On Amazon and Advertising

I thought I'd post why I decided to run Amazon ads on my blog. Believe me, I can barely come up with readers, I'm not hoping to earn any money this way. In a strange way, I like adding widgets to my blog. When I was a rank beginner blogger (a mere 2-3 months ago), I thought the widgets appeared on all the "cool" blogs. Now that I am more jaded about the Blogosphere--what a great made-up word--I am still trying to jazz up the site. Too bad I cannot rely on writing itself to do this.
Using Amazon promotes a service, like Google, that I get a lot of mileage out of. It also helps me refer to books I've read or am reading as a prompt for more creative writing on my part. Plus I don't mind doing a good turn for an author who has amused or educated me. I don't fool myself that this makes Amazon a charitable enterprise.
Of course, I am debating if I should link to books I didn't like. After all someone might find something in my comments that inspires them to read them. I think this is called thinking too much. Thinking too much is what I do most, even more than spending too much time on the computer.
If I make any money through Amazon, which is unlikely to make a dent in my book-buying budget, I can sink it right back into more books or use it to follow another dream of mine. This dream is to create a library of quality books and other media on mental illness which I can then loan out to my patients and their families. I have made a small start but some of the borrowers forget to return the loaners. Since I have done this far too many times in my personal life, it is hard for me to be too critical.
So I'm still saying "no" to popup ads but I'm saying "yes" to Amazon. Don't be too surprised if Starbucks is next. Too bad blogs don't come with aromatherapy. I bet I'd get more readers if my blog smelled like coffee.


This is a link to a magazine you could borrow from my office.

Playing Pharmacist 2

I'm not a regular reader, but I've observed that the Onion, a spoof newspaper, does psychiatry quite well. Take the issue of 1-7 June, 2006. One headline reads, Columbia House Launches Subscription Meds Program. I quote from the article here: "Qualified seniors may choose either 12 generic drugs for one cent, or five brand-name medications for 49 cents each, plus shipping and handling. Members are then obligated to buy five more brand-name medications over two years at their regular price, ranging from $12.99 to $549.99." Later they quote a satisfied customer: "Their 'recommended' list said that if I liked Pfizer, I'd absolutely love GlaxoSmithKline--and they were right." Incidentally Pfizer and Glaxo both make antidepressants.
The implications of a subscription drug program are too mind-boggling to go into here. I guess I'll have to order my Viagra from an internet spammer instead. But how to choose from the thousands of offers I get daily. (And I don't even have a peenis, spelling lifted from today's latest spam).
A second article in the same Onion issue takes a more psychodynamic bent: "It's like, 'Hey, ever heard of a little thing called 'resolving issues through unconscious acting-out of a maladaptive fantasy-life manifesting itself through inappropriately weak personal boundaries'?' Hello?" Print this up in a psychoanalytic journal and it would almost sound erudite. So next time I need to throw some good psychobabble into a therapy session I know where to turn.
Night, night (past my bedtime).

So good--for Sunday Scribblings

I feel good, I knew that I would, now
I feel good, I knew that I would, now
So good. . . .
(James Brown)

Yesterday I tried to refer a challenging patient to a colleague. He told me he is not at a good point in his life and needs to simplify things, hence no new challenges. This is unfortunate for him and my patient as he is a good friend and a good therapist. And no, I am not trying to set the world record for most uses of “good” in one paragraph.
It occurred to me that I am actually in a “good place” in my life currently. What does this mean for me? I think it means a relative sense of contentment, physical and mental health, feeling fulfilled, even happy. I enjoy my work, and what a gift that is. I have financial stability, another gift for which I am most humbly grateful, all my “faculties”, and have nearly enough leisure time. I get to travel occasionally, read good books and watch DVD’s with my kids several evenings a week. This is the first time in my life that I have written regularly which I believe is due to the extra energy I am deriving from all of the above.
Lest I be accused of hubris, being too happy or having a silver spoon in my mouth from birth, I need to tell you why this is worth mentioning in a Blog. It is worth mentioning because it distinctly wasn’t always this way. Happiness is such a gift because there have been years (literally) of my life when I wasn’t happy, had to fight to get out of bed in the morning, and struggled to find the purpose of my existence.
Now at this point I might say something like “and then I found Jesus” or some such. But this has nothing to do with religion and religion is one of those things that I intend to leave out of my Blog. I haven’t committed to telling certain personal things in this Blog so I am going to leave many of the details of my “recovery” out also. Unfortunately, the internet isn’t anonymous enough for me, at least at this time. I may “out” myself more in the future.
Speaking of “out”, one of the books I am currently reading is The Commitment by Dan Savage who is most definitely out. At times, Mr. Savage can be savagely funny (pun intended) and the book is a worthy read both for the laughs and for the social commentary about life, marriage (gay and straight), religious conservatives and family. The following quote caught my eye and pertains to the topic of memoirs (the stuff of my life that will not be put into a blog): “This is a literary genre dominated by people who’ve endured spectacularly abusive childhoods (God help the aspiring memoirist who endured run-of-the-mill abuse as a child), mind- and soul-deadening oppression in Iran, and rock climbers forced to cut off their own arms.” My secrets may be my own but by Mr. Savage’s definition, my hypothetical memoir wouldn’t make the best-seller list.

