A Splintered Mind

So much for believing that nobody liked my blog... Sometime last night my 50,000th visitor dropped by. This is amazing to me. For a blog that isn't about technology, porn, or politics I consider myself quite lucky to have come this far in such a short time. I want to thank all my readers, all my subscribers, and especially all my commenters. That you take time to read and comment on my writings simply blows my mind every week. I promise to keep the articles coming. In fact, I've been thinking about this blog's fate over the upcoming busy Summer and instead of cutting back on articles and postings I believe I will cut back my word count. Currently, articles are limited to 900 words. This has been an artificial challenge of mine to help me not rant for eons over here. It keeps me on topic, keeps my writing tight, and helps me develop those editing skills I will need when I finish my 75,000 page novel and have to cut it back a bit. I believe my new limit will be 600 word...

If you have ever found yourself putting the milk away in the cereal cupboard on a regular basis or reading a magazine in the lobby long after that meeting you were supposed to be at started and wondered whether you have ADD or ADHD or AD/HD or Hyper Kinesis or Minimal Brain Dysfunction or whatever they're calling it this year, you could do no better for yourself than to turn to Doctors Edward M. Hallowell and John J. Ratey for diagnosis. I have long linked to their classic book on ADHD, " Driven to Distraction ", on my site and have used their list of criteria as fodder for many articles. Their book explores the phenomenon of ADHD through the cases of Dr. Hallowell and provides in depth descriptions of the various aspects of this disorder. I found the book revelatory and insightful, even comforting. I especially found it useful in providing words for me to help explain myself better to my wife in the early years of our marriage. I am much more articulate now than I was...

Salon.com published a heart wrenching story yesterday about two parents' struggles to help their autistic son. The tragedy is that things grew worse once psychiatrists became involved. Medications were pushed on those parents that hurt their child, but instead of supporting the parents for wisely discontinuing the medication, the psychiatrists scolded the parents. Unbeknownst to the psychiatrists, the neuroleptics they had prescribed were actually making the young man worse because he wasn't diagnosed properly. He wasn't schizophrenic. He wasn't psychotic. Thanks to the original antidepressants and further neuroleptics, he now had autistic catatonia . Why didn't they catch that? First of all, they were arrogant, learned men and women who set themselves above the parents. Their diagnosis - and the diagnosis of their networked peers - was not to be questioned. Second, they were uneducated and uninformed. Third, they make money by prescribing the very drugs that were...

I've been looking over my blog entries of late and discovered a problem. When did I become so serious? Look at comments in " Depression: Random Web Therapy ". According to an anonymous reader, my blog is even a downer. The horrors! When I was certain that the five people subscribed to my blog were actually my three Macs, my mother, and my mother-in-law I could be free to say whatever I felt like. Becoming a Blog of Note changed me, however. It's not that my hat suddenly didn't fit due to my ego, or that I began demanding special treatment, though I did mandate my children should call me "Oh Mighty Master". But what father doesn't? Right? Still, something had changed. Perhaps it is time I was honest with you folks. Hello. My name is Douglas and I'm a recovering 40 year old. I tried to stop it from happening, but I just can't seem to shake this monkey from my back. I'd fling myself off a bridge with a bungee cord tied to my toe if I...

Today's Thursday Thirteen is very late, but then again I did spend all day away from the computer taking these very pictures. I hope that you enjoy them. This was a spontaneous trip to lift my spirits and stave off Depression. Never give up. Journey's Beginning 1) Today I decided to be spontaneous. I know that sounds like I'm not ACTUALLY being spontaneous, but it was a decision on a whim so I think it counts. I wanted to record 13 things that I saw today and put them up on my blog for Thursday 13. My first image was right across the street from my house. Even though it was an overcast and smoggy day, I was determined to take 13 pictures anyway. Off the beaten path 2) After picking up my daughter from school I suddenly took a left instead of a right and very quickly left our humdrum world behind us. Soon we were in Magna on Highway 201 and this scene caught my eye. Entering the Oquirrh Mountains 3) Normally, the Wasatch Mountains fill my vist...

I've had about three hours of sleep today. I'm trying to turn my schedule around. I'm afraid I've been very naughty of late and have gotten myself upside down again. So here I am, tired, overheated (I still rent and the landlord is a sadist who only hooks up the swamp cooler on Memorial Day. It's a nice, toasty 88°F today. No, it's not Global Warming. It's always this hot here in Utah this time of year. That's why I call my landlord a sadist.), and my brain has melted down my legs and pooled underneath my computer chair. What's left of my brain has decided that I want to be depressed. But who has time for that? Every time I feel Depression begin to coat me with that oh, so familiar syrupy coat of gloominess I have a choice. I can snuggle in or I can shake it off. Mind over mood. That's my motto. I choose to shake it off. Of course, that's easier said than done, so I pulled out all the stops. I made sure I ate to boost energy levels (I t...

Wordless Wensday Links to other Wordless Wensdays! tags technorati : Wordless Wednesday #1

The FDA has mandated that antidepressant prescriptions feature a black label to warn consumers aged 18 to 24 of possible suicidal tendencies when first taking these drugs. This is a follow up to their 2005 ruling where labels were required to warn of this same suicidal effect on children and adolescents. Of course, many psychiatrists are concerned that people in need will be scared away by these labels. This concern was even reflected in the FDA's announcement. However, the cynic in me wonders if these psychiatrists I've seen quoted in various articles concerning this new mandate are really concerned for people's wellfare. It has been reported that there was a drop in patients under 17 when the first warning labels were mandated in 2005. Gee, I wonder why people would be concerned that expensive medications might have a fatal side-effect for their children? I won't speak for all psychiatrists, but many require patients to have the utmost faith in pharmacology and their...

Imagine a future when a corporation owns your very genes as intellectual property. What rights would you have? What rights would your children have? Crichton imagines such a future and explores its legal and moral aspects. He also explores the repercussions of gene therapy and follows the lives of three animals who have had human DNA grafted into their genes. Throw into that genetic cauldron the hodgepodge lives of various characters and you have a novel that is a fascinating exploration of future tech. However, Next isn't so much a story as much as an essay on the dangers of traveling uncharted genetic waters without a moral sail. As usual, the various characters and their stories that Crichton introduces in the beginning convalesce into a tighter narrative towards the end. His character development is thin as well, which I have begun to expect from his writings. Crichton is a scientist first and a novelist second. Consequently, one does not pick up a Crichton novel to experienc...

Think all the hullaballoo about Global Warming is mostly hype? So doesn't Michael Crichton. Four years before alternate theories were allowed in the press (2007 is proving to be a watershed year for anti-global warming proponents) , Crichton investigated the powers behind the Global Warming movement. What he discovered was science that didn't quite add up, ignorance in the press (who often quote press releases without properly sourcing the material) , and vast amounts of money moving in circles of power within environmental organizations. Most of this won't come as a shock to disinterested parties, but for some people this will either be revelatory or propaganda maligning their pet cause.For Crichton, it was the stuff that novels are made of. Mingle intrigue, secret cabals, fear mongering, and violent environmental groups desperately in need for continued funding and you have the makings for an international thriller. "State of Fear" follows the classic Crichton ...