It's a small world after all

I collect globes. I love how something so simple can represent something so complex- earth, the world, a planet, countries, geographic landmarks, international relations, political divisions, history. Despite my fascination with globes I find myself amazed at how small the world can feel in day to day interactions. Returning home from work Tuesday I received an email from an engineering friend still in school at DU who is working on a group project. They special ordered hardware for a robot (nuts and bolts) and received a package shipped from Aliso Viejo, my current local. That evening, not being terribly motivated to cook I went to Chipotle for dinner. Chipotles across the nation have a similar modernist architectural and artistic style. Another commonality is the black and white photography of burrito-esq images: including a photograph of the original Chipotle on E. Evans Ave. Having spent the better part of 4 years down the road from this establishment I became more intimately familiar with Chipotle then I did of the communal kitchens in the residence halls! Although Denver and Aliso Viejo are over a thousand miles apart, each influence the other. It's a small world.


These small world coincidences are not uncommon though they tend to be unexpected. Moving into Jmac my freshman year I ran into (literally) Michelle, a first grade classmate who recognized me from Westeridge Elementary school in Lake Oswego, Oregon. As a study abroad alumni from the University of Salamanca, I have noticed several other people with Salamanca paraphernalia in shops and restaurants. The list continues.... it's a small world.



Reflecting on the size of the earth from any perspective - a globe, events and coincidences, or actual size/distances, one is reminded how vast and limited our world is; enduring and fragile; complex. In a new effort announced this week, a consortium of institutions are joining together to document the biodiversity found on this planet into an online Encyclopedia of Life. With the goal of creating individual web pages for each of the planet's 1.8M known species within 10 years this is a massive and exciting undertaking. This creation of a dynamic virtual globe of life available free to anyone with Internet access is one more step that shrinks the size of the world and expands upon its mysteries. I am looking forward to its completion and future applications...it's a small world.

Is the iconic Disney song running ad nauseum through your head?


Visit the Encyclopedia of Life- http://www.eol.org/.


Anatomy: While head and neck anatomy won't be until the second semester of med school, I thought it would be a nice addition to go with my MR photo. This is not my brain, but I have the same anatomy. One of the things i'm looking forward to about anatomy is seeing individual differences in anatomy.
This imaged borrowed from http://www.uicomp.uic.edu/mri/axial8.html