fighting off the charging peloton Is this really happening? Woo Hoo! I hate that I still love watching the Tour de France given the last year of doping scandals. I just can’t help it. It is such a great sport. Stage 2 of the Tour was set in Corsica, and had some of the most beautiful scenery I’ve seen in a long time. It’s finish was the stuff that fairy tales are made of. Jan Bakelants is a 26-year old Belgian…
Christ and the Young ChildCarl Bloch, 1873Carl Bloch – The Master’s Hand BYU Museum of Art – December 2010 A talk that will almost certainly go down as a General Conference Classic is Elder Jeffrey Holland’s talk ‘Lord I Believe’. The foundation of his talk begins with the account of the desperate father of a disabled boy* in Mark 9:14-29. The boy was subject to fits, which were deemed to be caused by an unclean spirit. The boy was unable to…
Conformity: Another Brick in the Wall? I saw a statistic the other day indicating that Las Vegas is the 2nd most tattooed city in America. 40% of Americans between the ages of 26 and 40 have at least 1 tattoo. And, the latest trend is that women are slightly more likely to get a tattoo now than men (23% vs. 19%). I’m not surprised, and if anything wonder if the statistics may be erring on the low side. In my line of work…
La Porte de l’Enfer (The Gates of Hell)Auguste Rodin Detail from The Gates of Hell I guess you could say I visited the gates of hell and lived to tell about it. When I was in Philadelphia last year I made a visit to the Rodin Museum where I saw La Porte de l’Enfer (The Gates of Hell). Thankfully, the number of mortals that will actually visit the literal gates of hell* are extremely few. In fact, the club is so exclusive, that we…
The Rotunda The Apotheosis of Washington Standing under the massive rotunda of the US Capitol is a pretty awe-inspiring experience. The dome is an architectural masterpiece and national treasure. In the oculus 180 feet overhead is a beautiful fresco painted by Constanino Brumidi entitled The Apotheosis of Washington. It is reminiscent of the frescos we saw in the Sistine Chapel and Vatican Museum and apartments. I was amazed at the degree to which the painting deified George Washington. Admittedly, Washington was one…
Mentors: two of the finest thyroidologists in the world. I’m honored to have both President and Past-President of ACE as friends. This month I got to participate in the Convocation of the American College of Endocrinology (ACE) for the first time since I was inducted as a Fellow many years ago. It was a great privilege to recognize 90 inductees that had spent more than a decade working for this honor. This time I got to put on some pretty sweet robes and march behind…
What’s Not To Love? I attended a Strategic Planning meeting for our the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists a couple of months ago and spent a weekend with a group of very bright and opinionated endocrinologists. During this time we tried to read the tea leaves and divine where the current health reform efforts would leave patients and their endocrinologists. A big goals was to try to keep patients healthy and still be able to earn a living. In all…
I was listening to a radio program on a drive across town a few weeks ago that was about lying (here to listen). The radio hosts interviewed a pair of behavioral science researchers (Harold Sackeim & Ruben Gur) that were studying how people view the world and how honest they were with themselves. Multiple studies have shown that people who see the world exactly as it is–those that are most honest with themselves–tend to be less happy and more depressed. Try as…
Okay, make sure you read the entire post on this one . . . Being gone from the office for a week creates a craziness coefficient of nightmare proportions that patiently awaits your return. This week hasn’t disappointed. Yesterday brought ridiculous numbers of ridiculous patients in the face of being short-staffed during Easter school break. I was running behind and Tara grabbed me with a VERY serious look on her face. One of my patients just got off the phone with…
In the OT, balm of Gilead had a great reputation for it’s medicinal properties. Balm of Gilead is an ointment made from resin extracted from plants that were plentiful in Gilead, the area east of the Jordan river. It was used to heal wounds, and treat other medical ailments.Ironically, the writings of Jeremiah demonstrate the impotence of the famed balm of Gilead to heal those that seemed in the most need (Jeremiah 8:22; Jeremiah 46:11). Why? Even the best medicines do not cure…