But I am scared of seaweed. Go figure.

Friend -

I don’t really appreciate political forwards as I don’t really think they are a gateway to the political conversation that our country desperately needs. Often times they are hurtful and most of the time wholly inaccurate. They often represent ignorant or selfish ideas that are not in the best interest of you and I as Americans.

I think the idea of voting party lines is simply ludicrous. Rather I think one ought to vote for the best candidate out there, keeping in mind the founding ideals of our country: freedom of choice, separation of church and state, peace, and prosperity. Considering those ideas and more, a great conversation between opposing or similar parties might contain questions such as these: Does a candidate really represent ones moral values? Does he represent fiscal responsibility? Does he understand economics? Does he have Americas neediest, poorest, and worse off in mind? Does he only care about notoriety or beating the “bad guys”? Does he want what’s best for America and can he solve americas problems (the biggest deficit in the world, failing health care, the uninsured, a failing war and economy)? Or will he at least address them?

These are the types of questions I’d love to delve into with my friends. If you’re not interested in such things, please at least refrain from sending forwards slamming or supporting either camp. That’s not my idea of a good or constructive conversation.

Cheers,
Ryan

So here I am flipping through for the third time in as many nights. Channel 6! PBS! They are actually streaming the convention live while people are talking! Imagine that. If you want to hear the speech on CNN you have to listen intently to background noise. PBS = front and center. How novel.

Did you guys catch this speech? 6 minutes long and as passionate as you’ll see this week:

Now I’m chewing on an entire pack of gum. Good day indeed.

P.S. This is my first post written on my phone… With a screenshot from the phone to boot. Perhaps this Sorta access will inspire me to post more often and even more importantly - during those moments when I turn to a friend and say… I can’t wait to blog about this!

To be honest, I didn’t even know that moose existed in Colorado. I was driving down a 4WD road looking for some good camping west of Boulder when I spotted the sucker about 20 yards ahead of me. 

“Oh, look Kristen - a moose.” I said…

He heard us, and galloped away. He was taller than my ford explorer for sure and definitely an intimidating figure. A minute later I was wondering out loud how I even knew the animal was a moose. It’s not like I’ve ever seen a moose at the zoo, taken any zoology classes or seen more than 5 pictures of one. And yes, I was too slow on the camera draw too, so no evidence - sorry.

Anyhow, like some sorta moron, I thought I could drive fifteen miles west of bTown and find a campsite at 7pm, Saturday night, 4th of July weekend. Was I surprised that every site taken? Not really. But was I bewildered that I hadn’t thought of the circumstances and likely results before the cooking, packing, and making the drive? Yes.

It has something to do with my current state of mind. Right now I’d call it “Lost”. I just finished the first term of summer school and it took some unordinary effort to prepare and finish well. My last week felt a lot like the last 2000 foot climb in the Pikes Peak ascent. I walked out of the final, absolutely spent. I was absent of both words and plans. And so my four day break went… straight from the hip, which admittedly wasn’t all that exciting. But it sure was relaxing, hopefully my brains pick up tomorrow AM, or semester 2 will be a doozy. 

After a glorious week in NYC I’m back to hammering out my future. This summer that means organic chemistry 1 & 2. I’m two days in and sorta dig it thus far. Except we haven’t started lab yet, which I’m sure will introduce to me to the hell that is so fondly spoken of amongst organic chemistry alumni.

For the record, my father loved organic chemistry and has offered me help numerous times. 

Anywho - l probably won’t be posting very often on this her blog for the next 10 weeks. And I probably won’t be return many calls or emails. Don’t be offended. I still want to be your friend. Days later when you’re silently calling me an a**hole in your head, imagine me stuck in my desk chair trying to memorize a 1000 page textbook. When I’m done, I’ll get back to you.

Have a fun summer. 

Some tips for your own:

1. Make sure your mirror is clean
2. You either need a creepy smile or lots of skin. I clearly chose the former.
3. Post your pic on myspace. You’ll make all sorts of new friends.

Please, please, please take an all time classic interweb picture like this and send it to me at rothryan [at] gmail dot com. I would like to make a collage for this here website. 

