Is it fair for the girlfriend to be irrationally upset at her boyfriend for having a female “best friend”, or should she trust her boyfriend enough to not feel threatened by the other girl in his life?

I’m going to leave this post short because I want your feedback, but I’ll briefly offer my perspective. It doesn’t matter if you’re a guy or a girl, you’re naturally going to be possessive over your counterpart. This is just an intuitive greed we have for those we value in our lives. With this in mind, I can also speak from first hand experience about trusting a loved one. Riya talks to a lot of my guy friends now that she’s at HBU without me. Does she consider them her “best friends?” Well, quite frankly, I could care less. I know that at the end of the day, she’ll come running back to me. That’s all that matters. Life is too short to be caught up in worrying about your loved ones betraying you. Trust them, and the favor shall be returned. Plus, the guys she talks to have already earned my respect, and I know they appreciate my friendship enough not to betray me. And if you’re reading this saying “that’s what you think, Rishi!”…. come to the dark alley behind the dark building at midnight. Riya will be there.

…but so will my fists.

Now, what do you think?

First of all, I have no idea why some womenfolk cling helplessly to these disastrous tokens of fashion. They’re not even pretty! Seriously, have you actually looked at high heels? Take away the fancy, shiny fluff, and all you have is a cardboard tube being propped on one end by a toothpick. And to think people have multiple pairs of these trashy shoes? What a sound financial decision! For the sake of abiding by the “rules of society”, I suppose one pair only worn to very formal events is acceptable. Otherwise (for some unknown reason), society would frown upon your attempt to be comfortable during a gathering.

Next, I have very little sympathy for those who choose to wear heels on a regular basis. That’s the funny thing about society. We put our bodies through unnecessary stress just to provide the classy image of professionalism, and what do we have to show for it? Well, how about the appealing idea of having your Achilles tendon shortened to a point where you can’t wear “normal” shoes without extreme discomfort? If that doesn’t tickle your fancy, how about the “classy image” of a nice set of calluses and bunions? Oh, and if you’re lucky enough, you may be privileged to also experience the shooting pains of Morton’s neuroma. Dang, there really should be more people wearing high heels religiously.

Being a guy, this topic shouldn’t really pertain to me at all. Maybe it’s witnessing women voluntarily subjecting their bodies to physical abuse which puts me over the edge. Maybe its their notion that “high heels make me look pretty and nothing will come from wearing them” that makes me debate the intelligence behind fashion. Or maybe it’s just a consequence of my unorthodox and biased notion of beauty. A notion which detests the usage of make-up and other outlandish ornamentation like heels. One which emphasizes “natural” appearance over colored contacts, hair highlights, and other self-centered attempts to “beautify” oneself. One which appreciates mediocrity over being the center of attention. To me, those parameters describe someone who I can deem “beautiful.”

So yeah, continue wearing those high heels, oh admirable walking fashion statement. When you get to the age of 50 and your “dogs are barking”, I hope the podiatrist you come crying to is blunt and tells you that your extensive usage of heels caused your ailment(s).

…I feel a lot better.

In his infinite wisdom, Socrates once said “all I know is that I know nothing.” This premise applies perfectly to the question at hand. If we attempt to define “life” by the observations we have made in our own lives, the definition would be biased and ultimately incorrect. Therefore, we must accept the fact that we indeed “know nothing” to provide an objective opinion.

Enough philosophy. Since I fall under the subset of all humans, my definition is going to be biased and incorrect anyways, but this is what I came up with.

“Life refers to any entity which utilizes an energy source to fuel the relevant biochemical processes needed to sustain the entity till it successfully produces fertile offspring.”

Under this definition, yes, I consider an egg which has been recently fertilized to be a form of “life.” It meets all the aforementioned requirements.

• The embryo obtains “energy” in the form of nutrients from the biological mother.
• The embryo undergoes the “biochemical processes” of growth and adaptation as it progresses from newborn to adult.
• The adult “produces fertile offspring” (in this case, through sexual reproduction) and ensures the survival of its kind.

Notice how this definition of life also excludes terms like “carbon-based” or “water.”  As humans, we have to start investigating the unknown by utilizing what we supposedly “already know.” We know that all life forms on earth are carbon-based and require (directly or indirectly) water as a nutrient, so we search the cosmos looking for these two symbols of life. For all we know, E.T. and his friends may be silicon-based creatures requiring ammonia to survive (just like the Dems ).

So now, I ask my readership - what do you think constitutes “life?”

