my first thoughts out of the way: I'm thrilled. This is the best ruling possible; not only did he declare that the school board's policy was in violation of the 1st amendment, but he also ruled that intelligent design was just the latest guise for creationism. He was logical, he was extremely thorough, and he was merciless in his condemnation of the board. "Breathtaking inanity" indeed.

Some people have said that he was outside his authority in determining that ID is not science. While I believe that such a pronouncement was not required, he was certainly well within his authority. He was correct in saying that another attempt will be made to introduce ID under the guise of science, and he was also correct in saying that to return to the issue will be a waste of time and money. He knew that it would be in the court's best interest to establish a reference, if not a precedent, and he did so with a full understanding of the ramifications.

Beyond that, I am heartened to receive confirmation that the judicial system can function as it was meant to, and that there is at least one judge who is willing to cross his party line and behave in the true manner befitting his station.

In other news, I received my first group of moderation points. Congratulations to those of you who wrote posts worth rewarding. Some of you are now on my friends list, and I look forward to insightful comments in the future.

Ever since the news broke this morning, I've been telling my co-workers. They're all rather saddened ("Damn, it didn't actually work.") and very, very angry ("WTF! Those a**holes have made it worse for all of us!").

If someone thinks that this will have no affect on future research, that person has never learned about government funding. Even if the research turns out to be valid, the question will remain in the public's mind.

I've been asked to come in on Friday, which means I'll be $120 richer. I'll also be able to pick up my first paycheck, instead of waiting until next Tuesday.

On the flip side, there's a company meeting at 2:30 on Friday. Blech.

I just made a post on the various definitions of a species. While it killed a bit of time, sometimes I want to reply with JFWI (just f'ing Wiki it).

I wonder when I'll be getting my paycheck. That would be nice.

This is my second week at Synta Pharmaceuticals, and it looks like I'm going to get back into the /. habit. There aren't too many sites I feel safe in browsing when I'm sitting in a lab/cubicle.

I'm learning how to culture and collect cancer cells. Unfortunately, the person who's teaching me has a few bad habits, so at some point I'll have to write up the correct procedure.

My first timesheet has been approved, although I don't know when I'll be getting my first paycheck. Regular influxes of money are good things.

Two weeks ago I finally gave in and registered. Today I'm finally giving in and starting to write in this small box. If anyone reads this, hi. I'm a bio geek, and this is my place to vent about the subject, whether it be work, school, or general developments.

I'm supposed to be working on a microarray project, but there have been a number of glitches. First the data was out of order, then the gene IDs didn't pull anything from the databank, and now I'm waiting for the genes to be properly IDed so I can pull out the correct primer plates. For the past week, I've done nothing but browse GAFF, Google news, and /. I'm getting awfully sick of not doing anything. I have my own work I could be doing, and if there's no reason for me to show up, tell me and I'll stay home and get stuff done.

School starts in a week, and with it my last 13 credits. I'm still not sure what I want to do come June, although I do know that it must have health insurance. Lab work? Field work? I definitely don't want to be chained to a desk like I am now.