From Devil to Blue Devil

And, I'm Out....

2007-05-14T20:36:00.000-04:00

In keeping with my newly-gained status as a Master, a few observations are due here:

Commencement ceremonies are great. Every person should attend at least one in his life, if only to soak in the general air of celebration. (And oh yes, the atmosphere, slightly cloudy and not at all boiling like last few days, was ideal for a nice ceremony on the ground)

Contrary to my belief, Graduation gowns are very comfortable and easy to wear. Of course, you would look foolish trying to "use" the hood.

Tassels are a pain. A small gust of wind, and you have to search where the tassels have gone flying. Keeping an eye on a small child is easier, believe me. (At least, my niece is better behaved than the tassels I have on my cap.)

The caps have one of the most non-aerodynamic shapes, which makes the wearer very weary of them flying off at the smallest breath of air. Which brings me to my next point...

The only use of the tassels I could come up with (apart from denoting the level and field of study) is to get hold of, in order to prevent your cap from flying off.

And since the reason for this blog ceases to exist now, see you on Adlergedanke from now on...

Tasting...

2006-03-21T18:15:00.000-05:00

Spring break over, and two projects due in a month. Enjoyed two days of srping break (out of 10), and now back to school and classes.

There, that's my whole status here.

Learnt about a new taste yesterday, called Umami (not Unagi). Wonder how come I haven't experienced it yet? Oh well, it seems not all people can taste the taste.

And for all people who think 75 min lecture is long, stay away from this.

Days to go before I sleep

2006-03-01T14:49:00.000-05:00

Or at least, I rest without anything due next day.

Just finished two exams, one on Monday, the other half an hour ago. Hope I haven’t changed the neural anatomy or human physiology so much to make human life on earth impossible (or create a parallel universe like Vishvamitra did).

But the week is not over yet. Got a project to submit on Friday, two papers to read by tomorrow. And to top it all, a 10 min presentation on next Monday on a topic which I have yet to decide.

Oh yes, have to read some papers by next Tuesday.

So, back to work now. Or before that, a good rest for next 4 hours.

The Disease and The Treatement

2006-02-17T23:51:00.000-05:00

In Marathi, we have a saying which translates roughly into “Treatment being worse than the disease”. Well, here goes…

In physiology class (I am taking more and more medical classes), discussion was about the effects of drinking excessive water. The professor told about what are the effects of drinking excessive water are (didn’t know you could die drinking water). Then she asks what treatment should be given to the person. After one or two logical answers, a student calls from the back of the class, “Give him cholera.”

I mean, cholera removes water from your body, but then, as the prof summarized succinctly, “You are evil.”

It's difficult...

2006-02-07T23:05:00.000-05:00

I never thought I would end up saying this (and my friends would agree), but has anybody given a thought how difficult it is to go to a class at 8.30 in the morning?

I mean, when the external temperature is -3 (Celsius, not Fahrenheit), do the people who prepare the schedules know how impossible it is to just get out of the (warm) bed, let alone walk to school? Is this torture or what?

On a totally separate note, I was saved today. We had to present different parts of a (mini) project, and after looking at the presentation, I came to know that I had totally misunderstood (and mis-programmed) one of the parts. I am now thanking the God that I got a different topic to present.

And, being last to present is a big help. The only thing left for me to do was point out the difference (only 1) in the values used in algorithm, and show the graphs. As I said, “Everything else is same as told before” :)

Panic sets in

2006-01-28T11:14:00.000-05:00

One homework due on Monday. Have to read some 30 odd pages for the class too. Yet to start anything for homework.

One exam on Wednesday. Need to read some 60 odd pages on pathology. Good point: it is multiple choice, single answer (unless it is all of the above). Bad point: Pathology, do I need to add anything more? (And that I am very BAD in remembering stuff like that).

So much to do, so little time… I guess I can’t afford a time-turner on the galleons I get as part time assistant (even if I can find somebody to buy it from).

In lieu of that, does anybody know the current rates of Auto Answer Quills or Remembralls or Detachable Cribbing Cuffs? Does anybody know for how many knuts I can get powdered dragon claw? A pint of Brain Elexir? Anything????

Yes, I was right...

