Ask MetaFilter posts by oneirodynia

Changing academic direction (am I being foolish?)

oneirodynia — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 12:46:11 -0800

Trying to transfer to a four year college, and changing direction mid -stream. Am I being foolish to consider shifting from aiming for a landscape architecture degree to one in ecological engineering, especially when engineering colleges have completely different requirements than what I've been focusing on? I've been going to community college on-off for many years now. A year ago last February, I decided to quit my job and go to school full time, with the intent of transferring to a four year college. At the time, I was designing and building gardens for a design-build landscape company, and had been taking numerous horticulture and drafting classes, plus the basic GE requirements. However, I'm kind of ... bored by basic landscape stuff. I want to design gardens that perform a function, like rooftop gardens that recycle HVAC water, or living machines. It seems to me like a degree in ecological engineering is the route to take, but it means basically starting over, with 2 years of calculus, plus physics, biology, chemistry (per UC Davis' website) The issues are:

I'm nearly able to transfer for Fall 09', but this change would definitely set me back. I'm impatient, and afraid of burning out.

I'm not good at math. I finished trig in high school with a D. That was 20 years ago, and I haven't taken math since. Surprisingly, I'm actually a little better at understanding it (I had no problems with the algebraic equations needed in my soil science and plant nutrition classes), but I've got to pass a math assessment to be placed in any math class, let alone get to where I can do OK in 2 years of calculus. Does it make sense to study for the assessment test, and try to get placed as high as possible, so I'm not going to school for 3 more years? I'm OK with any science or physics, but will I be killing myself trying to do all these more intense classes as quickly as I can? More realistically- is it even possible to cram for a math assessment course, and not wind up over my head in calculus?

My community college bureaucracy is understaffed, and no one in the transfer center will return my calls. I've been told to send emails to UC Davis and Berkeley, to talk to professors in the departments I'm interested in. I feel incredibly shy about writing to randomprof at dot edu.
Is this the right thing to do?

My other option is to stay the course and go for landscape architecture, with a minor or something in ecological engineering. My fear is that I won't get the toothy, nitty gritty science background I want to be able to build these types of ecological recycling systems, or that I'll be forced to mess around with a bunch of fluffy theory classes. But I'm also worried that it doesn't make sense to try to go for broke and start over on a course that may be extremely difficult, time consuming, and frustrating. If you've done this, please let me know how it turned out.

Victorian illness

oneirodynia — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 14:13:07 -0800

What is the 19th Century illness that disfigures Esther Summerson of Dicken's Bleak House? In mid 19th century London, Esther Summerson contracts a fever from her young maid that disfigures her face and damages her appearance. At one point, as the fever comes on, she is temporarily blind. Any ideas as to what this disease may have been? There's nothing very helpful in the text so far, other than that the alteration is rather shocking.

Superhero potion

oneirodynia — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 20:44:24 -0800

Heavy water applied to skin- a bad idea? If so, why? I've seen a number of cosmetic companies marketing a heavy water face mist. The wikipedia article on heavy water says that it slows down cellular regeneration; the cosmetics companies all say (and I do mean all, since all cut and paste this exact bit): D2O is Deuterium Oxide - heavy water. Its hydrogen molecule is twice the weight of the molecule in ordinary water, which makes D2O 10% heavier than H2O. Research has found that:

" * Heavy Water has a higher resistance to vaporization, which helps it stay on the skin for longer periods of time.
* It has more viscosity. This "thickness" gives it a higher "plumping" effect than regular water and the skin does not dry out as quickly or as deeply.
* It requires ten times as much energy to be ionized than regular water, which makes it more protective against ultra violet radiation.
* It inactivates certain acne bacteria, making it an ideal moisturizing agent for blemish-prone skin."

I haven't been able to come up with anything that specifically applies to skin, other than some research about frog skin permeability. It seems to me that something that slows down normal cellular processes is a sketchy thing to apply to your face every day. I just can't find good info, pro or con.

Music History Lessons

oneirodynia — Sun, 09 Jul 2006 13:59:43 -0800

I'm looking for books that in some way discuss the distribution of popular music, especially pre-phonograph (though a bit of that is fine). Accurate, but not necessarily academic- if it happens to be in a particular musician's biography or a novel of some sort, that's cool. I'm less interested in online sources; I need books to curl up with more than I need to spend additional time with the wee computing machine.

Chanterelle recipes

oneirodynia — Wed, 22 Feb 2006 18:29:00 -0800

What are your favorite recipes using chanterelles? I gathered a half pound of chanterelles yesterday. I need some suggestions for something yummy.