Passed year 1 Science, The Selfish Gene and The Extended Phenotype

It snows from time to time but the weather is not too cold yet although I do have my winter jacket, gloves and hat on I walk home comfortably in the evening. The good news is that I passed year 1 of science and so year 2 of biology awaits me. I should have the first materials in the next few days. I look forward to studying pure biology. It will be a challange.

I finished watching Star Trek Deep Space Nine - The Complete Fifth Season, South Park - The Complete First Season and am currently on Terminator: Sarah O'Connor Chronicles Season one. DS9 is always good (being a Star Trek fan), South Park is something I am glad I started watching again because it is very funny and the Terminator series passes the time. I am also nearly finished David Attenborough’s The Trials of Life.

Two great games made their way to my home. Fallout 3 (epic fun) and probably the best team player game I have ever played, Left 4 Dead. Fighting zombie hords has never been so intense. I highly recommend it.

I am nearly finished “The Story of Philosophy” by Will Durant. I finished The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins, The Descent of Man by Charles Darwin and The Extended Phenotype: The Long Reach of the Gene by Richard Dawkins. Both the Dawkins books are deep world view changing books. The Extended Phenotype is profound.

Civilisation, The End of Faith, Expelled and Lost 4

The leaves are now gone from the trees and my winter jacket is on. The results from my course have been pushed forward until December. I have prepaid for next year studying biology but should start January 2009. I needed the break but I do feel a little purposeless and I suppose anxious because they delayed the results. Having said that, in less than 8 weeks time I will be sure to be up to my eyeballs in ecology and biochemistry and wishing I was on this break… but it isn’t a break because I am working a lot on technical writing and support for a company here in Brno. They are releasing a portal to their site builder and the project is colossal.

I finished watching Heroes - Season One. It’s not bad, sort of like X-Men though. I also finished watching Kenneth Clark’s ‘Civilisation’ a 13 part documentary made during the 1960s that looks at European history through art. It was a precursor to Attenborough’s works and Carl Sagan’s Cosmos. I enjoyed Civilisation and it gave me a perspective on human development that I had never thought about before. To top it off I also finished watching Lost 4. Shame it was so short (because of the writer's strike) but it was a lot of fun. If you haven't watched Lost then I suggest you check out what could be one of the best shows on TV.

I played the games Crysis and Bioshock. I recommend them both if you have the machine to run them. I also played Unreal 2 but wasn't impressed. I finished reading The End of Faith by Sam Harris. It put a whole new perspective on 9/11 for me. It is also one of the most controversial books I have ever read. Speaking of controversy, a new documentary on Intelligent Design has been released that paints evolutionist to be Nazis. It is called Expelled and is a horribly dishonest anti-science piece and what I think is dangerous propaganda.

The better news is that I have several books I am reading right now. I am halfway through “The Story of Philosophy” by Will Durant. “The Selfish Gene” by Richard Dawkins and “The Counter-Creationist Handbook”. I am also playing a new called Dead Space. Scary stuff for Halloween… :)

The long wait, David Attenborough, Autumn

Officially my course finished at the end of last month and I am waiting for exam results due November. I think unless there is some major problem that I should have passed the year. I am confident enough to have already booked my place for second year science, biology. I will be doing another extensive program for 2009 but this will be focused on life science. So it is goodbye physics, pure chemistry, earth science, health science and environmental science, hello biology with lots of organic chemistry and smatterings of inorganic chemistry.

So now I got some time to burn until 2009. I was going to get another shorter course in but decided to take the break instead. In the meantime I am preparing a new biology site that will focus on evolution and will be used primarily for my own research and studies. I am planning to release it in 1st quarter of 2009 but I may wait longer.

We moved into new offices a few weeks back. We are on the top floor and I can see the whole city from up here. I am currently in the same city that Gregor Mendel discovered the laws of segregation with his pea plant experiments.

As for television I have just finished Season 1 of The Wire. Good show. I am also watching Heroes Season 1 and David Attenborough’s The Living Planet. If you haven’t watched his nature shows then you should because they are incredible.