P.S. I put up a new/old photo page here.

1. I have a three week break until school starts again
2. I’m trying desperately to get back into shape
3. I’m running out of dinero 

Needless to say, I have ridiculous amounts of time at my fingertips and I’m certainly not used to such a luxury. I’m trying desperately hard to get back into shape so I can do a few races this summer, but that at most is taking up two hours weekdays and four on the weekend. I’m sleeping around 10 hours a night. So what in the hell am I supposed to do  with the rest of my time?

I certainly don’t have the answer yet so in the meantime I’m, oh you know, sitting in my chair or laying in my bed listening to my brain go absolutely nuts. I can sit still but my brain won’t, like it didn’t get enough activity the last four months. 

Take today for example, I woke up at 10, had breakfast, cruised the internet. I then decided to read more of the Django Book so I can finally build the gps mapping tool I’ve been dreaming about during every run/bike ride. As usual I found it downright boring, so I hopped in bed for some pleasure reading - “How Doctors Think” by Jerome Groopman. Apparently doctors use a lot bigger words than I’m used to because before I know it, I’m trying to figure out how to learn latin. I go back to reading the book. Ooops daydreaming about learning organic chemistry trying to figure out how I can learn it easier. How about a new web application?!?

And it just keeps going and going. So in 4.5 hours I’ve drawn out the database design for two web apps read 50 pages of a book, drawn a diagram of the steps it took to get my hip diagnosed, made a cup of tea and ate cereal while reading the news. Mmmmm, vacation (read: sarcasm | satisfaction | frustration | etc). 

I found that on my computer a little while ago. I think I was testing how well my webcam tracked motion. I look pretty sweet huh? Anywho, I just finished semester 2 and my rad sister got married in the midst of my finals. My brother is back in spain and I’m trying to teach myself django, again. I’m trying to get back into shape, as I’m not fond of losing races to twelve year olds. My calves are sore, I’m hungry, and hopeful. My O Chem book is in the mail and I’m reading “How Doctors Think” right now. My room is clean, because I lost a check for $400. I found it. Game night is tonight, I plan on winning. I recently realized I wear my glasses more than my contacts, and that I’m desperately poor. I have three weeks off, call me if you want to play.

The race would be from Lyons to Boulder, and naturally on Friday I found myself attempting the first ride of the year on the course route. A doozy 10.7 miles - hilly for the first half and then a slight incline to the finish. I made it, but that was never really a question in my mind. The question was, how fast? There was a decent headwind so I didn’t quite know if I could compare my time or not, but I was definitely slower than I would have liked.

I showed up a half hour before the race and popped on the bike for a brief warm up. I got a few miles in, stretched and felt as ready as I’d ever be. I rolled on over to meet MIchael and his parents. Yep, that was a bit awkward. “Hi, I’m the 26 year-old who challenged your 12 year-old son to a bike race.”

His parents were downright cool and we chatted a bit - mostly about my qualifications for such a hare brained adventure - since it was very clear that I’ve won approximately zero national championships. His dad, Professor Dan Dessau pointed out Michael had a bit of an equipment advantage. Sure enough, I looked a little closer and saw that he had aerobars, a racing helmet, and covered rear wheel. Hmmm.

The race started without much commotion. Michael sprinted off, and I hopped on his tail. We settled on a nice smooth pace through the hills. There was zero passing, both of us were simply pedaling away, sucking down the cool mountain air.

We exited the hills together and Michael began to pull away. Simple as that. I couldn’t cut the headwind nearly as well as him. I kept him in my sights the entire way, but in the end - I LOST. 

I couldn’t help but laugh as I crossed the finish line 37.9 seconds later. I was greeted by Kristen, Professor Franklin, my buddy Nick and his friends, and of course Michael and his parents. I think Nick was in awe, not quite digesting the fact that I had lost the race. Soon thereafter he was indeed laughing. And believe me, many people got their laughs in on Monday afternoon as my noble effort was announced in front my physics class on Monday. All I could do was sit there and shake my head. 

