And it's finally live!

A few weeks ago, after months of development, HealthCare Volunteer went live with its new website. The web development was done by Visual Sparks, a firm in Dubai. We are all very pleased with the new website. Check it out and let me know what you think! We're always looking for feedback to make the website better. If you're interested, you can sign up for a volunteering profile and network with other volunteers.

http://www.healthcarevolunteer.com/

Ode to Trader Joe's

For most of my life, I have not been a fan of Trader Joe's. The store seemed strange and I didn't recognize any of the brands there. When I moved here to Philadelphia, I had only two grocery options: Trader Joe's (at 21st and Market) and Rite Aid (corner of 23rd and Walnut). Rite Aid has groceries? Well not really. Just some cereals, milk, junk food, etc. So I went to Trader Joe's.

Initially, I was frustrated by the long lines and lack of familiar items. But over time, I have become Trader Joe's biggest fan. Here's why:

1. It's Cheap. I think that comparable items are, on average, 5-10% cheaper at Trader Joes than they are at traditional grocery stores like Safeway.
2. It's Healthy. You won't find a lot of junk food, but that's not to say that everything is 0 Calories and 0 Fat. You will get less healthy food, but it's not as bad as other places. Also, Trader Joes products are as close to 'all natural', so you can avoid potentially unhealthy chemicals. I've noticed that after a few weeks of eating Trader Joes' food, I have more energy and feel lighter on my feet. There is something to be said for natural indgredients - maybe it's just easier for the body to metabolize.
3. Variety. You can get some pretty different things over here. Trader Joes' goes all over the world to find interesting concotions to put in their stores.
4. Good music. Trader Joes plays good music in its stores - or at least it does in the Philadelphia one. Usually I get to listen to classic rock.
5. Free samples. There are always free samples at one of the booths, and they are really good.
6. Taste. By making their products 'all natural' and being very selective, Trader Joes has succeeded in making their food taste distinctively better than competitors' foods. This took me a while to realize, but it is true. From the bread to the frozen food, there is a difference in taste.

So there you have it. I think I need to make a Trader Joes run this weekend.

Bolt Bus

Hey folks, Bolt Bus is currently the best way to travel from Philly to NYC. I have taken Septa to Trenton and NJ Transit to NYC. This is a slow, relatively expensive, and annoying trip because of the transfer in Trenton. The bus is a better option, although you may have to contend with traffic. But traffic aside, which bus should you take? The Chinatown bus? Greyhound? Neither. Take Bolt Bus. Bolt Bus is cheap - it can even be as cheap at $1. I paid $13.50 each way from Philly to NYC. It's also fairly comfortable with reclining seats. And the best thing about Bolt Bus, as the name implies, is its connectivity. Each seat as a socket and the bus has Wi-Fi. I didn't use these features on my ride to NYC (a 2 hour journey), but it can be useful on longer trips. Pretty cool, eh?

Oh, and the rest of the weekend in NYC was awesome! I got to see some friends who I haven't seen in ages. I walked pretty much everywhere (downtown, upper east side, etc.) because the weather was nice. Happy days.

A New Application of Lasers

Mosquito obliteration. Every now and then, science comes up with something that really changes our lives. Well, this is one of them.
A laser that obliterates mosquitoes: millions of them in minutes. It works by identifying the audio frequency of the beating wings. As is stated in the article: "There is no such thing as a good mosquito, there's nothing that feeds exclusively on them. No one would miss mosquitoes". That's what I've been saying all along! My India experience would have been better by a factor of at least 2 if this thing were in commercial use.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/03/16/mosquito.laser.weapon/index.html

Updates

Things have gotten a bit busy for me lately. Midterms are coming up - I finished by biochem in-class midterm and am working on the take home portion now. Also, I have an engineering biotech midterm on Tuesday and a lab report due Wednesday. Meanwhile, my PBG consulting project is heating up as we finally have our strategy and need to run it by the customer and then execute it. We have our PBG midpoint check after Spring Break. Workload for the GAPSA International Council is light for me at this point, but there are important issues we are working on - specifically, the issue of tighter restrictions on loans for international grad students. However, I still don't know what I'm doing for the summer. Need to address that as soon as midterms are over.

I'll be at home in the Bay Area for break from Friday, 3/6 to Saturday, 3/14. Let me know if you're around and want to hang out!

The Daily Grind (I)

Semester I at Penn is now in full swing. Here's what my routine looks like:

Monday:
7:30 - Wake up
8:30 - 10 - Exercise
1 - 5 - CBE480 (Genetic Engineering) lab
11:30 - Lights out

Tuesday:
7:30 - Wake up
9- 10:30 - Biol402 (Biochemistry)
4:30 - 7:30 CBE554(Engineering Biotech II)
11:30 - Lights out

Wednesday:
7:30 - Wake up
8:30 - 10 - Exercise
1 - 5 - CBE480 (Genetic Engineering) lab
11:30 - Lights out

Thursday:
7:30 - Wake up
9 - 10:30 - Biol402 (Biochemistry)
3:30 - 4:30 - International Council, GAPSA Meeting
7:30 - 8:30 - Penn Biotech Group Consulting
11:30 - Lights out

Friday:
8:30 - Wake up
9:00 - 10 - Exercise
No class

Saturday / Sunday:
9:30 - Wake up
10:00 - Exercise
Chores

Observations thus far:

• Taking 3 classes: Biochemistry, Engineering Biotech II, and Genetic Engineering Lab.
• Involved in 2 extracurriculars: Graduate Student Council - International Council and Penn Biotech Group Consulting Project.
• Trying to exercise 5 days a week (everyday but Tuesday and Thursday). Not a member of a gym, just doing the bare bones: jogging by the Schukhill River, push ups, and sit ups. It's not that cold anymore so jogging outside is ok.
• Trying to get up and go to bed at the same times from Monday - Thursday, with a little leeway from Friday - Sunday. I think going to bed early and waking up early is the key to success.
• No classes on Friday, so this is when I work on HealthCare Volunteer and miscellaneous activities.
• Save the chores for Saturday and Sunday: cleaning & laundry.
• Eating at home is cheaper than eating on campus, so I'll probably shift my studying from the library to studying at home. But this month, most of my time has been in the library.
• I don't have a TV, so in the evenings before I sleep I watch Daily Show and Colbert Report episodes on my computer.

So there you have it - my schedule for semester I at Penn. It's busy, but I'm enjoying it.

Flood-Tolerant Rice

Who says Biotechnology is just for healthcare? This article talks about a precision breeding strategy to create rice that can grow even in flood conditions. While there is no genetic engineering involved, scientists do look for the presence of a certain gene when breeding plants. Technology such as this is incredibly important for the developing world. After hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes, floods, and other natural disasters, thousands more people die due to dehydration and starvation.

My primary interests for the last several years have been healthcare and international development / international relations. It's nice to see that biotechnology can have an effect on all of these issues.