2006-01-22T18:45:00.000-05:00

...when I decided not to be a doctor (of the medical kind).

Now, you will be asking why this sudden bout of patting-myself-on-the-back? The reason was revealed to me in my class last week. In the neurobiology class, we had a lecture about the neural imaging techniques. More of medical stuff than engineering stuff than I care, but all in all it was good lecture. Actual images of tumors, their diagnosis etc. was helpful in understanding the neural anatomy.

And, at the end of lecture, the professor suddenly brings out a case to test our understanding. Till then, he had confined the images to MRI, CT scans etc, but at the last minute, he shows the actual photo of the patient. The case was: a 9 year old girl, running around with knitting needle stumbled and the needle pierced her just above the right eye and went about 2 inches inside. Luckily it missed the eyeball and vital blood vessels. But the picture was enough to show me that I did a service to mankind when I decided to stay away from medical profession.

The professor (he was the doctor on the case) had readied an OR for the girl, and one more for treating the trauma to the father when the mother got there (the girl was with the father when the accident happened). If I had been the doctor on the case, I had have to send for 2 more doctors, one to treat the girl, the other to revive me from shock.

On a happier note, we have to use a software called Sylvius, which is kind of brain atlas on the computer. And it has a ipod version which I have downloaded too. Looks like my ipod is going to be as useful as my laptop in my studies.

Gone with the Wind, A Few Good Men, Fatal Attraction...

2006-01-11T21:38:00.000-05:00

Some of the movies (well, clips from movies) we saw in Psychology class.

Now you would be wondering what me, a Biomed Eng student (note the lack of g, US eshtyle), is doing in Psychology class (some of you might want to add “for crying out loud” to the query). To make a short story shorter, it was a part of Neurobiology class I am taking this semester.

Imagine being stuck in a class full of med students for about 6 hours per day, 5 days a week… shudder!!! (though I haven’t attended the class that much). Anyway, last Friday, I was thinking that I would become a sociopath if I hear “psychological disorders” word one more time, when the professor starts showing clips from Hollywood movies, to show character traits of characters with specific personality disorders.

Won’t go in much detail, but it was truly a lecture (at least) I will “remember for rest of my life” (at Duke anyway).

Oh yes, classes have started. Spring ’06 is here. Break is over. Sigh!!!!

Phenomenon#135

2005-12-17T20:07:00.000-05:00

Last week, while working in library stack, one of the students suggested that, library stacks would be a great location for a Hollywood ghost story, at least a thriller. I agree. Imagine a BIG hall full of rows and rows and rows (and then some more rows) of books. Imagine 4 floors like that. I mean, it’s a heaven for bibliophile (and believe me, if you believe the accounts, anything goes in stacks), but imagine moving between those silent volumes when you are absolutely alone on the whole floor the size of half a cricket ground. Brrr!!!!

Anyways, that reminded me of Phenomenon #135. Room #135 is the lab where I work on this fantastic machine. Last month, I entered the lab, and was pretty shocked to see all my lab-mates looking at me like I just walked into somebody’s home through window. The reason for their expression? Apparently, for some days before that, the door used to open, without anybody actually entering.

The same day, at 11 in night, me and my roomie went to the building to get some printouts. I was pretty surprised to see the lights in #135 on, but nobody could be seen in the lab (we are pretty particular about the whole “Save electricity” thingy). Well, we started the printouts, and went to other building for some work there. While coming back, we decided to take the side door. We just just came near the door, and POOF, the lights go on! We again ignore this and go back to the printer to finish our work. While coming back, I was curious, and checked again in #135, the lights were off!

Considering that we found no cleaners, in fact nobody else on the whole floor to account for this, I have temporarily named these encounters of strange kind, “Phenomenon #135”.

Unfortunately, further investigation in this was interrupted by my exams coming, and now we are moving to other building…

Finally....

2005-12-17T19:19:00.000-05:00

Finally, the finals are over.

Fall’05 is over. Overall, it was an eventful (for lack of stronger word) term. Feels good to be back in school, feels bad to be not able to keep the work at home. Anyways, three more to go, and I am sure the next term will be different (better surely).

