Introduction
As you may be well aware of, I advocate being wholly informed of both sides of the story when it comes to vaccinations. An informed decision is the best decision. However, too many people put too little effort into researching vaccinations: their ingredients, their immediate effects, their long term effects, their efficacy, their necessity, etc. Sadly, people research major purchases (eg, car, television, vacation, etc.) more than they do what they inject/ingest in their body. As a tremendously curious student of life and a future Chiropractor, I am of the opinion that most, if not all, vaccinations are unnecessary. I do not claim to have hard-core proof of such a mindset at this point in time. (Though I do claim there is not hard-core proof to the contrary.) I do propose, however, a research study that could be performed that would convince most of the people who currently oppose my mindset.
Background
It is a physiological fact that antibodies are produced with exposure to an antigen. Diseases, such as measles, mumps, and rubella, have their own specific antigen. When the body comes in contact with those diseases, diseases-specific antibodies are produced. One specific type of antibody, IgG, that is produced remains in a person for a significant period of time after exposure. That means if you were ever exposed to measles then you would have the measles IgG in your system long after exposure.
It should be mentioned that "exposure" can come from a vaccinations for the disease or directly from the pathogens that cause that disease. It should also be noted that exposure to the pathogens that cause a disease does not necessarily imply you contract the disease. If this was the case no one would be alive today to have this discourse. What it means is that you were exposed to it but defended it successfully.
Proposed Study
My study involves taking two groups of people and compare their IgG levels for certain diseases. One group of people would be those who were vaccinated (Group 1) for disease x and the other group would be those who were not vaccinated for disease x (Group 2). Compare their disease x IgG levels, making sure the average age of the participants are the same. There are three logical scenarios that would result from such a study.
Scenario 1: Group 1 > Group 2
This means Group 1 has higher IgG levels than Group 2. This would make sense in that only Group 1 has been exposed to the disease via their vaccination.
Scenario 2: Group 1 = Group 2
This means both groups have the same IgG levels. This would be an interesting scenario in that it would mean the Group 2 was also exposed to the disease and is now just as protected against it as Group 1.
Scenario 3: Group 1 < Group 2
This means Group 1 has lower IgG levels than Group 2. This would be a startling discovery. This would imply the natural exposure to the disease is more effective than exposure via vaccination.
Conclusions
I think it is obvious that Scenarios 2 and 3 would debunk the efficacy of vaccination for that disease. I would submit Scenario 1 would debunk the necessity of vaccination for that disease. Given that there is not a scenario in which vaccinations are necessary and/or effective, the counter argument could be that the rate of morbidity (contracting the disease but persevering through it) and/or mortality (contracting the disease but dying because of it) in the two groups would differ. I concede that point and offer to analyze that in the study as well.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Thursday, April 1, 2010
One of the Best Weeks Ever, 3/26/2010 - 4/1/2010
I was chilling on my apartment's rooftop deck soaking in the Mississippi River and downtown Davenport when I got hit by a powerful feeling of gratitude. I realized the last 7 days provided me with an inordinate amount of fulfilling personal transactions. What follows is the execution of my wish to share this with you. Granted, it is in executive-summary format and in no particular order. I find that is the only way to bring this to life. (I have tried for the last 90 minutes to bring this to life more substantially but I realized I was writing a novel instead of a blog. Nothing against novels but I want to finish this tonight.)
* full weekend adjusting seminar. learned tons of new techniques and became more proficient in already-known techniques.
* bridged the gap with a disenfranchised clique of people in my class. without getting into too much detail, a certain clique of people did something offensive to my sense of public decency yet I looked passed that to lessen the awkwardness.
* branched out to discover new extracurricular clubs. attended Mo Chih Chu and absolutely loved it. motivating and inspirational.
* super excited to get back on the pitch and referee soccer. first game in 6 months is two days from now and the thought enters my mind at least once an hour.
