At lunch a week ago, the topic of edema somehow came up. Medical school is probably one of the few places in the world where it's socially acceptable to chat about fluid retention over a meal. Anyhow, it soon became obvious to me and my classmates that the health care system has been overlooking a universal cure for peripheral edema.
Americans, forget diuretics and elevating legs; think ShamWow:
Extrapolating the product demonstration from this video, it seems that a doctor would only need to place the ShamWow on the surface affected body parts. And then, BAM!, no more fluid accumulation in the interstitial space. Hell, perhaps the product would work if you just moved a ShamWow into the same room as the patient. However, we may need to take some special precautions to ensure that the patient does not become hypovolemic.
Vince Offer, you need to patent your product for medical use immediately. The device industry will never be the same.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
Early Thanksgiving
So Mayce and Danielle are having a joint birthday party this weekend. One part of the festivities is a dinner, and the invitation went something like this:
we were hoping to invite you all over to danielle, julia and selena's place for dinner. we'll bring the chinese if you bring the booze (and desserts). it will be delicious. it will be delightful.
Sensing a great opportunity for getting one of my cousins a free trip to the States, I replied:
wait, so if i bring some booze, will you bring over some of my relatives?!!!
I happily received the following response from Mayce:
it's that simple. welcome to the immigration policy under the obama administration!
There you have it. Forget getting a visa; I'm sending USCIS a keg.
we were hoping to invite you all over to danielle, julia and selena's place for dinner. we'll bring the chinese if you bring the booze (and desserts). it will be delicious. it will be delightful.
Sensing a great opportunity for getting one of my cousins a free trip to the States, I replied:
wait, so if i bring some booze, will you bring over some of my relatives?!!!
I happily received the following response from Mayce:
it's that simple. welcome to the immigration policy under the obama administration!
There you have it. Forget getting a visa; I'm sending USCIS a keg.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Electric Shaving FAIL
I cut my face while using an electric razor.
This takes talent... Or complete lack of skill.
This takes talent... Or complete lack of skill.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Crunk!!!
I've already mentioned one bizarre energy drink in this blog. I'm happy (?) to report that physiology has facilitated my encounter with another.
Introducing... Crunk!!!
This party-in-a-can was obtained in the cafeteria at Brigham and Women's Hospital the night before my cardiovascular physiology quiz. Basically, I was occupied until about 9:00 p.m., at which point I had to review the entire week's content in one night. Thinking that I may need liquid assistance to stay up and study, I became the proud owner of a can of Crunk!!!. (Also, I felt compelled to buy it just because of its name.)
Well, to make a boring story slightly less boring, I'll just say that staying up until 4:00 a.m. actually did not help me on the quiz. I was so zombified the next day that I literally couldn't even remember what the concavity of the Starling curve was. Luckily, I figured it out after about 5 minutes of "thinking" (or staring off into space in the auditorium).
The best part of all of this is I actually didn't end up consuming my Crunk!!!. Now I have it around in case (read: when) renal physiology gets desperate. (And perhaps it'll help me learn why caffeine is a diuretic and where it acts on the nephron.)
Update: Holy crap. Crunk!!! is endorsed by Lil John. (YEAAAH!)
Introducing... Crunk!!!
This party-in-a-can was obtained in the cafeteria at Brigham and Women's Hospital the night before my cardiovascular physiology quiz. Basically, I was occupied until about 9:00 p.m., at which point I had to review the entire week's content in one night. Thinking that I may need liquid assistance to stay up and study, I became the proud owner of a can of Crunk!!!. (Also, I felt compelled to buy it just because of its name.)
Well, to make a boring story slightly less boring, I'll just say that staying up until 4:00 a.m. actually did not help me on the quiz. I was so zombified the next day that I literally couldn't even remember what the concavity of the Starling curve was. Luckily, I figured it out after about 5 minutes of "thinking" (or staring off into space in the auditorium).
The best part of all of this is I actually didn't end up consuming my Crunk!!!. Now I have it around in case (read: when) renal physiology gets desperate. (And perhaps it'll help me learn why caffeine is a diuretic and where it acts on the nephron.)
Update: Holy crap. Crunk!!! is endorsed by Lil John. (YEAAAH!)
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
What are those strange marks on your face?
