Instead of focusing on matters more weighty politically or otherwise, such as the recent move by the Democrats to illustrate that if the gloves are off, they are off for BOTH parties, I have been trying to distract myself from matters of a more personal nature.

In the course of my self-distraction, I have been listening to various podcasts from major media outlets, including NPR, Slate, and other sources that are not exactly associated with “citizen journalism” whatever that might mean. For me, these podcasts are convenient because I can listen to them as I drive in to work every day (French radio does not appeal to me, even when I do understand what they are saying).

My attempt at podcasting died even before it could be called stillborn because of both a lack of time and because my voice is not as mellifluous as I would prefer to perform in an audio medium.

After listening to the amateur podcasts available, however, I do feel I could do better than 90% of them. In order to put in the effort, however, I am compelled to ask, would anyone actually listen?

Feel free to respond in the comments.

Technorati Tags: random thoughts, podcast, podcasting

My father will be undergoing surgery tomorrow to remove a “narrowing” of his intestinal tract. It is uncertain what the origin of this narrowing was, but it coincided with the reaction of his pancreas to muscle relaxer medication he was taking to relieve pain from a misdiagnosed strained muscle, in reality pain from a blood clot.

So, even though he had this pain for well over a month, the medical professionals did not choose to take any data to confirm or refute the diagnosis of a strained muscle.

So, even though he was hospitalized due to a gastro-intestinal disorder, the medical professionals waited a week to take any data on the original complaint that prompted prescribing the medication that caused the disorder of the pancreas.

So, my father (and my family, and I all are) is fortunate that the blood clot did not break loose and kill him.

I am not happy with the medical profession at the moment.

Data… you need it to make any technical or scientific judgment, and medicine is indeed technical and scientific.

Please send any good thoughts you might have towards my father, who will be in surgery tomorrow evening. Thank you.

Technorati Tags: personal

While the overall results of a recent study on vision are intriguing, this part of the article at MSNBC.com on the methodology stood out for me:

In the study, temporary, reversible blindness was induced in volunteers by using magnetic pulses that affected the visual cortex, the area in the back of the brain that processes what the eyes are seeing.

Yikes! It is that easy to induce temporary, reversible blindness? Are they sure that there are no longer term consequences of this pulse?

Even if there truly are no longer term consequences of this magnetic pulse, the existence of the ability to use a magnetic pulse to affect a key center of the brain is very troubling to me.

Technorati Tags: science, technology, science and technology, science & technology

Before you start making accusations of “political grandstanding” because of the declaration of war by Senator Harry Reid, you should remember two words:

Terry Schiavo