BIOL 300
To weave the mirror’s magic sights
Statistics is so ridiculously dull. I’d much rather fill out random quizzes.
I Am A: Lawful Good Half-Elf Wizard (2nd Level)
Ability Scores:
Strength–11
Dexterity–12
Constitution–11
Intelligence–16
Wisdom–12
Charisma–12Alignment:
Lawful Good A lawful good character acts as a good person is expected or required to act. He combines a commitment to oppose evil with the discipline to fight relentlessly. He tells the truth, keeps his word, helps those in need, and speaks out against injustice. A lawful good character hates to see the guilty go unpunished. Lawful good is the best alignment you can be because it combines honor and compassion. However, lawful good can be a dangerous alignment because it restricts freedom and criminalizes self-interest.Race:
Half-Elves have the curiosity and ambition for their human parent and the refined senses and love of nature of their elven parent, although they are outsiders among both cultures. To humans, half-elves are paler, fairer and smoother-skinned than their human parents, but their actual skin tones and other details vary just as human features do. Half-elves tend to have green, elven eyes. They live to about 180.Class:
Wizards are arcane spellcasters who depend on intensive study to create their magic. To wizards, magic is not a talent but a difficult, rewarding art. When they are prepared for battle, wizards can use their spells to devastating effect. When caught by surprise, they are vulnerable. The wizard’s strength is her spells, everything else is secondary. She learns new spells as she experiments and grows in experience, and she can also learn them from other wizards. In addition, over time a wizard learns to manipulate her spells so they go farther, work better, or are improved in some other way. A wizard can call a familiar– a small, magical, animal companion that serves her. With a high Intelligence, wizards are capable of casting very high levels of spells.Find out What Kind of Dungeons and Dragons Character Would You Be?, courtesy of Easydamus (e-mail)
Scatter, as from an unextinguish’d hearth
Another term has come and gone at jolly UBC and I’m surprised to find that I’m still standing. Time for another unceremonious, ad hoc course evaluation – done, of course, before my exams so that I won’t be biased by how difficult I found the courses.
ENGL 304 (Advanced Composition)
This one felt pretty touch and go for most of the way…the professor really knows her stuff (she should – she wrote the textbook after all) and there were definitely some innovative teaching methods. However, I never really felt like I ever got into the rhythm of things and when I did, it was short-lived. I’d recommend anyone to take this course if they feel that their writing is a bit on the weak side; this course should help you polish up your composition skills. However, the title of the course, “Advanced Composition” is a bit of a misnomer – most of the course is spent on persuasive essays, not expository.
ANAT 390 (Introduction to Microscopic Human Anatomy)
This one’s definitely a rite-of-passage for most and it’s reasonably tough. Because it’s a survey course, you cover a lot of ground very quickly, leaving students who haven’t taken advanced biology scratching their heads. If you are, however, a biology senior with a good number of cell biology courses under your belt, you really ought to be fine; it won’t be anything you can’t handle. It’s taught by a variety of different professors, each of whom is an expert in the material that s/he teaches – this is great because you get instructors who really are experts at what they are teaching but you never know the level of instruction you’ll get. Some are great and some not so much.
BIOL 361 (Introduction to Physiology)
I can’t say I ever really wanted to take this course – I took it because it’s mandatory for my program. Nevertheless, it was enjoyable, largely due to the efforts of my two wonderful instructors. The course material itself is accessible and not too onerous; all evaluations were open-book so it was really a test of getting enough down on paper to show that you knew what you knew. The topics are, at times, dry but I guess I can see why the course is mandatory for all biology majors. Regular study should lead to success in this course quite easily.
BIOL 304 (Fundamentals of Ecology)
Co-taught by two instructors, this course was in its first run this year after being revamped from the previous BIOL 302/303 program. Deceptively breezy in the beginning, many students learned the hard way that this course stressed critical thinking (for long-answer problems) as well as rote memorization (for definitions) on the midterm examination. The labs were fun if labour-intensive; they were generally mark-boosters. I’m sure, with time, that this course will become more refined but all I can say is that the course was still a bit rough around the edges when I took it. It was, however, interesting enough that I’m considering taking BIOL 306.
