Here goes nothing...

For my first blog entry I'll provide background on who I am and what I hope this blog will be.

For now, I'll be keeping myself mostly anonymous.  I am a grad student in California trying to get a PhD in Microbiology, furiously trying to complete my dissertation in the very near future.  My research interests include new drugs to fight resistant microbes, how resistance starts, virology, microbiology, and ways to use microbes to our benefit.  Science education and translating scientific research to the public are some of my other interests, mostly because scientists are often not good at it.

While I work I like to listen to podcasts.  I often hear science-y discussions, where research is discussed, but not in depth.  With this blog I will try to further discuss science, especially microbiology, I hear on podcasts and in current events.  I'll try to make it so that anybody can understand the science behind whatever topic inspires me.  Science isn't necessarily seen as cool, even as it has never been "cooler" to be a geek/nerd.  I think this presents a unique opportunity to open science up to more people.

Also, I'll discuss grad school and the transition from PhD candidate to full fledged PhD/wizard (you get robes and a hat!).  That said, entries may be sporadic as I attempt to graduate, but I'll try to write a new blog entry per week.

So why SPONCH? It is way more fun to say than CHONPS (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/CHONPS)

Also I just found out that urbandictionary.com defines sponch as: ("verb) to engage in nerd-like behavior by spouting knowledge about totally irrelevant or uniteresting [sic] topics; to cement your lack of skills at social interaction by demonstrating your proviciciency [sic] in an obscure area of study."

Unfortunately accurate description of a lot of academics like me.  I hope those who give this blog a chance enjoy my sponching.