Apologies for missing the MeTa. When a political speech makes its way randomly into multiple conversations throughout the day, I figured it was worth sharing for those who might have missed it. Not intended to be plug directly, though in fairness, this cynic did find it moving. Again, I didn't see the ongoing discussion. Sorry 'bout that.
posted to MetaFilter by drpynchon at 5:44 PM on March 18, 2008

I could be wrong, but I've perused this thing from top to bottom, and I come away with little more than head scratching -- and part of my job depends on critical analysis of the medical literature. This study, with its data pooling and it's dubious use of standardized mean differences seems a fine example of how over meta-analysis can washout real, statistically significant results from placebo-controlled, prospective studies. My gut tells me there's a fair bit of statistical slight of hand... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by drpynchon at 6:37 PM on February 25, 2008

It argues that, on average, several classes of SSRI do not provide a significantly better benefit than placebos do.

Actually, while some of the editorializing as well as the primary author's writing (who apologies for a bit of ad hominem, seems to be making a career off convincing people SSRIs don't work) would seem to have you believe this, that is not a fair interpretation of what the study shows. The study uses what it feels is the NICE definition... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by drpynchon at 12:39 PM on February 26, 2008

Rykey, you do realise that as we speak, McCain is a dog to Obama in head to head polls whereas the opposite is true for Clinton. This was even the case prior to Obama's recent surge, and against most of the now dropped-out Republican candidates. I grant the belabored criticism of polls, but they more fact than you've got behind you. It's presumptuous to think that somehow independent voters will be swayed by race any more or less than gender. As it is, my personal estimation is that a lot of... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by drpynchon at 9:17 AM on February 24, 2008

Mister_A, please also consider WOSCOPS and AFCAPS/TexCAPS before asserting the lack of data on primary prevention. In contrast to ASCOT, the cohorts in these studies (which used different statins by the way) were not high-risk patients strictly speaking but the benefit in terms of cardiac events and overall mortality was still statistically significant. Taken together along with what you may or may not choose to extrapolate from the secondary prevention data that is quite extensive, I find the... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by drpynchon at 7:38 PM on January 28, 2008

Apologies if what I just said made no sense to anyone who doesn't have a subscription to Circulation. Look into it -- it's a real page-turner.
posted to MetaFilter by drpynchon at 7:39 PM on January 28, 2008

This is not the panacea that some people are making it out to be. If it were, we'd just be doing bone marrow and peripheral stem cell transplants willy nilly for all sorts of diseases already. Being the recipient of a hematological stem cell transplant comes with its own, numerous complications. The challenge of balancing the risk of GVHD and infectious complications due to immunosuppression ain't an easy tightrope to walk folks.
posted to MetaFilter by drpynchon at 11:44 AM on January 25, 2008

I can't help but think you've wildly misinterpreted the transplant research available, Mental Wimp. You act as though people simply haven't looked at comparing medical management with solid organ allografts. Generally that sort of thinking limits you to talking about kidney transplantation versus dialysis as patient's receiving lung, heart, and liver transplants don't really have a medical option. Candidacy for the transplants in those cases practically depends on failure of medical management.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by drpynchon at 11:19 PM on January 7, 2008

I understand we're going in circles here but you're picking and choosing articles to criticize. A quality of life study is obviously going to throw out people that don't survive surgery. Dead people don't fill out questionaires all that well, but that's irrelavent because the question they seek to answer doesn't have to do with mortality (which by the way, the other studies I cite that you choose to ignore do address), but whether people are happy with their lifestyle and have improved... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by drpynchon at 1:51 PM on January 8, 2008

Has anybody discovered how to stop crap pop science articles turned crap memes born on digg/reddit/etc. from making it to the blue yet?
posted to MetaFilter by drpynchon at 5:00 PM on August 16, 2007

What ph00dz is saying.

There are lots of other races. Pick a marathon that you qualify for, or go all out and get a ticket to the Olympic 10,000 meters, jump on the track naked and tail the competitors there. Still, great work losing the weight and making it to the end.
posted to MetaFilter by drpynchon at 7:15 PM on April 17, 2007

This case stinks of awful journalism and misrepresentation of the medical realities. First of all, it's exceedingly unlikely that this was remotely an emergent or even urgent situation. If he's got bad ascites and Hep C, he's probably been dealing with it chronically. Moreover, it sounds like he isn't even listed for a transplant, and the average wait time for a liver these days is months to even years. A "liver transplant appointment" is just that -- a clinic appointment for... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by drpynchon at 2:56 PM on January 24, 2007

parrot_person, I experience these things on a daily basis, and while I know good and well that end-stage liver disease is a nightmarish process, the fact remains that were he critically ill, he wouldn't be wandering an airport trying to catch a flight, and even considering doing so would be putting his life in greater jeopardy. The story you tell is unfortunate, but I assure you it isn't remotely typical and nowhere in there did you mention a critically ill person entertaining air travel.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by drpynchon at 3:55 PM on January 24, 2007

