Day 24: The Haze

The airport shutdown due to icy runways, the whole city turned into one big ice-skating rink, people were falling left and right, many people were at the emergency room (ER), it took me 100 carefully chosen and executed baby steps to cross a crossing which normally takes 20 strides. Rain at -below freezing temperatures- warm air trapping the cold air underneath and the pollution leading to a dense fog over the valley- inversion for over a week now- not the best conditions.

Just so that you get a better idea of how thick the haze is, on a normal day you can see the mountains and the valley beyond. To get a simpler idea without much imagination, try looking at the left side of the picture where you can see a building kind of faded out, that is a 1 minute walk from the left most building in this photo.

Day 23: Science is Cool - Transfection

This picture is not with the iPhone but with a camera attached to a microscope at a 40x zooming power.

What are you looking at? 

Recombinant Baculovirus infected Spodoptera frugiperda (Sf9) insect cells. The smaller circles are newly infected cells while some in the background (faded circles) are cells which have already made the virus, lysed open and have released the virus into solution as well as some cell debris. The newly made virus can now infect other uninfected cells.

These are very pretty insect cells to which I added some foreign DNA. Normally the cells are small and round and bright. The cells take up the DNA and then make the baculovirus of my choice which I can then use to make the protein of my choice. Once the DNA is in the cells and the cells are making the virus, these cells become big, round and grainy in the middle.

In simple words, you want to make Chicken Tikka Masala (baculovirus expressing the protein of your interest). So you buy chicken and the spices (gene/dna of choice), then come to me (host: insect cells) and use my experience and  kitchen utensils (host cell machinery)  to make Chicken Tikka Masala (protein of your choice)! Does that make sense?

For the more scientific ones out there: you can see polyhedra formation- these are one of the best infected cells I have seen in five years of working with Baculovirus and Sf9s (@44 h post transfection). I am expressing an RNAi pathway protein.

Day 22: Coming up

Day 21: Uniting India in Two Minutes

The lifeline of all Indians in and away from India- Maggi Noodles, Masala Chili Sauce and Two minutes!

Day 20: Smart Companion

When you are not so smart a smart phone helps- watch, phone, camera, e-mail, music, news, weather details, chat messengers, torch ( flashlight), reminders, notes and social media- really and my E.coli wall paper- pretty much sums up my life!

Day 19: Food for Thought

I will any day make this for breakfast if you come to eat- provided you eat meat and eggs. Crepes, hash browns, breakfast sausages- saturday mornings are nice.

Day 18: Nostalgic Fizz

There is phosphoric acid in this but we still wanted it!

Day 17: Shadows

Our shadows are with us always

Behind the scenes on a different platter, here is the first few lines from a Rabindrasangeet that is my new favorite.

Day 16: Affection

Keeping up with the crap on TV!

Day 15: Inspiration

Someone who inspired me to get started on my own 365 has his own 365 project. I come back home eager to know what the Turtles were up to on that particular day. If you want to follow them too, check out www.avidatta.com

Day 14:Tis Freezing in Fahrenheit

And so I can be pardoned for not going out and taking pictures:)

Day 13: Icing and Blue

I just love the snow on the tree branches against the powder blue sky- if I could have a dress like this ohhh!!!

Day 12: The Lining

Day 11: The View

This is the view from my lab on a snowy snowy day.

Day 10: Colors

We are all the same inside

Day 9: The Family

Day 8: The Bench

I couldn't take a picture yesterday. My Dad was battling in an ICU halfway around the world for his life..he is doing slightly better..this is for him and his spirit to live.

This year when my parents were here visiting me, they would take a walk around my complex and then come back and sit at this bench till it became really dark and it was dinner time. I took this picture last year when we had the first snow storm.

Day 7: Colorful Survival

I am going to survive and be colorful as ever!

Day 6: The Highways

All roads lead to Rome?

Day 5: Perceived Reality or Real Perception

My Thoughts

Is this it? Is this the door that I have been waiting all along to open up for me? Do I leave the past behind? Yet the past has been so interesting!

Behind the Scenes

This is the door that leads to my lab. The sun was setting as I left work. Salt Lake City sunsets over the Great Salt Lake are beautiful everyday. Located in a building that is at a higher elevation than the rest of the University and the valley ensures that we get to appreciate and click these great sunsets.

There is one thing that I really liked about this picture. I am facing the door, yet it seems I am looking across a sea, may be from the deck of a ship, as the sun sets on the horizon. Am I looking forward towards the door or am I looking towards the valley? Perception versus Reality? Moving forward versus holding on to the past? New pastures and adventures behind unopened doors or the comforts and beauty of the known?

Day 4: Branches

My Thoughts

We all have the same roots. We all belong to the same family. We are all human.

Behind the Scenes

On my way back home. This is infront of one of the day care centers, the playground behind the tree. The branches of this tree just stood out to me while I walked by it,  illuminated by the building lights against the dark sky. 

Day-3: Crossing Points

My Thoughts

Life is a journey and it is interesting to note how you come across a lot of different people; sometimes you get to walk a few steps with them before you go your separate ways, may be only to cross again somewhere later. The memories stay like footprints etched in the corners of your brain.

Behind the Scenes

This is the shuttle stop infront of where I live. As I mentioned yesterday, Salt Lake City got a lot of snow last week. These are footsteps of people who definitely didn't want to take the sidewalk to reach the bus stop. The  below freezing temperature leaves the snow untouched as the morning sun brightens up the day. No more snow photos for tomorrow, promise.

Day-2: The Road "Often" Taken

My Thoughts:
I live in Salt Lake City, Utah presently, a valley surrounded by the beautiful Wasatch mountains and famous for the world class ski resorts. We get a great amount of snow every year and the snow is fluffy and beautiful. This shot captures the view you would see from an airplane while landing in SLC- the rows of mountains with piles of feathery snow on them and beyond, the roads into the canyons and the city (valley) in grids with much less snow.

Behind the Scenes:
This is a close-up of the path that I walk everyday between the parking lot and the building that I work in. The tracks on the snow must have been made by a snow-plough a few days back when Salt Lake City received a lot of snow and enjoyed a white Christmas.

Day-1: Frozen warmth

Behind the scenes:

This picture was taken probably around 2 AM in the morning. Abby, Bugs and I had just finished drinking a second round of very dilute cocktails, some maui onion kettle chips, sung Rabindrasangeets and made fun of a certain IT giant to which Bugs was defecting giving up the elitist life of an academic. Ice cream was what he wanted. At any given time, I have at least three tubs in different flavors sitting in my freezer untouched since I am lactose intolerant. This particular one is the Kulfi, the  beloved Indian ice cream. This one had cashew nuts mixed in.

My thoughts:

Life is an interesting mix of light and darkness; some experiences can be warm and joyful while others can be cold and dark. Sometimes  certain situations need to be dealt with a heart  of steel while in others the warmth of your heart can melt the coldest of cold. However when you have two to tango, it is always more fun. And if you dig deep enough, Life will always throw at you hidden treasures.

Hello!

Till last year I had used my phone as just a phone. Then I became another person with an iPhone. Now  I don't use my camera anymore. The iPhone4s is my constant companion. During the last year I clicked over a thousand photos! They captured at least a thousand moments of my life.

Welcome to world of Mystic Michki

This year I decided I will give a shot at taking one photo a day and keeping a record of it. And so this blog- 365 days make a year. Hope you will enjoy the journey with me as much as I will be taking this trip.