Dr. January Excuses

I’ve been working 14 hour days – great for my billable hours, but not so good for my blog.

I have already started stalking e-mailing Dr. February so, I promise, there will be a very special Valentine edition of the Calendar Docs.

Other blog business. Thank you Disappearing John for the lawyer joke AND for letting me know that my e-mail address had disappeared from my sidebar. Dr. Shroom, I don't think I will ever finish my guide to understanding the BritMeds. How about if YOU wrote a guide? Then we would actually know the information was right. Sisters=nurses? You start medical school when you're 12? And what the heck is a SHO?

Hmm, Dr. Schwab has posted three times (one about scrubs!) since I kicked his ass in my comment section. Coincidence? Of course. I doubt he even read the comment. But am I gonna take credit for his current torrent of posts? Of course!

photo credit: i don't know, but the wet t-shirt photo was photographed for Vman by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin

You Know You're A Medblog Addict

Well, this is embarrassing. All of these are true.

You know you must be a medblog addict when:

You are planning a romantic weekend getaway to another state and wonder “If we were in an accident and had to be taken to the ER, would I see MonkeyGirl, ER Nursey, DisappearingJohn . . .?”

You blush and inappropriately laugh out loud in Court because you are reading one of TrenchDoc’s posts while you wait for your case to be called.

You hear something on the news and think “I wonder if Scalpel is going to blog about that?

You are in the mood to cook, but instead of looking in a cookbook or searching for a recipe online, you click on The Blog That Ate Manhattan.

Your secret crush on an ER doc changes from Dr. Kovak to Dr. X.

You look at the scar on your belly and think “If Dr. Schwab had done my chole, that scar would be about two inches shorter.”

You walk around the office all day wearing Diet Coke on the front of your blouse because you made the mistake of drinking while reading MDOD.

It’s 10:00 p.m., you’re at work, and all of your friends are pissed because you had to work late AGAIN and are missing ANOTHER celebration. Needing a break, you click on Doc’s Girl’s blog because you want to read a friendly voice.

You read that Charity Doc was on one of those ER shows on the Discovery Channel and ever since then, you have been trying to figure out which doctor is Charity.

And finally,

You feel a little down because another one of your favorite bloggers is calling it quits. I will miss you Amy at Hallway Four.

I Didn't Know Doctors Really Used Placebos

I should have one of those counters on my blog that reflects how many days I have gone without reading more than 1-2 medblogs a day, except the ones on Bloglines, which aren't as fun because I can't read the comments. A side effect of not reading the medblogs is that I write more, which explains the sudden appearance of more posts on my blog.

One of my favorite Andy Griffith episodes is the one where the new pharmacist (Andy asks her if Ph.G means pharmacy gal) won’t give a little old lady her “medicine” without a prescription. The medicine costs a dime and the lady goes downhill quickly when she can’t get it. Of course, it turns out it was only a sugar pill, the little old lady gets her medicine and everyone lives happily ever after (except for the pharmacy gal, I think Andy must have eventually dumped her for Helen Crump).

I’m supposed to be working tonight, but I stumbled onto this little article by accident and now I can’t let it go. I’ve heard of the “placebo effect” and I know placebos are used in drug studies. I don't doubt the power of a placebo, I was just surprised to learn that, according to this article, doctors really used placebos in the treatment of their patients.

1: J Gen Intern Med. 2008 Jan;23(1):7-10. Epub 2007 Nov 10
Academic physicians use placebos in clinical practice and believe in the mind-body connection.
Sherman R, Hickner J.
University of Chicago Pritzker
School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA.

BACKGROUND: The placebo and the placebo effect are often investigated in the context of clinical trials. Little data exist on the use of placebos in the course of routine health care. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to describe a group of academic physicians' use of placebos and their knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about placebos and the placebo effect. DESIGN: A 16-question anonymous web-based survey of physicians from Internal Medicine departments of 3 Chicago-area medical schools was used. RESULTS: There were 231/466 (50%) physicians who responded; of these, 45% reported they had used a placebo in clinical practice. The most common reasons for placebo use were to calm the patient and as supplemental treatment. Physicians did not widely agree on the definition of a placebo and had a variety of explanations for its mechanism of action. Ninety-six percent of the respondents believed that placebos can have therapeutic effects, and up to 40% of the physicians reported that placebos could benefit patients physiologically for certain health problems. Only 12% of the respondents said that placebo use in routine medical care should be categorically prohibited. Regarding "placebo-like" treatment, 48% of respondents reported giving at least 1 type of treatment in a situation where there was no evidence of clinical efficacy. CONCLUSION: Nearly half of the respondents use placebos in clinical practice and most believe in the mind-body connection. The results of this study, based on retrospective self-reported behavior, are subject to recall bias and may not be representative of American physicians. PMID: 17994270 [PubMed - in process].

