I like this

The acoustic is only half as long as the regular one but sounds a thousand times better.

elephants beware

Logitech has made a billion mice. It's only a matter of time now until they kill off all of the elephants and take over the world.

And so, I propose a toast: here's to you Logitech, to you and your micey minions.

I agree with TJ. I too have had a sub-par college experience, er, thus far.

Barkeep? Another round, please.

Here’s my beef with college: I went in thinking it was going to be extremely hard, the best 4 years of my life, and the first time that I actually wanted to go to class (being the nerd that I am). Not so. There’s nothing special about UC. It’s high school version 2.0. The students here (from what I can tell) are not set on learning cool shit and abolishing ignorance; they are focused on a 4.0 GPA and getting out ASAP. What about the study groups? You know, the 2-5 friends/classmates who spend long hours in some dingy room with flickering lights in the library writing equation after equation, problem after problem on the white board (better yet a room so dingy it still has chalkboards). All because the professor is trying to make the class impossible. I thought college was a sort of game between instructor and student, a game in which the student was graded on how well he/she solved the challenges given to him/her. I was thinking something more about learning and less about GPAs.

GPAs are silly really. Sure it gives some indication to the blood, sweat and tears put forth by the student, but it’s highly inaccurate. Is it harder to get a 4.0 in Engineering or Business? Engineers aren’t supposed to get A’s in their classes. If they are, they’re under-challenged by a long shot. The grades are supposed to be tied to the classes, not averaged. What if I were to graduate with a 3.2 but got C’s in every chemistry course I took? I wouldn’t be much of a chemical engineer now would I?

I thought I would care about my GPA. But then I realized that it wasn’t based on how well you knew what you were doing, it was based on whether or not you did the homework. At that point, what’s the point? 10 years down the road that 4.0 is going to mean squat. Those who will succeed will be the ones who learned a thing or two.

What about all the pranks? All the stuff that make the memories? The stuff that gets you into trouble but not kicked out of school? 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/35/MIT_firetruck_hack_2006.JPG

I’m sick and tired of students complaining about how they don’t know why they need this class or that one. Trust me, engineers need Differential Equations and Principles of Momentum Transport etc. Nobody said this was going to be easy. It’s not supposed to be. Some people are going to drop out of college if not then out of their major. That’s supposed to be a form of natural selection so that by the time everyone gets their diplomas, they get what they deserved/earned. Too many students are pushed through all levels of school. It provides no benefit to society, in fact, it just makes us stupider as a whole. Too many things get dumbed down and simplified for the sole reason of leveling the playing field and allowing everyone an equal chance. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want everyone to be an engineer. Engineers are supposed to be the best and the brightest and such. 

In doing so, kids like me missed out on the best 4 years of our lives. We miss out on the person-to-person learning experience of professor to student that I thought college was all about. 3^rd year courses should not contain 30+ students (especially when there’s only about 60 or so in your class). Math and science can’t be effectively taught in a lecture format. These sorts of things need interaction. Not everyone learns on their own.

In short, I want to learn dammit! That's what I shovel hundreds of thousands of dollars out for. And I want all those who don't care about learning, who don't care what they major in, or who don't even want to be here, to just get out of my way or join me. 

As for Halloween, well… 

I went as Alex from A Clockwork Orange. The majority of people who got who I was were my age or older. All the young whipper snappers didn’t understand. Some didn’t even know who Stanley Kubrick was. Mind you, it was pretty obvious even if you’ve only just heard of the film.

I saw plenty of turtles, though no bloodthirsty Marios with pistols and syphilis.

Halloween... A month later

I originally planned to post this the day after Halloween, but school, finals, and plain ol' forgetting prevented me until now. Let me start by putting my bitter first-post into a little context. The Halloween party at Ohio University was absolutely horrible this year, or at least my experience of it. Friday, before the actual block party, I nearly got into a fist fight at my favorite bar with two racist tools who actually threatened to kill me. Then that Saturday, during the actual party, I dressed up as the Cash Cab by putting a cardboard box around me, and it lasted all of 2 hours before a drunk woman fell in front of me and used my costume to pull herself back up. As a result, I apologize if the following sounds somewhat bitter.

It seems like over the past 20 or so years college has taken a dramatic turn for the worse. What used to require hard work and dedication now only requires money and the absolute minimum of an attendance record. Students in the past were expected to do well, while today most are expected to be sub-par and are even accommodated for it by professors and administration. What once was a path to the highest jobs in society has now become the most basic requirement for any decent job; and related to that, now grad school is expected for an ever increasing number of occupations. In the end, most people end up essentially buying their job.