I finished playing Call of Duty 4 and the multiplayer is stunning, thoroughly immersive, great game. I replayed the first Unreal game for the nostalgia.

The autumn has been here now with a few weeks. In Brno the weather changes almost overnight. One day the trees are green, the next the leaves are on the ground.

Chemical evolution, Final exams and The X Files

This has been a very busy month for me. I had to study the final book of the course about the possibility of life elsewhere. There was a lot about chemical evolution and how to detect life on other planets (what to look for). Chemical evolution is extremely interesting and I found everything here an eye-opener. I got my exam back for the quantum stuff I worked on last month and I am happy with my result. Now it is just a matter of dealing with the last exam which is a test about three times the size of the other exams and which includes everything I have studied to date. It took me 2 weeks to finish and I posted it off today. I need to pass this exam to pass the course so it is very important. I haven't had much time to catch up on my hobbies but I did manage to finish Season 9 of the X Files. It took me close to 2 years to get through all 9 seasons. I watched them on and off and I am glad I did. it was a wonderful experience. I also finished reading 'On Human Nature' by E.O Wilson. The book is largely about genetic determinism in terms of sociobiology. I found the concept stunning. I managed to get a little tree and bird spotting done this month. Summer is still here in Brno and even in September I go to work in shorts and short sleeves. Oh and I have decided to do Biology next year, so it is almost certain that I am studying to become a biologist now.

Binocular astronomy, exams and more exams

After spending awhile now thinking about taking up amateur astronomy I found that purchasing a pair of 10x50 binoculars is how most astronomers start out these days. I thought long and hard about this and decided that a good pair of binos could also be used for bird spotting also as well as other things. So I spent time researching this and decided to get a Nikon Action 10x50. I am stunned by the results. I could never have believed that you could get such quality without resorting to expensive telescopes. Here is a list of what I was able to see to date.
31/7/2008
-Ursa Major
-Arcturus
-Vega
-Lyra
I noticed that with the naked eye I could see 1 star with lyra but with the binos I could see like 25+ stars in that region.
1/8/2008
-Cassiopeia
-M103
-Cygnus
-M29
I viewed Cassiopeia and Cygun and picked out M29 and M103. They were faint (I am in the city some light pollution) but my heart literally stopped when I managed to see M103. I didn’t think it possible with binoculars to see Nebulas.
3/8/2008
-Andromedia
-Cepheus
-M110
Used a new cheap tripod. Some steady shots but handheld still works well. Could not see M51. I saw Andromedia and Cepheus. I focused back on Andromeda and above it viewed M110, the Great Nebula in Andromeda.
4/8/2008
-Arcturus
-Bootes
-m3
-Canes Venatici
5/8/2008
-Draco
-Ursa Minor
6/8/2008
- Tip of cresent moon
- Planet Jupiter
- Sagittarius (partial)
10/8/2008
- Moon in Waxing gibbous
- Lacerta
- Hercules (partial)

It's a great new hobby. I highly recommend it and I am going to learn more about it by learning the constellations as best as I can.

With respect to study this month has been difficult. My exam for Earth History was focused almost exclusively on geological processes, in particular strata identification, the K-T event, igneous formations and evidence for sea level changes. I cannot stress how much geoscience is in science but I think my blog called 'The Ancestor's Tale, 24 and Earth Story' goes into a little more detail. I will get my results back soon. I am currently working on an exam for quantum mechanics and fundamental particles. Studying for that was heavy but I enjoyed it more than rocks. Having said that, I don't mean I don't like geology (I am working towards doing some hobby geology) but geology is a lot heavier (excuse the pun) than quantum mechanics IMO. I am on the last leg of this course. It is called life in the universe and is a short book on the search for the origins of life and life in the universe. Also I have a huge end of exam paper that combines all the work I have done to date so I have started working on that. The next five weeks are going to be very important. There is a lot of work for me to still get done.

