Category Archives: uncategorized

11/29/14

ProfTalks: Our Ideal world in 50 yrs

Our Ideal World in 50 years

Global Ethics Guest Speakers: Dr. Karwowska, Dr. Silver, Dr. Bedke

The last ProfTalk was a great way to end our semester with all of its great dialogue and interaction with residents and professors. The topics discussed was the notion of hyper localization, border less world, to how much can we attribute our life to success, and to end of with what is our purpose in life. Also, discussions around picking and choosing what we stand for and our own ethics left students reflecting on what their morals and beliefs are.These complex topics made the room turn into a philosophical ground which allowed residents and professors to share their insights on these topics. It left all of us pondering on the thought of how our world may look like in the next 50 years. If you haven’t yet been able to attend a ProfTalk event, I would highly recommend you do next semester! The chance of having an authentic conversation with your professor outside of the curriculum is inspiring and simply quite awesome!

-Sharon Sehrai

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March ProfTalks- Our Ideal World in in 50 Years Summary!

Dr. Matthew Yedlin

Dr. Issy Laher

This month, we invited Dr. Matthew Yedlin and Dr. Issy Laher to ProfTalks Medicine and Applied Sciences. Our conversation started with the two professors sharing their areas of research and what their ideal world would look like in 50 years. Throughout the conversation, Dr. Matthew Yedlin emphasized education as a key factor to bettering our world. Specifically, he wanted students to think more critically and have more opportunities to interact with professors through mentorship programs. Similarly, Dr. Issy Laher also agreed that education is key to improving our world in relation to pubic health. Instead of relying on medication and technology, he stressed the important of early prevention by exercising and eating properly. In this one-hour discussion we also covered other topics like “How are online portals like WebMD transforming the ways people are engaging with doctors and other medical services” and “What are some ways we can minimize the waste from obsolete electronic devices?” This ProfTalks was an enriching experience for both the residents and the professors, and we look forward to the next ProfTalks!

-Ju Young Park

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11/11/14

Proftalks March

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OUR IDEAL WORLD IN 50 YEARS
6 PM Tuesday 11.25.2014 || Isabel MacInnes Ballroom

Medicine & Applied Science
Dr. Matthew Yedlin

Dr. Yedlin

Dr. Matthew J. Yedlin is an Associate Professor, jointly appointed in the Departments of Electrical Engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science and Earth and Ocean Sciences in the Faculty of Science at the University of British Columbia. Dr. Yedlin’s research is interdisciplinary, focusing on the applications of techniques in electrical engineering to geophysical research problems and the application of multiple scattering to practical electromagnetic wave propagation problems. Dr. Yedlin is an expert in acoustic wave propagation, including acoustic diffraction, asymptotic expansions, numerical wave modeling, laboratory wave modeling and source signature generation for seismic cross-well tomography as well as applied digital signal processing.

 

 

Dr. Issy Laher

Dr. Laher

Dr. Laher specializes in the pharmacology of autoregulation, autonomic pharmacology, vascular smooth muscle, and cerebrovascular pharmacology. His interests are in understanding the function of small blood vessels in health and disease. In particular, he studies arteries from the heart and brain. Healthy blood vessels can regulate their diameter in an appropriate manner so that blood flow is kept near normal levels; this resting diameter is the balance of a number of constrictor (pressure, endothelin etc) and dilator (flow, nitric oxide, metabolites etc) influences. It is common for some or all such factors to be changed in diseases such as heart transplant, infectious disease, stroke etc. The level of resting blood vessel tone is intimately related to the availability of calcium and activation of enzymes that are sensitive to calcium within the cells. We monitor the diameter of calcium available to the cells of blood vessels and use agents to modify either the calcium that is available to the cell or the activities of enzymes that respond to calcium. Through this approach we can better understand the mechanisms whereby blood vessel diameter is modified on both a short and long term basis.

 

6 PM Tuesday 03.03.2015 | Ruth Blair C

 

 

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11/2/14

Caffè sospeso

 

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“A man’s true wealth is the good he does in this world.”

— Muhammad (570 – 632 CE)

We entered a small coffee shop with a friend and ordered. As we were walking towards a table to sit down, two other people entered and ordered: “5 coffees please; 2 to go, and 3 suspended”. They only took 2 coffees and left. I asked my friend: “What is this suspended coffee about?” He smiled and replied: “Just wait and you’ll realize”.

More people entered. Two girls ordered one coffee each and left.

The next order was 7 coffees from 3 lawyers–3 coffees to go and 4 suspended coffees.

As I was thinking about this “suspended coffee” and enjoying the beautiful sunshine, a man with ragged clothes lethargically entered the coffee shop. With kindness, he asked the cashier: “Do you have any suspended coffees today?”

It’s simple! You pay the price of two or more, but only pick up one. The rest will be ‘suspended’ at the store as an act of charity.

This tradition started from the city of Naples in Italy, and slowly spread throughout the world.  This summer in Edmonton, an anonymous customer paid for 500 suspended coffees at Tim Hortons.

“How lovely to think that no one need wait a moment; we can start now, start slowly changing the world!”Anne Frank (diary entry, 1944)

By Ghazaleh Alamaki

Residence Advisor

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10/8/14

MUSIC BLOGS TO TRY

music-equalizer-wallpaper-3840x2400What do you use to play your music and find new gems? In a rut with the same old same old? Perhaps it’s time for a switch up. Try one of these music blog sites.