…

A few weeks ago he was lecturing on angular velocity and momentum, when out of nowhere he made a strange statement that went something like this: “I have a friend who’s son is the national time trial champion for cycling”. “In the twelve year old category”. No one really oohed or aahed, so he felt compelled to tag on this statement: “And I bet he could beat anyone in this room in a race”.

Before my hand could shoot up, my voice shouted. 

“I’ll race him!”

This is in front of my class of 165 people, 162 of which I do not know. Professor Franklin turns to me with a look of surprise, clearly not expecting a challenger. “What?”. “I’ll race him”, I said. I couldn’t let him get away with such a statement in the cycling capital of the country…

We bantered back and forth for a bit in front of the class until he determined I was actually serious and then went back to physics. About ten minutes later he turned to me and said - “Are you willing to put something on the line? I’ve got to motivate this kid somehow.” To which I replied, “How about twenty bucks?” He looked at me kind of confused so I offered up, “Is that not enough? I’ll bet more”. “No, no that’s plenty”.

Meanwhile, somewhere in the back of my mind I was trying to do some calculations…

1. Clearly I can wrestle three of my circa 12 year old cousins to the ground at one time.
2. I used to bike like a crazy man in the mountains of Colorado.
3. But oh yea, I had hip surgery one year ago and have ridden my bike about 30 times since.
4. I have ridden ZERO times since October 2007. 

That’s not looking so good for me is it? Well the race is potentially going down on Sunday. Better get that flat tire fixed eh?

The United States spent > $13,000,000,000 last year on the drug war alone. Hmmmm, if we repurposed that money, could it be used to cover healthcare for all of our citizens without raising taxes? Perhaps.

But really - how would our country change with such things legalized?
A few thoughts:

1. We save $13,000,000,000 a year minimum
2. Drug dealers = gone, drugs are regulated, inspected and certified by the FDA, and sold at Walgreens. (this makes $ via taxes)
3. Prison system shrinks exponentially (this saves $ too)
4. We treat addiction as a medical problem (think alcohol, tobacco) instead of a crime
5. Proper use could be taught, drugs could come with instructions, clean needles, a phone number for help (think casinos and gambling addiction).
6. Police officers/ Federal Agents could focus on real crimes and real productivity

I’ll think about this more too - please comment away. Somehow I got sidetracked on drug policy while studying a little physics this morning.

Soon after that photograph, we were driving back to their house. Deep in a discussion about soccer, the sport they all claim as their favorite, something came up about running. I posed a question at Charlie who was, as always, smiling slyly in the back seat.

Me: “Charlie - do you like to run?”
Charlie: “No! I don’t like running, I like eating chocolate!”

And that was that. We laughed the rest of the way home. Moments later we were engaged in a battle of epic proportions in their front yard, 2 on 2 soccer, Charlie and I vs Joey and Sam. And gosh darn’t Charlie looked like a mini Ryan of 18 years ago. A monstrous slide tackling, uber-skilled machine. Ya, I was pretty damn good at soccer, but Charlie is gonna be better - no doubt about it.

Dennis Kucinich discussing the possibility of the 5th secret session since the mid 1800’s. I managed to watch this entire house session, and it’s downright revealing on the bull shit going down in Washington. Take the time if you have the chance.

And then MTV ran this ad… I know, MTV right? Well we have to face it, when mainstream organizations start to raise flags, perhaps NOW we should start considering the possibilities.

To Do:
Fix Democracy
Fix Freedom
Fix Racism
Fix Education
Fix Wall Street
Fix Federal Reserve
Encourage selflessness
Discourage Apathy
Participate

I literally ran into the store and cruised to the back, well aware of where said converters might be. I saw micro-DVI to VGA, DVI to VGA, mini-DVI to DVI, but no mini-DVI to VGA! So on I hunted down an Apple store employee to see if he could grab me one from the back. After explaining what I needed, he insisted on checking the wall out for himself. The following conversation ensued:

Apple Guy: So what did you want?
Me: a mini-DVI to VGA converter
Apple Guy: (Staring blankly at the wall, hands at his side) Here it is right here…
Me: (with a rather sarcastic ring) Yep, there it is.

