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    Friday, January 19, 2007

    School-Girl Fight

    Another article on CNN describes girls fighting at school, and some idiot stabbed and KILLED another student in Boston the other day. All that got me thinking about how Youtube.com always gets fingered for having fight videos.

    How many? Lots. Tons. That kinda surprised me, but i guess it shouldn't. However, in comparison with these fights we've just heard about, hear's a video of a girl fight in Vietnam--similar to one's I've seen, and much better, in my opinion.

    (Plus I get to try out Youtube's blog posting stuff and see if it's worth it).

    The Wonders of MRIs

    My professor started off our second neurology lecture today by saying:

    "Today we just heard a description of CT, and MRI, and PET, and how they are useful. A couple years ago, a senator and a president ran against each other for office in this country. After the election was over, both were incredibly tired and got routine physicals from their GPs. The muscle fatigue was serious, so both got MRIs. After the results came back, the senator and president asked what they were.

    'Well, you can see both the left brain and the right brain in these scans,' replied the doctor. 'We know that the Left has got nothing right, and the Right has nothing left!'"


    Well, I thought it was funny.

    The cold of Utah...The Universal Problem of New Labbies

    Ouch, is it cold. I cannot even ride my bike outside. Well, who in their right mind would want to ride in Lycra in a single digit wind chill? Not I.

    But I cannot explain why people who sign up to be part of a science lab do not commit more time to the lab when the weather is horrible outside? Shouldn't they enjoy the heat of an autoclave or a hot water bath? I say nay. They (the labbies) do not take the time to hibernate in the lab. Maybe they are in the library or cuddling up with a good read such as a biochemistry textook or a book on evolutionary biology. I think my thoughts deceive me. The labbies are not looking up journal articles. They are not studying. They are wandering through the mists of darkness of not understanding that they are not alone in the process of research! Each labbie may "own" a project, but they do not understand that the only way to come to a knowledge of the truth of research is by performing it. It is time for them to step into the unknown, the darkness of the lab and turn on the light to see that the pathway is lighted that much more after they make the initial step.

    Till next time.

    Thursday, January 18, 2007

    Old Man Winter...

    The last two days have been amazing. The cold front sweeping through the nation finally hit Houston, and we've had winter for the first time. When living in Utah I wasn't a huge fan of the snow and cold, but it was beautiful and did give variation to the year. It was such a pain to drive in though.
    I was beginning to be afraid that we might get three seasons here but not four


    Now I'm in Houston and December was warm--50s and 60s warm. I was beginning to be afraid that we might get three seasons here but not four. However, it's finally into the 30s, and although it's not likely to stay there for long, it'll be in the 40s for the next week or so. At the very least, I'll get two weeks of winter.

    It's funny to see everyone react to the cold. People have no experience driving--living--in cold weather. It hit 31, 32 degrees, with a little ice on the roads, and about two-thirds of the school districts closed. The other one-third opened late. I drove my wife to work and there was no ice on the roads at all except for a little patch on an entry ramp to the 59 freeway. I hit it, skidded a little, and kept going--nothing major at all--but it had caught someone inexperienced because there was a wheel laying in the middle of the ramp--not a tire, but the metal wheel of a car.

    It's too bad I have exams next week, or I might be able to spend some time outside in the refreshing cold air. As it is, I have to make due with breathing it in while waiting for the bus, and trying to warm my feet on my cold, cold hardwood floor.

    Thursday, January 11, 2007

    A Crazy Day

    Monday was a crazy day. I looked up trying to find a full moon--since full moons often are harbringers of disaster--but to no avail.

    I was at the bus stop when my wife called me. The car was smoking. Quick change of plans. I hopped another bus and eventually reached my poor wife, sitting in our car, late for work, and found the radiator busted. The metal "T" that connects the radiator to the hose was snapped clean off. Old radiators suck. After getting my wife on another bus and off to work, I grabbed a tow truck, took it to a shop, and went to school.

    I want to highlight how awesome the public transportation in Houston is. People think that Houston is so large a city, that you MUST have a car. Well, I have been able to go anywhere with minimal planning because the routes are so well done.

    Now, at the end of the day I picked up my car. $500. Sucks. But that's not the big deal. Well, it is big, but not the deal. On my way home, I'm stopped at a light, and I see a college-age girl jogging in place as the light turns from yellow to red. I thought to myself, "Gee, she looks like she wants to run."

    Then, right as the light turns green (for the cross traffic), she takes off. Now, it's not a large street. The car in the turn lane almost goes, but sees her and stops just short of hitting her. The car in the fast lane sees her and stops. The car in the slow lane goes before she gets there, causing the car behind it to go and never see her, until it hits her and she flips over the car hitting the ground.

    All i could think of was "ooooo..." Evidently she was trying to reach her father/older man waiting for her on the other side. She got up and was crying on his shoulder as the man who hit her got out to see what had happened and how bad she was hurt. A couple people pulled over to help also.

    How dumb are you to cross a full street at a green light? I just feel bad for her.

    But that's not the end--I get home and there's an ambulance outside my building. Some old lady was in the back. Dunno why. I talk to two guys waiting for it to leave so they could get to there car, and find out one of the two had his $400 bike stolen a couple hours previous.

    At least after that all i did was study.

    What a crazy day.