Clarification from Prof

OK, So prior to turning in this paper (which turned out EIGHT PAGES LONG, single spaced and with minimal formatting) the prof and I had a little exchange where I asked him for a response to a question that he'd asked me and he said essentially that we're supposed to be writing this stuff as if we were doing it in the real world.

I responded with a note that I'm comfortable doing this for work, but would like clarification/help/feedback when it comes to doing it for a grade.

From the tone of his previous email I expect him to take this well, but it was good to finally figure out what the hell was going on with this class.

I'm going to operate with the assumption that the lack of direction is semi-intentional and any clarification questions should be directed at him (he was happy to give feedback on my half-finished paper, thankfully).

So, hopefully that easygoing pretend-you're-at-work attitude will translate into easy grading.

I hope.

Proj2: In progress

No really, I'm back to the paper, I swear.

My uncle who was stuck (and unwilling to leave) New Orleans last I heard arrived in town last night late.

I got to start project 2 but made little progress on it. I was up till after 1a anyway, once I got home. :-(

After 4h of studying genetics this AM in the library (for our first exam on tues), this afternoon is devoted to writing that damn project 2 paper.

Project Two

Not so happy about this blood bank reagent case audience writeup thing we've got to do.

The instructions are almost nonexistent from the prof and I'm not sure what criteria we're supposed to evaluate the examples we're given. It's annoying and frustrating.

I'm assuming everyone else in the class is in the same boat because no one has posted ANY discussion about the examples! Unfortunately, I'm not reassured by this lack of direction.

This class is starting (slightly) to remind me of my HORRIBLE DL history class. It's not _that_ bad (yet), and the prof at least shows up to this class and responds to postings (though not in a helpful way!) but the incredibly unclear directions get on my nerves.

*grumble*

Finito Two

OK, NOW I'm done!

Prof came back with changes (significant ones! That weren't posed as part of the assignment description!) and we've both been dreading making the necissary changes and busy besides - so it got put off.

However, tonight, even though I've got a physics quiz tomorrow AM bright and early, I got my rewritten and expanded Project 1 Essay _done_.

Maybe it's finito...

Project One: Finito

Glad to meet my partner - she rocks and we made quick work of our Project 1.

...
I'm now watching the wiki and weather.com pages about the hurricane set to hit New Orleans. My very dumb, very alcoholic uncle lives there and is currently holed up in his apartment with a bunch (4) of losers, a dog, and 5 gallons of water and 'some grub'. If the grub was all liquid I wouldn't be surprised.

For their own sake, I hope someone notices that they're there and evacuates them to somewhere safe(r), preferably with a reliable water supply and medical care (uncle is also a _severe_ diabetic).

My mother's talked to him several times and he assures her that he'll be just fine and that she shouldn't worry. Oddly, this doesn't make her (or I) feel any better.
...

Waiting to hear back from the prof with feedback on our project (and hopefully he likes it!) so we can turn it in and be done.

First assignment

(Edited to add defs, which were lifted directly from wiki and which will need to be cited, though it's not done here - don't worry, I'm not plagiarising). I'm starting the rewrite process and will keep updating as I rewrite. My partner will be here shortly, at which point we'll discuss her list and come up with a final list and defs. Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid)- "nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions specifying the biological development of all cellular forms of life (and many viruses)". (wiki)
gastrointestinal - "digestive tract, also referred to as the GI tract or the alimentary canal or the gut, is the system of organs within multicellular animals which takes in food, digests it to extract energy and nutrients, and expels the remaining waste". (wiki)
dorsal - "In anatomy, the dorsal is the side in which the backbone is located. This is usually the top of an animal, although in humans it refers to the back. It is the anatomical opposite of ventral." (wiki)
ventral - front or underside of an animal, opposite from the backbone, opposite dorsal side (wiki)
medial - anatomical description for structures near the midline of the body. (wiki)
carcinogen - "any substance or agent that promotes cancer. Carcinogens cause cancer by altering DNA in cells, interfering with normal biological processes." (wiki)
distal - anatomical term used to describe position on the limbs or other appendages, proximal is closer to the main body, contrasted with distal, which is further away from the main body. (wiki)
digit - "In anatomy, a finger or toe." (wiki)
virus - small particle that infects cells. Viruses can reproduce only by invading and controlling other cells as they lack the cellular machinery for self reproduction. Typically a small amount of nucleic acid (either DNA or RNA, but not both) surrounded by some form of protective coat. (wiki)
prion - short for proteinaceous infectious particle — are infectious self-reproducing protein structures. Though their exact mechanisms of action and reproduction are unknown, it is now commonly accepted that prions are responsible for a number of previously known but little-understood diseases such as "Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease) (Collinge, 2001). These diseases affect the structure of brain tissue and are all fatal and untreatable." (wiki)

Thoughts?

After writing up this list the first time, I read the 2 CP articles... the one was interesting (and an enjoyable description of the strange pathscareerss sometimes take) and the other was NOT. The second one was pretty much unreadable - I read the words, but I can't promise that I understood the concepts. Someone needs to get that guy an editor!

(Ed: Short essay: Discuss significance of technical terms and concepts in your field of study or career interest. 250-300w). Ha - the medical field is ALL technical terms and concepts! Why is that useful? For greater precision and standardization between drs, to describe very detailed medical information in words without pictures (I'd compare it to engineering except they get CAD and we don't!), thinking mostly of surgery and anatomy here, but the difference between a ventral and medial mole abnormality is significant and could be the difference between catching skin cancer early because you removed the right mole and removing the wrong mole and having to redo the surgery, possibly more invasive and lesssuccessfull because of the delay, and the stronglikelihoodd of getting sued, simply from a simple mistake in description. (I'm assuming here that the pt comes into surgery already underanesthesiaa - since these sort of mistakes do happen (and the media enjoys reporting them!) it is a serious concern of the medical profession to be as precise and descriptive as possible. Life and death matters and all that. )

(I'm having logging in issues with WebCT and can't look it up - what does he want for citation format?)

(Great, the spellcheck in blogger KILLS my post... all the strange repeating letters... yea, NOT ME!)

Beginning.

Apparently for our technical writing course, we're supposed to keep a blog.

Since the given school interface is _clunky_, I've moved mine here. Since this is an ungraded space, expect it to be full of spelling errors, run on sentances, nonsensical content and more personality than should be expressed in the actual course.

Waiting on my book from amazon (tomorrow?) and an email to another course member about possible collaboration on projects. I'm hoping she's blog-savvy cause that makes this SO MUCH EASIER. I learned a lot from my nigem.blogspot.com blog and the lovely discussions and studying that took place there and hope to replicate that for this class.