tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69351092011-09-27T09:06:40.103-07:00ghoti, according to george bernard shaw, really spells "fish". i'm a fishy sort of person. my life revolves around them. i work with them, i have pictures of them, and a fish representation is usually present on some part of my anatomy. started this blog to inspire myself to take pictures, but it never got off the ground as a photo blog. now I use it to occasionally post my opinions on things that are consuming my brain. feel free to comment. or not.kirstenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05404879624389437991noreply@blogger.comBlogger491100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6935109.post-8596295068105693092011-06-17T13:27:00.005-07:002011-06-17T13:45:12.613-07:00

there are not enough negative adjectives in the world to describe how I felt watching the riots that erupted in Vancouver after Game 7 on Wednesday night. disgusted, angry, sad, disheartened, heartbroken, livid, ashamed, all-of-the-above....I watched the game from the top of a mountain in an exploration camp. truthfully, I felt that the anticipation of the game was more painful than actually

kirstenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05404879624389437991noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6935109.post-69389311166449700832011-06-13T11:17:00.005-07:002011-06-13T18:23:05.453-07:00

So on Friday night, we had our engagement photoshoot here in Smithers with our awesome photographer Sasha Doodson of White Summit Photography. It was so much fun! We decided on an urban shoot because we want our wedding photos to be off in a field somewhere. We started at the train station and cantina (where we got engaged), and bounced around that area until we ended up on Main Street, just

kirstenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05404879624389437991noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6935109.post-57463521595551058202011-03-24T12:35:00.002-07:002011-03-24T12:37:47.475-07:00

I've recently discovered this lovely online store: Ruche. It's great because they have great clothes that are stylish but just a little different, they have great prices and (super-extra-bonus for people like me who live in the middle of nowhere), they ship for cheapz. So I'm introducing you to them, and in the process trying to win some stuff. Have a look:Open publication - Free publishing -

kirstenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05404879624389437991noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6935109.post-21416529324692749702010-11-23T22:12:00.002-08:002010-11-23T22:33:00.359-08:00

Perhaps I'm too much of a traditionalist. Despite being wholeheartedly atheistic, I believe in holidays. I believe that holidays are for celebrating. They're for gathering with friends, family, and neighbours. They're for random acts of kindness, smiling at strangers on the street, mending fences with old adversaries. I believe in the Norman Rockwell painting, or at least some version of it

kirstenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05404879624389437991noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6935109.post-73727990662712934332010-11-08T10:04:00.002-08:002010-11-08T10:07:04.684-08:00

Even though they're molecular biologists, this is possibly the best fish video ever made:

kirstenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05404879624389437991noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6935109.post-49722125402820852992010-10-13T23:22:00.001-07:002010-10-13T23:23:46.640-07:00

kirstenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05404879624389437991noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6935109.post-81036450709603030352010-09-29T11:29:00.000-07:002010-09-29T11:30:01.967-07:00

kirstenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05404879624389437991noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6935109.post-81654178144617708612010-07-02T19:25:00.002-07:002010-07-02T19:38:46.439-07:00

here's how my day went:04:45 - rise & shine in Edmonton after less than 6 hours in the hotel & 5 hours sleep. Breakfast is not served.05:15 - hotel check out & shuttle to airport.05:30 - check in for charter flight to Cambridge Bay, Nunavut. wait with no information for 2 hours. find out that weather is poor in Hope Bay. 07:30 - charter company decides to fly to Yellowknife. breakfast of

kirstenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05404879624389437991noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6935109.post-15558643989125215912010-06-04T12:12:00.009-07:002010-06-04T12:40:42.974-07:00

and that's what my work schedule for the next 2 years just did. :P

kirstenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05404879624389437991noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6935109.post-65627635874644438742010-04-14T14:08:00.003-07:002010-04-14T14:33:36.172-07:00

I have a confession to make. I'm a hoarder. seriously. Not like the ones you see on TV, with everything they've ever owned piled high to ceiling, but I'm a hoarder nonetheless. I hoard books. I love books. Mostly fiction, but several works of non-fiction, particularly interesting (or maybe just pretty) textbooks, compilations of poetry, nicely bound classics that I find at the bookstore.

kirstenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05404879624389437991noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6935109.post-18863104703318295712010-02-22T18:07:00.002-08:002010-02-22T18:31:38.067-08:00

It's week 2 of the 2010 Vancouver Winter (well... spring) Olympics, and I just got home from the madness in Van City. I bought tickets 3 years ago, soooo excited to be a part of the Olympic experience, and let me tell you - it didn't disappoint. For all of the protesting, naysaying, lawsuits, skytrain hullaballoo, snowmelt, traffic concerns, police brutality, etc. etc. etc. leading up to the

kirstenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05404879624389437991noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6935109.post-80273690698076677272010-02-09T14:33:00.003-08:002010-02-09T14:37:02.050-08:00

from xkcd

kirstenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05404879624389437991noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6935109.post-80700853123210831252010-02-01T12:26:00.004-08:002010-02-01T14:14:34.058-08:00

