Two weeks down . . .

and only 206 weeks to go :).

Ok, so medical school isn’t really that bad. I just couldn’t think of anything else to title this post. It has been a busy two weeks at school. If I’m not studying, running around trying to get paperwork finished to get registered or in class, then I’m not me. That is all I’ve been doing for the last two weeks. It has be a little frustrating wanting to study when I have to spend several hours after class walking from office to office trying to get 2 simple forms completed so the Navy can pay for my medical school and I can finish getting registered. Oh, well. I will have to say I’ve met a bunch of new people and learned my way around campus with all the offices I’ve visited.

I’m starting to really enjoy my classes, especially now that I’m getting more used to medical school. If you haven’t heard this analogy of what medical school is like, it is like trying to take a sip of water from a fire hydrant.

Another way to think about it is just imagine your at the beach and are standing where you get hit by the ways. Your job is to keep as much water on the beach from each wave and all you have is your little sand pail. As you work keeping the water on the beach you notice much more of it running off the beach then you are able to keep. That is what medical school is like. You are hit by wave after wave of information and all you can do is get an overview of the information. No time to do any depth of study in each topic. Quite a new approach to learning for me.

Big Friday

Prov. 27:1
Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.

It is incredible how true that Proverb has become for me. Just this past Friday, without planning, I experienced two life changing events. First, I was commissioned in the U.S. Navy. Second I was “commissioned” into medical school. What a fitting end to such a hectic week of orientation. When I get a chance I’ll write more about it, but for now pictures will have to suffice. Oh, I also completed my first dissection today. It was really neat actually seeing it for real and not just in a book.

By the way, for those of you who can, make a note to ask my mom what I forgot to do before I moved into my apartment. I’ll be posting more about that this weekend.

About Me . . .

Ok, so I guess I should write a little about me. Hum, so where should Ipopup start?

I guess the best place to start is my faith. I became a follower of Jesus Christ at the age of 5 and was baptized soon afterwards. If you want to know why I chose to follow Christ, take this test, follow these steps and you’ll come to the same conclusion. Since then, I’ve been learning more each day what it means to follow Christ and have been growing in the faith, hope and love of my Lord.

Everything else about me is superfluous. I’m currently a medical student (pic) at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine supported by the U.S. Navy Health Profession Scholarship Program which is a fancy way of saying that I’m in the U.S. Navy (pic) and they are paying for my medical school.

Nothing much else except a lot of people don’t believe that I sleep in a hammock. Oh, almost forgot that the building in the background of my site is the “GEB” (General Education Building at UT) and is where I spend most of my day while in class.

Redesign coming . . .

Just wanted to state a redesign is coming that will entail my current pursuit better. Stay tuned for the update and future plans for my life 🙂

How little press

It is ironic how little press an open letter to the NY Times has received from Treasury Secretary John Snow regarding the article published about the much decried Terrorist Finance Tracking Program. Searching Google only returned 2 results. So much for a fair, balanced and unbiased press. Oh wait, they don’t claim to be unbiased anymore.

Grace

So often we don’t understand what happens in life. All we are are left with is the question why. Our task, accept the situation and trust God is in control.

Last December, Tony Dungy had the unthinkable happen when his oldest son committed suicide 3 days before Christmas. He was left with the question why. His task, accept the situation and trust in God. ESPN has published an article entitled Amazing Grace which is the best article I’ve read on Tony Dungy’s response to the why and his testimony on how he trusted in God.

Near the end of the article are some lessons that Tony Dungy’s father taught him in how to approach with life. Well, I want to thank my Dad for teaching me the same lessons. No matter where life leads me or what happens, I’ll always have them.

Thanks Dad!
Happy Father’s Day!

It’s not often . . .

It’s not often that you see something that so succinctly describes how you feel. Well yesterday, if you can imagine, I saw an ad by a future congressman (Vernon Robinson) from Virginia that did just that. See the ad for yourself.

Are we winning? We are winning!

Like that last post described, sometimes I feel like I’m in the twilight zone wondering if what I hear and see reflects reality. Well, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi must not be listening to the media. According to this document discovered in al-Zarqawi’s hideout, after he was killed, we are winning and are using the right strategy. Full text posted below from the AP article.

Text of a document discovered in terror leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi’s hide-out. The document was provided in English by Iraqi National Security Adviser Mouwafak al-Rubaie:

The situation and conditions of the resistance in Iraq have reached a point that requires a review of the events and of the work being done inside Iraq. Such a study is needed in order to show the best means to accomplish the required goals, especially that the forces of the National Guard have succeeded in forming an enormous shield protecting the American forces and have reduced substantially the losses that were solely suffered by the American forces. This is in addition to the role, played by the Shi’a (the leadership and masses) by supporting the occupation, working to defeat the resistance and by informing on its elements.

As an overall picture, time has been an element in affecting negatively the forces of the occupying countries, due to the losses they sustain economically in human lives, which are increasing with time. However, here in Iraq, time is now beginning to be of service to the American forces and harmful to the resistance for the following reasons:

1. By allowing the American forces to form the forces of the National Guard, to reinforce them and enable them to undertake military operations against the resistance.

2. By undertaking massive arrest operations, invading regions that have an impact on the resistance, and hence causing the resistance to lose many of its elements.

3. By undertaking a media campaign against the resistance resulting in weakening its influence inside the country and presenting its work as harmful to the population rather than being beneficial to the population.

