"what would you attempt to do
if you knew you could not fail?"

- written on a coffee mug sitting atop the towel dispenser in a men's bathroom at Boston Medical Center

Protein synthesis: an epic on the cellular level

Hippies meet Protein Synthesis

This was played in my Biochemistry class today as a surprise. I'm pretty sure my physics teacher from high school played the role of "the T-factor."

One thing you have to wonder - was the puff of smoke symbolic of any energy given off or ATP used, or was it just a byproduct of whatever they were on making the video?

Thanksgiving Tradition:














Yeah, I'll be participating in this one in the next 6 hours.
But while we gather round the table to celebrate the one time American settlers weren't decimating Native American populations with smallpox and guns, I think back... actually not to anything Thanksgiving related, but to this conversation I had with my friends (for anonymity's sake, named N and V in this post) a few weeks ago driving to Rhode Island. This was after N had "caught the flirtatious eye" of a waitress at Friendly's, and us carrying the joke to a whole new level.

V: We have to tell (N's significant other) that he's a hearthrob.
Me: Of course. Don't you remember that N was a teen hearthrob on that show on TV. What was it?
N: You know, that popular teen drama show.
V: Laguna Beach.
N: That's the one.
Me: And before that,you were on Beverley Hills: 90210 playing the cute kid brother.
N: Yeah, I was a child star too.
Me: What did you do with all the money you made as a child star?
N: Spent it on crack.
V: No hookers?
N: No, they just came to me.
Me: Yeah, why spend anything if you could get it for free?
N: Exactly.

And finally, they lied to you about those Pilgrims and their adventures. Stupid Hooflin-Mifflin history books.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Can you ever understand how it feels to live your life with no meaning or control, and with nowhere left to go, and then see people who have all those things in their lives? You're amazed that they exist and they burn so bright while you can only wonder, "why?" And then someone tells you you're one of them?

When the Hell did going to grad school become part of a "driven, organized life?"

Return to Form: aka more random thoughts.

A homeless/drunk/schizophrenic (pick one, I don't care) was sitting at the back of the bus during my morning commute saying a very loud, and very chauvinistic prayer. According to him, I'm a part of the "sodomites, nuclear terrorists, homosexuals, and pedophiles" ruining the country and driving it down to Satan because I'm an immigrant. Well, glad to know I'm a vessel of the devil.

My friend Robert does work with the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center, a think tank dedicated to combatting the spread of strategic weapons and limiting current stockpiles. That's the good news - such a group exists. The bad news: they're realizing the IAEA has a lack of candor about what their job is supposed to be. For more information on why the fallout shelter might go back in style, visit these critiques 1) and 2) at the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center.

My president is a Fish.

Also, I'm beginning to believe Deus ex Machinas fall from the sky for the angels' entertainment.

Haven't posted in a while.
a) I'm a bad blogger
b) I have a life outside of the Internet
c) I'm lazy
d) Two of these choices are correct
e) All of these choices are correct.

AP has just announced Americacoma. Tell me America, how do you feel?
"Groggy, and like my legs have atrophied. What's been going on since I lost consciousness?"
We've been in Iraq for 3 years, Iran and North Korea are emboldened to gain nuclear weapons, global warming's gonna kick our ass, and we pissed our surplus to give money back to the rich.
"Okay.... what else is new?"
The Red Sox and White Sox have won a pennant.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! PUT ME BACK TO SLEEP!"























In the meantime, more self-professed evangelical Christian American voters voted for the Democratic Party in this election than ever before this decade. Which makes sense now realizing that Karl Rove probably could make Satan his bitch.

What does it say when the highlight of my day is riding on an illegally-overcrowded bus (Damn you MBTA! You win again T!) and falling off into a puddle, and the only reason why that was the highlight of my day was in attracted the sympathy of a cute girl in my lab? Yeah I thought so.

I'll write more later. Promise.
In the meantime just read an article I've written prior to the election and look at a picture of my friend dressed as Raskolnikov from Crime and Punishment for Halloween. (Yes, he still is my friend.)

It's official. I categorized myself.

Pure Nerd 86 % Nerd, 34% Geek, 47% Dork

For The Record: A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia. A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one. A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions. You scored better than half in Nerd, earning you the title of: Pure Nerd. The times, they are a-changing. It used to be that being exceptionally smart led to being unpopular, which would ultimately lead to picking up all of the traits and tendences associated with the "dork." No-longer. Being smart isn't as socially crippling as it once was, and even more so as you get older: eventually being a Pure Nerd will likely be replaced with the following label: Purely Successful. Congratulations! Also, you might want to check out some of my other tests if you're interested in any of the following: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Professional Wrestling Love & Sexuality America/Politics Thanks Again! -- THE NERD? GEEK? OR DORK? TEST

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 99% on nerdiness You scored higher than 99% on geekosity You scored higher than 99% on dork points

Link: The Nerd? Geek? or Dork? Test written by donathos on OkCupid, home of the The Dating Persona Test

I try so hard for beaver too.

