Windmills

Have you ever wondered just how big those windmills are that you see off in the distance? Last week, I had the chance to get out and see some of them up close. I knew they were big but they are huge. It's impressive when you calculate the velocity of the blade tips. I think they are doing about 0.5 revolutions per second.

Here are some blades lying on their side.
The tower is two pieces stacked one on top of the other. This picture does not even show an entire piece.
You can see hundreds, if not thousands, of these windmill dotting the West Texas landscape. Just five years ago there was not one. I guess it is Texans doing their part to save the planet.

Christmas

I have been encouraged to update my blog. I guess since my last post quite a bit has happened. There were four or five more ophthalmology interviews and two or three more preliminary medicine interviews. My trip up to Kansas City, Columbia and St. Louis was complicated by the ice storm; lots of white knuckle driving. I was also up in Seattle for an interview. My ophthalmology interviews are completed. I am so thankful to be done with the traveling. Planes, hotels, and shuttles get old really quick. I can't understand how someone would want to be a traveling businessman. Now it is time to go back over all the programs and rank them in order of where I would like to go. Any suggestions?

I have been doing a little bit of reading too. Someone gave my a pamphlet on rediscovering our 'brethren' heritage. It was an interesting read. Now I am working through a pamphlet called "The Origin of (so called) Open-Brethrenism." I am also hoping to read through a book about the history of the 'brethren'. I have been reading through Joshua and Judges. On my drive out to West Texas I was listening to a talk by Gordon Hayhoe entitled "True Fellowship." He took a look at Acts 2 and the story of Caleb and Othniel in Judges. I thought it was nice as that happened to be where I had just read.

Over the break, I took the chance to get outside and play some basketball with friends. It was nice to get some fresh air and exercise. Unfortunately a partially blocked shot resulted in a broken finger. No bagpiping, sports, etc for at least a month. Typing is incredible slow. I guess I will just continue to catch up on reading.

What Did I Do for Thanksgiving?

Earlier this week, I think we hit about 85F in Dallas. The weather has certainly changed though. On Thanksgiving Day we ended up getting about 5" of snow. It was snowing all day so we ended up spending most of the day inside finishing off pies from the day before. Today though I decided to take a few of my nephews and nieces out to build some snowmen. Rolling up some of the bigger snowballs was really a workout. The midsections also required some serious lifting.

Back for the Break

I am back out in West Texas for the break. It has been a busy few weeks with interviews. Last week, I drove to Little Rock, Arkansas and then to Jackson, Mississippi using the backroads. I was very impressed with the scenery in Arkansas and Louisiana. I was also able to spend some time at the historical sites in Vicksburg, Mississippi. If you are driving between Dallas and Jackson on I-20, it is worth a stop. Unfortunately, I did not have my camera with me so I don't have any pictures to show for the trip.

Today was our Thanksgiving celebration. It is was good to get some homecooked food. Right now I am about as full as the snake in the picture. I was not there when the photo was taken but I was told it was about 8 feet long and looked it it had just eaten a sizeable animal. Just looking at how large it is compared the door frame makes you want to take a step or two back.

Big Problem?

This was always an aspect of modern medicine that had disturbed me. You have to wonder how many half-siblings there are out there that are unaware of each other. How do people know if they are marrying their half-sibling?

Interviews

A lot of things have happened over the past few weeks. I had a great time in Kerrville at the Bible conference. Reading meetings focused on John 20 and Isaiah 53. A few friends from the Dallas area were able to make it which was nice.

This past weekend I was able to head out to Possum Kingdom for a couple days of camping with a group of Christian friends from school. The water was suprisingly warm for this time of year and the weather was superb. I also ate much better than I normally do. Getting out of the city for some ultimate frisbee, football, swimming and hiking reminded me of the need to pursue a more regular exercise schedule. I didn't have a camera, so I will have to wait until I get some pictures from my friends before I put them up.

Over the past two weeks I have had four interviews, two ophthalmology and two preliminary internal medicine. By the time January rolls around, I will have a lot of frequent flier miles and will be no stranger to hotels. I am very thankful I know people in many of the places I am interviewing. With all the traveling for interviews, it has made it quite difficult to spend as much time as I had hoped on anesthesiology. I am hoping to get in the OR tomorrow for a case or two. On Thursday and Friday I have two more interviews locally. Not having to fly, arrange tranportation and hotels will certainly be a big plus.

I have been reading an interesting book recently. I guess is more a collection of writings. The book, "The Mackintosh Treasury," has some great stuff. I have found several of the essays very though provoking. Maybe after some more reading I will be able to elaborate more. I also found some interesting writings by J.N. Darby.

No More Tests

Well, I guess it has been almost a month. USMLE Step 2 Clinical Skills seemed to go ok. I still think it is a cash grab by NBME or USMLE. The test alone costs about $1000. That probably generates some 15 million for whoever is organizing it. On top of that, you must travel to one of the five locations in the US that it is offered. I was fortunate enought to take it in Houston, so I didn't have to get a flight but I still had to drive four hours each way and get a hotel room in Houston.

Today, I took the USMLE Step 2 Clinical Knowledge, a 9 hour computerized exam. No matter how you do it, sitting in a chair and reading off the screen for 9 hours will make you crazy. I just about lost my mind in the first hour when they seated me next to someone who was taking a typing exam. Anyway, it is done with and I couldn't be more thrilled. As far as I know, that was my last exam of medical school. I still have a few more clinical rotations, but nothing too major.

The past three weeks, in addition to studying for this exam, I have been rotating in family practice. It has been a lot of fun. My preceptor is a great. His office is really like a military and war museum. There are newspaper clippings from WW2, cross sections of bombs, airplane props, and a multitude of other stuff to distract you. He is also an avid pilot. I am hoping to get up flying with him in the next few weeks. If things work out with scheduling, I think I will also get a chance to work on the sidelines of one of the local high school football games as one of the "team docs."

Next week starts the interview season. My first one is in Akron, Ohio. I am looking forward to it. By the end of January, I am going to have lots of frequent flier miles. Any of you other meds students started interviewing yet?