Owner: Doctor Anonymous URL:http://doctoranonymous.blogspot.com/ Join Date: Sat, 16 Sep 2006 10:25:14 -0500 Rating:1 Site Description: Just a guy trying to find the humor in medicine and humor in life while dealing with the daily grind of the American health care system. Site statistics:Click here
Do they know it's christmas 2006-12-22 18:16:00
This is the 1984 video of the song by Band Aid. Found it on YouTube. I forgot how many stars (at the time) were on this song. How many can you name? I'm on call this long holiday weekend. So, I'll be around the blogosphere seeing what's going on. Don't forget to put up Mimi's Peace Globe on Sunday. Safe travel to those of you going out on the road, in the sky, or out at sea, or wherever you're at. Happy Holidays!
Merry Christmas 2006-12-24 08:11:00
On this Christmas
holiday, Mimi Lenox is asking bloggers around the world to re-post their peace globes from the original blogcast for peace from November 7, 2006. This was a great idea, and I'm happy to be a part of it again.
In other news, I tried again to switch to the new Blogger, but was again rejected with the same message I received the first time from Blogger beta. Oh well, maybe something can be figured out for people like me who are having problems switching.
Finally, some time today, I will have had my 50,000 visitor to the Doctor Anonymous blog. I cannot believe it took only six months (plus one week). Are you the 50,000th visitor? Let me know. I mean, hey, YOU are Time Magazine's Person of the Year. Happy holidays from all of us here at Doctor Anonymous! Read more:Merry
, Merry Christmas
Grand Rounds 2006-12-27 00:24:00
I'm going to be working a lot this week. So, I want to apologize up front if I have a sparsity of posts over the next few days. The docs in our group take turns working the holidays throughout the year, and this is my year for the Xmas/New Year's stretch.
Also, I've gotten lots of spam comments the last few days. So, I'll be moderating comments until I think the spam has slowed down. Sorry. And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming...
GrandRounds
3.14 has went home for the holidays. If you have never heard of Grand Rounds
before, it is a group of medically related posts brought together in one place every Tuesday. The final Grand Rounds of 2006 is up an running at Blogborygmi. Thanks to THE MAN, Nick Genes, for including my submit under the "levity" section.
Dr. Anonymous is upset about me being named Time magazine's Person of the Year (and here I was, thinking you were the choice). He proposes something else -- something that can be part of us, and yet, is d
Still here 2006-12-29 11:26:00
I know that there have been reports that I've been trapped at Denver International Airport all week. Wouldn't that be an interesting story? I feel bad for those people out there. Who wanted a white Christmas?
Anyway, I wanted to let you know that I'm still around - just swamped at work this week. Although, I was one of those millions who tried to use my iTunes gift card earlier this week and found a slow server. Finally was able to get some music.
Sorry about the boring update. I'm going to get some rest this weekend and hopefully be back to normal blogging next week. Happy New Year 2007!
Happy New Year 2006-12-31 19:54:00 I can say this now, because it is 2007 in some parts of the world. The picture above is from Sydney, Australa (*waving to HP*).I've finally caught up on my rest. I don't want to bore you with all the details, but it was just crazy at work last week. Great to have a weekend off to catch my breath.On a day like today, one cannot help but reflect back on the year that was and the year that will be. Even though it's really cheezy to say, but it is a time of hope. A time to kind of give yourself a clean slate to start again.Some are really into this new year's resolution thing. I admit that sometimes I make them and sometimes I don't. There's this columnist that says Forget New Year's Resolutions. But, for me, here we go.Physical health: I know. I'm one of the many people who make this resolution. But, I really think that I can do it this time. Or, maybe it's the guilt of all those sweets that I consumed at holiday time. Hmm....Mental health: Why do I feel like I'm confessing all Read more:Happy
, Happy New Year
That's So 2006 2007-01-01 16:09:00
Many people believe that we should leave The Donald and The Rosie and their war of words back in 2006. I would tend to agree with that.
But, on Sunday, Lake Superior State University released its annual List of Words and Phrases Banished from the Queen's English for Mis-Use, Over-Use and General Uselessness." Their current list includes gems like, "show me the money, "erectile dysfunction" and "holiday tree."
This AP article reviews some of the words on the 2007 list:
Critics piled on the media's practice of combined celebrity names such as "TomKat" or "Brangelina." One said, "It's so annoying, idiotic and so lame and pathetic that it's "lamethetic.'"