Reading Headlines as if I was guest-hosting the Daily Show.

Been a while since my last post. And thanks to Exam Week, will probably be another while.
Even though I feel like I'm in Hell and am just recovering from stress-induced frequent urination, I still like this better than midterms at the U of C.

So a runthrough of the headlines today.

1) It doesn't pay to be a Yankees fan this postseason. My condolences to Cory Liddle's family and friends, and to Larry David.

Why Larry David?
Let's take this quote from one of my favorite episodes of Seinfeld, and think of Larry David speaking George's lines:

Cushman: I gotta tell you, you are the complete opposite of every applicant we've seen. Mr. Steinbrenner, sir. There's someone here I'd like you to meet. This is Mr. Costanza. He is one of the applicants.
Steinbrenner: Nice to meet you.
George Costanza: Well, I wish I could say the same, but I must say, with all due respect, I find it very hard to see the logic behind some of the moves you have made with this fine organization. In the past twenty years, you have caused myself, and the city of New York, a good deal of distress as we have watched you take our beloved Yankees and reduced them to a laughing stock, all for the glorification of your massive ego.
Steinbrenner: Hire this man!

Unfortunately, I don't think this is how Torre got to keep his job.












2) First "South Park" was on the dot about Mel Gibson. Now it seems Team America: World Report was right about Kim Jong Il and the UN's call for swift action and its lack of impact on Pyongyang or it's march for nuclear status or call for unwanted attention (except the puppet thing, as far as I can tell). What's next, underpants gnomes are for real? Saddam has a gay thing for Satan...wait a minute....?


3) So there's a major Washington ethics scandal involving the influence peddling of former superlobbyist Jack Abramoff, 650.000 Iraqis have died since 2003, the National Intelligence Estimate concluded the Iraq war was exacerbating the Islamic terrorist threat by fueling resentment toward the United States and providing a training ground for terrorist recruits, the large deficits thanks to the Iraq War and the tax cuts, Katrina, and the basic lack of environmental or ethical oversight. And the only reason why there is a chance of upseating one of the most uncontrolled, fundamentalist group of politicians ever to have the majority in Congress is because of one horny Republican closeted gay congressman who didn't realize emails can still be hard evidence in Ethics Committee hearings.

Not to belittle Democrats, because I align most of time with them when the choices are weak-willed intellectuals or madmen, but if and when the Democrats have a majority in a house of Congress, they're going to have to address the important issues which weren't fully annunciated in this midterm election, because the media cares about this damn pointless sex scandal. I know a win is a win and Democrats should take what they can get, but this is ridiculous.

Should I be happy that this is how Republicans fall from grace? Not really. Especially because this just confirms the whole "family values is the only issue" theory.

That Hobbesian state is looking better all the time.

4) Well, at least Fox News is doing they're best to belittle the Foley scandal for what it is.

5) And finally, if you feel the Earth wobble, that means we're all doomed. If you're a mammal.
But you knew that anyway.

Alright back to the books. See you when I feel like procrastinating again.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Note to Reader: The author's brain is mush from rote memorization before a Biochemistry exam. His Humbuckers are offline.

Ever have one of those days where you're sitting in a room reading a passage on hemoglobin, or just walking down the street on a rainy day, and you stop... and start to wonder -
"How did I get down to this street? How did I get to this chapter in the textbook? Basically, you may ask yourself-well...how did I get here?"

And you cue the 80s music. And you remember the phrase Talking Heads is more than Chris Matthews and Bill O'Reilly using their massive foreheads to intimidate guests.

So you have to remind myself:

I was born on October 21, 1983, at least that's what my parents tell me.

I would have been happy to go to an ordinary school, receive an ordinary education, make ordinary friends, and live an ordinary life...

But my parents had me take an advanced placement test in kindergarten, and not knowing the trouble it would cause, I naturally tried my very best, was labelled ADVANCED for the next years of my life in the primary school system, and was immediately shipped to the best schools in Kentucky...

Then when that got expensive, my parents transferred me to the best magnet school in the state, which furthered my resume-padding that America now applauds...

And sent me to one of the best academic institutions, where I realized that being blindfolded and in a dark cave wouldn't have been so bad if Socrates wasn't a little pederastic whiny bitch...

I would've been happy with an ordinary girlfriend, having an ordinary job, living an ordinary life. Teenage romance is the same thing. But somehow I always want the girls out of my reach - too pretty, too sexy, too psychotic, too much of an econ major...

Somehow I want the jobs and accomplishments that aren't befitting ordinary people, but an ordinary life looks so peaceful from up here in the tower...

