Thursday, August 21, 2008

Jesus Christ to star in Next Series of Batman!

Fitness:
So I've been working on well,.. working out. I've decided that staying in school for most of my life, graduating, and then dying of a heart attack is probably not the best thing. So I've been taking advantage of the Fitness Center on campus and am joining the rowing crew. Since all of my classes end at 5pm, I have enough time to actually do something healthy. I've been walking to 2/3rds of my classes and playing tennis regularly too. Hopefully I can keep this up.
Classes:
Quantitative Analysis: Taught by Dr. George (who happens to be a real character), this class is typically a tough class at most universities. What I hear about Dr. George is that he has almost no expectations of the students--and typically covers half of the course's material. I've been reading from the book some, but it's a really painful book. Worse than a math book. Imagine accounting for the compounded percentage error of 4ml of water in a 10ml graduated cylinder, and calculating it down to the sixth or seventh decimal place. The lab for this course is taught by Dr. Weimer, a real intense Ph.D. from MIT. I think the lab component will be a relapse of my elementary organic from two years ago. Ick.
Western Civilization: Dr. Isbell who recently returned from Afghanistan is a real fun guy to learn from. So far we've learned about some really interesting stuff--how man has colonized the earth and the advancement of writing/culture/religion/etc. I've picked out a term paper topic too-- "Biotechnological advancement, specifically that involving the production of Beer, was integral to the success of early human societies." Hey, it's about Beer and the rise of man; what's not to love? I'm really excited about the progression of this course.
Psychology: We've only had one meeting in this class so far. It's taught by Dr. Seemann who says it's his favorite class to teach. We have a PASS leader in this class too (What I was doing for a job last semester). This should be another interesting class.
Cell and Developmental Biology: Dr. Davis teaches this one. She has a teaching style that is much similar to mine so you can always find her asking "Why?". So far the class has been a drag and I wish I could just fast forward through lecture. And the labs, Uggh, bad microscopes and incompetent biology majors make it worse than pulling teeth. It's going to be another semester of me taking over to get the lab done I fear.
Cicada:
I happened upon a Cicada going through ecdysis as I was returning to my residence hall yesterday. I was surprised of its coloration--white and pink! Such a drag that after 7-26 years in the ground that it will only have a month or two to fly and mate. Here are a few pictures I snagged of the whole process:

Power of Threes:
At one point in elementary school our art teacher, Mrs. Carden, told us that the number three was very visually appealing. That the subliminal mind prefers seeing things in odd numbers--like three--over even numbers. I sometimes find myself obsessed with trying to fit things into threes. Anytime I'm making a comparison or argument I'll tend to give three points. I can't help but do it. Is anyone else like this?

Until next time,
Andrew

4 comments:

Haley Wolfe said...

I do have some OCD-type stuff with numbers, but I tend to favor evens.

And that cicada makes me think of the Alien movies. I wonder how many people actually get to witness a cicada birth in their lifetime. Maybe a lot of people do, but then a thousand cicada larvae come bursting out of their stomaches a few weeks later. :)

V said...

Ergh, bad night. Long story. I'll tell you about it some time. I was unpleased.

Haley Wolfe said...

Great website. I added it to my Beloved Links.

Haley Wolfe said...

You should Google Jill Bolte Taylor. I'm watching one of her interviews as hw for my health class. She's a brain scientist who had a stroke herself, and everything she says is so cool.