Boyumblog

Will and Grace

2007-03-03T22:58:00.000-06:00

So I just finished Season 3 of "Will & Grace." And of course, like most good shows, it's not like the season ended in a cliffhanger. So, I was very much looking forward to be able to skip right to the first episode of season 4, which I quickly found out was in Italian, courtesy of Mininova.org.

Now I'm not watching the 4th season of Will & Grace, so I guess I'll write some in my blog.

Which brings up the obvious question: what the hell is new in my life?

This calls for a list.

#1. I've fallen hard for Will & Grace. Belly laughs at every turn. "The only reason we hate gay people is because it's in right now. We hate gays, we hate evolution... it's like a new Age of Enlightenment."

#2. Belly... ew. I'm clocking in at an all-time high, 167 lbs. I'm going to the gym. They must make a machine for this. (Can't wait for the pill...)

#3. Becoming Martha Stewart. I think I'm getting good at this. I cooked dinner for a couple friends a few weeks ago (it wasn't even Easy Mac), and now I'm going to have a genetics homework marathon at my apartment. It may not sound sexy, but let me tell you...

#4. Concerts. It's wonderful to live in a city that is actually on "the tour schedule." Bob Saget (not to be confused with Danny Tanner) at the beginning of February - that was a fantastic night. Upcoming are Billy Joel in April and Damien Rice in May.

#5. Studying. Yup, some of that, too. Genetics, immunology, histology, physiology, and microbiology.

#6. World of Warcraft, next in my search for video games that I can't beat in a week. Let's just say that it's been much longer than that, and the $15/month I pay them is used to add even more onto it. Good game, if you find you have tons of free time (which I do, of course, being in medical school).

#7. Taking an elective on Health & Human Rights, which you'd think would go hand in hand, until you learn about the "doctors" at Abu Graihb (probably misspelled) and Guantanamo Bay.

#8. Research. Putting together a research proposal for this summer, so I can make some $$ to afford to stay in school. That would be good.

... OK, that makes my life sound boring. It's actually not. Honest.

The monthly blog.

2006-12-02T13:56:00.000-06:00

Well, we're out of power again in St. Louis. This is really starting to suck. Twice in the past 5 months my power has gone out for more than 24 hours. Last time was 71 hours. Honestly. I was counting down the time until I could say, "Hey, my power's been out for 3 days." Then, one hour before the big anniversary, I felt a cool blast of air conditioning that felt like diving into the lake after a sauna.

I swear that the electric company has a sinister plan behind these outages. The outage in July happened to fall on one of the hottest weeks in the year. Most days it was 95+ degrees during the outage. Suddenly now, the power goes out and the weather drops from the 50's and 60's to the 10's and 20's. It's like Ameren is saying, "See how much your life sucks without our product?" Meanwhile, I shiver and take a bath by splashing water on my hair and face, and by that point say, "OK, that's enough. The deodorant will take care of the rest."

The inconveniences don't stop there. I've been put in the unfortunate position of having to do laundry, read, and study today as opposed to what I truly should be doing -- playing World of Warcraft, watching Futurama, and going to our class Christmas party (which of course means getting schnockered, stumbling home, and falling asleep on the couch in my Christmas sweater). Of course, going to the Christmas party requires shaving and showering, the costs of which outweigh the benefit of going to it -- for a few reasons. (1) I have never shaved with a non-electric razor, and I don't want to show up to the party with tissue on my face. (2) Shaving with an electric razor in public just makes you look like a hobo. (3) Not shaving and showing up at a cocktail party makes you look like a hobo. (4) Taking a cold shower in a cold apartment makes me feel like a hobo that happened to catch a break and get into a luxurious bachelor pad.

Something I found...

2006-09-05T21:41:00.000-05:00

OK. Here's something that should make you mad.

WHY ARE DRUGS SO EXPENSIVE? Answer: They're more expensive than you think.

If you asked someone on the street, they'd tell you it's because it takes pharmaceutical companies a long time--and a lot of money--to find a drug that treats a particular illness and is safe for use in humans. This is exactly the excuse pharmaceutical companies use too. When I started reading this article, I threw out a ballpark estimate percentage of the pharmaceutical research funding that was paid for by government dollars. I remember reading a few years ago in Parade magazine that 70% was PRIVATELY funded, so 30% came to mind right away. I said to myself, "maybe 50%." Then, not wanting to be overzealous, I backed off, coming to my final prediction of "25-50%".

I was way off.

OK, first of all think about what you pay in taxes. If the government says, "Because you spent this much on X thing, you don't have to pay taxes on that much of your income." That's a tax deduction. You pay tax on your income minus the amount you spent on X. That's NOT what pharmaceutical companies get. According to ?U.S.tax code, pharmaceutical companies get a tax CREDIT for their R&D expenditures. Thus, if they spend X dollars on R&D, at the end of the year they save X dollars in taxes. Now, pharmaceutical companies can claim tax credits for AT LEAST 50% of their R&D expenditures. This means that this tax rebate alone accounts for greater than or equal t0 50% of all the dollars spent on drug design studies, randomized clinical trials, etc. etc. Pharmaceutical companies are now paying for 50% or less of their "major" cost.

Second, the NIH. (NAtional Institutes of Health). The NIH funds well-designed studies that have anything remotely to do with physiology or medicine. Its budget is set by Congress and comes from the taxes that you and I pay. Research and development efforts undertaken by pharmaceutical companies are fundable by NIH dollars. Really fundable. ~10% of its annual budget fundable. The NIH budget fell off by ~$5 billion last year, but hopefully will rise to pre-2005 levels thanks to some good bipartisan legislation, back to ~$24 billion. So, each year that means that $2.4 billion IN ADDITION TO the tax credit finds its way from the federal government's coffers to the pockets of pharmaceutical companies.

So, the next time you're picking up the prescription at WalMart, look at the price tag. And add about 4 billion dollars. That's how much we're all really paying for drugs in the US.

--The source, for those who're interested...---
Within the medical/health industry, no sector receives better treatment under the tax code than the pharmaceutical industry. Federal tax credits include the Research and Experimentation Tax Credit, the Orphan Drug Tax Credit and the Possessions Tax Credit. A 1999 study conducted by the Congressional Research Service noted that between 1990 and 1996, just one tax credit alone saved drug companies $13 billion in federal taxes.23 A tax credit, which is a dollar-for-dollar reduction on taxes, is substantially more lucrative than a tax deduction. The Research and Experimentation Tax Credit allows a pharmaceutical company to reduce its tax obligation on a dollar-for-dollar basis by claiming a tax credit equal to at least 50 percent of the R&D expended by the company during the year.24 In other words, this tax credit alone publicly subsidizes 50 percent of all R&D research. Because of these tax credits, the pharmaceutical industry is the least taxed industry in the country.25 Families USA sums up the industry’s tax situation as follows:
Because research-related tax credits are reported along with other tax credits as “general business tax credits,” there are no publicly available data showing the exact amount of tax relief that the industry receives for its investment in research. However, the effect of tax credits is clear. In 1999, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) studied industry taxation for the years 1990 to 1996. CRS found that the drug industry was taxed relatively lightly; total tax credits, many related to research investments, lowered the industry’s effective tax rate from 35.2 percent to 17.1 percent. Given the favorable tax treatment of R&D, it is unlikely that the industry would turn to R&D first for spending reductions.26
Given the fact that the pharmaceutical industry is the most profitable industry in the country, it is ironic that its 16 percent tax rate is lower than that imposed on middle class Americans, who generally pay tax rates between 30 percent and 40 percent, or the average American business, which generally pays a federal tax of approximately 27 percent.27
In addition to tax credits, the pharmaceutical industry receives additional public tax dollars from federal medical organizations such as the National Institutes of Health (“NIH”). In 1950, the NIH had a total appropriation of $43 million.28 By 1998, the NIH received an appropriation of $13.6 billion.29 Congress subsequently committed to double the budget of the NIH between 1998 and 2003.30 By 2002, NIH’s budget was almost $24 billion.31 The majority of NIH funding -- pproximately 80 percent -- is awarded to research centers and universities; ten percent of NIH funding is used for research conducted by the NIH itself.32 At least one study of the 21 most important drugs introduced between 1965 and 1992 concluded that publicly funded research played a significant role in the development of 14 of the drugs.33 The NIH examined the top five selling drugs in 1995, each of which had over $1 billion in sales, and concluded that taxpayer funded researchers conducted 55 percent of the published research projects on these drugs.34 It also concluded that federal taxes also paid for approximately 30 percent of the published research of foreign academic institutions which participated in the development of these drugs.35

Entertaining, but not earth-shattering

2006-07-24T23:08:00.000-05:00

M. Night Shymanaialainan has given us another Signs. That is, an MNS movie that you usually don't think about or particularly remember because of its mediocrity.

Lady in the Water was a satisfying enough movie, as was Signs. The characters were well contrived, humorous, archetypal, all that good stuff. The movie was entertaining, as well; Giamatti did perform excellently -- assuring us that he's going to be the next $50 million superstar. MNS portrayed one of the main characters, and it's at that point you realize why he's usually BEHIND the camera... because he sure as heck doesn't belong in front of it.

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Which brings me to what was WRONG with the movie -- and it's all in the writing. The basic principle of M. Night Shaymanyanmlan movies in the past has been that intervention by some supernatural force has changed the outcome of current events for the better. Even in Signs, the near-death ramblings of the preacher's wife allow humanity to defeat the alien menace. However, when watching LitW, you quickly realize that the only reason for the Lady's coming is... so that they can allow an eagle to come and take her away again? In her wake, she leaves nothing changed. Shaymamlalmyan's character (the writer) still publishes the book he was going to publish anyway, and we can assume that the future stays exactly the way it would have even if she hadn't come.

So, why the hell make a movie about a fairie coming to do nothing but cry and take showers? All good questions.

Well..., you ask me, what SHOULD have happened?

I had a great plan for the end of the movie, complete with an MNS-esque twist. Unfortunately, this movie was like Signs in that there was no twist at all. Of course, my version called for an evil Narf and the writer choosing to burn the manuscript after he finds out he'll be killed for it. After all, what's worth dying for? Some kid he'll never meet becoming president? That's awful self-sacrificing of the guy.

Thing is, I couldn't stand that at the end of the movie everyone was exactly the same as at the beginning. Nothing - changed. I guess maybe they had to get a new tenant for 13B. But that's about it.

--------------------

What I DID enjoy this weekend was getting my electricity back. Now I'm cleaning up and getting ready for my inspection tomorrow (what inspection? I don't know... they just posted something on my door today). I suppose just electrical wiring and stuff like that. Then I'm off for the library to get some more work done on this project -- we should have a manuscript done by the fall, which will be super sweet! Then next week I start Wash U Medical Plunge (WUMP) and will be busy shadowing public health officials, working in free clinics, doing the med student thing!! The week after is orientation, and then -- MED SCHOOL STARTS! I can't believe it's almost that time already.

Anyway, it's 11:30 and I'm already bushed. So I'll post more later. Take care everyone.

48 Hours

2006-07-21T17:35:00.000-05:00

I'm just waiting for CBS to sue me for copyright violation. Let them try. I'll flee to Canada and live with the Canucks for a while.

Coming up on 48 hours with no electricity. In fact, in a shake-your-head-in-dismay-type twist, the short storm we had this morning took down ANOTHER power line next to my place. Because it fell into the street the intersection will be blocked off until the electric company gets around to fixing it.

Needless to say, I'm somewhat skeptical about getting electricity back anytime soon. The electric company was saying 72 hours, but if I'm watching DVDs by Monday or Tuesday I'll be happy.

So..................... until then................................. not too much .... to do....... Maybe write a ... uh... that novel I've been workin' on...... for, um, two years now............. make the main character a little bit more three-dimensional........ add in a little, um, a little personal experience............. Oh, I can't wait to read it.

I did have a brilliant recollection this afternoon - "Hey," I said to myself, "Lady in the Water premieres today." Of course, I've been looking forward to M. Night Shymaalailalaiynan's newest thriller for quite some time. Now, I know what you're all saying... "Two words, Boyum, The - Village." OK. The Village was worse than The Birds (see prior post for my feelings on that crapcake of a movie). But M. Night Shyyamayliyanalyian has had to live with that disgrace for two years. Now, he must realize that he has to make another GOOD movie like Unbreakable or The Sixth Sense to escape from it. And, come now, with a star like Paul Giamatti it's hard to go wrong.