BIOL 300 (Biometrics)
Absolutely dreading this course, I walked in with the lowest expectations ever. I felt that I had been deceived – I thought that no math was required after first year if I wanted to do the Biology program! Nevertheless, the math involved is quite basic if laborious at times (ANOVA, anyone?) and the examples provided are compelling and interesting. I can see why this course is mandatory for all biology majors and I found, in spite of myself, that I enjoyed this course and saw how it would be relevant to research. The evaluation is straightforward and fair, if comprehensive. Regular study and practice should serve you well.
BIOL 360 (Cell Physiology Laboratory)
This course was a blast from beginning to end! It’s structured far more casually than those formal chemistry labs and you get to pick and choose among the experiments that interest you. There’s not a strong emphasis on the acquisition of laboratory techniques, though, aside from centrifugation and micropipetting, which was very disappointing. The TAs were helpful and the director was always open for questions, though. Marking is rigorous and more difficult than you might imagine.
BIOL 240 (Experimental Design in the Life Sciences)
This review might be moot seeing as how this was the last year that BIOL 240 will be running (for now) but I thought it was wonderful. It’s extremely time-consuming, however, and required much more attention than I had previously imagined but what you put in is what you get out. I learned a lot of valuable laboratory techniques in here, as well as figuring out that scientific research is not as romantic as I might have once imagined (I have so much pity for people who work with Neurospora crassa). Still, this course was just so rewarding and so great! I took so many pictures and they’ll always have a cherished place in my heart.
Next term is almost certainly going to be hugely different; a huge influx of ENGL courses will shake up the balance of things while BIOL 337 will either break me or make me. I’m excited!
Now, not to get ahead of myself, time to commence studying!
To have seen what I have seen, see what I see!
School has been absolutely intense! Thankfully, the bulk of midterms are finally over and I’ve been faced with moderate success. I could have always worked harder, though, and I hope that I will do so before my finals.
I’ve been watching television (using Miro!) and playing video games to assuage myself this term, more than ever. I think that the stress is getting to me. I always thought I was impervious to stress but the growing emphasis on mental health nowadays has been making me aware of the unhealthy and unhealthful ways in which I live my life.
I think this will teach me some good lessons about decision-making (e.g. course planning, job seeking, etc.). I’m not the person I thought I was, nor do I know if I will become him.
I’m excited to write my paper for ENGL 304, though. I’m not entirely sure of my topic but I’m trying to flesh out the details – it will be about scientific public discourse (that is to say, the bilateral discussion between scientists and laypeople) about genes and genetics. I’m interested in examining the ways in which scientists describe genes and genetics, the ways in which scientists elucidate the public and how it is (mis)represented or (mis)used. It goes back to my essay in ENGL 112 on genomic metaphors; I’ll be digging out that old essay to look at.
To the waters and the wild
BIOL 335 has really perplexed me; I’m not quite sure what we’re supposed to know and what we’re not. It seems a little wishy-washy but I suppose that’s because I had BIOL 334 right before this. If you bump into me, feel free to ask me about bacterial gene transfer, the lac operon or recombinant gene technology.
“Children of the Earth” has started airing in Britain so of course I can’t wait for the North American viewings. I’m halfway through the first episode…and wow! It’s incredible. No wonder I love Torchwood. (Unfortunately, Toshiko, my television girlfriend is dead so that’s a bit of a downer.)
I forgot to post my courses here so here is the list!
- ANAT 390 001
- BIOC 302 202
- BIOC 302 T56
- BIOL 240 1D1
- BIOL 300 101
- BIOL 300 L08
- BIOL 304 102
- BIOL 304 L07
- BIOL 337 2W2
- BIOL 360 L01
- BIOL 361 101
- BIOL 362 201
- ENGL 304A
- ENGL 312A 0011
- ENGL 348A 005
- ENGL 357K 002
- ENGL 409A 001
- I’m on the waiting list for this course due to some issues with the SSC not recognizing me as an English Literature major. How unfortunate! But I’ll get in, I know it! ↩
