How To Carry An Unconscious Person

Recently I discovered how hard it is to carry an unconscious person.  Up till then, my closest experience had been trying to carry kids who pull the “jello blob” maneuver.  But carrying those kids is easy because:

1. Kids are light.
   
2. Dignity is not an issue.

So you just grab any available part and hoist them up.  Underwear and bellies showing, whatever.  Parents and teachers, you know what I’m talking about.

But adults are a different matter.  I had read before (probably in some survival manual) that the way to carry an inert body is using the Fireman’s Carry (Figure A below).  I guess firemen do this all the time to retrieve people from burning buildings.  The problem is that this looks very undignified, with the victim’s back end pointed skywards.

The most dignified carry is the Over-The-Threshold (Figure B).  I mean, if it’s good enough for wedding photos…  But when I went to try this (left arm under the upper legs, right arm behind the neck and shoulder blades), the person just slipped through my arms.  By moving my right arm down to the upper back, I could perform the lift, but the person’s head and arms just flopped over backwards (Figure C).  That’s not what happens in the movies!  Then I realized in the movies, she is only feigning unconsciousness and is really using an arm to support herself (Figure D).  In real life, if you’re careful enough, you can get your neck under her armpit and balance her torso with your upper arm, but her head will still flop over backwards.  It’s not as easy as it looks.

Thanks to jglee for research assistance and illustrations used in this post.

Comcast Cable Modem

Here in Cambridge at least, the monthly cost for cable modem is $61.  But if you also subscribe to basic cable service for $8, you get a $15 discount off the package.  So the whole thing costs you only $54.  Weird!

Straight Eyes for the Queer Guys

The wiser you are, the more you believe in equality, because the difference between what the most and the least learned people know is inexpressibly trivial in relation to all that is unknown.
                                            –Albert Einstein

This is my view on homosexuality.  I’m open to other viewpoints, honest discussion, and maybe even having my mind changed.  Let’s start with the conversation between Jesus and the Pharisees about divorce.  Matthew 19, IMV (Instant Messenger Version):

MeSoHoly: can peeps get divorced 4 ne reason
JCSonOfMan: rtfb
JCSonOfMan: itb god made male n female
JCSonOfMan: so he leaves the rents
JCSonOfMan: gets the girl and gets hitched
JCSonOfMan: 1+1=1
JCSonOfMan: not 2
JCSonOfMan: thats what bigdaddy sez
MeSoHoly: what bout redseaman
MeSoHoly: he sez u just need a letter
MeSoHoly: and hasta la vista baby
JCSonOfMan: redseaman let u get away with it
JCSonOfMan: cause ur  was hard
JCSonOfMan: but its not what bigdaddy planned

So God’s original plan, as carried out in the Garden of Eden, was one husband, one wife.  After all, in Genesis 2:18 God says “It is not good for man to be alone.”  But after the fall, everything got messed up, so the world is full of suboptimal situations.  And these situations sometimes required nonideal solutions, including slavery, wives as property, polygamy, and genocide — all of which are rightfully considered abhorrent today.

God’s optimal expression for sexuality is in the context of a lifetime committed loving relationship between a man and woman: marriage.  Deviation from that is sin, in different degrees.  (Ooh, “degrees of sin” is a whole ‘nother post in itself.)  On the opposite (most sinful) end of the spectrum are child molestation and nonconsensual sex (rape).  Somewhere in between are sex with various degrees of love and commitment.  And homosexual activity deviates along a different axis entirely.

So homosexual activity and premarital sex are sins, as is a failure to love the wife you sleep with (or your neighbor, or your enemy, or the poor).  What irks me is that there is so much focus from the Evangelical church against the first two sins compared to the latter four.  And it’s hard for me to imagine that a committed loving homosexual couple are sinning worse than a married man and wife who hate each other and everyone around them.

We live in a fallen world, and we have to accept certain nonidealities, just like God does in the Bible.  God uses sinners, church is a place for sinners, and sinners we will remain until we pass from this life.  I am never going to love my enemies in the way that Christ commands; in fact, I’m not working on it at all.  How many churches are going to kick me out for that?  Should it be any different if I said I was never going to give up a homosexual relationship?