I'm not exactly sure why people are attacking me personally for questioning the veracity of an article that makes little sense as if I'm being coldhearted directly to a dying person. I didn't even comment on the whole fat thing for crying out loud. That rant _was_ hysterical, and a personal attack I take quite seriously as someone who has devoted his life to taking care of critically ill people, people with end-stage liver disease, people pre- and post- solid organ transplant, and people in... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by drpynchon at 8:39 PM on January 24, 2007

Yes, I can make those pronouncements because even though I don't know the person this is about, I know that the story doesn't makes sense -- just like I know that trying to get multiple listed (as you mentioned), doesn't exactly make sense when Arizona and California are in the same UNOS region (region 5 of 11), and when trying to get listed at a far off transplant center will typically require the money to make numerous flights back and forth for regular evaluation. So I call BS. The story is... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by drpynchon at 9:07 PM on January 24, 2007

Jesus H. Christ on a pogo-stick shaped like the staff of Aesculapius! I had hoped that by the time this crap story made it to MeFi from the usual sources, the retarded conspiracy-theory laced editorial would have at least been stripped off. FYI, the NIH alone funds approximately $25billion for precisely this type of research, and there is no shortage of university researchers who are out there studying this type of thing. There are tons of chemicals that kill cancer cells in a dish, but rarely... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by drpynchon at 1:06 PM on January 18, 2007

Skygazer, here's the original article. The link will take you to an abstract unless you have ScienceDirect access (which I do). Of note, here is the more even-handed wording from the discussion section of the original article itself:

"Our work identifies the mitochondria-NFAT-Kv channel axis and PDK as critical components of the metabolic-electrical remodeling that characterizes many human cancers and offers a tantalizing suggestion that DCA may have selective... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by drpynchon at 1:40 PM on January 18, 2007

All I want is for the PS3 to ultimately crash and burn too, so I can pick one up at a fraction of the original cost. By then, someone will have ported XBMC to it or come up with some other slick Linux-based open-source alternative and my dreams of a functional HD media center on the cheap will come to fruition.
posted to MetaFilter by drpynchon at 9:04 AM on December 30, 2006

Alarmist much?

I think it's safe to say that thrombotic complications aren't exactly a surprise or covered-up risk when you give someone a clotting factor. The point is that most doctors tend not to just inject an extremely expensive medication for kicks. It's typically used for uncontrollable bleeding in critically ill patients who would die otherwise.
posted to MetaFilter by drpynchon at 6:06 PM on November 21, 2006

Regardless of the clotting factor used, there's always going to be a concern for clotting since you're typically using it to stop a bleed. In essence you WANT clots, and the clotting cascade is activated most prominently at sites where the endothelial cells that make up the insides of blood vessels have broken down, namely at sites of bleeding. But there's always the risk of clotting elsewhere. The reason why it's 7 in particular is somewhat complicated. If you take a look at this clotting... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by drpynchon at 8:05 PM on November 21, 2006

It's true. Unless you're talking about armor piercing bullets, most are lead or lead with a thin jacket. Imagine instead, the lead bullet being held in place on a table while the hardened steel sword comes down on it at supersonic speed. Same physics, same outcome.
posted to MetaFilter by drpynchon at 11:00 PM on July 23, 2006

And do any of those kids have colon cancer? I bet not. Hell, I bet they don't have lung or breast cancer either. You know what I'm getting at. It's time to move to Kyrgyzstan, baby.
posted to MetaFilter by drpynchon at 6:40 AM on June 30, 2006

On a related note, seeing this on CNN and the comments therein made me really angry today.

On preview. Dammit Joey.
posted to MetaFilter by drpynchon at 3:53 PM on June 28, 2006

Having a strong opinion on "art" = ok.

Making legal threats, calling employers = not ok.

Incorporating above threats in pissing contest with legendary internet piss-contestant in order garner free press = brilliant.
posted to MetaFilter by drpynchon at 10:49 AM on June 28, 2006

I wonder; if you had to use a laundromat to wash it every day, would that negate all the money you saved not buying new clothes?

Hygiene is just a fabrication of the dominant hegemony.
posted to MetaFilter by drpynchon at 7:29 PM on June 19, 2006

Also, this reminded me of dumb things my friends and I would do as teens, one of which was wear the same shirt every day until the other guy gave up and you won.

You guys must have gotten more ass than a toilet seat back then.
posted to MetaFilter by drpynchon at 8:11 PM on June 19, 2006

Do any of you really think things would be different if he had won?

Nope. Things would be exactly the same. We'd have the same people on the Supreme Court, the rest of the world would still have an ever-dropping opinion of us, the Iranians and Palestinians would all still have elected reactionary governments, the rich would still be getting extra tax cuts, etc., etc.