This plugin is the solution for those looking to enhance the dingy built-in speakers of their MacBook or the $5.99 headphones you purchased from CVS (I’m guilty in either case, heh). iWOW provides a simple integration with no noticeable impact on system resources. It provides seamless audio playback (not like some plugins which occasional skip as they render) and can be adjusted to achieve virtually any type of output you want - even karaoke mode!

Whether it’s sliding a bar to adjust the bass level, selecting a preset scheme via a drop-down menu, or increasing the overall output volume for those songs which are still inaudible even at your Mac’s highest volume setting, usability is the fundamental concept of iWOW. The simple interface allows even the most novice Mac user to enjoy an iTunes experience which, in my opinion, is a night and day difference from the default. Adjusting At a $30 price tag, SRS iWOW is a “must have” plugin for those who routinely listen to music on their Mac notebooks/desktops. Leave me a comment if you’d like more details!

Merriam-Webster dictionary defines euthanasia as “the act or practice of killing or permitting the death of hopelessly sick or injured individuals (as persons or domestic animals) in a relatively painless way for reasons of mercy”
I see all sorts of problems with this practice when I compare it to portions of the original Hippocratic Oath, an oath which basically outlines the boundaries of a physician’s power:

…never do harm to anyone… I will not give a lethal drug to anyone if I am asked, nor will I advise such a plan…

Does anyone else see a striking contradiction? No wonder it’s such a hot topic in medical ethics!

I was actually asked at my UTMB medical interview about how I would feel if a patient asked me to euthanize them. Fortunately, I had considered this hypothetical scenario a long time ago and realized that I would usually side with the individual. Patients come to doctors to get treated for medical ailments. They grant physicians the privilege to have full access to their privacy and basically play “God” during the recovery process. If they ask to be euthanized (and they’re in a sane mental state), their wish should be fulfilled wholeheartedly. To me, this is one of the few exceptions where a patient’s consent supercedes medical ethics. Now obviously, if that same patient asked me to stab him every hour with an injection of morphine, the answer is no; however, if the patient has a “fair reason” to be put out of his or her misery and has had enough time to consider the implications their death would have on their family and loved ones… I’m for it.

Again, this is a highly controversial topic, so I’d love to hear your opinion.

Maybe it’s because I take things too seriously. I don’t think I’ve ever been in any serious trouble. I’ve never had any real enemies. I’ve just not cared enough about anything to have any real attachment. Being “too mature for my age” was a disaster, and my chances to explore the world of punishment and consequence are now over. Now when it is time to be serious and focused about preparing for medical school, I don’t want to. I feel like I’ve burned enough of my years trying to get ahead of everyone. Am I complaining… well… not exactly. I’m glad with whom I’ve become. However, now that I look back, I realize that in my attempt to create a “perfect” path to attain self-realization, my imperfections were made painfully clear to me.

But she… she’s just so different from me. She’s mature, but spirited. She’s serious, but cheery. She’s competitive, but good-natured. On top of all that, I hate myself for wanting her to emulate me, since I’m slowly beginning to realize that balance is something she represents best. Being able to always have that adorable smile on her face though she has a multitude of obstacles to overcome in any given week. Quibbling over the most trivial academic and extra-curricular things reminds me that the fundamental aspects of our relationship are strong and true. Having conversations which revolve around mature, relevant issues rather than materialistic and trivial conjecture makes my love for her even more complete. She’s a baby. Yet she’s not. She’s determined, but she’s playful. I could go on and on. 

The traditional view of time suggests that Riya is twenty years of age today, but to me, she’ll always be an ever youthful beauty - both on the inside and out. Happy 20th Birthday, my sweet-little-adorable-loving Riya! Thanks for constantly showing me how it’s possible to live a life rooted in not only maturity but laughter too.

I’m well aware of the fact that there are numerous issues throughout the site. These range from the relatively simple “hey Rishi, this box isn’t aligned properly” to the more interesting (and rather funny) “hey Rishi, this link is hanging off the page, and it disappears whenever I click it.” Bare with me.

However, why would I write a post stating the obvious change in my site’s layout? Well, since I’m in the process of coding a lot of stuff, this is the time to let me know what you’d like to see added to the site. Aside from the content of my blogs and pages, what else do you think will make this site more thoroughly interesting to you - a valued reader. Leave me a comment! Oscar can vouch for the fact that his two suggestions (adding some medical pictures and having the option to edit your comment) were incorporated relatively quickly upon letting me know.

