YKWIA told me about this, and I was floored. I'm not a health professional, even though I work in a hospital. But I know you don't reuse needles without exponentially increasing the risk of Hepatitis B and C and HIV transmission.
So how could normal, licensed health professionals either not know to do this, or had such disregard for human life that they did it anyway? We're not talking about somewhere in a Third World country. It happened in Las Vegas.
Vegas Clinic May Have Sickened Thousands
40,000 people have been told they may have contracted a disease through this clinic. That's a good-sized town's worth of people.
Hepatitis C is the greatest concern, because it's not curable at this point, can damage the liver to the point of death, and is far easier to get than HIV.
Staff have apparently said they were told to reuse syringes as part of an unwritten policy. That doesn't let them off the hook. The moment they were told that, they should have resigned their positions and blown the whistle on the centre.
Amid hepatitis scare in Nevada, 5 nurses hand in licenses
According to that article, the Las Vegas Sun said Nevada 'ranks among the worst in the nation for numbers of doctors and nurses per capita, the number of uninsured patients, and the number of unvaccinated children'. (The quoted article was no longer available via link). Apparently it's not very good on overseeing these type of endoscopy/surgical clinics that operate apart from a hospital, either.
The authorities have closed two more clinics owned by the same company, leaving one other open for now.
Agh. This is something that deserves more than losing licences or being sued. This should be a criminal negligence case at the very least.
Thursday, March 06, 2008
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
I'm disappointed
that Hillary Clinton took Ohio, Texas, and Rhode Island today. That means the fight between Obama and her is still very much engaged and the talk of her dropping out of the race was probably premature.
Big Wins for Clinton in Texas and Ohio; McCain Clinches Race as Foe Concedes
Obama did win Vermont, but his momentum may have just come to a crashing halt. We'll see. I still think that he's the better candidate.
Gee, maybe our late primary will not be as lame as we thought. If things keep up like this, they're going to need every state they can get, and more importantly, perhaps, every superdelegate.
Big Wins for Clinton in Texas and Ohio; McCain Clinches Race as Foe Concedes
Obama did win Vermont, but his momentum may have just come to a crashing halt. We'll see. I still think that he's the better candidate.
Gee, maybe our late primary will not be as lame as we thought. If things keep up like this, they're going to need every state they can get, and more importantly, perhaps, every superdelegate.
Don't get me started on what should happen to these men
Puppy-Throwing Video Raises Many Hackles
There's a lot of debate over the authenticity of the video, but in it a man appears to show the camera a black-and-white puppy, talks about how cute it is, then throws it off a cliff, saying that it was a mean thing to do. The video has (thankfully) been removed by YouTube. A name mentioned in the video may be the person shown throwing the dog to its supposed death. Even if the dog were already dead (it didn't move in the video) or if it were somehow faked (the yelping of the dog did not diminish as it got further from the recorder as it should have), it is sick. Really sick. And if it's true, then I think the person (and the cameraman, for that matter) should be prosecuted to the fullest. Oh, hell, I think they should be flung off cliffs, but that's not going to happen. But they shouldn't be allowed to remain in the Marine Corps, and they should serve time for their actions.
Then there's a local story (it'll only be up for 7 days...the Herald-Leader makes stories pay-per-article after that time, which is just annoying):
Alford plea in kitten drowning: Professor gets $500 Fine, No Jail Time
Bill Fountain, a horticulture professor at the University of Kentucky claims that he thought his neighbour's five-month old kitten, which he'd trapped, was a raccoon, and he drowned it because it attacked him. What rubbish. Granted the man's professional focus is plants, but he had to have taken at least basic biology to become a horticulturalist and I think anyone who has should be able to tell a kitten from a raccoon, don't you? And although he supposedly passed a polygraph, I find it interesting that several other cats in the neighbourhood were known to have disappeared--including another cat belonging to the same neigbhour. An Alfred plea is one where a person does not admit guilt but does admit that there is enough evidence to convict. This man should not be working for the university. He shouldn't be around animals or other people for that matter. Again, animal cruelty is sick--and if a person mistreats animals, there's a good chance he or she will abuse a person, too. Think of serial killers who as children tortured or killed animals, like Jeffrey Dahmer.
I'm also disappointed that the Kentucky Kernel does not appear to have covered this story when it first broke or the plea entry. At least Fountain's name doesn't come up online when you search their site.