Take "ask your doctor," the mantra of pharmaceutical commercials. The university called it "the chewable vitamin morphine of marketing."
The university's word watchers had no use for "truthiness," the word popularized by Comedy Central satirist Stephen Colbert. It was selected as the word that best summed up 2006 in an online sur
Kick out the kids 2007-01-02 14:59:00 How are those new year's resolutions going? For me, after day one, I'm still hanging in there. However, are you already finding it difficult to keep that resolution of eating right? I've got an idea: Get rid of your kids!This article from The Daily Mail describes that researchers at the University of Iowa have shown that living with children also means you are more likely to eat foods such as cheese, ice cream, beef, pizza and salty snacks.This adds up to five extra grams of fat each day. And, taken over an entire week, this is equivalent to to a pepperoni pizza a week in saturated fat alone. The leader of the study said this:"An important implication of the study is that healthy changes in eating need to focus on the entire household, not just individuals, especially when there is so much obesity among the young.""Often children demand these less healthy foods but everyone's eating them and it's a pattern we've got to change by helping everyone think more about their dietary cho
Grand Rounds 2007-01-02 12:26:00 Doctor Rob over at Musings of a Distractible Mind has GrandRounds
3.15 now up and running. A rather explosive theme this week - literally. A creative mix of pictures and music intermixed among this weeks postings.
If you've never heard of Grand Rounds
before, it's a weekly collection of the best posts that the medical blogsosphere has to offer. Are you interested in medical topics? Well, who isn't? I encourage you to head on over to Dr. Rob's site and check it out. It's Grand Rounds!
Stop Reading Diet Articles 2007-01-03 13:05:00
Want to lose weight? Well, then one thing you absolultely should NOT do is read articles about diet and weight loss. This is according to a new study from the University of Minnesota.
Huh? That doesn't make sense. Well, I did leave something out. This study talked about teenage girls reading about dieting and weight loss in magazine articles. To me, this is kind of the first step before going to the pro-ana and pro-mia sites which I have talked about before.
The AP article describes some of the results of the Univ of Minn. study:
It didn't seem to matter whether the girls were overweight when they started reading about weight loss, nor whether they considered their weight important. After taking those factors into account, researchers still found reading articles about dieting predicted later unhealthy weight loss behavior.
Girls in middle school who read dieting articles were twice as likely five years later to try to lose weight by fasting or smoking cigarettes, compared to girl Read more:Reading
, Articles
Vote for Dr. A! 2007-01-04 06:01:00
The polls are now open over at MedGagdet.com for the 2006 Medical Weblog Awards. I've been nominated in two categories, but I'm only focusing my efforts on one category.
Vote for Doctor Anonymous for Best New Medical Weblog (established in 2006). I encourage you to check out my favorite posts (the links are in my sidebar) from the past six months. Those will definitely convince you to vote for me. I think I have a good mix of patient stories, current events coverage, opinion pieces, and some humorous posts to be considered for best new medical weblog of the year.
I've also been nominated for Best Overall Medical Weblog. While I appreciate the nomination, I feel I'm definitely outclassed in this strong field. Maybe one day, I'll be ready to compete with this group, but not at this point in my blog life.
According to MedGadget, here are the rules for voting and counting:
Judges will conduct a review of each blog submitted and will vote to sort out those blogs that don't belong t
The Ashley Treatment 2007-01-05 06:01:00 Ashley is a 9 year old who lives in the Western United States (picture from a Daily Mail article). Her case has sparked a huge medical ethics debate having to do with rare medical conditions and parent's medical decision making ability for a child.Ashley was born with a rare condition of the brain called static encephalopathy. What does this mean? The best way I've seen it described is a type of permanent brain damage. This type of condition is associated with a lot of disabilities like mental retardation, cerebral palsy, autism, and other similar conditions. It's been reported that she currently has the mental capacity of a three month old baby.Ashley's parents, like other parents, were concerned about how they would care for a special needs child like this. But, unlike other parents, they took an unprecedented step to ask her Seattle doctors to perform what was described as "growth-attenuated" treatment.Essentially, this type of treatment, prevents physical growth and keeps Ashle Read more:Treatment
, Ashley
Tagged again and again 2007-01-07 06:01:00 Ok, I admit it. I've been a bad boy. I've been tagged three times in the last two weeks or so, and I haven't gotten around to responding to them. Bad Dr. A!
