Well, after several hours and a s*&^ load of help from Tobin, you can finally leave comments to my posts. Tobin did all the work, and I just did a little reformatting. All you have to do is click on the comment link under each post and a form comes up that lets you tell me what you really think of my rants. Luckily, I can remove comments if they are inappropriate or if I don't like you.

So me and Ethan came up with some new names for the condition of having two X chromosomes.

1. Congenital Estrogen-toxicity induced neuropathy (CETIN Syndrome)
2. Testosterone deficient cortical atrophy (TD CAt)

So, I just found out that my grandfather passed away this morning. He was diagnosed with Acute Erythroblastic Anemia, which is an extraordinarily rare form of acute leukemia, and he was also suffering from left heart failure and renal failure. From what I am told, he suffered greatly these last four months and lost most of his cognitive function due to uremia caused by the renal failure. His passing, though sad, is most likely for the best. I would like to say that I was close to him, but I only remember seeing him once about 7 years ago. Still, those memories are happy ones, and I will miss the only Grandfather I have known. The strange thing is that when I heard the news, the first thought that went through my head was something he said to me when I last saw him. I asked him when he was going to come visit us in America. He promised me that he would come here when I got married. I guess we can't always keep the promises we make no matter how much we want to...either that, or I should have been quicker at finding a woman.
Dad is leaving for India within the week to pay his respects. I managed to get the month of July off from school so I could go see him one last time, but I guess that won't happen. In retrospect, it was wishful (and selfish) thinking on my part to believe that he would have been able to hang in there suffering for another 3 months. Well, there is not really a lot one can do in a situation like this... such is life.

You know what I don't understand...when people go to doctor and get prescribed a medication and then they think their doctor doesn't know what they are doing because the drug has side effects. Here's a little clue...all drugs have side effect. Our physiology has evolved over billions of years to be a precisely balanced and and regulated system. Any time you put in an active substance it is going to interact with every cell in your body. If you are dumb enough to think that herbal remedies are any different, then you deserve to take them. The chemical compounds made by plants are no different than those in drugs. The only reason that you get more side effects with prescription drugs is that they have enough active ingredients to actually do something. I'm not saying that all herbal remedies are useless, but if there is a useful substance in the mix, then it should be extracted, studied and then marketed in its purified form. We need as tight a regulation on herbal products as we do on prescription drugs since they are as potentially harmful as they are beneficial. Right now, manufacturers aren't required to prove that herbal drugs are either safe or effective before making outrageous claims. I think the public would be amazed at how poorly these concoctions stand up to clinical trials, and how little they differ from placebo... I say that with confidence because if they did have substantial activity, then they too would cause substantial side effects. If I had more time I would write you a nearly endless list of "natural" substances that will kill or harm you... you would never dream of taking strychnine just because it is a plant extract. Alright, it's time for some lunch and sedatives for me.

So I was in the elevator yesterday, and as the door was closing someone came rushing towards the door waving their hand. Now clearly they wanted me to hold the door for them so that they could get on. But, in the heat of the moment, I thought they were just waving at me and so I smiled and waved back so as not to be rude, as the door closed in her face. That person must think that I am a complete asshole... looks like Soup just made a new friend.
From this moment forward, I shall refer to the Media as a female entity...how else could one explain the fickle and illogical reporting that is aired these days? One minute they can't get enough of our military strategy and how great our troops are doing. Next thing you know, they are talking about how Bush lied about how long the war was going to take and how poor our plan for war is. It wouldn't be bad if this was a matter of isolated reporters doing this, but it is the entire industry... they stopped being objective so long ago that they don't even remember what the word means. That reminds me... why the f&*^ do actors feel the need to let the world know what their opinion is on social issues? Let's get something straight, they get paid to look pretty... I mean come on, they have drama degrees and bulls@%$ like that. I assure you that I will never willfully ask for the opinion of a semi-retarded doped up piece of eye-candy. If a respected historian/scientist/author/politician is sharing their insight on a particular issue, I will be the first in line to listen to what they have to say. But, the next time that Nichole Kidman gives her opinion on anything besides makeup, I am going to take a short trip off a very tall bridge.

So I was talking to my brother in law the other day and he made a good point about my past. If Sec. Ridge is watching us and looking into our pasts... I am screwed. If degrees in Chemical Engineering and Physics, plus graduate work in theoretical physics don't throw up red flags, then I don't know what would. So, if I don't post anything to this board for more than 7 days please contact your local CIA office to determine which undisclosed location they are violating my civil liberties at. You know, the only thing I have working in my favor is that I am not Muslim... but at least in this day and age that is enough to make me a good guy. God Bless America...someone needs to.

I swear, the harder I work, the less I seem to get done these days... I feel like a hamster on a wheel. Well, what can I say? So, I got the month of July off, which means that I will be able to go to LA for Banga. That should be a good time, though I am not sure about the tab those guys are planning to run up... they plan on spending like $1500 on just cars for the weekend... not to mention the two persidential suites at the hotel... I may have to stay at the Holiday Inn down the street. Alright, it is time for me to go to bed now.

Here is a pic of my new baby...I got it a couple of weeks ago. I used it in the variety show performance, and I absolutely love it. The only problem is that I have no money, so I had to get my parents and sister to pay for it... well, what can you do.

So, I thought it might be nice to watch the Oscars tonight since I don't really have anything to do, and I am tired from my drive back. I went to the Oscar website to see if they have the broadcast available on streaming video. So I go to their live feed, and it turns out that they have a live video feed of the f*&% press area where the winners go to talk after they win their award. How difficult would it have been to just move the camera 100 ft and broadcast the actual program. All I can see is some reporters bald head...I can hear the actual program in the background. What a completely useless thing to broadcast.

So, I am back in Dallas now. My spring break is over now, which kind of sucks since my plan for the break went to complete crap near the end... unfortunately, the plan was well laid out, it's just that unforseen circumstances came up... well such is life. At any rate, the next month and a half are going to suck really bad because I have an exam almost every week or two. Which means that I will be out of touch with the world until mid May. I am really not looking forward to taking the boards in June. That is going to be a real pain in the ass.
You know, one thing I don't understand is why people ever thought that the weapons inspections in Iraq would work. Imagine that you are a parent who thinks that your kid is using drugs and you want to get some proof. The weapons inspections amount to going up to your kid and saying "Hey Johnny, I think you have drugs in your room and at 7pm tomorrow night we are going to come search your desk and closet...then on friday night we will inspect your bed and drawers." Only the most incompetent megalomaniac wouldn't be able to hide weapons from Hans Blix. And then there is the interviewing of scientists... "Oh, and Johnny, we want to talk to some of your dope-head buddies, so give them a call and tell them to come over here so we can ask them specific questions about your drug usage." The whole thing is a damn political joke, and yet people still seemed to care about what they did or didn't find. If you are nieve enough to believe that Saddam is a reasonable man who want anything but the destruction of the US and domination of the entire region, then I am going to hunt you down and give you a severe beating personally.