Oh yes...

All the 4th years handed in their first drafts of their graduate theses on the 20th!

Congratulations!!

Lab meeting 2008.12.24

Asides from JDRs big adventure at the bonenkai, there is lots of news!

Present: All!

1. Party - wow. If you can donate 700 yen to the JDR fund, please do!
2. Over the winter holidays, the weather may turn bad, and/or we have to be careful about locking the doors. Don't forget to lock up and watch your valuables!
3. From January, JDR will have a new job and title. He may be suddenly busy, so do not believe his schedule, and if you make plans, try to invite other people too so that if JDR has a meeting it does not spoil your plans.
4. Korijima - MO, YI, TF, CA, JDR, and YM (snorkeling) will go to do a survey in this area from Dec. 28th to 29th. The weather looks good, so on the 27th we will get tanks from Seatopia. We will leave early on the 28th, and come back the 29th at night, staying at YI's house in Nago. There will be a meeting today after the seminar.
5. On January 3rd, we will go deep-sea fishing. Itg is 10500 JPY per person. Anyone who wants to come contact JDR!
6. XMA party at JDRs house from the vening of the 25th. Anyone welcome!
7. Anyone need a second screen for their PC? Let JDR know.
8. There are now 8 second years who are interested in MISE. Please invite them on sampling trips anytime.
9. Tank monitor this week: ES.
10. FS will go to an izakaya tonight, all welcome.
11. Sesoko tanks - After ES graduates, it would be good if someone can use them. Please think about this and contact JDR.

Merry Christmas!!!

忘年会(year-end party)

We made a year-end party on Dec. 21th.

We had two grilled fish ( tuna and mahi-mahi ) caught by Jamie and drank a lot of beer 

(especially JR). The party started from PM: 5 and then it continued until 7 in the morning! 

JR has continued drinking beer until the end of the party. He was completely drunk, and he seemed to be back when he was a baby who is same age as his daughter.

(For example, he began to peel a onion suddenly and scatterd its' skin around the room. etc...)

Eriko has a funny video. Let's check!

Have a nice Christmas day.          yuka

 

New paper

Small paper, but good for baseline data...
Galaxea, Journal of Coral Reef Studies Vol. 10 No. 2
-James D REIMER, Shusuke ONO, Frederic SINNIGER, Junzo TSUKAHARA
Original paper: Distribution of zooxanthellate zoanthid species (Zoantharia: Anthozoa: Hexacorallia) in southern Japan limited by cold temperatures

Should be out in the next week or two.

Lab meeting 2008.12.17

Updates from MISE:

Present: all but FS, who is still lost in Osaka (note - he has since come back).

1. Tanks this week: YI.
2. Koryo Japan-Taiwan scholarship due by end of this month for any students interested. Could be a good chance to go to Taiwan for some research.
3. Don't open the cooler on the deck - JDR has maguro guts in there!!
4. Don't forget your lab fees, 200 yen/month. We have been using it a bit lately as uni budget office is INCREDIBLY innefficient...
5. 4th years - first draft of your grad thesis due on the 20th - Saturday - at midnight!
6. Lab party (bonenkai) on the 21st. We will have a BBQ with maguro and mahimahi if the weather is nice. YH and JDR will organize.
7. Sunabe or Odo - diving and colony marking. YH and JDR will go on the 23rd. If you are interested please let us know.
8. YM will go to Sesoko Thursday or Saturday - again let him know if you can go.
9. Dec. 28th-29th; survey around Korijima. We will use YI's dad's boat. MO, YI, CA, TD, and JDR will go, and maybe YM will come to snorkel from shore.
10. Three more 2nd years have looked at the lab! Now have 8 people who are interested in potentially joining from next year!
11. JDR has a new job from January 1st - the lab will be able to do more research! Yah!
12. December 25th - XMAS - feel free to visit M and m at home in the afternoon. Bring some food if you can!

Today's photos were by TF, who talked about his "Ecological Survey of Ants in Room 352". Very well done! Next week FS and Osaka photos.

Today's image is of a marked P. tuberculosa colony at Sunabe by YH.

Lab meeting 2008.12.10

Winter (Okinawa-style) is here. The 4th years are busy furiously writing their papers, and I am fighting a cold.

Here is this week's news from the lab meeting. Everyone here except FS, who is obviously lost in Osaka...
1. Tanks this week - TF.
2. Lab year-end party on the 21st in the evening. We will do something in the lab. YH and JDR are party planners. If the weather is nice, maybe a BBQ?!?
3. YI, TF, CA, MO, and JDR will go diving around Korijima on December 28th and 29th to conduct some surveys of benthos. It will be fun - if the weather cooperates. Other people are more than welcome to come and do some shore diving or snorkeling.
4. This Friday (12th) YH, CA, and JDR will go diving to practice sampling. Anyone else is welcome.
5. Today's pictures were by ES of Iejima - very nice. Makes me want to go there...

Lab orders this week: erector set, dictionary.

Today's image - a huge dust storm from the Sahara heading towards the Caribbean. From the NOAA site. Wonder if anyone has looked in detail at things like this in Okinawa with all the Gobi dust we get?

That's all for now.

Lab meeting 2008.12.3

Another short meeting today, but many things happening!

Present: YS, YM, YI, ES, TF, MH, JDR, MO, YH, CA
Absent: FS (Osaka...)

Items for discussion:
1. YI and her dad, along with JDR and whoever else can come, will do a survey of the benthos around Korijima Island towards the end of this month. YI will check and see what dates are possible. Likely we will go around the 27th or 28th of Dec.
2. Tank monitor this week: CA.
3. YM can drive this Saturday a.m. for JDR's "kiso zemi".
4. Don't believe the 2nd floor! Well, at least check with senseis or the 5th floor first; there have been many mistakes lately by the office there...
5. DNA extractions tomorrow; CA, YI, MO, YM will participate with JDR.
6. Christmas/Bonenkai: JDR invites all lab members to his house on the afternoon of Dec. 25th for XMAS fun. Also, we will have a bonenkai on the 21st, after the 4th years have handed in their report (first draft).
7. Shopping: Erector set, lights for tanks, lights for microscopes, scales, sample nets, counter, etc.

Have a great week.

Today's picture is a cool image from Haeckel - one of his old textbooks I think.