March 11th, 2010
image by virtualreality on Flickr
“If holistic-health advocates were content with encouraging sensible preventive medicine or with criticizing the economic organization of American medicine, we might be enthusiastic, but they are not. If the movement were without influence on American life, we would be indifferent, but it is not. Holistic medicine is a pablum of common sense and nonsense offered by cranks and quacks and failed pedants who share an attachment to magic and an animosity toward reason.
Too many people seem willing to swallow the rhetoric—even too many medical doctors—and the results will not be benign. At times, physicians may find themselves in sympathy with the holistic movement, because some fragment of the rhetoric rings true, because of certain practices and attitudes they encounter in their daily work with colleagues and patients, or because of dissatisfaction with the economic and social organization of medicine. One hopes they will speak bluntly, but it does no good to join forces with cranks and quacks, magicians and madmen.”
-C. Glymour and D. Stalker from “Engineers, cranks, physicians, magicians”; N Engl J Med. 1983 Apr 21;308(16):960-4
Posted in Medical | 1 Comment »
March 6th, 2010
image by misterbisson on Flickr
The following items are
prohibited for disposal at the Alpha Ridge Landfill:
- ammunition
- dead animals
- engine blocks (over 2′)
- explosives
- hot ashes
- infectious waste
- pathological waste
- radioactive waste
- radiological waste
- septage waste
- surgical hospital waste
These people are clearly mad. I never let perfectly good ammo or explosives go to waste, and engine blocks are critical to the construction of my many infernal devices, so I don’t have to worry about the first three. As to the rest, well, that’s a bloody damn inconvenient policy. I guess it’s back to my neighbor’s basement with a shovel…
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March 1st, 2010
- That noted, my interview on KXDJ with Chris was great. His questions were keen, and getting a chance to give a more meaningful answer to the not-so-simple question of “is the H1N1 pandemic overhyped?” is always refreshing. (Easy response – “yes” from a lay media public fear angle, and “no” from a vaccine and preparedness standpoint. That discussion is worth a post or 10… or a few convention talks, as the case may be.
)
Posted in Conventions, Libations, Medical | No Comments »
February 24th, 2010
I’ll be on with Chris Samples tomorrow morning on 98.3 KXDA radio out of Perryton, Texas, talking about the current state of the influenza season, and the 2009 H1N1 virus in particular. I’ve had the pleasure of being on Chris’s show twice last year, and our conversations have been both fun and insightful – I’m looking forward to it.
My segment will go on at 10:20 EST (09:20 CST). You can listen to the live stream here.
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February 21st, 2010
- What was set to be an epic return to post-blizzard life after Farpoint ended up becoming a week-long boss battle with a stealthy fever plague-demon. While some point and invoke the word “irony” when I become ill, remember that my job is killing diseases for a living, and given that they take a dim view of this, means that they send assassins after me on occasion. I take these bullets for you, people.
- Laura went to an event at Studio Inspire today, and among other things, came home with this, which makes me happy:
rocket ship henna tattoo, image by Laura Burns
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February 15th, 2010
- Farpoint was simply brilliant fun, and some notes on the proceedings will be coming shortly. Those of you who didn’t go (yes, you) missed a seriously good time. And Viking midgets.
a tad more snow, image by John Cmar
- We received just a tad more snow. One upside of being trapped in the house for several days was the enhanced opportunity to actually cook (my brother contends that most of what I do is more “heating” than “cooking,” while I contend that “heating” is, in fact, “cooking”). While nothing recipe-sharing-worthy emerged, I gained enough XP to level up in the Culinary class.
the start of a great meal, image by John Cmar
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February 11th, 2010
And so it came to pass that con season truly gets into swing with Farpoint. I will be trolling about, looking for mischief, and pontificating on influenza and other science-y topics, as I am want to do. My schedule:
- H1N1: State of the Influenza, Saturday 3pm (Ridgely 2) – Flu season isn’t over yet, but this current lull in activity is an excellent chance to look back on some of lessons learned, both on the science of influenza as well as the failure of communication to the public by medical professionals/government/media.
- Science in Social Networking, Sunday 1pm (Ridgely 2) – Science communication has always been something that is often done poorly, and we’ll be examining some of the positive and negative ways science is interfacing (or not) with the booming area of social networking.
And, when Laura is not plotting the Redhead Global Domination Effort with Felicia Day, she can be found here:
- Social Media 101, Saturday 10 am (Ridgely 1) – 2010 sees use with a metric buttload of social media programs in existence, with Google Buzz being the latest. A review of what’s out there, what’s useful, and how designer intent doesn’t always match up with what the users do.
- Citizen Scientists, Saturday 6pm (Ridgely 2) – Anyone can be involved in cutting edge research projects, and it’s not only a blast, but easier than you might think… Laura will tell you how.