I don't know, though. I think I would be pissed if I found out a doctor gave me a placebo, especially if I had to pay more than a dime for it. [What? No one asked me why I would be pissed, since I was "cured"? and, if I were cured, why would cost matter?] So now, instead of researching “lien stripping”, I want to research placebos. If physicians use placebos in their medical practices, then that must mean there is a placebo industry. Do the pharmaceutical companies manufacture placebo pills or does the pharmacist just go to the backroom and break open a box of TicTacs? Is there an official name (or better yet, a secret code name) for placebos, or does the doctor write “sugar pill” in Latin? How much do the pills cost? Or do doctors just hand them out as "samples." Do doctors ever openly admit to prescribing placebos or is this one of those deep dark doctor secrets? What do the medical schools teach about placebos? Can they use Splenda instead of sugar? Liability issues?

Dress Code

Since I've been working so much, I haven't had time to do much perusing of the medblogs. I guess that's why I keep coming up with these work related posts.

I had to go to Court in another federal district this week, so I checked out the Court's website to see if the Judge had any special rules or preferences. I learned that this is always a good idea since I would be the "outsider". His dress code is as follows:

All attorneys shall dress in appropriate business attire preserving an atmosphere of dignity and respect to the Court.

While no formal dress code exists, all persons entering the courtroom are to dress in a manner respectful to the Court. Attorneys are responsible for conveying the proper attire to their clients and staff members.

While I was on the website, I thought I would check out the rules and procedures for the other judge. Her dress code is as follows:

All persons present in the courtroom must dress and conduct themselves in a manner demonstrating respect for the Court.

COURTROOM DECORUM

All persons entering the Courtroom shall refrain from chewing gum, drinking, eating, smoking, wearing hats, or reading newspapers, books, etc. in the courtroom. Counsel shall turn off his/her cell phone and instruct all parties and witnesses to do the same. All counsel and parties are expected to stand at the lectern when addressing the court or examining a witness.

COURTROOM ATTIRE

Attorneys and their staff are required to wear standard business attire. Parties, witnesses and spectators shall dress appropriately and respectfully for the courtroom. No shorts, tank tops, midriff-baring or other revealing low-cut clothing, extremely short skirts, sunglasses, flip-flops, or hats shall be permitted in the courtroom. Counsel are responsible for ensuring compliance with these rules by their clients, party representatives, and witnesses. Counsel should contact the Court in advance if special accommodation is desired for a client, party representative, or witness. (emphasis added)

First, I thought it was interesting that she was so specific in her rules. Second, I thought that last sentence was funny, i.e, counsel should contact the court in advance to make special accommodations for a client that wants to wear a low cut tank top, extremely short skirt, and flip flops to Court.

I'm surprised she didn't mention perfume. I was in Court one time when the courtroom deputy stood up and announced (right after a woman left his desk) that the Judge doesn't allow any fragrances to be worn in her Courtroom. It doesn't really matter to me because I rarely wear perfume when I am working.

Wanted: Ethics

I am trying to complete my continuing legal education (CLE) requirements for 2007. I am doing it online. I actually registered to attend a "live" out-of-town seminar, but for the second straight year, something came up and it was decided that I shouldn't go. Yep, I am so important that I can't leave the freakin' premises for two days to attend a seminar. It's true, no one else around here can sit on their ass for hours on end researching crap like I can. And who else would they call on to attend a hearing at the last minute just because they "don't feel like going." But it's mighty nice of them to pay for the seminars anyway, even if I can't go.

We are required to rack up a certain number of CLE "ethics" hours. I had a hard time trying to find ethics hours in my area of practice, so I decided to be adventerous and look in the medical/health law sections. I saw some familiar names--HIPAA, EMTALA. Only one problem . . . none of the medical/health law seminars included ethics hours, so I had to settle for a nice seminar about legal malpractice. Only 3 more hours to go. This means I'm going to go home and listen to some old fart trial attorney talk about jury selection**. And then after he goes to bed, I'm going to find an online seminar so I can meet my CLE requirements.

[**For the record, I really do enjoy listening to him talk about his work.]