The Hype Machine

This site compiles lesser-known music blogs all into one site, with thousands of blogs to choose from. There are lists of Freshest, Latest, and Popular tracks to browse through. If you sign up (which is valuable), you can skip through songs as much as you want. With time, you’ll find some amazing gems you would had found any other way. Check it out here.

Spotify

Songs are categorized in playlists, genres, moods, new releases, and radio. THE BEST part about this site platform is it keeps a record of the playlists, songs, and artists you listen to, recommending others to you based on your history. This feature alone will lead you to places other platforms only dream of. Check it out here.

Songza

This is more similar to your 8 Tracks with the typical genre and mood searches. However, this platform has playlists categorized with different activities the music may fit, like “Walking the dog” and cool categories like that. It’s more easy to find those cool playlists with this. Check it out here.

Happy listening Music Lovers,

By Matthew Loss
Residence Advisor

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10/8/14

best napping spots on campus

By Sanjana Akellasleep
Residence Advisor

Sometimes your bed is too far away, even if you live on campus. Sometimes your book/laptop isn’t nearly as comfy as you thought it would be. BUT…if you need that nap ASAP, I’m here to help you with that.

1) That couch – 3rd floor, Buchanan D

Comfy and warm but high chances of you being that person taking up prime napping space #sorrynotsorry . For y’all Arts kids – possibly near your classes so you *might* not be late.

Bonus – couches in Law library (Allard Hall), Brock Hall,  Abdul Ladha Science Student Center, Kaiser, Woodward,  First Nations Longhouse, Asian Library.

2) That flag – Rose Garden

When you’re that eager first (or third) year student wanting to spend every moment within eyesight of the sea AND mountains. Not as comfy but you’ll wake up feeling refreshed, enlightened and with your phone filled with a million pictures (of the same view).

3) That grass – Marine Drive Courtyard

You went there to study with some friends at the commonsblock. You “ate too much and felt sleepy”. You promised to nap for 10 minutes, set 2 different alarms and made 3 friends verbally agree to wake you up. This was all in vain – sweet, cushiony grass + warmth from sunshine + shade from tree = deep naptastic sleep.

4) That bench – Near EOSC by Main Mall

You know those fancy, reclining benches adorned with students reading fancy books (for pleasure)? Show off your best (embarrassing) nap face in this public, occasional frisbee-in-yo-face zone.

5) That chlorine – UBC Aquatic Center

Umm…I don’t know who does this. Why? Kindly explain.

Honorable mention: Every 8 am, afternoon and past 6 pm class (especially in Hebb, CIRS and Forestry!)

Happy napping and stay sleepy my friends!

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10/6/14

Coping With Hangovers

By Kurtis Formosa
Residence AdvisorYikes!

Did you have a big night out at the Pit last night? Feeling a little sick and not sure how to deal with it? No worries! Here are some ways to make your hangover day manageable:

Good Breakfast:
Go ahead and make yourself a delicious fruit smoothie. Getting some fructose in is a great way to burn alcohol faster. Throwing bananas, frozen strawberries, vanilla protein powder, milk and ice all in my magic bullet makes my personal favourite hangover shake. Also make sure to stay hydrated and eat something to help with dehydration and help slow the absorption.

Coffee: …Enough said.

Don’t be Mopey:
Just because you are hungover doesn’t mean everyone else is! Continue your day as you normally would, interact with others and you will have energy back in no time. If you have class, go! Don’t let your hangover interfere with your regular daily routines.

Don’t Get One!:
Probably the best way to cope with a hangover is to simply avoid one in the first place. Watch your alcohol intake accordingly and try to keep yourself in control. If you’re about to crack a cold one, ask yourself: “Is this beer worth the hangover?”

I hope that after reading this you find yourself well equipped so you’re ready for the next night out!

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09/26/14

Coffee, Tunes, and Relaxation

By Soyoung Kim
Walter Gage Resident

coffeehouse 3The very first coffee house was a success! It was a truly relaxing time and I was so impressed by these 11 talented gage residents. They grabbed the attention of the crowd by their fine voices, talents for the piano, guitar, and with their passion. If you missed the coffee house this time, I hope you can join the next one and experience the power of art! Listening to music can have a tremendously relaxing effect on our minds and bodies. That’s true. That is what I experienced tonight!

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02/6/14

Amaranthine

By Skyler Wang

We’re all mortals living with a due date

Every single day, we deal with our own evils

Some days we make it through, some days we surrender to temptations

We all have heartaches

We all cry sometimes

And no matter how many times we tell ourselves to be strong

The haunting will return

And the great torment will repeat

Sometimes we tell ourselves to isolate ourselves

And kiss the concept of solitariness

A beautiful manifestation

That brings about no cool grandeur

We are made to propagate in another’s soul

With victory materializing only with the presence of evil

Sometimes we do things without thinking about the repercussions

And end up with ramifications we have no intent to clean up

We then strip ourselves defenceless

Permitting the world to judge In the end, we will hold hands

And find ourselves lying motionlessly in the crater of all creations

Amongst piles and piles of decayed memories

And in the midst of this timeless disintegration

We will fight to hold on to that one important memory

Of how this unwavering beauty began

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