Nanobeepers

Headed over to the D & A Cafe tonight and decided to try the baby octopus plate. Can-I-Keep-It-Down Rating: 7. Funnily, the experience was much like eating haggis. If you're really hungry and eat a little haggis, it's quite good. However, there's a particular threshold that you cross when you've eaten enough and then you realize how disgusting it is and start to question your judgment and the whole meaning of life in general :P

Btw, here's my D & A Cafe Yelp Review:

It was cheap. It was late. I was naive.

While eating I kept reminding myself that I might visit China someday and that I better learn to deal with mystery food and sticky: floor, table, seat, silverware, waitresses, everything.

The only real cool thing about the experience was how they clean the bathroom. I went in there (out of necessity - just couldn't wait) and as I looked around - it was obvious that they had just cleaned it (walls, toilet, sink, ceiling, everything, no joke) by using a water hose and letting all the junk go down the drain in the middle of the floor. It was actually really clean after the hosing - and everything was well, very wet. It was really quite awesome.

After much doubt and speculation…it's been verified

I spent two hours today in a magnetic tube reminiscent of 2001: A Space Odyssey. HAL: "My mind is going … I can feel it."

It was quite exciting actually. I arrived and knocked on the door and it was answered by two gorgeous women with bubbly personalities. I filled out the paperwork and we joked a little, then one of the women took me to the MRI lab. There we verified that I did not in fact have any unusual piercings, metal plates in my head, and was not pregnant. Whew! Now on to the show! She made my bed on the platform and then tucked me in and made sure I was comfortable. Once I was maneuvered into the tube… "darkness took me, and I strayed out of thought and time… The stars wheeled overhead, and every day was as long as a life age of the earth… But it was not the end. I felt life in me again." [LOTR]

I was really surprised when the two hours were up - I had really been preparing myself for an 'age of the earth' in there. When she showed me the pictures of my brain I was really blown away. I didn't expect seeing my own brain to have such a profound effect on me. I realized then that I had only ever really thought of my brain in the abstract - as if it were just a magic crystal ball in my cranium where my 'mind' dwelt. Seeing the structure of my brain and hearing her explain the different parts and functions of *my* brain was truly enlightening. That experience and the beautiful women running the study really made the whole event thrilling.

They said they would send some of the actual photos in a few weeks and I'm really looking forward to that. It's interesting that even though I've seen many pictures of brain scans - I've never had much more than a passing interest in the actual systems of the brain until I saw my own. For some reason there is something about that personal connection that intrigues and fascinates us. I believe that's a major component of why social networking on the web has really taken off. It allows users to create an image of themselves (whether imagined or real) and have real control over defining the development of that 'self' and it's interworkings with others in the network.

Side Note:
Funny enough, when I was driving to the hospital I was listening to Science Friday and an interview came on with the topic: "Can Thoughts and Actions Change Our Brains?" It was quite liberating to hear about how adaptable the brain can be. I highly recommend listening to the episode (mp3) if you have a chance.