Theatre??

They're called "operating rooms" in the US and "operating theatres" in Europe.
posted to MetaFilter by jesourie at 1:01 PM on January 20, 2007

Another of Wilfred Owen's:

Anthem for Doomed Youth

What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?
Only the monstrous anger of the guns.
Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle
Can patter out their hasty orisons.
No mockeries now for them; no prayers nor bells;
Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs,
The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells;
And bugles... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by jesourie at 12:00 PM on November 10, 2006

OK, let me get this straight. Rather than believing that there's a nursing shortage because nurses aren't paid enough, are still seen as doctors' little assistants despite having a distinctly different and equally valuable role in patient care, work too many hours, care for too many patients, risk lawsuits every day, have ridiculous student loan debt, and get very little respect from the medical establishment, I'm instead supposed to believe that people are put off by the idea of someone... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by jesourie at 7:55 PM on November 9, 2006

There is something to be said for the idea that if you find something you love to do as work, it won't really feel like working.

I'm a nurse. I love my job. My work is so rewarding, so personally fulfilling, and so invigorating that rather than feel demoralized and exhausted at the end of a shift, I feel more alive than I've ever felt before.

Two weeks of vacation and a few personal and sick days are plenty for me. I honestly... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by jesourie at 11:41 AM on June 5, 2006

Oh God, I never should have clicked on that botfly link. I spent a month in that town, and was bitten by more mosquitos there than I could possibly count.
posted to MetaFilter by jesourie at 8:57 AM on May 12, 2006

Óscar Arias is not (by most people's standards and not just, say, Hugo Chávez's standards) a leftist; for example, during his recent election campaign in Costa Rica, he ran on a platform of solid support for CAFTA. His policies are solidly moderate.
posted to MetaFilter by jesourie at 2:40 PM on April 13, 2006

dilettante, do you have a link about extreme stress increasing the likelihood of developing MS? I have MS, and I've heard tons and tons about how stress can exacerbate the disease when it's already extant, but I've never heard stress posited as a possible etiology. I'd love to read more about the idea.

I'm not sure how excited to get about the idea of neurogenesis as it relates to MS. MS is a neurological disease only because the central nervous system is the recipient... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by jesourie at 7:47 PM on March 4, 2006

Thanks for those links, dilettante. Very interesting stuff!

And however you choose to treat (or rather, not treat), I wish you the best.
posted to MetaFilter by jesourie at 8:29 PM on March 4, 2006

b) It was a heart attack, but they described it as arrythmia.

If I've been understanding the news reports correctly, it was both. EKG changes indicated a recent small area of ischemia in the heart muscle because of a migratory piece of shot; the EKG also indicated the presence of a dysrythmia called atrial fibrillation, which might be a secondary complication of the small heart attack.

(Thing is, there's really no way to know... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by jesourie at 8:21 AM on February 15, 2006

Holy crap, I'm never going to get anything done ever again.
posted to MetaFilter by jesourie at 8:34 AM on December 9, 2005

jeblis, dogs are omnivores. They can live just fine on a well-prepared vegan diet. Cats, on the other hand, are obligate carnivores and should never be fed a vegetarian or vegan diet; they can't convert vegetable-sourced beta carotene into Vitamin A and need to get already-converted Vitamin A from liver or fish oil. Cats also need taurine, which isn't found in plant food and is tough to absorb from supplementation.
posted to MetaFilter by jesourie at 10:56 AM on November 30, 2005

Thanks for that link, soyjoy. I was having a tough time finding something that didn't reference PETA or vegan.org or some other likely-to-be-seen-as-biased source.
posted to MetaFilter by jesourie at 1:46 PM on November 30, 2005

duck, try the Citizens Energy page on how to apply for heating oil assistance.
posted to MetaFilter by jesourie at 8:29 PM on November 22, 2005

Lord_Pall, that was absolutely the highlight of my trip to the Galapagos, too. We were lucky enough to see them in the wild, on the property of a farmer who knew our guide. They were on their way down to the coast from the highlands to breed. I find it impossible to explain why putting on rubber boots and slogging a mile through shin-deep mud in the pouring rain to look at these creatures was so extraordinarily moving, but it really was. I'd do it again, every second of it, in a heartbeat.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by jesourie at 9:31 AM on November 21, 2005

I mean aren't rappers in the same league as WWF wrestlers?

Yes, of course. KRS-1 and Jake "The Snake" Roberts may as well trade places for all the difference it would make.
posted to MetaFilter by jesourie at 8:10 AM on November 12, 2005

dozens of fat, ugly, and pretentious people

Your disdain for polyamory is loud and clear, keswick--overstating your case isn't helping. You can't seriously believe that every single person who's ever participated in polyamory is both fat and ugly. That's profoundly unlikely, statistically speaking, and quantitatively disprovable.
posted to MetaFilter by jesourie at 5:15 PM on October 31, 2005

You're right, keswick, I didn't, because a picture of someone who clearly isn't fat or ugly won't show you whether or not they're pretentious. I think you're wrong, but I have no proof that you are, so I won't waste my time debating that part of it with you when you've already made up your mind.