Centipedes

I saw a centipede the other day, and it produced in me a visceral sense of revulsion.  I’ve never been bitten by one, nor remember any childhood trauma involving them, so I wonder “Why do I find centipedes so repulsive?”  I don’t think it’s just me; video game designers routinely use insect forms for villians.  Movies, too: think Aliens or Starship Troopers.  Have we ever seen a hero who looks like a centipede?  Even among monsters the bad guy is a centipede (Monsters, Inc).

So I think it’s hard-wired into human DNA.  Puppies, cute.  Centipedes, revolting.  Because of my prejudice against that extreme level of ugliness, I wondered if my belief in centipede poison was unfounded.  So I did a quick google and found an article that made me laugh out loud.  Am I the only one who thinks this stuff is funny?

Most centipedes can only bite with their poison claws located directly under the head; however, Scolopendra can harm a person with the sharp claws of its many walking legs. Each walking leg is tipped with a sharp claw capable of making tiny cuts in human skin. A poison produced from the attachment point of each leg may be dropped into the wounds resulting in an inflamed and irritated condition. The best rule of thumb is NEVER HANDLE CENTIPEDES.
…
The house centipede, Scutigera coleoptrata, originally lived only in Mexico but is now found throughout the United States. It is the only species capable of reproducing in houses and is often seen in and around homes where dampness occurs. The house centipede is active at night, moving about in search of insects. When full grown it is about 1 1/2 inches in Iength and feeds primarily on small insects such as cockroaches, clothes moths, house flies and other insects it  may encounter in the house. The long back legs capture the prey with a “lassoing” action. Although centipedes are beneficial in that they destroy other insects, most people have an aversion to their presence in homes.

And now a quote from C.S. Lewis about centipedes that has stuck with me for years — now I can finally release it in a xanga post:

But the Nietzschean ethic can be accepted only if we are ready to scrap traditional morals as a mere error and then to put ourselves in a position where we can find no ground for any value judgements at all. It is the difference between a man who says to us: ‘You like your vegetables moderately fresh; why not grow your own and have them perfectly fresh?’ and a man who says, ‘Throw away that loaf and try eating bricks and centipedes instead.’  — The Abolition of Man

Dr. Strad’s Moment of Scientific Fame

Dr. Strad is too humble to toot his own German horn, but here is an article/interview of his cutting-edge (haha) work.

http://www.esi-topics.com/fbp/2004/october04-HiroshiYoshimoto.html

Rilke, on marriage

At the retreat this weekend, Angela read a moving piece by Rilke.  It reminded me of my favorite quote by the German poet: “Even between the closest people infinite distances exist.”  Here is the full context.  I don’t know much about marriage, but this rings true to me.

The point of marriage is not to create a quick commonality by tearing down all boundaries; on the contrary, a good marriage is one in which each partner appoints the other to be the guardian of his solitude, and thus they show each other the greatest possible trust. A merging of two people is an impossibility, and where it seems to exist, it is a hemming-in, a mutual consent that robs one party or both parties of their fullest freedom and development. But once the realization is accepted that even between the closest people infinite distances exist, a marvelous living side-by-side can grow up for them, if they succeed in loving the expanse between them, which gives them the possibility of always seeing each other as a whole and before an immense sky.

Fish Texture

I have two favorite fish dishes, and neither are made anymore.  One was the Tandoori Sea Bass made at Raj’s restaurant on University St. in Berkeley, but they closed down years ago.  The other was Blue Ginger’s signature Miso Sea Bass.  But they now substitute Alaskan butterfish for the Chilean Sea Bass (for environmental / extinction reasons), claiming that the texture is almost the same.

Give me a break, Ming Tsai!  Butterfish is a reasonably buttery and flaky fish, but it’s not in the same league as Chilean sea bass.  I just learned that Costco now carries Chilean sea bass fillets, which are supposedly excellent despite being frozen. Pricey, too — I think it works out to about $10/lb.  The Blue Ginger recipe is very good, but incredibly time-consuming because of the intermediate steps required to make the sauce.  I think I may experiment a bit to try to reproduce Raj’s Tandoori sea bass.  Mmmmm….

People vs. Perfection

Last week Shoey wrote a post about probabilities that generated a spirited discussion.  As clieu noted, “all the nerds come out to play!”  A sociologist might note that three groups of people formed:

1) people with the correct answer
2) people with the incorrect answer
3) Shoe, trying to make peace by saying both were correct in their own way  =)

Later Loren told me that there are two types of ministry styles, one valuing perfection (goals, correctness), and the other valuing people.  Ideally there’s a balance and wisdom in knowing when to value which.  For example, if your friend is looking the wrong way and about to walk into an incoming truck, you’d grab him without consulting his opinion.  But if he loves a necktie that seems ugly to you, maybe you should keep quiet.  And if you find his wife really– nevermind, I covered that in a previous post.

