UPDATE: welcome to book club
Hello all.

The format of official Book Club posts is going to be updated starting with The Picture of Dorian Gray. Thanks to Mark's suggestion, I am going to be writing several posts per book, each about only certain sections (eg several chapters). My aim will be to write about 3-4 posts per book, and they will all be linked to in the sidebar under their respective book titles. This is all an attempt to make this seem more like a real book club in which you can follow along with what I'm reading (or have read) as it happens.

Let me know your feelings...

4.03.2008

warmth and gamma rays

Okay, here's the long awaited (like 12 hours long) story about gamma rays. Dr. Glenn, who I've been talking a lot about lately, recently discovered that he has a stress fracture in right femur. That's a tough bone to break, and he accomplished it. He's a pretty hardcore runner/biker/triathlete, so that might explain things.

SIDE NOTE:
He's going to Hawai'i this weekend to do some research at (I think) the Keck Observatory, and the airline company that's supposed to bring him from Maui (where United is flying him into) to the big island went out of business last week. He now has no way of getting from one island to the other now, and he said that if they were just a fraction closer, he'd probably just swim it. I don't think he was kidding.

I guess he's had this fracture for about 18 months and never went to get it fixed. He said that the problem with going to the doctor is that when they tell you something's wrong, you have to stop doing the thing that caused it in the first place (eg running). He didn't want to stop running, so he avoided going to the doctor. So he finally went in to get the fracture imaged, and they didn't simply take X-rays. What they did is injected a calcium phosphate mixed with Technetium into his leg. When a bone is broken and trying to repair itself, your whole body gathers as much calcium phosphate as it can and directs it towards the break (what smart bodies we have). The Technetium is a radioactive element with a half-life of merely 6.01 hours and it emits gamma rays. The doctors wait about a half an hour to let the calcium phosphate and Technetium mix concentrate at the break site, and then they scan the area for gamma rays to see exactly where the fracture is. Neato. Science is dope.

Well, since Glenn is going to the airport (Hawai'i, remember?) only two days after having gotten Technetium injected into him, he's still going to be emitting small amounts of gamma rays. Apparently, gamma rays are something that airport security looks for when scanning for dirty bomb, so to them, it'll look like there's an explosive strapped to his leg.

He had to get an official form signed by his doctor explaining that he's not a terrorist.

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Alright, I know I just stole that little triangular transition thing from Mark (check out the link for example), but it's too good not to use.

Today is a very early-springy day. It's chilly, but not cold, the sun is coming and going, and there are ominously dark clouds devouring the flatirons. It's supposed to snow tonight (birthday barhopping be damned), and some splats of moisture flecked my glasses during my bike ride from Hale to my current location in Duane. It's really interesting to see how different people react to this kind of weather. There are some that are wearing there little jogging shorts and tshirt, obviously enjoying the fleeting rays of sunshine. Then there are the people that are preparing for the worst and have bundled in parkas and wrapped heavy wool scarves around their necks.

It's really funny seeing these two people walk side-by-side.

This happened all the time in Australia, too. Ally and I lived there a few years ago from February to July, so we got to see it go from one solstice to the next. The coldest we saw it (in Sydney. Hobart was a different story) get was a mild 60°F, and a thin track jacket or the like would suffice to keep you warm most of the time. But as soon as the sun went behind clouds, those Aussies wouldn't hesitate to break out their heavy trench coats and scarves (they love scarves. Actually, I love scarves, too, but I can't pull off the look. I just enjoy from afar.).

SIDE NOTE:
The guy next to me (I'm in the Duane computer lab) just sneezed and I said "bless you" (loud enough that he HAD to have heard it), and he didn't respond in any way. I guess I'm that creepy guy that talks to strangers that actually just want to be left alone.

We lived about a mile from campus (or as they would call it, the Uni), and most of the walk was a pretty treacherous hill (especially if you try to roll a full shopping cart down it, but that's a different story for another time). Me, being the sweaty fatboy asthmatic I am, would have trouble walking up that hill in anything less than shorts and a tshirt. I would get to class huffing and puffing (me on my inhaler: *wheeze* *puff* *suck*), my fivehead glistening with sweat, and all the locals would be shivering. All I needed was a Hawaiian shirt and a camera wrapped around my neck and I'd have really looked like a tourist.

When I get home, I'll post some Oz pictures so you know what I'm talking about.

UPDATE:
I didn't take any pictures of the hill, nor any of locals bundled up. I wish I could go back in time and take pictures of some of the things I miss the most but never documented. At the time, I didn't think I'd be looking back on my daily walk up that hill as a pleasant memory.

2 comments:

Photomoto said...

man. Jason Glenn is a badass.

That would such a good pick up line

"My leg is currently emitting gamma rays"

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My suggestion comes from my love for small insights into peoples personalities :

For every post that you make (with notes you took during the day), it should start or finish with the actual notes you took in your moleskin. You should scan those pages and post them.

Michael said...

Dude, I really like that idea. I've been crossing them out pretty heavily once they're posted, so I'll stop doing that from now on and just check them off so that you can still see what I wrote.