This fall Caroline played Ultimate Frisbee
True story. This version of my scalp has the optimistic 23 hairs but later versions are reduced to only 10.
My company sponsored my genome sequencing as an event to educate us about modern genomic medicine. It was done through MGH with 30x coverage of the full genome and they sent us a thumb drive with the sequencing data. I was screened for 15 medically actionable mutations (ApoE4, BRCA2, etc) and did not have any of those. 90% of us are carriers for diseases that don't manifest because of our one good gene copy and I am a carrier for a kidney disease and a blood disorder. Good to know. Then there is the fun part: the SNPs for heritable traits. I learned that both copies of my MC1R gene have mutations that prevents my skin from producing melanin and puts me at risk for melanoma, but gives me red hair. I am homozygous for the SNP for autosomal dominant compelling helio-ophthalmic outburst syndrome, which makes me sneeze in bright sunlight. And then there was the most surprising one: that T at the cursor means that both copies of my ABC11 gene have premature stop codons that make the protein nonfunctional. ABC11 is a transporter found in sweat glands that releases body odor precursor molecules. People with ABC11 mutations produce way less body odor and the mutation is found in >85% of east Asians but only <2% of Europeans. It's true that I don't get BO and the SNP also links with dry earwax, which I have. Actually this resolved a mystery between Heather and I because I don't use deodorant and she always thought this was gross, whereas I couldn't understand why she needs deodorant if she showers regularly. It's not her fault, she's genetically stinky.
The third and final Lotus Trilogy box arrived, 6 years after I placed the order with Kagen Sound.
I slept in the back bedroom for a couple weeks to keep Reggie company and save my back until our new mattress arrived
During out-of-school weeks Reggie is an honorary member of Erin's homeroom
dave's leadership qualities are good for left hand typing practice
Heather says that watching cat videos is proven to lower stress
Right before Halloween we had a cold snap and snow that stuck
As usual, my homegrown pumpkin was extra thick with tons of seeds
Apt costumes for the weather
This year Aunt Claire convinced us celebrate Samhain, the pagan holiday of harvest's end that spawned Halloween. It involves candles
and pouring liquid back to the earth as thanks for the bounty
Usually I enforce a you-want-it, you-carry-it policy on candy, but because of the snow and the cold, I offered a once-in-a-lifetime drive-by loot bag swap
And look at that loot. Without all that doorbell nonsense, this year's haul was huge
So much for the Siberian heritage
You can see the snow melting to water vapor
Why can't they all just get along?