So, here I am, sitting the coffee house, trying to finish the pending tasks (not school related). Come 20th, I will be on my way to San Jose.

Spring’06 starts on 11th Jan. My class starts on 3rd Jan. So, see you on 4th, school!!!

One Down, (minimum) Two more to go

2005-12-01T19:08:00.000-05:00

Finally… had last stat class yesterday. Had last imaging class today. Have only 2 classes remaining, one of them a guest lecture.

The term is getting over. But that does not mean the work load is over. Have a project due next Monday (for which the code is not working right now), got exams next Tuesday and Saturday. Yes, that is not a typo! I have exam on Saturday at 2 to 5 p.m. (sob sob)

Hope everything goes fine. Wish me luck guys!

Till that time, its F.R.I.E.N.D.S to rescue.

Of Barrel Rolls and Ethics

2005-11-17T19:07:00.000-05:00

One of the students in my class came out with pretty complex question. Call it ethics, call it anything…

Suppose you are flying a executive jet like Embraer or say, Sessna, full of passangers. When you are in the flight, your co-pilot offers you $3 million (or something hefty like that) if you perform a Barrel Roll. Assuming that he is capable of paying the amount decided and he is going to pay you if you win the dare, what would you do? (Remember that the barrel roll in aircraft is not a pleasant sensation to anybody, and you are carrying your employer along with some other people.)
Now suppose you are the employer. Will you fire your pilot after he has subjected you to his fancy maneuver, just for a paltry sum of $3 million?

Class: BME 201 (Electrobio)
Topic: Ethics of Animal Experiments

We are discussing whether there should be different treatment for violators against different animals, say dolphin and dog.

A Student: (in all earnestness) How do you differentiate between a dolphin and a dog?
A Voice from Back: Flippers, dude…

Funnel Laws of Discussion

2005-11-15T20:56:00.000-05:00

Sungshin’s Funnel Law of Discussion:
When 2 or more guys start discussion, they start discussing a lot of topics. But, after a while the number of discussion topics goes on decreasing, till the time the only topic being discussed is Girls.

Fleiger’s Inverse Funnel law: (After a lot of research)
Girls start with only one topic: Shopping. But then the topics go on increasing till the time the number of topics is infinite.

An ode to Fick's Law

2005-11-10T23:37:00.000-05:00

Got the grades from Electrobio mid-term on monday.

31 out of 37 students got a problem wrong. So we will get points for that if we submit it by today. Submitted the answer, got it correct [+5 marks :)]

5/37 got a question on Fick's law wrong. So, anybody who submits a haiku on Fick's law gets extra points. Wasn't expecting a lot of response to this offer, but what do I know... Prof got 7 haikus (if that is correct plural).

The best of them in my opinion is one by Robert (a grad student, of course.) So without further ado, as I have a lot to do, here's the winning entry (IMO):

Ode to Fick's 1st Law of Diffusion
by Rob Kirkton

Diffusivity ~
the particle migration
down concentration

Looks like engineers are getting poetic... And forgetting basic physics.

Location: BME 233 (Imaging) classroom

The prof asks somebody about Newton's second law. And in class full of BME undergrads, grads and Med-Physics people, not a single person can tell it. Shame on us... Looks like this theory is correct.

Yess... we got action potential

2005-11-05T18:37:00.000-05:00

So finally, we had the much touted "frog lab" this week. Our anticipation was pretty much high following the "in old days" stories by our professor. (In old days, you had to come up with your own frogs... The first frog doesn't know, but by the 5th frog they are wondering, "Hey, where IS Johny???" and they know something is wrong etc. etc.)

So we all crowded around the Frog Master (sounded like Beast Master to me, but on the wrong side of line), and watched him putting a frog painlessly to death. And I could watch it; guess I could have stood med school after all (Sorry Nilesh). As each frog has 2 (rear) legs, we had a lot of frog legs to go around, and we Grad students became actual doers instead of watchers on the undergrads.

So Jason gets one frog leg, and me, Chris and Amorn try our luck with the other one. Dissecting a frog leg was not something I was thinking of doing; I am not a wannabe medical doctor after all. But still, we plowed on. At the end Jason comes up with the sciatic nerve removed surgically from the leg. His leg, sorry the one he dissected could still be cooked and served (frog leg is supposed to be a delicacy). But when we finally got the nerve out, our frog leg looked like the frog had just lost an argument with a minefield, a classic case of "too many hands spoil the dissection".