Quantum mechanics, Portal and Collapse

I passed biology. I did well on phylogeny, glucose oxidation pathways, ecology and genetics but the evolution question was very tough. I had to describe speciation on the Galapagos Islands with reference to a chart that was quite complex. I got the overall idea but am still waiting to hear back on a few points. In my opinion Darwin deserves more credit than Einstein or Newton because natural selection is so extremely counterintuitive. He stuck with it and got it right.

I finished my geology book and am now onto quantum mechanics although I still have geology questions to do. Quantum mechanics is very interesting. It explains energy states associated with atoms and how and why they change. QM is inextricably connected with cosmology. This is so much so that the book I am learning from is partially about QM and partially about cosmology. QM gets scaled out to universal sizes, literally.

I remember back in late 1998 that the game Unreal was released. It became well know for its Unreal game engine and lots of sequels followed. Steam recently released an Unreal pack with all the games. So I got that and installed them all and am back enjoying fond memories of a good game I played a decade ago. I also got Valve’s orange box for the latest Half-Life 2 story episodes, Team Fortress 2 and Portal (a fantastic HL2 mod). I also completed playing Metal Gear Solid IV and finished reading Jared Diamond’s Guns, Germs and Steel before moving onto his next book Collapse. I also finished watching BBC’s Earth Story and 24 Season 1.

I am nearing the end of my course. I have two more months to go. I have already gained a total greater than the minimum to be sure of passing. So I believe I have passed although I need to double-check this because there is a final exam involving a combination of every aspect of the course. Soon I have to decide the path I want to take next. I can choose Geosciences, Health Sciences, Life Sciences, Molecular Science, Natural Sciences or Physical Science. I have ruled out Health sciences and Geosciences. Health science is aimed at the medical industry. I may take up geology as a hobby but not as a profession. Molecular science is essentially chemistry. I don’t think I want to be a chemist. Life science is biology with a focus on living things. Natural science is similar but is wider in scope to include natural phenomena on the planet and in the universe and is cross-discipline. Then there is Physical sciences. Now here is the catch. I do like the idea of specialized biology, like a life science but it is exclusive to living things. Natural science is also interesting but you move outside of just living things. However my Physical science scores are better than my biology or earth sciences. I think this is because I have more experience with physical sciences though and in general you either get it right or wrong there while biology is more detailed as is earth science.

The Ancestor's Tale, 24 and Earth Story

I finished my biology exam this week and so that is biology behind me but it was a tough exam featuring primate phylogeny, glucose oxidation, ecology, genetics and evolution. I do enjoy this topic but unlike physics and mathematics biology tends to depend a lot on describing processes step by step and explaining outcomes rather than punching in and calculating raw data into formulas.

So I am midway through Earth History and managed to get hold of all 8 episodes of Earth Story by the BBC. It is all about how the earth formed. Geology is actually very difficult especially when we get into magmatism and how different rocks are formed. For most people biology, chemistry and physics seem like the big 3 sciences but there are 4, biology, chemistry, physics and earth science. Earth science is mainly about geology and climatology. Most of you may be familiar with it in part from geography but it is a whole science unto itself.

I also finished reading all 650 pages of The Ancestor's Tale by Richard Dawkins. This was an amazing pilgrimage from modern human being back through time to DNA. I highly recommend it and there are some wonderful illustrations in it.

As a note the PS3 got an update to 2.41 and really is a class act of a game/media centre system. I also updated the last of a few PCs I own to SP3 for XP. I may upgrade both to Vista in the future. I am currently watching the TV series 24 Season 1 and think it is a very good thriller/drama.

Earth History, Call of Duty 4 and finishing Biology

This week I spent trying to prepare my biology paper as best as I could. I still had questions to finish for a primate phylogeny question. I also worked on glucose oxidation, ecology and energy, Mendel’s laws of segregation and Darwin’s natural selection. I must admit that this can get much harder than physics and is on par with chemistry, although I do enjoy it.

I wanted to get a good on-line multiplayer game for my new PC and so I went with Call of Duty 4 because I read and heard impressive things about it and I am a fan of COD1 and 2. I think COD4 is much better than Counter-Strike:Source and that says a lot. It looks like Activision has put Valve to the test with their awesome modern warfare simulator. Who would ever have believed it? The single player mode is also worth enjoying.

