All things, great and small

Gwen and I finished watching the special edition of "The Abyss" this morning. In doing so, we realized that one of the problems of being medically trained is that it can undermine the premise of certain pseudo-science fiction and also just shatter the credibility of otherwise suitably enjoyable dramatic scenes.

(Note - if you haven't seen the movie - don't read this little blurb.) In the infamous drowning scene, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio's character is essentially dead and then brought back by one of two things. Either a) she's a "fighter" on a super natural level, or b)Ed Harris can literally yell people back to life. In the scene, she's drowned (why did they wait until she actually drowned to swim back?) and then there's a try at reviving her the good old fashioned way (with CPR and a defibrillator). She's out cold for at least 7 minutes, hypothermic and not breathing. Then, after they give up CPR and defribillation (was her heart rhythm even shockable?), Ed Harris suddenly gets pissed and begins yelling in her face and smacking her around a bit. This medical tactic proves to be the difference once he's finished throwing his fit she begins breathing on her own again. Everyone is all hugs and once again the rational scientific world is left out in the cold. Moments later, she's back to normal. (Never mind that even a real revival after that long would have left in her with irreparable anoxic brain injury - essentially relegating her to drooling vegetable or comatose status for the rest of her days). The whole scene made me think of what would happen if we tried that approach in the actual hospital. Say a patient had a cardiac arrest and all attempts with CPR, defibrillation, epinephrine, and the like failed. At that point, it would no doubt be time to bring in "the yeller" who can literally scream "Live, dammit, Live!" until the patient woke back up. I once knew a guy in residency named Jimmy who would be great at this - maybe we can get this incorporated into the next ACLS update....

(I think that scenes like the above are partly responsible for why we have a hard time explaining to some patients' families that their loved one isn't coming back - no matter how hard we try or hope)


(Additionally - the breathing liquid with oxygen in it - yeah, that's crap. Only House MD could make that work.)


Terrell Owens

Damn I have enjoyed watching this fiasco - and that's not just because I'm anti-Eagles and don't have Owens on any fantasy team. The sports guy sort of beat me to it, but I must agree that my favorite thing about this whole debacle is the fact that every analyst alive is crawling over one another to say what a jerk, bad teammate, and next Hitler that Owens is. I can't believe how preoccupied these guys are with being able to have a no-holds-barred antagonistic opinion of someone. Anyway, I can't really say it better than the Sports guy did. I don't mayhaps think the Eagles are to blame for this madness as much as he may - but I enjoy his dissenting viewpoint on it, at least.

Apparently Jesse Jackson and Ralph Nader are now getting involved, which is hilarious and ridiculous beyond words. We're still talking about football, right? I don't think it can become any more of a circus. (BTW, that Drew Rosenhuas speech was absolutely epic. Nice work Drew. You're a class act.)

Other Banal Issues

Well, last week came and went. We're amidst a four day holiday weekend (owing to Veteran's Day and a subsequent "training holiday"). For those curious, my Madden season continues to go well; the team now stands at 14-0. We've locked up homefield advantage. That being said, we've been here before. Only a superbowl victory can make it worthwhile.

I also started playing Prince of Persia: Sands of Time on the PS2, which is a sweet game. (I found it for 15 bucks in the re-sell bin).

Gwen and I have been watching season 6 of Simpson's on netflix. Season 6, of course, is in the middle of the Simpson's golden era - great stuff. We've also been watching a lot of South Park, also courtesy Netflix. I must say that my attitude on South Park has changed utterly from the early days of the show (back when I used to playa-hate it). I think the change sparked from seeing the movie initially (still a classic), and since then I've seen tons of episodes and always been fairly impressed. I don't think I've seen season 1 ever again since the beginning - I wonder if I would like it if I were to go back and watch it now. When it came out, I remember thinking that the show was all about going over the top and little else. They still do that, but they certainly have a style and wittiness to it that make it pretty damn entertaining.

Recent episodes I have seen include the "Towelie" episode, which was clearly written by them when they were high. I also love how they dedicate entire episodes to slamming individual celebrities they hate - for example the "Butt Head" episode and Ben Affleck. That was absolutely ridiculous. (Ridiculously effing funny, that is!).

"Towelie - you're the worst character ever..."


For the Love of Pete

Ugh, it's official. My boy Pete is on a plane to the desert. He left this weekend, off to Kuwait for a few weeks and then to Iraq. Apparently no one has told him or anyone else where he and his unit are headed once down there. Pete speculates that they ('they' being military higher ups) still don't even know. Without going off into an anti-army political tirade here (I'll save that for Gwen), I must say I was pretty bummed after I dropped Pete off prior to his departure. The good news is that Pete's life will probably get easier when he gets down there; his job sucks so bad now (all military medical administration, no actual medicine) that preparing to deploy is likely worse than deploying itself. If some of the rumors are true, then there's even a chance he's not down there for more than a few months, which would be great.

As far as I'm concerned, Pete is the man. I can't say that I've ever seen the guy in a bad mood (I never believe him even he when claims to be in one). He always seems a half-smile or quick joke away from making the best of any situation. He unequivocably makes any group of people he's around a better group - I can't think of a single situation in which having Pete along would be a detriment. (Hell, even if you were having intimate sex it might just help to have Pete be right there, happily chewing his gum, encouraging you - who knows?). Despite the fact that he's worked with a bunch of military-first hard-ass line officer fuckfaces since arriving in Germany, (who's mentalities and attitudes would have fucking killed the likes of me by now) he's still the same old Pete - quick with a smile and a joke and to light up your smoke and all that. I'm convinced that the military and more specifically "the line" will never break old Pete, no matter how much time he spends with them - because he's simply better than that. (But to hell with them for trying, I say). And of course Pete maintains the best possible attitude during the whole thing.

Pete rolled down on Friday night and several of us locals took him out to dinner and bought him a few beers. Then he crashed for the night. Gwen and I got him a Sony PSP with some games prior to his departure - mostly to help make the notorious "hurry up and wait" times for which the military is famous that much easier. Saturday, I took Pete around and we did a bunch of his pre-deployment errands. Before I officially saw him off, he handed me his will so that I can mail it to his parents. That's right, his will. (All this so he can be part of some bullshit war. Oh wait, I wasn't going to get started. Regain control, Michael...regain control....) Anyway, it was more than a little surreal. Not that I truly think anything will happen to old Pete. But you can just never know in a place where hate, fear and random explosions are so commonplace.

Anyway, I'll be in touch with him and will give updates when I can. We'll be mailing stuff to him on a regular basis from here. I'll get his address up once it's known and encourage him to make a need/wish list if anyone is interested in making his desert time a little more enjoyable.

With that said - Pete, my friend, you are a good man. Fare well, stay safe and Godspeed, buddy.