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Today, after matriculation, I am an official member of the university. Matriculation is a very brief Latin ceremony in which the senior dean present asks the vice-chancellor of the university to “list the students as members.” About a century ago, this process involved detailed exams (conducted in Latin) to ensure that the individual colleges’ entrance requirements were satisfactory to the university. Now, it seems, being able to haphazardly navigate to the exam schools is deemed sufficiently meritorious to warrant induction. Other activities this weekend include the boat club swim test this evening (to ensure that, should the boat flip, I won’t drown before I reach the shore) and hopefully a first series of glider flights tomorrow! |
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Author Archive
Matriculation 2 comments
Imaging, Gliding, and the Turf Tavern Leave a comment
Today began with a trip to St. John’s College for the annual Biomedical Imaging Festival. There were a number of excellent speakers and some very interesting posters, and it was nice to begin to put names to the faces of some of the people with whom I’ll be working over the coming years. A few pictures at and around St. John’s:
Wandering Oxford Leave a comment
Yesterday was my first day in the lab. Though a short day on the Old Road Campus, it certainly got me thinking about projects and plans, and as excited as ever for the years ahead of me. And of course, I have a few more pictures from wandering around Oxford these last few days.
First Taste of Rowing Leave a comment
Today the good people of the Wolfson College Boat Club set up a rowing taster for the freshers. We got a bit of instruction on an erg and then hit the water for some real-world experience. It was a lot of fun, and I’m definitely considering joining one of the less-intense college teams…
Arrival in Oxford Leave a comment
I arrived safely in Oxford on Saturday October 2, a rare sunny day. The flight and bus ride were uneventful (though my poor airplane seat-mate had trouble with her in-seat entertainment system). After checking in to Wolfson College and unpacking, I spent most of the weekend exploring downtown Oxford and taking care of the paperwork and phone/internet setup that accompany the move. Adventures for the coming week include more exploration and hopefully finding a bicycle and bank!
The Magic of Ocracoke Leave a comment
One of the (many) joys of flying is the ability to escape to magical places that would be hard to reach any other way. For the Fourth of July, Andrea and I traveled to Ocracoke, North Carolina. This beautiful island is near the tip of the outer banks and has a lovely little airport. And our Ocracoke adventures were second to none. From gigantic ice cream cones to parasailing and jet skiing, with a little bit of “beach cruiser” biking in between, this really was an island paradise.
Tug of War Leave a comment
There comes a point in every MD/DPhil student’s life when that student must, in semi-formal attire, play tug-of-war with a Great Dane.
DukePage, My First iOS App Leave a comment
Towards the end of the first year of medical school, as we prepare to enter the hospital wards, Duke medical students are issued pagers. The Duke paging system is run by a large commercial vendor and can be accessed via phone, SMS, or a dedicated website. However, there is no smartphone app. Given the ubiquity of smartphones in the hospital and the frequency with which pages are sent “on the go,” I decided to use this project as an excuse to learn iOS programming.
Because the commercial system had no open data protocol built in, the DukePage app retrieved information and sent pages the same way humans did: by parsing the user website. This provided a bit of built-in security: information was only available when connected to the Duke network, and the app’s access was no greater than anybody with a web browser.
The app’s most crucial feature was its ability to parse the various types of pagers that could turn up in search results. Alphanumeric and numeric pagers were the norm, but the app could also follow the chain to reach the correct pager when one was “covered” by another, or dial outside numbers when a pager indicated that preference (common when a support person went home for the day). It would build page groups and favorite lists, and stored recently sent pages and a “page signature” with a callback number.
The first beta was released to a select group in June of 2009. By January, a feature-complete release candidate was in active use by about 20 testers throughout the hospital, and enjoying rave reviews. I was in discussions with the Duke IT staff and technology transfer office about “making it official”, either as an in-house project or working with the vendor. Unfortunately, around that time, the paging website interface was upgraded while my clinical responsibilities prevented me from adapting the code to the new system. Hopefully someday I’ll have the chance to revisit this project. In the meantime, click for some screenshots.
Key West Welcomes 2010 Leave a comment
A group loosely affiliated through the Penn State Nittany Divers wind up in Key West every New Year enjoying some diving and festivities. New Year 2010 was no different, and in addition to fantastic diving and amazing company, this year had some new flying in store. Sadly only as a passenger in the open-air biplane (WACO UPF-7), but I did get to take an acrobatic lesson in the S2C Pitts with “General” Freddie Cabanas of the Conch Republic Air Force.
Duke in the Snow Leave a comment
It is pretty rare to get a snow day from medical school, but that’s just what happened on this fortuitous day. It was perfect timing, as a friend from out of town was visiting (and in fact got snowed into Durham), so we explored the campus-made-winter-wonderland, enjoyed our time off, and took a few pictures. A few enterprising undergrads had even made a snowman!