As long as he plays a mopey guy, Giamatti is superb. I mean, it's hard to get more neurotic than Miles, his character in Sideways. Even in The Truman Show, in which his role called for more eating than speaking, he managed to portray the image that he was nothing but Ed Harris's bitch. So... I'll see how he does playing an average guy with no college buddies around played by Thomas Hayden Church. Should get interesting.

Picture 1: Mopey Giamatti in American Splendor,
Picture 2: Mopey Giamatti in The Truman Show,
Picture 3: Mopey Giamatti in Sideways...

Man, thinking about Paul Giamatti in Truman Show made me hungry for some pizza. So, whup, see ya later.

The Irony...

2006-07-20T15:49:00.000-05:00

In perhaps the most ironic move in my recent life, yesterday about 4 hours before the storm, Netflix shipped me my first 3 DVD rentals. They arrived this afternoon.

1. Being John Malkovich
2. Syriana
3. The Game

When I got the email that they had been delivered, I said to myself, "Yes! I can't wait to watch them." Oh ... wait...

Well, I guess I'll enjoy them that much more when the power comes back on.

Power Outage

2006-07-20T14:59:00.000-05:00

Well, no power expected for around 5 days, according to the newspaper this morning. 500,000 are without electricity today in St. Louis county. Worst storm to hit St. Louis in recent history, 80 mi/hr straight-line winds and all. Of course, this must be a resounding "WELCOME!" just for me. I'm like the Jonah of Missouri.

So I'm sticking around the hospital today (they have power, internet access, and AC, 3 things I don't). Later I have to go home and throw out 2 dozen eggs, half a gallon of milk, a 6 lb bag of chicken breasts and a box of 8 sirloin tip steaks. Dammit. :^(

BUT... I'm thankful. One high-rise downtown was taken down on top of Eads Bridge, trapping some people on the bridge during the storm. Some people were injured at the Cards game and had to be hospitalized. Long story short, it could have been much, much worse.

Disaster!

2006-07-20T14:58:00.001-05:00

Tomorrow, tomorrow, you're only a day away

2006-06-29T20:29:00.000-05:00

Well, I'm taking a day off tomorrow to move into my new place. Ha haaa! I'm really excited - mostly to get out of this dump of a dorm. I don't mean that, it's a nice dorm, but people steal things like frying pans and spoonulas. Darn people.

My parents are bringing a load (and I mean, a FULL load) of crap down to me from home. I shouldn't say that, I'll hurt my best friend's feelings. The 'rents are staying in Wisconsin tonight and finishing the trip tomorrow morning, probably arriving sometime in the afternoon. We'll see, I guess. Then I have to take the various pieces of my bed from the truck, up three flights of stairs, into my new apartment. Then, assemble them into, you know, a bed. Should be fun. I hope to save the rest of my junk until my friend Nick gets back from a camping trip Sunday and has been nice enough to help me move some stuff in. Good ol' friends.

Of course, my parents are convinced that everything will be stolen out of the truck in the 48 hour interim.

But the streets of St. Louis seem to be a mite safer than the medical school dormitory in that regard.

Work is progressing - I actually collected my first data today. Further excitement. It's only a matter of time until the Nobel committee comes calling.

in memoriam - RIP spoonula

My second purchase...

2006-06-24T22:18:00.000-05:00

I love craigslist. Two nightstands/end tables for next to the sofa.

It's miiinneee.... all miiinnnee....

2006-06-23T10:34:00.000-05:00

It took some time to find the perfect picture to accompany this announcement.

"Hoo-ray!"

Just get off the stage, George...

2006-06-22T11:36:00.000-05:00

!!!IRONY ALERT!!!

---

"It should make people nervous when non-transparent regimes, that have announced that they've got nuclear warheads, fire missiles," Bush said. "This is not the way you conduct business in the world. This is not the way that peaceful nations conduct their affairs."

Enser, et al. "Bush warns North Korea." CNN.com, Wednesday, June 21, 2006.

Khouch!!

2006-06-22T11:03:00.000-05:00

I just have to hope that none of the 3 other people who emailed to buy the sofa picks it up in the next 10 days. If they do, I am going to look something like this:

My first piece of new furniture...

2006-06-21T23:43:00.000-05:00

I (almost) bought my very own fold-out couch tonight on Craigslist. $60. I feel like I'm a grown up. Scary.

Now I just have to wait to get an email back to make sure no one bought it before I did (which was an hour after it was posted). Then it's mine, all miinneee...

Rochester, Take Two

2006-06-20T22:11:00.000-05:00

Well, work is picking up, so at least I'll have something to occupy me for the next few weeks. :)

On a different front, my mom and dad are in Rochester again. This time, it was planned (Thank God). Anyway, my dad had to have the broken bone in his shoulder removed when we were at Mayo in March. When they did that, he didn't do too well. -- had to have a transfusion and IV meds to keep his blood pressure up. Then in the middle of his first night post-op he spiked a huge fever and -- needless to say it was a bad few days. For the past 8 weeks, more or less, he's been on IV antibiotics daily. Now they're going to replace the shoulder joint with an implant.

That happens Thursday. I'm just hoping that things go well this time. Of course, there isn't any reason to think they won't, I'm just a pessimistic person. You all know that. Think happy thoughts, everyone. I will too.

From "Johnny Got His Gun"

2006-06-18T21:55:00.000-05:00

He thought here you are Joe Bonham lying like a side of beef all the rest of your life and for what? Somebody tapped you on the shoulder and said come along son we're going to war. So you went.

But why? In any other deal even like buying a car or running an errand you had the right to say what's there in it for me? Otherwise you'd be buying bad cars for too much money or running errands for fools and starving to death. It was a kind of duty you owed yourself that when anybody said come on son do this or do that you should stand up and say look mister why should I do this for who am I doing it and what am I going to get out of it in the end? But when a guy comes along and says here come with me and risk your life and maybe die or be crippled why then you've got no rights. You haven't even the right to say yes or no or I'll think it over. There are plenty of laws to protect guys' money even in war time but there's nothing on the books says a man's life's his own.

Of course a lot of guys were ashamed. Somebody said let's go out and fight for liberty and so they went and got killed without ever once thinking about liberty. And what kind of liberty were they fighting for anyway? How much liberty and whose idea of liberty? Were they fighting for the liberty of eating free ice cream cones all their lives or for the liberty of robbing anybody they pleased whenever they wanted to or what? You tell a man he can't rob and you take away some of his liberty. You've got to. What the hell does liberty mean anyhow? It's just a word like house or table or any other word. Only it's a special kind of word. A guy says house and he can point to a house to prove it. But a guy says come on let's fight for liberty and he can't show you liberty. He can't prove the thing he's talking about so how in the hell can he be telling you to fight for it?

Written in 1939. by Dalton Trumbo

Indy 4...

2006-06-18T20:54:00.000-05:00

Found two good prospective titles for the next Indiana Jones movie, seeing as (a) Harrison Ford is 64 and (b) George Lucas has set the production back 4 years already...

Indiana Jones and the -- Oh Sh*t, Harrison Ford is Dead

OR

Indiana Jones and the Fountain of Youth.

PS. Comments are back.

Apartment ... never mind

2006-06-14T16:11:00.000-05:00

OK, all. Sorry to do this, but I had to sign a lease today.

I decided to go with a University-owned apartment over in University City, a suburb of St. Louis out towards the airport. I do value people's input, just this seemed a great steal, so I went with it.

Long story short, this is a great apartment. Hardwood floors. A little on the small side, 670 square feet, but "it uses it well". The bedroom is 10-1/2' x 14'. It has a separate living and dining rooms, both around 12' x 13'. The kitchen is a little bit smaller but still good sized at 8' x 9-1/2'. The kitchen has a little pantry off to one side. There's also a linen closet by the bathroom and a regular-sized closet in the bedroom.

So, I guess that's the end of my apartment adventure for now. And, come hell or high water, I'm not going to be moving for at least 4 years. Seriously. Not going to do it.

Boyumbug

2006-06-12T12:41:00.000-05:00

Sorry. Sorry. Couldn't resist.

I'm home today with a bad cough and sore throat that has been coming on all weekend. So, I didn't get to golfing Saturday or Shakespeare in the Park Sunday, which I had planned on doing. Today I'm just playing it cool and doing some of the last background reading I should have to do for a while with this research project.

Second apartment tour today at 4:00. I'll let you all know how that goes.

Well, I'm off to get a little lunch.

Apartment #1...

2006-06-09T16:46:00.000-05:00

OK. Here's the plan. For those of you faithful readers, I'm going to give you an opportunity to help me choose an apartment in St. Louis. I'll give as much info as I can from my tours, and you guys will be able to vote for the apartment of your choice. If I can get some pictures scanned, I will let you guys see those too before the end.

This isn't exactly Apartment #1, but it is at the same time. I should have had a tour of the "Reserve at Forest Park" yesterday, but no one showed up. Then, I found out I was sitting in front of the wrong building - I guess the person I spoke to on the phone had given me the wrong address, or I'd written it down wrong or something. Long story short, that'll probably be next week.

So, Apartment #1 was the Central West End apartment about a mile or so from the hospital towards University City to the northwest. An owner, my neighbor below (if I'd take that apartment), and the realtor were all there when I arrived. I couldn't ask for a better neighborhood -- all residential, very quiet, nice houses set off from the busy street by a grassy area and a small alley. It seemed almost suburban but of course is right downtown... which you notice as soon as you get onto Kingshighway (aka the busy street) only about a block away. Standard stove, fridge, small dishwasher in the open kitchen with white and black tile on the wall behind the stove. Track lighting above, which looked very modern, gave it a nice touch. Opposite the kitchen is the living/dining room, I'd guess probably 12 x 12, with basically solid windows all the way around. The woodburning fireplace was here, with its back to the stove in the kitchen. The fireplace was framed with painted (unfortunately) wood, and it has about a one-foot margin with faux-marble (maybe real marble, but I doubt it). The bathroom was small, but fairly nice. The tub was marble in color but no, not marble the stone (ha ha, nice advertising realtor). On the other hand, the bathroom was nice-looking and big enough for one person, I think. Opposite it was the bedroom, which had enough closet space (I wasn't worried-- I don't really use that much). The bedroom itself I'd say was 10 x 10, a little small if I wanted to have any sort of desk/office in there. When I was leaving, I noticed that the entryway of the apartment is a nice size, probably 9x9. I guess I could fit a small office space in there if need be.

Other pluses: at least one nice neighbor, who's lived there for 3 years now, the owner seemed like a really nice guy too. Free parking, which is worth a lot in a city where $40-50/mo is the norm for off-street parking. Central air/heat. Great view from the apt, too. Two beautifully landscaped back yards, I'm in a perfect position to spy on the neighbors! Yes! (What?)

On the downside, it sounds like the owner is slow to get things repaired. The apartment actually hadn't been cleaned before I arrived. The walls had been repainted, though. The kitchen cupboards had peeling paint. The carpet was stained quite a bit from the previous owners. Of course, it doesn't help that I'm used to my cousin's apartment, where everything (even light fixtures) are fixed/replaced immediately if they break. Also, the deposit is a full month's rent ($600), which is at least 1/3 more than any other I've seen other places. Most are $300-450.

Plan: I'm going to call the realtor to make sure that the repairs get done before I pay the deposit. I'm going to tour the apartment one more time before I send in the deposit, if I decide to take it after seeing the others.

So, stay tuned Monday for my continuing saga of finding an apartment in St. Louis. I go to "Quadrangle Housing" then, which is owned by Wash U. I guess I'm going to see several apartments that are all a wee bit cheaper, about $550-565/mo.

The Story...

2006-06-06T23:20:00.000-05:00

Well, here's the story from my life over the past couple weeks. Presented, of course, in the best format possible... a numbered list.

(1) I graduated. I thought that this might happen someday, and turns out that day was May 28, 2006. It was hard to leave good ol' GAC... along with all my former roommates, friends, classmates, mentors, etc. Found out there's a GAC alumni chapter in St. Louis so I'll probably get into that in the coming months. Overall it's not a bad place, not a bad place at all.

