Literature Review

One thing that always depresses me when browsing through the new sci fi section at Barnes and Noble is that it is set up directly next to the sci fi authors whose names start with A. Included in this section are Isaac Asimov and Douglas Adams, both of whom are, by far, my favorite sci fi authors ever. Why does this depress me? Well, they're both dead. Never to publish again.
Invariably, I find myself scanning their titles in vain.


Earlier this week was no exception. But lo! What do I find but an Asimov book previously unknown to me. Pebble in the Sky was Asminov's first novel, and it was the first time I'd ever seen it. Needless to say, I snatched it up.

Today, at lunch, I finished the book. It was remarkable to read a piece from such an early time in his career. Not as polished as his later work, it was still a beautiful piece of literature.

Set in the future after humans have gone and spread themselves throughout the galaxy, the citizens of Earth are outcast by the rest of the galactic inhabitants because Earthlings fancy themselves the origin of man while the popular theory is that humanity evolved independantly on each planet. Today, of course, knowing what we know of evolution, this concept is ridiculous, but back when the novel was written, mayhaps it wasn't such an impossible idea?

Anyhoo, it's a remarkable book. Read it. You have to. Absolutely. It's a future sci fi, it's dystopia, it's alternate reality, it's political intrigue, it's megalomania, and, best of all, it's Asimov.

For realz. Read it.

Them's fightin' words.

What do you do when someone steals your work?

My boss, the King of Reproductive Medicine, just sent me an email saying that a lowly OB-Gyn here at our institution has stolen his work. What to do about this travesty? I propose a duel. I've even offered him one of my gloves that he can use to smack the offending physician on the cheek.

DECIDA/HIDA scan...

Oddly, I've noticed that Decida is the most common keyword search that connects to my blog. Lots of people looking to figure out what it is, so, here ya go.

A Desida (proper spelling) scan, also known as a HIDA scan, or a Hepatobiliary scan, is used to determine the functionality of the gall bladder and/or liver. You'll get an IV of two medications, one to light up your gall bladder like a Christmas Tree (technetium-99) and another to make your gall bladder contract (Kinevac). Side effects of the medication? They may make your groin hot. Deal with it. As the gall bladder contracts, the machine will watch the radioactive chemicals they injected into you to see how easily and quickly they get processed.

NOTE: If this test comes back negative, that doesn't necessarily mean you're not sick. Don't let the doctors tell you that there's nothing wrong with you. Acalculus colocystitis (jacked gall bladder WITH NO STONES) will show a negative test. My test was negative. All my tests were negative. I still went ahead with the surgery and ya know what? I'm all better now.

Jackass doctors.

The affair continues apace

This past weekend, two of my sisters came into town, and we went out to dinner in Park Slope. That's right, I actually hauled my chunky ass out to Brooklyn. It was a cute little restaurant called Blue Ribbon. I saw marrow with ox tail marmalade on the menu, and of course had to order. Here I am looking at it adoringly. The ox tail was yummy, too. One of the bones was slightly overcooked, and in my marrow extracting talent, was able to yank out THE WHOLE THING with one pull without breaking it. So yummy.

Anyhoo...if you ever find yourself in Park Slope (whether voluntarily or not) and need sustenance, try our Blue Ribbon. For realz.

#3 of my urology series

This is the third drawing for my urologic anatomy series. This one has been such a massive work-in-progress, as it's the only one I'm doing in color (need to be able to see the difference between veins and arteries, don't ya know). I hope this is acceptable; I'm getting sick of looking at it.

Mmm...cake...mmm...bacon

In a massive TEASE, Weburbanist posted a piece called "sweet slices of pi: 20 more awesome geek cakes", and while I can wholly appreciate a geek cake, there was absolutely no pi's anywhere in the post. I got all excited for nothing. Why would you tease me like that, Weburbanist? Have I not pimped your blog to your satisfaction?

They did, however, deem fit to post pictures of pork-themed confections. My favorite one is on the bottom right. Mom...if you're reading this, let's have that cake for Hanukkah, k?

Happiness is...

VINDICATION

When I was a kid, I was an only child for over a decade. So lonely and depressed was I that my parents took to telling me that our cat - a fifteen pound inbred monster with an attitude - was my brother. And I believed them (shut up - I was a gullible kid). Anyhoo...I used to fantasize that I had long-lost siblings out there.

See what can happen when you have a good imagination? Right now I'm imagining that I have a million dollars.

Sigh...I wish they were still here. My sisters are awesome.