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"To crush your enemies, to see them fall at your feet — to take their horses and goods and hear the lamentation of their women. That is best."

- Ghengis Khan

Yes.

Ghengis Khan, war, QOTD

You know, I've always gotten good grades in my English classes, when I actually bothered to do the work. And it's no wonder that I always did well. I used to talk about how I'd BSed this essay or that, and how I thought I was awesome and totally cool because I'd gotten a good grade despite doing almost nothing for the paper. Well it turns out that I'd figured out the institution then, I just didn't know it. The secret is that you get good grades for bullshit that sounds nice because that's exactly what the field of English literature is: intelligent-sounding nonsense. For instance:

What this form of resolution implies, guaranteeing as it does that justice will be done despite the degree to which the original crime has been obscured and forgotten, is that the power of social stability is stronger than any individual's attempt to transgress it. This in itself was no new topic for fictional works, even in the mid-eighteenth century, but in the gothic it is expressed in such an obsessive manner that the representation signifies a depth of concern with the issue not always apparent in other works where it is treated…

LOL WTF

Have you ever read such meaningless tripe in your life? A monkey who could string words together in a manner that sounds nice could do well in English literature. It's no wonder people with "real jobs" laugh at the idea of "English classes" — it's all a waste of fucking time anyway.

Give me something real. Something with substance. Something that matters. Don't give me nonsensical bullshit.

english literature, english, bullshit

I've written up a "grand-reopening" post on polyscience.org. I've decided to go back to writing for myself, even if it doesn't have a huge number of readers like Nobel Intent did. Writing for someone else isn't the same as writing for yourself, particularly when you enjoy building and working toward something, even if you're not sure what that something is.

Anyway, I'm glad to be back doing things for myself — it has been gnawing at me for about a week or so.

I came across this yesterday, and I thought it was great. It was really freaking long, though, and I wanted to print it out to read offline, so I made a PDF. I figured others might want to do the same, so here it is.

Penny Arcade vs. MIT PDF

If you wish to link to it, please link to my post instead of the PDF directly. Gracias!

Penny Arcade, MIT, Penny Arcade vs. MIT

I got a comment from someone on a post about a week ago asking me to email them because they had questions about transferring to MCP. So, I did. I turned the resulting dialog into a mini-feature in my MCPHS section.

Questions from someone who wants to transfer

You say they try and force people out and half the class drops out. Is this because they accept many underqualified students to make money or because the classes are just hard? Also how is the pace of the curriculum? Do you know how many transfers like me get accepted? What makes you dislike it so much? Any tips on what they like to hear in essays/interviews?

Those of you looking for me to hate on MCPHS as I've been known to do in the past will no doubt be disappointed.

MCPHS, pharmacy school

You Should Get a JD (Juris Doctor)

You're logical, driven, and ruthless. You'd make a mighty fine lawyer.

That's probably pretty accurate. I've often thought of going to law school when I finish with pharmacy school, but in truth, I don't think it's necessary.

I'm just taking a quick break from my regular weekend studying, and I felt like posting that I find it somewhat strange to discover that I actually enjoy it. I'm drinking coffee, listening to music, and I'm actually having fun re-copying/studying my biochem notes. Seriously, this is weird. Who would have thought? It's interesting how an attitude shift can change your opinions on just about anything.

I have more fun doing this than planning the next time I'm going to get shitfaced. It's honestly a highlight of my week.

I guess that makes me weird? Or maybe just old.

I've been doing a lot of poking around on the Intarweb today. Looking at pictures of various radioactive materials, and just doing a lot of reading in general. Naturally, I came across the Wikipedia entry on Madam Curie, and the quote under her photo just sort of struck me for some reason.

Marie Sklodowska Curie, one of the few people to win two Nobel Prizes in different fields, was one of the most significant researchers of radiation and its effects. Until her granddaughter recently had them decontaminated, her notes were radioactive.

That's like, seriously geeky.

I'd like to start my own collection of radioactive materials and stuff made from materials that was at one time radioactive. Old Fiestaware, uranium glass plates and figurines, revigators and such. I'd like a radium watch, too, but that'll have to wait until I'm out of school.

Another thing: I placed an order for some tritium keyfobs/glowrings, whatever you want to call them. I'll post pics when they arrive.

tritium, madam curie, glowrings, radiation, radioactive materials

If an injury has to be done to a man it should be so severe that his vengeance need not be feared.

- Nicolo Machiavelli

QOTD, Machiavelli, quote of the day