Text 25369, 105 rader
Skriven 2015-03-26 17:21:00 av NANCY BACKUS (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av MICHAEL LOO
Ärende: Re: deeth & helth 410
=============================
-=> Quoting Michael Loo to Nancy Backus on 03-24-15  11:44 <=-

 ML>> I knew a guy in pretty much my condition who went all macho
 ML>> about how when the time came, he was just going to end it all
 ML>> (he was a physician and had the wherewithal). Well, when the
 ML>> time actually did come, and he was in great pain and becoming
 ML>> a burden to everybody, guess who wanted all heroic measures
 ML>> and spare no expense.
 NB>> From one extreme to the other
 ML> Yup. When the going gets tough, most of us cower.
 ML> Part of it is the badgering on the part of the medical staff to
 ML> encourage horizontal weakened patients renege on their living
 ML> wills. The surgeons and nurses both at MGH did some of this (one
 ML> nurse actually falsifying my record, which I complained about).

It's one (of many) reason that I think that anyone going into the
hospital should have someone with them, to keep track of such things,
and to stand firm...  :)  Something I learned from having to accompany
people that couldn't really speak for themselves, but also found true
in other cases... 

 ML> Although I figure that as he was a doc himself, that might not
 ML> have been so much of a factor.

Maybe, maybe not...  But, true, more likely that, having the means, he
might have changed his mind without the pressure from others... 
 
 ML>> I'd much rather be the hare than the tortoise in many things.
 NB>> Sometimes one gets a choice.  ;)  
 ML> Most of the time, not so much. I was going to say that I'm glad
 ML> not to suffer chronic conditions, but then legal blindness and
 ML> permanent heart failure (recently revealed to me as in the late
 ML> 20s when I had thought it had improved to the 30s) probably
 ML> qualify as such.

Probably.  :)
 
 ML>> So far, and we've been lucky, all the major programs that
 ML>> have folded have done so into others with nominal parity.
 ML>> Cost savings came from trimming other stuff.
 NB>> Ah.  The loyalty programs are perceived as having some value to
 NB>> transfering over the loyalty...?
 ML> Indeed. There is the fear that if the company that inherits the
 ML> business doesn't do right by the top customers, it will lose
 ML> them. And in fact if United/Continental severely devalues or takes
 ML> away my 600000 miles, I'm gone to OneWorld right away, but if it
 ML> treats me ok, I'll stay.

Seems like a reasonable fear that should be addressed...  :)  One can be
fiercely loyal, but with enough reason to undermine that loyalty, even
that one can decide that enough is enough... :)

 ML>> I looked to see if it was an April Fool's joke;
 ML>> it doesn't seem to have been.
 NB>> A lot of supposedly valid research has a touch of implausibility to
 NB>> it... doesn't have to make sense, just has to bring in the money for
 NB>> funding it...  ;)
 ML> A lot of grant writing seems to involve pulling wool over the
 ML> donors' eyes. I'm encountering this with our latest round of
 ML> proposals, which seem to have been written by bullshit artists.
 ML> We have $20-30K to give away, but in my opinion none of our
 ML> applicants is worth doodly squat, and I'd sooner give out $0. I
 ML> doubt that my other committee colleagues will think this way,
 ML> but I've discovered that even smart people are usually stupid.

Richard's ex-employer (from EET) apparently had the grant bullshit down
pat... and apparently also wasn't encountering any donors that
recognized the emperor's new clothes aspect of the proposals... 

 ML> I will have a lot of food consumption, including interesting
 ML> stuff, in the next weeks, but there may not be enough time to
 ML> chronicle it all, in which case starting April 2 or so I'll be
 ML> posting trip reports, such as the long-promised bbq ones.

That sounds right nice... ;)  I'll be looking for them... ;)

 ML>> I think Swisher will understand if I don't pay attention
 ML>> to him while I do the FIDO.
 NB>> And hopefully, your elbow will be feeling better...
 ML> The other day I chose a seat on the airplane with a cutout
 ML> armrest, where the forearm had a rest but there was an empty
 ML> spot for the elbow (the armrest is built into the exit door,
 ML> but for obvious reasons it can't extend all the way). For
 ML> future reference: seat 21A or F on the 737-800 and -900.

Interesting.  :)  Give Bill our regards.. and Hap, too, if he connects
with y'all... I noted that his birthday was yesterday (from the Doc's
bulletin 14)... ;)
 
 NB>> I don't think there would be anything different
 NB>> done, but finding out if you chipped a bone or something might
 NB>> be useful information
 ML> Not really, because short of surgery, which I'd refuse,
 ML> there's not much they could do.

I suppose that if you'd refuse surgery, there probably wouldn't be much
else that they could do, true...  :)

ttyl        neb

... Buckwheat Scrapple: the other grey meat.

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