Lady Aeval and Moof tagged me on "5 things you don't know about me." Then, Fat Doctor tagged me for "7 musicals for 2007." If anyone else tagged me, I totally forgot. So, I apologize if I forgot you.
Since it's my blog, I'm going to give you a modified meme or sorts. It's a pictoral list of things you may not know about me. And, I throw in a little musical thing at the end. Hope you enjoy it...
The car I drive: Chrysler PT Cruiser Convertible
I've never had a convertible before. And, for the five sunny days each year in Ohio, I actually have the top down. Kind of fits my personality, don't you think?
My current computer: iMac G4
I'm hoping to upgrade soon. This thing is a tad bit on the slow side,but still, in my opinion, the most stylish looking computer on the market.Also, gotta love those Mac commercials. Read more:Tagged
Hang on sloopy 2007-01-08 06:01:00
I believe in recycling so much that I'm recycling this post from last November in honor of Monday night's National Championship Game between THE Ohio State University Buckeyes and Florida Gators.
GO BUCKS!
Also, please say hello to a couple of new bloggers who are off to great starts on their blogs: ID Crossroads and Professional Dreamer.And, don't forget to tell them that Dr. A sent ya!
Apple iPhone 2007-01-10 19:01:00
After weeks of speculation and expectation, Steve Jobs introduced the AppleiPhone
at the Macworld Conference and Expo in San Francisco yesterday. I've already confessed my obsession for gadgets like this one.
This is a really cool product. Not only is it a phone, but also an iPod and an internet browser as well. For more details, check out the iPhone site and even watch the Steve Jobs presentation of the iPhone.
The thing is not going to be available until June. So, I have a little time to talk myself out of buying this cool gadget. But, well see.... Read more:Apple iPhone
Fat Fido 2007-01-09 13:45:00
It would be safe to say that that some people out there, and you know who you are, love their dogs more than they love their kids. No one ever talks about that in public, but all of us know people who take care of their pet better than their kid.
Well, the US FDA is following suit, because last week they announced the first prescription drug to treat dog obesity. Yes, that's right, dog obesity. The drug is called Slentrol and is brought to you by Pfizer. You know, the same company that manufactures Lipitor.
According to this article, the problem of dog obesity is so prevalent a whopping FIVE percent of dogs are considered obese. This equals about 4 million dogs. And, another 20-30 percent are considered overweight.
``This is a welcome addition to animal therapies, because dog obesity appears to be increasing,'' said Dr. Stephen Sundlof, director of the food and drug agency's Center for Veterinary Medicine, announcing the approval of the drug.
Now, not everyone is excited about
Grand Rounds 2007-01-09 13:15:00 Dr. John Lapuma has GrandRounds
3.16 this week. He calls his theme "food as medicine." An interesting batch of posts this week. I tried to leave a comment over there and you have to be "logged in" to leave a comment. Oh well.
If you have no idea what Grand Rounds
is, it is a collection of posts collected every week from the medical blogosphere. Next week, GR moves to Kerri's blog called Six Until Me....
Another tag 2007-01-09 12:38:00 I guess I'm feeling the love this week. SuperStenoGirl tagged me with this random meme. And NotFearingChange tagged me with the "five things" meme, which I already did. Sheesh!
I have to apologize if I'm a little fiesty while answering these questions...
1. What is your name? Dr. A - also known as Brad Pitt.2. What is your quest? Are you kidding, the Holy Grail!3. What is the air speed velocity of an unladen swallow? Um, is this a dirty joke?4. Do you know why I asked those questions? No, not really...5. Is there someone that you think about all the time? Yes, Trump and Rosie. Can't they just work something out?6. What is your view on gay marriage? Some people support it and some people oppose it.7. What is your favourite colour? Blue, or sometimes Red...8. Do you like green eggs and ham? Yes, Sam I Am.9. If you had to choose, would you rather be blind or deaf? Neither.10. What are you wearing? Uh, what are you wearing... Hmmmmm...11. Are you attractive? Have you seen my geek profil
Taser for sale 2007-01-08 16:05:00
I'm definitely what you would call an electronic gadget guy. I'm sitting in front of my Mac at work which is next to my pager, my RAZR cell phone, and my Palm PDA. Are you sickened yet? Plus, you know the car that I drive (scroll below).