tkchrist: it would be bad form for me to post a link to pictures of people I know personally without first asking them if they're OK with it. I tried the poly-boston meetup page... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by jesourie at 5:44 PM on October 31, 2005

.
posted to MetaFilter by jesourie at 8:00 PM on October 24, 2005

Yes, mr.marx, and the United States is clearly the only country in the world in which this could happen. Citizens of every other country on this fine planet love the word 'fuck' and wear it proudly on their lederhosen, burqas, saris, and kilts.
posted to MetaFilter by jesourie at 7:04 PM on October 6, 2005

I would rather people take responsability for their lives and actions

Seeking mental health care and appropriate treatment *is* taking responsibility for their lives and actions. To say otherwise reveals a deep misunderstanding of mental illness and treatment.
posted to MetaFilter by jesourie at 7:54 PM on September 29, 2005

She says she let go of the steering wheel when she heard a voice saying, "Let go and let God."

After God nearly got me killed with that kind of trick, I don't think I'd be quick to give up any vices in His name.
posted to MetaFilter by jesourie at 7:56 PM on September 27, 2005

Some of these pictures were so beautiful I could barely breathe. Thank you so much for posting this.
posted to MetaFilter by jesourie at 12:56 AM on September 21, 2005

Well, aren't we all [going to die anyway]? Is that any reason to hasten the process?

Yes, yes it is, if the only other option is still to die, just more slowly and horribly. If I had to choose between suffocated slowly after my ventilator failed, struggling against it the entire time (because the body does not go gentle into that asphyxiation), or being overdosed with a painkiller so that I simply drift off to unconsciousness without pain or anxiety...... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by jesourie at 6:59 PM on September 13, 2005

I think the skepticism people feel about mental illness stems from the fact that everyone's got some of the characteristics associated with one or more of them. I've definitely got some obsessive-compulsive tendencies, for instance, and a good friend of mine tends towards the histrionic. Everyone's experienced some depression. This is different from physiological illnesses--no one's got a little bit of hepatitis or congestive heart failure, and no one's got a little cancer every once in a while.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by jesourie at 9:03 AM on September 12, 2005

Unexplained calf pain is the cardinal symptom of deep vein thrombosis. DVTs usually begin in the lower extremities and if you have one, you really don't want to jostle it at all because you may dislodge it and let it loose into your bloodstream--at that point it can end up in the lungs as a pulmonary embolism. No good at all.
posted to MetaFilter by jesourie at 9:45 AM on August 20, 2005

(I've never seen Angel 'cause that lead actor looks like a Neaderthal.)

While the protagonist's overhanging brow is indisputable, I think Angel holds up better than BtVS in retrospect, especially in light of the enormous suckitude of the last two seasons of Buffy (the musical episode excepted). The Angel series finale, in particular, might be the most note-perfect hour of television ever created.

And the actor who played Angel... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by jesourie at 9:28 AM on July 20, 2005

Anybody remember what they did to Cromwell after he was dead?

They named my home town after him, for one thing.

Oh, and he was exhumed from Westminster Abbey and posthumously executed by decapitation.
posted to MetaFilter by jesourie at 10:37 AM on June 23, 2005

but feel compelled to tell you it was the cervix, not the uterus.

Because I can't ever pass up an opportunity to be pedantic in reference to female reproductive organs, I feel compelled to say that the cervix is part of the uterus.

Is it possible that the female orgasm is evolving out as it isn't as important for humans

Bite. Your. Tongue.
posted to MetaFilter by jesourie at 10:20 PM on May 20, 2005

I have an appointment for a full STD check this afternoon.

This has to be fake. There's no way anyone could get an appointment that quickly.
posted to MetaFilter by jesourie at 5:14 PM on May 4, 2005

(Jon Carroll, the author of this great piece, is one of San Francisco's daily treasures.)

He replied graciously to my fawning email, too, though he must be getting bombarded. He's got class.

--Sister Howitzer of Compassion
posted to MetaFilter by jesourie at 5:16 PM on April 14, 2005

Monkeys, on the other hand, usually just masturbate or pee on people who get too close.

My parents had a spider monkey as a pet before I was born, and he masturbated non-stop. My mom claims he had a weird technique, too, a sort of under-the-leg-and-reach-around thing.

You haven't lived until you've seen your mother get a little tipsy on the eggnog one Christmas Eve and proceed to give a demonstration of what her pet monkey looked like jerking off.
posted to MetaFilter by jesourie at 7:40 PM on March 4, 2005

If you were famous and part of T-Mobile's promotions for the Sidekick, thus making it not unreasonable to assume you had an account with T-Mobile, wouldn't you make your email address a little more difficult to guess than yourname@tmail.com?
posted to MetaFilter by jesourie at 11:02 PM on February 20, 2005

When I die, I hope I go wherever the good doctor is now.
posted to MetaFilter by jesourie at 10:15 PM on February 20, 2005

A visible tattoo or piercing most likely means you come from a rural, somewhat impoverished town and that you watch a lot of TV.

