It's a unique pleasure to return from winter break and find a foot of snow on the ground. I'm told that this sort of weather has only begun, and that January in State College is like the District before the last glacier receded. Set in my Christmas-gifted slippers, my feet are resilient to the cold and my mind is refreshed and ready to take on the second half of this postbac.
It is an interesting transformation. Spending three weeks watching movies and lounging managed to send my brain back to where it was in July when the program seemed more like an adventure or a game than anything else. Organic, for which I have already begun studying, does not seem like such drudgery as second semester chemistry did. In fact, going through the problems and drills was almost fun-- it felt good to be dealing with new material again.
Herein lies the difficulty. My performance over the last semester, while sufficient to get me into a decent medical school, was marked by a dangerous drop in interest and enthusiasm and a volatile correlation between the amount I give a shit and my grade point average. How, then, do I generate shit-giving? The first semester went pretty well and was powered almost entirely by childish enthusiasm and the sheer absurdity of my endeavor, the second was less successful and relied mostly on the fear of failure. I'm going to be careful over the coming months to cultivate more of that enthusiasm and absurdity to see how far that will get me. It shouldn't be too hard. This semester includes physiology as well as a position with the PSU Institute for Diabetes Research, both of which may actually be of use to me as a physician.
Stay tuned, folks. If one thing's for sure it's that this semester will be interesting.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Sunday, October 19, 2008
A ray of hope and a reminder of old times.
For an enzyme action lab report, I was asked to prepare a section on a drug's enzymatic mechanism of action. I'm currently engrossed in writing about quercetin and kaempferol as alternative xanthine oxidase inhibitors to allopurinol in the treatment of gout.
Quercetin and kaempferol are compounds found in the leaves of , and have been used as anti-inflammatory analgesics for rheumatic pain for centuries as part of Indo-Pakistani ethnomedicine. Allopuinol was discovered in the 1960s; the responsible scientists won a Nobel for their work in 1988.
I'm reminded almost immediately of all the things we talked about in Professor Edberg's Impact of Culture on Health course. Back then, I wouldn't have been able to make any sense of the above two paragraphs-- I was without any real scientific knowledge. Now I'm drinking out of a firehose connected to that fountain and losing motivation because I so infrequently get to apply these basic principles to my passion for public health.
Anyway, it does me a world of good being given the chance to explicitly extend molecular biology to public health and medical anthropolgy. If you'll permit me to mix a metaphor, it keeps my eyes on the prize while my hand's on the plow.
Quercetin and kaempferol are compounds found in the leaves of , and have been used as anti-inflammatory analgesics for rheumatic pain for centuries as part of Indo-Pakistani ethnomedicine. Allopuinol was discovered in the 1960s; the responsible scientists won a Nobel for their work in 1988.
I'm reminded almost immediately of all the things we talked about in Professor Edberg's Impact of Culture on Health course. Back then, I wouldn't have been able to make any sense of the above two paragraphs-- I was without any real scientific knowledge. Now I'm drinking out of a firehose connected to that fountain and losing motivation because I so infrequently get to apply these basic principles to my passion for public health.
Anyway, it does me a world of good being given the chance to explicitly extend molecular biology to public health and medical anthropolgy. If you'll permit me to mix a metaphor, it keeps my eyes on the prize while my hand's on the plow.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Finding a Religion Amidst the Sciences
Back in high school, my philosophy was based more or less entirely on Loesser's song, Brotherhood of Man:
And then I came here and started my postbac. Somewhere between thermodynamics and biology, I got that critical third piece of the puzzle: the small view. The law of entropy dictates that, like a ball rolling down a hill, all energy tends towards chaos. The only reason there's any organization on this planet is because our sun throws off so much spare heat that we're able to take some of those leftovers and create small piles of order: Cells, plants, worms, krill, fish, bugs, birds, mice, monkeys, humans.
Not only that, but humans got so good at living off this spare change energy that we were able to sit down and start thinking. Then we became cultivars and before long we had highly-ordered societies-- all thanks to the sun breaking a little solar wind in our direction. All the gifts of the community: our families, friends, educations, and cultures, they're all here for the same reason.
Well, here's the rub-- it's all tending towards chaos. Right down to the cellular level, everything desires to be nothing but disordered heat. The best anyone can do, then, is to try and push against it-- roll that ball a little ways back up the hill and try to be efficient enough to leave the planet more ordered than when he found it. That's why I have to give back to the community, at least if I ever want to see space ships buzzing around.
"Your lifelong membership is free.As rough around the edges (and especially the details) as it was, it guided my entry into politics, which led me eventually to school at GW. There, I took a few social science courses and started to frame my beliefs in terms of the community-- how it's given us everything we have (or don't have) and needs to be paid in kind if we're to leave the world any better than we found it. As I learned more about history and international development, I started to acquire the long view of progress. Utopia as Star Trek: how good health allows for good education, and how that allows for scientific, technological, and cultural advancement.
