... funniest dream ever

Last night I dreamed we had this magic technology they could use to take my brain outside my head and put it on display. You could manually stimulate any part of the brain by touching it. There is this very obnoxious grad student I don't particularly like. In my dream he was walking up close to my brain and threatening to ( Read more... )

 Before I get to the conversation, I need to provide some background. Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) is a technique where you temporarily disrupt nerve impulses in a given area in the brain. It is completely non-invasive, and is done by applying weak electric currents to the part of the scalp covering the part of the brain you are ( Read more... )

There is an article right now that has been sending ripples through the scientific community. It is about using functional MRI scans to communicate with patients in a persistent vegetative state or those with the eerie diagnosis of a "minimally conscious state". Basically, when you voluntarily think of doing some kind of physical task (such as ( Read more... )

It appears my boyfriend went on a date with the girl (Ke$ha) with the #1 single in America ("Tik Tok") before she was famous.  Posted here for entertainment value.

In his words, "She was crazy. " I guess this is what happens when you grow up in Nashville. The only semi-famous person I've ever seen in Nashville was a guy who writes lyrics for some ( Read more... )

Today I am officially not going anywhere. I can't get out of my driveway. It is absolutely beautiful. On the other hand, I have absolutely zero excuse to not work on my academic paper I'm trying to publish. I literally can't leave my house to do anything. It seems almost like a cosmic conspiracy. I told myself I'd have a draft by the end of the ( Read more... )

[EDIT: the new American Opportunity Tax Credit requires you to file for the year you undertook that education, and does not have to do with graduation status inherently. I hope I haven't confused anyone. The point is, if you are interested, you need to read the fine print. It counts for four years of education, but I don't know if you can claim it ( Read more... )

Things on the upcoming agenda:
-Going to visit Florida next weekend! (My dying Aunt is visiting, which is really sad, but I am excited to see her.)
-Interview with the director of the Physician Assistant program at Duke on Wednesday!!
-Art class starting on January 25!
-I am probably going into a local elementary school in March to give a presentation ( Read more... )

I liked Avatar. (I know the symbolism was heavy-handed and in many ways insulting to several different cultures around the world. I like a good love story ( Read more... )

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Dear Raleigh News and Observer,

Please stop writing horoscopes that make me feel shitty. What ever happened to things like "today there will be romance in your life" or "today it is best to be generous with your giving", or even "today is a great day to capitalize on your momentum"?

Yesterday's horoscope: "Because you find your thoughts to be so ( Read more... )