(2) I saw Movin' Out. Back in freshman year I told my mom I wanted to go to Broadway to see a musical for my graduation present. But when I heard that Movin' Out was out, and it was coming to Madison, WI, a few days after my graduation, I changed my mind. The musical is basically all music and dance with no dialogue and exclusively Billy Joel music (27 songs including a few of his new classical pieces from Fantasies & Delusions). When I found out there was no dialogue I got kind of scared, but the tickets had already been bought -- so, I went with my parents and grandparents in tow. All of us loved it. My dad and I loved the music most of all. My mom and grandma loved the story and ballet-meets-swing dance moves. My grandpa just nodded general approval and commented on the lights and special effects. I can't imagine that the Broadway cast (only one actress/dancer on tour was from the Broadway performance) could have done much better than these guys, mostly understudies. I also liked the music better than that recorded on Broadway (I bought the CD). Overall, the performance was a winner.

(3) I moved to St. Louis. I only recently realized the coincidence in seeing "Movin' Out" literally hours before I moved into my room at the dorm in St. Louis. Now I'm pretty settled here. I've got some groceries, got my computer running, and I've found the nearest Walmart -- all the essentials. Now I have to start looking for an apartment in the Central West End, the neighborhood the med school is in. Rent's pretty reasonable here, about $500-$750 for a one-bedroom w/o utilities. The one I'm really interested in is about $600 with the student discount plus $50-$75 for utilities each month, including basic cable and probably ~$50 for parking. The on-line info looks pretty good, and I'm going to set up a tour pretty soon. And, of course, it's right across the street from Forest Park, which I guess is the 2nd largest city park in the US next to Central Park in NYC. My friend Nick down here biked 50 miles just in the park itself.

I also am going to look at a place that's right next to the Botanical Gardens. Mom said I'm not supposed to, b/c she thinks I need AC. That, and it's about 5 miles from the med school... nothing a bike or bus can't cure, as far as I'm concerned. She's probably right, but it costs quite a bit less ($590) for a 2 bedroom, 1400 square foot apartment with hardwood floors and a yard, and it's the only apartment in that building so I wouldn't have to deal with loud neighbors, etc.

Needless to say I have some calling and touring to do before I find my new home.

(4) I started working. I guess you could call this a downside. But, it really hasn't been so far. It's only been a couple days, but I'm really happy with how this summer is shaping up. Don't get me wrong, CITI (human research subjects training) and HIPAA (medical security and privacy training) were a bitch. Probably about 6 hours for CITI and 2 hours for HIPAA. But, the two doctors that I've worked with so far have been really down-to-earth, laid-back people, which makes me think that this summer will be a lot of fun. I have some background reading in statistics and arthroscopy (a surgical technique) to do tomorrow, and after that I start contacting patients for the study itself. I should get a manuscript out of it in the fall, and maybe another one if I choose to take on another project this summer. I also will get to shadow Dr. Wright and some of the other ortho surgeons in the OR and clinic. I'm really excited for that.

Well, time for bed. More news later.

From the Belmont Report

2006-06-05T14:25:00.000-05:00

Hi guys. More later about the move to St. Louis. Now I'll just send out an excerpt from the Belmont Report, written in 1979, that has become the cornerstone of medical research ethics since then:

"Finally, whenever research supported by public funds leads to the development of therapeutic devices and procedures, justice demands both that these not provide advantages only to those who can afford them and that such research should not unduly involve persons from groups unlikely to be among the beneficiaries of subsequent applications of the research."

Hmm.

Last Final EVER....

2006-05-22T22:58:00.000-05:00

My last final is tomorrow at 1:00. I have a paper due at 8:00, too. Busy busy busy.

Final countdown.

Ba ba ba dum, ba da da da dum. Ba da da dum, ba da da da da da daaaa da da daaaa da da daaa-da-daaa-da-daa da deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee de de de de de dooo.... final countdown.

Go HHS marching band.

I need sleep.

Hercules Boyum

2006-05-16T21:30:00.000-05:00

I savor the Herculean labor of protein-ligand and protein-protein thermodynamics and kinetics. Aaaahh... (More later.)

The Advantages of Being Lutheran

2006-05-15T21:32:00.000-05:00

Well, I found out today that I got one med school scholarship I was hoping for. The ELCA gives out four $5,000 scholarships each year to entering med students, and I got one of them. That helps out a bunch.

What might have been more valuable than the stipend was the process, because it required me to put together my resume, which in turn required me to put together a plan for my life. Which is kind of scary, when you try to think about what you'll be able (and won't) to change in your lifetime -- especially in a system as screwed up as the American health care system.

I tried to label this Problem #1, but I found that I had no #2. Here it is, black and white, agree or disagree.

Restricted treatment for the underclasses. There. I said it. Marxists cheer, capitalists cringe.

Medicine, as practiced today, individualizes social problems to a set of symptoms and prescribes treatments for those symptoms (Link and Phelan, 1995). For example, if I have AIDS (I don't, but what if...), how did I get AIDS? If I contracted the disease from sex, chances are I didn't use protection. In St. Louis (5th nationally for AIDS diagnoses), condoms cost on average $1-2 more per package in black neighborhoods than in white neighborhoods (Ross et al 2005). In Kalamazoo, MI, the two local hospitals were beginning to see children coming in with lead poisoning. Why? Because in low-income housing, predominantly peopled with the community's African-American population, the paint hadn't been replaced in decades - thus it still contained lead (which tastes sweet, and children love it). Everyone knows that bad foods lead to obesity, which is a major cause of diabetes. In Northern Ontario, the Sandy Lake community of Oji-Cree natives holds the population with the world's third largest percentage of diabetics. Part of the problem is genetic, but part of the problem is that fresh fruits and vegetables are virtually unheard of there. One woman said that when available they can cost up to $9/lb. Thus, they are limited to eating the processed foods that are easy and cheap to ship - Klik (Spam in the States), Kraft dinner (mac and cheese), and Ramen noodles. These are just three examples that I know of from personal experience. Many other national studies have been done that have found socioeconomic status and race to be top predictors of disease. Without proper education, housing, drinking water, diet, etc. etc. ad infinitum how can we expect to curb the health care disparities in America and the rest of the world?

How about research? Academic science pays no mind to economics, right? Wrong. Here's how science really works: the government or a private industry gives you money to conduct research. Somtimes you work directly for a corporation, e.g. the pharmaceutical industry. If you do "good enough" research, then you (or the company you work for) can apply for a patent to restrict access to a result. I should say that when you're able to get a patent, then you have arrived at "good" research in America. Usually when a patent happens in academia the scientist forms a "spin-off" company that functions independently from the college or university. These spin-off companies sell technology developed using the scientific "intellectual property." For example, Dr. Robert Gallo, who was here on campus not too long ago, pinpointed the HIV-1 virus as the causative agent of AIDS. From there was founded the Institute for Human Virology, Maryland BioTherapeutics, etc etc (Balt. Bus. J. 2005). These companies put forward the HIV-1 antibodies test as well as work on an AIDS vaccine (exciting!) and cancer therapies (20% of all human cancers are caused by retroviruses like HIV-1). Interestingly, quoting the Baltimore Business Journal, Gallo has been "long criticized by state lawmakers for not commercializing the research done in his institute" (ibid).

What's the result? The only research (medical or otherwise) that gets done (i.e. funded) is the research that benefits those with enough political power to influence state and national politics in post-industrialized, capitalist, powerful countries (the bourgeoisie if you're a Marx fan). Few labs in the world study trypanosomes, the microbes that cause African sleeping sickness, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (self-explanatory, or Leishmania, the pathogen causing leishmaniasis. Why? It's not because they aren't important. One-third of the world's population -- 2 billion people! -- are infected with the tuberculosis bug. Two million die each year from it. Up to 10% of those infected (200 million at present) will have the active disease in their lifetime. Why isn't more being done? The explanation is fairly simple: the nations that have enough resources to fund a robust public research sector (USA, UK, Western Europe) choose to fund research into other diseases that affect us more "today." As a result, the most prolific mycobacteria research lab in the world is in India, part of what some would consider to be the "third world."

So what needs to happen in order to make a first step toward equality in scientific coverage, to make sure that diseases that really affect people are researched? We need to do two things. First, we need to form an international body to fund research. Think international NIH. Second, we need to do away with the concept of "intellectual property" as it relates to scientific discoveries. This will hurt the current system of capitalist science that is currently being practiced, but it will repay that lost in the dividends of saved lives.

OK. There's my diatribe for tonight. Now I have to watch some Futurama.

:)

--Refs, in case you're interested:
Link BG, Phelan J. 1995. J. Health Soc. Beh. 35:80-94.
Ross W, et al. St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Jan 2005.
Terry RJ. Baltimore Business Journal, 4 Feb 2005.

Just Keep Swimming

2006-05-06T22:42:00.000-05:00

Corny Finding Nemo quotes aside, things have seemed to devolve of late.

(1) Got my financial aid "award" from med school. I think they use "award" in the same sense that one says a puppy may leave a "present" for you on your carpet. Our expected family contribution doubled somehow from last year. Might be a mistake, that's what I'm hoping for. Otherwise, I don't know how I'm going to pay $25,000 out of pocket every year, in addition to accumulating ~$25,000 of loans every year. And if I can't pay...... then..... what? This line of thought goes downhill relatively quickly.

(2) Whenever someone tells me, "You're almost done, eh?" I shudder.

School sucks. I've spent the last few days almost entirely working on lab projects or my symposium presentation. I worked from 6:30am Thursday morning to 1:30am Friday morning on my presentation, which I gave Friday to a huge crowd of 5. (One was my advisor. Another one was the prof who had to stay to give the introductions of the speakers.) We have one out that would keep our lab project afloat, otherwise the past few weeks of work have been in vain. Frustrating.

On top of that, I have two papers due Monday that I have had no time to work on all week. One's a 10 page term paper, the other's a rough draft of a lab report that's going to be around 15-20 pages all told. The parents & grandparents are down this weekend, and though it's good to see them it sucks having to be distracted from a good weekend with them by the papers. Thursday my final research proposal (full length, NIH-style) is due, with a complete outline of experiments that I "plan" to "perform." I will not actually ever get the chance to do the experiments, of course. We just have to pretend that we know what the hell is going on with advanced methods in biochemistry.

So yeah, whenever someone tells me, "So, you're almost done, eh?" I shudder.

Well, I've returned to blathering on about my problems. It's hard to abstain from it. On the other hand, the glass remains half full. I am in to med school, which a lot of people would die for. I am in to Wash U, which makes me pretty darn proud. I am getting paid $3500 this summer to do two things I love: research and being in the clinic. Dad's doing really well. He gets his last antibiotic IV next week, gets the IV line out, and then goes for joint replacement around the end of May. Then, on June 3 we all go to Movin' Out, Billy Joel's musical, in Madison.

I guess that's life, eh? Taking the good with the bad, bad with the good. I'm really uncomfortable with the problems I don't have control over (i.e. money). The papers have always worked themselves out before. I guess there's no reason to assume they won't this time.

"If you take life too seriously for too long, it'll get you." -Erik Estrada

Hey, Anybody Can Do It

2006-04-29T23:49:00.000-05:00

Well, this fall I set out to write about experiences, feelings, etc. to use my blog to remember my time at Gustavus. Needless to say, with the occasional interruption, the blog has become a bunch of pouty complaints seemingly spouted from the fingers of a moopy freshman. Fortunately I could make a strong argument that this is not representative of the last eight months of my life. In general, I think this past year has been academically challenging, especially with P-chem, Mol. Genetics, and Proteins. The academic stress has been compounded by a general time shortage because of work, med school applications and interviews, Dad getting sick, and my ineluctable personal need to be in 50 million student organizations.
I started the year with the complaint that all of my friends lived across campus. Now, I have made several new friends that have become some of my closest: HJ, BS, EB, BB. I complained about how hard P-chem was, but by the end I took the final in forty-five minutes and got the A. To be sure, I've complained about a lot of things, but the more I think about it I've learned so much from each of these "bad" situations.
And not all my experiences this year have been bad, by any means. Starting the year by sneaking bricks from the ruins of Wahlstrom Hall at midnight set the tone. "It's f-ing scary up here, I'm not gonna lie," a classic Barnitt line from CF training on the rope course. Walks in the Arb, translating Ovid, doing some reading just for fun, yogaing it up -- there have been many fun things about this year. And I'm thinking January 27th should be a personal holiday, Getting Into Wash U Day. I've gained a mentor in Prof. Dahlseid, and found out some cool things about RNA in the process. Pam hooked me on Project Runway, and recoiled in horror with me when Santino didn't win. At Wash U I met some people that might be in my class next year, and I can't wait. I've never met a more laid-back and fun, yet incredibly brilliant bunch of people.
So this year has been a mix of the good and the bad. Most of the bad things I've learned from, either how to deal with stress in a positive way or how to let go of unneeded extras when time doesn't allow for them. The good things have reminded me that there is life outside NHS. And I've also got a hell of a lot to look forward to: a summer clinical researcher by day enjoying St. Louis by night, moving into my own place, catching up on some writing, re-reading the rest of the Chronicles of Narnia (MG, PC, VotDT, SC), seeing Movin' Out with the fam, and a whole lot more.
Well, there's another month left to turn around my optimistic streak. But I doubt it will. It's all about seeing the glass as half full, I guess.