4. By tightening the resistance’s financial outlets, restricting its moral options and by confiscating its ammunition and weapons.

5. By creating a big division among the ranks of the resistance and jeopardizing its attack operations, it has weakened its influence and internal support of its elements, thus resulting in a decline of the resistance’s assaults.

6. By allowing an increase in the number of countries and elements supporting the occupation or at least allowing to become neutral in their stand toward us in contrast to their previous stand or refusal of the occupation.

7. By taking advantage of the resistance’s mistakes and magnifying them in order to misinform.

Based on the above points, it became necessary that these matters should be treated one by one:

1. To improve the image of the resistance in society, increase the number of supporters who are refusing occupation and show the clash of interest between society and the occupation and its collaborators. To use the media for spreading an effective and creative image of the resistance.

2. To assist some of the people of the resistance to infiltrate the ranks of the National Guard in order to spy on them for the purpose of weakening the ranks of the National Guard when necessary, and to be able to use their modern weapons.

3. To reorganize for recruiting new elements for the resistance.

4. To establish centers and factories to produce and manufacture and improve on weapons and to produce new ones.

5. To unify the ranks of the resistance, to prevent controversies and prejudice and to adhere to piety and follow the leadership.

6. To create division and strife between American and other countries and among the elements disagreeing with it.

7. To avoid mistakes that will blemish the image of the resistance and show it as the enemy of the nation.

In general and despite the current bleak situation, we think that the best suggestions in order to get out of this crisis is to entangle the American forces into another war against another country or with another of our enemy force, that is to try and inflame the situation between American and Iran or between America and the Shi’a in general.

Specifically the Sistani Shi’a, since most of the support that the Americans are getting is from the Sistani Shi’a, then, there is a possibility to instill differences between them and to weaken the support line between them; in addition to the losses we can inflict on both parties. Consequently, to embroil America in another war against another enemy is the answer that we find to be the most appropriate, and to have a war through a delegate has the following benefits:

1. To occupy the Americans by another front will allow the resistance freedom of movement and alleviate the pressure imposed on it.

2. To dissolve the cohesion between the Americans and the Shi’a will weaken and close this front.

3. To have a loss of trust between the Americans and the Shi’a will cause the Americans to lose many of their spies.

4. To involve both parties, the Americans and the Shi’a, in a war that will result in both parties being losers.

5. Thus, the Americans will be forced to ask the Sunni for help.

6. To take advantage of some of the Shia elements that will allow the resistance to move among them.

7. To weaken the media’s side which is presenting a tarnished image of the resistance, mainly conveyed by the Shi’a.

8. To enlarge the geographical area of the resistance movement.

9. To provide popular support and cooperation by the people.

The resistance fighters have learned from the result and the great benefits they reaped, when a struggle ensued between the Americans and the Army of Al-Mahdi. However, we have to notice that this trouble or this delegated war that must be ignited can be accomplished through:

1. A war between the Shi’a and the Americans.

2. A war between the Shi’a and the secular population (such as Ayad ‘Alawi and al-Jalabi.)

3. A war between the Shi’a and the Kurds.

4. A war between Ahmad al-Halabi and his people and Ayad ‘Alawi and his people.

5. A war between the group of al-Hakim and the group of al-Sadr.

6. A war between the Shi’a of Iraq and the Sunni of the Arab countries in the gulf.

7. A war between the Americans and Iran. We have noticed that the best of these wars to be ignited is the one between the Americans and Iran, because it will have many benefits in favor of the Sunni and the resistance, such as:

1. Freeing the Sunni people in Iran, who are (30 percent) of the population and under the Shi’a Rule.

2. Drowning the Americans in another war that will engage many of their forces.

3. The possibility of acquiring new weapons from the Iranian side, either after the fall of Iran or during the battles.

4. To entice Iran towards helping the resistance because of its need for its help.

5. Weakening the Shi’a supply line.

The question remains, how to draw the Americans into fighting a war against Iran? It is not known whether American is serious in its animosity towards Iran, because of the big support Iran is offering to America in its war in Afghanistan and in Iraq. Hence, it is necessary first to exaggerate the Iranian danger and to convince America and the west in general, of the real danger coming from Iran, and this would be done by the following:

1. By disseminating threatening messages against American interests and the American people and attribute them to a Shi’a Iranian side.

2. By executing operations of kidnapping hostages and implicating the Shi’a Iranian side.

3. By advertising that Iran has chemical and nuclear weapons and is threatening the west with these weapons.

4. By executing exploding operations in the west and accusing Iran by planting Iranian Shi’a fingerprints and evidence.

5. By declaring the existence of a relationship between Iran and terrorist groups (as termed by the Americans).

6. By disseminating bogus messages about confessions showing that Iran is in possession of weapons of mass destruction or that there are attempts by the Iranian intelligence to undertake terrorist operations in America and the west and against western interests.

Let us hope for success and for God’s help.

Powerpoint Psychology

I’ve read, heard and seen many good presentation and article on methodologies in making excellent presentations using PowerPoint or Keynote. I just read this blog post which does a really good job summarizing most of what I’ve heard and adds some insight into common pitfalls and rational in the creation of a presentation.

There is one thing I should add that I heard in a presentation on creating good presentations. Create your presentation with everything you want in it and then replace as much text as possible with a picture, illustration or single words.