Fosamax, vaccination confusion

Two recent stories on ABC's national news may have done more harm than good. The first one was about drugs used for osteoporosis, stating that a handful of people (of the millions who use them) have broken their femurs. The next day they did a follow-up, to say that most people who are on the drugs are safe, but I can only imagine how many spooked patients called their doctors asking for an explanation.
Last night, there was a story that was supposed to explain how, after a 19 month law suit, it was decided that vaccines do not cause autism. This story just glossed over the facts, but included an emotionally charged interview with a mother of an autistic child who insisted that it was a conspiracy, conducted by government scientists, working for government judges, who all, for some reason, want to give kids autism.
The first story, in my eyes, failed to convey that 99.999% of the time, drugs for osteoporosis prevent bone fractures, not cause them. And the second story failed to mention that all of the authors of the study linking vaccines and autism have withdrawn their names, while the lead author of the study was convicted of fraud. Also, no mention that herd immunity is not as strong as it used to be, so the dangers of not being vaccinated are exponentially greater.
So, if you're not satisfied with Diane Sawyer's news, just come to this blog!

Tax Refund Paradox

I am poor, so I am rich. Or, going under in order to stay afloat. These paradoxes came to mind when we did our taxes yesterday. We were shocked to find out that Arizona is giving us a $50 tax refund, although we didn't pay any state income tax. And the federal government is giving us $800 just for being poor, plus EIC, not to mention the full refund of what we paid during the year! Is this a stable economic situation, paying out lots of money to those who don't pay taxes? How long can this last? I'm not going to complain right now, being on the plus side... but I'm not looking forward to watching my money be so generously distributed to the economically challenged!

Update on the metric system

Among readers of this blog, it is decided that we believe the inch/mile/ounce/gallon system is preferred. However, the statistical significance is poor if we want to know the opinion of all Americans. Maybe we should get the census gatherers to ask the same question, and get some more data on this interesting topic.

021010- Baby's 3 month picture

Here it is again another picture of our baby!! We had a doctor's appointment today, they took another ultrasound, so we could see how him/her looks like right now, from last month. The baby was moving a lot, up and down, it was so good to see him/her, with the little hand on the head, our heart felt overwhelmed with joy and gratitude for this blessing of our great miracle of life!!

Joke book

I have been thinking about becoming an amateur comedian, maybe writing some joke book. How about these: What street does a lion live on? Mane Street! Or where might you find Mrs Butterworths' house? On Maple Street! I just need 99 more for a "101 great jokes" book. My wife says if I can get a joke book published and make money on it I can drop out of PA school...

Grapefruits revisited

We had a strong storm sweep through on Monday night. Trees were uprooted, branches all over the roads. My wife had the bright idea of harvesting some of the many grapefruit that were naturally shaken off the trees. So on the way home from seminary we picked a big bag of grapefruit from the trees in front of the hospital, where we got the one from the previous blog post. We counted it as our daily good deed (cleaning up debris from the storm) and look forward to eating the fresh fruit and juice as they become ripe. :D x 10!

2nd Report Card

I got A's in pharmacology, physical diagnosis, and epidemiology. And a bunch of B's. 6 more months of classes and then rotations.

Grapefruit trees

My wife and I happened to be taking a walk by a hospital in suburban Arizona, when we noticed a row of trees bearing ripe grapefruit. In fact, grapefruit fall from these trees to rot on the earth. So, we looked around....no one was watching....and I picked one off. We didn't know if it would be any good, and we even heard someone say that you can't eat this kind of grapefruit, they are "just for decoration." But we kept it until it was perfectly tender and ripe. Then we ate it. And it was delicious.

Mayan calendar

Somewhere I heard that the Mayan calendar ends in 2012, although another explanation is that it just starts over. Anyway, I wonder if the media is going to start putting that out there, kind of like the Y2K thing, and whether people will get hyped up about it. Any speculations out there?

Racehorse pharmacology

A professor in my small clinical medicine group told us a personal experience about accumulating water. He had had some swelling in his feet and legs, and had gained weight. He was prescribed a powerful, common diuretic drug called furosemide (lasix). This fluid accumulation was rapidly reversed - he lost 15 pounds of water in one day! I was looking up some general information about the drug on Wikipedia, and happened to notice that it is used frequently in racehorses to increase their endurance and make them lighter (by shedding water weight). It dawned on me that this is probably why an irresistible need to use the restroom is often compared to that of a racehorse. It makes perfect sense.

Born in the USA

Factoring in the costs of the 4 applications, biometrics fees, and the physical exam, it costs a non-resident family member of a US citizen about $1800 to request residency in the United States for 2 years. After that, you pay several hundred more to become a permanent resident, and finally a citizen. So, if you were born in the US, you are fortunate, literally! You just saved yourself a lot of money, not to mention hassle and scrutiny, in becoming a citizen of the most prospered, comfortable, powerful country in the world.