When the pigeons throw a party

We were walking in downtown Chicago when I spotted this pigeon feeding frenzy. They were wild--climbing on top of each other, pushing and shoving. Maybe it's more like a pigeon mosh pit. I snapped one picture and was about to take another, aiming (of course) for that perfect shot, when a homeless man came charging up from around the corner, chasing all the pigeons away. He muttered something indicating he hated pigeons. I could sympathize with this but he seemed a bit threatening and since I was not sure if his problem was with the pigeons or with anyone who was crazy enough to take pictures of them, I decided it was time to move on.

Doing what cats do best

Dash doing what cats do best
Originally uploaded by skron.

My younger son wanted me to post pictures of our cats. This is Dash.
The following definitions from Merriam-Webster explain my choice of her name:
3 : a small usually distinctive addition--a dash of salt, a dash of humor--
4 : flashy display
5 : animation in style and action
Of course, being a cat, what Dash is best at is sleeping. The one and only time she caught a mouse (definitely the mouse was a small, distinctive addition to our living room, but not a desired one), Dash displayed that "animation in style and action" I was shooting for with her name.

Score one for the good guys

A lawsuit against Hunter College in New York City was recently settled for $65,000. Like most physicians, I tend to wince at the word "lawsuit" but Hunter College had really blown it this time.
In 2004, a student at the college attempted suicide in her dorm room. She subsequently called 911 and was hospitalized. When she was discharged from the hospital, she returned to school only to discover that she had been locked out of her dorm. Then next day she was evicted. In short, Hunter College had a policy that students who attempt to harm themselves will be asked to take a leave of absence for at least one semester.
A similar rule at George Washington University led to the eviction of one of their students in 2004. This student merely checked himself into the hospital for depression. As the Washington post said in an editorial "Since when does being sick constitute a disciplinary problem?”
Rules such as this constitute a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, according to legal experts. Just as it would not do to exclude a student in a wheelchair from living in a dormitory for fear he would accidentally fall and hurt himself, resulting in liability to the school, so too is it inappropriate for a college to evict a depressed student who seeks treatment. It is also inhumane and unethical as it discourages an already depressed student from seeking help and can cause further harm to a young person who is already suffering enough. The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights has also received complaints against Bluffton University in Ohio and DeSales University in Pennsylvania related to similar policies.
This trend among U.S. colleges toward "zero tolerance" of depressed students appears to be a response to law-suits against colleges such as MIT by families of students who died of suicide. Colleges have become fearful of the boundaries of their "in loco parentis" responsibilities towards students who may prove a risk to themselves. Although I sympathize with the colleges' confusion about where their responsibility begins and ends, penalizing their depressed students is not the answer.
For further references on this topic and with with acknowledgement to my sources:
"Lawsuit Prompts College to End PoPolicyn Suicide Attempts." Psychiatric News, Vol. 41, No. 19, Oct. 6, 2006, pp. 27 & 38
"GWU Suit Prompts Questions of Liability." Washington Post, Friday, March 10, 2006; Page A01.
"Nott v. George Washingon University." in http://www.bazelon.org/incourt/docket/nott.html

As seen through glass

As seen through glass
Originally uploaded by skron.

The photo is a little blurry but I liked the legs and sandals as seen through the glass. The photo is taken in the Byzantine Museum in Athens. This would be considered a lesser museum in the context of what Athens has to offer but has some impressive works of art nonetheless. It also happened to be open on a day when most Athenian museums were closed. (Museum and historical site closures make tourism in Europe a hit and miss affair).