* I made no fewer than 5 strangers smile. the most powerful one was a disgruntled old lady sitting on a park bench. I rode by her on my bike, flashed a toothy smile, and gave her the quasi-guy-nod as to say "what's up, friend?!" when she first made eye contact she was still bitter but when she saw my facial expression she relented and broke into a humungous, genuine smile.
* Alyssa made brownies for me. ok, so they weren't for me specifically. but I did have some and they were awesome and thoughtful.
* a friend let me borrow his car for the weekend.
* organized yet another small-scale social organization, serving the void I felt last trimester
* Jenna, the indoor, FIV-infected cat, came home after several days on the prowl
* sat and talked chiropractic for 3.5 hours in the same house BJ Palmer, the Developer of Chiropractic, did
* became inspired by Chris's vision of opening a free kids chiropractic clinic in Davenport
* had my mind blown by discussing what a subluxation is for 2 hours at Troxell with Johanna
* MLS started and USSF produced their first Referee Week In Review
* full weekend adjusting seminar. learned tons of new techniques and became more proficient in already-known techniques.
* bridged the gap with a disenfranchised clique of people in my class. without getting into too much detail, a certain clique of people did something offensive to my sense of public decency yet I looked passed that to lessen the awkwardness.
* branched out to discover new extracurricular clubs. attended Mo Chih Chu and absolutely loved it. motivating and inspirational.
* super excited to get back on the pitch and referee soccer. first game in 6 months is two days from now and the thought enters my mind at least once an hour.
* I made no fewer than 5 strangers smile. the most powerful one was a disgruntled old lady sitting on a park bench. I rode by her on my bike, flashed a toothy smile, and gave her the quasi-guy-nod as to say "what's up, friend?!" when she first made eye contact she was still bitter but when she saw my facial expression she relented and broke into a humungous, genuine smile.
* Alyssa made brownies for me. ok, so they weren't for me specifically. but I did have some and they were awesome and thoughtful.
* a friend let me borrow his car for the weekend.
* organized yet another small-scale social organization, serving the void I felt last trimester
* Jenna, the indoor, FIV-infected cat, came home after several days on the prowl
* sat and talked chiropractic for 3.5 hours in the same house BJ Palmer, the Developer of Chiropractic, did
* became inspired by Chris's vision of opening a free kids chiropractic clinic in Davenport
* had my mind blown by discussing what a subluxation is for 2 hours at Troxell with Johanna
* MLS started and USSF produced their first Referee Week In Review
Monday, September 14, 2009
Tour Contest Winners Announcement
Hola, all. It's been a long time since I rapped at ya. Well, the bike tour is over (mentally anyway) and I thought I would update everyone with the winners of the Tour Contests.
Contest #1 – Pronounce Maquoketa.
I guess there’s a limitation on how far back in history Facebook retains posts as this contest and its entries are no longer available for viewing. Drats. I recall there were about six entries, five with the correct amount of syllables but none had the “t” pronounced softly like a “d.” Surprisingly, there were a couple entries with the “quok” pronounced correctly like “coke.”
Unfortunately no one earned a victory here.
Correct answer = muh COKE uh duh.
Contest #2 – Name my bike.
Here are the entries received, in chronological order:
1. Herb
2. Sally
3. Surly
4. Tom Cruise
5. The Green Bullet
6. Herb
7. Walter
8. Jerry The Lobster
9. Zenovia
I think Facebook data retention is again suspect as I remember there were more entries. I think “Knife” was an entry but I can’t recall any other specific ones.
I let the bike decide which name it would have. I tried to establish communication with my bike but I never completed the circuit. It may have been because my palms were covered with gloves and therefore my life force couldn’t interact with the bike’s. Or it could be because the bike does not have a life force. Either way I couldn’t connect so I had to change the criteria for the winning entry. I decided the criteria would be quantitative, not qualitative, awesomeness.
Here are the entries ranked by quantitative awesomeness:
1. Jerry The Lobster
2. Zenovia
3. Herb
4. Knife
5. The Green Bullet
6. Tom Cruise
7. Walter
8. Herb
9. Surly
10. Sally
Congratulations, Jonas, for naming my bike!
