Spicy Dragons & Dinosaurs

Sitting in a "town hall meeting" at the Waisman Center about WARF, an "agency" affiliated with UW which serves as a foundation for scientific discoveries at the university and nurtures discovery and invention. Intellectual property. Patents and licensing for technology, investments in research and small business, gifts to the university out of long time investments, the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery. The first legal-related discussion I've heard here, and I am one of the few people who do not have a confused look on my face. It does seem that scientists are ill informed about legal info. No different from lawyers and science. Should smart people be required to have more general knowledge?

I do love this place. The Waisman Center. Being on the inside, even as a mere trainee, the opportunities to learn and grow is just fantastic.

Checked in with a LEND faculty person, not my mentor because she is ill, about my leadership project. I have been wondering if I moving in an appropriate direction. I told her that I was interested in working for the International Adoption Clinic on the new research team. I am reading on trauma and brain development (and I hope a bit on cultural difference) and intend to use the IA clinic people to focus some of my reading if they are willing. And then for a product of this study, I want to develop a series of fact sheets for parents/teachers/medical care providers about trauma and kids and/or write the Julia Dinosaur for kids with trauma.

I am hoping, especially after this week, that I can do this much and still keep up with the other LEND work. This week the work was heavy and I did nothing of my project. If I have about a day a week to do my own research, I don't think the project is too broad, but without that time, I certainly am biting off more than I can chew.

And I still need time to keep the rest of life going -- fall gardening and raking leaves is the latest must do. And I should have done it today according to the weather. Oh, I hope we get one day this weekend that is really beautiful. Or 3.