You See Possum; I See Cat

I swear it looked okay on my monitor. The fireworks were to the left of the post.

Look, y’all know I have no technical knowledge or skill when it comes to my blog, so I have a favor to ask. The next time I have some kind of weird ass layout with pictures covering the text of my posts, please leave a "WTF" in my comment section.

I realize that after my Christmas layout, when it looked like an elf exploded on my blog, it might be hard to tell the difference between intentional and mistake. I promise I won’t be offended if you leave a comment telling me I screwed up. I may write crap, but I would never intentionally cover it up.

Thank you and Happy New Year (without the fireworks).

Lawyer Joke Resolution

I've been told twice this year that "you must have gotten up on the wrong side of 2008." I don't even know what the hell that means, but I'm guessing these people think I've been a bitch for the last three days.

In an effort to improve my disposition, and avoid writing more posts wherein I call other bloggers "little shits," I have decided to start updating Lawyer Joke of the Day on a daily basis again (or whenever someone sends me a new joke).

credit: Charles Fincher

New Year, Same Me

I am going through another one of those identity crisis blogging phases. Don't know what to write or why anyone visits. blah blah blah. I did something different this time. I told that little voice inside me to shut the fuck up (as long as I'm just talking back to one of the voices, it's okay, right?) and I went back to read over some of my older posts. That led me to remember something I stumbled across when I needed to translate my questions to Russian for Dr.X on the MDOD calendar post. I'll bet you thought those weren't real Russian words.

Yeah, even I know you can translate anything to another language on the internet. But I learned you can also "convert English text to any of several comic dialects," including redneck, pig latin, moron, Elmer Fudd, etc.

I converted my blog description to Redneck (The Dialectizer):
It is as though someone has drilled peep holes into th' walls of emerjuncy rooms, operatin' rooms an' docko's' offices. ah cain't look away.

Ok, I'll admit it. It doesn't sound much different from the way I say it.

Here's part of Dr. Schwab's latest post Sampler in Redneck:

ah present a samplin' of whut this hyar blog has been about. Occashunal rant aside, it's been mah goal t'let varmints into th' operatin' room, an' into th' life an' thunks of a surgeon; t'share mah take on some surgical corndishuns, an' sometimes jest t'git a laugh.

Memo'able Patients: I've told sto'ies about varmints who made a trimenjus impresshun

har, (the dawgoned-est stool I've evah see in a belly)
har, (when mah partner got sick)
har, (she killed her caregivah, an' almost killed herse'f)
har, (thirteen years old, an' ah c'dn't save her)
har, (until th' end, she kepp brin'in' me grub)
har, (kidney kincer in his pancreas, an' he kepp on truckin')
har, (bleedin' so fast, ah c'd hear it)
har, (no stomach, kepp eatin' steak)
har, (breast-heart cornneckshun?)
an' hyar. (a screw-up in a great guy)

Here's part of Dr. Dino's The Wiseass on the Elevator via Smurf the Web:

Our local mall has two levels. Darling Spouse and I headed over there this afternoon to get a few gifts and enjoy some smurfy people-watching. Smurfilicious! At one point, we were on the bottom level and needed to go to the upper one; the most direct route was smurfily the elevator.

(well, just be thankful there was no mention of Itchy Smurf)

One more, in Pirate talk (The Voices of Many) from MDOD's The Naked, the Fat and the Dead:

Here’s some free advice: Don’t get so fuckin' fat that when ye die, yer family has t' deal with yer ginorm'us whale-carcass.

One o' me local pathology colleagues had a gastric bypass patient die today – he be 45 years old an' 780 pounds. I think his BMI be, like, a trillion! Avast!!

Listen, I be havin' nothin' against fat people. First o' all, fat chicks love t' be havin' sex, an' be good at it, because they be so grateful fer the attention! Avast!! Second, fat people get sick an' die m're often, which be great fer business. Third, an' most important, fat people be great t' make fun o'.

(I make it a policy not to criticize other people's posts on my blog, but Eto-whatever's post kinda pissed me off when I read it (and, no, you little E-shit, I'm not fat). However, I just finished off a pound of fudge in four days and now I plan on reading E's post every day until I lose the holiday weight. Although I did like that part about being good at sex...)