If there's one thing I hate, it's ignorance. Ignorance, in my opinion, is the only true stupidity because it not only requires an absence of knowledge, it requires someone to willfully turn their cheek against new information. One of the most prolific forms of ignorance that I see these days is the belief that common folk know waaaaay more than those nerdy, lab-bound scientists who are always

kirstenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05404879624389437991noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6935109.post-8627591991951634022010-01-14T17:23:00.002-08:002010-01-14T17:41:24.678-08:00

so as I was driving home from work today, Jo-Ann Roberts and Jen Sookfong-Lee were discussing the re-issuance of older books by publishers. The books that publishers tend to reissue are not so much the classics, but more the commercial successes, and many of the new editions are of children's books. Some of the books that publishers are re-issuing include the Sweet Valley High series for

kirstenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05404879624389437991noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6935109.post-30213083596753622092010-01-13T14:32:00.003-08:002010-01-13T14:38:31.831-08:00

In the aftermath of the devastating earthquake in Haiti (honestly, could there be a worse place for this to occur?), I'd like to point my friends to a few of my favorite secular charities. I'm still seething over the bigotry and hatred promoted today by this piece of garbage, so please consider showing that atheists can be better than that! Some organizations take donations as small as $5

kirstenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05404879624389437991noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6935109.post-78059445301496955372009-12-18T10:32:00.001-08:002009-12-18T10:32:39.774-08:00

kirstenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05404879624389437991noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6935109.post-53856759554318738722009-11-23T08:19:00.002-08:002009-11-23T08:30:40.718-08:00

The Billy Graham ministries announced today that they would be sending a "Rapid Response Team" to the Vancouver Olympics in 2010. Apparently, they've been known to send out teams of evangelists to disaster zones to "provide spiritual guidance" (i.e., prey on the spiritually weak) in their time of need. Oh yeah, there's nothing like preaching conversion to the destitute, impoverished, needy, and

kirstenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05404879624389437991noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6935109.post-78892993613226141962009-10-06T16:26:00.001-07:002009-10-06T16:26:13.474-07:00

"How to make someone's perfectly logical research seem ridiculous in 3 easy steps!"CBC News - Calgary - Alberta researchers study rock snotShared via AddThis

kirstenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05404879624389437991noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6935109.post-89252000023700607662009-09-24T12:38:00.006-07:002009-09-24T13:07:28.452-07:00

I've been living in Smithers, BC for the past 2 years now. it's a lovely little town - inspired by Bavarian villages, dominated by a big mountain and surrounded by rolling hills, hay and cows. it wasn't a hard decision to move from Vancouver - the overinflated prices, crowded streets, crazy drivers, and distance from the wilderness eventually had me frustrated and cynical about where I was

kirstenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05404879624389437991noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6935109.post-55227051116523710442009-05-04T16:18:00.003-07:002009-05-04T16:26:42.270-07:00

.. because i can

kirstenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05404879624389437991noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6935109.post-20075211955696681242009-05-04T15:33:00.006-07:002009-09-24T13:06:42.633-07:00

A friend recently sent me a link to a series of videos produced by the Save Our Rivers Society regarding the "selling off of our river resource". While I don't necessarily agree with our provincial government's approach to developing the small power projects in question, there are always 2 sides to every story and those videos only show you one.Firstly, run-of-the-river (ROR) power projects such

kirstenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05404879624389437991noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6935109.post-64042413212099948122009-02-13T10:28:00.003-08:002009-02-13T11:31:01.275-08:00

yesterday was the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth, so naturally the news was aflutter with stories of celebrations, anti-celebrations, and evolution factoids. but one of the most astonishing things that I read was that only 39% of Americans believe in evolution, only 15% believe in the evolution of humans from apes, and at least 25% firmly do not believe in evolution. staggering.

kirstenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05404879624389437991noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6935109.post-7549325643563465902008-11-05T12:23:00.007-08:002008-11-05T14:02:54.155-08:00

i'm going to do something pretty unusual for myself. i'm going to air some dirty laundry and tell you a bit (maybe a lot) about myself and my politics.i lean left. waaaay left. as a canadian, i voted green in the last election. i am jaw-grindingly frustrated that canada's voting system means that my vote will not make any difference in the structure of the government.i grew up in port alberni

kirstenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05404879624389437991noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6935109.post-81085069589285718842008-03-24T13:09:00.001-07:002008-03-24T13:09:16.713-07:00