Some interesting developments...

2006-04-23T21:17:00.001-05:00

I had to make a little reference to Mrs. Doubtfire. I mean, this is me after all.

Several cool things going on that have kept me busy lately...

(1) I interviewed for a full-tuition scholarship at Wash U this weekend. That was quite an experience. I was lacking sleep after an all-nighter on Thursday, Friday and Saturday were both long days, and the interview went so-so. I'm not going to overestimate my chance of getting one of the scholarships. They're giving 15 out of 29 of us a scholarship, so maybe I should flip a coin to see what's next. Anyway, the weekend was great, if tiring, and I got to meet a lot of cool people and see some other cool people once more since re-visit weekend two weeks ago. Tomorrow I call Baylor to see if there is any chance of me getting off the wait-list. I should know on Tuesday whether or not I get the scholarship.

(2) I got a call confirming that I will be doing some clinical research this summer in St. Louis. A few other students and I got an email from him a few weeks back from none other than the head team doctor of the St. Louis Cardinals and Asst. Doc for the Rams. Sounds like I'll be doing some work with patient interviews (probably not Cards or Rams... :D) and statistical stuff with 2 yr patient outcomes... wish I would have kept that stats textbook from sophomore year!

Other than that, I'm just trying not to fail my last semester classes so I can graduate. That may or may not be important.

Spring Break - Rochester

2006-04-02T10:11:00.000-05:00

Don't worry, MTV won't be doing it any time soon.

Some of you might know that my dad's been sick for a while, since about the second week in February. We were at Mayo since two Fridays ago (start of Spring Break - woo!) trying to find out what is wrong with him. Since he hasn't felt pain on the right side of his body for his whole life (crazy, huh?) he ground the joint into a mass of blood and bone. The surgeons were amazed that NONE of the joint is intact anymore. Then that blood and bone got infected, and his arm swelled up like a balloon. -- A long way from the ear infection he was diagnosed with in good ol' Hibbing. He's also losing blood from somewhere, again maybe the joint. He had to have a transfusion in Duluth and one after the surgery in Rochester.

A couple of Mayo's top orthopedic surgeons (with their entourages of residents) worked on removing the old broken shoulder and replacing it with an implant. They found out about the infection when they were in the OR, so they couldn't do the shoulder replacement. He's now on 6 weeks of IV antibiotics every day and in 8 weeks he'll be going back to make sure the infection's gone and to get the implant. Six months after that he'll be able to use his shoulder again -- at least that's the plan.

So, things have settled down a little bit. The parents are spending one more day in Rochester with the visiting nurse service. Mom's learning how to administer the IV meds. Then they're going back to Hibbing, but they have to meet with Dad's doctor in Duluth first. Mom gets done with her medical leave Thursday. And then the fun will begin. At least Dad will be able to be up and about, so it's not like she'll have to do everything for him. But he can't use the one arm and he has an IV line in the other, so he won't be able to do much. (I guess not much different than usual, then! ;) j/k.

Now I have to write a couple of papers that I meant to write over the break. Heh -- guess that didn't get done.

Another Poem for another day...

2006-03-24T03:27:00.001-06:00

Song
by Allen Ginsberg

   The weight of the world
        is love.
   Under the burden
        of solitude,
   under the burden
        of dissatisfaction

        the weight,
   the weight we carry
        is love.

   Who can deny?
        In dreams
   it touches
        the body,
   in thought
        constructs
   a miracle,
        in imagination
   anguishes
        till born
   in human--
   looks out of the heart
        burning with purity--
   for the burden of life
        is love,

   but we carry the weight
        wearily,
   and so must rest
   in the arms of love
        at last,
   must rest in the arms
        of love.

   No rest
        without love,
   no sleep
        without dreams
   of love--
        be mad or chill
   obsessed with angels
        or machines,
   the final wish
        is love
   --cannot be bitter,
        cannot deny,
   cannot withhold
        if denied:

   the weight is too heavy

        --must give
   for no return
        as thought
   is given
        in solitude
   in all the excellence
        of its excess.

 ...

   yes, yes,
        that's what
   I wanted,
        I always wanted,
   I always wanted,
        to return
   to the body
        where I was born.

A(nother) Poem for Today

2006-03-21T01:05:00.001-06:00

Talking to Grief (by Denise Levertov)

Ah, Grief, I should not treat you
like a homeless dog
who comes to the back door
for a crust, for a meatless bone.
I should trust you.

I should coax you
into the house and give you
your own corner,
a worn mat to lie on,
your own water dish.

You think I don't know you've been living
under my porch.
You long for your real place to be readied
before winter comes. You need
your name,
your collar and tag. You need
the right to warn off intruders,
to consider
my house your own
and me your person
and yourself
my own dog.

A Poem for Today

2006-03-21T01:05:00.000-06:00

Hyla Brook (by Robert Frost)

By June our brook’s run out of song and speed.
Sought for much after that, it will be found
Either to have gone groping underground
(And taken with it all the Hyla breed
That shouted in the mist a month ago,
Like ghost of sleigh-bells in a ghost of snow)—
Or flourished and come up in jewel-weed,
Weak foliage that is blown upon and bent
Even against the way its waters went.
Its bed is left a faded paper sheet
Of dead leaves stuck together by the heat—
A brook to none but who remember long.
This as it will be seen is other far
Than with brooks taken otherwhere in song.
We love the things we love for what they are.

Good evening, Your Majesty...

2006-03-10T21:40:00.000-06:00

You'll never guess what I found out today.

Each of 5 Swedish undergraduate colleges in the USA chooses one graduate each year to nominate for the Glenn Seaborg Nobel Travel Award. The winner presents his/her research at the Nobel festivities, in audience Nobel Laureates and members of the national youth science organization of Sweden. Then, it's to the invitation-only, fine dress-only Nobel Awards reception to schmooze with the laureates and dignitaries from around the world. Then, to the press conferences, Nobel lectures, meeting Swedish princesses (literally), and tours. It would be mind-boggling to get such an opportunity, wouldn't it?

Well, Gustavus's nominee is.... me.

I'm pumped. I'm also procuring a Swedish-English-Swedish dictionary, just in case.

Vegging...

2006-03-07T17:35:00.000-06:00

I've started going vegetarian, mainly for health reasons. Well, not really 'vegetarian' at this point. I'm still in the low-meat phase. I still eat it once every week or two. I've realized how hard it is to find quality vegetarian food at Gustavus. The veggie burgers are usually cardboard-esque and the veggie curry has the consistency of soup. But I'm looking forward to this summer, when I'll start to cook for myself; at that point my goal is to go vegetarian entirely.

Going vegetarian doesn't only consist of stopping eating meat. In fact, that can be very dangerous. This week I'm going to talk with the dietician on campus about what I have to do to complement a vegetarian diet. There are some deficiencies I've heard of associated with it: iron, protein (essential amino acids), zinc and calcium, and vitamin B2/12. Got all that? There'll be a quiz later. =)

Luckily, amino acids, vitamin B, and calcium are present in dairy products and eggs -- which I'm not giving up. Those are the vegans. Vitamin C aids in zinc uptake, so according to my online source increasing citrus takes care of that worry. Orange juice for me! That leaves iron, which legumes contain -- green beans, alfalfa, soy.

I'll see what the dietician says.

Crazy good cartoon

2006-02-24T18:06:00.000-06:00

I just made a 'crazy good cartoon' on the side of my box of pop tarts. Does that say anything about how much I -don't- want to start my sociology paper?

Sigh. Senioritis.

The Last Leaf...

2006-02-21T23:16:00.000-06:00

The Last Leaf

I saw him once before,
As he passed by the door,
And again
The pavement stones resound,
As he totters o'er the ground
With his cane.

They say that in his prime,
Ere the pruning-knife of Time
Cut him down,
Not a better man was found
By the Crier on his round
Through the town.

But now he walks the streets,
And looks at all he meets
Sad and wan,
And he shakes his feeble head,
That it seems as if he said,
"They are gone."

The mossy marbles rest
On the lips that he has prest
In their bloom,
And the names he loved to hear
Have been carved for many a year
On the tomb.

My grandmamma has said—
Poor old lady, she is dead
Long ago—
That he had a Roman nose,
And his cheek was like a rose
In the snow;

But now his nose is thin,
And it rests upon his chin
Like a staff,
And a crook is in his back,
And a melancholy crack
In his laugh.

I know it is a sin
For me to sit and grin
At him here;
But the old three-cornered hat,
And the breeches, and all that,
Are so queer!

And if I should live to be
The last leaf upon the tree
In the spring,
Let them smile, as I do now,
At the old forsaken bough
Where I cling.

The results are in...

2006-01-29T02:33:00.000-06:00

Got into Washington University Friday. Happy.

The Waiting Game

2006-01-21T19:05:00.000-06:00

Why do people call it that? Usually games are fun, but I've realized that this so-called "waiting game" really isn't. It's something like torture, actually. I guess there's just a lot at stake...

J-term is going all right. I'm going to have 200 hours of research in Jeff's (www.gac.edu/~dahlseid) lab at the end of the month. And I'm actually starting to get somewhere... which means that I might be able to present my work in Princeton, NJ, this summer at the annual Yeast Genetics conference. If so, I'll be able to see Scott Moye-Rowley and the gang from Iowa City. That would be sweet... I haven't seen them since the summer before last. The company that made our gene sequencer provides money to undergrads who use their equipment to present their work at conferences like this one, so I should be able to go... otherwise it'd be insanely expensive (from what I saw, more than $500).

Also, I'm applying for a patient advocacy position next year (just in case!) with FamiliesUSA, a non-profit lobbying group in D.C. More on that later, I guess.

So I have a lot of academic/professional stuff going on right now, more or less. I'm pretty much just sitting here waiting to hear from med schools. At least I know that by March I should be done waiting... whether that's good or bad remains to be seen!

A Poem for the Day

2006-01-13T13:55:00.000-06:00

We Wear the Mask

We wear the mask that grins and lies,
It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes—
This debt we pay to human guile;
With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,
And mouth with myriad subtleties.
Why should the world be over-wise,
In counting all our tears and sighs?
Nay, let them only see us, while
We wear the mask.

We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries
To thee from tortured souls arise.
We sing, but oh the clay is vile
Beneath our feet, and long the mile;
But let the world dream otherwise,
We wear the mask!

-Paul Laurence Dunbar

Only a little longer...

2005-12-19T17:17:00.000-06:00

Only two exams, some packing, and a five hour drive stand between me and two weeks of home cooking, family, and lots of holiday-type (am I allowed to say Christmas?) cheer. This is my last night Gustavus this term, and it will be a doozy. I'm on duty until midnight tonight, I have to wade through some 30 pages of Ovid (in Latin, not English), and my two (not just one) papers that accompany my 100-point sociology final have yet to be started.

So, in an obvious Boyum move, I have agreed to a Mario Kart tournament tonight at around 7:30. I just can't say no to ambiguously gay Italian-American plumbers.

Okay that last part came out wrong. But it shows how secure I am in my masculinity that I didn't erase it. PS. I watched the Vikings game yesterday. PPS. I leave the toilet seat up.

The guys and I have started talking about Spring Break. And by "the guys and I" talking, I mean that Dhiraj and I mentioned it when we were eating dinner tonight. Right now it seems the decision will be between a flight to Mexico (e.g. Cancun or Mazatlan) or a road trip, or a road trip to Mexico. I guess I'll see what materializes.

Still nothing re. med schools. I really am going to call Baylor if I don't hear by the end of the week. Don't they know they're killing me?

I sit down to write...

