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Didn’t see that comin’…

So, I’m in this class called “Special Topics in Biomedical Sciences II” where you read papers and discuss them. The papers generally follow along with what we’re getting in our lecture class, so it’s consequently divided up into “units,” of sorts, each with a test at the end. Well, our “Systems” (as in, systems of the body) exam was last Thursday. The grade is based 50% on participation and 50% on the exam for each section; participation is handled in a Socratic style, where the students have to each talk about the paper and what it means, how the experiments were done, etc.

Honestly, I was sure I did well on the exam, but I wasn’t too sure on my participation. We did the first few sessions as a full group, rather than dividing up into two smaller groups (which, all of the class agrees, is preferable)… In the first few sessions, I don’t think I really talked that much…I almost went and talked to Dr. Samson about how I was doing, ’cause I wasn’t really being called on or directed to describe any portions of the paper like some other students were.

Well, we got our grades back today for participation and the exam. I got the high score, overall.

😛

…now, if I can just buffer the grade in the lecture class a bit…hmmmmm…

Posted on

Didn't see that comin'…

So, I’m in this class called “Special Topics in Biomedical Sciences II” where you read papers and discuss them. The papers generally follow along with what we’re getting in our lecture class, so it’s consequently divided up into “units,” of sorts, each with a test at the end. Well, our “Systems” (as in, systems of the body) exam was last Thursday. The grade is based 50% on participation and 50% on the exam for each section; participation is handled in a Socratic style, where the students have to each talk about the paper and what it means, how the experiments were done, etc.

Honestly, I was sure I did well on the exam, but I wasn’t too sure on my participation. We did the first few sessions as a full group, rather than dividing up into two smaller groups (which, all of the class agrees, is preferable)… In the first few sessions, I don’t think I really talked that much…I almost went and talked to Dr. Samson about how I was doing, ’cause I wasn’t really being called on or directed to describe any portions of the paper like some other students were.

Well, we got our grades back today for participation and the exam. I got the high score, overall.

😛

…now, if I can just buffer the grade in the lecture class a bit…hmmmmm…

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Need I say more?

So, I was flipping through Daily Kos (who was interviewed on The Colbert Report a few weeks back, so I’ve been checking out the blog recently) and saw this posting referring to an article at Think Progress regarding a new policy by our friends in the government regarding funding for abstinence education. Think Progress made the following highlights:

“In addition to being costly, inaccurate, and ineffective, the programs must now operate under a strict new definition of abstinence:”

Abstinence curricula must have a clear definition of sexual abstinence which must be consistent with the following: ‘Abstinence means voluntarily choosing not to engage in sexual activity until marriage. Sexual activity refers to any type of genital contact or sexual stimulation between two persons including, but not limited to, sexual intercourse.’

Later, the guidelines explicitly define marriage:

Throughout the entire curriculum, the term ‘marriage’ must be defined as ‘only a legal union between one man and one woman as a husband and wife, and the word ?spouse? refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife.’ (Consistent with Federal law)”

Seriously…can’t people simply stop persecuting the people who a). they don’t understand and b). they don’t agree with? What damage, exactly, would pre-marital sex and homosexual relations have to America (or the world)? Isn’t it worse to get married just to have sex, and then have a baby, and then get a divorce? Are they going to outlaw birth control next?

…there are times, yo…I swear…

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…is the semester over yet?

Well, I’ve got one more exam in my main class to complete, then two exams (one tomorrow, coincidentally…) in my “special topics” class, neither of which should be terribly stressful.? So yeah, my semester is mostly over…? Along with that, I now have keys to Dr. Macarthur’s lab and will be getting started on some tissue culture work next Monday, so I finally get to delve into some research, rather than just wasting away in classes…

Regardless, I’m on the “home stretch” to be done with my first year of graduate school, which is nuts…? The year went really quickly, it seems…? Heck, I’ve been married for almost 10 months!? …and how blissful they’ve been 😛

Anyway, I’m glad the semester’s almost done, as I’m sure many of you are, too (except Kristen, perhaps!).? Just gotta make it a few…more…weeks…

Tomorrow night in Kirksville, though…that’ll help tremendously… 😉

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Oh, ignorance…

So, Slashdot has run a few stories in the past few days about global warming.?? According to a recent poll, 71% of Americans are now ready to believe that global warming is real and is a problem.? This is after researchers, for years, have said that it’s a problem.? Science Magazine, in Dec. 2004, reported that out of 928 scientific papers published in research periodicals, 75% accepted the “consensus view” that global warming is caused by humans, while the other 25% didn’t say either way; none of them said explicitly that humans are not the cause.

