i think this is sharp lookin
Friday, December 7, 2007
the most painful anatomic illustration ever drawn
in undergrad anatomy, our book had this illustration of a guy tearing a ligament in his shoulder. we always thought that it was hilarious that they illustrated the extremely pained expressions on the guy's face... and you can just imagine the terrible two-part grunting sound that's he's making during this process.
wow
so apparently kids have started using mosquito-repelling high-frequency sounds as ringtones, because adults can't hear it. me, being the skeptic that i am, asked the doctor who runs our module, and the middle aged guy in our class, if they could hear it. they couldn't hear a thing, whereas people from across the room were asking "what IS that?"
http://thefuntimesguide.com/audio/Mosquito_Ringtone.mp3
http://thefuntimesguide.com/audio/Mosquito_Ringtone.mp3
a feeling...
Something happened at 1:22 am CST tonight. I was reading Tarzan, and right when I got the the sentence "It was Kulonga.", I got this really strange feeling. Something happened right then. I don't know what it was, but it happened. If it happened to you, let me know.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
ugh
snow only makes me want to:
1. drink hot things
2. watch TV
3. read old books on my iPod
4. ride my bad weather fixed, complete with homemade front $0.00 fender (works pretty well)
5. sleep
studying cardiology is not on the list. i am liking this module so far, but i just can't really make myself study... largely because i feel like i understand it pretty well. there's lots of stuff i have yet to memorize, but conceptually, i am not seeing what some people are apparently confused about.
the loci method has come into play for learning the antiarhythmic drug classes. ready to be confused?
salt shaker containing: malarial pill, photograph of ryan P all ashy lipped, a suture with a synthetic string
hot pad holders burnt from propane, methane, ethanol
trifurcated banana supporting: miniature naomi with a baseball mitt, ibuprofen, and a feather
4-day old milk with: maple syrup and a pickle in it
now just have to associate their side effects with them.
1. drink hot things
2. watch TV
3. read old books on my iPod
4. ride my bad weather fixed, complete with homemade front $0.00 fender (works pretty well)
5. sleep
studying cardiology is not on the list. i am liking this module so far, but i just can't really make myself study... largely because i feel like i understand it pretty well. there's lots of stuff i have yet to memorize, but conceptually, i am not seeing what some people are apparently confused about.
the loci method has come into play for learning the antiarhythmic drug classes. ready to be confused?
salt shaker containing: malarial pill, photograph of ryan P all ashy lipped, a suture with a synthetic string
hot pad holders burnt from propane, methane, ethanol
trifurcated banana supporting: miniature naomi with a baseball mitt, ibuprofen, and a feather
4-day old milk with: maple syrup and a pickle in it
now just have to associate their side effects with them.
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
funny linguistic misunderstanding
naomi forwarded me an email from a chinese speaking friend of her mother, that was having some trouble with understanding a tom petty lyric. here is the email i sent to him. i thought that the main misinterpretation underlying the misunderstanding was interesting and funny.
Thomas:
In this song, the first line uses the phrase "my slate is clear." This suggests "erasing the slate (also known as a chalkboard) and starting over" or "beginning again." Therefore, when we see the phrase "square one" before that, we assume that "square one" is really a shortening of the common phrase "back to square one" because this also means "to start over." (It would be hard to know this if you weren't familiar with the meaning of the phrase in the first place).
The phrase came from the children's games hopscotch or snakes and ladders. In each game, it is possible to make a mistake that forces you to return to the starting point, and in both of these games, the starting point is marked by a square shape, and since it is the first square shape, it is referred to as "square (#)1."
The confusion that you're having with this phrase is understandable. I had never thought about it before, but it could mean two different things depending on how the reader interprets it!
As I explained before, when it is used in the song, "square one" is acting like a single word, meaning "the beginning." What you wrote about being "dull, inflexible, etc" has to do with a different, slang meaning of the word "square." In the 1940's, 50's and 60's, the word "square" meant someone who was boring and uninteresting because they were too devoted to traditional ideas. They were not "cool," or "hip." This slang usage of square isn't very popular anymore.
So, "square one," could mean "the uncool one" in a conversation like this:
Thomas: I have a date with that girl!
Naomi: Which one? The cool, hip one?
Thomas: No, unfortunately; the square one!
However, because this usage of "square" not very common anymore, when most English speakers see "square one," we think "square #1," and therefore "back to square one" or "back to the beginning."
Thomas:
In this song, the first line uses the phrase "my slate is clear." This suggests "erasing the slate (also known as a chalkboard) and starting over" or "beginning again." Therefore, when we see the phrase "square one" before that, we assume that "square one" is really a shortening of the common phrase "back to square one" because this also means "to start over." (It would be hard to know this if you weren't familiar with the meaning of the phrase in the first place).
The phrase came from the children's games hopscotch or snakes and ladders. In each game, it is possible to make a mistake that forces you to return to the starting point, and in both of these games, the starting point is marked by a square shape, and since it is the first square shape, it is referred to as "square (#)1."
The confusion that you're having with this phrase is understandable. I had never thought about it before, but it could mean two different things depending on how the reader interprets it!
