My OCD-tendencies started to get the best of me every time I opened the lab freezer.  So, today, you can call me Indy, as tackling this job entails some strategic archaeological prowess.  With my trusty screwdriver and a hammer, I spend the last hour excavating old projects out of the glaciers that have formed on the shelves of our lab freezer (right).  Whilst chiseling away, I found a corroded box completely encased in ice that had tubes inside labeled 'Seabury' (a past PhD student of Dr. Derr's -- estimated date of last use: 2004).   I filled 4 bins with tubes, vials and boxes I pulled out of the permafrost, none of which are currently being used.  So, the next step is to figure out what to archive and what to toss and once this thing is completely thawed out there are going to be some new freezer rules to prevent this madness from happening again.

Every year the third Friday in May is Endangered Species Day.  Started in 2006 by the United States Congress, Endangered Species Day is a celebration of the nation’s wildlife and wild places. 

Endangered Species Day is an opportunity to learn about the importance of protecting endangered species and the everyday actions you can take to help protect them.  So today visit your favorite zoo, aquarium, park, botanical garden, wildlife refuge, museum, conservation group or other such organization to learn about helping our world's species stay or get off that list!

Due to urbanization and a lack of controlled burns to emulate the natural fires that should be occurring to keep the dry bush managed, every few years coastal Southern California turns into a burning inferno.  I have lived through a few firestorms and, I guess to remind me of the bad that comes with all the good of living in Southern California, a freak May Santa Ana blew through during my recent visit home sparking 8+ fires across North County San Diego (3 of which were within 5-10 miles of the house I grew up in).  It seems as though, while it is still hot as blazes, the Santa Ana winds have died down, and so have the fires.  Many of my friends were evacuated but this time people were evacuating TO Olivenhain instead of away from it.

The most memorable fire for me was on October 21, 1996.  My parents were out of town so my sister and I had a couple staying with us.  That afternoon I took the bus home from school.  The couple worked so I wasn't expecting them home until dinner time and my sister wasn't home because she had gone to a Charger's game with a friend.   I watched from our upper deck as smoke turned into actual flames when a police officer drove down the street (this was before the brilliant invention of reverse 9-1-1).  He was announcing that we needed to start getting things together because we may have to evacuate.  This is when panic set in because I was 12 and home alone!  As it started to get dark out, I pack up all our photo albums, home videos and what I thought were important documents into every suitcase and box I could find and waited anxiously for the police officer to drive by announcing for us to evacuate.   If the sitters weren't home yet my plan was the take it on foot until someone felt sorry enough for me to pick me up.  Luckily, Olivenhain was never evacuated but Erin and I slept in here room where we could see the flames in the distance from her sliding glass door watching the flames all night.  This was also the first fire we had (that I can remember) where school was canceled due to poor air quality.

Other years with North County firestorms: 2003, 2007 and now 2014.