May 1, 2008 at 9:01 am · Filed under life
I read a fantastic Reuters article that was picked up by one of my favorite online magazines this morning. It just so happens that my lovely wife was interviewed for it.
Desensitization effective for women with metronidazole hypersensitivity
http://www.sleepreviewmag.com/reuters_article.asp?id=20080430clin005.html
From the article:
“CDC currently recommends either the IV or oral desensitization protocols that are reproduced in the paper,” Donna J. Helms from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia told Reuters Health. “These are both also referenced in the 2006 STD Treatment guidelines (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. MMWR 2006;55:No.RR-11:52-53).”
Helms and her colleagues investigated the effectiveness of the metronidazole desensitization protocols as well as the alternatives to nitroimidazoles for the treatment of trichomonas infection in women with suspected metronidazole hypersensitivity.
April 15, 2008 at 3:45 pm · Filed under life
This morning I got a root canal. I slipped and banged one of my front teeth on an icy driveway about 16 years ago; as the result of some endodontical phenomena the tooth has been getting darker and recently had darkened enough for me to feel compelled to get it checked out. I saw a dentist last week and he referred me to a specialist. I learned a little bit about what was to be done before going in for the procedure but was largely ignorant about the process.
After the specialist confirmed that I did indeed need a root canal, he stuck a bite guard in my mouth and told me that often the hardest part about the procedure is keeping the mouth open wide for an extended period of time. He said the procedure was similar to a filling and many patients fall asleep in the middle of it. I haven’t had a filling in about 15 years and the guy who did it my family nicknamed Dr Hurt, so although my dentist today didn’t know it, comparing the impending procedure to a filling was pretty terrifying…and at no time in the past when receiving a filling was I ever close to nodding off. Dr Hurt earned his reputation. He once told me to raise my arm when the pain was getting unbearable and then after I raised my arm the first time proceeded to tell me to put my arm down, that I needed to be willing to bear a little pain. That said, I like to think I’m pretty tough so I played it cool.
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April 11, 2008 at 10:37 am · Filed under books, life
I finished reading Timothy Keller’s book The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism over a month ago but have put off posting my thoughts on it because I did not think I could articulate them in a coherent post. (this disjointed post confirms my worry).
A day after I finished the book on a flight home from Chicago I coincidentally listened to an NPR Fresh Air podcast which analyzed the arguably dichotomous relationship between science and religion. Within this framework evolutionary biologist and author of The God Delusion Richard Dawkins presented an argument for atheism while geneticist-physicist Francis Collins, leader of the Human Genome Project (HGP) and evangelical Christian, presented a scientist’s case for God. Listening to the brilliant scientists talk about God and Christianity in particular gave me the opportunity to reconsider, or reexamine what I had just read. It was serendipitous timing for sure.
While reading Keller’s book I often thought about a powerful scene from ER that I strongly identify with that beautifully illustrates a reason for the Christian God. The pervasive relativistic, post-modern ideals of modern western culture can be so convenient. As the video clip illustrates, the ideals are impractical in real-life situations: we need more. In fact it was only after a friend posted the video on facebook that I was moved to write this post.
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April 9, 2008 at 1:15 pm · Filed under technology
This morning I received an email from Dropbox that invited me to download and install its python-based desktop client for online storage. The client creates virtual folders that automatically sync to an Amazon S3-backed storage ‘facility’, what TechCrunch author Mark Hendrickson esoterically calls ‘the cloud’. It was his blog post last month that motivated me to register with Dropbox. In my first day using the app there are two things that I find really cool: (1) it is wicked fast and (2) the ability to upload a file to a public space and then right-click the file to get a public link is a simple way to share files with multiple machines or friends. In fact, the Dropbox image in the header of this post is hosted in a public Dropbox folder which can also be accessed here in a photo gallery format (Dropbox provided the three stock photos). It sure beats emailing files or uploading everything to my ahelms.com server.
April 8, 2008 at 9:23 am · Filed under life
Yesterday as part of preparation for a summer trip to Guatemala I made three copies of the front page of my passport. While making the copies I realized that as bad as I remember my passport photo to be, the actual photo is worse. I had it taken the week I was getting married, nearly five years ago, at a small studio near the courthouse in Annapolis where I got my marriage license that same day. I was harried and distracted so when the “photographer” gave me my photo and said, “Nobody likes their passport photo”, I simply glanced at it, shrugged and moved on. Little did I know that just a couple of years later the same photograph, now immortalized by an attachment to a US passport, would be passed around for the enjoyment of a bus full of Contiki travelers and unanimously declared the worst passport photo ever.
