23 Years

Imagine being alive, but being unable to communicate with everyone around you. You can hear what people are saying as you are essentially fully conscious. But at the same time, you cannot move your body, you cannot talk or communicate in any way. Now imagine being in this position for 23 long years. This was the case for Rom Houben. According to an article by Kate Connolly, Houben suffered from a car wreck in 1983. The car crash caused him to become paralyzed. Doctors assumed that he was in a vegetative state. For 23 years Houben endured the suffering one might imagine with the inability to communicate while still being fully conscious. In 2006, a neurologist, Steven Laureys, decided to do some tests on Houben only to discover that the original diagnosis was incorrect, Houben was still conscious. I read this story online today at guardian.co.uk and couldn't believe it. I cannot even begin to comprehend the kind of torture he must have been through early on. Eventually Huoben was able to endure it by meditating, taking his mind out of his body and separating from the reality of it all. But to live 23 years in such a state is unbelievable. It is speculated that because of this story many may begin to take another look at those in comas and whether or not taking those suffering from such ailments ought to be taken off of life support. The question of concern is whether or not this is a single confined incident, or if it is possible that other cases, similar to this one, may exist. We cannot forsee what will become of such a case, but it is an interesting read nonetheless. (The URL for this story is as follows: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/nov/23/man-trapped-coma-23-years)

Vocabulary

Apothecary: noun 1) A druggist; a pharmacist 2) A pharmacy or drugstore 3) A druggist licensed to prescribe medicine
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/apothecary

Monetize: verb 1) To legalize money 2) To coin into money: to monetize gold 3) To give the character of money to 4) Economics: to convert (a debt, esp. national debt) into currency, esp. by issuing government securities or notes
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/monetize

Why couldn't more mornings be like this?

I woke up this morning around 6AM in order to finish a paper due around 10:30AM today. My alarm made the same annoying sound it has made for years. I woke up, hit the snooze button, and fell back asleep. The alarm went off again about 10 minutes later, only this time, I turned the alarm off. Usually when this happens, I end up waking up an hour or so later only to realize that I am going to be late for class. Luckily for me my brain, or something else, did not allow this to happen this morning. I woke up again at 6:30AM and was able to finish my paper just in time to take a shower and leave for class. The title of this blog suggests that my morning was a good morning,, which may seem somewhat perplexing given the information I just stated. But my morning got better. I made it to class on time and sat through a lecture that actually kept me awake for once. I proceeded to my next class, turned in my paper, and sat down, waiting for class to begin. The professor walked in, announced information about our next assignment, then dismissed us. I looked at my watch, it read 10:40AM. Ten minutes of class, and I was already allowed to go home. Now I'm home, finishing my blog for the week, and actually have spare time before work. Why couldn't more mornings be like this?

Vocabulary:

Epidemiology: noun: The branch of medicine that deals with the study of the causes, distribution, and control of disease in populations
http://www.answers.com/topic/epidemiology

Escheated: noun: 1) The reverting of property to the state or some agency of the state, or, as in England, to the lord of the fee or to the crown, when there is a failure of persons legally qualified to inherit or to claim 2) The right to take property subject to escheat Verb 3) To revert to escheat, as to the crown of the state 4) To make an esechat of, confiscate
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/escheated

about nothing

This blog is about nothing. Absolutely nothing. Why? Because I have absolutely nothing to talk about. I'm going through some random bullshit in my life right now. My mind is presently preoccupied with said "bullshit", and since those thoughts that fill it are something I'd rather not write about, I am stuck with "nothing". I am sitting in front of my desk, listening to music, trying answer questions that can't be answered, but that's the way of life isn't it? I did recently discover that, according to a friend of mine, a unicorn plus a llama equals a llamacorn; a little known fact. That thought we able to preoccupy my mind for all but a few seconds. Oh, and the picture just changed on my desktop. There is currently a desert on display on my monitor.

Obelisk: noun 1) A tapering, four-sided shaft of stone, usually monolithic and having a pyramidal apex. 2) Something resembling a shaft. 3) An obelus
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/obelisk

Sommelier: noun 1) A waiter, as in a club or restaurant, who is in charge of wines
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/sommelier

Hobbes and Locke

I completely forgot that I had to do this blog thing until about 10 seconds ago so I've decided to talk about the first thing that popped up into my head, man in a state of nature. According to Hobbes men are evil, selfish and out for themselves. In a state of nature, therefore, anarchy would be the result accompanying chaos and destruction. Humans would fight for their own survival, doing whatever it takes to come out on top. Hobbes, then, has quite a bleak outlook on humanity. Locke, however, believes that in a state of nature mankind is essentially good. Honestly and fairness would shine through the darkness of anarchy, but, Locke admits, there is always room for evil. There would still be those evil-doers out there would would seek to exploit the goodness of people in general. Hobbes' answer to the evilness of humans is a government run by one "Leviathan" who is chosen among the people to watch over the people. Locke's solution is "majority rule", or a government essentially ruled by the people themselves, with no central authority or head figure. The interesting thing here, though, is that when it comes to both Locke and Hobbes they make assumptions which cannot possibly be proven true or false. There is no way to know how mankind would act in a state of nature. All we can say is that mankind in a state of nature would seek some form of government in general, for if mankind was not so inclined to do so government would not exist in the first place. That's about it.

narcissism: noun: inordinate fascination with oneself; excessive self-love; vanity
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/narcissistic

predilection: noun: a tendency to think favorably of something in particular; partiality; preference
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/predilection