Virtual Quill

Everyone in my department was shocked this week when a federal judge halted all funding for stem cell research, including the work I’m doing in combating disease. We had all thought this issue had been settled last year with the new guidelines, so this development was like a predator leaping upon us unawares.
For those of you not in the field, embryonic stem cell holds promise for curing a host of ills such as Parkinson’s and diabetes. We use adult stem cells in our research as well, but at the stage we’re in we need to have a full range of options at our disposal. This ruling not only turns back the clock to where we stood last year, but goes even further. It also denies funding for projects that were allowed by the previous administration.
Thankfully the President is challenging the ruling but if it stands the funding will be halted by the end of September. Yes, that includes my research as well, which goes on until then.
I know I rarely mention my research in this blog, mainly because the developments that take place are ones I reserve for scientific journals. I don’t want competitors stealing my work! Of course, it’s the competition from other countries that are the main beneficiaries of this ruling. I’m sure they’d be delighted to have the playing field for themselves.
Sorry about the rant.

The university lab is open and guess what! I have my own office! Such coolness. It even has my name Lindesfarne Dewclaw on the door. (It’s in a much smaller font than my neighbor Mai Qi.)
Being a first year grad student I’m not assigned to teach any classes yet, so I don’t have any students that would be visiting my office. That’ll come, though. In the meantime, having an office means I don’t have to schlep all of my personal research back and forth from Tree every day. Some of the grad students are species that are pack animals, but no one has ever accused a hedgehog of being one of those.
Fenton’s first class of the semester is on Monday. He’s impressed a lot of his professors with his computer skills, and since they all have tech backgrounds they have a lot of industry connections. A number of them have encouraged him to seek employment in one of the nation’s tech centers after graduation, but I don’t see that happening. He’s always put career advancement behind personal relationships, and with Tree putting down roots here, so has he.
Back home, Rudy’s hunting team was heavily hit by graduation so he has to get Edgar the Lion to where he can contribute. That’s a tall order, and he and Fiona had the idea of having Edgar mentored by Mr. Mangle. The upside: Mr. Mangle is a rarity; a male lion who is not only an effective hunter but who also takes pride in it despite his species’ gender conventions. The downside: Edgar is dating Mr. Mangle’s daughter Leona, so there’s the element of suspicion and wariness on both sides. I’ll try to come home for the hunting matches on Friday nights this fall to see how it plays out.
I'm guessing that you humans don't literally hunt each other. Do you have a sport played by high schools on Friday nights?

Classes start at Beige University start later this week, and the campus is buzzing as the multitudes arrive. It’s nice living here permanently and not being a part of that mass chaos. I remember it all too well from my undergraduate days.
Rhonda and Quinn are somewhat jealous of Fenton and I; their Family Housing dorm is okay, but I’ll be the first to admit that there’s nothing like having a place of one’s own, especially when you can have intelligent conversations with it. I say that even after last week’s “bite mark” incident.
Rachel is still in our old dorm but now she’s joined by her girlfriend, the equine Joan Hoof who is now a freshman here. I’m happy for them since they’ve been apart for so long, but that also comes with concern. Both of them need to focus on their studies, and living with a romantic partner for the first time may be an immense distraction. I’ll keep a close eye on how they’re doing academically.
As for me, I’m excited about my graduate studies. I’ll be working under Professor Antlerhead as before, and the genetic research we’re going is compelling. I almost feel like camping out outside the lab, waiting for the doors to open.
Fenton’s still taking undergraduate computer classes, but almost perfunctorily. He still sees his real focus as working for Hare-Link, and his decision to enroll here in the first place was mainly to be with me. He enjoys the milieu, though, and he said he’ll be happy living here even after he gets his degree.
Gotta go; I have to spend an insane amount of money on dead tree versions of textbooks. I’d rather pay the authors directly for digital editions! To all of you human college students reading this, when do your classes start?

First, sorry about the technical difficulties with last week’s blog. Next, I’d like to address my somewhat judgmental previous posting about Kell’s cousin Sheila. I may have been too harsh in my assessment, as I really don’t know her. She moved to Domain while I was at Beige, so I’ve really just based my opinion of her on what I’ve heard from Kell. As an adult, I shouldn’t let secondhand information be my only source before I go shooting off my mouth.
This leads to the story of what happens when I woke up last weekend. As usual, I was in my bed with the puncture-resistant sheets, and Fenton hung from the ceiling. The window next to the bed was open to let in the fresh air.
At 5:00 p.m. (which we refer to as “morning” when it’s just the two of us talking), I went into the bathroom where I noticed what looked for all the world like two bite marks. My imagination went into hyperdrive, and for five minutes I panicked at the idea that Fenton had inherited his vampirism from his mother, and had fed off me.
Tree set me straight. She had reached into the room through the window in order to place pine cones in my quills so that I would unwittingly distribute them. In doing so, her needles had caused the wounds on my neck. (We’ve been giving her pine cones to Mr. Squirrel and his family, but I think Tree figured out that they were just being eaten and came up with this alternative.)
Fenton and I were able to laugh about it a few moments later, but it still wasn’t my finest hour. As a scientist I’m supposed to be above letting fear and suspicion take over so easily...as it did for those who didn’t show up at my wedding. Maybe I’m not so different from them after all.
Am I?

Due to a personal matter. Thx for your patience.