- Science and Social Networking, Sunday 1pm (Ridgely 2) – As noted above, except that Laura is both more attractive than I am, and likely has more interesting things to say as well.
- James Webb Space Telescope, Sunday 3pm (Ridgely 2) – JWST is moving into the ground assembly phase, and Laura will give us an update on the the latest with this amazing project.
The snow is melting away, and things are shaping up to be an excellent time, so if you are in the area, stop on by. Directions are here, and the full programming list is here. You can follow events of note with me on Twitter, or better yet, I hope to see you there!
(When the redheads take over the world, it pays to be as close to them as possible. Just saying.)
Tags: Farpoint, Laura Burns, Redhead Global Domination Effort, Science
Posted in Conventions | No Comments »
February 10th, 2010
The Secret Lair Comic 0021: The Button
In which
The Secret Lair’s Secretary of Artistic Propaganda,
Natalie, documents what happens when the Overlords get access to an innocuous, quite-satisfying-to-click Button. Also, in my humble opinion, the last panel depicts one of the greatest things it existence.
Click here to take in the full version.
Tags: the secret lair
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February 10th, 2010
Cmar at Dragon*Con 2009, photo by Bruce Press
Although mired in what the local atmosphere contends is “deep winter,” the con(-vention? -ference? You decide!) season is already upon me, what with the Maryland ACP Scientific Meeting last week, and Farpoint ahead this weekend. The roundup of how my year is looking at this point is as follows:
- Farpoint – February 12-14, Timonium, MD – Yikes! This weekend! Must prepare, and dig out, and stuff! I’ll be working the science track, and generally enjoying myself at this smaller, more low-key gathering.
- Ravencon – April 9-11, Richmond, VA – Although relatively new as cons go, 5-year-old Ravencon continues to grow as a great regional weekend. The move this year to a better hotel (fare thee well, horrifying board-room meeting places) can only help matters. I’ll be doing the science track thing.
- Johncon – April 16-18, Baltimore, MD – It’s named after me. How could I not go? Well, sure, it’s primarily a gaming convention put on by the Johns Hopkins University sci-fi and anime clubs, and they asked me to be a science guest, but really, it’s named after me. ’nuff said.
- Balticon 44 – May 28-31, Baltimore, MD – If you’ve been paying any attention to me over the last few years and don’t know Balticon, then for shame. The science and new media tracks will see my hand, and the awesome will be brought.
- ReConStruction (NASFic 2010) – August 5-8, Raleigh, NC – When Worldcon takes place outside of North America, that year a North American Science Fiction convention is birthed to sate the Worldcon-need for those unable to travel. It looks like I’ll be involved in the science guest here, in addition to the other festivities.
- Aussiecon 4 (Worldcon 2010) – September 2-6, Melbourne, Australia – The World Science Fiction Convention migrates to another continent this year, and Laura and I shall follow, both to attend and for an extended first trip to Australia. At this point, I won’t have any track involvement, which suits me just fine – it’s vacation, dammit.
- APDIM Fall Conference – October 14-17, San Antonio, TX – More of the same as the APDIM Spring Conference, except in an arguably more exciting locale than Baltimore.
- Philcon – November 19-21, Cherry Hill, NJ – This was a blast last year, and I intend to return again this time around, spouting off my physicianly wit in an official capacity if I can.
That’s… quite a full year, but there’s more that either haven’t made the cut or are only on “maybe” status. Due to saving up both rupees and leave time for Australia, I will sadly not be making the return trek to Origins. Both Dragon*Con and Con On The Cob (which I have long wanted to check out, but never have) are out due to direct conflicts, and my attendance at the big two Infectious Diseases conferences of the year, the ICAAC and IDSA meetings, is going to be dictated by energy and leave reserves as the time gets closer.
All that noted, it’s shaping up to be brilliantly fun and educational year on the con front. Won’t you join me?
Posted in Conventions, Medical | 4 Comments »
February 9th, 2010
The latest episode of The Secret Lair is up, in which Overlords Johnson and Miller discuss the recent Amazon and Macmillan debacle (that I noted here), as well as Valentine’s Day myths… two topics that may, in fact, have more in common than one might think.
Or not.
Also, therein lies my latest report as the Lair’s CMO, in which I discuss the the reality behind the movie District 9, and take the Overlords to task for their plan to to turn said reality into a seafood feast… and also see Minister Lynn reap his due reward for suggesting such a scheme to them. Additionally, the new Ask the Overlords segment addresses bargain refurbished space shuttle purchases, and there’s a promo for Natalie’s new webcomic All Write! on Mur’s I Should Be Writing site.
Go here and listen, else when the Overlords’ time comes, you will be the first into servitude.
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