Heptadecagon

Disclaimer: this post is not for the faint of heart. Nor is it for those that cannot discuss bodily functions. Now that I think of it, I might be posting one full of TMI. Just telling you now to leave. If you don't mind being disgusted, then read on. According to Wikipedia , "the human body is about 60% water in adult males and 55% in adult females." These numbers are pretty consistent with most textbooks I have seen. If you actually want to know where that water resides, we usually say that there are two compartments: intracellular fluid and extracellular fluid. In class we teach that approximately 2/3 of the 55-60% total water is found in the intracellular fluid; 1/3 is found extracellularly . What do these terms mean? If you understand intra - and extra - than you shouldn't have a problem. Essentially, intracellular means within the cells, while extracellular means outside of the cells. The extracellular fluid itself actually has 3 components: transc

I have a love-hate relationship with the month of April. Two of my favorite people are born in this month, spring starts to show its lovely face, and warm weather begins. On the other hand, April tends not to be good to us. For proof, revisit this post , if you dare. Perhaps we are on the every-other-year plan for April, as I don't remember having a tough one last year. This year, it hit us. One of us (or more) has been sick since mid-March, and the germs are pretty tenacious, to say the least. Poor Zoe has fared the worse. She missed an entire week of school, had a temperature that reached 105 degrees at one point, and still hasn't eaten enough to sustain her for very long. Tim's throat has been sore off and on (as has mine and Aaron's) and Melina started the month with antibiotics for a double ear infection and has just gotten through a bout of fever, diarrhea, and vomiting. Too much information? Too bad. Since I don't have help here, I at least get to

I am taking my running shoes back to the store tomorrow. I hope they can give me my money back, or at least help me get my money back from Nike. Even if I cannot get my money back from anyone, I cannot run in these shoes again. From what I can tell, I now have osteitis pubis , which is basically inflammation of the pubic bone (there is a joint there where the two sides of the girdle come together). The last time I felt any pain in my pubic symphysis (or symphysis pubis, if you prefer) was with each pregnancy. Once my hips went back into place sometime after delivery of the kids, the pain in that region went away. Tim was kind enough to do a search for me on the topic. I guessed my shoes were the problem, and indeed, according to these people , "ill-fitting shoes" can be a cause of osteitis pubis. So out with the Nike. I plan on purchasing a new pair of my old Saucony shoes. In the meantime, I plan on actually resting and not running for a week. Ouch. That will actual