Eric J. Perkins, PhD (he/him)

A sparkly sticker with roses that says “Thou may ingest a satchel of richards”

My sister dropped a bunch of stickers in my Xmas stocking and I confess I had not looked at all of them very closely until now. Anyway, my sister is the best😂

WHEN ASKED ABOUT THE DIFFICULTIES OF SCULPTURE, MICHELAN-gelo said, "It is easy. You just chip away all the stone that isn't David." It's simple to cut things out of a life. You break up with a shitty partner, quit eating bread, delete the Twitter app. You cut it out, and the shape of what's actually killing you clarifies a little. The whole Abrahamic world invests itself in this promise: Don't lie, don't cheat, don't fuck or steal or kill, and you'll be a good person. Eight of the ten commandments are about what thou shalt not. But you can live a whole life not doing any of that stuff and still avoid doing any good. That's the whole crisis. The rot at the root of everything. The belief that goodness is built on a constructed absence, not-doing. That belief corrupts everything, has everyone with any power sitting on their hands. A rich man goes a whole day without killing a single homeless person and so goes to sleep content in his goodness. In another world, he's buying crates of socks and Clif bars and tents, distributing them in city centers. But for him, abstinence reigns.

I can’t stop thinking about this paragraph from Kaveh Akbar’s “Martyr!”, and saddened by the fact that the government can’t even get the “don’t be shitty” part right.

My latest GenX column in the local paper (I provided multiple titles for this column--this was not one of them😅). Who else will confess to a love-hate relationship with their wearable tech?
belmontvoice.org/generations-...

Screen shot of a text that reads “A library we're working on has a little room off the children's section called "Wiggle Room". I presume for the nuggets who can't sit still through story time.” Followed by a blue print of a library with the designated Wiggle Room.

My sister works in HVAC and just sent me this text. I’d be a big proponent of any and all public buildings having a Wiggle Room. Or, for the oldsters like me, a Nap Room.

a cartoon drawing of a cat wearing a party hat holding a confetti cannon ALT: a cartoon drawing of a cat wearing a party hat holding a confetti cannon

AAV9 is coming to @addgene.bsky.social

R4E is hosting a webinar for all, no cost. Learn how to design an effective poster webinar
www.repro4everyone.org/blog/r4e-web...
Thank-you to @addgene.bsky.social for sponsorship! #AcademicSky #EduSky #neuroskyence

How I know I’m getting older, Olympic edition…

8 years ago: Did you see the air that freestyle skier got? Also, curling is boring.

Today: Freestyle skiing is dangerous! Someone’s going to get hurt. But this curling game—the US has the hammer and they’ve got a nice pocket on the button!

The Advances Behind The World's First Personalized CRISPR Treatment Baby KJ was treated for his devastating genetic disorder with CRISPR base editing. This post describes the prior advances that made his cure possible.

I talked to them about Baby KJ last year, but I'm definitely planning on sharing an update! @addgene.bsky.social has a blog post about this story, too! blog.addgene.org/base-editing...

Hey scientists! Starting to collect interesting new #CRISPR applications/ethical quandaries for my annual presentation to 8th graders. What's a cool new CRISPR application that you think will blow a 14yo's mind? Blowing a 14yo's mind is no easy task, I assure you.✂️🧬🤯

Links much appreciated!

I’m not mad! Just very surprised 😅

Apparently my 16yo went and talked to multiple science teachers at her school offering my services as a guest speaker. She did not confer with me before doing this 😅

One with a giant crack in it through which poos like me have to squeeze through, I guess 🤔

Behold the half ass sidewalk clearing I experienced today in Watertown, MA. It was a very tight squeeze, and I’m not a big dude.

Do better New Englanders.

My 13yo just got back from her Model UN conference, where she had to represent the US (not her choice). Her take: “Never again! NOBODY wants to represent the US when it come to current events.” They’ve got to find someone who relishes playing the villain, I guess😒

As the spouse in my marriage who does nearly all the grocery shopping, I want hazard pay for today😩

A plastic drawer filled with 40-50 lip balm tubes f various colors and flavors.

My daughter is only 16, but she already possesses a lifetime supply of lip balm (this pic just shows the top of layer of three).

Bandcamp Announces Ban on AI Music Music that is “generated wholly or in substantial part by AI” will now be taken down from the streaming service

I've been using @bandcamp.com for 80% of my music listening and buying for years because it gets more $$ into artists' hands, but with this announcement I'm moving towards using them exclusively. pitchfork.com/news/bandcam...

I did not have to get many pages into Kaveh Akbar’s “Martyr!” before it got an entry into my Journal of Good Writing:

“The only people who speak in certainties are zealots and tyrants.”

Poster with the title “Genmanipulation mit CRISPR: Weltrevolution oder unabsehbares Risiko“

Could I give a talk about CRISPR benefits and risks? Sure.

Could I give such a talk in *German* like my 16yo tomorrow? Absolutely not.

An AI comic book-style rendering of my Slack message this morning of my looking at at an Apple laptop and saying "OMG, that OS update erased all my Chrome windows and hundreds of tabs AND the history, so I can't restore them! I had a system...I HAD A SYSTEM!"

Though I have very mixed feelings about AI images, my co-worker's very rapid rendering of my Slack rant this morning is frighteningly accurate.

Reducing vaccination requirements AND raising health insurance costs is a bold move. One would think killing and/or bankrupting citizens would not be a good idea, yet here we are.

I say this as a pedant living in the suburbs of Boston: these are totally valid things to complain about.

That's totally braggable. This is why I'm planning to frame the pages of a the comic book in which I was depicted and I'll hang that in my office but not my diplomas. Anyone can get a diploma. How many people can say they've been drawn into a comic book?

Generations: Resolving to Say 'Yes' Belmont columnist Eric J. Perkins shares how saying 'yes' shapes his life and why it’s his one New Year’s resolution every year.

I wrote about my catch-all New Year's resolution to just say "yes" to things in my local paper, The Belmont Voice.
belmontvoice.org/generations-...

(And yes, this column is already starting to bite me in the ass, but I asked for it...)

Bob Ueker just died this year at 90 (for example).

Me, heating up some leftover Chinese for Sunday lunch.

My brain: “I absolutely HAVE to know what the cast of ‘Mr. Belvedere’ is up to these days.”

Reason #89 I may not be entirely neurotypical.

Listening to holiday music in the car with my 16yo and "Baby It's Cold Outside" comes on.

Me: This might be my least favorite holiday song.

Daughter: We listened to this song in my Health class as a cautionary tale about consent.

Maybe the next generation will finally retire it?

NYY puzzle wrap saying I am in the top 1% of Connections players

Well at least I’ve got this going for me.

My wife is picking my son up from his first semester of college today. He told us that he’s going to do a load of laundry at school *before* she picks him up. What kind of freak did we raise?

First thing I did with my new Garmin fitness tracker is deactivate the "body battery". I do not need my watch telling me I slept like $hit and my I'm starting my day with a 23% battery.

Next to go is the stress tracker. Yes, I know I was stressed for 100% of the day. Have you seen this president?