As I explained before, when it is used in the song, "square one" is acting like a single word, meaning "the beginning." What you wrote about being "dull, inflexible, etc" has to do with a different, slang meaning of the word "square." In the 1940's, 50's and 60's, the word "square" meant someone who was boring and uninteresting because they were too devoted to traditional ideas. They were not "cool," or "hip." This slang usage of square isn't very popular anymore.
So, "square one," could mean "the uncool one" in a conversation like this:
Thomas: I have a date with that girl!
Naomi: Which one? The cool, hip one?
Thomas: No, unfortunately; the square one!
However, because this usage of "square" not very common anymore, when most English speakers see "square one," we think "square #1," and therefore "back to square one" or "back to the beginning."
i exemplify borg-like efficiency
so it was way too cold and i was way too tired to leave the house this morning. so i stayed home, and went through both the lectures in half the time it woulda taken to listen to them in lecture, while eating breakfast, talking to naomi, and watching mythbusters. excellent.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
stupid, but cool
there are all kindsa people riding fixed gears and doing BMX- and flatland- style tricks on them. right now, most of it looks a bit awkward, but any "sport" in its infancy does. however, i predict that it'll start getting popular. the above picture is pretty absurd, but undeniably cool. if you've ever riddin a fixed, you can appreciate that getting the pedal placement right for the take off and landing of that trick is pretty neat.
finally, someone who agrees with me
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i am ripper, tearer, slasher
i don't know why i went with that title, except that if this post comes to fruition, i will feel like a beowulfian badass.... and i'm not sure why it would make me feel that awesome, but it would.
anyway, there are underground tunnels in kansas city.
and there's an annual "groundhog run," where thousands of runners go galloping through these catacombs. i don't know if it's possible to bike it, but i've emailed about it. hopefully, i'll get to. so sweet.
anyway, there are underground tunnels in kansas city.
and there's an annual "groundhog run," where thousands of runners go galloping through these catacombs. i don't know if it's possible to bike it, but i've emailed about it. hopefully, i'll get to. so sweet.
Monday, December 3, 2007
Sunday, December 2, 2007
hot air balloons, orca whales, and luggage
so i had this dream last night.
i apparently was on some sort of class trip to boston with a bunch of people from highschool. we had one more night to stay in the hotel, and then were leaving the next morning. somehow, i managed to get out into the country somewhere between boston and new york.... near the side of the highway. i have no idea what i was doing or how i got there. i had no car, no money, a tiny duffel bag with a towel and several pairs of shoes inside, and my grandpa's miniature hot air balloon (in real life, my grandpa clearly doesn't own a hot air balloon). so i decided i'd just use the balloon to fly to NYC. after all, I could see the ocean, and could vaguely see a city outlined on the horizon, and thought it'd be really easy. once i got there, i though, i could just check into a hotel, stay there for the night, and then fly out of there to return to Kansas City, instead of having to go all the way back to boston for a single night, and then leave from there. it seemed like a good idea at the time.
so i unpacked the balloon, and it turns out it doesn't have a basket at all. just a small strap to put your wrist through, as you clutch the torch-contraption and are carried through the air hanging by one arm. this didn't phase me at all. i cranked up the flame, the balloon inflated, and i took off, without even putting my hand through the strap, just getting carried higher and higher, hanging on for dear life. eventually, i got smarter, and put my hand through. anyway so i am getting closer to the coast, and i realize i have no idea which way to go. there are several cityscapes in the distance, and I don't know which it is. so i drop down real low, skimming the ground basically, and asked two pedestrians "excuse me, but which way to new york city?"
they were apparently unphased by a guy flying a miniature balloon asking them this. one of them pointed out to sea, where this huge orca whale was jumping hundreds of feet in the air and catching fish or birds or something out of the sky. they told me to head in that direction... but make sure to turn left before i get near the whale. so, alright, i say thank you, crank the flame back up, and start rising off towards the ocean. about this time i notice two guys following me, each in some sort of waist-floaty-flying device. i really didn't want them to catch me. so i kept turning the heat up, rising higher in the air and making more and more horizontal progress, leaving them behind. as i looked down at the ocean i could see large things swimming, which was unsettling.
eventually, maybe just to make sure i was going in the right direction, i landed somewhere right outside the city i was approaching. it was a little out-of-the-way vacation town. i proceeded to break into an elderly couple's house, and asked them how to get to NYC. they told me it was 2 miles away, but there was no direct route to get there... one would have to drive far out of the way to jump on the expressway that would take you to the city. no problem, i had a hot air balloon. i went back outside, and started to take off, but i turned the flame too high and caught the balloon fabric itself (an extremely thing plastic) on fire, destroying it. there was a hidden compartment in the bottom of the torch deal, but it only contained spare fuel and a novelty piece of fake bacon. so i went back inside, and started asking leading questions about how long it'd take to drive there, how much a a taxi would cost, etc. they told me that i would first have to drive all the way back to my original point of takeoff to get on the right road! terribly frustrated with myself, i tried to act very forlorn and asked again about how much a taxi would cost.
