Showing posts with label geeky. Show all posts
Showing posts with label geeky. Show all posts

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Bludgeon me bloody

Have you ever entertained fantasies of being Dexter? No, I'm not talking about the serial killer thing, sheesh. Unless you are a violent sociopath, in which case, keep calm and carry on SUBMERGING HOMICIDAL DESIRES.

The lovable serial killing villain has a day job with the fictitious Miami Metro Police as a blood pattern analyst. So what the heck does that mean? The pictures below shed some light on what Dexter does  in his professional capacity.





 

*All pictures stolen from here, original source is this.

Television shows like the CSI franchise sold us on the idea that forensic science can solve almost anything. To certain extent, science have made crime investigation a lot more reliable than the previous method of beating up a suspect until he/she confessed (though it's still applied in parts of the world where civil liberty is still a laughable dream). As much as the television show has done to encourage interest in science, it has as much to do with real-life laboratory practice as porn is to making love. My friends and I often laugh at the insane timeline portrayed in CSI (collecting specimen, tagging and paperwork, sample prep, sample run AND analysis in a single day? Please.) and we mock at the clean chromatography results (yeah, nice, distinguishable peaks from a swab at the freeway. Riiiiight.). Not to mention the awkward pipetting techniques or the blase centrifuging without balancing the rotor. To have someone comment, "You're doing it the CSI-style, aren't you?" is considered as a gross insult.

Science, however, is not infallible; DNA profiling is not the magic bullet of conviction as evidenced by the inability to distinguish the rapist twin from the innocent one (though this may change). Samples degrade, there are issues of contamination, false evidence, specimen tampering and many more. That said, it doesn't mean that you can call a video iron (refer to comment by Tuan Guru Haji Hadi Awang on Anwar Ibrahim's Chinadoll video) and throw science out of the window. DNA technology has helped to overthrow convictions on people wrongly imprisoned for rape and give names and faces to victims of mass disasters. Surveillance technology helped to map the unfolding of the Boston marathon bombing step-by-step. Biometrics have been invaluable in enhancing security protocols as well as identify presence at a crime scene.

However, as more and more criminals and villains get smarter from watching Discovery Channel and use forensic science against the law enforcement, legal technicality gets a lot more convoluted and conviction remains equal parts of science, good investigation, robust prosecution and a huge dollop of luck.

Friday, June 7, 2013

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Natural gas explosion

I recently wrote a post about surgical fire, an event that could happen often enough that it merits a good few pages on the FDA's website (check 'em out, you don't need to sleep, do ya?). I thought, there goes the once a month (or maybe longer) medical scare I dish out to the lovely people who visits my blog (You love me! You really love me!  ♥♥♥!).

But I came across this and just had to share. I mean, colonoscopy (where a tube with a camera attached gets shoved up where the sun don't shine so the doctor can have a good look at the condition of your intestine) has become one of the most widely performed medical procedure, thanks to greater appreciation of how hard it is to survive cancer in your colon if you don't get rid of it. Colonoscopy is also performed when you see blood before flushing your daily load (I ain't talking about the ladies' monthly haemorrhage, aye?), you have problems with your bowel movement (too much, too little, too rare, too often, spurred by the food you love to hate) or you are so anaemic that Edward passed you over for not being nutritious enough.
Edward Cullen: a centenarian who still goes to high school. Cos high school is so *hard*, you know.

As much as you enjoy letting a loud one rip in the privacy of your loo, or releasing a silent killer in a crowded elevator, intestinal gas is not something to take lightly when the surgeon is trying to remove a nasty polyp using laser.

Because it could be a blast.

And not in a good way.



Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Batman! Nananana ...


I'm looking forward to The Dark Knight Rises, purely because of Bane, who is this guy:
Played by this guy:


I ♥♥♥ Mr Hardy.

Almost everyone who has a nodding acquaintance with the Batman franchise is familiar with the iconic image of Batman and his amazing bat-wing cape, right?


The sad reality is that if Batman had glided down from building roof with only his cape to slow his descent, his bones would exit his flesh. Seriously. It's all physics



What a way to spoil a pop culture enjoyment eh? Those physicists take the fun out of everything.

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Excitement!