Here's the original story as posted on Topix, appearing in the Herald-Leader on September 10th.
Man drowns neighbor's kitten in barrel, says he was attacked
Oh, these stories just make me so angry.
There's a lot of debate over the authenticity of the video, but in it a man appears to show the camera a black-and-white puppy, talks about how cute it is, then throws it off a cliff, saying that it was a mean thing to do. The video has (thankfully) been removed by YouTube. A name mentioned in the video may be the person shown throwing the dog to its supposed death. Even if the dog were already dead (it didn't move in the video) or if it were somehow faked (the yelping of the dog did not diminish as it got further from the recorder as it should have), it is sick. Really sick. And if it's true, then I think the person (and the cameraman, for that matter) should be prosecuted to the fullest. Oh, hell, I think they should be flung off cliffs, but that's not going to happen. But they shouldn't be allowed to remain in the Marine Corps, and they should serve time for their actions.
Then there's a local story (it'll only be up for 7 days...the Herald-Leader makes stories pay-per-article after that time, which is just annoying):
Alford plea in kitten drowning: Professor gets $500 Fine, No Jail Time
Bill Fountain, a horticulture professor at the University of Kentucky claims that he thought his neighbour's five-month old kitten, which he'd trapped, was a raccoon, and he drowned it because it attacked him. What rubbish. Granted the man's professional focus is plants, but he had to have taken at least basic biology to become a horticulturalist and I think anyone who has should be able to tell a kitten from a raccoon, don't you? And although he supposedly passed a polygraph, I find it interesting that several other cats in the neighbourhood were known to have disappeared--including another cat belonging to the same neigbhour. An Alfred plea is one where a person does not admit guilt but does admit that there is enough evidence to convict. This man should not be working for the university. He shouldn't be around animals or other people for that matter. Again, animal cruelty is sick--and if a person mistreats animals, there's a good chance he or she will abuse a person, too. Think of serial killers who as children tortured or killed animals, like Jeffrey Dahmer.
I'm also disappointed that the Kentucky Kernel does not appear to have covered this story when it first broke or the plea entry. At least Fountain's name doesn't come up online when you search their site.
Here's the original story as posted on Topix, appearing in the Herald-Leader on September 10th.
Man drowns neighbor's kitten in barrel, says he was attacked
Oh, these stories just make me so angry.
I never got to play D&D
(the guys I knew who played were into mega-level characters and not about to teach a newcomer how to play), but role-playing games have been an important pastime of mine for nearly 17 years, and without Gary Gygax, a lot of gaming wouldn't exist (not just in regular RPGs, but computer ones as well, since many of them are based off of D&D). So it was sad to learn that he died today at the age of 69, after years of declining health.
It's a shame we don't really have potions and spells that will restore health or the dead.
It's a shame we don't really have potions and spells that will restore health or the dead.
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
Isn't it cute?
Pint-sized primates were first in North America: Leaping, furry mini-monkeys crossed Bering land bridge long before humans
Check out the page above for a drawing of Teilhardina magnoliana, a tiny primate (weighing about one ounce) whose fossil remains have been unearthed near Meridian, Mississipi (which is kind of funny, because they crossed the Bering Strait, as did the American Indians, and I know someone from Meridian who believes in parallel co-evolution of races. Of course, he's also blond, blue-eyed, and keeps doing creative genealogical math to prove he's more and more Indian than he really is. and muttering about what the White Man did to his ancestors, totally ignoring that he's more white than Indian. But I'll reserve judgement on the town for crazy factor and not just base my opinion on Mike.)
Speaking of blonds/blondes (one is masculine, one is feminine, just for those of you confused by proper English--nowadays it often seems to be used randomly regardless of gender, mostly as 'blonde'), there was a blonde hoax a few years ago claiming that natural blondes would die out in a few years. Several news agencies were taken in by the story, including the BBC. I guess they didn't really do their basic genetics portion of high school biology.
Check out the page above for a drawing of Teilhardina magnoliana, a tiny primate (weighing about one ounce) whose fossil remains have been unearthed near Meridian, Mississipi (which is kind of funny, because they crossed the Bering Strait, as did the American Indians, and I know someone from Meridian who believes in parallel co-evolution of races. Of course, he's also blond, blue-eyed, and keeps doing creative genealogical math to prove he's more and more Indian than he really is. and muttering about what the White Man did to his ancestors, totally ignoring that he's more white than Indian. But I'll reserve judgement on the town for crazy factor and not just base my opinion on Mike.)
Speaking of blonds/blondes (one is masculine, one is feminine, just for those of you confused by proper English--nowadays it often seems to be used randomly regardless of gender, mostly as 'blonde'), there was a blonde hoax a few years ago claiming that natural blondes would die out in a few years. Several news agencies were taken in by the story, including the BBC. I guess they didn't really do their basic genetics portion of high school biology.
Sunday, March 02, 2008
Speaking of religion
Here is Graham's (somegreybloke) latest video post:
'Choosing My Religion 2'
I love the Jesus-headed pigeon with God's thunderbolt. :) What can I say, you have to watch. My favourite line, 'It depends if you favour the words of Jesus or the words of Paul. Most Christians seem to go with the latter. Which is odd, because you would think Jesus would outrank Paul. Apparently not.'
'Choosing My Religion 2'
I love the Jesus-headed pigeon with God's thunderbolt. :) What can I say, you have to watch. My favourite line, 'It depends if you favour the words of Jesus or the words of Paul. Most Christians seem to go with the latter. Which is odd, because you would think Jesus would outrank Paul. Apparently not.'
Okay, I do believe in deity
(many of them, in fact), but I came across the Invisible Pink Unicorn favoured by atheists and had to share.
It is in the same vein as the Flying Spaghetti Monster which YKWIA told me about months ago, although not as Cthulhoid-looking.
Have I ever mentioned how much I like unicorns? They are the main theme to my bath, as I used to collect them. I never found any invisible pink ones, though. :)
Hey germaphobes, listen to this:
At the core of snowflakes, bacteria
In order to precipitate, water has to cling to something. A study sampling snowflakes from various parts of the world (including Antarctica), found that in about 85% of them, bacteria were at the nucleus. The most common is a type of bacterium known for causing problems for tomatoes and beans. Of the locations studied, France had the most bacteria at the core of snowflakes.
In order to precipitate, water has to cling to something. A study sampling snowflakes from various parts of the world (including Antarctica), found that in about 85% of them, bacteria were at the nucleus. The most common is a type of bacterium known for causing problems for tomatoes and beans. Of the locations studied, France had the most bacteria at the core of snowflakes.
Saturday, March 01, 2008
Bless You, US Postal Service
Who figured out my apartment number and delivered my One Spirit books.
I got a nice big box with:
The Secret Language of Birds
Tibetan Meditations
Chakra Meditation Kit
Healthy Brain Kit
The Complete Guide to Chinese Calligraphy
How to Cook Everything Vegetarian
Self-Hypnosis Diet
and a Black and Ivory tote bag. :)
Five of the books were 40 cents each, and two were 50% off. The bag was free. I only have to buy 2 books in 2 years. Plus, with online shopping these days, I'm better at dealing with accepting or rejecting featured selections. Of course, it's the shipping that kills you. :) Still, not a bad haul. I went back and looked online whilst linking and the only one that gets substandard reviews in the chakra kit, because the man on the CD apparently does not have a soothing voice. I'll have to listen for myself. I'm especially interested in the Healthy Brain kit, which has a CD, book, and cards of mental exercises to stay sharp. I so need that. Plus, I've always wanted to know what various Chinese characters you see in calligraphy really mean. :)
I got a nice big box with:
The Secret Language of Birds
Tibetan Meditations
Chakra Meditation Kit
Healthy Brain Kit
The Complete Guide to Chinese Calligraphy
How to Cook Everything Vegetarian
Self-Hypnosis Diet
and a Black and Ivory tote bag. :)
Five of the books were 40 cents each, and two were 50% off. The bag was free. I only have to buy 2 books in 2 years. Plus, with online shopping these days, I'm better at dealing with accepting or rejecting featured selections. Of course, it's the shipping that kills you. :) Still, not a bad haul. I went back and looked online whilst linking and the only one that gets substandard reviews in the chakra kit, because the man on the CD apparently does not have a soothing voice. I'll have to listen for myself. I'm especially interested in the Healthy Brain kit, which has a CD, book, and cards of mental exercises to stay sharp. I so need that. Plus, I've always wanted to know what various Chinese characters you see in calligraphy really mean. :)
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