Contest #3 – Author a caption to the attached picture.
Phil Lockwood won this contest with “Deluxe midgets sold separately.”
This contest did not receive many entries. I suspect it had something to do with the significant quality of Phil’s entry.
Congratulations to all who participated and/or read this. You are truly the most unique person in the world. Yeah, you!
Contest #1 – Pronounce Maquoketa.
I guess there’s a limitation on how far back in history Facebook retains posts as this contest and its entries are no longer available for viewing. Drats. I recall there were about six entries, five with the correct amount of syllables but none had the “t” pronounced softly like a “d.” Surprisingly, there were a couple entries with the “quok” pronounced correctly like “coke.”
Unfortunately no one earned a victory here.
Correct answer = muh COKE uh duh.
Contest #2 – Name my bike.
Here are the entries received, in chronological order:
1. Herb
2. Sally
3. Surly
4. Tom Cruise
5. The Green Bullet
6. Herb
7. Walter
8. Jerry The Lobster
9. Zenovia
I think Facebook data retention is again suspect as I remember there were more entries. I think “Knife” was an entry but I can’t recall any other specific ones.
I let the bike decide which name it would have. I tried to establish communication with my bike but I never completed the circuit. It may have been because my palms were covered with gloves and therefore my life force couldn’t interact with the bike’s. Or it could be because the bike does not have a life force. Either way I couldn’t connect so I had to change the criteria for the winning entry. I decided the criteria would be quantitative, not qualitative, awesomeness.
Here are the entries ranked by quantitative awesomeness:
1. Jerry The Lobster
2. Zenovia
3. Herb
4. Knife
5. The Green Bullet
6. Tom Cruise
7. Walter
8. Herb
9. Surly
10. Sally
Congratulations, Jonas, for naming my bike!
Contest #3 – Author a caption to the attached picture.
Phil Lockwood won this contest with “Deluxe midgets sold separately.”
This contest did not receive many entries. I suspect it had something to do with the significant quality of Phil’s entry.
Congratulations to all who participated and/or read this. You are truly the most unique person in the world. Yeah, you!
Monday, August 17, 2009
Bicycle Touring Playlist, Final Edition
I asked and you delivered, in style. Thank you for all that contributed. Here are the songs to make it to the playlist and a little comment about each one. They are sorted chronologically based on response.
1. Graceland – Paul Simon. [Emmily] Beautiful selection from one of the most gifted songwriters ever.
2. Take It Easy – The Eagles. [Debi] The epitome of road trip songs.
3. Intro/3 Strange Days – School of Fish. [Phil] This is one of my all time faves and totally conjures memories of Tucson. Awesome pick! (I added Intro...wouldn't be the same without it.)
4. Performance – MC SpandX. [Mike] Truly, the most inventive and creative selection. I can't believe I haven't run across this before.
5. Comfort Eagle – Cake. [Mike] One can never go wrong with Cake but this reminds me of our trip to the hat tournament in Salt Lake City, playing beer pong in the hotel, and streaking the fields. Good times.
6. Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) – Beyonce. [Po Ling] I take this was a jest selection but given that I went dancing with you one time maybe you were trying to evoke the memories of that night.
7. Are You Gonna Be My Girl – Jet. [Po Ling] Rockin' till the cows come home.
8. La Camisa Negra – Juanes. [Ray] Wholly unexpected style but a cool song nonetheless. Don't worry about the lyrics, as I would have never known it was about unrequited love. All I think I know is that it's about a black shirt.
9. That's Not My Name – The Ting Tings. [Diane] While I've heard some stuff from them I never heard this. Good pick.
10. I've Been Delivered – The Wallflowers. [Diane] Again, I know The Wallflowers from their first album but never heard this song.
11. The Engine Driver – The Decemberists. [Amii] The Decemberists are cool because they play Ultimate. This song is cool because you selected it. However, I hope the lyrics are not directed at me. I've only listened to it once but it sounded somewhat extreme.