i guess they got the hint, because they told me to get in the car, and they'd take me there. all of a sudden, i realized the old man was my grandpa; don't ask me why it took me this long to realize this. needless to say, i didn't tell him i'd destroyed his balloon. so, after he made me lock the back door that didn't have a deadbolt handle (i had to jam my finger into the lock mechanism and turn it), we hopped in the car, and he took us to the city via a shortcut that he knew about, driving on this narrow seaside road. so we make it to the city, where i run into my mom. i am telling her about my plans, when i realize that i left two suitcases and some unpacked items in the hotel in boston! so we decide it'd be a better plan to fly back to boston that night, and then leave boston the next morning with all the other highschool kids. so, after cancelling my NYC-KC tickets and paying fines, etc, i ended up getting all the tickets correct, and boarded the plane. as we were waiting to take off for boston, i felt like such an idiot for wasting all this time and money, and for thinking i could effectively pilot a hot air balloon.
also, i had a dream that naomi and i were fighting cause this bitch friend of hers (that she doesn't really have) was trying to convince her to break up with me.... i responded by getting belligerently drunk, spilling beer everywhere, and punching everything in the kitchen. great idea.
i apparently was on some sort of class trip to boston with a bunch of people from highschool. we had one more night to stay in the hotel, and then were leaving the next morning. somehow, i managed to get out into the country somewhere between boston and new york.... near the side of the highway. i have no idea what i was doing or how i got there. i had no car, no money, a tiny duffel bag with a towel and several pairs of shoes inside, and my grandpa's miniature hot air balloon (in real life, my grandpa clearly doesn't own a hot air balloon). so i decided i'd just use the balloon to fly to NYC. after all, I could see the ocean, and could vaguely see a city outlined on the horizon, and thought it'd be really easy. once i got there, i though, i could just check into a hotel, stay there for the night, and then fly out of there to return to Kansas City, instead of having to go all the way back to boston for a single night, and then leave from there. it seemed like a good idea at the time.
so i unpacked the balloon, and it turns out it doesn't have a basket at all. just a small strap to put your wrist through, as you clutch the torch-contraption and are carried through the air hanging by one arm. this didn't phase me at all. i cranked up the flame, the balloon inflated, and i took off, without even putting my hand through the strap, just getting carried higher and higher, hanging on for dear life. eventually, i got smarter, and put my hand through. anyway so i am getting closer to the coast, and i realize i have no idea which way to go. there are several cityscapes in the distance, and I don't know which it is. so i drop down real low, skimming the ground basically, and asked two pedestrians "excuse me, but which way to new york city?"
they were apparently unphased by a guy flying a miniature balloon asking them this. one of them pointed out to sea, where this huge orca whale was jumping hundreds of feet in the air and catching fish or birds or something out of the sky. they told me to head in that direction... but make sure to turn left before i get near the whale. so, alright, i say thank you, crank the flame back up, and start rising off towards the ocean. about this time i notice two guys following me, each in some sort of waist-floaty-flying device. i really didn't want them to catch me. so i kept turning the heat up, rising higher in the air and making more and more horizontal progress, leaving them behind. as i looked down at the ocean i could see large things swimming, which was unsettling.
eventually, maybe just to make sure i was going in the right direction, i landed somewhere right outside the city i was approaching. it was a little out-of-the-way vacation town. i proceeded to break into an elderly couple's house, and asked them how to get to NYC. they told me it was 2 miles away, but there was no direct route to get there... one would have to drive far out of the way to jump on the expressway that would take you to the city. no problem, i had a hot air balloon. i went back outside, and started to take off, but i turned the flame too high and caught the balloon fabric itself (an extremely thing plastic) on fire, destroying it. there was a hidden compartment in the bottom of the torch deal, but it only contained spare fuel and a novelty piece of fake bacon. so i went back inside, and started asking leading questions about how long it'd take to drive there, how much a a taxi would cost, etc. they told me that i would first have to drive all the way back to my original point of takeoff to get on the right road! terribly frustrated with myself, i tried to act very forlorn and asked again about how much a taxi would cost.
i guess they got the hint, because they told me to get in the car, and they'd take me there. all of a sudden, i realized the old man was my grandpa; don't ask me why it took me this long to realize this. needless to say, i didn't tell him i'd destroyed his balloon. so, after he made me lock the back door that didn't have a deadbolt handle (i had to jam my finger into the lock mechanism and turn it), we hopped in the car, and he took us to the city via a shortcut that he knew about, driving on this narrow seaside road. so we make it to the city, where i run into my mom. i am telling her about my plans, when i realize that i left two suitcases and some unpacked items in the hotel in boston! so we decide it'd be a better plan to fly back to boston that night, and then leave boston the next morning with all the other highschool kids. so, after cancelling my NYC-KC tickets and paying fines, etc, i ended up getting all the tickets correct, and boarded the plane. as we were waiting to take off for boston, i felt like such an idiot for wasting all this time and money, and for thinking i could effectively pilot a hot air balloon.
also, i had a dream that naomi and i were fighting cause this bitch friend of hers (that she doesn't really have) was trying to convince her to break up with me.... i responded by getting belligerently drunk, spilling beer everywhere, and punching everything in the kitchen. great idea.
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