2005-12-17T12:31:00.000-06:00

For the first time in a while, I'm sitting down to write. I'm not only writing on my blog, but I'm going to take some time to work on my play, which starts with two men talking about typewriters in a department store. Sounds like a good one. *(|:^ | <-- this guy needs a hat because it's cold outside.

But now for the blog:

On a positive note, my two finals that I've taken have gone really well. The P Chem final was surprisingly simple - there was only one question I wasn't sure about. Turns out I did it right. I was the first one out of the exam, which made me a little nervous (I'm not the fastest test taker in the world). Maybe I missed a few pages or something. Then again, I did study quite a bit, and actually read the book, so that helped. My religion final was pretty easy, and I didn't need to do fantastic on it in order to get the A, so psshhtt... (that's my flippant, egotistical scoff)

I haven't heard from Baylor, which leads me to believe that the decision isn't as I had hoped. At least I should be able to find out my position on their ranked waiting list on Monday when I give them a call, if I'm even on it. That's somewhat disappointing; at least I still have Yale, Mayo, and (maybe) MCW and OHSU left to go. I can't screw them all up so badly that I don't get in anywhere, can I? (Oh no. The beginning of the end here, folks.)

Come January I will begin looking for stopgap "positive experiences" to explore between June and next fall when I would apply again to medical school. I've been advised not to do Teach for America (it's 2 years). And I think the advice was solid, so I'm going with that. I have a friend who did Americorp in the Twin Cities for a year working at a free clinic. That would be good experience and would give me the chance to work with a population that I care a lot about. I have decided not to apply for the NIH research fellowship I was thinking about - I just don't think that bench research is what I want to do for a year. I have thought about getting in touch with the Sioux Lookout Diabetes Program to see if they have any positions available for next year and if there's any way I could do that being from the States. Otherwise, I have to get in touch with the career center.

I can't believe that everything I've worked so hard to achieve seems to be slipping away. It's kind of depressing. I shouldn't jump to any conclusions yet (I mean, I don't even have the doormat), but it's hard knowing that (a) I'm going to be leaving Gustavus in 5 months no matter what, (b) I will have to be somewhere, doing something, and (c) that (b) is as definite as I can be about my future. I've really invested so much in medicine that I can't think of doing anything else, and I don't think that I could be passionate about anything else.

So, at this point, I guess the word is "Wait and See." I guess I'm just not expecting as much as I was earlier on. Humbled, maybe you could say.

---
"Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you got
'til it's gone?"

'Big Yellow Taxi' by Counting Crows
---

The Best Laid Schemes...

2005-12-07T16:47:00.000-06:00

Well, today was the day. Here's how it was supposed to happen.

1. I was supposed to wake up.

2. I was supposed to call the UMD medical school and thank them for accepting me to their 2006 entering class.

3. I was supposed to be finally free of fear that next year will come and I'll be sitting in my parents' basement sipping Coke and playing Madden football until my eyes glaze over.

The first one happened. The last two didn't.

On the other hand, I did get an email from Mayo telling me to come to Rochester for an on-campus interview and tour. I guess I should be happy that I have options open at other med schools. And I -am- on the waiting list at UMD, or will be in April. So it's not a total waste of ... my life.

Also, briefly because I have to run in a few minutes, I talked with a recruiter for Teach for America today. It sounds like a great program, and I'm at least going to apply for that and see -- my backup plan to medicine is teaching, anyway, so can't go wrong there.

Well, that's my day.

It Begins...

2005-12-05T19:40:00.000-06:00

OK. My last post was a while ago. So I'm taking 5-10 minutes to write a post while I'm sitting in the Wash U Med School library. Aren't I dedicated?

So, what have I been up to, my loyal followers ask. Well, I spent Thanksgiving at home, with a stopover in Duluth on the day before for an interview at the UMD med school. Then, I went off to Houston, TX, for an interview at Baylor. Now I'm in St Louis at Wash U. They're all really good schools (UMD more focused on primary care - family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics), and all of them definitely have had their own personalities.

More about that later, I suppose.

Can't wait to see where I end up next year.

Can you?

Post-Halloween Shenanigans

2005-11-06T11:47:00.000-06:00

Physical Chemistry... I haven't been this frustrated with a class since Introduction to Analysis (math) freshman year. Our prof has gone with the "Satisfactory"/"Unsatisfactory" grading for midterm, because no one in our class that I know of has an A in the course. Not that I am sophomoric (I get an A for English vocab) in thinking that the grade is the only thing that matters in a course. But I don't even understand why most of the problems I get wrong are wrong. And what really is worst is that I really enjoy the material. Thermodynamics is really, really cool. It explains all of those quirky things that happen in chemistry, like "why when I mix 85 ml of ethanol and 10 ml of water do I only get 92 ml of mixture??" But...... I just - don't - get it. Sigh. Oh well. I guess that's why I'm going into medicine.

Not to mention the copious amount of busy work that comes along with physical chemistry... I don't think that's dependent on where or from whom you take it. We have something due for that class four days of five next week.

--WARNING: Random thoughts to follow...

Needless to say, school is keeping me pretty busy these days. But I have had time for some other things... I went out to dinner with some of the other CFs last night. I'm really glad I ended up where I did this year, because the other CFs are keeping me sane. The 'rents came down last weekend, also. That was a really good time, but I was so tired from the week before that I fell asleep a couple of times when we were in the car between Mankato and St. Peter. I also helped out at the PAWS Walk and the Halloween Fun Run on Saturday. Sunday was our hall haunted house, which took up just about the whole day. I got to be a mad scientist, which isn't too much of a stretch.

This week in lab I've been getting (finally) to my experiment with Prof. Dahlseid. I should have data by tomorrow night if everything goes as planned (heh).

Also on the good side: I am taking sociology of medicine next semester! The professor that teaches it has breast cancer, so she had to bow out of teaching her courses this semester. However, I guess she's well enough to teach sociology of medicine next semester -- which is great on more than one level. I also am registering for American Minorities, Molecular Genetics, Proteins, and yoga. For (I think) the first time at GAC, I'm really excited about all of those classes. Not to mention my interim course (formerly J-term) of Star Trek: Metaphysics on the ethics of the Star Trek universe.

More good news: I get to see Laura, my cousin who just moved back to the States from Geneva, Switzerland, over Thanksgiving. Then, my cousin Rod is coming down at the start of December. So that will be a great time. Also, I'm going to take a road trip to Madison the weekend after that to visit my friend Claire at UW.

OK, OK. I definitely dread registering for the last time at Gustavus. It's really, really hard to think that I'll be gone after May. Then, the "real world." I hope it's not like the TV show. I guess it will be nice this spring to make a culmination of things here at GAC. It will be amazing to see where all my friends, from here and from home, end up (and of course where *I* end up) for the next few years at least. Dhiraj might get a job here in Minnesota through his host family -- who own the Target Center and several businesses around here, I gather. I haven't heard anything from Andrew or Tyler or Miller or anyone else, though, so I don't know what their plans are. They are the smart people who are getting JOBS after college. . . not me, I guess. John and Kelly are both (I think) going to graduate school as well. So I guess at least I'm in good company. Of course, Isaac will be staying in Minneapolis with his wife. So, let me know what your plans are if I haven't mentioned you...

Well, that's all for now. I'll see you Hibbingites over Thanksgiving break.

For the Fans...

2005-10-25T18:39:00.000-05:00

I'm finally getting back around to posting on this thing. Sorry to those fans of mine (heh) who have been put on hold over the past couple of weeks.

A quick update: my fantasy-draft Vikings went 15-1 during the regular season and lost to the Pats in the Super Bowl. Depressing. But this year, I hired a new offensive coordinator, Daunte came out of the preseason with a QB rating of 133, and because I was able to pick up Marshall Faulk from free agency I could trade Deuce MacAllister (last year's MVP) and two draft picks to the Colts for Randy Moss. My depth chart now rules on offense -- Daunte behind Matt Birk, backed by Marshall Faulk, throwing to Randy Moss, Hines Ward, Nate Burleson, and Muhsin Muhammed. On defense, I held onto Sapp, Lynch, Smoot, and Brian Williams. And I picked up a rookie linebacker that had an incredible first season with the Bucs. Overall, I'm excited for this next season. There's only one way to move up from the last.

This week will be me studying for P-Chem. Test on Friday, and I need to play catchup. My first exam score of 71 just won't cut it to get me the grade I want. I also need to get my Oregon Health & Sciences University med school application out tomorrow. It's due next Monday. Also, there's that nagging research proposal summary, now on its fourth draft, that needs to get to Sigma Xi's grant committee. ... Then, I need to go to the optometrist. I FINALLY get to get new glasses! Yay for insurance.

There're the minutiae. Now for something completely different:

My view of St. Peter is absolutely stunning at night. It's such a great little town, I can't believe that in not even 8 months I'm going to leave it and (probably) never come back. I've been thinking about where possibly I'm going to be living for the next four years, and with the exception perhaps of Duluth: Milwaukee? St. Louis? Portland? New Haven? Houston? Rochester? All of them are pretty big cities. I mean, I've done the Aberdeen thing, I know how to get on in a city, but there's definitely something positive about small towns like Hibbing and St. Peter. It's great waking up in the morning (most mornings) and being able to hear birds, trees rustling, or just nothing at all. I like not feeling crowded. I guess I should enjoy it while I have the chance.

Well, I gotta go. I'll post more this week, so keep a sharp eye.

I might as well face it

2005-10-13T00:04:00.000-05:00

I'm addicted to Madden. I have gone to bed at around 2:30am the past few nights in order to play that next game with my fantasy draft team. Here's the lowdown of how they're doing.

Daunte is doing -all right-. He could be doing much better; I'm wondering if they somehow programmed his INT streak into the game somehow. Two games have shown that he can go without a turnover, but in the Week One game against the Buccaneers, he threw six of them. We won by 13, only because our first-round pick Nnamdi Asomugha (CB) had a standout game with picks and a fumble recovery -- he was the Defensive Player of the Week pick in Week Two.
The defense, led by Warren Sapp, Fred Smoot, Brian Williams, and John Lynch, stands at #1 in the NFL. On the offensive side of the ball, Daunte is "driving the car." The past two weeks have put us up against some of the best pass defenses (other than our own) in the league -- Derrick Brooks' Bengals and Archuleta's (and their linebacker Davis's, who intercepted Culpepper 3 times) Buccaneers. That being said, Deuce McAllister has been getting some yards the first two weeks.

I'm really happy with the team. I feel so proud.

Too bad the real Vikings can't do this good... and by 'this good,' I mean they can't get two W's, which I now have. Sigh.

Well, real life can wait for a different post. What is this post anyway? It's like an e-Press Conference. Or something.

I need sleep. Later people.

New Developments

2005-10-10T00:56:00.000-05:00

I got Madden 2006 today. In fact, my guys are finishing out my 2nd preseason game while I type. My guys, of course, are the Vikings -- fantasy drafted. Daunte's still 'driving the car,' but instead of Moss he's throwing to Hines Ward. And with Deuce in the backfield (I passed on Portis) the running game is working. On the other side of the ball, Sapp, Smoot, Lynch, and Brian Williams are keeping the 3-and-outs coming. That said, my first preseason game was a loss -- but it was a good one. Before the strings switched at the half, we had accumulated 21 unanswered points. Then Doug Flutie and his crowd of chimpanzees took over.

We lost 24-21.

OK. So my Madden season really is my own coming to terms with how the -real- Vikings are playing. At least I have a week of peace.

But this post won't be all about football, don't worry. A lot happened this last week, actually. Professor Niemer let us out of lab early on Monday. I started Study Buddies on Tuesday at a local special education room. Wednesday I returned to the St. Peter Pound to volunteer. Loca, the black lab pup, was gone -- I hope she was adopted or returned to her owner. Don't want to think about the alternative. They now have two other dogs -- one is another black lab-type, the other a Rottweiler (sp?). Both are only about two feet tall.

Wednesday night was a great night. I had spent one of my two hours tutoring at the diversity center when Raj, the director, approached me and said I should go to the fast-breaking celebration for Ramadan in the international dorm. I had work when it started officially, so I went early and had some time to talk with two of the guys there about Ramadan and Islam. It was just fulfilling in some way, I guess.

OK. Enough random thoughts. Got to go to sleep.

Residency

2005-09-28T19:30:00.000-05:00

I think I know what residency feels like.