I'm always excited this time of year because it's the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. It's a gadget guy's paradise. Did you know that there's a huge 63 inch plasma TV that they're marketing out there? That is, if you're into that sort of thing.
Something that did catch my eye was in today's USA Today. Apparently, there is going to be a new version of the controversial taser stun gun that's going to be put on sale (pictured above).
What's new about this? Well, this is a smaller version that previous that can be stored in a purse or a backpack. Curious yet? The older model is big and bulky and cost about $1000. This newer version is coming in at a cool $300.
Taser
[International] says the C2, less powerful than the police
$25 million meaningless 2007-01-12 06:42:00
Oh this is just stupid. If half the energy that went into discovering pills and medications like this were to go into ways to change the diet industry from money sucking attention glommers full of fad diets, there would be so much less obesity in the American culture, animals included.
The above comment is from Andrea from my post on the new diet pill for Fat Fido, er, Plus Sized Pooch. This is a perfect segue into today's topic of human diet pills.
Last week, the US Federal Trade Commission took a bold step (yeah right) and fined the marketers of four weight loss drugs a collective total of $25 million
for false claims.
A commercial for one of the drugs, Trimspa, is seen above with its spokesperson at the time, Anna Nicole Smith. The commercial is really pathethic. It makes me laugh every time I see it. "Trimspa, baby." Too funny.
"Testimonials from individuals are not a substitute for science," [FTC Chairman Deborah Platt] Majoras said. "And that's what Americans need to Read more:meaningless
Ben & Bennie on CNN 2007-01-12 18:11:00 Thanks to all of you who have clicked on over to read my post on The Ashley Treatment. I really appreciate it. Ben & Bennie, from the blog called A Work of Art: Raising Our Exceptional Son, has raised comments on this site along with other sites. Bennie (Ben's mom) has been following this case very closely.On their blog this morning, she announced that Ben and Bennie will be on television tonight to talk about Ashley's case. They will be on Paula Zahn's show on CNN
sometime between 8-9pm eastern time Friday night. Click on over to their blog and wish them luck. I'm sure they'll do well. It'll be interesting seeing how the words on the page of a blog translate into television.
Miracle in Missouri 2007-01-13 19:51:00
Short post today. All morning I've been watching the news about these two boys, Shawn Hornbeck and Ben Ownby, who were kidnapped and miraculously found this week. I can't even imagine what that must have felt like both for these kids and for their families.
There have been many references to the Elizabeth Smart kidnapping as well. I remember when that was in the news - both her being missing and her being found. I can't help but wonder how this shocking experience will mold their lives. I guess we won't know for a number of years.
Here's one thing that really gets me upset in uplifting news stories like this one. Once the "feel good" feelings wear off, which usually take a day or two, the news then focuses on the perpetrator. This guy will become the celebrity criminal of the week. The press will "try to get into the head of" whomever this guy is.
Then, the TV movie will be made which will somehow rationalize this guy's behavior with some kind of story of a tragic childhood. D Read more:Missouri
Bestest Blog 2007-01-14 20:10:00 Thanks to Bobby for re-posting by bestest blog bio from last September. Welcome to all of you who have clicked on over to check out my blog. I hope you like what you read. Please leave comments and give me some feedback.
For those of you who don't know what bestest blog is, the concept is simple. You put a link to Bestest Blog of All-Time to your site, and Bobby will put a link of your blog on his site. Bestest blog has definitely helped me gain more traffic. Want proof? Just click on my sitemeter graphic at the bottom of this page. Thanks Bobby and Bestest Blog!
Remembering MLK 2007-01-15 12:24:00
I have a dream that my four little children will one daylive in a nation where they will not be judgedby the color of their skin but by the content of their character.Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr - August 28, 1963
Addendum: I had some e-mail questions concerning my post today. For those around the world who may not know, today is a national holiday in the US in observance of the birthday of Dr. King. He would have turned 78 years old this year. You can read more in this article from CNN.Com.
Read more:Remembering
Almost Famous 2007-01-16 17:01:00
Anyone remember this movie? I love those Cameron Crowe movies (see Say Anything). This was the first time I saw Kate Hudson (Kate, call me!) on screen. I feel like I'm having my almost famous moment...
