Diablo II is still FUN!

This game is a classic; even seven years later Diablo II is still a fun way to waste a lot of time! I just recently got the expansion pack, but even without it Diablo II is a timeless classic. I wish it could be played at a higher resolution than 800x600, but oh well. Now, if I could only install programs on my computer at work. . .

The Hobbit is coming to Film!!

Oh YEAH! Not only is there going to be a Hobbit movie, but also a movie that fills in the 60 years (story time) from when Bilbo finds the Ring to the beginning of the trilogy. So, we have a dragon-slaying, multi-army war for the 1st climax, and then some wizard-Sauron fighting in Mirkwood for the 2nd!! I would love to see some Silmarillion or even Numenorean action on-screen, too! Too view people are intimately familiar with these stories, I'm afraid, but they would make great action/fantasy flicks nonetheless!!

(No disrespect meant toward THIS Hobbit, though!)

My Pre-dental coursework

I am officially finished with all of my prerequisite coursework for dental school. Biochemistry was my final class, after which I HAD intended to just take it easy with a few non-science classes for the spring. Now, after one week of no studying, homework, or tests to look forward to, I actually feel a little bored. I don't have much to do at work (there is only so much news a man can read), and I've found myself playing more video games after Masashi goes to bed. Is this how I want to spend my time? I think not! In order to satisfy my brain's need for stimulation, I've signed up for Medical Microbiology and Religions of the East for Spring 2008. I good mix of tough studying and interesting reading.
Looking back over the past year and a half, here are the prerequisite courses I've taken (with Indiana University in mind) and some thoughts about the class:

Inorganic Chemistry 1 & 2: Nothing I hadn't already seen in high school. Easy A both semesters

Physics 1 & 2 (non-calculus based): Prof did a good job drilling the principles in our head and pushing out any misconceptions we might have held. Would have liked a more math-based class, though. Easy A both semseters

Biology 1 & 2: Should have learned a lot of this in high school (but I didn't). Fun labs, very interesting material. Easy enough to learn on one's own, though. Attendance was merely an instructor requirement. A both semesters, but it did take a good amount of reading

Anatomy and Physiology: Anatomy was memorize memorize memorize. Tests were well thought out at challenging. Worked pretty hard for A both semseters.

Organic Chemistry 1 & 2: Memorize memorize memorize. Very interesting, but not as difficult as many people make it out to be. Labs could be challenging. Required constant study for A both summer semesters.

Biochemistry: The theme of this class was "Memorize everything on every slide of every powerpoint presentation, it is all fair game." There was at least one or two questions on every blue-book exam that I just looked at and wondered "huh?" With that said, I COULD have probably studied a little more, but mid-semester was hectic with dental school interviews. The feeling of inevitability (both about getting into D.S. and about the fact that I could never learn everything for the tests) also kept me from giving it my all. In the end, I worked pretty hard for my B.

Psychology: I think Indiana D.S. is the only school that requires this. Took CLEP test, need a score of 50 to get 3 credit hours, got 72/75. CLEP is great for courses like psychology where a grade isn't required or won't have any positive effect, especially considering the fact that it only cost about $60!

English: SAT tested out of 6 hours, took some Honors Humanities courses that seemed to be good enough for all of the dental schools.

Calculus: Most D.S. do not require calculus, but I did it anyway. Again, CLEP, 6 or 8 credit hours no problem (I studied a lot while in Japan, though. It was well earned credit).

That's it. It's done! Now, a fun six months of work, play, some classes, and then we're off to dental school!!

America's politics of religion

A very good op-ed in the International Herald Tribune.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/12/17/opinion/edcarroll.php

Das Kapital

I started reading Karl Marx's "Capital" at work today and become incredibly bored, so I started skimming. Interesting stuff, but he seems to miss the whole idea of risk. In one section I skipped to, Marx gets to the crux of his argument that the money a capitalist makes on his investment is actually money robbed from the laborer. Not via direct thievery, but rather by devaluing the labor of the laborer. For example, capitalist A makes $2000 on the money earn from washing windows. He then buys a window-washing robot with that money that can do the work of 100 workers. This makes the labor of those human workers worth less as now the robot can do the same work at a fraction of the cost.
Marx views this as stealing. He seems to assume that every investment will yield a definite return (i.e. value gain not through direct labor). As I have read it so far he both misses the whole point that risk is involved in any investment and success is not guaranteed. The return on an investment is not money for nothing, but rather the value of the risk.
This could be put another way: I'm sure Marx would agree that the window washer should be allowed to go buy food for his family with his wages, so how is it any different if the washer takes a risk (the risk of starvation, failure, etc) and buys a robot instead of food or gives the money to someone to do something with in exchange for a percentage of the hypothetical profits? There is no difference, the initial money belongs to the window-washer as do all the fruits of its risk-valued investments.
Just from a summary look, I cannot believe how this work and its related offspring are still able to gain a serious audience today. Marx's main argument is flawed enough that one assumes even in the past no intelligent person would entertain such nonsense.
I will try to read some more in an unbiased fashion, but I admit that might be difficult.