Two nights ago I went to bed at 1 AM and was at a meeting by 8:00 the next morning. Last night I went to sleep at 3 AM and was in the lab by 7:00 today. I had to leave a message on the chalkboard in the tutoring room that I had run to the cafeteria to get some food so that I could eat tonight.

And I have a lab report due tomorrow that I have only barely started. (I got 14/20 on the first one, so I need to do just a little bit better... just a little.)

On the flip side, this morning and afternoon I had some great conversations. Three things:

First, I met with the chapel vicar this morning to talk about New Haven, Yale-New Haven Hospital, and med school in general. She's a really awesome person, and gave me a lot of great advice. She also has a friend from Yale Divinity that works in the chaplaincy at YNHH, and if I get an interview she's going to put me in contact with her to tour the hospital when I go. A Gustie is at YSM now as well, so I now will have that contact. Incredibly sweet.

Second, I met with Raj, the head of the Diversity Center at Gustavus. He has some students for me to tutor who aren't really comfortable coming to the larger sessions the chem department puts on. I'm now tutoring in three separate settings. The more the merrier, I guess. I'm starting to get a big head.

Last but not least, I watched the Q&A session to one of the Nobel talks today, the one about ethics/morality and science. Of course, the presenter's (George Ellis's) British accent helped. Surprisingly antagonistic was science writer Thomas Levenson. He was actually (I can't believe it) arguing that human life and consciousness was meaningless, in his words no more important than any other physical process in the universe. Most important to him, of course, was the process by which the sound from his mouth was ingratiating the hearer with his bullshit. While his statement was true at one level -- i.e. life and consciousness are biological, chemical, physical processes -- at another level his is the precise kind of statement that led Einstein (whose discoveries were honored at this conference) to shirk pacifism when Hitler came to power.

Suprisingly helpful to Ellis was string theorist (now my new favorite) James Sylvester Gates (aka Jim). I can't remember his exact words, but Gates said that science is a "helpless optimism." He said that all scientists wrestle with the nagging suspicion that what they are investigating is meaningless. Some questions that he asks he will never know the answer to in his lifetime. But, scientists always hope that one of their ideas might mean something entirely significant to someone down the line. Science is like a "message in a bottle" we send into the future. I have to read his (non-technical) introduction to superstring theory sometime.

George Ellis was good too, and really reminded me of Tim Ingold, my anthropology professor at Aberdeen in his eloquence. Something he said that I entirely agreed with: the reason that science is "scary" to people is that some fundamentalist scientists make it so. They claim that science entirely does away with any ethical or moral system (he included Richard Dawkins in this group, which got me on his side quickly). That forces religious people to totally abandon science if they buy into their arguments.

Thats it.

The Nobel Conference

2005-09-26T18:31:00.000-05:00

Practical note: I have to, unfortunately, undo the comments section again because of all the shameless advertising that's going on there. Don't know how to fix it, so it's best to throw it away, right?

Whew. I'm just about done with med school secondaries today. I got the Yale application sent today, and I'm sitting down Wednesday morning with the chapel vicar, who graduated from Yale Divinity School, so that I can learn a little bit about Connecticut and the University. Considering that my experience with New England consists of visiting Harvard and Princeton a few summers ago, it might be good to know what I'm signing up for. I suppose it's a little different than Minnesota. Doesn't mean I have to become a Patriots fan, though.

As the title suggests, the Nobel Conference is starting at Gustavus. Tomorrow at 10:00 the lectures start, and I believe the first one is by Wolfgang Ketterle, a recent Nobel laureate in physics. I plan on attending, just to see how much I can understand. My physical chemistry professor had one of the speakers when she was at Cal Tech, and she says he's an incredible speaker.

Since 99% of Gustavus students don't attend the conference (as opposed to only 76% who drive sober) tonight will be hell in the residence halls. I plan on staying in the library doing chemistry until at least midnight to avoid it, just because I really can't deal with it tonight. Between all the things that are stressing me out right now, I just don't want to babysit. Is that so wrong?

At any rate, I hope to get something out of the conference this year, since I haven't gone in two years. Gotta run for tonight, but I expect I should be able to post during the next couple of nights. Thanks to everyone who's stuck with Boyumblog.

Highs and Lows

2005-09-25T13:36:00.001-05:00

This has definitely been a week of highs and lows.

Monday our group lost all of our lab data after we spent 2 hours on MathCad. We were lucky to be able to finish up with another group instead of starting again from scratch, but I still have a lot of work to put into it, which probably means that I won't get to the Nobel lectures this week.

The U of M sent me my supplemental application letter September 8th, and has been the only school to attach a deadline to their application. In this case, today-- September 25th. I didn't get the letter right away because it went to my house instead of my school address. So by the time I got it, I only had about 2 weeks to get it done. And, of course, because I didn't have anything better to do than a med school application during that time (like, say, homework?) I should have gotten it to them early, I suppose. But, it's still not done, and even though I emailed and called the admissions office to let them know this on Friday, no one answered. My friend Katie said she got an extension on hers, but that the guy said if she hadn't they would have destroyed her application on the 26th... i.e., tomorrow, morning. I'm really sick of the U, and it has dropped from 3rd-4th on my list of schools I'd like to go to to dead last. At the same time, the U is one of two or three schools I know I can get into, and if something should go wrong at the other two, it would be nice to have a school to fall back on. Oh well, I guess I'll see what happens.

Also, as I said before, one of my good friends Nick is being sent to Iraq as a field medic. That is, he will be on the very front lines. I saw him Friday at the chemistry club barbeque, and it was really obvious that he is -- as anyone would be -- annoyed and probably scared by it. He said that lately he's been making his classes every day and doing all of his homework, as well as continuing with his extra curricular activities. He says it makes him forget that he's leaving. -- The dilemma is that he's not 21, and at his going away party he's going to have alcohol; this means that if I go to it, I have a chance of losing my job with Residential Life because I know they'll be serving minors. But if I don't go, I might not see him again, because he won't be starting again until at least Fall 2006.

I'm having a really hard time with all that. I'm mad about the war. I can't believe the American military didn't have a better plan to get our soldiers out after Saddam fell.

And, I feel terrible griping about my own problems when a great guy like Nick is going into a situation like that.

On a positive note, our Chapel Apprentices meeting went really well. I was almost able to forget about all of this crap. We went to the UMN landscape gardens in Chaska and just walked the grounds, talked about the year, and did some skill inventories. It was really a great, relaxing day.

I had a practice med school interview with the health professions advisor on Thursday, as well. That was the first time I've felt on top of med school application process in a long time... since June. I hope to get the last of my secondaries done tonight, so that all I have to worry about is getting recommendation letters sent out.

I suppose life will go on.

Highs and Lows

2005-09-25T13:36:00.000-05:00

Back.

2005-09-20T16:01:00.000-05:00

There was about a week's lag there, during which I learned two things:

(1) that my friend Nick, a student here at Gustavus, is being called to active National Guard duty in "southwest Asia" -- aka Iraq (and Iran?).

(2) that my name is not in the U of M's list of medical school applicants.

Neither of these things made me very happy, to be honest.

I haven't had any really profound conclusions recently. I've been too busy to think, actually. My first real free time has been a walk back from volunteering at the pound today.

Finally, a note from Petronius, from The Dinner of Trimalchio: "Alas for us sad people, all of that which the human being is is nothing. Thus we all shall be, after death carries us off. Therefore let us live, while it is allowed us to be happy."

Translation...

2005-09-13T00:29:00.000-05:00

We met our new sociology prof today. Her name is Ryan Rae Sheppard, though it used to be something else. She told the story today about how during her years doing odd jobs for low wages she spent days telemarketing, giving customers alternate names that she was considering replacing hers with. I found the whole idea incredibly cool, especially because I was considering a similar theme for the one-act I have started to write. I think I might include part of her story in it. Ah, we'll see, I guess.

Today's post is short because something came up tonight. Sorry to anyone who's still reading this.

Busy Weekend

2005-09-11T19:09:00.000-05:00

This weekend has been busy, but in a good way. I've gotten a lot done. Most of it has been schoolwork, so I won't bore anyone about that. I saw Shain and Bri on Saturday for lunch. That was pretty cool. I watched a terrible movie on Friday night but I was with friends so it was all good. I got "moved in" at the lab most of Saturday. Today was the floor program we put together as RA's. We watched the officials steal two touchdowns from the Vikings and make them lose.

Tonight I've got quite a bit of reading to do, and I work until 10:00. It would be nice to get more than a few hours of sleep tonight; that I slept almost all day Thursday (I don't have classes on Thursday) showed me that I haven't been getting enough.

But, the past two months have been one of those times when there is a never-ending list of things to do.

I need to get the rest of my supplemental applications done in the next few days. I was going to get them done this weekend, but... well, it didn't happen. The problem I've been having is that I want to be somewhat motivated at the time I'm filling them out. And that hasn't happened most days in the past ... well ... six weeks, because I've had very little free time and been under a lot of stress. I guess that's not really an excuse but it's better than saying that I just haven't felt like doing them.

At times I wonder whether becoming a doctor is worth all of this busy work.

Grand Ideas...

2005-09-08T23:01:00.000-05:00

During a training course I had a week or so ago that dealt with loss and bereavement, the college Chaplain said something that I found extremely insightful for my own life. She told us that as people get older they begin to realize that many things they at one time dreamed of doing they are no longer feasibly able to do.

At one level, I think that her point of view makes sense. Personally, I believe that at no point does a dreamer have the ability to realize but a tiny fraction of his dreams. Time hasn't somehow sapped enough of my potential to preclude me from succeeding in several areas; instead, I have to conclude that experience has shown me that many of my dreams were foolish and unattainable to begin with. Most of them, actually, were mutually exclusive.

What's the point? I have to start setting realistic goals for myself. At the same time, I have to stop expecting myself to surpass those goals and, on the other hand, be content with and excited about achieving those lesser victories.

I have to admit that most of these thoughts have come about because of medical school applications. Of course, getting into medical school has been my goal. No, actually, getting into a -good- medical school has been my goal. I actually applied to over 5 schools that I'm pretty sure I can't get into just because they have impressive names. Guess I didn't learn the futility of that during the undergrad process.

I think that my Lutheran background has taught me to fear being happy. Lutherans are never supposed to "arrive" at anything; instead, we're always supposed to be journeying towards some goal. That's why I can't admit that I have reached my goal; instead, I have to set it higher. Before I got my MCAT results, I just wanted to get into a medical school. After I found out I did pretty well and therefore have a pretty good chance for a spot at the U of M or UMD, suddenly I felt I had to be accepted to a private medical school with a certain student demographic.

There are other examples, of course, but most are too private for a blog. All in all, I need to try to be happier.

A Slightly More Regular Boyumblog

2005-09-07T10:15:00.000-05:00

This being senior year of college for me, I suppose it's time to start reflecting on some of the things I have learned during this whole "transition into adulthood" thing. I suppose that's really what a blog is all about, anyway--to think in a semi-public, semi-private way.

That being the case, I'm going to try to post something here at least once a week. I'm not promising much; it might be an experience I have had, a random thought, or -- what's always fun to read about -- some venting. Also, because of the change in raison d'etre of the blog, I'm going to stop allowing comments. You can always email me if you want (eboyum@gac.edu). But the main point is for me to be able to look back on what I've written later.

The past two weeks I've been at Gustavus for CF training. A "CF" is an RA at a college where nothing is allowed to be the same as at any other. Our spring break is always three to four full weeks after everyone else's in the country, we have shorter semesters and a "J-term," the College does not believe in "credit hours." Freshman Comp has given way to the "First Term Seminar." We have a "writing across the curriculum" program that requires professors in all subject areas -- from English to math -- to teach students how to write. Some do better than others.

CF training went well, but 10-14 hour days of learning college policy are never fun. As my sociology professor pointed out this morning, the College seems "fluid" in enforcing some major offenses and Draconically enforce minor ones. I could give examples, but that would be breaching confidentiality, and for it I might be sent a mean letter by the Dean warning me that my free cable will be reduced by one channel. On the other hand, at least I didn't leave trash in my bin over summer break, which could have led to a $50 fine.

I don't mean to sound like this is something peculiar to Gustavus. Is legislating whether homosexuals can "marry" or only "unite" really more important than passing the homeland security budget? To medical school admissions committees, doesn't someone's reason for wanting to be a doctor supercede their reasons for wanting to become a medical student? Yet, both parties have always supported the politicking game, and the AMCAS application still demands that students explain "why they want to go to medical school."