Report Card

The first quarter of PA school is over, and things are looking good. I got an A in biochemistry. Boom shakalaka. And a B- in anatomy. So you win some and you lose some.
This semester it will be pharmacology, clinical medicine, physical diagnosis, and physiology. I guess I will have to step it up.

Creative Scam

A while back we had a note placed under our windshield wiper that said "if you want to sell your truck, call Alex, 555-555-5555." Here are the questions he asks when you call:
1. What year is it?
2. When can I come look at it?
I have come to find out this is a scam. Other people with older cars have gotten similar notes, and been asked the same questions. If you tell them your car is more than 'x' years old, and you are at work until 'n' o'clock, they can devise when you leave the car alone. I have heard they may come find your car and cut off parts of the exhaust system for some expensive metals they can melt down and sell or use.
On the other hand, they might just really like your bumper stickers or the Garfield in your rear window.

Caught Riding Dirty

Yesterday I got my first ticket for running a red light. I need some advice on what to do to get out of paying my debt to society. Are there any good one-liners I can give the judge that might convince him to let me off, or to reduce the penalty?
All I got so far is "thank goodness no one was hurt, and I learned my lesson." Either that or "I had to get home before Judge Judy started."

Global decision-making

The 8 most developed nations got together and decided to limit the warming of the globe to 2 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial times of 150 years ago. Does it sound reasonable for humankind to decide what the temperature will be? Just as reasonable, I would say, would be an agreement that would prohibit an invasion of extraterrestrials attempting to conquer our earth. Yea, we would like to have such power to make these decisions, but we have no control.

The best thing about Arizona

Early Saturday morning, Ana and I were driving toward Mesa. It was sunny and warm, as per usual. There wasn't much traffic. And we noticed something so wonderful it almost brought a tear to my eye. The traffic light along the main road was flashing yellow. And the traffic lights at the intersecting side roads were flashing red. It was delightful! The few cars on the main road never stop. And when we turned left onto the main road, we just stopped long enough to make sure it was safe to proceed. I wanted to give the city planner a big hug!
My wildest dream would be for all cities all over the world to make their traffic lights this efficient. This makes sense on so many levels! Less wear and tear on your brakes, saving fuel, saving time, and even reducing your car's carbon tire-print. My dream begins with minimizing wait times at stoplights during low-traffic hours. This system of flashing yellows and flashing reds is perfect for low-traffic. Let's give it a chance!

Summer Heat

Today Phoenix reached 110 degrees. Something different that happens at that temperature is the breeze will make you hotter. I think the magic number is 98.6. Don't try old fashioned car A/C (rolling down the window) if it's hotter than 98.6. It just doesn't work.
On the bright side - no pun intended- I love seeing the sun all the time. Plenty of sunshine to be had in Arizona. I can't wait for the fall, winter, and spring, when the temperatures will not be so high, and we will still have blue skies!

Family Pictures

My parents, brothers, and sisters were able to come to the wedding, and we took the opportunity to take some family pictures.

Torta de la Barda

When I was a child, we sometimes had to cook for ourselves. On one occasion, my oldest brother was making a sandwich and did not find suitable ingredients. So he decided to make an "Alwitch," which consists of two pieces of bread and any/all random foods/spices from the refrigerator and cupboard that he could find. I think it had mustard, garlic powder, oregano, baking soda, a slice of ham, and I can't remember what else. This is much like the traditional, unique food of Tampico, Mexico - the Torta de la Barda. This sandwich includes avocado, onion, beans, ham, chorizo, fresh cheese (queso fresco?), shredded beef, tomato, lettuce, sour cream, and a pork rind sauce. So it seems a good Spanish translation for Alwitch might be Torta de la Barda.

Guanajuato

Ana and I went to Guanajuato for a few days. We had so much fun! We stopped in Leon to meet some of her cousins that couldn't come to the wedding. And we got to see everything from the Don Quixote Iconographic Museum to a hotel that belonged to Cantinflas. I learned quite a bit about Mexican history as well. For instance, most Americans might say Mexico celebrates independence on 5 May, and many Mexicans say they celebrate on 15 September. But the most appropriate day to celebrate Mexican independence is 16 September. 5 May commemorates a less-important victory agaisnt the French. 16 September, 1810 was when Miguel Hidalgo ordered the cathedral bell to ring in declaration of sovereignty. September 15th, however, is widely celebrated because it was President Porfirio Diaz's birthday, who served as president of Mexico for about 30 years. And he liked to celebrate independence on his birthday.