Head up, eyes forward.

[john-aether]

ADHD and the answers.

I have ADHD.  A long time ago I was prescribed methylphenidate in order to compensate for my delightfully sheer inability to focus on anything for more than mere nanoseconds.

Recently I discovered a sapid, yet sour energy drink by the name of ROCKSTAR SuperSours, specifically the sour green apple flavor.

When studying for anything I tend to dose myself accordingly with both, and aside from the possibly jarring side effects of teeth clenching, increased heart rate, and the constant impending feeling that a panther is going to jump through your window regardless of what floor you live on, it allows you to see the fabric of space and time.

This is where the answers come from.

[john-aether]

Unnecessary simplification.

I have always harbored a passionate loathing of the act of division, and thus I have created my own way around it.

It applies this rule:  When dividing fractions, the same result can be achieved by instead multiplying by the reciprocal of one of the fractions.

Example:  (1/4) / (1/5) = 5/4 or 1.25 = (1/4) * (5/1)

So let's pretend that you have some particularly ugly numbers, like 4627.9 divided by 63.2...  Well those can just as easily be fractions.

4627.9 = 46279/10 , 63.2 = 632/10

Which in turn would be (46279/10) / (632/10), which is still seemingly ugly until you apply the rule.

(46279/10)*(10/632) = (462790/6320)

Now simplify...  I am not a huge fan of decimals, and no this may not exactly save time but it does help you avoid using that nasty looking tittle that is known as the obelus.

[john-aether]

Biochemistry, know it.

I had been busy learning and thus I decided to simplify things for myself.  When distinguishing between intrinsic and extrinsic apoptosis, which caspases are activated?  Well extrinsic seems like outside to me, and more people fit outside so extrinsic apoptosis must activate caspase-8 and -10, while intrinsic, which seems like the indoors (consequently accommodating fewer people) must only activate caspase-9.  The other cool thing about being outside is that you can see DISC (Death Inducing Signaling Complex) shaped UFOs, and those have always been such a FADD (Fas Associated Death Domain).  It is interesting however that you still require death ligands to interact with your TNF (Tumor Necrosis Factor) family of receptors on the surface of your cells in order to aggregate these FADDs (effector proteins), in order to form these DISCs, in order to activate these caspases (-8, and -10).  What a MOMP...  Well, at least after executioner caspase-3 activates BID.  I have always wondered what the great outdoors and my living room had in common, and apparently it is executioners.

[john-aether]

Is it just me, or does anyone else see the dead people?

[john-aether]

When you have too much time in lab...  At least I use my evil powers creatively.

[john-aether]

Who wrote this?

[john-aether]

Grasping at a feeling.

A knot wells up in his throat; the boy wants to cry.  He peers through the nearest window, desperately searching for answers to his quandary unseen.  Cold cement resides beneath him, cool to the touch, but simultaneously harsh and unforgiving.

With his heart pounding, he focuses in on the only distraction that his mind will acknowledge.  To no avail, he continues to toil in hopes of escaping the stern words of a loved one.  There are no words to accurately convey the weight the boy feels on his chest.  Disappointment markedly brandished, no, adorned by his chest, just as the scarlet A once was.  Not a soul can see him, for he is hidden, both from himself and the prying eyes of others.

Solace, the only solace he finds comes in the form of an illusion; as the sun pierces the glass panes just above him, the breaks in the shadows cast by the light appear to whisper words not meant for human ears.  Just as his panicked breaths speak of his dismay, so do the light and his breath reach none but himself.

Malignant are the boy's fears, for the longer he waits, the greater the risk of becoming forever fearful he does chance.

[john-aether]

Lost and found.

In a room filled with rhythmic cacophony, he stands amongsta crowd, yet he stands alone.  Bustlingbodies warm with sweat and overpriced attempts at flattery find themselves surrounding the man.  Inebriation whetting their breath not unlike the blades of over-used knives, however dry their mouths continue to be.  He must be dreaming; sobriety produces a dull ringing noise that cuts the heat and gyrating hips of the crowd into manageable snippets of a seemingly altered reality.

 It is too dark to really distinguish anyone's face, although the man assumes that they would brandish a subtle look of contentment, nearly hidden beneath their sweat dripping brows. The similarity of the body types, and the almost synchronous mode to which they jerk and twist would indicate an almost ritualistic presence, however something more visceral must likely be the cause.

 Flashing lights abruptly strip the man of his focus, in a near epileptic fashion the man regains his awareness of the juxtaposition that he poses.  Why is he here?  Can he really be so unlike the licentious mass of men dancing away under the influence of what must be a sea of psychotropy?