You're joking, right?
posted to MetaFilter by jesourie at 9:01 PM on February 20, 2005

You'd think females who had been through it would see that there is a point where the cultural value of a tradition is far outweighed by the pain and horror it causes.

The problem with this idea is the price paid for not engaging in the practice; too often a mother must make the horrible choice either to enable the mutilation of her daughter's genitals or consign her daughter to the life of a total pariah. In a culture where a woman's best hope and... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by jesourie at 6:46 PM on February 15, 2005

sour cream, I'm also sure other considerations are important, but research by Dr. Nawal Nour, a prominent OB/GYN at Brigham and Women's Hospital's African Women's Health Practice and arguably the country's foremost expert on the cultural basis of FGM, has this to say:

I find that people do it because of a deeply ingrained belief that they are protecting their daughters. This is not done to be hurtful, but out of love. The parents do it because they think this is... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by jesourie at 7:56 PM on February 15, 2005

Only a few of which actually entail the removal of the clitoris.

snsranch, all forms of genital mutilation involve removing the clitoris. Some remove only the clitoris, some remove the clitoris and labia minora, and some (usually referred to as infundibulation) remove the clitoris and labia minora in addition to sewing or scarring shut most of the labia majora, leaving only a small space for urine and menstrual blood to exit.
posted to MetaFilter by jesourie at 4:25 AM on February 16, 2005

You can refuse a c-section.

Sure. But you might die of eclampsia if you do; your choice is to have a C-section or let your gestational hypertension kill you while you seize intractably and suffer acute renal failure. I'm not being melodramatic here--eclampsia is a life-threatening emergency that nothing but the immediate delivery of the fetus will cure, and until we figured that out, women routinely died from it.

And you could... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by jesourie at 9:10 PM on February 13, 2005

guanxi, the Mayo Clinic pages are meant for people who are caring for a person with a definitive terminal illness diagnosis (like untreatable/inoperable cancer), not people simply who are old.

You're right that what would be acceptable care for a person who is dying would be neglect in a person who is old and suffering from depression.
posted to MetaFilter by jesourie at 4:06 PM on February 9, 2005

Yup, snsranch, it's the Prime Directive.
posted to MetaFilter by jesourie at 7:27 PM on February 6, 2005

I'm with you on the cultural litmus test, Lossewen.

I can't help but wince when I hear people call things "retarded," either. I know that the user's intent is almost never to make fun of retarded people--for one thing, the word is never used to apply to people but rather to situations or events--but it still seems like a crappy thing to say.

It's rampant in Boston and the surrounding 'burbs--is it common in the rest of the country?
posted to MetaFilter by jesourie at 9:03 AM on February 5, 2005

The thing is, at least in Boston, calling something retarded (...er, wicked retahded) isn't taboo in polite company any longer. I hear it from my peers (I'm 30) in a wide variety of situations.

Unfortunately, people are still clinically labelled "retarded"--as I discovered to my dismay a few weeks ago at the beginning of my psych rotation, mental retardation is a DSM-IV diagnosis.
posted to MetaFilter by jesourie at 10:06 AM on February 5, 2005

a venn diagram of "retarded" and "my uncle" would not intersect.

Which is fine. But (all IMHO, of course) you shouldn't be surprised if people hear you say, "Wow, x is really retarded," and think you're being disparaging.

I don't think it's an unreasonable assumption to make (though like all assumptions one is bound to be wrong sometimes) given that the connotation of the word comes from looking... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by jesourie at 11:43 AM on February 5, 2005

not-directly-applicable-but-a-little bit-of-hope news for people with CNS diseases

Always a bridesmaid...
posted to MetaFilter by jesourie at 7:00 PM on January 31, 2005

...when you're handed a shitty diagnosis, you pretty much have to learn to roll with the punches. It's not because you want to or because you're feeling especially strong.

God yes. You continue with your life because your only other choice is to lay in your bed crying until the nice folks in the white coats come and take you away. It doesn't take long to realize what's the better choice. You don't do it because you feel like a superhero; sometimes you... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by jesourie at 2:47 PM on January 28, 2005

groan
posted to MetaFilter by jesourie at 1:30 PM on January 26, 2005

riviera, adamvasco--perhaps I shouldn't dignify your quasi-trolling with a response, but I'm genuinely curious: in your opinion, what should U.S. citizens do? Take up arms and march to the White House, killing anyone who gets in our way? Tear down the Washington Monument with a tank and some rope? Assassinate all the Supreme Court justices, one at a time?

Were we to do these things, in what way would our actions be different from the insurgents in Iraq fighting against... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by jesourie at 6:33 PM on January 16, 2005

less twitchy about throwing around the word 'troll'

I guess when someone calls me a fucking pussy, I a) get a little twitchy and b) assume they're not trying to have a civil discussion. Imagine that.
posted to MetaFilter by jesourie at 11:08 AM on January 17, 2005

Why is this ball so goddamn important??

That's like asking why the Shroud of Turin is so important to Catholics.
posted to MetaFilter by jesourie at 10:25 PM on January 7, 2005

the demons eventually lose

Can I borrow those rose-colored glasses for the next four years?
posted to MetaFilter by jesourie at 10:35 AM on January 6, 2005