It is easy to get nostalgic about the early days of flying, when air travel was still such a novel luxury that men wore sportcoats, women wore pearls and peppy stewardesses served macadamia nuts. Everyone truly believed that they could “sit back, relax and enjoy the flight.” Now the airlines have unbundled their services, charging…
Read MoreClick on the link below to see a YouTube video of a song parodying the SAT test. The tune is based on the the Leonard Cohen song, “Hallelujah.” Liza Blue rewrite the lyrics, and the song was performed by her brother and his talented family. This video is a companion to the series of SAT…
Read MoreSo many images flitting across the computer screen from the royal wedding – those absurd hats – fascinators – that find their full flower when royals gather, and the equally ridiculous military uniforms with oversized epaulets, sashes, elaborately braided ropes and boots with spurs. Tin-pot dictators have caricatured this garb many times, decking themselves out in…
Read MoreMy medical career has focused on the niche business of technology assessment for health insurance companies. Specifically, I have analyzed the published medical literature on literally hundreds of medical technologies to determine whether or not they would be still considered investigational. Insurance companies generally will not pay for investigational technologies. This odd little profession has…
Read MoreFor the past three years, I have had the great privilege of working in a home office that overlooks several hundred acres of prairie. As I gnash my teeth over the struggles of my professional life, I can look up and watch the very real life and death gnashing of my prairie neighbors as they…
Read MoreThis summer our daughter headed off on a very rigorous hiking and camping experience in Alaska. The website didn’t try to sugarcoat the experience, warning that participants would carry 50 to 60 lb packs over mountain ridges, that it could continually rain or even snow, and that due to the threat of grizzly bears, absolutely…
Read MoreMilestones came at a rapid clip when our son Ned was an infant – crawling, sitting, standing and first words. Once school started, these milestones slowed down, replaced by the predictable progress through one grade after the next. But now here was he was standing in the kitchen in blue blazer and khaki pants –…
Read MoreThe house is quiet after a busy summer of kids coming and going, and Nick and I can now settle back into our lives of empty-nesters with a reduced slate of parental responsibilities. I hear younger friends tell frenzied stories of ferrying kids from one structured event to another, endless hours on the sidelines cheering…
Read MoreWe moved into our current house three years ago, and I exulted in our abundant storage space and expansive counter tops, particularly the kitchen which featured a large island. In our previous house I had railed against the piles of clutter that clogged every available flat surface – I had thought a possible solution was…
Read MoreChapter 1 I first started my career in technology assessment at the American Medical Association and was occasionally called on to speak at various conferences. While I was confident of my very narrow topic, as a representative of the AMA the audience apparently felt free to ask me about anything, from AMA lobbying efforts, to…
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