GChat status message:
ok, andres just walked into tmec105 to find me faceplanted on the table, passed out. haha, *sigh*
ok, andres just walked into tmec105 to find me faceplanted on the table, passed out. haha, *sigh*
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
180 Degrees
Today, we were told the correct answers to Friday's quiz on cardiovascular physiology. It's great when you get a question exactly wrong. You thought that stroke volume would decrease? Nope, it would increase. What about that pulmonary pressure? Oh, shoot. That increased, too?!
*sigh*
*sigh*
Monday, February 16, 2009
The little cynic.
I haven't posted in quite some time, and there is one good explanation: Integrated Human Physiology. This course started exactly 2 weeks ago, and it has made February a little... rough. I think that I'm adjusting to the pace a little better now, though. Hopefully, I can get my blog posting frequency back up! And now, without further ado...
This Saturday was Valentine's Day. A random sampling of my friends revealed that several did nothing special, several went out on romantic dates, and a few even had overtly "anti-Valentine's Day" parties. All of this frenzy around V-Day got me thinking about how the holiday was celebrated earlier in my life. Of course, this train of thought pulled me up to the Elementary School Station.
As I've gotten older and bitterer, one thing that I've enjoyed doing is identifying glimmers of cynicism that could have been harbingers of the cranky twenty-something to come. Two of the most obvious warning signs were likely the facts that my childhood favorite shows included Murphy Brown and Absolutely Fabulous, programs with extremely dry humor. (But seriously, which elementary or middle schooler has Murphy Brown as a role model? Whatever.)
In thinking about Valentine's Day recently, I remembered an antic that I pulled one yesteryear. I think that it was in fourth grade. Following social custom, I had a stack of pink and red valentines--you know, the ones with the perforated edges enclosed in little envelopes with bad-tasting adhesive that you had to lick. I must admit that I had a penchant for overthinking things even then. So of course, I had read all of the cards carefully and selected specific ones to give to each person in my class.
And then, something dawned on me.
I didn't actually want any of these people to "be mine" or any of that gooey figurative nonsense. Gross. So I took out a pencil and went to work, engraving each card with an apporpirate word negating its sentiment. The most commonly used word was "not." The result was akin to the following:
My actions caused considerable confusion in my class. "Why'd you do that?" was a common inquiry in the following days. As I recall, my response was something like a noncommital "Um, I don't know." Maybe I honestly didn't know then. But my being a little cynic may say a lot about the person I've become now.
This Saturday was Valentine's Day. A random sampling of my friends revealed that several did nothing special, several went out on romantic dates, and a few even had overtly "anti-Valentine's Day" parties. All of this frenzy around V-Day got me thinking about how the holiday was celebrated earlier in my life. Of course, this train of thought pulled me up to the Elementary School Station.
As I've gotten older and bitterer, one thing that I've enjoyed doing is identifying glimmers of cynicism that could have been harbingers of the cranky twenty-something to come. Two of the most obvious warning signs were likely the facts that my childhood favorite shows included Murphy Brown and Absolutely Fabulous, programs with extremely dry humor. (But seriously, which elementary or middle schooler has Murphy Brown as a role model? Whatever.)
In thinking about Valentine's Day recently, I remembered an antic that I pulled one yesteryear. I think that it was in fourth grade. Following social custom, I had a stack of pink and red valentines--you know, the ones with the perforated edges enclosed in little envelopes with bad-tasting adhesive that you had to lick. I must admit that I had a penchant for overthinking things even then. So of course, I had read all of the cards carefully and selected specific ones to give to each person in my class.
And then, something dawned on me.
I didn't actually want any of these people to "be mine" or any of that gooey figurative nonsense. Gross. So I took out a pencil and went to work, engraving each card with an apporpirate word negating its sentiment. The most commonly used word was "not." The result was akin to the following:
My actions caused considerable confusion in my class. "Why'd you do that?" was a common inquiry in the following days. As I recall, my response was something like a noncommital "Um, I don't know." Maybe I honestly didn't know then. But my being a little cynic may say a lot about the person I've become now.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Anne has priorities
From conversation last night:
Anne: OUCH! OUCH! OHHHH!
David: What's wrong?!
Anne: I just dropped my laptop on my toe.
David: Well, is it ok?
Anne: Yes, because I dropped it on my toe.
