Skiing videos that don’t actually contain any skiing. Enjoy. (In case you’re wondering, yes, that is an Illinois T-shirt I’m wearing. It was Rose Bowl Day. Get off my back. Go Illini.)

Curious Expeditions has a compilation of some of the world’s most beautiful libraries with pictures. I was happy to see the inclusion of Harper Library at the University of Chicago, which is certainly deserving:

I think the Copley Public Library in Boston is my favorite:

I personally would put the Grainger Engingeering Library at the University of Illinois, where I and many of my friends used to live for several weeks at a time, on the list, but that’s just me. More than beautiful, it was a nice place to study:

The Harold Washington Library in Chicago, which I’ve mentioned before, is also one of my faves. The inside isn’t anything terribly special, save for the Winter Garden and for the fact that it’s the largest public library in the world, but the exterior is awesome:

I recently designed the website for the a cappella group I recently joined, Invoxication. You should check it out. Also, you should let me know in the comments if you see anything wrong with it, along with what browser and version you’re using. Please?

One of the funnier videos I’ve seen recently, but, admittedly, not for everyone.

(via Bayblab)

This guy lives practically across the street from me and works with a friend of mine.

The blogger behind one of my favorite weblogs, Hope For Pandora, has signed on to contribute to The Differential alongside the rest of us. If you didn’t have enough reason to read it on a regular basis, you do now. Read Thomas Robey’s introductory post here.

Must be a good time to be at the University of Chicago. Another medical student/faculty combo has put out a fairly high profile paper, this one about religion and doctors and morality and conscience—above all, how clinicians disagree over precisely what conscience is from the context of religion versus secularism. It’s all very deep and—well, I’ll just repost the abstract for you to ponder. The whole thing is here (subscription required).

What role should the physician’s conscience play in the practice of medicine? Much controversy has surrounded the question, yet little attention has been paid to the possibility that disputants are operating with contrasting definitions of the conscience. To illustrate this divergence, we contrast definitions stemming from Abrahamic religions and those stemming from secular moral tradition. Clear differences emerge regarding what the term conscience conveys, how the conscience should be informed, and what the consequences are for violating one’s conscience. Importantly, these basic disagreements underlie current controversies regarding the role of the clinician’s conscience in the practice of medicine. Consequently participants in ongoing debates would do well to specify their definitions of the conscience and the reasons for and implications of those definitions. This specification would allow participants to advance a more philosophically and theologically robust conversation about the means and ends of medicine.

This is yet another publication from Ryan Lawrence, a second-year student here, and Farr Curlin, an internist, ethicist, and (almost uncomfortably) outspokenly religious researcher of the role of religion in medicine (but overall a very thoughtful and very good guy). At this point, he’s perhaps the best known researcher on this topic in the country. Together, the two published five articles in 2007 alone, once in NEJM and thrice in AJOB, twice just with the two of them and thrice with other collaborators. Let’s just say it was a good year for them.

In addition, a great Cancer Research paper just came out of my lab on the role of paxillin in lung cancer, culminating several years’ worth of hard work and a hell of a lot of outside collaboration. You should check it out (subscription required, I believe).

A classmate of mine, Rachel Sherman, recently authored a paper about the prevalence of prescribed placebos that’s making fairly big news all over the world, having been written up in the Chicago Sun-Times, Time, Reuters, Scientific American, US News, Fox News, and NPR, not to mention news sources in Canada, the UK, India, and Australia. The article [ pdf link] appears in the January edition of the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

Results of a survey distributed to internists at Northwestern, the University of Illinois at Chicago, and the University of Chicago showed that 45% of those responding have at some point prescribed a placebo in their clinical practice and that nearly as many believe that placebos can have important physiological effects in the treatment of various ailments. Very interesting data on a very interesting question.

Read the whole thing here.

