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baron_steffan's LiveJournal:
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| Monday, November 23rd, 2009 | | 11:55 am |
MicroSoft is SOOO Helpful....
So there's supposed to be a File Converter downloadable from MS to convert Word Mobile .docx files to regular Word .doc files. Anybody know where it effing IS? Current Mood:  frustrated | | Saturday, November 21st, 2009 | | 7:52 pm |
| | Monday, November 9th, 2009 | | 12:44 pm |
Another reason healthcare costs are rising
Don't think the pharmaceutical industry, and US regulation of same, is broken? Check this out.
There's a drug for gout, colchicine, that has been used for about a century and a half. It was first isolated in 1820. Maybe you've taken it; it's still widely prescribed. It's a generic, offered by a large number of manufacturers, and it's pretty cheap. Drugstore.com lists it for $12.99 for 30 tablets, last I checked, and that's at a pretty good profit. Generics are where the profit is these days: you can sell an Rx for thirteen bucks, and everybody's happy, whereas with brand-name-only drugs, you have to charge a hundred and thirty bucks, making very little profit, and no one's happy.
Colchicine has been on the market since long before the Food and Drug Administration was created, and it's "generally recognized as safe and effective": it never went through the FDA's modern evaluation process. Doctors had been prescribing it for years, they knew how, they knew the side effects, and it was all good. There are lots of drugs like that.
Now, the FDA has just issued new guidelines for the dosing of Colchicine, based on evidence of a number of serious reactions, drug interactions, and 117 deaths.
But here's the thing. What prompted them to look into this? Because someone has decided to put colchicine through the full, modern, FDA approval process, that's why. Oh, you thought the FDA would do this on their own?
No. Here's what happened. You see, some enterprising bloke can come along, look at one of these drugs, and say "I'm willing to spend the money and effort to put this drug through the modern FDA process". That person doesn't have to research and discover a new drug. It's all there. He just has to spend money, and administrative effort. And it's worth it to him to do that.
Here's why. Because when his application is approved, he can say he has "the only FDA-approved
colchicine". And everyone else's is NOT FDA-approved. And since there is now an FDA-approved product, the rest of 'em can't claim to be "generally recognized as safe and effective" anymore. Get it? Instant monopoly. Oh, you thought this was pure love of your fellow man?
Colcrys is the new branded version of good ol' colchicine. All the other versions are going away, soon.
Colcrys costs 65.6 times what colchicine costs. SIXTY-FIVE POINT SIX TIMES. Keep in mind this isn't a fancy new extended-release formulation or something like that. No, this is good old garden-variety colchicine tablets. And no, I'm not talking "average wholesale price" or "index price" or any of that BS. This is based on my true acquisition cost, what Cardinal Health actually charges my pharmacy when I order a bottle, bottom line.
Okay, new dosing guidelines, that's good. But this helps the American consumer exactly...how?
http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/SafetyInformation/SafetyAlertsforHumanMedicalProducts/ucm174596.htm
New safety information for colchicine and the approval of Colcrys. Pharmacist's Letter/Prescriber's Letter 2009;25(9):250902
Current Mood: pissed off | | Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 | | 12:07 am |
Off-off-election as Obama poll? I think not.