As I walked home from the festivities with my broken costume and pissed off attitude, I suddenly saw that Halloween in Athens is a great analogy to college itself. Let me first go on the record by saying that I do enjoy drinking and partying in college, it's the people who attend college with (literally) no other goal or accomplishment in mind that I am against. I just want to clarify that I enjoy having "a good time" in many different ways; I'm not a straight-edge who thinks my version of fun is the only legitimate form. Back to the point, the first analogy I saw was in the amount of people at the block party. What began in 1974 with a few costumed students blocking the main street has become a planned event with tens of thousands of people from all over attending. Albeit this is an accomplishment, however it's fairly superficial. Through social pressures, people are now expected to attend and are even looked down upon (again, literally) if you decide not to. Some people are even ridiculed for choosing not to drink. Compare this to college itself: it began with just a few people, it has grown to a bloated size, and society treats you differently if you do not go (especially economically, but there does seem to be an air of social elitism against those who can not or choose not to attend). A few people I know (myself included) didn't even really care about going this year, but decided that since everyone else was...

A second analogy I saw was with the costumes themselves, which have grown progressively more generic each year. Every Halloween, there are more guys dressed as Mario, Luigi, or a Pirate (or how about a combination? I admit, a bloodthirsty Mario with two pistols and syphilis would be pretty unique), and more girls dressed as slutty nurses/maids/etc. What was once a forum for creativity is now a way for unconsciously proving just how much you fit the social mold, or alternatively just how apathetic to creativity you are. I honestly feel my Cash Cab idea was up in the top 5% for creativity, which is sad considering the hype of how unique this event is supposed to be, as well as the fact that I didn't even really want to go. Comparing this to college, how many people do you know went into psychology or business just because they had no idea what else to do? (No offense to psych and business majors, if you like it then go for it). And we all do poorly in classes at times, but way too many people are devoid of any creativity and simply get through every class without ever even attempting to think. Maybe my school is an extreme case, but at OU the resemblance regarding creativity is uncanny.

The last analogy, and there are more that I'm not mentioning to prevent this from becoming longer and preachier than Braveheart, is with those in control. The first few Halloweens at OU were spontaneous events created by the students themselves. Yet after a few years, the town itself began to take charge of the event, which originally was for the best considering the amount of people these days as well as the disruption the party causes. The problem arises in that the powers that be have attempted in the past (unsuccessfully, so far) to charge admittance fees to the block party. Again, I see the point: a lot of police have to be diverted to watch the party. But the suggested price, like college, is way too much. If you're attending from out of town, you're already paying 20 bucks to park for the weekend. Tack on the 5 to 10 bucks, which will inevitably go up over the years, and that's a fairly hefty price for a single night of walking around on a street. I know it doesn't seem like that much, but that's a huge profit considering the tens of thousands of people who attend. Plus, with the hundred or so students arrested and fined for underage drinking each year, the town is making a good deal of money back from what they're spending on security. I see college as a similar course of events. Originally, professionals gathered on their own accord to instruct and interact with other professionals. The state eventually entered with good intentions of regulating what was going on to prevent quacks and average Joe's from misteaching people. Then finally, the potential for profit became too much, and a good idea became a money-making scam.

I apologize for making my first post a lengthy, bitter attack on the university system. College still serves a purpose and for as many bad experiences I've had, there have been many great ones too. I don't mean to preach, I just always hope that the more people pointing out what's wrong with an institution, be it Halloween or college, the more other people might take note and begin to question themselves.

Drink and be merry

Man's greatest gift is also his greatest curse. With the ability to analyze, conceptualize, and proselytize comes the imperative for self-examination and the responsibility of looking beyond tomorrow. In short, we look for what isn't there and see what we shouldn't see. What's needed is a cure for sentience, an antidote to conscious thought.

And so God™ in His infinite wisdom invented alcohol. Man, realizing it was the only way to save society from itself, then killed Him and stole alcohol for himself. And weekends have never been the same since. Happy Saturday.

Down one for JFK tonight and make the world dissolve away. This is a fucking speakeasy, after all.

high on caffeine and chocolate cake

the other night i was at arabica in downtown willoughby. the coffee and cake were superb. the locals, not so much. anyway, while i was in chocolate heaven, i got to thinking about politics. i couldn't post this blog right away because i couldn't connect to their wi-fi. now that the stage is set, let's begin...

_________

so last night i watched the debate. i noticed that when mccain got to talking, i felt as though i was about to fall asleep. here's why: listening to mccain is not unlike listening to a grandfather, but in a much worse sense. grandfathers are very adept at telling stories of old - you know, the ones that begin with "when i was your age..." or "back in my day..." or even, "i can remember a time when..."

normally i enjoy and cherish these stories. indeed, i wish there were more. my grandfather is a living encyclopedia - as long as the topic of interest is one of the following: abysmal first dates, being in the navy but never leaving shore, college days studying chemistry, fixing a broken down car macgyver style on the way to PA, etc.

but these are not the kind of things that i like to hear from the leader of my country, your country, our country - the world's country. mccain focused too much energy on telling tales of old and how he is going to take care of our veterans. now, don't get me wrong, i am forever grateful for all those who have fought on a battlefield, even more so for those who made it back alive from WWII. those who have served our country have every right to free healthcare, pensions, etc. (within reason). it got me wondering about how many people in the US are veterans. now, i need to do some fact checking, but is it greater than the 12.5% who are living below the poverty line? mind you, veterans aren't starving children, women trying to work two jobs to feed and take care of their kids, lacking any form of education. well at least generally they aren't.