Which leads you here, walking down the street, reading about the Bohr effect and which histidine residues are the main effectors on hemoglobin, on a rainy day, letting the days go by, and the water flowing underground.

And you cue the 80s music. And you remember the phrase Talking Heads is more than Chris Matthews and Bill O'Reilly using their massive foreheads to intimidate guests.

Seems like a logical day, right?

On a lighter note, we're closer to achieving a Leviathan state, one basically where we've just sold out our ideals for freedom and equality to all men for "security" of just "American citizens". Hobbes bless us, everyone.

What's A Former Soviet Republic To Do?

Relatively short random thought today, but I saw a commercial from the Kazakh government. It's message? "Kazakhstan. Ever wonder?"

Sasha Baron Cohen, you're a genius in so many ways.

The Science of Meep


Science has eaten my life. Working out at the gym, I think about what type of muscles I’m using and can actually picture the sarcomeres aligning together for the contraction, the triads releasing calcium so that the actin and myosin filaments can come together. I bit into a piece of chicken and thought what would this have looked like fixated underneath a microscope instead of frozen and deep fried. I look at a party and realize all my friends have inherited the mutant gene which improperly encodes aldehyde dehydrogenase, causing a malfunction in their metabolism of alcohol. I realize that this is the path to becoming a Mad Scientist, but I'd be in good company...

Besides, I have promised a couple of friends to turn them into cyborgs in 50 years when their original body parts fail some of them.

Conservatives dislike the poor. Liberals dislike the ignorant. Me, I'm not prejudice. I usually dislike everyone.

I've been meaning to avoid turning this into a political blog, but today, as more people in the Med Campus lounge paid attention to T.O. overdosing than say... the presidents of Pakistan and Afghanistan having a momentous meeting at the White House and driving the course of the War on Terrorism, or say a mad gunman taking a Colorado high school hostage, I'm finding it hard not to political, or to stop reading the editorials before the sports or funny pages. The more I'm concerned about the state of our country, the more I guess I want to be informed. Aristotle was right... not about the sun revolving around the earth thing, but that man is a political animal.

Yet our media is supesaturated with sensationalist "personal" stories concerning those poor celebrities who just can't be understood. (Drudge Report, I lost faith in you during the Terri Schiavo shit-tacular news coverage. FoxNews, we were never that close.) While a piece of my heart does go to every child who falls into a well or every multi-million dollar wide-receiver who gets depressed, can I go one day with Paris Hilton or Lindsay Lohan acting... demur? Can't they do that one day so the rest of us can focus on the fact the world's going to shit?

And I end on a sad note: there are some days it just doesn't pay to be male.

I actually asked an intelligent question about the Michaelis-Menten equation in class today. If you’ve never heard of it consider yourself blessed from the madness.

While on the Central time zone,

It’s O-Week at the University of Chicago. Right now thousands of matriculating first-year college students there are being lulled into a false sense of fun and merriment. How do I know?

The website on my friend's AIM away message:

NO-week

Actually, my years in Chicago were the best time of my life. No, not emotionally, psychologically or sexually, but where else can I have conversations about Star Wars and existentialism without going to a Comic-con?

Godspeed, Unit Kiersz. Godspeed!

Why I write (aka what didn't fit in my damn 500 character limit profile)...

Because a honeybee flaps its wings in five milliseconds and the average American’s attention span is becoming shorter than that. Because we want to read insightful passages of literature only if they’re based on the movie. Because great speeches like the Gettysburg Address would today be reduced to five second soundbite on TV, followed by a techno remix on YouTube. Because as Bart Simpson eloquently phrased it – “T.V. ruined my imagination and my ability to ummmm, well uh....you know,” and I’ve watched a lot of TV in my life. So before I become banal like the rest of society and get run over because I saw a shiny object on the freeway, I’m dedicated to writing down my thoughts and events of the day (be them random or slightly random) simply because to better ourselves is to think… before I forget.

Today is my sister’s birthday. I sent her a text message. She hasn’t responded yet, so I don’t know if she got it, she appreciated it, or if she’s still alive.

I don't think she'd appreciate her future birthdays being the anniversary of the Thai Coup d'etat of 2006 (I hand it to Wikiphiles for naming this event faster than the media). The government of Thailand was overthrown in a bloodless military coup today, and actually most of the Thais and the King of Thailand supported it. Crazy that people prefer a military dictatorship over an unpopular, albeit-democratically elected government?

I remember my class on “State, Society and Democratization in Southeast Asia,” which summated that there are a variety of socio-and structural reasons dependent on each country-case that came down to one basic axiom - democracy doesn’t work in Southeast Asia. I don’t know what to think about Thailand, but hey, its instability has so far contributed to the Philippine economy growing. My 6-digit inheritance in Philippine pesos is now worth 4-digits in U.S. dollars.

I have a weird way of flirting. It's more noticeable if I demonstrate it in person. At least its not a handicap for me.