I don't often post this sort of political rant, others on my flist being far more politcially astute, but I gotta ask. Okay, so there are some random elections out there tomorrow (er, later today), like the NYC mayoral, and the NYS 23rd (?), NJ gubernatorial IIRC, etc. And they're being touted as uber-significant polls on how Obama's doing. (And not just on Fox). Really? Isn't it more likely a poll on who's the best guy to fix NYC, or New Jersey? I mean, with local races, I tend to vote for the candidate I think more likely to fix local problems. What does a gubernatorial race -- or a mayoral one -- have to do with Hamid Karzai? Or even Bernie Madoff? | | Monday, November 2nd, 2009 | | 4:43 pm |
Court Heraldry & the "Pocket Heraldry" Issue
Anyone who cares to discuss the administration of the function of Royal Court Heraldry in the East Kingdom of the SCA, including the issue of "pocket heralds", may do so here (barring, of course, ad-hominems and suchlike incivility). You may continue the thread begun at another journal, or offer a new subtopic. | | Sunday, November 1st, 2009 | | 2:38 pm |
Crown Tourney
East Kingdom Crown Tournament was yesterday, Halloween, and it was a wonderful event. The only possible criticism I might manage is that the site's location (as the directions warned) did not correspond with what DAPHNE, my GPS, was telling me. But we simply joined a caravan of other vehicles ambling a bit further down the road, and there it was. No harm, no foul. The site was a lovely 4H camp. We got there a tad too late for me to get a list to herald as I had planned, but that was okay. I've done this a few times before, God knows. The tournament was smoothly and efficiently run, despite having the horrible number of 37 entrants. It was one of the toughest, deepest, Crown Tourneys I've ever seen, rather strawberry-flavored with, IIRC, 7 dukes registered (Andreas didn't show), and a slew of knights as well. The fighting was very clean and very exciting. Some "blasts from the past" were back with a vengeance, including Dukes Randall, Gregor, and Achilles (ne Hanse). Of course, I was rooting for Sir Coenric, who had an awesome day, including a truly epic victory, won with a back-handed shot with his right (off) arm, after having lost both legs and his left (dominant) arm. The new prince is Edward Grey, of Lochleven, a highly-respected but relatively "new" household that hasn't placed anyone in royal position before, so it will be interesting to see a completely fresh wave in the kingdom. He and the princess, Meggie ingen Lochlainn, seem eminently clued, and I'm expecting good things. The feast was excellent all around, medieval, coherent, substantial, warm, on time, quite delicious, and innovative without being "weird". The entertainment, by the group Diabolus in Musica (shawm, bagpipes, hurdy-gurdy, fiddle, and beaucoup percussion) was several notches above the usual, and I enjoyed them very much. Our table companions included friends from Drachenklaue as well a lady newly arrived from Ansteorra and another attending her first event, and conversation was interesting and pleasant. Overall, one of the most enjoyable events we've attended in a while. Current Mood:  satisfied | | 2:32 pm |
| | Monday, October 26th, 2009 | | 4:03 pm |
Update on Hurt Kitty
Molly, who broke her pelvis recently, seems to be doing just fine. She's walking with a slight limp, but otherwise her, well, what in a human would be ADLs (activities of daily living) seem remarkably normal. No evidence of pain. Climbing onto furniture as before. Yes, she's spending a lot of time curled up in a corner, but...she's a cat %^) ! | | Saturday, October 24th, 2009 | | 7:18 pm |
My Next Smartphone?
No, not an iPhone. I think I'm going for an HTC Pure. Looks pretty good on paper re: the features that matter to me. Yes, some may seem trivial, but there are phones that don't do POP email (or at least, not easily), or don't have speakerphones, etc. This has all the stuff I'm looking for. The OS is Windows Mobile 6.5 Pro. The camera is 5.0 MP, with 4x zoom. Memory to 32 GB. Bluetooth. Wide display. Quad-band, GSM, EDGE, WiFi, 3G. The only downside is a touchscreen rather than a physical keyboard, but I think I can live with that. Anyone have experience with this one? Opinions? | | Wednesday, October 21st, 2009 | | 10:21 am |
Hurt Kitty
Our sweet little prom queen, Molly, had disappeared for about a week. She showed up in the back yard on Saturday (the day before ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) auntie_elspeth's birthday: the perfect birthday present). But she was limping badly. She ate voraciously and drank like water was about to be outlawed. Got her in to the vet, and it's worse than it looked. She has a broken pelvis. Maybe she was hit by a vehicle, but we think a fall from a tree or roof is more likely. She was neither bloody nor dirty. No broken skin, no evidence of trauma beyond the limping, no whimpering or other vocalization. Surgery is an option, but it would be ferociously expensive and a lot of more trauma to put her through: a seriously Big Deal by a board-certified veterinary orthopedic surgeon. I would have figured surgery would be mandatory, but apparently not. She can get along without it, although she'll always limp, and will need a mL of Lactulose (an inexpensive liquid laxative) once or twice a day. Surprisingly, she doesn't appear to be in particular pain. She's spending most of her time curled up in her "nest", limping out to the litter box or food. So we've pretty much decided to take the conservative course. That's her on the left. Furby, our Maine Coon tom, is on the right.  Current Mood:  sad | | 10:20 am |
