July 12, 2007

No matter how you cut it, being sick isn’t any fun and nothing to look forward to nor to brag about. If you happen to have a serious medical condition requiring you to carry around with you a medical device such as a wheelchair or asthma inhaler then we begin going down a slippery slope.

Treatments are not always followed

One of the toughest parts of being in the medical field isn’t the diagnosis, it’s the treatment. From parents that don’t run through an entire course of antibiotics to cure little Billys ear infection to the seventy year old grandmother who rations off medication to have enough to eat. Most medicines that you must ingest taste horrible, injections are never fun and for those with severe problems, daily regimens are rarely something to look forward too. Essentially, people find ways out of doing what is prescribed consciously or subconsciously to their detriment.

Why make medical devices cool?

Some medical devices such as wheelchairs have come a HUGE way, sure, the crappy ancient ones still predominate but at least there are alternatives sprouting. If I lost my legs, I would want a decked out, chromed and sleek looking wheelchair, it would make me feel better instead of the drab chair with wheels you see in the institutions. Another area of growth is with medical containment. If you suffer from asthma, you can now buy cool looking asthma inhaler cases and I am sure the light bulb has lit across the medical devices field as to the opportunities for additional revenues that charging a few dollars more for “cool” can bring in.

Problems associated with Cool medical gear

I already have a problem with the pharmaceutical company taking the helm to educate the public about health conditions that promote their brand name products (when far cheaper and just as effective generics are available). The results speak for themselves. It’s no mistake that the United States consumes more medication (necessary or otherwise) from controlling kids in school to treating depression in adults and the general acceptance of a drug culture (alcohol to tobacco). The government has clearly given control of public health issues.

I do see a class system developing between the “haves” and “have nots” within the patient community for a host of conditions. The cool kids will have all their latest Harry Potter Canes and hovering wheelchairs while the others will be stuck with rusty institutional chairs and a dowel. Don’t believe me? Simply compare the top of the line medical institutions in the USA vs the third world, this is what is already happening in the industrialized world.

It isn’t all bad

Now the flip side, if having a Harry Potter Cane makes little Billy more energetic to follow a course of therapy, then the extra cost is marginal compared to the emotional gain. If the mass marketing of medical devices becomes fashionable, then all the old, drab stuff will quickly make its way to the third world, filling up hospitals with essential equipment that will make a tremendous difference. Who knows, the extra profits earned by medical device manufacturers may even end up in R&D budgets, further improving treatment options for patients around the world.

The Bottom Line

Medicine and medical devices are necessities for those requiring them, not fashion statements for those who don’t.

Reference
http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9741281-1.html

I find it rather humorous that most people have no problem eating pigs, birds, cows, lobsters and just about every other animal on this planet including our closest cousins out in Africa but damn those cat eaters!

Chinese know how to eat

If you ever ate at a traditional Chinese restaurant, no, not those Westernized ones, a real authentic Chinese restaurant where the waiter doesn’t speak a word of English and you can see the cook out in the back smoking between preparing meals. Notice the menu (you will need an interpreter), just about every part of an animal is available, from the stomach of a cow to the head of a fish. The Chinese culture is incredibly resourceful and open minded regarding food preparation, even with their vegetables, there is incredible variety compared to what is available in Western restaurants. Menus that go into the hundreds of available dishes are common place where in Western restaurants, you are lucky to have a choice among 20 types of dishes. Chinese cooking is also incredibly fresh, vegetables are bought at the market that day or the day before, the fish is swimming in the tank up until the second after you order it and that tea has been made from whole leaves upon your arrival.

Cats, Dogs and Spiders

Haven eating at more then my fair share of authentic Chinese restaurants, the fact that you can eat cats, dogs and even spiders (deep fried mind you) really isn’t a surprise to me. In South America they love their deep fried insects and I am sure when I was in Malaysia that I ate some things that if I knew what I was eating, it would have induced instant bulimia once the meal was over.

Why are Cats and Dogs off limits?

I don’t understand why people are offended that some cultures have different interpretations of what is acceptable to eat and try to impose these values on other cultures. In the Congo, they love their bush meat while in Russia they love their caviar. In the United States, they love processed meat products while in Korea, freshly cut squid and dog are celebratory dishes. Eating a cat? Evil. Eating a dog? Evil. I would far prefer to eat a fresh cat then a processed hot dog if I had the choice. Other then our emotional attachment to dogs and cats in our culture, there is nothing wrong with eating our feline nor canine friends. We are animals just like these animals, and in a survival situation, roasted “mans best friend” with onions would be first up on the menu.