I love her contagious enthusiasm: I will never look at a penis (mammalian or otherwise) the same way again.



I admire how she could discuss something titillating in a funny and creepy way.

(Undercut because pretty NSFW)

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Aurgasm

Nina Persson started out her singing career with The Cardigans, purveying sweet bubblegum pop music that hid a dark core, telling stories more relevant to Brothers Grimm than Disney sweetness. Kinda like sucking a lime candy and then you hit the super sour melty centre. Their first huge hit made me think about what it's like to hit acid just before going out on a date with your crush.



Yes, I have a weakness for retro-like music. This song was practically the soundtrack of my pre-university days. Now you know how old I really am.

Massive fangirling and moar ear candy after the cut.

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Scent for trouble

Limburger cheese is now helping to eradicate malaria. But perhaps not the way you would think so.



Let your curiosity guide you to look for answers in unlikely places!


Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Slashy

This video is a product of awesome editing to tell a wholly new story.


Monday, April 30, 2012

It's the numbers, baby ...

Universal language which I don't speak or write.


I ♥♥♥ this guy so much.



Have a nice Labour Day everyone!

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Midweek Sh*ts and Giggles - The Scientific Life


Y tu mama tambien.


Reason why drowning fatalities were pretty high in Netherlands.


It's okay if it comes in a prescription.



A sweet disposition doesn't come easy.


Ballistics experiment in parlour games.

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Yo, Joe!

I loved the GI Joe cartoon as a kid. I understood well enough that it was nothing more than an American propaganda, but it sure was fun to watch.

I got to watch the 1st film courtesy of Sophie and it was awesome!



The latest instalment's look pretty cool and fun too. And now that it's got Bruce Willis AND Adrianne Palicki?

Bring it!

*rubs hands with glee*

Friday, November 18, 2011

Late to the party

I have just lost my nerd credentials: I only found out today that 2011 is the International Year of Chemistry.

And me, who believe in better living through chemistry.

*hangs head in shame*

And there are pretty posters! Swiped from here.

 Matter as elucidated by Einstein.

Graphene: the strongest material known to man.

Hydrogen: Explosive and yet when combined with oxygen, is the elixir of life.

Radiate! Marie Curie style.

Chemistry is about elements forming substance forming the universe as you and I know it.

Vive le chimie!

And what does 2012 hold for us? Armageddon?

Nah.

Just the International Year for Cooperatives. No pretty posters yet.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

What they never tell you ...

I have always been a bit of a science geek. I did well enough in high school that they pushed me to science stream and I entertained delusions of being an otorhinolaryngologist (ear nose and throat specialist).

Needless to say I'll bet many students have ideas of science as illustrated in the top panel. If they are daft enough (like me) and go into post-graduate research, then they'll discover the truth (as seen in bottom panel).

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Indispensible ...

... is this diagnostic tool to most modern doctors. The CT scan (X-ray computed tomography), or more affectionately referred to as the Cat Scan, became more widely known to the general television watching population, thanks to drama series such as ER, General Hospital and most popularly, House.

I wouldn't be surprised to hear if there are people (hypochondriacs, most likely) who insist on having their aches and pains examined using the Cat Scan in order to rule out major problems. Of course if they know how much it really costs (ask your local friendly hospital services marketing personnel!), they may swallow their indignance and ask if blood tests (some of which may cost nearly as much) are sufficient.

However, in the interest of levity and fun, I invite you to visit the Cat Scan site  for more of gems like the following:



Friday, May 27, 2011

Hell is other people

Existential angst, Star Wars style. In French, no less.

(Stolen from Two Nerdy History Girls)



Happy 34th birthday, Star Wars!

Thursday, May 26, 2011

How do you measure love?

Apparently it is possible to estimate the value of Love using basic algebra of need, perhaps some calculus, maybe a bit of the geometry of innocence, and a lot of wishful thinking.

You start with:

        (Love - 0) / No limit

And other mathematical gobbledygook that I don't understand (since I was this close to flunking Additional Mathematics) ...

Which leads to the conclusion:

1. Love is infinite if X is finite.
2. Love is indefinite if X is zero.
3. Love is infinitely negative if X is negative.
4. Love is imaginary if X is imaginary.