Most of us lean one way or the other on that spectrum.  I personally lean more towards the perfection side.  (Howard Roark from The Fountainhead — one of my heros for a while, before I grew up and concluded he was kind of a jerk.)  But I prefer to be at a church which values people over perfection.  Because it’s hard to be vulnerable and grow in a safe environment when others are holding microscopes and wielding scalpels at your soul.

So I landed at Highrock where my preference for perfection puts me in the minority.  Initially I came wanting to leave that behind, to just connect with people, experience healing, love and be loved.  But one thing led to another, and now I find myself in the most perfection- or procedure-oriented position at the church.  And I spend a lot of time thinking about policies and procedures that will help the church run smoothly, grow, and handle changes.  In fact, over the past 2 weeks, I’ve been working on The Guide to Highrock — detailing everything you might want to know about the church.  Who the ministry leaders are.  How to get involved.  How the forums and email lists work.  Who to contact if you’re new to the church.  How to become a member.  Which cell groups are available, how to join them, and how to lead one.

But I’m running into writer’s block.  It may be because I like Highrock the way it is, a little loosey-goosey on the procedures.  With more emphasis on connecting with each other, people before perfection.  In fact, I want to use the Guide as class notes for a 1-hour seminar titled “Highrock 101.”  But that seminar, as Dave has suggested, should emphasize more of the vision and values, and less of the not-so-inspiring procedures and policies.  So maybe I’m stuck trying to write the class notes in one style (perfection) for a talk in a different style (people).

Anyway, I’m not sure what to do.  But I’m looking forward to the retreat this weekend.

Currently Playing: Xbox

I’ve been giddy-happy the past few days because my friend Augie gave me an Xbox as a housewarming gift.  For months I’ve been hesitating on getting one as my primary DVD player or getting a combo DVD/VCR instead.  But now the decision is settled for me.  It’s not like I couldn’t afford it myself, but it makes me so much happier to get one as a gift from a friend.  Isn’t that always the case?

A long time ago, I gave Augie a cool gift too — it was my first stained glass panel, customized with his signature symbol in the middle.  Here’s a picture of it:

I haven’t given any extravagant gifts in a while (probably the last one was a set of nice Henckels knives for eyeman’s birthday), but it’s something I should do more often.  It’s a real privilege to have close friends that won’t feel obligated if you get them expensive gifts.  Or you can splurge on pastors and teachers.  They make low wages for the love of serving you, so they understand if you give them gifts.  Word of common sense: if it’s a teacher, do it after your final grade or else you may give the wrong impression.

A few months ago — just after the CEA conference — I thought it would be a cool idea to provide a live forum to discuss work and career-related issues.  Maybe either hosting some panel discussions or preparing some lectures.  That project is still stewing on the back burner, being slow-cooked, and in the meantime I’ve started reading through books on the subject.  So far I’ve re-read What Should I Do With My Life and gotten 90% through Gig.  Now I’m working through Love the Work You’re With.

The first chapter is about having passion for your job, or maybe finding out what makes you passionate, and seeing how you can fit that into your job.  The first exercise in the first chapter is to identify five people you admire, and why.  Initially I could come up with only one person, the late physicist Richard Feynman, who wrote the inimitable Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!  He was brilliant scientist, immature rascal, and lover of life all rolled into one.

After a few more days, I came up with two more: John Williams, for turning his talent into a series of top movie soundtracks.  And Justin Timberlake, for his 2003 MTV Music Awards Matrix spoof.  The funniest thing I’ve seen in years (you can catch it on the extras-DVD of the Matrix Reloaded).  I mean, I love the Matrix series, but it takes itself so seriously —  it’s a perfect setup for that kind of parody.

So, back to the book.  I think all in all, it was a pretty good exercise.  It reminded me that one of my passions is laughing, and making people laugh.  It’s probably why I spend time on xanga, still turn to the comics section first, and collect stand-up comedy CD’s.  Latest recommendation: Margaret Cho.  I wasn’t a big fan of her TV show, but her stand-up is hilarious!