If you have some time to kill and want to play with your own blogs:

Smurf the Web
The Voices of Many
The Dialectizer

Dr. December is . . . GruntDoc

I saved GruntDoc for December because he reminds me of Santa Claus. It’s my blog, I don’t have to tell you why. This wasn’t the picture I originally chose for GruntDoc, but 10/10 called him Grandpa GruntDoc in Twas the Blog Before Christmas, so I needed something to get that image out of my head. Just because GruntDoc is the patriarch of medblogs, doesn't mean he can't be hot.

GruntDoc is one of the good guys and he is one of my favorites. His blog is full of interesting medical stories and posts about his family and his work. Plus, I love how he dresses up the title to his blog during the holidays. I only wish he’d write more essay-type posts, like his poignant “My Grandfathers’ Guns." (please)

Here’s my interview with GruntDoc:

Q.1 On one post, you wrote that according to LongtoLive, “I should die on Tuesday November 26, 2052 at 1:36:21 AM.”

What are you going to be doing on Monday, November 25, 2052, at 1:36:21 a.m.?

A: Changing my answers. [that’s no fair~MA]

Q.2 What was the last movie that you saw?

A: Cars. I really liked it. (Last night I watched Monty Python and the Holy Grail on DVD, which was terrific. BTW, it seems nearly 98% of ER docs can quote lines for the Grail, way more than other specialties. Seems to be another self-selection thing).

Q.3 MSN says one of the ten questions you are supposed to ask your doctor is “will you remove that wedding ring?” (Honest. Would I make this stuff up?) I’d like to use that line question sometime. If a patient asked you to remove your wedding ring because he/she was afraid it had germs, would you do it?

A: NO. I’ll glove up, but I’m not removing my ring. I do make quite a show of waling into the patient’s room applying my skin-disinfectant, which I think is plenty.

Q.4 Charity Doc left the ER and is setting up a free medical clinic. 911DOC is looking for a new job. Scalpel needed a change from his “vampire” schedule. You have a stressful job with crazy hours. How do you avoid the burnout factor?

A: Who says I've avoided it? Maybe I'm just a glutton for punishment, and the job is stressful, but I'll do it for a long time. I will say that how much stress you're willing to put up with has to do with your options; when I get closer to a retirement income I'll probably be less inclined to put up with some of the stresses.

Q.5 How did you and Mrs. GruntDoc meet?

A: She was the Assistant Lab Director where I got my BS and MS. We were engaged the summer before I started med school, with a plan to get married after I graduated. After the first 7 weeks, it was get married after the first two years. We got married New Years' Eve of my first year. Planning has always been one of my strong suits.

Q.6 When you posted the request for Match Day stories, you said “My Match Day story is a super-denouement, and is 14 years old, so I’ll not be adding it. For now.” After I looked up “denouement” in the dictionary, I thought that might make a good story. Can you tell us about it here or are you saving it for a post?

A: Eh. As Uncle paid for my med school, I was required to apply for a Navy Internship, which I got, and knew about well before all my colleagues matched. I was happy for them, and acutely aware our immediate futures would be different. Not bad, just different.

Q.7 What was the first job you ever had? Do you remember how you spent your first paycheck?

A: I was a dishwasher at Swenson's Ice Cream, for $3.10/hr (minimum wage). I have no recollection what I spent it on, but remember that I wasn't a very good employee.

Q.8 Do you have any pets?

A: One mutt cat. I've never had a dog, and a goldfish was the only other pet type I've had.

Q.9 I saw this question in a comment section and decided to steal it:

“How many true emergencies do you have on every shift of every day of every week? I think a lot of you would be out of work if you only had REAL emergencies come to the ER for treatment.”

A: The second part it true, but we'd be pretty darn happy with our jobs: it's the non-sick who can suck the joy out of the job.

Q.10 Three most favorite television shows of all time?

A: Star Trek reruns (Kirk and Spock), That 70's Show, and Scrubs.

Q.11 As part of my research (yes, research) on ER docs, I did a search on YouTube for “ER Docs” and found that quite a few people videotape their visits to the ER.

Has anyone ever asked you if they could videotape their experience with you?

A: I've had a lot of cellphone pics during suturing, nobody thought to ask if either I or the patient minded so far (it's always been friends of the patient doing it). I wouldn't like someone videotaping me on the job.

Q.12 How’s that “no coffee at work” thing going?

A: Better than I would have predicted. I can now focus better, my hand doesn't shake, and my BP is down. I smell coffee in the department, and curiously don't miss it much. I do have one cup in the morning, but that's it.

Q.13 When you shed your scrubs, what do you like to do for fun?

