Hi. My name is Jonathan Blackhall. I am currently a 1st 2nd 3rd 4th year medical student at Rush University in Chicago, IL.
I sometimes get asked what “encephaolsponge” means. It has no real meaning, other than it’s a word I made up to describe myself. It’s a sort of play-on-words. The Greek root encephalo- roughly means “pertaining to the brain,” and I’m assuming you know what a sponge is. I used to think my brain what something like a sponge because I loved to soak up all the knowledge around me. I got to medical school and started to understand that this metaphor is more accurate than I first intended it to be. Unfortunately once a sponge becomes saturated, it’s difficult to soak up new material. And that, my friend, is medical school in a nut shell. Now I spend many of my days trying to figure out a way to get my brain to “hold more water.”
The question I always get from all non-medical (and even a few medical) folks is, “Do you know what kind of doctor you want to be?” I don’t have anywhere near a firm answer on that yet. At this point, I’m just hoping they’ll let me be one when I’m done. I will say I’m interested in Anesthesiology, Critical Care, Radiology, Cardiology, and Infectious Disease. I will say I’m probably not interested in Pediatrics or Ob/Gyn.
When I’m not trying to memorize vast amounts of information about diseases most people have probably never heard of, I try to keep myself busy with other things. I love technology and gadgets, especially computers. I advocate for free software whenever it’s feasible, and I use Linux (for human beings) because it sets me free. I advocate that my online rights be protected. I’m also interested in technology as it pertains to medicine and medical education. I am an active member of a group called RMstudents at my school; we promote many facets technology in medical education. I also use WordPress, and I’ve encouraged a few fellow bloggers to do the same. I also like to read a lot, and I love good music. You can check out my reviews or check out my book list for more info there. I have a girlfriend named Sadie-Jean, and she’s my tupelo honey. I spend as much of my free time with her as possible.
If you want to know more about me for some reason, you can read more about my stuff and online profiles or my professional life. If you’d like to know more about the technical aspects of this site, check out the colophon. If you can’t find the answer here, you can always contact me.
I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death! -Patrick Henry to the Virginia House of Burgesses (1775)
I'm Jonathan Blackhall, a 4th year medical student at RMC. This is my blog, where I ramble about technology, medicine, free software, and other random stuff. 
