Remember the days when you were able to perform partial integrals with ease in math class? Or the time you could quote Adam Smith‘s labor theories from heart? It’s amazing how quickly our minds erase knowledge that don’t pertain directly to our careers or interests. Wouldn’t it be nice to be capable of retaining more than just a snippet of our past accomplishments?

I received an email from my former mentor at NASA (They forbid use of their “meatball” logo on unauthorized websites) the other day. He wanted me to stress test some revisions on software I wrote years ago with him. I struggled even to generate a data set for testing…what do I use for the supersonic area ratio? What is the mass ratio? What are expected values for normal chamber pressure, and do I want to calculate it in frozen state or equilibrium? Damn. This stuff really is rocket science. How the hell was I able to do this in college, when I didn’t even know what the periodic table looked like in high school?

I started reminiscing about what had happened in those days. I remember that NASA had many enrichment programs for students. I had been accepted into a college scholars program with the notion of redesigning some internal branch websites and writing TPS reports (read: Office Space). One of the engineers was kind enough to discuss his research with me, and vocalized one of his side projects with me. I volunteered to help out, and somehow managed to write most of the software interface for some engine simulation system. He walked me through whatever chemistry I needed to understand, and the rest was history. I still remember him trying to explain the Chapman-Jouget condition to me and emphasizing that we were working with detonations and not deflagrations!

I still wonder how much I did know back then–it’s all a blur now. Too bad I can’t be both an eye surgeon and a rocket scientist.

computing humor, life

I took this photo right off the campus of the University of Delaware the day after a rainstorm. Nice fluffy clouds with accompanying grain silo. For some reason I am always surprised to see silos outside of Kansas.

misc hobbies, photos

As a continuation of my previous entry, I’m going to review four online savings accounts: Etrade, INGDirect, HSBCDirect, and EmigrantDirect. As I mentioned before, stashing your hard earned cash in an online money market account can help add a couple extra bucks to your savings without risk.

Etrade

Etrade offers full-brokerage accounts in addition to the standard money market account. This means that you can open IRAs and stock portfolio accounts all under one convenient interface. For the longest time, Etrade has offered comparable interest rates to that of other online accounts. At the time of this writing, however, the savings account rate is a measly 0.95%. This rate is still 3-4x what your regular bank (Citibank, Chase, Bank of America) would offer. The redeeming qualities of Etrade include its slick interface and expedient transfers. The web interface is neatly organized according to the type of account you have with them. The monthly account summaries are simple to interpret; you’d be surprised how confusing some bank statements are. Account transfers on Etrade are FAST. Accounts are credited by the evening after you make the transfer, although you may not necessarily be able to draft funds immediately. Your balance begins accruing interest the day you make the deposit. Withdrawing funds directly from Etrade is also convenient; they offer an ATM debit card that is valid at any U.S. ATM machine. Etrade does not have an surcharges on ATM use, and they will reimburse any fees incurred from the other end as well. Overall, Etrade Bank is a good deal. Read more…

economy economy, life, money

Whether you’re a medical resident hoping to make millions out of residency or a computer programmer in a stagnant company, it’s still probably wise to stay atuned to the economy. As a physician in training, I’ve noticed a wide range of economic sense in my peers. Some of us anticipate a fat six-figure salary out of training, and live as if we did (The average hourly rate of a medical resident is equivalent to that of an In-n-Out burger boy). That’s perfectly fine if you’re independently wealthy or have a spouse supplementing your income. The rest of us live somewhere in the middle. Those of us in this medium range will probably have a couple hundred bucks lying around every month leftover from our paychecks. How can we maximize these unspent dollars?

While you can invest this excess green in the stock market, bonds, mutual funds, or any other venture that might promise huge returns, I find that this is impractical for the majority of us for a number of reasons:

1. Unless you had a career prior to medical school, the amount you’d be able to invest off of a resident’s salary is not sufficient to offset any transaction fees, no matter how little your broker charges. Scottrade used to charge $8 per trade. If you’re putting green into the market monthly, you’re incurring a minimum of $96 a year in commission. Try to make that back in this bear market.
2. If you’re working 80 hours a week, you have no time to research your investments. If you’re already economically savvy, go for it. Most of us need to sleep or study for our job.
3. You might actually need the extra cash sometime. You can’t pull out your money in a pinch if it’s invested in the market.

The alternative to investing it is a no-brainer: stash it in the bank. Which bank? The short answer is an online bank. Current interest rates are a pittance, and most banks with a physical branch offer <0.50% rates on their savings accounts. Online banks offer slightly better rates, and are nearly as convenient if you can coordinate them appropriately. There are dozens to choose from, and most of them are generally reliable. Etrade and INGDirect are two institutions that offer online banking.  Stay tuned for my upcoming review of my experiences with various online banks.

economy economy, life, money

The U.S. experienced two influenza pandemics prior to the current scare–one in 1918, and another in 1976. All three of these were of the same strain, H1N1. The avian flu that hit Asia a few years ago was of type H5N1. Influenza kills thousands yearly, mostly targeting the very young and old. This can be described as a U-shaped mortality curve. Why, then, are we concerned about this swine flu if the run-of-the-mill flu kills thousands anyway?

The mortality curve of this swine flu is shaped more like a “W”. Young adults appear to be targeted as well. Why not hammer out a swine flu vaccine and immunize everyone? Well, one is being developed, with hopes of also being incorporated in the influenza vaccine in the fall. There is also historical concern for mass vaccination.

In 1976, the death of an army soldier in Fort Dix, NJ from swine flu triggered panic. Gerald Ford issued a mass immunization program, and 40 million people were immunized by the end of the season. The problem? One in every thousand people innoculated with the swine vaccine developed Guillian-Barre Syndrome (GBS), a neuropathy that is typically defined by ascending paralysis. About thirty people died from GBS related to vaccination. There was only one recorded fatality from the 1976 swine flu. The lesson learned? While in retropect the vaccination program may have been more harmful than helpful, it’s unclear whether this overreaction actually staved off a potential epidemic.

So far, it appears that the swine flu has been less virulent than we anticipated, but we will have to see…

medicine medicine