Pets vs Food

I think this uproar over eating cats is simply a lot about nothing, really. George Clooney had a pet pot-bellied pig which he loved and I am sure to him, eating bacon in the morning with eggs probably makes him nauseous, same thing with cat and dog lovers. This doesn’t mean there is something wrong with eating these animals (and insects), their nutritional values are certainly healthier then the commercially processed junk we buy in the supermarkets. The deeper question to ask is where are all these self-professed “animal lovers” when a cow, fish, bird, pig or any other animal is slaughtered for human consumption? You cannot have it both ways and expect to be taken seriously.

The Bottom Line

One persons pet is another persons food.

Reference
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=3361506

Maybe a few thousand years ago the fact that somebody got to a certain age meant something but these days, the odds are, you can sit on your ass, doing little with your life to achieve these milestones. As such, what value do birthdays really have?

My own views about my birthday

I celebrated my 31st birthday a few months ago, to be frank, my own birthday had no real value to me. To me, a birthday marks a milestone of achieving one more year on Earth 6ft above ground. I use my birth date every year to review what I did during the previous year and make modifications based on a few days of reflection. This year, I was camping on a remote beach, maybe next year at the top of a mountain, who knows.

What happened to our Species?

I see the rampant over-glorification of birthdays all over the place, from million dollar mega parties for sweet sixteens (????) to people hitting the bar to get as piss drunk as possible in celebration. I just do not get it, I know somebodies birthday is today and I am questioning myself as to how to not take away from their perceived excitement yet still be true to myself. I don’t force my views on anybody else but I don’t hide my views neither.

In my case, if I was living out in the jungle (or Savannah) for 31 years, I would be a grandfather by now with more then my fair share of bruises and broken bones from daily hunting excursions. I would have vivid stories to tell of when I spent an entire day with elephant crap all over my body after being told by my brother Click-Clack that it was mud. I would be able to point to my legs with gashes a few inches long and say how a bear almost ripped off my leg but I stabbed him in the heart right on time or how a horny bat wouldn’t leave me alone while out hunting one day. THERE WOULD BE STORIES TO TELL! I would have beaten the odds that would be stacked against me from the very day of my birth. I would be lucky to see the age of 40 years old! I would be considered an upcoming elder who has managed to help the tribe achieve some important milestones such as an infant mortality rate of only 20% in the first 5 years of life, providing meat for my 20+ kids and be so sun baked that I would physically look like I was 60 years old. Wow… 31 is HUGE, too bad I missed out due to me living in this modernized mono-culture we call civilized life. Of course, I could have also been one of those unlucky 20% of kids and never seen the age of five, life goes both ways.

Life is too easy

I was reading an article on CNN in which antidepressants, medication used by people to treat depression, are the most prescribed drug category in the United States. What is even more depression (pun intended) is these rates are skyrocketing. Why? I believe our modern life has gotten far too easy and predictable to the point that people are unable to cope with change or worse, unable to cope with the life they have lead to this point. They need their medication simply to get through another day!

Going back to birthdays, imagine being showered with gifts for doing something that unless you where very unlucky in life or just plane dumb, was a given. Am I the only one who thinks this is a rather empty celebration?

Alternatives: Celebrate Achievements, Not Birthdays

Yes, that’s right, if you graduate university, that is an achievement, by all means, have a small celebration. Your great uncle reached the age of 90 years old and is hoping around town chasing girls half his age… yes, that deserves a pint of beer at the local bar. One of your nephews businesses have achieved a million dollars in sales… again, party time. Do you see what I am coming at? We should get rid of this whole birthday celebration stuff and instead celebrate real achievements in our modern society. Birthdays are meaningless while achievements, big and small, are something really worth celebrating. These will be remembered and a highlight of a life when we are all on our death beds taking in our last breath.

To me, the things I look back upon so far in my short life are about both the great successes and tremendous failures I have achieved so far, each with their lessons. I can honestly look back and say, so far, I have a very good track record of LIVING MY LIFE. Birthdays, well, I cannot remember any gifts I received but I do remember the people.

Exceptions

Of course, people who have had very difficult lives deserve great birthdays, especially those who are unfortunate to suffer from medical or mental conditions. It can help lighten the mood and put their lives back in focus.

The Bottom Line

This is worth repeating, celebrate achievements, not birthdays.

Reference
http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/07/09/antidepressants/index.html