It's Magic!

I came across a quote on Google+ today that I found interesting:

We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology, in which hardly anyone knows anything about science and technology.

-Carl Sagan

I use the internet multiple times a day everyday, yet I have no idea how it works. Ben on the other hand does and when he patiently explains how things like this work my response is "Oh so it uses magic." His response is "Yeah, exactly!" It's my easy answer to get out of thinking through all the cumbersome (in my mind) terms and science of technology. (Who are we kidding I don't even know/understand what twitter is let alone the electronics that make it possible.)

While studying I found myself thinking it's "magic" that makes oxygen get from our lungs to the rest of our body. Thinking of this quote I forced myself to get out the heavy physiology book I had brought with me to look up how it really works.

With that I thought I would share a fun fact from today's study session for y'all:

When we breath we don't use all of our lungs, the blood vessels in the top portion are closed off so the blood doesn't pick up oxygen at that location. When we exercise our heart pumps harder and forces the vessels at the top of our lungs to open.

Isn't learning fun!

P.S. I was hesitant to share this quote because it's hard to know the validity quotes online. I asked Ben about it because he is a bit of an expert on Carl Sagan and he updated it a bit. Here it is:

We live in a society absolutely dependent on science and technology and yet have cleverly arranged things so that almost no one understands science and technology. That's a clear prescription for disaster.

-Carl Sagan

Boy I'm glad I looked up how respiration works now!

Boards: Part I

On March 20th & 21st I will be taking part I of my national boards. It is a 500 question, $625 standardized test where I get to show off how much I've learned in the past 2.5 years, no big deal. In preparation for this monster of an exam I left Penny Laine back in Iowa so I could have more study time without feeling like I am neglecting her (she gets pretty grumpy if she doesn't get enough of her daily game of fetch, and countless walks). Anyways I came across some old photos and videos of her (I've done all my studying for the day already) and thought I would post some of them for your enjoyment (well I hope you enjoy them, I think that she's pretty cute, but I'm also a bit bias).

So without further ado, Penny Laine:

Floppy eared puppy:

The first video my parents sent to me:

Chasing her tail:

Just after she lost her front puppy teeth:

How she lost her front teeth:

The "I'm tired, but I don't want you to play with my new toy" look

These are her ornery ears:

Filling the role of 'bug killer" for Al and I:

Before she developed her irrational fear of car rides:

Fortunately we curbed this habit early:

When she pulled her first "cat" stunt:

Playing with her rawhide:

Enjoying a long walk along the (flooded) Mississippi:

Relaxing after a long walk:

Always wants to play fetch with her Frisbee:

Always has to be close to me when shes tired and I'm studying:

She likes to "nest" in blankets, a lot:

Again enjoying a long walk by the Mississippi:

It was a windy day for a walk: