The Jenny McCarthy Body Count site tracks the number of vaccine-preventable illnesses and deaths in the US since June 2007.
via kottke
I love ranting jovially about self-proclaimed vaccine-danger-expert Jenny McCarthy and similar anti-vaccine nonsense. But this website puts some cold hard numbers on the table in a way which sobers the discussion right up.
Some of the saddest cases I’ve seen in my career are patients with sudden catastrophic illness or trauma for whom their families are expected to make health-care decisions — and the families don’t know what the unconscious/critically-ill patient would want. Families are torn apart, arguing over whether to continue all life-prolonging interventions, vs focusing on keeping the patient comfortable.
You may think you’re too young and healthy to need an Advance Directive, but massive trauma or overwhelming infection can happen to anyone. Do your family a favor and check out this website, which provides the simplest End of Life Wishes discussion guide I’ve ever seen, and includes links for creating an Advance Directive. Use it, and pass it on!
So I was sitting at the computer when I smelled something burning. It smelled almost electronic so I was worried it was the computer. Thankfully it was not though I worried where it was from since it smelled close. I looked outside the window and saw light from a fire. I ran to the fire extinguisher outside my door (thank you landlord for having it so close….in my old apartment it was way down the hall). In a mode of fight or evacuate, I scaled my stairs quicker than I ever have while turning to the alley which is at the bottom of the stairs outside my door, and saw the flames in the dumpster. Several of my neighbors were watching and I asked if one of them had called 911. Right after one had said they called I heard the all familiar whine of a firetruck. At a moment of ‘they will be here very soon’ I did not use the full and ready extinguisher. My hall sharing neighbor whose apartment is the closest to the flaming dumpster, came out and I explained my waiting. He as a father of 2 jumped to it even more than I did and emptied 2 extinguishers and grabbed a hose to hook up to the close spicket and doused the dumpster with all he could even as the firetrucked whirred down the alley. Anyone would be happy knowing someone like that was living so close to me and would probably jump to action if I needed anything as well.
Heavy clothed firemen came out and jabbed open the completely melted cover with hooks so they could spray the trash underneath with water and a soapy mixture to keep it from reigniting. We all hung around a while watching in the awe that occurs when something like this happens so the ‘survivors’ stick around talking to the firemen and each about the incident in order to pat themselves on the back for a ‘job well done’ even if you did not do anything. I brought a fire extinguisher, turned the knob to the spicket to help my neighbor and warned all around to cover their nose and mouth in order to avoid smoke inhalation. In essence I did not have anything to pat myself on the back about but it definetly made my night more interesting and I know see how I need to jump to things instead of hesitating the way I did/do.
Now I have to get ready for bed and I think I smell like smoke. Yucky smell but better than my apartment going up in flames.
My inner science geek is laughing like a maniac right now
FOR THE LOVE OF EVERYTHING, WHY ISN’T THIS TAGGED SCIENCE?!
Before you defend Chris Brown, let alone support him, read the police report of what happened between him and Rihanna in 2009.
Damn.
i am fucking speechless.
THIS is why we should not support this man. (And, for the record, Rolling Stone, it’s not funny that Chris Brown makes light of his DV charge when hitting on women.)
This is why I won’t ignore Chris Brown when people continue to fawn over him, and when he’s said what he did “wasn’t a big deal.”
It was a big. fucking. deal.
Chris Brown is a piece of shit of monumental proportions and he should have to apologize for this every day for the rest of his life. The fact that the fucking scumbag somehow feels victimized by this is abhorrent.
Fuck him and fuck anyone who defends him.
I wish the self-appointed defenders of Chris Brown were as angry at him for beating Rihanna as they are at me (and others like me) for reminding me that he did.
Domestic violence is never, ever, ever okay. It is inexcusable.
