Laminin

Okay folks, biology lesson today. Let's talk about my favorite protein, Laminin.

They [Laminin] are a family of glycoproteins that are an integral part of the structural scaffolding in almost every animal tissue. [1]

Basement membranes are basically dense layers of protein sheets found underneath organs, like your lungs, or your blood vessels, or even your skin.

The laminin in basement membranes is produced by many different cells, and is involved in just as many activities, like cell adhesion, migration and differentiation, embryonic development, and forming or re-forming blood vessels during healing of wounds. [2]

Laminin is pretty much what's holding your body together, and repairing it.

Great stuff isn't it? In other words, without laminin, you're fu (i believe the technical term is) screwed.


But that's not all. You know what really gets me about laminin?

Take a look.


Incredible huh?

There's a video about it on youtube by Louie Giglio.


Now to practice my referencing skillz.

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laminin, 29 May 2008.
   
2. Li J, Zhang Y-P, Kirsner RS. Angiogenesis in wound repair: Angiogenic growth factors and the extracellular matrix. (2003)
   

Hey Everyone

Go click on that button on the right there, the purevolume one. I just wrote a new song and its called The Orphans and the Widows. Try and guess what its about. It's not funny at all. In fact its about the homeless people on the streets. Kind of. But I wrote it because of the cyclone in Burma and earthquakes in China that have orphaned and widowed so many people. I was kind of inspired by Ai Hui actually, just went for her pre-album launch mini show.

Click Here for Ai Hui's Myspace.

I really love her stuff, I'm so getting her album. It's worth a listen, she's a terrific songwriter and she's got a beautiful voice.

So yeh, I've kind of picked up my guitar and pickled my brain a bit more, and hopefully more songs coming. By the way, I'm kinda happy with how the song turned out, but I think it's not final. Will be adding more touches to it, debating on whether to add drums and bass or not. i should probably get a semi-acoustic.

Love, Chris.

edit: note the new banner up top. watch the video and find out more...

reflectivejournal?oplz.

i'm in the middle of an engineering assignment, its called a reflective journal. basically its an almost weekly thing and we get different things to write about each time. it just so happens that this time we're supposed to write about academic honesty?


"academic honesty? wtf is that?"


like... plagiarism and stuff. but how do you write 2 to 3 paragraphs on academic honesty?


omg. i just got an idea.


i'll just look for someone else's writings on academic honesty and paraphrase it and then cite it, awesome!


honestly. what can i write?


"oh gee yeh, its really important that engineers don't take credit for other people's work even though they do it all the time anyway."


anyway.

Colossians 3:23
And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men;

so i'll stop whining and get to it as soon as i post up pictures.


Dandenongs trip!


Climbing up the hill! From left, Paul, Aileen, Me! (in a beanie), George, and Greg.


Sarah, Josh (kneeling), Vinay, George, Isaac (bald guy =), Aileen (kneeling also), Kyrstal (in blue), Cheryl, Shin Yi, Me (beanie), Greg, Roshan, Paul, and Brian. Missing Tim again cause he took the photo.


Greg, beside the fireplace.


And Tim teaching.


Autumn trees.


Vibrant coloured bird on the deck.


Another cute little bird next to the breakfast table.


At breakfast, Aileen and Jason.


Roshan, Brian, Tim (lol) and Cheryl (lol).



Vinay, Joshua, Shin Yi, and Greg.

edit: PANORAMARAMARAMAshots. By Tim.







So yeh. The Dandenongs. Had a great time there, thanks to Tim and Isaac and al the 101 folks.



oh by the way.

Check it out! Flower on my macbookpro!


Mmhmm.


I got my Jim Dunlop Jazz III's! YAY!

ook

i won't shut it down.

haha.

had a gig on thursday night. quite fun, should've focused more on the show than the music though. music was gonna turn out pretty bad cause of the equipment anyway. ah well. i bought a multi effects processor prior to the show, so i worked some wah into my solo, which was pretty cool. too bad i couldn't really hear me throughout the show anyway.

don't think i'll post the video cause the quality's not very good. you can't really hear much of the music, mostly random background conversations.

had a great time at the dandenongs over the weekend with tim and the other guys on the life 101 course. such a beautiful place.

i think i've used my brain much harder over the few weeks on the life 101 course than the entire semester at uni. i've come to realise how much i've let my mind be dulled over the years. sad to think that sometimes i get to the point where i'm tired of thinking. oh well. i've been thinking lately. what am i doing in engineering?


i want to be an arts student.


but i'm my parents are asian. haha. classic excuse.


no i don't know if i want to be an arts student, i don't know what i want anymore. clearly maths isn't my strong point. but clearly people get good at maths after insane amounts of practice anyway. i just don't. want. to. do. math.

hmm. i don't think engineering was my decision though. it was my choice. chose to do it despite knowing i fail at maths. now i need more faith to carry this through.


oh well. physics test on wednesday. gotta start studying for that.

later folks.

The Heart of God

"Creator... Father, Abba... Abba... how? I love you, my God, I long to worship You... but how? I can't see You, I can't touch you... no image I can conjure up in my head can even begin to scratch the surface of who You are... how do I worship You?"

Can you see yourself giving Me your heart?

"Yeh, but look God, I've got my heart out here in front of me, my hands are outstretched, holding my heart out to... to... I can't see past that God! Beyond that is just... unknown..."

Good. That's what I want from you.





Just a few weeks ago, the space that Life* Expedition uses for its sunday meetings hosted a massive gathering of the church of Melbourne. An incredible weekend, I was given a chance to work at the Forge Grassroots Festival and listen to all the speakers from all over, and to meet sons and daughters of God from all kinds of cultures, dreadlocks, fire twirling. The churches around Melbourne are becoming THE church of Melbourne, and this unity is not some far off dream. This is a vision coming to pass. And that's what The Gathering is about, uniting the church of Melbourne.

I had an opportunity to lay down everything I was carrying, and really just have a chat with this God that I tell people I love.

Giving God our heart is risky business. But not really hey. I was confronted, and I came to a point where I had to ask, am I ready to give m heart to God? To take all my worries, my desires and lift them up to this being I can't see? To give my heart into an unknown future, to trust a plan in which I have no control of?

Well, its not very hard to give someone 10 dollars for a roast chicken. But if you give a million dollars not knowing what to get back... it's a little tougher.






"Well... ok God, I'm ready. I have faith in You... wait... what... what will You give now that I've given You my heart?"

Chris, I will give you My own heart.






Friends, I really just want to call your attention away from all the distractions, problems, inconveniences of the world and take a moment to scale up. What's going on that is bigger than you? And bigger than that?

I've got a God who promised to resurrect me after I die. Friends, I love you, and my love is inspired by a God who redeemed (re-valued) me. He loved me so much that He sent the only son He had to die. And His son, willingly laid down His life for me. Why? I'm a sinner, I lie, I lust, I fall so far short of the mark. How does someone willingly die like that?

Because He understood that death was temporary. He knew the God of life, of resurrection.

Guys... I didn't mean to get preachy, but you have to understand, I'm filled so full, I'm bursting with love...

God loves you. I know because the moment I began to receive His heart, I was overwhelmed with love.


Love and blessings,

Chris