Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Four Months Later...

Yesterday marks a great day in the history of mankind. For all of you who did not know of what event was occuring yesterday I send out my condolences. But for those of you who know, I hope you were as thrilled as I was. It is not often when something so big and marvelous occurs, and it is even more special when a small town like this actually gets to witness it at the same time as everyone else. 
Yesterday morning, Heroes Season 2 DVD was released. After months of waiting it is finally out, only a couple weeks before season 3 shall hit the television world. 

Now many of you may think that all this excitment is for nothing, but for someone who grew up in the age of X-Men, Spiderman, Green Lantern, Hawk Eye, and so on, a day like this is almost as good as Christmas. They honestly should have just renamed the show "X-Men the New Generation" but that really is beyond the point. I love this show. After aquiring the new season I spent 9 hours of straight watching it and was tempted to call in sick to work in order to finish the season. Heroes to me is one of the few shows that can really put  your life in perspective and help you see the person you want to be one day. I don't mean to gain super powers, although that would be totally rad, but instead to work towards achieving great things and push yourself beyond the limits of ordinary life. As well the concept of having your genes to naturally evolve on their own through mutations to the point where they have given you some superordinary power is definately possible. Look at Salamanders who will regenerate limbs when in danger. There are certain invertebrates who live as colonies of females but when stressed or in danger half transform into males to help repopulate the colony before reverting back to a female. Evolution has been driving species towards greatness since the beginning of time and this show takes an interesting spin on it all with the concept of what will happen if this occurs to humans. None of the concepts are new but many have not been shed to the public in such a beautiful manner before. I definately cannot wait for the third season to be air and hope that it is on a night when I am not in class in the evening. 

Monday, August 25, 2008

Countdown to the Future

School is approaching at a rapid rate and I am still in the process of preparing for the future. I am currently going into my third year of the Biology program which is by far in my mind the most important year. This is the year that all biologists must once and for all determine a field of specialization and propose a thesis, the pinnacle moment. This scares me... a lot. I definately know what I do not want to do, but to narrow it down to one specific thing is a problem for someone who loves all aspects of science. Over the summer I was able to take a class on the study of the human sensory systems; Vison, Audition, Gustation, Nociception, Vestibular, etc. I Loved it! The brain is such a complex yet amazing tissue centre and through this class I definately opened up the possibility of working towards a career in Neuroscience in my mind. It was because of this that I decided to check out Nipissing's Neuroscience lab to get a feel for the field and see what it is all about. Visiting Dr. Weeks lab let me see the process of studying a synapse. Through this connection I was able to see a live decap which was an unforgetable moment in my life. Watching the subject being sacrificed for scientific research was one of those moments where you know you should look away yet you cannot take your eyes off it. Coming from a medical oriented family I have no problem with blood or disections which I am thankful for. I got a good feel for one of the aspects of Neuroscience which allowed me to consider more indepth if this is the field of specialization for me. My other option I should mention is Ecology. I have always loved nature from spending my summers living deep in the forests of Northern Ontario at Silver Queen Lake so it was no surprise that I enjoyed the concepts and work in Ecology. But it is because of this love that I am in a situation of unrest. I know that with whatever choice I can always go work towards the other in the future, but being the person I am, it pains me to not take full advantage of any opportunities towards the perfect career. If I went into Neuroscience I think I would focus on studying the visual system or possibly audition. As well with Ecology, nothing would make me more happier then living in Bodø Norway and working to keep the forest and marine life safe from human corruption. I definately have a lot of soul searching to do. In any case, this year will definately be the most memorable yet and I cannot wait for it to begin!