So, with overwhelming evidence, why is it that many people refuse to believe it? I mean, there’s a girl in my class that refuses to believe that global warming is caused by human involvement!? She admits that it’s happening, but says that it’s caused by the “natural cycle” that Earth goes through between ice ages. Perhaps most disturbing, researchers are finding it difficult to report their findings due to pressure from the Bush Administration, being told to remove references to global warming from web sites and their reports.

…so wtf?!? I mean, so far as the Bush Administration goes, they just want to keep us under an oil-based economy so they keep getting kickbacks from the Middle East, but why does the American public go along with it?!? Are the just stupid? What is with that remaining 29% that makes them not believe that humans are the primary cause of accelerating global warming?

…as with many social issues, I guess I just don’t get it…

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Happenings…

So, sorry the site’s been down (to all 2 of you who read it regularly… :-P). Yahoo! Domains has been rather obnoxious in keeping the IP address updated of my server…oh well…

Regardless, things have been good recently. A quick run-down:

1). Last Monday was my last day of rotating through Dr. Macarthur’s lab. Seeing as I had a good time whilst there, I’ve decided to stay there on a permanent basis for the remainder of my Ph.D. Therefore, I’ve added a new page to the site dedicated to the shenanigans that will be my research and related experiences. I plan on keeping it updated with what I’m up to on that front, for those who care…otherwise, for now, I’ve got a basic description of what I was up to during the rotation posted; after I figure out what exactly I’m doing for my project, I’ll get that up there…

2). We went up to Louisiana, MO this past weekend after finding out that Brooke’s grandma was moving. She’s moving from the house that Brooke’s Mom (and Aunts…) grew up in into a trailer in a nice park (not a “white trash” park…a nice park…). Overall, it’ll be a lot easier to maintain and to get around in, so it’s probably a good idea. Ma’s gonna have back surgery this coming Thursday in Columbia, so B and I are going there on Friday to see how she’s doing.

3). I’ve got an exam this coming Friday…thankfully, I’ve got my afternoons off, so I’ve got plenty of time to study. This exam is over pharmacology and neuroscience, so it’s most definitely along the lines of nifty things I want to be learning. On the other hand…I’ve got a lot of memorization to get done before then…grrrrrrrrr…

4). Anything else? Not that I can think of… Oh, the band at church is making me sing now. Hopefully not often. …’cause I suck, certainly when compared to my younger sibling… 😛

Yeah, that’s good for now. w00t. Actually…one last thing:

5). Officially, Brooke, Sharon, Missy and I are coming up to Kirksville for Maundy Thursday…primarily so we can go to the Dukum, ’cause we miss it terribly and none of us have anything to do on Good Friday. They’re still doing the $5 deal, yes?

Alright…for real…nothing else going on…really… 😛

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Ouch…

So, Brooke and I drove up to St. Charles, MO today to go biking on the Katy Trail, in preparation for our trip this summer.? For those who don’t know (or don’t remember…), we’re planning on making a “vacation” out of biking the entirety of the Katy Trail, ~265 mi from end-to-end, starting near Sedalia, MO and ending in St. Charles.? So yeah, we went biking today ’cause a). the weather was gorgeous, and b). we hadn’t gotten to use Brooke’s new bike for an extended period yet, so it was about time to take ‘er out for a spin.

Anyway, we started at 1:20ish…got done around 4:20ish, so we spent about 3 hours…and biked for 30+ miles…and damn, does it hurt.? We weren’t really planning to go that far on our first outing this year (and I haven’t done a 30 mile-er since 2002…), but it was one of those “oh, we aren’t tired yet, so we’ll just keep going” situations…of course, just after we turned around, we were tired…and our butts hurt…

Regardless, it was a good trip and well-worth the pain to enjoy some good weather.? Needless to say, however, we’ve got some work to do before biking 265 miles…? 😛

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Review: V for Vendetta

Brooke, Josh and I saw “V for Vendetta” today…and yes, it was a damned fine movie… It’s based on a graphic novel from the 80s that follows a man codenamed “V” who fights against a totalitarian government set in not-so-distant future England after a war had taken place, leaving the people vulnerable to take-over and control by “Big Brother”-esque leaders. V executes terrorist actions to overthrow the government while trying to get the civilian population to not be so constricted by fear, uttering such prophetic words like: “The people should not be afraid of their government; the government should be afraid of their people.”

The movie, produced by the Wachowski Brothers (of “The Matrix” fame, of course…) is quite well done. It’s a very different movie with some of the same themes. The effects are top-notch, as expected, yet nothing that says the Wachowskis were going for a Matrix re-do; “V” is a completely different movie while still keeping some of the good aspects of the original “Matrix” film.

The especially cool part about the movie is that, while there’s some action (not non-stop, mind you…), the movie is basically one big “The Patriot Act is Bad” statement, having a very clear message to those who watch.

Hopefully, viewers not only keep their eyes and ears open to this excellent film, but also keep their minds open to the ideas it puts forth. Well worth listening to…