March 27, 2008 at 12:29 am · Filed under soccer
© isiphotos.com / isiphotos.com
In an impressive display of efficient football, the US dominated Poland in a 3-0 victory in Krakow. The same team that qualified for Euro 2008 ahead of Portugal and Serbia failed to threaten a confident, aggressive US side that made the most of its set piece opportunities. The two center backs, Carlos Bocanegra and Oguchi Onyewu, scored first half goals on set pieces superbly delivered by Landon Donovan. Donovan, Bocanegra and Onyewu all played excellently as did Michael Bradley, Ricardo Clark and Steve Cherundolo. Poland never really threatened thanks to an organized, committed defense.
The US have really taken to manager Bob Bradley’s high-pressure, quick passing and movement tactics. The incredible fitness levels of Landon Donovan, Michael Bradley and Ricardo Clark make the approach particularly effective. Tonight we saw Donovan helping the defense in his own 18 and battling through the last defender and charging forward uncontested for 40 yards before barely missing wide in a 1v1 with the goalkeeper. Bradley and Clark sat deeper in a box midfield while Donovan and Dempsey had limited defensive responsibilities wide and free roam on the offensive half. Poland found little joy in their offensive half due to the nonstop haranguing of Bradley and Clark. Especially impressive was Bradley’s and Clark’s abilities to play under pressure and their commitment to play forward after recovering the ball. The quick play often offset the Poland defense and opened spaces for the wide defenders as well as the four attacking players. It wasn’t just the trio of young midfielders who performed well tonight.
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March 20, 2008 at 11:38 pm · Filed under soccer
What an awesome performance from the US U23 team. In a game that Canada was never in, the US qualified for this summer’s Olympics on the strength of two excellent set piece goals from Freddy Adu and a wonderfully executed counter-attack finished by Sacha Kljestan. Maybe the US U23s watch too much NBA, the league where many players and teams are accused of not trying until the playoffs. After winning its group while playing on cruise control, the US added a level of intensity and concentration that was sometimes lacking in matches against Cuba, Panama and Honduras.
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March 15, 2008 at 10:08 pm · Filed under soccer
In the final game of the group stage the US beat Honduras on the strength of an Eddie Gaven stoppage time penalty. The win clinches first place in Group A and a match-up with the to-be-determined 2nd place team from Group B. Having already secured a place in the semi-finals by way of Panama’s win over Cuba in the earlier match, Coach Piotr Nowak elected to rest his most important players. It was a good opportunity for Nowak to evaluate his options for the all-important semi-final.The play of the US was solid if not spectacular. The US held decidedly more possession and was more deliberate and effective in its attacking play.
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March 13, 2008 at 11:19 pm · Filed under soccer
Soccer writer Ives Galarcep liveblogged tonight’s match. After the match one astute commentator who called him/herself aristotle said: “I’m not sure i want to watch any more of these games. If this was soccer, I would not like it at all.” And though it pains me to admit, tonight’s game was for the most part a chore to watch. The US did not possess the ball well, did not make good decisions when it did possess and on the whole looked disjointed. Disjointed play is usually caused by players playing with unfamiliar teammates, in uncomfortable roles, or with unfamiliar tactics; tonight it was a case of all three. Even so the US was still the better team and deserved to win. With Cuba losing seven asylum-seeking players, a spot in the semifinals looks all but assured.
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March 12, 2008 at 5:38 pm · Filed under soccer
After controlling much of the play and having a man advantage for the last 25 minutes, the US U23 team had to settle for a disappointing 1-1 draw with Cuba. Similar to the roster Nowak named on Sunday, the lineup and personnel Nowak ran out inspired more questions than answers. Deploying a 4-2-3-1 with Jozy Altidore as the 1, Nowak asked Charlie Davies and Robbie Findley to play unfamiliar wide roles and their lack of comfort was on full display. I wonder how many coaches who concoct a one forward lineup ever played forward. It sucks to be the one. And it is rarely effective.
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