Frog on the Pumpkin

Google Scholar is a lot of fun - you should check it out when you get a chance.  So, as the Halloween person that i am, I typed in Halloween, and look what I found: The halloween genes are a set of genes identified in Drosophila melanogaster that influence embryonic development . All of the genes code for cytochrome P 450 enzymes in the ecdysteroidogenic pathway (biosynthesis of ecdysone from cholesterol ). Ecdysteroids such as 20-hydroxyecdysone and ecdysone influence many of the morphological , physiological, biochemical changes that occur during molting in insects. [ 1 ] Steroid hormones control many aspects of reproduction, development, and homeostasis in higher organisms. [ 2 ] In arthropods, steroid hormones play equal or even more vital developmental roles, especially in controlling the patterns of gene expression between developmental stages. [ 1 ] First elaborated by research groups led by Wieschaus and Nüsslein-Volhard in the early 1980s, the name was...

Well, like most things it is long and complicated.  But for now, the short version is that my world got turned upside down a little over two years ago. Started with losing the job that I had for over eleven years.  Did not love working with my boss, so parting from that relationship was pretty okay by me. But what I did not see was that I would stay unemployed for over two years. So, I spent the majority of my time looking for a job, feeling sorry for myself, looking for a job, volunteering way too much, wandering aimlessly, designing Halloween props, working on both HAuNTcon and West Coast Haunters Convention...and looking for a job. I currently have a job - it is not a great job, it is not even a good job, but it is part time, and I am no longer at home. So here I am again.  We will see if I can make this work, and pick it back up.