A: I read a lot of blogs, I spend time with my family, and I like to shoot at the range. It's my kind of personal entertainment: I have to focus, pay attention, and see how I'm doing immediately. I intend to get back on the bicycle when it warms up.

Q.14 Favorite cookie?

A: Peanut butter, with the fork crosshatches on the top.

Q.15 And what everyone wants to know, do you have any tattoos or piercings?

A: As I'm not a Pirate, I have no need for an earring. No tats, no piercings, just all me.

Q.16 I’m not going to ask you the usual scrub question. This time I want more information. Do you pay for your own scrubs? Do you have to wear a certain color? Do you always wear scrubs when you work? Do the bottoms always have to match the tops?

A: Scrubs are supplied, free, by the hospital, a reasonable light-blue color. We're not required to wear any particular color, but most of us just wear the ones supplied and washed by the hospital. I always wear scrubs, and a lab coat. As for wearing different color tops and bottoms, I'm not stylish enough to pull that off.

Thank you, GruntDoc, for being my Dr. December.

Hint for Dr. December

I once commented (on my own blog, of course, since I'm a lurker) that this doctor's readers never let him have any fun. He wrote a post about how a female patient winked at him, made him feel good, then he found out she was a drug rep. I thought it was a funny post, but all of the comments were so serious, talking about how dangerous it is when patients seem overly friendly. Hopefully, I will "expose" the fun side of Dr. December...but first I have to get him off that couch so he can finish answering his questions.

If you want to see the "rejected" Dr. December pics, head over to ATM-Two.

For some reason, I thought about Scalpel when I saw this picture:

Porn is Part of Medical School Curriculum?

I just found this ER doctor's site, where I read:

"At Wayne State University's School of Medicine, we were shown dozens of pornographic (OK, highly pornographic) films as part of the curriculum. The rationale for such an unusual academic inclusion, we were told, was so that we would not react in disgust or surprise if a patient revealed sexual proclivities that were, well, strange. By exposing us to every imaginable sexual practice, they hoped to desensitize us so that we could just deal with the medical issues, leaving judgment about such practices to God, or perhaps to Jerry Springer and his audience."

Is this a part of every medical school curriculum?

I still don't know what to think about Dr. Pezzi's site, other than it's "interesting". I wish I had more time to spend on it. Here are a few things to check out on Dr. Pezzi's site if you are in the mood for something different:

http://www.erbook.net/
All about emergency rooms and ER as a career (he pretty much says it sucks).

http://www.er-doctor.com/
Information for people contemplating a career in emergency medicine and other medical specialties (he pretty much says don't do it, it sucks)

You can read about love and lust in the ER here.

This is the best part. Dr. Pezzi provides a way for people to show their appreciation to ER docs:

>

Christmas Overboard

I know, it's starting to look like an elf threw up on my blog. I can't help it, I have Christmas fever.

I haven't seen the Holiday meme around yet, so I'm gonna post last year's list. (Okay, I haven't really had a chance to visit a lot of medblogs lately, so the Holiday meme might be out there, this is just one more opportunity for me to post Christmas stuff.)

Dr. Rob
IslandMedStudent
Dr. Couz
Shadowfax
Dr. Dino
AmbivalentMSILF
Kim at Emergiblog
GruntDoc
Scalpel
Dr.A
Shinga
ThatMedSchoolGuy
Small Town Nurse
Dr. Wes
Stethoscopes and Diapers
Dr. Gwenn
Shrink Rap

Hey! There is a new Christmas meme out there. Well, new to me since I haven't been out in the medblog world lately.

WhiteCoatRants

MonkeyGirl

Seaspray







ONE LAST CHRISTMAS THING -- THE BACHELOR -- SANTA EDITION

Crackmuffin.com
Funny Video From CrackMuffin.com

So Much Cooler Online

I don’t know if y’all know this, but in my mind, y’all are all good-looking. Men, women, young, old, whatever. Why would I picture someone ugly in my head when I’m reading your medblogs, when it’s just as easy to picture someone hot? And male. It's not just me, though. I know there are a few others out there who are always crushing on one or more of the medblog docs. (I was going to link y'all, but damn, you ER nurses are intimidating.)

Every time I hear this Brad Paisley song, I think of my blog. Yes, I like country music and I'm not apologizing. For you bloggers that can't stomach country, you still might find this video kinda funny. Jason Alexander is in it, and William Shatner, and Marcia Brady, and George's mom from Seinfeld.



Okay, this is my last post with a video, quiz, etc. I am actually going to try to write something this week.