12. Heart In A Cage – The Strokes. [Amii] The Strokes' debut was phenomenal but I shied away from their more recent stuff. Thanks for forcing my hand.
13. Say What You Will – Fastway. [Kimberly] Oh, yeah! High school all over again.
14. Sideways – Dierks Bentley. [Leigh] Dammit, Leigh. Why are you trying to ruin my anti-country street cred? I take solace in the fact the some people on youtube.com don't think this is a country song.
15. Coma – Guns'N'Roses. [Phil] I thought you blew your wad with 3 Strange Days but this has no comparison. Kill the lights and jump in the papasan. No, he's asleep.
16. Free And Easy – Dierks Bentley. [Leigh] Alright. I get it. Sometimes the GAC can produce some good tunes.
17. Small Bones Small Bodies – Future Of The Left. [Nick] Sorry, bro, I like their debut better.
18. Around The Block Again – Drivin'N'Cryin'. [Doug H.] I would have never heard of these guys if it wasn't for you. Brilliant pick.
19. In The Future – Bushwalla. [Ami] Killer addition to my repertoire.
1. Graceland – Paul Simon. [Emmily] Beautiful selection from one of the most gifted songwriters ever.
2. Take It Easy – The Eagles. [Debi] The epitome of road trip songs.
3. Intro/3 Strange Days – School of Fish. [Phil] This is one of my all time faves and totally conjures memories of Tucson. Awesome pick! (I added Intro...wouldn't be the same without it.)
4. Performance – MC SpandX. [Mike] Truly, the most inventive and creative selection. I can't believe I haven't run across this before.
5. Comfort Eagle – Cake. [Mike] One can never go wrong with Cake but this reminds me of our trip to the hat tournament in Salt Lake City, playing beer pong in the hotel, and streaking the fields. Good times.
6. Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) – Beyonce. [Po Ling] I take this was a jest selection but given that I went dancing with you one time maybe you were trying to evoke the memories of that night.
7. Are You Gonna Be My Girl – Jet. [Po Ling] Rockin' till the cows come home.
8. La Camisa Negra – Juanes. [Ray] Wholly unexpected style but a cool song nonetheless. Don't worry about the lyrics, as I would have never known it was about unrequited love. All I think I know is that it's about a black shirt.
9. That's Not My Name – The Ting Tings. [Diane] While I've heard some stuff from them I never heard this. Good pick.
10. I've Been Delivered – The Wallflowers. [Diane] Again, I know The Wallflowers from their first album but never heard this song.
11. The Engine Driver – The Decemberists. [Amii] The Decemberists are cool because they play Ultimate. This song is cool because you selected it. However, I hope the lyrics are not directed at me. I've only listened to it once but it sounded somewhat extreme.
12. Heart In A Cage – The Strokes. [Amii] The Strokes' debut was phenomenal but I shied away from their more recent stuff. Thanks for forcing my hand.
13. Say What You Will – Fastway. [Kimberly] Oh, yeah! High school all over again.
14. Sideways – Dierks Bentley. [Leigh] Dammit, Leigh. Why are you trying to ruin my anti-country street cred? I take solace in the fact the some people on youtube.com don't think this is a country song.
15. Coma – Guns'N'Roses. [Phil] I thought you blew your wad with 3 Strange Days but this has no comparison. Kill the lights and jump in the papasan. No, he's asleep.
16. Free And Easy – Dierks Bentley. [Leigh] Alright. I get it. Sometimes the GAC can produce some good tunes.
17. Small Bones Small Bodies – Future Of The Left. [Nick] Sorry, bro, I like their debut better.
18. Around The Block Again – Drivin'N'Cryin'. [Doug H.] I would have never heard of these guys if it wasn't for you. Brilliant pick.
