In's and Out's

Learning to use a blog reminds me of the time of MySpace... except blogging is so much easier. I just added a few widgets on my page, finally. I like the Google translator the best. Clustrmaps is neat too but I'm not so crazy about displaying my visits... since they're so many *sigh* Anyways, I will definitely be posting some new posts here and there later. This is a hobby I am slowly warming up to. I can see new blogs in my future about all sorts of topics... scuba diving, health, food, saltwater aquariums... idk those are just a few ideas. Now, just to find the time. I leave you with a meme I sent my younger and only brother. LOL

It's a Podcast... attempt lol

Blah, blah, blah... yep I did it! 

Human Skeletal Bones: The Skull

More Science to marvel!

This is a post from one of my subscriptions to Youtube, which is the SourceFed channel. So props to the team over there!

Anyway, one of their videos recently was about the new science research article from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, where they "coaxed" derived skin cells into sperm cells. That's right, crazy cool. Watch the bubbly girls below for more details. And don't forget to hit the like button!

Life: Almost doesn't count... or does it?

Have you seen this yet!? Artificial Jellyfish? No way... yes way!

Okay, if that isn't enough to raise on eyebrow then chew on this for a moment. Dr. Kevin Kit Parker of Harvard University with the help of John Dabiri and Jana Nowroth of the California Institute of Technology, built an artificial jellyfish from RAT heart cells. Oddly enough, this experiment has little to do with jellyfish or rats. Instead the key word here is HEART. In fact, Dr. Parker insists that in maybe a decade at least that the medical community might be using clinical therapies designed from his initial approach. For example, as stated in the article hyperlink on ABC and Nature that this medical technology could be used to replace parts of a human beating heart like heart valves.

Nature.com - Artificial Jellyfish

ABCnews.com - Artificial Jellyfish

Although the pumping Jellfyfish is electrically stimulated and not a "living" organism it's still important to realize that each individual cell on the engineered "MEDUSOID" are living. So bizarre and cool.

Blogging about blogging...

Blog, the portmanteau of "web log" - reverse chronological order of journalism...

The internet is changing the world so fast. For the world of news and journalism it is creating a debate of legal and ethical guidelines. Dana Hull's article in the American Journalism Review, "Blogging between the lines", discusses the legal ethical dilemmas surrounding the blogosphere from a journalist perspective. This article published in 2006, is a very interesting read. I never considered the liability of blogs, especially if you are affiliated with a news organization. The popularity of blogs is the audience ability to respond directly to the writers. This attracts and traffics users indefinitely. No doubt its a new age for journalism. The question is how will the blog's freedom of expression be held legally accountable? Honestly the news and their affiliates should monitor and filter themselves appropriately to preserve their credibility. Opinions are good and should be consistent with the scope of the blog. However, anything promoting hate, prejudice, or severe stereotypes should be averted - it's just ignorant, rude, and inferior (for all the haters out there) lol jk. Oh, and for the trollers and flammers... it's likes the irritating gnats in summer, you can't beat em so ignore em. 

H1B - "The Genius Visa"

Michio Kaku is a theoretical physicist that graduated top student of his class from Harvard. He is well known in the media guest speaking on multiple news stations (CNN, MSN, FOX) and has a regular occurrence on the television channel "The Science Channel". I have found none better to enjoy listening and learning about nearly any academic topic. The man is a genius - not only for his mental flex but his ability to relate complex information into simple comprehension.

Here is a video of an opinion he gives about America's education system and the 'weapon' H1B. You can also watch this second video as he is in debate about America's education system.

"People with great minds talk about ideas, people with average minds talk about events, and people with small minds talk about other people." - Unknown

Password Security Pain

Passwords, passwords, and more passwords. Internet security is frustrating. Not only do I have a different password for every account online but I elect to change them frequently. My college requires frequent password updates and remembers old passwords not to be used again. Passwords are becoming a real pain. ...

First Steps... again

After surgery this is my left foot since February 8th... permanently. The procedure was about 45 minutes while I was under anesthetic for no more than an hour and half. There's a titanium plate on the outside of my left calcaneous bone (heel) and secured in place by 9 titanium screws into the bone. It's been over 5 months and I have almost recovered completely. I'm very optimistic to be back full 100% by the end of 2012. I hardly think about my foot anymore but the metal is a real pain to deal with at airport security.

... Here's the story:

The final weekend of January, with some friends I broke my left foot skateboarding leaping off a 5 foot drop off in a parking lot. I knew immediately that my foot had broke. Stubbornly, I refused to go to the hospital even though I couldn't put my foot at rest on the ground . After several hours of no sleep, growing pain and swelling I decided to go to my Kaiser medical care center to get x-rays. 

The x-rays showed a possible hair-line fracture toward the upper heel region (imagine where the Achilles tendon attaches to the heel bone). The doctor insisted I go to a specialist the next day and ordered me a CT scan on my foot for better results. He mentioned there could be possible surgery because of the location next to the tendon.

 The next day at the Podiatrist office, waiting for what seemed too long, Dr. Tucker leaned through the crack in the door and said, "Hi, I'm Dr. Tucker, I just finished looking and your CT scan and... well, I'm going to finish with this other patient first. You and I need to talk about a lot."

What I learned was that the CT scan (which I have on CD - very cool) showed not only a hair-line fracture but that my heel bone (known as "calcaneus bone") was crushed and split from the top down into, we counted, 7 fractures. Dr. Tucker went on to explain that the nature of the fracture had realigned my heel bone to the ankle joint because the heel bone expanded from impact. Without proper realignment I would never be able to stand again without severe pain. "The calcaneus bone needed to be squeezed back together to realign the joint with the ankle," he said.

 Basically, what he went on to explain was that the surgery was going to place a custom titanium plate and 9 screws on the outside of my left foot to pull the fractured pieces back together and realign the joint properly. I laugh now but that will always be a moment I remember feeling instant regret. I had to spend 2 weeks with my foot raised and then another 6 weeks on crutches. After 8 weeks I began the slow grueling physical therapy. By mid-May I was walking normally.