And yes, I know this video has been out for months; I am just now getting around to writing about it.

Another Quiz

61%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?

I'm fairly confident that 99% of y'all have already played around with this quiz, but I like it.

The house is decorated, inside and out, so now it is time to decorate the blog. I plan on getting technical and messing around with the "code", so if you don't see my blog again, it was nice knowing y'all.

Don't Hurt Me, I Don't Do MedMal

I've been reading more lawyer bashing**. This time they were joking about lawyers who make sure their doctors know they don't do med mal. I have to admit, I do it, and not just with doctors and med mal.

When I was in law school, I was pulled over for speeding (ok, it was really kinda, halfway, sorta like, racing) on the freeway. It was late at night and the officer kept shining his flashlight in my face the whole time he was asking me questions (like did I know I was engaging in a dangerous activity). After a few minutes, I realized he was distracting me while his partner was peering into the windows on the passenger side of my car. He came around the car and asked me if I was in law school (no shit Sherlock; my passenger and back seats were covered with my textbooks). I was scared, and I saw the looks they gave each other, so I blurted out, “Yes, but I’m going to be a good lawyer, I hate criminals.” Fortunately, they laughed and just let me go with a stern warning.

I feel the need to defend my chosen profession, so I am going to post this item from the state medical board’s website about the disciplinary action taken against a doctor, just as a reminder that there are some interesting apples in every profession:

On April 13, 2007, the Board and Dr. ________ entered into an Agreed Order requiring that he complete additional continuing medical education in the area of ethics over two years, and assessing an administrative penalty of $1,000. The action was based on allegations that Dr. ________, because of a hole in his pants and because he routinely does not wear underwear, unintentionally exposed his genitals to a patient and her daughter while examining the patient.

I normally don't frequent the state medical board’s website, I was just doing a little research for a series of posts I have planned. But I have to say, it makes for some interesting reading.

12-1-07; 12:20

**Ok, ok. I exaggerated. It was good-natured joking in GruntDoc's comment section. But I needed something to justify including the underwearless doctor story in my post. And I think I more than made up for it by telling y’all about the stupid thing I said to the officers~MA

Dr. November -- Not

No excuses. I screwed up. Dr. November 2007 will not appear until sometime next year. But he will appear.

And yes, JMB, there is a Santa Doc.

Video Tuesday -- Spiders On Drugs

I really am planning on writing something soon, this is just to stall for time. Plus, I think it's kinda medical. Be sure to watch the whole video.

Nosy Thanksgiving Questions

Thanksgiving is my favorite “eating” holiday. And I’m nosy. I want to know what y’all are eating for Thanksgiving. Favorite dish? Your specialty dish?

I will go first. My favorite dish is dressing…cornbread, of course. My cooking skills aren’t exactly what you’d call consistent, so when I’m asked to bring something, I always opt for the relish plate and crudités. Now just wait before you start writing that comment about me taking the easy job. I personally wash and cut up each vegetable, create the presentation on the platter, and make the dips. More importantly, I make vegetable animals. My radish mice are famous. When I was looking for a picture to post, I came across these instructions. I make the squash duck too, but the mice always get the most attention. The mice in this picture are cute, but mine are cuter, plus mine have eyes (at least until someone removes the eyes from three of the mice and starts singing).

I Forgot

Rats! I forgot to post something yesterday. I will probably get a citation from the NaBloPoMo police. I will post twice today to make up for it. Or I guess I could just go under "Post Options" and change the post date and time to reflect I posted this yesterday. Yeah, that would work.

The Blog Readability Test

What Level of Education is Required to Understand Your Blog?

I got no problem with that.

Well, now that I think about it, maybe I'm speaking too soon. The last time I took one of these tests, I became obsessed with increasing my blog rating. At first I wasn't bothered by my PG rating, but then it started eating away at me. I played it over and over in my head...you're only rated PG...you're only rated PG. So I tried to spice things up and boost my rating. My second try was only worth a PG-13 rating. I wanted to quit, but I was urged on by my blogging pals to try again. I added another paragraph, upping the sex and violence, and I finally scored an "R" rating. What a sense of accomplishment.

So I have a choice: Do I want to write a bunch of intellectual crap and try to boost my readability score? Or do I want to go watch a South Park rerun? Hmmm...



***BTW, when I said "Do I want to write a bunch of intellectual crap", I really meant, do I want to try to think of a subject I could Google that would lead to sites containing a shitload of big words, then cut and paste that content onto my blog.