As I leave biology for this part of the course I move onto Earth History. This gets very interesting and covers mainly aspects of the fossil record, rock formation and radiometric dating. I am watching BBC’s Earth Story to help put some pieces together. I recommend Earth History to anyone attracted to the amazing story of how we have dated the Earth.

Metal Gear Solid 4 and mRNA

Well last week I decided to splash out on a Playstation 3 and I must admit I am very happy with this console. I can watch my computer files over my wireless 54g on my TV. I got the PS3 with Grand Theft Auto IV but I decided to get Metal Gear Solid 4 this week so I could have two PS3 games. MGS4 is maybe one of the best games I have ever played. It is seriously good and the graphics are like nothing I have ever seen before. I highly recommend it.

On the study front I am in the last week of Biology. I love genetics, DNA and mRNA. How RNA works is spectacular. I never thought the assembly of sequenced amino acids could be so simple. The process will blow away who looks into it. This week I am going to be studying Darwinism and evolution so I am on happy ground. I passed my Chemistry exam! The biology one is going to be harder but we will see how it goes. After this part of the course is finished I will be doing earth history next.

I am still reading Jared Diamond’s Guns, Germs and Steel. I also managed to pick up Darwin’s The Decent of Man. I always wanted to read it because I loved The Origin of Species and this is that applied to humans. It is us in the making.

Intel Q6600 plus Guns, Germs, and Steel

I have started to read Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond after enjoying his Why is sex fun? The book is about the fate of human societies and does it from the point of view of evolution. I am still studying biology and this week am concentrating on Mendel's laws. I am confident with genetics but the biochem I did last week was some of the toughest science I have come across yet. Glucose oxidation is complex.

The weather is roasting hot here at the moment. Oh yeah and I managed to get a new PC together. Intel Q6600, Geforce 8800, 4 GB Ram, Intel DP35 mobo, 500 GB Sata, Linksys wireless-G and Acer 22" screen. I booted Vista on it because XP doesn't have directX 10. Currently playing Crysis and Bioshock.

Glucose oxidation and Why is sex fun?

Well this week and last have been a most difficult one. I have now come across biochemistry processes in cells and have been blown away by the infinite amount of organic chemistry required. I need to learn it too. I also finished my Chemistry exam and am awaiting results.

I finished reading 'Why is sex fun?' by Jared Diamond and learned some very interesting things about the evolution of recreational sex due to concealed ovulation. I also finished Hitchens' God is not Great and highly recommend its take on political atheism. I put down Atheism: A philosophical justification by Michael Martin and got on with Atheism: The Case Against God by George H. Smith because it covers the basics and I needed these to do Martin's book.

Brno is getting hot now. The weather is fully summer and its lovely. I go to work in shorts and t-shirt in the morning and sleep with my window wide open.

From Chemistry to Biology to Atheism

Well I have finally finished the organic part of the chemistry book for my course. This will become more important as I begin my biology book. I found inorganic chemistry pretty tough going but organic was quite enjoyable. I was able to successfully answer a lot of questions though and with the exception of one organic question left I am mostly into biology.

I finished reading a book from Jared Diamond on the evolution of sex and began two books on atheism, Atheism: A philosophical justification by Michael Martin and God is not Great by Christopher Hitchens. The Diamond book was fantastic. Even explained the evolution of the menopause in relation to data and information and why humans have concealed ovulation. Hitchens work is one of the most powerful anti-religion books I have encountered but is also a funny read. The Martin book is one of the most advanced books on philosophy for any topic I have come across. I found chemistry easier to understand than many of his deep arguments.

The Fabric of the Cosmos and Organic Chemistry

Well I finished reading The Fabric of the Cosmos by Brian Greene and I must say that it was one of the hardest mainstream books I have ever encountered because it challanges you to think in the most irregular ways that you can for all 490 pages. Still if you want to know what scientists think of the universe and what it is made up of then I highly recommend it although Stephen Hawkings A Brief History of Time is also an awesome read.