19. In The Future – Bushwalla. [Ami] Killer addition to my repertoire.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Mayoral Heads Up
A couple of years ago on March 21, 2007, I wrote to my friends in Madison informing them I would be visiting. As an act of pure silliness, I cc'd the mayor of Madison, Dave Cieslewicz. Here is the text of that email:
One day later one of my friends replied to the note, implying her sister and I should spend some time together. Here is the text of that note:
Fast forward to yesterday, I once again sent a note to my friends in Madison informing them I will be visiting. And once again I included the mayor in the note. This time I put him in the to: field and directed the note more to him.
I just thought I'd let you know I'll be in Madison at the end of May. I'll probably arrive the afternoon/evening of Sunday 5/27 and will depart the afternoon of Wednesday 5/30. Plane tickets have been bought. Cars have been reserved. Mayors have been informed. (Keep up the good work, Dave!) Hopefully there'll be less snow than the last Memorial Day I spent in Madison. In any case I look forward to seeing you all!The subject line of the email was "Doug + Madison = Fun".
Warmest Regards,
Doug Devine
UW Alumnus and Greenbush Homeowner
One day later one of my friends replied to the note, implying her sister and I should spend some time together. Here is the text of that note:
Doug + Madison + my sister (aka "I don't think you're ready for this jelly") = a good reason for the rest of us to go out drinking and leave you two alone. ;-)The kicker to this note is that she replied to *all*, including the mayor. We all laughed heartily at this oversight and no harm was done.
Anywho... we are definitely looking forward to seeing you!
Fast forward to yesterday, I once again sent a note to my friends in Madison informing them I will be visiting. And once again I included the mayor in the note. This time I put him in the to: field and directed the note more to him.
Greetings Mayor Dave,I got a little sillier this time, going all Letters From Nuts on him. I was giggling authoring the note and my friends got a kick out of it too. I didn't expect anything else to come of it but today I received an official response from the mayor's office:
I am once again returning to your fine city. You see, I graduated from the University of Wisconsin and some of my favorite people on Earth currently live there. I own a house on S. Randall and would one day like to live there again. Has Madison reached its limit for chiropractors? I hope not, as I will be one in the near future and would like to guide the fine people of the state capital to great health. Do you have a chiropractor? I know a great one. (Hint: me! Eventually.)
I look forward to engulfing myself in Madison and anxiously await your confirmation of my visit. (My flight lands in Madison at 2:31pm on August 17th. Can you pick me up?)
Warmest Regards,
Doug Devine
UW Alumnus and Greenbush Homeowner
Hello Doug,No way! How cool is that for the mayor's office to indulge my rambling? Mayor Dave has my vote for anything. Connie, too, for that matter...if she ever decides to participate in an election as a candidate or anything else requiring people to vote for her (eg, Hall of Fame, Homecoming Queen, American Idol, etc.)
Thank you for contacting Mayor Cieslewicz regarding your arrival this Monday, August 17. Welcome Back! Unfortunately, your ETA coincides with the Mayor’s Operating Budget Meeting, so he is unable to pick you up from the airport.
We hope you enjoy your visit.
Sincerely,
Connie
Connie J. Phair
Office of Mayor Dave Cieslewicz
210 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., Room 403
Madison, WI 53703-3345
(608) 267-1974 (direct)
(608) 267-8671 (fax)
(608) 266-4611 (Mayor's Office)
(866) 704-2340 (TTY)
cphair@cityofmadison.com
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Me Thinks Too Much
Lately I have been trying to avoid numbing my mind with music and television. This involves proactively forcing myself to pensively reflect on life. However, the more I reflect, the more I utterly flabbergast myself. I don't delve emotionally; rather I explore metaphysically.
I've always been curious about things and how they work. I've been known to dismantle items just for research's sake. For example, I bought a brand new bicycle a couple of weeks ago. I sweet-talked my way into helping assemble it. A couple of days later I decided to take the crank arms off just because I haven't done that in a couple of years. Nothing was wrong with the bike; I was just intrigued.
