Following a sharp and steady decline of her health over the past two years, my grandmother finally passed away yesterday.

I briefly mentioned her on this blog, four years ago…

Back then, she was such a spry and quick-witted little lady that it was hard imagining her otherwise. But her years finally caught up with her all at once, with a vengeance. It was obvious when I last saw her that she felt she had her time and was ready to go. Rather than mournful I am relieved knowing she left without too much suffering.

I am basically writing this as a reminder to myself of what an exceptional woman she was and that I should be lucky to ever live a life half as extraordinary as hers was.

To my left: Official University Anniversary International Reception, free food, free drinks.
To my right: Thunderstorm, lightning, pouring rain and… wait for it… hail (yes, it is the 16th of June and it is hailing in Kansai).

Only a dozen kilometers on bike, walk and train between the two.

You decide…

Insulin I – by Rattus Norvegicus

Today, at a lecture centered on SNPs, the wonderful world of statistical genetics and the myriad holy wars waged amongst its main proponents, the lecturer brought up the work of Karl Pearson (of eponymous correlation coefficient’s fame).

Under all the math formulae, the slide featured a small box with Pearson’s full name, photography, dates and, in an even smaller font, this sole additional comment:

He was a marxist.

Only in Japan.