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      Welcome!   03/05/2016

      Welcome, everyone, to the new 910CMX Community Forums. I'm still working on getting them running, so things may change.  If you're a 910 Comic creator and need your forum recreated, let me know and I'll get on it right away.  I'll do my best to make this new place as fun as the last one!

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Been watching a Downton Abbey marathon on PBS, interrupted as necessary by work and sleep.

They just showed the episode where Sybil died.  (It's been years, I think I'm allowed to discuss that much!)  It inspired me to look up what I'd have used to treat seizures, and see what was available back then.  The episode is set in 1920, and the most effective treatment for severe seizure, IV diazepam, wasn't released until 1963!  The other standard for seizures, phenobarbital, was on the market by 1912, but it was only known as a sedative, not an anti-seizure medication.  The doctor who discovered its anti-seizure properties was, unfortunately, a Jewish doctor in Germany (he eventually went from University Chair to Dachau concentration camp before escaping to America) and the journal he published his findings in was in German; World War I disrupted communication and further slowed the spread of this life-saving information.

Apparently about all they would have had for seizures at that time would have been bromide, which has a lot of side effects, or paraldehyde, which has been used for seizures since 1882 and is still used, in some circumstances, to this day, or magnesium sulfate, which I'm not really familiar with but was apparently at least known in that era, but one source says it was another decade before it saw routine use for eclampsia.  I can only assume that if Sybil had been taken to the hospital, such drugs would have been an option, but the fact that she gave birth at home would limit them to whatever the doctors had in their bags.

The death scene also reminded me of when a coworker had grand mal seizure at work, with strong enough muscle contractions that her diaphragm couldn't move properly and she wasn't breathing for a short time.  (People use to think epileptics stopped breathing from swallowing their tongue or the like, but that's just not true and messing with someone's mouth at a time like that is a good way to get your fingers bitten.)   My friend's breathing resumed as her seizure eased, but I can really appreciate how well they portrayed Sybil's unrelenting seizure and the way she basically suffocated to death from it!

It does seem that they should have shown more concern for Mary when she was pregnant, as one of the major risk factors for eclampsia is having a close relative, like a sister, who's had it.  It should have frightened everyone, especially Mary and her husband!

 

Getting off the medical tragedy, it's been fun seeing some of the early episodes, especially the first couple last night.  I've caught the odd episode frequently and have seen a few several times, but I don't think I've seen the first few since my first viewing.  It's also wonderful to see so many strong women characters, something TV and movies are still so sadly short of most times, and the writing is excellent.  :-)

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A TV series on PBS called The Nine Months That Made You, episode titled "One of a Kind".  The episode is about how a fetus becomes an individual person, and the first segment is about the hormone surge that makes a male develop a penis.  The way they're covering it is fascinating, because they're visiting a village in the Dominican Republic where 1 in 90 male babies didn't respond to that surge properly and didn't grow a penis before birth.  These kids are assumed to be girls, and their families treat them as girls, until they hit puberty, and the second testosterone surge causes their testes to descend and their penis to grow.  It's so common in this village that they have a name for it, which translates as penis-at-twelve.  They seem to be very accepting, that it's just one of those things that happens, and it's no big deal.  And just like trans kids, the "girls" often show a distaste for wearing dresses, a tendency to want to play sports and get into fights with friends, various indications that they may be a penis-at-twelve long before they actually reach that age.

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Not quite yet, but season 7 premier of MLP:FiM, roughly 15 minutes right now.

Gah.  Commercials.  I forget about them.,.

/me adds Discord to The List.  Cheese puns are the worst.

Opps.  The didn't need the Friendship Map.

Bottle anger.  No way that is going to be a bad thing.

The Fourth wall.  Pinkie breaks it.  Because of course she does.

Evil Granny Smith and Bulk Biceps.  Red eyes of dooooom

Tara Strong can't really sing.  Or she is doing that for a reason.

And now I want some cinnamon nuts.  In a paper cone.  With an apple.

 

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10 hours ago, ProfessorTomoe said:

Moved on to watching the World Endurance Challenge race from Silverstone, U.K. It's for the cars that race at Le Mans, basically, but this is only a 6-hour-long race.

So, it's basically Le Mans for sissies.

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1 hour ago, The Old Hack said:

So, it's basically Le Mans for sissies.

Le Mans is part of the World Endurance Challenge series (round three this year).

There is one rather major twist, however. Le Mans is strictly by invitation only. Not just anyone can show up with a car at the Circuit de la Sarthe and expect to be allowed to slam it around the 13.629 km (8.469 mi) track at 205 mph (330 km/h). You've got to earn your way into Le Mans, based on various rules of which I will not bore you with here.

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Watched the first new episode of Doctor Who Saturday night, in an English-pub-style restaurant with a dozen other fans.  We were crammed into a little balcony with far too little seating and even less table space, but it was still fun!  I loved seeing the Doctor's desk, which included the typical cup full of pencils and pens except there were several sonic screwdrivers in it.  Now I know how to store/display my collection!

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Mrs. Prof is forcing "American Pickers" on me. It's just now reaching the level below torture, now that the extra hydrocodone has begun to kick in. Still not my favorite show.

We're going to have to wait to watch the Phoenix IndyCar race tomorrow after I get out of recovery.

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American Pickers isn't the worst thing on the History Channel.  But it must be incredibly cheap to produce because it should have run its course in two to three seasons.

Two guys who have worked with each other far too long get in a van and start poking around the attics and barns of what ever region they happen to be in that episode.  The people with whom they deal are a quirky lot.  For the most part, these people either put too high a price on things that are essentially junk, or don't realize that what they have is actually valuable.

And at least once a season, you see the guys make a perfectly random stop at a Subway restaurant and comment about how much they like it.

Meanwhile, back in Iowa...  The exotic and intimidating office manager spends all day on the phone while dealing with her bosses' friends, neighbors, and relatives.

Again I ask, how is this still in production?

Edited by Pharaoh RutinTutin
spelling

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Q&A, tonight featuring Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce, Deputy Opposition Leader Tanya Plibersek and Veep creator Armando Iannucci, among others.

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On 4/30/2017 at 8:55 PM, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

Again I ask, how is this still in production?

Good question. Mrs. Prof loves to torture me with it. Apparently, Texas Health Presbyterian Rockwall Hospital does, too. They forced me to watch two episodes of it in the waiting room before someone came out to get me prepped for my procedure yesterday.

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11 hours ago, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

This came as a surprise to me.

Apparently, I know Mongolian, because this is exactly what I sound like when I'm sick.

 

 

He needs to get together with Apocalypica as the group's singer.  That would rock all the rocks.

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3 hours ago, mlooney said:

He needs to get together with Apocalypica as the group's singer.  That would rock all the rocks.

Is it odd that hearing that reminded me of Barenaked Ladies?

 

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Watching qualifying for the Paris ePrix. FiA Formula-E car racing through the streets of Paris. They'll be having the race later today. Good day for racing today. IndyCar qualifying Pole Day is later today.

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