I saw a neat advertisement this morning. Its premise was that John Roberts, Bush's first Supreme Court nominee, does not believe in the right to privacy because he opposes abortion and therefore can't be trusted to uphold the Constitution. However, since when has privacy been an issue in the abortion debate? Remember last year's "I've had an abortion" t-shirts? Folks, we're not being honest with ourselves. We believe in certain things but either we don't know why, or we're embarrassed enough by our reasons that we are hesitant to share them.

Honesty. That's what all this comes down to. I think that, at a fundamental level, American (and perhaps other countries') society, the entire higher education system, and many individuals themselves are dishonest -- about their rules, about their priorities, about themselves.

Withdrawals

2005-07-23T00:32:00.000-05:00

Because (a) it's late and (b) I'm tired and (c) it's more fun than staring at paintball equipment I don't have, I'm going to remain true to my philosophy that lists are the way to go in most situations.

MY WITHDRAWALS...

10. Hibbing. This ranks the #10 spot since ... honestly I really don't miss Hibbing that much. But it would be nice to see friends and fambly and play some paintball -- oh wait, that comes later.

9. Fishing. Hey, you don't know whatchya got 'til it's gone.

8. Billy Joel. He'd better tour once more before he kicks.

7. Spanish. Soon I won't remember any of it anymore.

6. Football. One of two reasons I'm looking forward to September. With free cable in my room by virtue of being an RA, this Vikings season will be enjoyed in the quiet of my own room (also by virtue of being an RA.) Quiet, if you don't count the drunk freshmen twenty feet away. And what could be better than our new Harris/Sharper/Smoot defense? Maybe their defense plus Moss? There I go, trying to have my cake...

5. Madden 2005. I was violently torn from my winning season as the Minnesota Vikings. The Packers are playing hideously (if I recall 2-3 games behind the Bears) because of injury trouble.

4. Scotland. Aye.

3. South Park. The other reason I am looking forward to September.

2. The Aristocrats. I might have to drive to Chicago or Detroit to see it, since it's being distributed limited -- limitedly -- in a limited fashion.

1. Paintball. I feel so used. My paintball gun has sat unused for nearly a year. The pain is especially deep because I now have the money, which was not true when I last played, to buy fog-resistant goggles that actually work (VForce Morph) and a 14" sniper barrel for my Tippmann 98. Thanks for the link to the reviews, TC Paintball.

The Aristocrats

2005-07-10T17:16:00.000-05:00

Everyone go see The Aristocrats on July 29th at your local theater. All I've heard is that Bob Saget uses the F-bomb. And that's enough to convince me to attend.

Full F***in' House, b****.

Sincerely,
Rick James

No, seriously. Rick James actually wrote this.

Seriously.

I'm not even joking, you guys.

Not even joking.

My summer so far...

2005-06-26T22:02:00.000-05:00

Well, since I've been pestered, I'll write something or something.

I'm in Michigan for the summer working/interning/volunteering at a neurosurgery practice... I'm not actually practicing neurosurgery... trust me. Trust me. I'm not Kelly Franklin. July 5 I start part-time at KCMS -- it has a longer, non-acronym-type name, but suffice it to say it's a Michigan State research place in town where I'll be doing some stuff in an organ transplant lab. I hope I'll make some money or something and maybe even learn something or something. Yikes.

I got some hefty scores on my MCAT, which made me happy that I don't have to take that sucker again -- an 8 hour test is something you don't want to do more than once a lifetime. I also found out, less recently, (can something be LESS recently, or only MORE recently??) that I managed A's in biochemistry and physics. Who wudda guessed?

And the kicker, I scored in the 99.1-99.7th percentile in the physics section of the MCAT. Stick that on the wall. At the exact moment I saw that, I think I may have crapped myself.

So I figure, things are going pretty good at the moment. But life is like an outhouse that way. It looks like any other little, stubby house on the outside. It might be painted nice, made out of good, solid wood. Maybe that cinder block in front of the door is a hint, but you let that pass you by. Then the door creaks open guided by your fat little fingers and... well, you know the rest.

When I delve into that pit of raw sewage, be assured that you, my faithful reader, will be the first to know.

Until then, I'm going to enjoy the fresh air.

The Great Battle

2005-05-21T10:49:00.000-05:00

Phun with Physics...

2005-05-16T19:36:00.000-05:00

Physics should be illegal, especially when they write "fun" with a "ph" instead of an "f". Also, scheduling not one but two exams a week before the final is not only bad but really bad as well. Though, if the test is anything like the homework then I'm home free. In my last homework assignment I turned in nothing but a drawing of an epic battle between a Reptulian scout ship and Foron cruiser (which ended up looking quite a bit like a Borg cube). I think the question was about solving Schrodinger's Equation for 3 dimensions or something like that. My prof wrote "Nice!" and only marked -3 from a total of 10 points. There are people who fail that class. Bring on the final.

I miss sleep, though.

And now I get the double disappointment of finals week and Star Wars 3: Jar-Jar's Undies. They should resurrect the Christmas special. I think more people would turn up.

Well, fellahs, I'll be home the night of the 24th if my car decides to work in the next few days. It's given up on life, I'm afraid. Let's paintball it up then.

Curate ut valeatis.

The Annals of Moopdom...

2005-04-26T17:45:00.000-05:00

This guy has to go down in the annals of Moopdom...

...and since you've twisted my arm...

2005-04-20T20:29:00.000-05:00

...here it is. My very own post.

Don't you feel lucky? Do ya? Punk?

Anyway, I want to be serious for a moment. Has anyone else thought that the surest way to keep people from coming up with original ideas is to put them through college? The goal of the American university is to create a conformity of knowledge in the academic community, meaning that all of us going through it are taught to think exactly alike... maybe not to believe the same things, but to believe those different things in the same way.

Perhaps the greatest lengths are gone to in order to assure us that we are developing original ideas--and that's what's so dangerous about it all. Why else do universities assure us that they're "teaching us to think for ourselves?" Just think about that statement for a moment.

They do a darn good job of it, too. Excuse me. I must go back to studying my physics now.

It has been a long while...

2005-04-20T20:24:00.000-05:00

Man, it's been a while since I've posted on here.

Bet you were expecting a little more then, huh?

Fun with Aegerrimus

2005-03-20T17:26:00.000-06:00

Aegerrimus sum.

That means that I'm the sickest ever, in Latin. It's in Latin because that's my first mid-term, Wednesday. And Wednesday is coming up. And I'm sick.

I'm not looking forward to this week.

Only the man can save me now.

Fun with Forwards: I've Figured it Out

2005-03-17T14:25:00.000-06:00

I have. I've finally figured out why my life has been so unlucky lately. It's partly because of holidays, and it's partly because of e-mail.

I took the time today to actually read one of the many forwards that I invariably receive round about the same times every year. "You've been egged!" around Easter time... "You've been snowballed!" around Christmas time... "Not forwarding this makes little Baby Jesus cry..."... also, around Christmas time.

Today I read one the whole way through. At the end, it said this:

"If you delete this after you read this, you will have one year bad luck." So. I guess I'm doomed. Because I have deleted at least 500 of them. Even if I serve these terms of bad-luck-having concurrently, holidays tend to pop up more than once per year, so if each one carries with it a big bag of bad luck... Well, that ain't good.

There are two obvious solutions to this: (a) All holidays, including all days off of school, could be done away with, or (b) I could not read the emails at all. The choice is clear.

For now, though, I'm stuck with bad luck until next March 17. "Why did you get an F- on the MCAT, Eric?" or "Why didn't you get into medical school, Eric?" or "Why are you hopping trains and brandishing a hobo-knife, Eric?" -- all of these can be answered by one simple sentence.

I had too much fun with forwards.

Death and Minnesota's Horn of ...

2005-03-15T18:27:00.000-06:00

You ready for this?

Get ready...

Horn of - "Pawlenty" .........................................................................

So.

This probably isn't considered a real post by some of you blog enthusiasts. But I just heard that in Minnesota you have to count your last year's tax refund as taxable income. How much sense does that make?

Does anyone know if this is true?

Do any accountants or tax attorneys read my blog?

Wow, that's a scary thought.

Lists put it all in perspective...

2005-03-06T15:26:00.000-06:00

Some people say that I don't put enough effort into what I do to make it meaningful. Actually, quite the opposite: I just don't care. "Not enough effort" means that I could potentially give more. In fact, this whole post has come about because two weeks ago the editor of our school newspaper Commentary section recently wrote a nasty email to me because I didn't "put enough effort" into my article. Then, this week, she sent out another email, one about how she doesn't know why no one wants to write for her Commentary section.

Lists are, I hear from my editor, considered to be the least effortful of all. Some might say that's a reason not to make lists; others, including me, shall no longer do anything but make lists.

---
LIST #1. Top 10 places to stick your dryer sheets. (These, supposedly, actually work.)

10. Placing a used dryer sheet in the bottom of a trash bin reduces the odors associated with trash bins. [Comment: I place plenty of used dryer sheets in the trash, and my trash still smells like trash.]

9. They will take the odors out of unused books and photo albums. [Comment: Damn those stinky books. If you're really not going to use them, you might as well just throw them in the trash bin freshened with used dryer sheets.]

8. Cleaning pet hairs. Rubbing a dryer sheet over the area will magnetically attract loose pet hair. [Comment: Everyone knows that this actually occurs because of static electricity, not magnetism. Or maybe it's up-ways gravity because the dryer sheet is so much more massive than the pet hair.]

7. Placing sheets in your sneakers overnight will help to reduce odor in the morning. [Comment: Who's going to test whether this one works or not?]

6. This one from Randy: My wife uses a dryer sheet to stroke on her hair on particularly bad hair days. The dryer sheet kills frizz-causing static. [Comment: Randy's wife also lives in a mental institution.]

5. It stops mice from entering your vehicle. [Comment: I also have some elephant repellant for you to procure.]

4. From Jill Florio of BellaOnline: Put dryer sheet in vacuum cleaner. [Comment: Step Two: buy new vacuum cleaner. Brought to you by Hoover.]

3. Place them in your dryer to freshen clothes and remove static. [Comment: Who wudda thought?]

2. Dryer sheets remove stuck-on grease. Put a dryer sheet in a dirty pan, fill with water, and let sit overnight. In the morning, sponge clean. [Comment: You'll be picking more than chicken bones out of your soup for the next week, though.]

1. Repel mosquitoes! Hang around your porch to protect against these pests. [Comment: This is how Randy's wife got sent to the mental institution. According to her neighbors, this was the last straw. I wonder if it works for bees.]

---
Well, there it is. Just so you know, this warning was printed on the bottom of only one website that I looked at in coming up with this list. It might not be true, but...

"Warning: studies have shown that certain compounds in dryer sheets can be potent neurotoxins."

It might not be true, but it sure would explain a lot...

Where to put your dryer sheets...

2005-03-04T03:11:00.000-06:00

It's 3:10 am. I've run out of coffee. There's no hope of making it through the night and being awake for my two consecutive exams at 10:30 and 11:3o tomorrow. So, like all good men, I shall quit this foolishness and go to sleep.

So.

Bye.

I might write about dryer sheets tomorrow.

And then you fall... and that's embarassing.

2005-02-27T22:59:00.000-06:00

At least it will be heartfelt, my roommate says. He's talking, of course, about Metroid Prime 2 for the Gamecube. There is this energy tank thingy on a balcony that he needs to get for the best ending, and he'd been trying to get at it for about fifteen minutes. Sometimes he would get real close, but he'd just fall back down and have to do it all over again. But when he got it, boy was it heartfelt.

What the crap am I talking about? I hope most of you didn't bother reading that and skipped immediately to here, because here's where it gets good.

I should find out this week where I'll be this summer, which could be a good or a bad thing. It will only be bad if I don't get a job at either of the two places I applied. In that case I'd be back in Hibbing. And Hibbing's never a place that you want to be "going to." "Coming from," but not "going to."

But I'm not totally anti-the Iron Range. I mean, our great Governor Pawlenty called us a "microcosm." Which is good for him, because if we're our own "little world," he doesn't have to do crap for us. And we now serve as the setting for a movie, based on a book my mom has read, starring Sissy Spacek...

What else could we want?

I think he's past that jumpy part now. Now he's shooting some stuff.

