Project Weekend



Everything is getting busy as we enter our last full week of classes.  Final projects abound.  This weekend I did not get up to much because I’m busy with multiple end-of-semester projects.

The first is for my algorithms class, my partner and I are building a game similar to Oregon Trail.  This version however is set in a dystopian future where you are trapped on campus and have to find a way to escape.  The faculty and staff here have formed rival groups and fight over resources.   It’s mostly a text based adventure, but with a very minimal map to help you stay oriented.

For my other project, we are making a phylogenetic tree of various biofluorescence genes in coral.  A surprising amount of marine life expresses fluorescence (look at these fish!) and we wanted to try to get a better understanding of how similar the genes for different colors are.  They have turned out to be very similar to one another with the different colors of fluorescence mixed in with one another.

It’s hard to imagine, but in under six weeks I’ll be studying in Australia.   Time is flying by fast and those few weeks between now and then are completely packed. I don’t believe I have a single day left unscheduled between now and then.  My family leaves on a trip the day after I get home, when I’m back from that I’m visiting friends for New Year’s, then I run a winter camp, then I visit a different set of friends, then I have most of a day to pack, and then I fly to Australia. It's crazy, but I'm looking forward to it.

Questions? Send them to me at ameliaberle@lclark.edu