45 seconds go by…

Apple Guy: (Pulls a DVI to VGA off the wall) Here ya go
Me: No, I’m looking for mini-DVI to VGA, this clearly says _____

30 seconds (while i’m trying to figure out what’s going on his head)

Apple Guy: (points at the micro-DVI to VGA) Oh, here it is…
Me: Thinking perhaps he’s illiterate - I pulled a few off the wall and pointed to the combination I needed.
Apple Guy: Just stared at the wall baffled he couldn’t find the product.

This wasn’t making me very confident in the $128 value of my AAPL shares. Where did they find this cracker jack? I finally convinced him, after an even more thorough review of the converter wall, and me explaining to him what converters are used for different computers in the Apple arsenal, that he ought to check in the back. After all, I had called ahead and was assured some were in stock.

This whole experience made me a little sad, I was almost certain despite the declining dollar and excellent fiscal policy (read: sarcasm, again) in Washington that my shares would soon go back up to $200. But, between Ben Bernanke, the Apple moron, and numerous other American snafus (health care, social security, Iraq), not only is my stock shot - I think the US has finally run out of cards. Emigration anyone?

As the night wore on, I began to get some discomfort on the outside of my left hip (not my surgery hip). Preparing for bed, I saw something rather unexpected - a decent sized rash where I was having said discomfort.

Not really concerned by it - because it was just annoying more than anything - I decided to ride it out for the weekend to see if it’d go away. Honestly, I was also hoping to avoid a copayment at the doc’s office. But by Monday the doozie was still there, and I was getting a little frightened. The nurse practioner (that’s right - not a doc or a p.a) checked me out and had all sorts of theories about what it could be. But mostly she seemed dumbfounded and required a few moments in silence to think it out.

She ran through her ideas out loud, asking me questions along the way. Finally she had it. Ryan - you’ve got Shingles.

WTF!?!

Yep, I’m positive that’s what you have, she told me. And then my brain went from blank to hyperdrive. I really didn’t know what shingles was, except that old people get it. And wait, I’m young, as healthy as can be, an athlete no less….how, why??? And wait, you’re a nurse! But she had already offered to get the doc to confirm it. And then I found myself in the hall already out the door for blood tests.

I came back to the examining room and waited for the doc. When she arrived I - oh you now - pulled down my pants for the third time in the matter of an hour.

“Oh ya”, the doc exclaimed, “That’s shingles”. She said something about being stressed out and  a suppressed immune systed - then she left. Really, that’s all I get? Regardless, that was a hell of a confirmation, and about the quickest diagnosis I’ve ever had. The nurse went on to tell me that the technical name is “Herpes zoster”, not Herpes Simplex mind you. And that normally patients experience much more pain than I was having, that It’s like grown up chicken pox except people don’t usually get it until after 60, that I wasn’t contagious, yadda yadda yadda.

So, now I’m having day dreams about owning a microscope so I can check out this here shingles face to face. But I don’t know anything about microscopes or shingles or cells or viruses. I guess I’ll just keep going to my bio class.

I do enjoy it however; what sometimes is painful is almost always rewarding. (Probably not the right place for a semicolon, but I was recently inspired.) Anywho, I’m a student of science now. Physics equations, acid-base equilibrium, and lipid bilayers show up in my dreams, and believe me - that can be quite scary. I’ve evolved as a student too. I talk to professors, I’m more keen on learning style and learning practices. In a sense I’m recognizing how I’ve matured as a student.

Anywho - my good friend Reed suggested I take a special personality test the other day. It predicts medical specialties that one might like based on a few minutes worth of questions. Here it what it suggested for me (low scores are best):

Interesting right? Well I basically came to the same conclusion a few months ago. But I have made zero progress figuring out if I like oncology or not because when I’m volunteering in the cancer care center at boulder community hospital I’m mainly doing tasks I semi-intelligent chimpanzee can do. I’m gonna have to figure out a better plan during those spare moments on the bus. Any ideas?