Some Things Learned from Behind the Spurs' Bench

For our one year anniversary the wife and I decided to go all out and leave the East Coast's random weather for sunnier days in Maui and then San Antonio.  Maui itself is self explanatory. But why San Antonio?  Simply put, the wife is a huge Spurs fan.

Since she's been pounded down and tested by work in her first year of residency, I decided it was best to lift her moral and help her live out one of her all time dreams: to sit court side at a Spurs' game.  Some of the cooler things we saw/learned from our seats.

• These guys love their coach.  I always thought that Coach Pop was one of the best.  But these guys really listen to him.  Its amazing.  As big as egos are now a days, the Spurs seem to have the combination of great team guys and a great coach.
  
  
• Drew Gooden is a bonehead.  Its confirmed.  I've always suspected it.  He always seemed like he was doing his own thing in Cleveland's offense a couple of years ago.  I watched this guy drool at the Spurs' dancers as they performed their routine.  Then to top that, he spotted my wife and blatantly checked her out top to bottom for several seconds.  The nerve of the guy! The wife was a bit taken aback to say or doing anything but once she regained regular thought she asked if she could wave next time.  Whatever!
• From this down low you can see everyones faces but you also risk your view being blocked by a coach or referee.
• You don't have to get up for food because you have your own waiter down here.
• We could actually hear some of the conversations, like Coach Pop yelling at Tony Parker and a little bit of trash talking between Chris Paul and Coach Pop (all playful though).
• The so called basketball statisticians seem to just talk on AIM the entire time.  NOTE: not entirely sure if this was the stat guy or not but there was a lot of talking on AIM going on.

It was a great game overall. We lucked out and it went into overtime. The wife says its one of the best experiences of her life, falling behind our Wedding Day of course! Mission accomplished!

UPDATE: Bill Simmon's went ahead and confirmed my suspicions of Drew Gooden. In his own words:

Know when I knew it was over for the Spurs? When they signed Drew Gooden. Good rebounder, decent inside scorer, total knucklehead. He grew a mini-beard on the back of his neck three years ago. He let down LeBron so many times that LeBron developed an actual "Drew Gooden disappointed me yet again and I might have to kill him soon" frown. When he went to Chicago, Cleveland immediately became a better team. The Bulls dumped him and they immediately became better. He's exactly the type of player the Spurs NEVER sign: someone who looks better on paper than he actually is. I just thought it seemed like a desperate move. And it was.

What Books Would Be Good For Self-Study in Bioinformatics?

Despite my lack of commitment to this site, it seems that I'm still getting comments every now and again. And I appreciate the interest. It really helps me realize the potential interest in the kind of things I've written about here.

Most recently, I got a comment from Sudhang requesting books for the computer programmer who wants to self-study in the field of Bioinformatics. The following is my list. It may seem like its a bit everywhere but that's kind of what you get with the field of Bioinformatics.

• Molecular Cell Biology. One would get glossy eyed trying to read through this book, but you need to have a good reference to some of the Biology that is described in Bioinformatics. Of course, wikipedia is becoming more and more of a reliable source now a days as well. You could also ask the questions here at biowhat so that we all learn together, but the getting the answer is dependent on my time. 4/19/09 UPDATE: Madunca has recommended Alberts’ “Molecular Biology of the Cell” in the comments for aspiring Bioinformaticians. You may want to check that out as well as its always good to have options!


• Biostatistics: The Bare Essentials. When I started my Masters of Bioinformatics, taking statistics was one of the requirements. Personally, I didn't have a great experience with it in undergrad so I was a bit intimidated. A friend of mine, who is an MD/PhD, recommended that I freshen up my statistics knowledge with this book. It was a great recommendation! With this book the authors attempt to make learning Statistics an entertaining experience. Though this is a daunting task, they are highly effective.


• An Introduction to Bioinformatics Algorithms. This is probably my favorite book on this short list. It gives a little bit of everything. It gives a brief Biology Primer and then dives into what I love as a computer scientist, Algorithms! The authors look at various important Algorithms and how they apply to Bioinformatics.

Well, this is my list. Its short, but it gives you three books to what some may consider to be the cornerstone of Bioinformatics: Biology, Statistics, and Computer Science. If anyone has more recommendations, please leave them in the comments. Keep the questions coming!