Public Service Announcement
When I decided to go grad school, I imagined myself keeping my readers updated with all the cool things I would be learning each day. That hasn't exactly happened, mostly because the things I'm learning I don't believe to be particularly interesting to the general public. However, this I will share with you: I now feel completely justified in my utter disdain for cigarette smoke. And you would, too, if you had watched videos of surgery and the subsequent rehabilitation after removal of the larynx (or voice box). It is a gruesome thing to watch someone breathe out of his neck and try to talk with his esophagus. You can't sing, you can't shout, and your voice quality will forever sound at various points "gurgly." I found myself terrified to be in that predicament someday, and I don't even smoke. I can't imagine how anyone could light up again after seeing that.