Floss religiously

Webcam of the week, It's back from the dead

A little more than a year ago, I had a post for the new dental school clinic building construction cam. Well, it took pictures of dirt and stuff for about a year.

Since that time, Mark Sanford vetoed the final $7 million to construct the building. The legislature overrode his veto. And then there were several months of constant pile driving.

And now there's some random holes for a basement.

Enjoy. MUSC Dental Clinic Construction

 

still...

Well, I'm still pretty well distracted. But I haven't seen much of Amber this week.

I have a pathology test tomorrow morning. I'm cramming my little brain full of random pathology facts as fast as I can, but some of it really leaves me baffled.

I do wonder...
Why is this dental student memorizing random facts about the glomeruler appearance of "Focal segmental glomerulonephritis" viewed with an electron microscope?

I can imagine the conversation now...
A patient walks in and says, "Hey doc, my tooth is killing me. But while you're taking a look at it, would you mind giving me some advice on the PAS staining characteristics of my membranous glomerulonephritis? I've been dying to know...

Instead of committing this stuff to long term memory, this dentist-to-be might have to refer patients asking about this to a nephrology specialist.

The weekend is almost here.

 

In honor of a test day

woot.com

 

Dangle the carrot

A US Army recruiter was hanging around the dental student lounge on the fourth floor of Basic Science building yesterday afternoon.

He walked over to the table where I was sitting with some friends and interrupted our conversation like this:

Excuse me, but my name is Major [whoreallycares]. I stopped by to tell you guys a few things about the Army Health professions program. We're now offering a $60,000 bonus, in-school stipends of $1300 a month, and loan repayment up to $120,000. You'll enter as a captain, and captain's pay is right at $5,000 per month. I'd like to know if I can answer any questions for you guys?

I'll give the guy credit for having a good opening statement.

Translation: We're desperate. This war is so jacked up that we can't even get medical personnel any more. Doubling the sign on bonus has had little effect.

Unfortunately, recruiters tend to lie a little bit. I'm sure everything he mentioned is available... just not to one person. If you get the stipend, then you probably aren't eligible for the bonus etc.

Friend #1: If I join, can I drive one of the tanks when we have a little bit of free time?

Recruiter: Um... no. Medical personnel do not fight.
Translation: Are you retarded?

Friend # 2: If I were to sign up, how does the army decide where to send me?
Recruiter: We've got bases all of the world. You order your preferences, and they give you whatever is available.
Translation: Sign the dotted line so that the Army can own your soul. After that, we'll send you on paid vacations to Iraq, Germany, then North Korea, and worst of all--Kansas.

Then Major [whatever] says to me, "You don't look too interested. What's the matter--you don't like the war?"

Me: Um..

Major [whatever]: Go on, you can say it.

Me: No sir, I don't like the war. Even more than that, I don't like the Army. The last thing I'm here for is to sell my soul so I can listen to somebody tell me what to do, where to live, and what to wear.

Major [whatever]: Well, a lot of people in the Army don't like the war. And your patients are going to be your bosses when you start practicing anyhow.

Me: Yes, but they don't make me wake up at 5am. (And they don't send me to Iraq)
Translation: The Army man still needs to up the ante--starting with letting my pick the city from the beginning.

To be honest, the military offers a pretty good deal. Given my current income, the army's salary sounds incredible. The fact that they pay for school is pretty impressive as well.

Three or four years ago dental students were graduating with about $100,000 in school loans. Now the 4 year program costs more like $160,000.

I'm pretty firm on keeping my soul away from the Army, but every now and then it is interesting to think about signing up so I don't have to think about money.

 

Rewards for couch hospitality

Most of the houses I've ever lived in have had an open door policy. Most anybody is welcome to come and spend the night.

When I moved into the 1106 house in Searcy, I discovered that I joined a tradition of college students living in that little 2 bedroom house. During homecoming, one guy showed up at the door and said, "Hey, I used to live here about 4 years ago, and I'll be in town for the next two days. Do you mind if I spend the night?" We told him he was welcome to stay on the pull-out sofa. Nobody knew who he was, but it didn't matter because that's the way it was.

A few months before the random guy showed up, two guys slept on the couches for a couple of months. I think one of them eventually chipped in a few bucks for the rent. The other guy washed dishes, and since we had a serious dishwashing problem (nobody would wash them), everybody thought it was a good deal.

While my state and my university have changed, I've found that the tradition of couch hospitality is ubiquitous throughout higher education. And this is why I write today:

Every morning for quite some time, I've noticed one of the those new razors that vibrates taking up a shelf in the shower. For a while, I didn't think much of it although it was growing some of the pink mold stuff. Not my razor, not my problem. But lately, it's developed a new funk... that black stuff starting growing around the handle, and the blade has become so rusty that I started worrying about whether or not my tetanus shot is current.

Me: you don't actually try to use your rusty razor, do you?
Roomate: I don't have a rusty razor
Me: Then whose is that thing? (he knew exactly what I was talking about)
Roomate: I don't know. I thought it was yours.
Me: Why would I keep a rusty, molding razor in the shower?
Roomate: I don't know whose it is
Me: me neither, but I'm gonna get a picture of it for my blog... um... you hold it while I take the picture. ...

I guess one of our couch guests left his razor in our shower.