Source: Sherman R, Hickner J. Academic physicians use placebos in clinical practice and believe in the mind-body connection. J Gen Int Med. 2007;23(1):7-10.
DOI: 10.1007/s11606-007-0332-z

This year, I initially decided to make my resolution for the new year to not resolve anything. I’m pretty happy with where my life is right now. I’m in good health and enjoying reasonable success in my young career, and I have time to pursue most of my interests inside and out of medicine and science. But, there are always things I think I’d like to improve in my life:

1. Read at least two scientific articles every day. And remember at least some of the details and/or larger ideas for more than a few hours.
2. Work out more. Much more. I’m going to need to look good in a tuxedo in a few short months.
3. Stop talking so much about iPhones, cameras, TVs, computers, and other things I desperately want but cannot possibly (nor have absolutely no business thinking I might be able to) afford. Failing this, Abbie may or may not murder my face off. Scratch that: will murder my face off.
4. Read for pleasure more. Much more. (See current reading list at right.)
5. Shave more. Much more.
6. Clean more. Much more.
7. Publish at least twice. Get funded at least once. Start writing a dissertation?
8. As always, learn as much as possible and work harder.

It’s a broad, somewhat abstract, lofty list as usual, but that’s what I want. I have a tendency to get stagnant unless I’m constantly motivating myself and being motivated by others, so despite its arbitrariness, this tends to help myself regroup in my head and refocus myself.

I’m happy to say that this year has started off much better than last year’s commencement when, if you’ll recall, this happened:

What a great start to the new year. Today was, in short, amazing soothing terrible. It started with a tire blowout halfway to the hospital, followed by 10 minutes spent changing it and getting all oily, followed almost immediately by a low rumbling sound indicating a flat spare, followed by slowly rolling into a gas station only to find that the air machine there was broken.

This, of course, was all followed by yet another debacle involving roadside service (Allstate this time). In reality, the “sixty-to-ninety minutes” three hours it took a tow truck to arrive far exceeded my expectations, but — let’s face it — that doesn’t change the fact that I was chillin’ in my car for three hours. Awesome. Then, after waiting another “hour and twenty minutes” four hours, I forked over $72 to get a new tire for my already-POS car. So worth it.

Then, 14 days later:

My car loves to play games with me. What a rascal. At the moment we’re playing one called “Let’s See How Many Times The Same Tire Can Go Flat In Two Weeks” (LSHMTTSTCGFITW for short, which is pronounced “leshemtetestackgefitewihateyou”).

You may recall, oh, 14 days ago when my right rear tire went flat, followed by the spare that I newly put on in the right rear position also going flat. Now, imagine my swearing fit joy as I drove home yesterday and began to notice a sound that faintly resembled that of repeatedly driving over a bolt that was lodged in, say (for the sake of example), my right rear tire. I got out, and lo and behold, there’s a giant bolt lodged in my right rear tire! You win again, car! What a fun game.

Does anyone know if I can just set up a direct deposit with Firestone to just automatically take out $74.72 every two weeks? If so, let me know; that would be so much more convenient.

Then, the next day:

Today, I was stuck in an elevator for nearly two hours. No computer, no iPod, no lab notebook, no journal articles. I knew I should have gone with a phone with games on it.

“HELLO?”
“Hi?” Richard Dawkins? God? Is that you?

“DID YOU TRY PUSHING THE ‘DOOR OPEN’ BUTTON?”
Seriously? “Yes.” Yes, yes I did. I pushed it several hundred times. “I tried prying the doors open too, but I’m in between floors.”

“DID YOU PUSH THE BUTTON OF THE FLOOR YOU’RE GOING TO?”
“Yes.” Yes, as a matter of fact I did that about two hours ago. Dude, I’m so good, I even pushed those of the floors I’m NOT going to.

“WHO DID YOU TALK TO OVER THE INTERCOM? LIKE WHAT WAS THEIR NAME AND STUFF?”
“I didn’t. The speaker doesn’t work. I’ve just been holding the alarm button for a few…hours.” Um, do you think it would be possible to send someone competent else to get me out of here?

It was a pretty good day.

Then, 11 days later:

Car battery died or something. I know what you’re thinking, and the answer is no, a US government Humvee didn’t run over it. It’s time to go, Jetta. I’m throwing you out. I’ve spent $200 on you in the last three weeks, and all you do is hate me. That’s like a third of an iPhone! I like Smarts better anyway, jerk. I’d rather have my penis cut off by a stressed Romanian surgeon(!) than pay anything more for your own shortcomings.

Anyone know of a good junkyard in Chicago? Or someone really dumb who’s looking to buy a “mint-condition” car?

Don’t mind the iPhone mention. That was so last year. I miss having a car terribly, but not that much. Here’s to a good 2008!