My decision: Indiana University School of Dentistry

I have decided that it would be in the best interest of myself and my family if I attended Indiana University School of Dentistry in Indianapolis. There are many things to consider, but the thought of having an extra $200,000 in debt hanging over my head after graduation (which would be the extra costs of attending Penn, Maryland, etc.) as I'm thinking about buying a house, starting a practice, etc., has been forefront in my mind.

Speaking of houses, my wife and I are considering buying a house or condo in Indy rather than paying rent over the four years I am in dental school. With the relatively inexpensive cost of living in Indy as well as any income Ritsuko brings in, having our own house shouldn't be a problem. The most difficult aspect of this, though, is simply finding a place that is affordable but not in a dumpy/dangerous neighborhood; we have to think of our son, not just ourselves.

Fall 2007 Semester Finished

The last of my work preparing for dental school is complete: I took my required biochemistry class final yesterday afternoon. I studied quite a bit for this test, devoting most of my free time at work to going over pathways, reactions, and structures. Unfortunately, our professor likes to ask very specific questions out of the rushed, overly detailed materials we covered in class. So, there is no really good way to prepare for his tests other than simply memorizing the powerpoint slides used for lecture. Anyway, I feel I did well on the test, well enough to keep my solid "B" in the class. An "A" would have been nice, but as this will be my only non-"A" since beginning my post-bacc studies, I don't have much to complain about.

It's interesting, but I actually feel even more relieved now than I did after finishing the DAT. Now, I can sit back and enjoy life until dental school starts this summer. I am taking a couple of classes in the spring, though: Intro to Business Law and Eastern Religions. It will be a nice change to the past year and a half. I'll also have more time to read, play video games, or just do nothing much at all.

Dental School Acceptances!!

Finally, the fruit of my labor has been harvested! I received confirmation on Nov. 30th and Dec. 3rd that I had been accepted to Indiana University School of Dentistry and the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine, respectively. Nothing from Maryland, which means they're still thinking about me. Still no interview invite from Colorado, either. Getting two acceptances at the beginning of December out of only four applications is, needless to say, very exciting.

What next? Well, I will most likely be attending Indiana, though that is hardly set in stone:

Penn did not offer me a scholarship, which was really the deal-maker with them given Penn's high tuition ($195,880/four yrs. compared to $76,976 for IU). And, once you compound the interest that is accumulated over the four years, it turns out to be even more. There is still the possibility that I am offered a scholarship, and I can wait until early January to make a decision, but no longer. If I AM given a scholarship, it will still be a hard choice between IU and Penn.

Maryland might also decided to offer me acceptance to their school, but I will probably withdraw my application before they get the chance. I'm a little suprised I haven't been accepted yet. Then again, I DID basically tell them that Maryland was my #3 choice behind IU and Penn in my interview. Maybe they didn't like that, or maybe they knew that I would get into either IU or Penn and not to bother with me. The fact that I accidently left my information package their (along with my name tag) might have also sent the message that I wasn't really interested!

The thing is, I WAS interested in Maryland, enough to schedule an interview after already having interviews set up at IU and Penn. I'm glad I did. A dental school may look wonderful or not-so-wonderful to someone who has never seen one before (like me). By getting a look at three different schools with three different backgrounds and in three fairly different areas, I was able to make a better informed assessment. All three schools have pluses and minuses, some of which have nothing to do with the dental school at all (like location). I could be saying this because I didn't get a Penn scholarship, but IU seems like the best fit for me when all of the cards are put on the table.

Now, what about Colorado? There is always the SLIM chance that I might get an interview from them. A beautiful new school, small class size, and life in the Rocky Mountains sounds too good not to even try for, right? Price: $160,968/four years. Is being able to snowboard over winter break (when I should probably be studying) enough to justifying that much more debt? I guess there's no use speculating too much when I have yet to get an interview, so we'll just cross that bridge when we get to it.

There still lingers in the back of my mind why nothing from Maryland? why no scholarship from Penn? Well, there are a lot of people who have been working hard studying Biology, Neuroscience, Biochemistry, or whathaveyou with the dream of getting into a dental school. Even with slightly lower DAT scores or GPAs, who would really doubt their worthiness over me to these offers? I studied music (no one can seriously argue that an A in Music History equals an A in Microbiology), only recently decided to go into dentistry, have not shown the same level of comittment to community service, and have not proven (to the same degree that these other students have) my ability to excel in dental school. It's not just straight numbers (it's more probability and statistics).

So, this is the climax of my adventures in pre-dentistry. Starting in the summer of 2008 I will become a dental student, on my way toward become a licensed dentist (and maybe even more)!
For now, though, I need to just worry about my Biochemistry class. . .