| | Sunday, October 18th, 2009 | | 12:19 am |
"House" watch
I've been lax at this, I know, but last week's ep was a record-breaker of sorts. Skull drill at 12 minutes, and a double play at around 42: lupus and polyarteritis suggested in the same line! SCORE! | | 12:06 am |
Bite Me, Chomsky
Okay, I bit the bullet. Chomsky's name is *so* all over anything linguistic, that early on I developed an aversion to him. All right, probably irrational. But I admit I can't call myself even a mildly-interested amateur student of language without having read a lot more Chomsky than I have. So that was the result of my B&N excursion today. I surrender. Sigh. | | Sunday, October 11th, 2009 | | 6:20 pm |
| | Tuesday, September 29th, 2009 | | 10:14 am |
| | Sunday, September 20th, 2009 | | 5:10 pm |
Golden Tyger
Despite the tsuris and angst about the Tyger tokens from the kingdom seneschalate, the Golden Tyger Tavern was a great event. The weather was perfect, the food was better than ever, Master Pat was coerced to tell (almost) the entire Badger Cycle, the fighters (to my surprise and gratification) liked last year's format so much they up and decided to do it again -- it's now tradition -- the fencers appeared to have a rollicking good bunch o' bar brawls, and master_el was even there! Lord Wulfric the Black won the heavy-list prize for his enthusiasm despite his [ahem] advanced years: this being a tavern, he won...DINNER! A whole roast duck with all the fixins...which, in a touchingly chivalrous gesture, he presented to master_el, as the toughest fighter in the room. Kudos to the Landlady empressofgiclee and the Landlord/Cook, jonatri. Current Mood: pleased | | Saturday, September 12th, 2009 | | 6:04 pm |
| | Wednesday, September 9th, 2009 | | 10:39 am |
The Icon Meme
You're going to have to go to my profile to see these if you're interested. It's too much of a PitA to embed them. These were chosen by revolos55: I don't know who I stole the "messages from God" icon from, but I had to have it. I'm actually pretty schizoid in terms of religion: I've always been rather spiritual, yet I have a strong agnostic streak as well. Google "kissing Hank's ass" for more on the subject %^). Not Lupus...Well, like most of the planet, I watch "House". At first, I was under the impression that it was a straight drama set on Earth, and was ready to give up, until I realized it was really a sitcom from the planet Zargathron. There's no way this guy could practice medicine -- hell, there's no way he could cross the street without an armed escort -- on Earth. "Not Lupus" is another stolen one, but it ties in well with my "House" drinking game: eventually, some character will suggest lupus as a diagnosis. Chug! I use this for media-related and some medical-related posts. The Bowl of Hygeia is the international symbol for the pharmaceutical profession. No, not the "Rx". Hygeia was the daughter of Asclepius, the Greek god of medicine. She accompanied him on his rounds and carried a bowl/goblet (for bloodletting, perhaps?) with a snake curled around the stem. I use this for job- and healthcare-related stuff. Margaritaville: Eyes on the prize, baby. My brother-in-law owns some property in Florida, a portion of which we've been trying to acquire for some years. But he does have an unoccupied furnished trailer, which we have free use of, so it's all good (I have a key). We just have to get there, but with my new schedule, it's looking more frequently do-able. I use this for vacation-related and "off-duty" posts. The wings are my registered SCA badge, also the badge I use for my household, Silverwing. They came from my arms, which have a silver owl and a field division that looks like wings. The persona story is that there's a chapel near my home that has a reliquary with two feathers from the Archangel Gabriel's wing. The real story is that it all comes from the owl-shaped cookie jar on top of my Mom's fridge, and the coat of arms I designed when I was 8 or so. This is my default icon. Give a Damn: Another one I just stole 'cause I had to %^). | | Monday, August 10th, 2009 | | 8:46 pm |
Grammar WTF?
From a report in a Seattle business publication. (Thanks, goldsquare.) "If it brings more traffic in during the afternoon and evening hours, she said that is reason to applaud the stock price slumping company." (Emphasis mine). | | Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009 | | 6:00 pm |
Help with Pop-Up: I need a geek!
So yesterday I was browsing Red Roof Inn's site trying to book a room. (They've changed it, and I need my password, which is not being accepted, and although the verification/change page keeps telling me they've sent me an email, I never get one. And calling Customer Service gets me a bimbo who can just take reservations. But I digress: that isn't why I've called you all here [g].) I now have a pop-up from Red Roof in the upper left corner on LJ that won't go away. Clicking, double-clicking, right-clicking, a double-barreled shotgun, nothing. I'm using Firefox 3.5.1 and yes, pop-up blocking is enabled and no, redroof is not whitelisted. Any ideas? Current Mood: angry |
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