So, I'm fulfilling my sitemeter addiction this morning, when I see a link from a Seattle newspaper. When I click over and see what that is, I see my blog and URL on the screen. Sheesh! Here it is...
What's Online: HEALTH
doctoranonymous.blogspot.com
A family guy and medical know-it-all, Doctor Anonymous prescribes wellness wisdom with a dose of domesticity.I've never had a byline before. So, at first, I thought it was a joke. I looked around the page to see if it was actually real. And, this page IS real. Wow!
Thanks to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and whomever submitted my blog to their paper. I really appreciate it. Welcome to those of you who have clicked on over from the SeattlePI site. Excuse me as I do my happy dance... Read more:Almost
, Famous
Uterus transplant 2007-01-16 13:07:00
A hospital in New York is looking into offering the first uterus transplant
in the United States. Ok, before you jump to conclusions, this is not a comedy post. I know a lot of you out there in blogland are reaching down deep for that late night talk show joke and punchline, but this thing is seriously being talked about as a possibility.
According to the article, the hospital ethics board has conditionally signed off on these preliminary plans. As you already know, ethics boards sometimes make divisive decisions - just ask the hospital board who decided on The Ashley Treatment.
Organ transplants usually are performed to save lives, but increasingly they are being done to improve quality of life. Hand transplants and the recent partial face transplant of a woman in France are examples.There are many questions that need to be answered before this possibility becomes a reality. When asked if it could be done, lead physician Dr. Giuseppe Del Priore said, "I believe it's technically po
Six words meme 2007-01-17 12:18:00 I was tagged by my good friend Difficult Patient (did you know she's blogging again?) for a meme that goes like this: Tell a story in six words, no more, no less. There's a very good group of these at a blog called change therapy. DP also used a library card graphic which I have seen in different places out there in blogland. For my story, I'm going to borrow an phrase from yesterday's post....
Grand Rounds 2007-01-17 12:17:00 GrandRounds
3.17 is up and running at Kerri's site called Six Until Me. She has a theme this week and it's called "Emotions in Healthcare." And, she has put together in a very creative poem encompassing her theme. Thanks to Kerri for including my submission.
If you don't know what Grand Rounds
is, it is a weekly compilation of the best posts from the medical blogosphere that moves to different sites each week. And, who doesn't like reading about medicine and science? A very interesting and well done edition of GR this week. Great job Kerri! Next week, Grand Rounds moves to the blog called Signout.
I hate American Idol 2007-01-17 18:01:00
I actually don't. I was just being provocative. I admit I didn't watch the show last night. But, when I came into work this morning, AI is the only thing that anyone would talk about. How this person was an awful singer and how that person was yelled at. I'm just standing there saying - Huh?
I'm ignorant on this. I have never watched the show. I don't get the show. What's the appeal of the show? I mean, it's just a super-hyped talent show, right? Is a shortcut to fame and celebrity now the goal? Maybe this is a sign of me getting old, but doesn't anyone want to "pay their dues" anymore and take years of hard work to achieve your goal? I know people will put me in my place and put me on the right track. I guess I just don't get American
Idol...
Blog Block 2007-01-19 06:01:00
I got that blog writer's block virus. (Cartoon credit: A Perfect World) Don't know where I got it or how I got it, but I got it. Maybe an antibiotic will make it go away? Maybe I need to go to the blog block doc? Maybe I need Jenny from the block? Maybe I need to plan a blog block party? What do you do when you're hit with writer's block?
Blog funk 2007-01-22 06:01:00
First of all, thanks so much for everyone's comments and suggestions on how to try to get out of my blog block. I really appreciate it. Unfortunately, I'm in full blog funk mode.
For your entertainment, I have nine-and-a-half minutes of the pure funk experience above. But, that's good funk. Me, I'm in that bad funk place. The rest of this post is going to be rambling (and maybe whining also). So, feel free to click off at anytime....
I've been trying all weekend to change over to the dreaded blogger beta. For some reason, I'm still not allowed to do that. I'm starting to get a complex. Does someone not want me to join the rest of you over there? One day am I going to find my account deleted because I didn't change over? Strange.
And, everytime I get that rejection page, the thought always goes through my mind that I should just switch over to somewhere like wordpress, or typepad, or another blog host. I don't have the technical know-how to set up my own site and server
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