One of the delights of the AntLab is the incredible diversity of folks that it attracts to her slate tables, petri dishes full of bugs, and gorgeous views of the side of a building known with no great affection as "the Blender". People from all walks of life come to the AntLab for a place to do a little arthropod sorting, and lots of chatting and hanging out. One never knows what one will hear when you walk in, but the conversation will always be funny and animated.

The AntLab loses one of her own today to the world of dental school. JulieM has been around for what seems like forever to the AntLab oldtimers. Perhaps a bettter way of putting it is that one has difficulty imagining the AntLab without her. In a constellation of individuals, and we mean individuals, Julie was the core around which the neutron stars and red dwarfs circled. She was the one everyone gravitated toward. Although we hate to see her go, we can hardly feel bad about someone moving on to bigger and better things. We just hope Julie takes a bit of the ole' AntLab with her. She has certainly left a lot of herself behind.

So, au revoir Julie, from all your pals in the AntLab. Don't be a stranger, and make sure your practice accept's OU's Dental Plan.

One person worked in the soil lab all day and partied at night
One person partied all day and partied at night
One person dabbled during the day and partied at night
One person partied all day all day and went to bed at 9:00PM. 

Which, do you suppose, was in the field this morning? 

At 1248 CST, the buffet is done, folks are crowding in the lounge watching the World Cup or on the balcony drinking coffee and other stuff staring at the lagoon. The rain, which started around 1045, is still at it.  Like bees in a hive, the Derby Dayites are jostling straining against the confines of convention and good sense. Soon the activation energy of the hive will cause one and all to spill out into the rain, toward the helicopter pad and the volleyball net.

More as the situation develops….

I've been squishing at least three species of ants today as they zoom across my keyboard.
So if you like your chocolate, throw away the wrapper outside. If you like your coffee with two spoonfuls of sugar, don't leave it on your desk.
Squish.