Ubiquitins (and a little knitting)

Ubiquitin is a protein that is ubiquitous, hence the name.  It was apparently discovered in 1975, although it went by a different name then.  I don't know when it came to be called ubiquitin, but that was it's name when it won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2004 (okay, I guess some chemists actually received the award).  However, some friends of mine began using the word in a different context at least 15 years before that.

To them, a ubiquitin was one of those people you see everywhere.  You know how it is -- there are people you don't know at all, but who seem to pop up in your life all the time.  You probably never say a word to them, but there they are.

I thought of this this morning.  There's a rather odd looking man who I see around my bus stop on campus pretty frequently.  He never seems to be getting on or off the bus - maybe he just walks past it at times I'm getting on the bus.  I've also seen him on the street downtown and at the mall.  And this morning, I saw him walking down the street near my house, carrying two bags from Fareway.  That freaked me out a little -- Iowa City and Coralville aren't a very large metropolitan area, but it seemed weird to see him in my neighborhood.  And I still wonder if that's his real hair...

Anyway -- I can't believe I haven't posted since March 23!  Unfortunately, even though I feel like I've been knitting, I don't have much to show for it.   I'm working on I'm still working on the Shiraz sweater and Pyromania socks.  One sock is almost done.  So far, my favorite part of the sock is the eye of partridge heel.  I love the way it looks in this not-quite-solid yarn.

I am almost to the point where I will have to take Shiraz off the needles and try it on, before I separate for the sleeves.  I think it will fit, but I need to be sure!

I also feel a bit of startitis coming on....