We had played around so much with the nerve, that we were not expecting to see anything when the nerve was connected. Jason gets a perfect action potential, after fiddling around the controls for maybe 10-15 min. After that, we connect the nerve we got out, and give it a stimulating pulse, and yesss...

We Got an Action Potential!!!!!

Jason: My bump is bigger that yours…
Amorn: It's not the size that matters, you know...

Back to Java!!

2005-10-30T19:13:00.000-05:00

For all those people wondering what Java (as in software, not as in the life-fluid of all grads) has to do with Biomedical Engineering, I got a new job to develop a GUI (I used to hate these) in Java for one of the profs.
So it's back to Java and Eclipse for me! I didn't know how much I missed Eclipse till I sat down in front of my PC (details below) and started using it.
So Now I am going to work 15 hours a week on a Apple machine, with specs:

20" widescreen,
2.7GHz,
8 GB RAM (that's not a typo, you demons of envy)
And there is a new addition: a webcam

Now I come to think of it, some people used to envy me for a machine with 1GB RAM... (tsk tsk tsk)

And come 15th Dec, I will be moving to a new office (again not a typo), while other grads are languishing in their tiny cubicles. Like my prof said, I need to watch my back…

Time: 29th Oct, 2005, 11:00 am
Venue: Radiology Lab

My prof wants to use my machine for some work. I have some work till 12, so I tell him that I will be back after some time, and continue the work. At 12, the machine is still busy. So I go off and have some coffee. Back @ 1:40, still the machine is busy. At this moment, he turns to me, and says, "It's a nice afternoon, why don't you take the day off?" I don't mind if my weekend starts on Friday afternoon...

And whole next week, he is away in some part of Europe. :D

Post Test

2005-10-28T23:08:00.000-04:00

Again a homework and a mid-term this week.

The midterms are over (finally)... The papers were good (as all Question papers are, its the answers... you got the idea). For Electrobiology, we had to write our own question and answer it, worth 18 marks. And before any of you say it's good, please imagine yourself sitting in the exam hall trying to frams a question, let alone answer to it. For imaging test, we had to give the "story" (in our prof's words) behind 8 equations. (Chris, if you are reading this, your flash-cards helped a lot. Thanks man!) All in all, an entirely different experience from the one we are used to...

These two weeks were extremely draining (emotionally and hence, physically) for various reasons, and this coupled with the good news that I got full marks in last week's Stat homework helped me decide to take 2 days off from studies. These two days will be dedicated to comparitive study of detective fiction, with special emphasis on Byomkesh Bakshi, thanks to this discussion and an extermely lucky co-incidence of finding two Byomkesh books (in english) in Duke Library.

Update: The two days are almost over, tomorrow I start again working on the Statistics homework due next week. For the results of my study, keep watching my other blog.

Duke Chapel

2005-10-20T21:04:00.000-04:00

A great photo of Duke Chapel I found on the Duke site. For the photos I clicked, please keep watching this space (will do it sometime this weekend, or maybe next weekend)

A Short Breather

2005-10-20T20:46:00.001-04:00

Finished Fall Break last tuesday.

Schedule of this week:
Monday: Start a new job
Tuesday: Electrobio Test
Wednesday: Stat H/W
Thursday: Imaging H/W

Start studying for these: Last Friday.
Finished homework: 12.30 am today.

These were three of the most packed days of my life till now (yes, even including porsche)... Didn't call home, anybody.

Half way through this marathon, you get so stressed out that you are ready to walk in Kroger in your night suit, just to avoid the hassle of changing clothes when going out.

So finally, exams and homeworks are done, I have some breathing time to access the damage to my brain and get up-to-date on my blogs and communications. And I am already half way through the next Stats homework (due next tuesday), and wondering what is the latest time for which I can dare to keep the start of study for Imaging exam...

No wonder these professors using automatic transmission forget that we have something called 1st and 2nd gear, and even any self-respecting vehicle will stop running if you put it in 4th gear from neutral.