Keep agivin' each brother all you can.
Oh aren't you proud to be
In that fraternity,
The great big Brotherhood of Man? "
And then I came here and started my postbac. Somewhere between thermodynamics and biology, I got that critical third piece of the puzzle: the small view. The law of entropy dictates that, like a ball rolling down a hill, all energy tends towards chaos. The only reason there's any organization on this planet is because our sun throws off so much spare heat that we're able to take some of those leftovers and create small piles of order: Cells, plants, worms, krill, fish, bugs, birds, mice, monkeys, humans.
Not only that, but humans got so good at living off this spare change energy that we were able to sit down and start thinking. Then we became cultivars and before long we had highly-ordered societies-- all thanks to the sun breaking a little solar wind in our direction. All the gifts of the community: our families, friends, educations, and cultures, they're all here for the same reason.
Well, here's the rub-- it's all tending towards chaos. Right down to the cellular level, everything desires to be nothing but disordered heat. The best anyone can do, then, is to try and push against it-- roll that ball a little ways back up the hill and try to be efficient enough to leave the planet more ordered than when he found it. That's why I have to give back to the community, at least if I ever want to see space ships buzzing around.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Come Here Often?
I don't. It was a hell of a summer semester but damn near everything paid off. I've got a job with the biology department editing instructional materials, a ground-floor position on a new grad chapter of the Red Cross, and an impressive GPA to boot.
Going into this program, the biggest question was whether or not I could handle the sciences, whether or not I was mentally capable of assimilating the information. It was a big question, and I'm glad that signs are starting to point to "yes". The new (and considerably smaller) question is whether or not I'm capable of sustaining this effort over the course of the next half-decade or so. If yes, I pass "GO" and collect $200,000 in med school loans. Lucky for me, objects in motion tend to stay in motion.
For now, though, it's noon on the first day of classes. Lecture at six; I'm going to shoot for a solid four hours with the books before class. I think chapter one of physics covers momentum.
Going into this program, the biggest question was whether or not I could handle the sciences, whether or not I was mentally capable of assimilating the information. It was a big question, and I'm glad that signs are starting to point to "yes". The new (and considerably smaller) question is whether or not I'm capable of sustaining this effort over the course of the next half-decade or so. If yes, I pass "GO" and collect $200,000 in med school loans. Lucky for me, objects in motion tend to stay in motion.
For now, though, it's noon on the first day of classes. Lecture at six; I'm going to shoot for a solid four hours with the books before class. I think chapter one of physics covers momentum.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Sometimes I Get Distracted:
"Atom X is in Group IIA and atom Y is in Group VIIA. A compound formed between these two elements would have the formula:
A. X2Y, B. XY2, C. X2Y7, D. X7Y2"
My answer:
An alkaline earth metal X leaves Chicago at 3:15 PM. It has ns^2 as its valence set. At 4:30 PM a halogen leaves Skokie, IL with her sister for Chicago. They both have valences of ns^2, np^5, and maybe nd^10. They're leaving the small town to find electrons that would make them feel complete, noble even. Traffic along I-90 is terrible and they exit at Avondale and end up at a lunch counter across from Mr. X, who has two electrons buzzing about his head and is a member of the Fundamentalist church of Latter-Day Saints. He draws the two ladies close, marrying them. Answer B, XY2. Sorry.
A. X2Y, B. XY2, C. X2Y7, D. X7Y2"
My answer:
An alkaline earth metal X leaves Chicago at 3:15 PM. It has ns^2 as its valence set. At 4:30 PM a halogen leaves Skokie, IL with her sister for Chicago. They both have valences of ns^2, np^5, and maybe nd^10. They're leaving the small town to find electrons that would make them feel complete, noble even. Traffic along I-90 is terrible and they exit at Avondale and end up at a lunch counter across from Mr. X, who has two electrons buzzing about his head and is a member of the Fundamentalist church of Latter-Day Saints. He draws the two ladies close, marrying them. Answer B, XY2. Sorry.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Things Culinary
Experiment 07.06.08 - Tilapia Fajitas, Serves One
Ingredients
2 Tortillias
1/2 Green Pepper
1/4 Red onion
1/2 Tomato
1 Tilapia Fillet
1 Lemon
Some Old Bay Seasoning
Some Cilantro
Some Olive Oil
Prepare the Veggies
Dice half a green pepper, a quarter of a red onion, and half of a tomato. Shred the cilantro.
Prepare the Salsa
Combine the chopped tomato, some of the red onion, and a pinch of cilantro in a mug. Add a quarter of a lemon’s worth of juice, as well as some salt and pepper. Stir together and let steep.