David: No, I meant your toe.
Anne: Oh.
Anne: OUCH! OUCH! OHHHH!
David: What's wrong?!
Anne: I just dropped my laptop on my toe.
David: Well, is it ok?
Anne: Yes, because I dropped it on my toe.
David: No, I meant your toe.
Anne: Oh.
Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of HPV Vaccination vs Pat Smear
From Wikipedia:
"Pap smear" redirects here. For the similarly named guitar player and actor, see Pat Smear.
"Pap smear" redirects here. For the similarly named guitar player and actor, see Pat Smear.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Grasping at Frozen Straws
From GChat:
Katherine: omg dude
Katherine's new status message - ok, im ready for winter to be over 5:30 PM
me: but it feels like 13...
Katherine: ugh
Katherine: omg dude
its so f-ing cold here
me: yeah, it's a cold day =\
Katherine: 12 F, feels like -1
i cant believe theres 2 more months of this
me: ok, i don't have shit on that
it's 26 here
Katherine's new status message - ok, im ready for winter to be over 5:30 PM
me: but it feels like 13...
WE HAVE THE SAME WIND CHILL!
Katherine: it was 30 the other day ad people were like taking off their jackets and smiling
yay!
the country is united
me: we're frostbitten sisters!
united kelvin-is-a-more-appropriate-scale-for-this-kind-of-coldness states!
Sent at 5:31 PM on Saturday
Katherine: ugh
yeah i really felt like a different scale was necessary when the high was 0 a few days ago
me: oh, gross
we haven't had a high below 10 yet, only in the teens
well, think about all of the... ummm....
how there's no malaria in chicago
...
Katherine: thats very comforting
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Midnight Oil
I'm burning the midnight oil, which I hear is relatively clean-burning.
I have an epidemiology quiz in 6.5 hours, and I've studied approximately 1 hour for it. The good news, though, is that I've read about 100 pages in Kenji Yoshino's Covering. Which is better for my overall quality of life?... Yeah, you decide causality using the Hill Criteria.
I have an epidemiology quiz in 6.5 hours, and I've studied approximately 1 hour for it. The good news, though, is that I've read about 100 pages in Kenji Yoshino's Covering. Which is better for my overall quality of life?... Yeah, you decide causality using the Hill Criteria.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
iPhone, wtf - Part 3
So I went to the Apple Store on Boylston today in order to get a new phone. The building was... unique, to say the least. It's a three-story glass structure with a glass spiral staircase. It also appears to be staffed primarily by people under the age of 20.
Anyhow, I got by new phone and even purcahsed a new matte-finish screen protector to commemorate the occasion. Supposedly, my screen is now less susceptible to getting smudges on it. Unfortunately, the "expert" I enlisted to help me adhere it managed I attach it off-center. Regardless, it was a smooth transition overall.
Once I got back to my room, I restored my old phone's settings and content and was ready to go. I even have my old wallpaper back. Woohoo.
This post brought to you by my new iPhone.
Anyhow, I got by new phone and even purcahsed a new matte-finish screen protector to commemorate the occasion. Supposedly, my screen is now less susceptible to getting smudges on it. Unfortunately, the "expert" I enlisted to help me adhere it managed I attach it off-center. Regardless, it was a smooth transition overall.
Once I got back to my room, I restored my old phone's settings and content and was ready to go. I even have my old wallpaper back. Woohoo.
This post brought to you by my new iPhone.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Sunday, January 11, 2009
iPhone, wtf - Part 2
My iPhone is now physically broken. The problem isn't major, but it's significant.
I was turning my phone from silent to ring when the associated switch got loose and actually fell off. Unfortunately, it fell onto the floor, and I haven't been able to find it. Like my previous problem, this issue appears very, very common. It seems that the "solution" is to get a new phone at an Apple Store after talking to one of Apple's "geniuses" at the "genius bar." (I mean really?...) I hope that I don't have any issues because I don't have the physical switch anymore.
In other exciting news, my phone also malfunctioned last night in another way. To cut a long story short, my iPhone somehow got stuck on a blank screen even though the phone itself was completely functional. I even managed to take a screenshot:
Yeah, that's the actual screenshot... After trying to resync the phone, etc., I finally managed to get it working again by cold restarting. (Hint: Hold the home and sleep buttons for 10 seconds.)