Start of the Fall Break

2005-10-07T19:31:00.001-04:00

Sitting in front of my (ok, the one I borrowed) laptop, looking at papers and articles. The deadline of submission for the project proposal is 5 p.m. And it's seven PM already (Fall Break starts at 7).

The day started quite well.

Location: BME 201 (Electrobiology) Lab Quiz
Cast: Our lab group consisting of 6 people

The graduate students take "Group" quizzes. So we can freely discuss the problems (with kind consent of out professor), as long as we value the honour code (i.e. not look into our notes). Today, we had one problem in the lab quiz (the actual data is different for different people). After discussing for 15 solid minutes, we come up with the (wrong) formula. 3 people out of 6 somehow mess up the calculations, and get the right answers. And guess what...
I am one of those to get the wrong answer. Looks like my "famous" luck started the fall break a bit early.

The fall break has just started... Four days of relaxing, fun and enjoyment.

Tasks for Fall Break
1. Complete project proposal
2. Send replies to all e-mails I got in last week (last count was 10)
3. Call up home
4. Call people in US
5. Study
6. Cook for myself
7. Anything I have forgotten to put here

So looks like I have a period of great fun on my hands...

Guruwani

2005-09-27T20:20:00.000-04:00

Attending college after 2 years is not easy. Attending classes, and that too for 75 minutes each, was one of the things which I would have never thought possible. (Because, as one of our professors reminded us the other day, a normal person’s attention span is around the length of situation comedy on TV.) But then, our classes taught by professors who don’t rely on unintentional humor to make the classes interesting.

So, we have got Statistics professor (who incidentally looks and acts like Robin Williams with beard) who teaches us about ecology experiments in Duke Forest, craps, and little apple seedlings. Then there is Electrobiology professor who gives us “Tips to win Nobel Prize”. Not to forget the Medical Imaging professor who told us in first lecture, “For last 50 years, we have done all the easy work in imaging, and kept all the hard work for you guys”.

So, unless you had a night-out on previous night, you can enjoy lectures a lot even without sleeping.

Some of the best quotes I have heard in class:

• "We have something called library where there are a lot of books to read. The only problem with library is, you get lost in it. You look in some racks, find some old magazines, start reading them and before you know, you are out of time."

• "There is a wonderful thing called Google. I had thought of it, but some guys from Stanford stole my idea. But then, I should say that they did a pretty good job of it."

• "The target in medical imaging devices is the Patient. That's the most important thing to remember."

• "This (some statistics fact) fact is so amazing that it should be in Ripley's Believe It or Not."

• "Mean is represented by Mju. Mean, mju... there is alliteration here, get it? For some reason we don't alliterate variance... variance, sigma square..."

• “Let’s do the first simulation first, and the second one… second”

• “Biomass is biological abbreviation of mass.”

• “Have you got your cadaver?”

• “Today, we are talking about frying your patient.”

• “The little seedlings come out of the ground. Then winter comes, and some of them die. It’s really a tragic story.”

Probability and Murphy's Laws

2005-09-27T14:25:00.000-04:00

Sample Space:
Students from medical imaging class

Event:
Professor calling the random names picked from a glass, and asks the student questions. (He does not know your name if you haven't been called earlier.)

Observations:
1. The probability of getting called given that your mental state tends to "sleepy" is equal to 1.
2. The probability of getting called given that you are wide awake is equal to 0.

Conclusions:
Murphy's laws rule the earth!!!

My dear Watson....

2005-09-21T08:09:00.000-04:00

Class: Medical Imaging
Scene: The professor has displayed X-Ray of a human hand, and asks a student ([un]fortunately an engineer) what can she see in that hand.

She goes on to describe that it is human hand. Then she tells that she can see some lesions etc etc. We all have a very shrewd idea that the prof is waiting for her to say something very important. After her monologue goes on for about 10 sentences, the professor asks, "OK, and do you see anything else?" We all hold our breaths... She doesn't have anything more to say.

Prof: OK, you have covered almost everything except one small thing... the person has his thumb missing.

Love theatre has never known a louder laughter in any class.

Does this remind you of Sherlock Holmes' camping trip?