Prepare the Fish:
Slice fish into pinky-sized nuggets, dredge in flour, Old Bay, sea salt, pepper, the juice of half a lemon, and perhaps some hot sauce.
Cook Things:
Heat a large skillet, introduce the tortillas and place them on a plate. Coat the pan in a generous amount of olive oil, and toss in the tilapia. Sautee until cooked through and place the cooked fish across each tortilla. Add more olive oil to pan if necessary and toss in the green pepper, as well as the remaining onion and cilantro. Sautee briefly, then distribute across the tortillas. Garnish with the salsa, wrap ‘em up, and enjoy.
Notes: Fish tasted a little bland; perhaps a little more salt, a little more flour, and a light egg batter would do the pieces better justice, or maybe grilling rather than sautéing. Did not taste the Old Bay, should add more. Could have used more tomatoes and a more robust salsa. Perhaps include rice next time, though that would make for a lot more cleanup.
Ingredients
2 Tortillias
1/2 Green Pepper
1/4 Red onion
1/2 Tomato
1 Tilapia Fillet
1 Lemon
Some Old Bay Seasoning
Some Cilantro
Some Olive Oil
Prepare the Veggies
Dice half a green pepper, a quarter of a red onion, and half of a tomato. Shred the cilantro.
Prepare the Salsa
Combine the chopped tomato, some of the red onion, and a pinch of cilantro in a mug. Add a quarter of a lemon’s worth of juice, as well as some salt and pepper. Stir together and let steep.
Prepare the Fish:
Slice fish into pinky-sized nuggets, dredge in flour, Old Bay, sea salt, pepper, the juice of half a lemon, and perhaps some hot sauce.
Cook Things:
Heat a large skillet, introduce the tortillas and place them on a plate. Coat the pan in a generous amount of olive oil, and toss in the tilapia. Sautee until cooked through and place the cooked fish across each tortilla. Add more olive oil to pan if necessary and toss in the green pepper, as well as the remaining onion and cilantro. Sautee briefly, then distribute across the tortillas. Garnish with the salsa, wrap ‘em up, and enjoy.
Notes: Fish tasted a little bland; perhaps a little more salt, a little more flour, and a light egg batter would do the pieces better justice, or maybe grilling rather than sautéing. Did not taste the Old Bay, should add more. Could have used more tomatoes and a more robust salsa. Perhaps include rice next time, though that would make for a lot more cleanup.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Arrival and the Search for an Omen
It rained on my first day in State College. Threatening skies all day, a few drops out on I-80, and a couple afternoon and early evening downpours. Nevertheless, move-in went well. The wonderful parents came to help me get settled, and now I'm the only tenant in a large Tudor-style cottage just north of campus. The others will move in by late August, but for now it's me and the landlady. The place is beautiful. Built by an English professor in 1937 and used as a bed & breakfast for the last couple decades, my new digs look like a cross between a museum and a Cracker Barrel (in a good way, not in an everything-smells-like-bacon way [which is not necessarily a bad way]).
I'm very far away from my usual circles in DC and Lansdale. It wasn't until my folks left that I realized how much of a stranger I am in this place. As much as I like to think I'm an independent person, it's a frightening feeling to know that most of your friends are a couple hundred miles away. I'll be spending this week trying to reconnect with some old folks from high school, though. If anything's going to help me get through the next couple years, it will be the loving support provided by lots of friends.
On a recommendation from the gas station attendant, I took dinner at the Eat'n'Park. Perhaps not my first choice for food, but I was hungry enough to eat just about anything and the Eat'nPark served up a burger and a flat surface on which to write my grocery list. All the same, eating alone in a chain restaraunt doesn't do a whole lot to abate feelings of loneliness. I exit the restaraunt feeling kind of low, only to be greeted by the following:
I'm no augur, and I put as much stock in omens and horoscopes as I do in fortune cookies, but it comforts to know that the weather can be on your side once in a while.
I'm very far away from my usual circles in DC and Lansdale. It wasn't until my folks left that I realized how much of a stranger I am in this place. As much as I like to think I'm an independent person, it's a frightening feeling to know that most of your friends are a couple hundred miles away. I'll be spending this week trying to reconnect with some old folks from high school, though. If anything's going to help me get through the next couple years, it will be the loving support provided by lots of friends.
On a recommendation from the gas station attendant, I took dinner at the Eat'n'Park. Perhaps not my first choice for food, but I was hungry enough to eat just about anything and the Eat'nPark served up a burger and a flat surface on which to write my grocery list. All the same, eating alone in a chain restaraunt doesn't do a whole lot to abate feelings of loneliness. I exit the restaraunt feeling kind of low, only to be greeted by the following:
I'm no augur, and I put as much stock in omens and horoscopes as I do in fortune cookies, but it comforts to know that the weather can be on your side once in a while.
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