What do you want to see?

In a ridiculously broken and uneasy voice, the two simultaneously rejoiced:

We’re missionaries spreading the word of our Lord Jesus Christ!

Now don’t get me wrong. I seriously envy those with faith. Those who are passionate about following their Lord in the pursuit of living a better life. Those who accept scripture (in this case, specifically the Book of Mormon) as the written word of God. But for those who know me well enough, my religious views are greatly influenced by scientific fact. Since I was at home, I happened to be wearing a cutoff shirt which exposed my Hindu (”om”) necklace. They quickly got a glimpse of that and asked me my religion. 

Oh, this is an “om” necklace. It’s a symbol of Hinduism, of which I’m a follower.

Again, a frantic stare of disbelief… as if I said I was the devil incarnate or something. After having explained that I went to a Catholic pre-school and Baptist university, the two men were significantly relieved. They continued to talk about their religion while I stood there, nodding away, thinking about the Colts’ football game which I was watching prior to this engagement. I kind of felt bad. I didn’t want to tell them “sorry, I’m not interested”, but I also wanted to convey the fact that they were better off talking to one of my Christian neighbors. Eventually, the conversation got to a point where they asked me a final question.

Would you be interested if there was a decisive way to show you that Christianity is the true religion?

That put me over the edge, and I basically thanked them for their time and bid them farewell. So take note - do not try to convert me. It’s a waste of your time, and you will lose. Also, if you ever want to educate someone about your religion, never claim that you can prove it’s true.

You guys may think I’m being too critical or unforgiving, but I think the death penalty is “too easy” of a punishment. If a serial killer murders my parents when my brother and I are away at school, there’s no amount of forgiveness that I will ever accept. No one can ever be “genuinely sorry” for such a sadistic act, no matter how much time elapses. If I was able to decide his fate, it would be “life in prison” with no opportunity for parole. This way, he too will suffer every single day that I do.

One can argue that “life in prison” WITH parole may be a better, more humane alternative, but studies have shown that the number of murders have decreased substantially courtesy of the death penalty. In fact, for every death row inmate executed, roughly ten civilians have been spared. Parole would just give them the potential to go out and harm more innocent people.

Everyone knows that voluntarily claiming someone else’s life without due cause (ie, in self-defense) will probably result in a severe, death-penalty-like consequence. This in itself is a reason why we shouldn’t have sympathy on those who STILL choose to pursue such violent activities. Parole just makes us seem too forgiving. Imagine being the husband whose wife was raped and then murdered. Then, the person responsible for those acts is let free? Do people actually think that they “learned their lesson” after a few years in prison? That’s ridiculous. Once a person can descend to that state-of-mind, it’s always a part of them.

What do you think?

Let’s put things in perspective with a hypothetical scenario. According to the imperfect science of “genome reading”, based on the particular SNP patterns I have within my genome, I have a 50% chance of having hypertension, 75% chance of having diabetes, and 80% chance of Parkinson’s before I reach the age of 60 (yes, I know this is a very crude way of representing the possibilities of personalized medicine, but for the sake of simplicity, it will suffice). Also, genetics tells me that I have Huntington’s chorea (assuming my mother had it) and will probably begin to express symptoms in my late 20s.

Now, knowing all of this, should the medical admissions committees also have the right to know this? Should they have the right to reject me solely on the grounds that I wouldn’t be able to practice medicine successfully for more than five years. Let’s extend this to job applications. If I apply for a research position with some third-party institution, should they have the right to reject my application? Well, legislature passed in early 2005 (Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act) says that they can’t. But there are an endless number of loopholes they could use to get around the fact that they rejected me primarily due to my predisposition to certain diseases.

From the position of an employer, I can understand why they would be cautious in hiring employees with so much “genetic baggage”, if you will. Employers are in business to make money rather than having to attend to employees which prove to be more like liabilities rather than productive individuals.

People need to come to reality and accept their mortality. If I really did have all those diseases in my future (especially Huntington’s), I wouldn’t even pursue medicine. I rather spend my last few symptom-free years enjoying life. I’d much rather have a student take my spot in medical school who’ll be practicing for years. Because of diabetes and hypertension in my future, I would be far more concerned with my diet and exercise regiment early on in life to postpone the inevitable. I dislike people who just take advantage of their youth by thinking they’re invincible. Maybe a forecast of how miserable our senior years will be due to our genetics (something which we can’t currently alter) will slap some sense into us.