My curiosity leads me to ask questions that would elicit a look of "what drugs are you on?" should I verbalize them. This statement is not entirely speculative; I have actually witnessed this. One day, bored at a soccer tournament between games, I struck up a conversation about how humans see. Then I wondered aloud what it would be like if the "visible" spectrum to us were more than, or different altogether from, the colors of the rainbow. What if we could see radio waves, x-rays, gamma rays, etc.? Or what if there was a disease that altered the visible spectrum for some people? Given the imperfect nature of cell production I find it difficult to believe that every human ever made had a precisely defined range of visible spectrum. Some people must have been able to see some infrared. Likewise, others must have been able to see ultraviolet.
More recently I've become mentally obsessed with subatomic particles: electrons, protons, and neutrons. They all have a mass and they all comprise everything we know. Yet we can see through some (the oxygen and nitrogen in the atmosphere, glass) and not see through others (trees, rocks, people, etc.). What gives? Is it that we're not actually seeing through them as it is the light waves are able to maintain their integrity through the molecules by fortuitous refractions? How can that be the case if the electrons are constantly in random motion, orbiting their nucleus?
Before I can gain too much ground resolving the subatomic particles conundrum, I turn my attention to wind: what exactly is wind? Everyone knows what wind is and could describe a windy day but, really, what the fuck is it? How is it created? Yeah, yeah, high pressure to low pressure causes wind. But what causes a pressure differential? One would think that after a while all the pressure differentials would equilibrate and there would be a state of calmness everywhere. I suppose that means pressure differentials are created by surface or subsurface forces. Still, wouldn't those equilibrate eventually?
I'm noticing something similar between the last two topics. Both involve extreme scales of measure. I guess I should explore what my deal is with scales. That shouldn't take too long.
I've always been curious about things and how they work. I've been known to dismantle items just for research's sake. For example, I bought a brand new bicycle a couple of weeks ago. I sweet-talked my way into helping assemble it. A couple of days later I decided to take the crank arms off just because I haven't done that in a couple of years. Nothing was wrong with the bike; I was just intrigued.
My curiosity leads me to ask questions that would elicit a look of "what drugs are you on?" should I verbalize them. This statement is not entirely speculative; I have actually witnessed this. One day, bored at a soccer tournament between games, I struck up a conversation about how humans see. Then I wondered aloud what it would be like if the "visible" spectrum to us were more than, or different altogether from, the colors of the rainbow. What if we could see radio waves, x-rays, gamma rays, etc.? Or what if there was a disease that altered the visible spectrum for some people? Given the imperfect nature of cell production I find it difficult to believe that every human ever made had a precisely defined range of visible spectrum. Some people must have been able to see some infrared. Likewise, others must have been able to see ultraviolet.
More recently I've become mentally obsessed with subatomic particles: electrons, protons, and neutrons. They all have a mass and they all comprise everything we know. Yet we can see through some (the oxygen and nitrogen in the atmosphere, glass) and not see through others (trees, rocks, people, etc.). What gives? Is it that we're not actually seeing through them as it is the light waves are able to maintain their integrity through the molecules by fortuitous refractions? How can that be the case if the electrons are constantly in random motion, orbiting their nucleus?
Before I can gain too much ground resolving the subatomic particles conundrum, I turn my attention to wind: what exactly is wind? Everyone knows what wind is and could describe a windy day but, really, what the fuck is it? How is it created? Yeah, yeah, high pressure to low pressure causes wind. But what causes a pressure differential? One would think that after a while all the pressure differentials would equilibrate and there would be a state of calmness everywhere. I suppose that means pressure differentials are created by surface or subsurface forces. Still, wouldn't those equilibrate eventually?
I'm noticing something similar between the last two topics. Both involve extreme scales of measure. I guess I should explore what my deal is with scales. That shouldn't take too long.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Doug On Wheels Tour 2009
Ok. Since I have become obsessed with researching touring equipment and routes to take for this summer's Doug On Wheels Tour 2009 (still working on cool name for that) I thought I'd waste some more time providing another blog update with my thoughts.
