This is the time of year when people like me are supposed to be compiling lists upon lists of things that've been notable in the past year. Top albums of 2011, favorite meals, oddest stories -- that kind of thing. No dice. Either I've lost my reflective gear or I'm just too busy with the present and unable to think about the rest of the year.
I'm fine at coming up with things you should look at today. Right now. Immediately. Search this site for "Five Things" and you'll see what I mean.
But when it comes to thinking back, I'm going to have to rely on some local events this weekend to knock me out of the here-and-now. Here's what's on the slate:
This week marks 70 years since the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, spurring national remembrance of World War II and the 1940s. Fitting, then, that Saturday from 6 p.m. until deep into the night -- 1 a.m., even -- you can doll yourself up '40s-style and enjoy the Big Band Christmas Ball . On the slate are '40s and '50s holiday fun with music from The Hot Tomatoes and from performers in the style of Sinatra and the Andrews Sisters, reenactments from popular old-timey Christmas movies and, possibly, maybe... enchantment. Tickets are $45 and, as of this writing, are still available.
My big-band-nerd sources say it's a good old time -- and photos from previous events organized by the same folks look really incredible. Period dress is strongly recommended.
Speaking of anniversaries, Innisfree Poetry Bookstore and Café , 1203 13th St., is celebrating one year of poetry and caffeine this Saturday. Know what'll be at the celebration? Poetry and caffeine -- and a 20 percent discount on all books, all day. There will also be live music at times throughout the day, and at night, the café hosts the Winter Art Gala with food from nearby Café Aion, a silent art auction, poetry readings and plenty more.
I asked proprietor Brian Buckley to send over a poem he thought was in some way representative of the year at Innisfree and he quickly emailed over Sylvia Plath's "Morning Song."
"Kate and I feel the store is our third child -- we have two daughters," wrote Buckley. "This poem reminds us of 'birthing' the store and the so many clear vowels we have seen rise in the store during our first year of weekly readings."
By the way? Off the top of my head? Top album: Thurston Moore, Demolished Thoughts. Favorite meal (excluding the week I got married, because that's not a fair fight): coffee and donuts outside at the Pinyon at sunset with my special lady friend. Oddest story: Gotta be the guy who was hiding in the portable toilet.
See? You can do anything if you convince yourself that you have to -- no matter how inane! Good luck getting your end-of-year stuff done and have fun this weekend.
2011年4月1日星期五
My son's foot
I do not usually visit hospitals. In fact, whenever possible I try to avoid them. However, a month ago, my son Douglas decided upon elective surgery to have one of his one of his toes straightened. Being twenty-five years old and having parachuted from an aircraft the previous year, Douglas showed no trepidation whatsoever as we drove to the hospital. After he was admitted into the pre-operative department, I was asked to meet the surgeon and the anesthesiologist.
Being an inquisitive kind of fellow, I asked the doctor what type of anesthetic would be used before the surgery was performed. I was informed that the short-acting, hypnotic agent known as Propofol would be intravenously administered. Always the wit, I turned to my son and said, "Good luck then, Michael." The anesthesiologist was not amused and immediately went into a rant about how Mr. Michael Jackson's lack of success with the drug was due to improper administration. I felt three inches tall.
Thanks to the professionalism of the surgeon, my son's operation was a complete success—although he has to wear a very large shoe that looks as if it were designed by engineers at NASA.
Having not visited a hospital in about ten years, it was interesting to note the changes—and especially the new products—that the doctors and nurses now use in their everyday tasks. However, it was not the high-tech flat-screen display used to monitor heart rate and blood pressure that impressed me most of all. Nor was it the precision-made cannula-over-needle device used to administer Lactated Ringer's solution into my son's bloodstream. It was the Novaplus ice bag—manufactured in China—that the hospital supplied to keep the anticipated swelling at a minimum. Fabricated of just five parts (including the manufacturer's label), the product could keep ice in a frozen state for up to six hours.
However, even the most simple products, like these, demand some serious design, manufacturing, and testing techniques. While the systems used to manufacture such products may incorporate vision, it is rare to read many case studies that describe how the systems are deployed.
Perhaps the main reason for this is the legal ramifications that might occur should such details be revealed. In the development of automated manufacturing systems to build medical devices, vision plays just a small but vital role.
Compliance or consequences
Because manufacturers must comply with standards such as TS 13485 and ISO 9001 as well as FDA requirements, their systems most often employ secure electronic signature and document control, allowing a complete audit trail of the manufacturing process, and providing lot and serial tracking, traceability, and a device history record. With the development of every new medical device, new methods must be implemented to ensure they are tested and manufactured to the highest quality requirements.
To guarantee that these products meet FDA standards has proved challenging when products—such as my son's ice bag—are not manufactured domestically. Indeed, according to a recent report, the FDA conducts relatively few inspections of foreign establishments.
Officials estimate that the agency inspects foreign manufacturers of high-risk devices (such as pacemakers) every six years and foreign manufacturers of medium-risk devices (such as hearing aids) every twenty years. Finally, inspections of foreign manufacturing operations pose unique challenges to the FDA, such as difficulties in recruiting investigators to travel to certain countries and in extending trips if the inspections uncover problems.
Being an inquisitive kind of fellow, I asked the doctor what type of anesthetic would be used before the surgery was performed. I was informed that the short-acting, hypnotic agent known as Propofol would be intravenously administered. Always the wit, I turned to my son and said, "Good luck then, Michael." The anesthesiologist was not amused and immediately went into a rant about how Mr. Michael Jackson's lack of success with the drug was due to improper administration. I felt three inches tall.
Thanks to the professionalism of the surgeon, my son's operation was a complete success—although he has to wear a very large shoe that looks as if it were designed by engineers at NASA.
Having not visited a hospital in about ten years, it was interesting to note the changes—and especially the new products—that the doctors and nurses now use in their everyday tasks. However, it was not the high-tech flat-screen display used to monitor heart rate and blood pressure that impressed me most of all. Nor was it the precision-made cannula-over-needle device used to administer Lactated Ringer's solution into my son's bloodstream. It was the Novaplus ice bag—manufactured in China—that the hospital supplied to keep the anticipated swelling at a minimum. Fabricated of just five parts (including the manufacturer's label), the product could keep ice in a frozen state for up to six hours.
However, even the most simple products, like these, demand some serious design, manufacturing, and testing techniques. While the systems used to manufacture such products may incorporate vision, it is rare to read many case studies that describe how the systems are deployed.
Perhaps the main reason for this is the legal ramifications that might occur should such details be revealed. In the development of automated manufacturing systems to build medical devices, vision plays just a small but vital role.
Compliance or consequences
Because manufacturers must comply with standards such as TS 13485 and ISO 9001 as well as FDA requirements, their systems most often employ secure electronic signature and document control, allowing a complete audit trail of the manufacturing process, and providing lot and serial tracking, traceability, and a device history record. With the development of every new medical device, new methods must be implemented to ensure they are tested and manufactured to the highest quality requirements.
To guarantee that these products meet FDA standards has proved challenging when products—such as my son's ice bag—are not manufactured domestically. Indeed, according to a recent report, the FDA conducts relatively few inspections of foreign establishments.
Officials estimate that the agency inspects foreign manufacturers of high-risk devices (such as pacemakers) every six years and foreign manufacturers of medium-risk devices (such as hearing aids) every twenty years. Finally, inspections of foreign manufacturing operations pose unique challenges to the FDA, such as difficulties in recruiting investigators to travel to certain countries and in extending trips if the inspections uncover problems.
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