Survival of the sickest

I just finished reading an excellent book. It was a page turner in the best mystery novel fashion.

The physiology of frogs that freeze solid during the winter, only to thaw out and hop away come spring, may give us a clue to why humans get diabetes. Why do people carry genetic disorders that make them sick? How did that contribute to our success as a species? Dr. Moalem weaves a spellbinding story of how genetic disorders have helped our species survive and thrive. A must read. On my list of all-time bests.

Survival of the sickest : A Medical Maverick Discovers Why We Need Disease by Sharon Moalem, with Jonathan Prince.

Returning to university

I am returning to university this fall after a hiatus of almost four decades. I just got back from buying my books. It was rather comforting to find that I could actually understand the math texts. For anyone who has been away from school for a while, it is the technical stuff that gets forgotten. I am really glad that I took a math course this summer.

Most people I run into assume that I am a parent of a student rather than a student myself. I am older than most of the staff and profs. It feels a bit weird but I will get used to it.

I'm looking forward to returning to university on September 6th, the day that classes start.

Getting started

I did the easy part today. I thought of a name that I liked, wrote a verse that captures my mood today and got rid of the upper case in the title and description. Not bad for a start.

I hope to be able to write something worthwhile fairly often. I'll just have to wait and see how it goes.