I got my physics paper back and scored 91% so I am happy. I am currently studying Chemistry and am doing organic chemistry this week on oils, polymers and functional groups. I managed to get 9 out of 9 questions right in the online computer based exercises and I have 1 more to go there. I also have my 3 question out of 6 done in the tutor marked exercises and have 4 weeks left to finish the other 3.

Come May it will be onto biology. I am really looking forward to it.

I am also reading Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Nietzsche and The Evolution of Sex by Jared Diamond (recommend by Richard Dawkins in The Ancestor's Tale).

Molar bond enthalpies, chemical equilibrium and Posters

Well for fun I splashed out on a Charles Darwin poster and a Periodic Table of the Elements to help get me through molar bond enthalpies, rates of chemical reactions and chemical equilibrium. It was pretty difficult stuff but interesting. I am nearly finished Deep Space Nine: Season 3. Then I have to get through X Files Season 9 which is a slog.

Mir4anda IM

At work we use ICQ a lot to send messages around the office. Today I switched to Mir4anda IM. Although the secure MD5 login gives trouble and is easily turned off I managed to get this neat instant messaging program up and running. If you use ICQ give it a shot. http://www.miranda-pack.com/

Thermochemical equations and facebook

Well last weekend was spent trying to answer questions about finding atomic elements based on values such as volume and mass. Eventually I managed to work them out. Then I had to explain why different compounds or elements boil at different temperatures. Interesting questions that I am sure are worth your time exploring if you ever decide to do so. Well they took up my weekend.

I am thinking about getting a playstation 3. Not really because of the games (although there are some good ones coming out this summer) but because I have a load of documentary videos on my hard drive. Apparently I can play them on my television through the PS3 over wireless. Sounds like a pretty good idea to me.

This week I seem to be steeped in calculating thermoreactions and getting my head around endothermic and exothermic reactions. It is actually not that hard and I am impressed by it.

Weather looks good and even a bit summery. I hope things take off.

I signed myself up on facebook. http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1195756428

Metal reactions and Physics exams

Well last week I managed to do my nut worrying about how to answer a tutor marked paper on physics which contained a hard question about the photoeletric effect. Apart from that the start of Chemistry this year was rock difficult and I had to go to sources outside of the course material. I am happy I have managed to chat with a few chemists who seem to treat the subject like it is a world unto itself. I have to agree it is. This week it is all about how metals react. I must admit, it is very interesting to go from Bronze age discoveries to modern steel works.

I am busy working on trying to get a translator for a software company up and running. I have translated their software and am currently porting the translation to a database so that others can translate it into their language. It will takes months to finish because there are other 2000 entries to make.

I am still watching Season 3 of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and I am on disc 2 of The X Files Season 9. I am reading Bill Bryson's A Brief History of Everything and Brian Greene's The Fabric of the Cosmos while on the bus to work in the morning.

Photoelectric effects and Van der Wall forces

I spent the better part of my afternoon working on the same photoelectric effect questions I did yesterday and the evening on Van der Wall forces and other types of intermolecular forces. If you ever have a day to burn you could do this.

Oh yeah and some bad news on my new GeForce 8800GT video card. It wasn't bad enough I got a bad memory but it turns out that my GeForce 8800GT is bad too. 30 day return because it is wholesale.

I wish they sold patients in the shops.

Dentists and the photoelectric effect

Today I went to the dentist to finally settle this problem I had from time to time with a tooth that was giving me an ache. This was my third opinion, since the first two failed to find the problem. Eventually he discovered a cavity, cleaned it out, filled it in and today my mouth is feeling so much better.

I spent the remainder of the evening working on a question regarding the photoelectric effect in physics. I must worked out the minimum energy E0 required to release photoelectrons from a metal and give reasons for my findings.

Later on I hope to catch up on some Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Season 3. I am watching the series again on DVD having finished 3 seasons of The Original Season and 7 seasons of The Next Generation.

I also watched all 3 seasons of the new Battlestar Galatica back to back... wow, what a show.

Welcome

Hello,

Welcome to Ben Holland's first blog. I hope you enjoy reading it.

Best regards,

Ben Holland