You sir are a moron if you think the outcome of the last... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by drpynchon at 9:18 PM on May 30, 2006

100 m in 9.76 s = 10.246 m/s = (22.91 mph)

Speed of the Fastest Human, Running shows this isn't the fastest speed, even by a long shot. Others have clocked 11, even 12 m/s.

Perhaps you might consider pondering the concept of instantaneous vs average speed. That is all.

My id demands snark, but I'm trying really hard.
posted to MetaFilter by drpynchon at 8:33 PM on May 12, 2006

I like the Magnetic Fields
posted by jonmc at 5:22 PM PST on May 9

[Head explodes]
posted to MetaFilter by drpynchon at 5:33 PM on May 9, 2006

jon.. You don't need to defend MF to me. That's not why my head exploded. It was in light of your prior comments regarding so-called indie rock.
posted to MetaFilter by drpynchon at 6:06 PM on May 9, 2006

Sorry lupus. No offense, but all your argument does is make you sound really old. Not only does it seem like you're at a point in your life where visceral connections to new music are impossible, but you've failed to realise that top-40 radio is now aimed toward a younger and even more immature audience in response to the changing entertainment economy. Most adults who can still be moved by music today, tend to get their music elsewhere.
posted to MetaFilter by drpynchon at 6:18 PM on May 9, 2006

Umm.. I hate to tell you this bardic, but umm...
posted to MetaFilter by drpynchon at 11:15 PM on May 7, 2006

Boo hoo. Don't worry Flea, the sound quality on the advance release is probably quite good. And if not, the lossless retail releases that'll be floating around soon enough will totally not break your heart.

But I understand where you're coming from. I'm sure you'll need every penny you can get when that major labor of yours is sucking out over 90 cents on every dollar your record sells so that it can pump it into bullshit overhead fees, overproduction costs, and... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by drpynchon at 11:11 PM on May 4, 2006

Nice, Afroblanca. Nice. You knew exactly what I was thinking.
posted to MetaFilter by drpynchon at 7:44 PM on May 4, 2006

I don't want to be venomous. So Feral, I love you.
posted to MetaFilter by drpynchon at 8:28 PM on March 27, 2006

Doesn't it require more blind faith to believe there is no god than it does to believe there is one?

No. It doesn't.

As I always say, until proven to my satisfaction otherwise, I also don't believe pigs fly. I am not undecided on the matter simply because I can't prove a negative. Why have different standards on this matter? Isn't that, in fact, hypocritical.
posted to MetaFilter by drpynchon at 2:40 PM on March 22, 2006

my lawful good paladin.. i know it's redundant..

roflcopter all the way.
posted to MetaFilter by drpynchon at 4:46 PM on March 5, 2006

My feelings on this matter have already been noted. My vote is for sucks, but boingboing lite cures most of what ails bb.
posted to MetaFilter by drpynchon at 12:49 PM on March 5, 2006

Excellent, thank you.
posted to MetaFilter by drpynchon at 9:55 AM on February 26, 2006

Why not? We let them muck around with people for no particularly good reason.
posted to MetaFilter by drpynchon at 6:21 PM on February 23, 2006

lucien wins.
posted to MetaFilter by drpynchon at 7:04 PM on February 23, 2006

delmoi, go actually read the research. There simply is no science behind the vast majority of chiropractic -- at it's heart, the notion of 'subluxation' as it is defined by them, is a concept not supported by science in the least. People think it's pseudoscience because basically that is what it is.

Does cracking your nuckles cure osteoarthritis? And so it goes. Evidence (as in science) suggests that for back pain, short term symptomatic benefits can be had with... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by drpynchon at 9:55 PM on February 23, 2006

Way too easy. I think I got them all at a glance.
posted to MetaFilter by drpynchon at 9:56 AM on February 23, 2006

Indeed they do.
posted to MetaFilter by drpynchon at 10:13 AM on February 23, 2006

Somebody was clearly listening to NPR this morning.
posted to MetaFilter by drpynchon at 8:49 PM on February 21, 2006

You know a thing or two about german beauty queens, eh protocols.. if you know what I mean, and I think you do..

zing!
posted to MetaFilter by drpynchon at 2:51 PM on February 20, 2006

I agree. Must we argue over everything? Can we not simply bask in the scratchy warmth of that glorious mustache as prophets from all faiths would likely implore? We must find common ground.
posted to MetaFilter by drpynchon at 8:42 AM on February 20, 2006

Damn.
posted to MetaFilter by drpynchon at 8:36 AM on February 19, 2006

Rumor has it, the snark is entertaining in the comments section of metafilter..
posted to MetaFilter by drpynchon at 8:15 PM on February 18, 2006

As usually, he continues to give the byproducts of anal sex a bad name.
posted to MetaFilter by drpynchon at 4:09 PM on January 26, 2006