i'll admit that my response may be biased, but i can't seem to see how mccain will do even a half-assed job running this country. and don't even get me started about the alaskan idiot who takes liking to her russian landscape outside her bedroom window.

simply put, obama has vision. he doesn't just know what to do, he actually tells us what he is going to to. since when is that a bad thing? - to tell your citizens what you are going to do to help them out.

obama could have been a little stronger though. he was a little too... intelligent. i say intelligent because in order to listen - especially listen to a conflicting viewpoint - you have to be somewhat intelligent. and that's what he did. he listened. he listened to what mccain was saying. he let mccain walk all over him with conservative slander and such. obama wasn't stumped - he was just frustrated. frustrated at mccain's unwillingness to debate but instead attempt to squander the other side.

obama wants to help us - ALL of us. not just the veterans, not just the poor, not just the wealthy. everyone. that right there should be reason enough to win the election.

you might not like obama because he wants to raise taxes. however, $250,000 is a lot of money. my parents house is barely half that much. maybe a little more than half to be fair. i know plenty of people that make $80,000 and they are very well off. so if those who make more than 250-grand need to fork over another grand or two, what's the big deal? did you ever think that it just might help the economy? do you know that over 450 economists (10 of which were nobel laureates in the subject) not only disliked bush's tax cuts, but told him it was a bad idea.

in a recession people don't need money. people need jobs. the unemployment rate in ohio alone is 7.5%. nationwide it's 6.5%. 4% is the porridge that's just right. if businesses keep shipping jobs overseas this will definitely increase. this is where it gets interesting. as our economy heads south, so does the rest of the world. we live in an age of economic globalization, the likes of which we have never seen before.

i wish that people would get rid of the mentality that you need a college education to get a good job. you don't! factory jobs are very respectable. they are integral to the economy. somebody needs to make the stuff that everyone buys. why should that somebody live in china? or india? or jordan? malaysia? mexico? venezuela? indonesia? why not the united states? ha. ha. sorry. i'm joking about that last one... 

Getting the ball rolling

So, it's 5-something in the morning, and I had a recent onset of writers' block while doing some Med School apps (a criminal process, but maybe more on that later), and I thought I might try to get the ball rolling here in the blog. I've never been an avid reader of blogs, save a few medically related ones, and I certainly never contributed much, except for once or twice on Stanek's old site. I'm really excited about this though...we should get some pretty interesting input with our different backgrounds, and it'll give us a chance to keep in touch throughout the year. I guess I'll give everyone a little update as to where I am, what I'm doing, and why I have better than a 33% chance of getting divorced at least once before settling down with a family.

Right now, I'm a senior at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio, a private school known for having horrible parties, a zombie-like student body, and a large amount of premed pricks who pretend like they're the shit. Ironically, I don't really like premeds...except for a handful of awesome premed friends, they generally just get on my nerves (maybe more on that later too). I'm majoring in Biology and Medical Anthropology, and currently trying to find a med school that I want/wants me. I'm usually up until 6 in the morning, either playing online poker, studying, or dissecting some poor creature in the lab (or a combination), and four hours of sleep is usually the norm. Life is sweet.

I should probably mention my future goals and whatnot. The plan is to go to be a cardiothoracic surgeon, but this is easier said than done. After this year, I'll have four years of med school, six or seven years of a general surgery residency, and two or three years of a cardiothoracic fellowship. I may even tag on one more year for transplant or pediatric surgery just for fuck's sake. After these 12-15 years, I'll actually be where I want to be. So I'll be about 33-36 before I can really practice cardiothoracic surgery on my own. And they say doctors are in it for the money. Heh. I also want to do some work with Doctors Without Borders, Partners in Health, or some similar organization...not sure where that'll fit in, but it's gonna get done.

Well, I'm sure we'll all discover new and interesting things about each other, but this should do for a quick update. Like I said, I can't wait for the discussions to start.

Jim

Welcome to the Freedom Speakeasy!

In ye olden days, the tavern was a place for the free exchange of ideas. Philosophies, politics, world views and--of course--booze came together in a free-flowing intellectual back-and-forth in which radicals, reactionaries, and town drunkards rubbed elbows. No topic of discussion was off the table, no patron's reservoir of expertise untapped. Taverns were the epitome of freedom. Or at least that's how they exist in my idealized vision of the past.

In the 1920s, when only outlaws could drink and be merry, the speakeasy was born. The last bastions of lewd liberty in a war-ravaged world, these rough-and-tumble establishments were the after-dinner junk food to the tavern's more nourishing main course. In addition to being the louder, rowdier cousins of the tavern, speakeasies became powerful centers of uncivil disobedience and added a dash of insanity to a nation drunkenly stumbling toward near-total collapse.

It's in the spirit of these two great American institutions that we present the Freedom Speakeasy. Part intellectual meandering of curious citizens of the world, part underground Roaring Twenties self-indulgence, the Freedom Speakeasy unites the free-spirited tavern with the free-wheeling speakeasy. An aspiring Engineer, Doctor, Historian, and Policy Wonk (no, this last one isn't a real profession) reflect on life, the universe, things they know about, and things they don't. Welcome. Start a tab.