When I first retired from corporate life I had a desire to do some bicycle touring. I didn't give it much thought; it was just an itch. After a couple of months those thoughts followed in my footsteps and retired themselves. However, unlike me, they are unretiring.
A couple of weeks ago I started giving consideration to what I wanted to do after I finished my prereqs before med school began in July. It wasn't long until I decided to push the start of med school to November. That gives me a full summer in paradise without any regret and a couple of months to fill with something. What would be that something?
Two days ago, and I don't fully understand what happened, I latched onto the idea of bike touring. My dedication to this idea is so great that for the first time in my life I am planning the next several months of my life, replete with milestones and stuff. I'm not quite done planning yet but here is a list of cities I would like to see along the tour:
Madison, Wisconsin
Davenport, Iowa
Chicago, Illinois
Lake Pleasant, Indiana
Toledo, Ohio
Eastlake, Ohio
Dayton, Indiana
With the exception of the bookends, all those cities are pretty much linear. I haven't analyzed how long hitting all those cities will take yet. I just learned today I should plan to spend an average of $30/day to bike tour so fiscal reasons may be the barrier to a successful and complete tour. Timing will play a factor too. The two Indiana cities are attractive only if the calendar is right. (Not if and only if. Just only if. Aw, great, now the word "only" isn't looking like a normal word to me. I'm sober, I swear.)
I think part of the obsession can be explained by redirecting my resentment for the worst teacher and teaching style I have ever had in any subject EVER into something healthy. Most of the people reading this know my academic chops: GATE, Honors, AP through high school. Top 15% of my class at the Air Force Academy. 3.9 in a Top 10 engineering graduate program. Authored a Sudoku solver for fun. GRE scores high enough to qualify for MENSA. Acing a class whose prerequisite is this class. But yet I'm struggling with a high C/low B? I am reminded of a tee shirt I saw the other day, "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?!"
Before too much bad boils I comfort myself with a quote from the best movie about a convict-hijacked convict-airplane, Con Air: "means to an end, my brother. Means to an end."
When I first retired from corporate life I had a desire to do some bicycle touring. I didn't give it much thought; it was just an itch. After a couple of months those thoughts followed in my footsteps and retired themselves. However, unlike me, they are unretiring.
A couple of weeks ago I started giving consideration to what I wanted to do after I finished my prereqs before med school began in July. It wasn't long until I decided to push the start of med school to November. That gives me a full summer in paradise without any regret and a couple of months to fill with something. What would be that something?
Two days ago, and I don't fully understand what happened, I latched onto the idea of bike touring. My dedication to this idea is so great that for the first time in my life I am planning the next several months of my life, replete with milestones and stuff. I'm not quite done planning yet but here is a list of cities I would like to see along the tour:
Madison, Wisconsin
Davenport, Iowa
Chicago, Illinois
Lake Pleasant, Indiana
Toledo, Ohio
Eastlake, Ohio
Dayton, Indiana
With the exception of the bookends, all those cities are pretty much linear. I haven't analyzed how long hitting all those cities will take yet. I just learned today I should plan to spend an average of $30/day to bike tour so fiscal reasons may be the barrier to a successful and complete tour. Timing will play a factor too. The two Indiana cities are attractive only if the calendar is right. (Not if and only if. Just only if. Aw, great, now the word "only" isn't looking like a normal word to me. I'm sober, I swear.)
I think part of the obsession can be explained by redirecting my resentment for the worst teacher and teaching style I have ever had in any subject EVER into something healthy. Most of the people reading this know my academic chops: GATE, Honors, AP through high school. Top 15% of my class at the Air Force Academy. 3.9 in a Top 10 engineering graduate program. Authored a Sudoku solver for fun. GRE scores high enough to qualify for MENSA. Acing a class whose prerequisite is this class. But yet I'm struggling with a high C/low B? I am reminded of a tee shirt I saw the other day, "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?!"
Before too much bad boils I comfort myself with a quote from the best movie about a convict-hijacked convict-airplane, Con Air: "means to an end, my brother. Means to an end."
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