What else could we want?

Fun with Finals and Stuff...

2005-01-23T19:01:00.000-06:00

OK. Finals are over. Unfortunately, they required more than doodling in margins, which is--I think--the thing I learned to do best over the past semester in lectures. I became a master at doodling "Bobbo the Insane, One-Eyed Clown". He was, by far, the coolest. But nonetheless, he's in the trash bin now. I'll miss you, Bobbo.

I have zero comments. That means I have no friends. Will you be my friend?

Yup. That makes it all better.

Fun with Moops, Number the One

2005-01-20T08:56:00.000-06:00

Okay, everyone. The moment you've all been waiting for.

The one.

The first.

But not the only...

Well, now it's the only but it won't be in a while...

You're. . . still waiting?...

(Great big, expensive-sounding fanfare begins.)

The Boyumblog Moop Review!

---

#1. The Smartest, Most Satanic Moop in the Universe

The universe is a big place, and there are a lot of smart people, most of them in the universe, which is a big place. Most of these people, inhabiting the universe, that big place, are moops. Some of them don't know it, others do but try to hide it. But not this moop.

Because this moop isn't even a person. This moop follows moo quite closely, I hear, making it easier for moo-people to 'migrate' to its wonderful loins. (Loins? Seriously, Boyum...)

Of course, I'm talking about the Python Object-Oriented, Live-Coding, Multi-User Domain, of which the obvious mnemonic is... MOOP? What happened to POOLCMUD? I guess it just doesn't have the same ring to it. Whatever this 'MOOP' is, the guys who made it are really smart, I guess. All those hyphenated words... you'd hafta be.

And even to run it, I'm having problems right from the start. After deciding to give this MOOP a shot, I entered the "Getting Started" area to find out how I, too, could migrate myself to this wonderful state of moopdom. I never liked the moo-rons in Moo anyway. The first instructions...

'Unzip it into a working directory.' - OK. Check. Downloaded the .zip and put it in a working directory (I chose number C), which was easy to do, because all of my directories are working. I mean, how could I put it in a NON-working directory. Jeez, maybe these geeks aren't as smart as I thought.

And on I go... and the next instruction reads:

'Make sure that python is in your path'... What? Filling in the obviously missing 'the' and '.' in that sentence, I get a strange feeling that maybe this Python object-oriented, live-coding, multi-user domain isn't exactly what I thought it is. What path are they talking about? Is this something about life's journey? My spiritual path? Is this some sort of Satanic serpentine cult?

'...or that you give the python files executable permissions if your OS supports it.' -- Oh. OK. There's the '.'. But -- whazza? The day I give any computer file permission to execute me will be the day that Doug Downs will transform himself into a computer file.

Anyway... these 'programmers' then tell you to do a few more things, and you finally end up staring at a:

'>'.

What do they say about this demonic, Satanist symbol of theirs?:

'the > is the prompt, which will change depending on context.' -- Changing prompts due to changing contexts... Oh the possibilities. I must find this MOOP! I must get python in my path! Come for me, dear MOOP. Hold on a second. No, no, what's happening? It's just too much! It's JUST TOO MUCH! What else?!:

'Type 0 to exit.' -- 0.

Whew. That's better. I had better remove that .zip from my working directory before any more poor Moos are overtaken by this Satanic brotherhood. So, I guess the moral of the story is that though people in this great big universe of ours might be really smart, that doesn't mean that they don't love Satan and brainwashing.

---
A POST-PRODUCTION MESSAGE FROM THE BOYUM.

"Beep."

"Oh, crap! I forgot to include even one link in this whole message. What a moop."

"Beep."

My New Year's Resolutions...

2005-01-02T11:55:00.000-06:00

OK, OK. I know. No one cares about my New Year's resolutions. And I don't really care, either. I know I'll just break them in about a week's time, anyway.

So what I'll do instead is express the horrible taste in my mouth still there after over 12 hours--all from watching the Hitchcock 'classic', The Birds. Or maybe it's a bad taste burned onto my retinas. Let me tell you something, if neutrinos have the uncanny ability to explode your eyeballs like Mr. Carlstrom says they do, then I need to get my hands on some in case I am ever forced to watch that piece of dog-filth movie ever again. And, I mean, that's saying something coming from me. I tend to see the good in my movies, which is why Mrs. Doubtfire graces the "favorite movies" section above, even though, Pierce Brosnan, you could have done much better. After seeing the movie, I realize what a good thing it is that Alfred Hitchcock is already sinking into the inky blackness of bad movie history, that he's most remembered now not for his psychological thrillers or insane animal trainers but only for being incredibly fat. Just in case you're even considering seeing the movie, let me tell you that it's worse than Christmas with the Kranks, which, given its corniness, should indeed have been entitled 'Kristmas with the Kranks,' in order to give it even the initial appearance of wittiness. Or maybe 'Boyumblog,' but now, that wouldn't have made much sense, now would it have? I mean, a catchy title gets you almost the whole way there. I mean, with a title like "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events," you don't even need actors that can act like normal children not on an overdose of painkillers, a coherent plotline, or a non-mentally-challenged star. I bet they could have netted at least another $4 million with a title like "Kristmas" with the Kranks, with Tim Allen running around the house with his beer gut hanging over his yellow speedo screaming about the "Krist" child being born on "Kristmas" day. And of course he would be spelling the words as he said them so that everyone would know what a witty, witty man writer John Grisham is. He should have stuck to writing about lawyers. People like laughing about lawyers. People like laughing about Kristmas, too, but unfortunately he doesn't give any movie-goer that opportunity...

Anyway, The Birds is a terrible movie, but it fools you into believing that it's a good movie until the very end. So don't get roped in like I did, li'l buddy. I had to wait until some British pop music show (badly impersonating TRL) came on before I really accepted that it was over. It's not that the movie has a BAD ending, it's that it has NO ending at all.

And that's all I have to say about that.

NOTE: This isn't a MOOP review. They will be much better. This is just... a crap review. Full of crappiness.

Oh man, only the bees can save this post now.

The Post I Forgot to Title

2004-12-22T12:39:00.000-06:00

I have been up all night. That is, all at once, an excuse and an apology. That is to say, I'm not apologetic enough about what suck inevitably will follow to stop typing it. But heck, it was nice of me to warn you, at least, huh? And that's what this whole blog thing is all about. I'm lookin' out for ya, li'l buddy.

Caution: reading further will prove that you are incredibly stupid.

OK. Well, what am I going to do today? (See, it's a different kind of blog already. What AM I GOING TO do today, not what DID I do today.) Well, here's the plan. I'm sure that what will actually occur in my life today will be quite a bit different.

First, I am going to go to Christmas with the Kranks. I know, I know. "It's Christmas with the Kranks," you warn me. In response, I scoff and reply, "Oh, come now. How bad could it possibly be?.............."

Second, I am going to pay for my ferry ticket to the Shetland Islands. You see, I'm kinda going there for the next few days. So, no more Boyumblog until January. Aren't you sad? Of course, that's supposing that I pay for my ticket. If I don't I imagine something like this will happen. I'm sitting, enjoying the salt sea air from my deluxe, reclining (and free) seat on the observation deck, when a large and surly conductor-type comes up to me and asks for my ticket. When I inform him that I was too lazy to actually purchase my ticket, he punches me square in the face, which sends me through the plate glass window next to me and out onto the deck, bloody. After following me out onto the deck, he picks me up by the trousers and shirt collar and throws me into the ocean. When the wealthy passengers that are there despite the fact that they are much too wealthy to have purchased a mere deluxe, reclining, and free seat for the voyage are shocked by this, the conductor simply points a thumb over the edge of the deck and explains: "No ticket." At this point they all realize that he is actually Harrison Ford, and they, being old and forgetful, remember why they were here in the first place. They all get out their tickets in a mad rush, and ... well, go watch the movie, because I'm sick of writing more about it. Let's just say: I die a horrible death at the hands of Harrison Ford. And then a swarm of killer bees flies in and kills them all as well. Death, sweet death. Whoa. I'm starting to scare me.

Whew. Third, I am going to study for my physics final, which -- because I'm in stupid Britain -- is in stupid January, not before Christmas like around the rest of the bloody globe. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Whoa, Mr. Cranky, where did you come from? I really don't hold violent thoughts in my head about the loverly Brits around me. I just hate having finals in January. Buck up, li'l buddy.

Too many links. I shall go hit my head against a wall now because I'm a bad ol' bear. If I'm back in January then you'll know I didn't damage anything permanently. Maaaybbeeee...

Merry Holidays and Happy Christmas.

And look forward to MOOP REVIEWS come January!

Fun with Christmas

2004-12-20T19:21:00.000-06:00

Christmas time is almost here, so I'm obligated to dedicate at least one post to it, I suppose. Or at least a paragraph.

Christmas is that time of year when we get presents. Some are large, some are small. They come in many colors: black, white, brown, yellow, red, and green. But they are all equal in our sight and the sight of God, until we open them and find out that someone got us this instead of this. Then we realize that as bright and cheery as they may have seemed on the outside, they really were just full of crap the whole time--just like bees, bees that are full to the brim with fecal matter.

I apologize for that paragraph, which was nothing more than an excuse to link excessively to stuff neither you nor I care about anyway (with the possible exception of Halo 2).

What is infinitely more important, though, is the shocking realization that the very act of blogging presupposes that you actually -do- something about which you can write, which in my case could not be farther from the truth. Today I woke up, and I considered that alone an act requiring great sacrifice. Then, so that I could rationalize the consumption of a mountain of free Twix bars from the dorm vending machine that the company has not yet fixed, I went to the gym. There I realized that people who go to the gym four days before Christmas are of a similar physio-psychological profile: dumpy, mean, and glum. We are the few to whom Christmas means losing five pounds before Christmas so that we won't have to feel guilty about gaining it all back in one meal. After that, I came back to my dorm room, and I haven't done anything productive since. Including writing this.

Man, this one started off rather well, and now it's turning to crap just like all the others (I could be talking about this post, or I could be talking about the booger that I just finished eating). (Or did I just eat a booger at all?) (You don't know because I am separated from you by this wonderful thing called the Internet.) (Ha!) But really, I started off with incredible references to Christmas presents filled with feces and ended talking about the general lack of productivity that sums up my existence. How crapful.

Well, to everyone who reads mine blog, a group of people that may or may not exist outside my own mind, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.

and... Happy Hannukah.

and... Happy Kwanzaa.

and... Happy I-don't-celebrate-the-holidays-because-I'm-an-angry-vegetarian-atheist Day!

and... if any of you angry, vegetarian or meatatarian atheists are considering celebrating Christmas--well, I don't think so. Deacon Fred says you shouldn't. The Nazis weren't the first people to think of burning people with furnaces, you know. No, no. God was one step ahead of 'em! Just keep THAT in mind when you're thinking of putting those candles on your tree. Think of your and your childrens' flame-ridden corpses--and be full of holiday cheer!

And always remember the true spirit of this holiday season: “Merry Christmas, And Fine Shooting, From Your Best Friend, Jesus Christ.”

Bum-badda-bum...

2004-12-19T21:56:00.000-06:00

Well. The first-ever Boyumblog is here. Bet you were expecting a bit more, huh? But, I'm not as cool as Reinman.

Well. Boyumblog is a funny name, not only because it sounds funny to say. Go ahead. Try it. Especially if there are many people sitting around you, some of whom are intoxicated college student. And especially if you are an intoxicated college student yourself. In either of those two cases, they will inevitably ask you what it is that you have just said. At that point, you can do one of two things: (1) Try to communicate to them that you've come upon some stupid college kid's blog that you won't remember in the morning, or (2) call out, "Who's got the bottle of vodka?" Either one should lead to you forgetting all about reading this in the morning.

Well. As I said, Boyumblog is not only funny because it sounds funny, but because it is also a pun on my name. My last name is 'Boyum', and this is my 'blog'. Get it? I'm so incredibly witty. Witty in the way that Paris Hilton isn't. Gosh, I hate Paris Hilton. She snores really loud, she has a huge nose, and this squishy thing that lives in her pants.

Well. I am now realizing that me getting a blog wasn't the greatest thing to happen to twenty-first century entertainment, which I fully envisioned it being when I was filling out the on-line application. Man, was I suckered. And don't you feel suckered for reading it? You should. You've just wasted a good five minutes of your life, loser. Ha!

Go read about bees.