Get your own at Gizmoz.com

kirstenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05404879624389437991noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6935109.post-68498274943417645612008-02-21T12:19:00.003-08:002008-02-21T12:28:12.673-08:00

more a reminder to myself than anything..Austin, Texas - to go to Nubian Queen Lola's Cajun Soul Food Cafe. it just sounds cool.Bhutan - before the rest of the tourists can afford it too.Iceland - for the volcanoes. and the ice.Malta - because it's warm and surrounded by water.Zanzibar - because it's the most exotic place I can think of.Quebec City - weird to have a walled city in such a new

kirstenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05404879624389437991noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6935109.post-14533522217452164402007-01-12T16:17:00.000-08:002007-01-12T17:17:50.395-08:00

let me share a few:people who come to a stop in the left lane at a red light, but only put their left turn signal on when the light turns green.people who walk in the rollerblading lane on the seawalltelemarketersthe 3:00 wallthe accountantpeople with no sense of rhythmstaying in the office on a sunny day and now, a soothing rare vancouver winter photo:

kirstenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05404879624389437991noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6935109.post-1160786844302896272006-10-13T17:37:00.000-07:002006-10-13T17:47:24.316-07:00

oh the places i've been....so for this summer, here it is: Mount Klappan (Bell II Lodge, fishing on Hodder Lake) Galore Creek (demonstrating the appropriate use for rainshorts) Schaft Creek (nap time for bonzo) Scotland (permagrin on the west coast of the outer hebrides) Taltson, NWT (big fishy)

kirstenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05404879624389437991noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6935109.post-1154227872448389452006-07-29T19:39:00.000-07:002006-07-29T19:52:41.866-07:00

which is good for 2 reasons: i get to be away from the office and all that it represents, and i get to spend 24/7 with my man. tee hee.

kirstenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05404879624389437991noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6935109.post-1143753458940771142006-03-30T13:10:00.001-08:002008-11-05T14:08:22.557-08:00

what's with the muff-divers? this seems to be the newest trend among my friends since my last birthday - get the girl a muff-diver!! please... tasty as they are, a bj would be so much more appropriate...

kirstenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05404879624389437991noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6935109.post-1141796327771226582006-03-07T21:36:00.000-08:002006-03-07T21:38:47.783-08:00

field season might start sooner than you think..

kirstenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05404879624389437991noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6935109.post-1141689886292466402006-03-06T15:55:00.000-08:002006-03-06T16:04:46.303-08:00

at this time of year, i start to get antsy for the field season. i hate being in the office, i hate staring at a computer all day, i hate riding the bus in the morning, and i hate dressing up and pulling at my clothes for the rest of the day. i hate coming home late and having to make myself dinner. the field just looks sooooo attractive. so to keep myself sane, i remind myself of my worst days

kirstenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05404879624389437991noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6935109.post-1140629195139774002006-02-22T09:20:00.000-08:002006-02-22T09:28:24.506-08:00

the pros of whistler: the cons of whistler: smithers rocked, by the way.

kirstenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05404879624389437991noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6935109.post-1139959557675127672006-02-14T15:23:00.000-08:002006-02-14T15:27:18.253-08:00

happy vd! my office mate got a *ahem* lovely bouquet of roses this morning from her husband.. who puts orange and lavender together anyway?? we had a good laugh. to be fair, he actually ordered red and white, but the florist must have been colour blind..

kirstenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05404879624389437991noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6935109.post-1139903037661712122006-02-13T23:37:00.000-08:002006-02-13T23:44:24.363-08:00

went to blackcomb last weekend... surprisingly, it was the first time I've ever skied there. 20 some-odd years of skiing in bc and I never did the big hill, but there's a first time for everything. it was great, lots of fun, but is it really worth $70? I mean, sure you can ski more terrain than anywhere else in north america, but unless you're superhuman, there's no way you can do it all in a day

kirstenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05404879624389437991noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6935109.post-1138605907280591352006-01-29T23:20:00.000-08:002006-01-29T23:25:07.280-08:00

Wee, sleekit, cow'rin, tim'rous beastie, O, what a panic's in thy breastie! Thou need na start awa sae hasty, Wi' bickering brattle! I wad be laith to rin an' chase thee, Wi' murd'ring pattle! - Robert Burns Happy B'day Rabbie!

kirstenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05404879624389437991noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6935109.post-1138077964251077002006-01-23T20:44:00.000-08:002006-01-23T20:56:57.096-08:00

i love leaning out into the bubble - feels like you're floating thousands of feet in the air... (this isn't me, by the way)

kirstenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05404879624389437991noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6935109.post-1137483344556489902006-01-16T23:33:00.000-08:002006-01-16T23:35:44.556-08:00

isn't it a little freaky when one totally natural thing looks just like another totally natural thing?

kirstenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05404879624389437991noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6935109.post-1136875441090064632006-01-09T22:41:00.000-08:002006-01-09T22:45:59.930-08:00

i like this photo. i've always wanted to take one like it... it's unusual because it shows how not everything in the universe tends towards entropy.

kirstenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05404879624389437991noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6935109.post-1136411236706069582006-01-04T13:44:00.000-08:002006-01-04T13:49:28.063-08:00

the smallest things can be just so damn cool....

kirstenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05404879624389437991noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6935109.post-1135309261285329012005-12-22T19:32:00.000-08:002006-01-04T13:49:59.676-08:00

i think it's finally time to start doing the thing i always intended to do when I started this blog.. post pictures! i think that too many times, we walk around without noticing our surroundings. we wander through life with our noses in newspapers, blackberries, or on our feet. so many times i sit on the bus and admire the fabulous view from the bridge, and wonder how nobody around me seems to

kirstenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05404879624389437991noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6935109.post-1123478513776019632005-08-07T22:16:00.000-07:002005-08-07T22:21:53.780-07:00

I found out (well, several months ago actually) that my new sponsor child in Africa is a little boy named Abdulnur. he's 4. how I wish to know more about him! I went on a wild letter writing binge - first 4 pages on who I am, what I do, where I live, etc.. plus postcards, pictures, drawings, etc.. then a few months later another 4 pages on what I've been doing lately (poor kid - I wonder if

kirstenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05404879624389437991noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6935109.post-1106705969772948552005-01-25T18:12:00.000-08:002005-01-25T18:19:29.773-08:00

last week, I adopted a sponsor child in Africa. I don't know where yet, or who, or what their situation is - I'm anxously awaiting my information package. I held off on this for a long time. I've always thought it would be great to sponsor a child and make at least a small difference in the world, but the only organizations I knew of were religious ones, and I absolutely positively WON'T

kirstenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05404879624389437991noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6935109.post-1086220221670756852004-06-02T16:47:00.000-07:002004-06-02T16:50:21.670-07:00

apparently, sea lions, seagulls, and great blue herons find bagpipes irresistible. A grand total of 5 gulls, 4 sea lions, and 2 great blue herons joined me for my entire 1 hour practice by the beach last night. they never moved. in fact, the sea lions were getting alarmingly close towards the end. oh, the power I have over animals... if only I could harness it, there would never be a need for

kirstenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05404879624389437991noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6935109.post-1085544097967845652004-05-25T20:57:00.000-07:002004-05-25T21:01:37.966-07:00

So, at 4:00 this morning I handed in my last thesis revisions before my defense. at 8:00 this morning, I started my new job. Yes folks, I am going just slightly insane. the last several months have been a whirlwind of activity for me. It feels just a little bit like being spit suddenly out the end of a very long, convoluted waterslide - I've got water up my nose, I'm feeling slightly nauseous

kirstenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05404879624389437991noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6935109.post-1085015759835587092004-05-19T17:56:00.000-07:002004-05-19T18:21:41.400-07:00

lots of weird things in the last few weeks. i was an exchange student in denmark 8 years ago. it was fantastic, absolutely the best year of my life. yes, it was hard to leave home at first, but that feeling disappeared the moment my plane left the ground. you see, i've been pretty independent since i was about 12. when i was 13, i travelled alone to the states for the first time (1 week at

kirstenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05404879624389437991noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6935109.post-1084937076043038032004-05-18T20:22:00.000-07:002004-05-18T20:24:36.043-07:00

if you've ever aspired to a career as a biologist, go check out the love lab page (in my link list). in fact, if you've ever aspired to any job that might possibly require you to show more initiative and brain-power than your average barista, check it out.

kirstenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05404879624389437991noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6935109.post-1084838511044086292004-05-17T16:49:00.000-07:002004-05-17T17:01:51.043-07:00

this weekend, I took a wilderness first aid course - I feel so much more respect for my thermarest now! I can splint every limb on your body with it! I can stabilize your neck with it! I can make a stretcher so comfy, you'll never want to get off of it! I also enjoyed being "injured" and screaming my head off while 8 people I just met try to figure out what's wrong with me. "Wanna reduce my

kirstenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05404879624389437991noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6935109.post-1084309027080121382004-05-11T13:56:00.000-07:002004-05-11T13:57:07.080-07:00

waiting for thesis revisions sucks. shouldn't i be doing something?

kirstenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05404879624389437991noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6935109.post-1084221284786847662004-05-10T13:24:00.000-07:002004-05-10T13:34:44.786-07:00

i never thought i'd ever create a blog. i'm not entirely sure why total strangers would want to read about my life. but my inner voyeur has recently discovered that some total strangers have interesting things to say... and more than that, some people have interesting photos. i like looking at other people's photos. i like showing my photos to other people. i hate it when people ask to see

kirstenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05404879624389437991noreply@blogger.com0