I hope that my new phone doesen't have as many issues...
I was turning my phone from silent to ring when the associated switch got loose and actually fell off. Unfortunately, it fell onto the floor, and I haven't been able to find it. Like my previous problem, this issue appears very, very common. It seems that the "solution" is to get a new phone at an Apple Store after talking to one of Apple's "geniuses" at the "genius bar." (I mean really?...) I hope that I don't have any issues because I don't have the physical switch anymore.
In other exciting news, my phone also malfunctioned last night in another way. To cut a long story short, my iPhone somehow got stuck on a blank screen even though the phone itself was completely functional. I even managed to take a screenshot:
Yeah, that's the actual screenshot... After trying to resync the phone, etc., I finally managed to get it working again by cold restarting. (Hint: Hold the home and sleep buttons for 10 seconds.)
I hope that my new phone doesen't have as many issues...
Match-[with professors?]-dot-com
One of my classmates recently created a profile on a dating website. Soon after, she received a message from a guy with the screen name "Professor." He was an older man, and his profile made it clear that although he was married, he was looking to have an affair with a younger woman. (Wow, what a winner).
The conversation went something like this:
Professor: I'm a professor.
Classmate: Oh, it'd be funny if you were a my professor because I'm a student.
Professor: Well, I'm a professor at a medical school, so probably not.
Classmate: I'm a medical student, actually.
Professor: Well, I'm a professor at a good medical school.
Classmate: Um, I go to a good medical school.
Professor: I teach at Harvard Medical School.
And at this point, my classmate cross-referenced his picture on the dating website with the pictures of all of our professors on our courses website. To her chagrin, there was no match [yet]. But Professor, you just wait... One of these days, you'll probably be exposed...
Update: Ok, so after hearing this story first-hand, I've learned that there apparently was not photographic evidence of the identity of our "Professor." Alas. Nonetheless, the douchebaggery is monumental, and I still hope that he gets exposed.
The conversation went something like this:
Professor: I'm a professor.
Classmate: Oh, it'd be funny if you were a my professor because I'm a student.
Professor: Well, I'm a professor at a medical school, so probably not.
Classmate: I'm a medical student, actually.
Professor: Well, I'm a professor at a good medical school.
Classmate: Um, I go to a good medical school.
Professor: I teach at Harvard Medical School.
And at this point, my classmate cross-referenced his picture on the dating website with the pictures of all of our professors on our courses website. To her chagrin, there was no match [yet]. But Professor, you just wait... One of these days, you'll probably be exposed...
Update: Ok, so after hearing this story first-hand, I've learned that there apparently was not photographic evidence of the identity of our "Professor." Alas. Nonetheless, the douchebaggery is monumental, and I still hope that he gets exposed.
Friday, January 09, 2009
Kiss the cooks
Ok, two things:
First, I cooked last night for the first time in about two months. I ended up making some chicken and dumping in a jar of Trader Joe's green curry. Yummy...
Second, a prospective student emailed me for advice. He felt that going to medical school straight our of college may burn him out, so he was interested in deferring and going to... culinary school. I'm not optimistic that the medical school would be supportive, though he could call it a "hunger fellowship"...
This post brought to you by my iPhone.
First, I cooked last night for the first time in about two months. I ended up making some chicken and dumping in a jar of Trader Joe's green curry. Yummy...
Second, a prospective student emailed me for advice. He felt that going to medical school straight our of college may burn him out, so he was interested in deferring and going to... culinary school. I'm not optimistic that the medical school would be supportive, though he could call it a "hunger fellowship"...
This post brought to you by my iPhone.
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
Narcolepsy is contagious (over GChat)
Me: ok, i took another nap
this is silly
...
N.: omg me too!
i just fell asleep on the futon
for like 3 hrs...
C.: okay, i took an unplanned 5-hour nap
Me: heh, welcome to the club.
C.: i've been in this club for weeks, dude. ;P
Get it together, peeps! We've got things to do...
this is silly
...
N.: omg me too!
i just fell asleep on the futon
for like 3 hrs...
C.: okay, i took an unplanned 5-hour nap
Me: heh, welcome to the club.
C.: i've been in this club for weeks, dude. ;P
Get it together, peeps! We've got things to do...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
