Have a friend that was having a major manipulation done to her shoulder, sort of a pre-surgery relocation or something that entailed the doc putting his knee in her chest and tugging or whatnot. They gave her a drug, I think maybe orally administered that allowed her to be sentient and conversant and cooperative, but she didn't remember a thing. Struck me as something from a science fiction movie or spy thriller. I think it also dulled the pain, but I remember thinking "if you caused a lot of pain to the patient, but they don't remember it, were they ever in pain" I don't remember what it was called. Forgettitol^tm? [edit:] It's called Versed.

In reply to this comment by snoozedoctor:
No, general anesthesia is not like physiologic sleep, the latter being a complex and active function of neurons located in the brain stem, in and around the thalamus. If you are unlucky enough, a small stroke in this area, while not damaging a significant portion of the brain, can result in permanent coma.

For an interesting sleep disorder, look up fatal familial insomnia. It's rare, and one you don't want to get.

The mechanisms of the some of the general anesthetics are still unknown. For instance, we don't know how the most widely used ones, the halogenated hydrocarbon gases, (halothane, isoflurane, sevoflurane, etc.) have their effect. Their potency is significantly related to their lipid solubility, which suggests they get in your neural cell lipid membranes, and alter them (temporarily) such that they can't carry on communication with other neurons. They've been used for 150 years now, and we still don't know exactly how they work!
Many of the IV anesthetics inhibit specific receptors and antagonize specific neurotransmitters, such that we do know how most of them work.

Cheers,

In reply to this comment by schmawy:
No, I don't have that kind of depth of knowledge. Sleep and dreams are so mysterious and fascinating, though. Is anesthesia anything like sleep, or nothing at all? Does a patient have REM under the gas?

In reply to this comment by snoozedoctor:
Watched this last night and forgot to upvote. I was diverted by looking for video of the goats with the myotonia, undoubtedly a similar phenomena. Alas, there was already a similar sift, so I dropped it. You ARE going medical on us.

Done and done.

"Each, according to his means." - Wow, that must be your inner Marxist coming out. I promise not to tell your conservative brethren here.

In reply to this comment by snoozedoctor:
Thanks for your offer, and "each, according to his means."
www.sweetrelief.org
It was named after her song Opelousas (Sweet Relief)
http://www.videosift.com/video/Opelousas-Sweet-relief-Maria-McKee
Maria McKee did this version on the tribute CD that helped start Sweet Relief.

Like many of my posts, it went nowhere, but Jonny liked it a lot.

What is her charity? Does she have a website where I can donate a little green? (Very little, mind you. I was born a poor black child.)

In reply to this comment by snoozedoctor:
"Know her" is a stretch. I met her in March in Joshua Tree, CA where she lives. She was very kind as I practically melted before one of my songwriting heroes. But since, I've been helping her with some medical questions and when she told me the charity was in trouble, I thought, "what the hell" I'll get involved and see what I can do. Thanks again for being a great guy.

Wow, you personally know here? Awesome! I hope her charity hangs in there, buddy.

In reply to this comment by snoozedoctor:
Knowing the guy you are, I expected this to happen, nonetheless, I'm grateful. Victoria and I have been communicating regarding the charity she founded called "Sweet Relief" Its mission is to provide financial assistance to self-employed musicians faced with medical expenses they can't afford. Like so many small charities right now, they are in jeopardy because of the economy. I'm trying to see what I can do to help. I would love to see this talented woman get more exposure.
In reply to this comment by kronosposeidon:
*promote the awesome storyteller

No, I don't have that kind of depth of knowledge. Sleep and dreams are so mysterious and fascinating, though. Is anesthesia anything like sleep, or nothing at all? Does a patient have REM under the gas?

In reply to this comment by snoozedoctor:
Watched this last night and forgot to upvote. I was diverted by looking for video of the goats with the myotonia, undoubtedly a similar phenomena. Alas, there was already a similar sift, so I dropped it. You ARE going medical on us.

Check out how choggie's been funnin' with video aspect ratios:

http://www.videosift.com/video/Karen-Carpenter-Drum-Montage

I think you'll appreciate his sense of humor on this one.

Hello Thanks for your Vote Up

No, I'm not a physicist either, though occasionally I pretend to be one. I do have some background in it and try to keep current, but I'm definitely no more than a layman when it comes to understanding stuff like quantum mechanics.

I might have misinterpreted your first comment to mycroft. I thought what you were saying is that while it might be mathematically interesting, it doesn't necessarily have any connection to reality. Afaik, the mathematical framework of String Theory is able to account for everything General Relativity and the Stanard Model predict. But GR is also a mathematical model. The comment about gumbo recipes was a philosophical one. The difference between a recipe for gumbo and a bowl of gumbo is that I can't actually eat the former. The recipe may be an accurate description, but it's not "real" in the sense of being able to fill my belly. So, if I have two recipes for gumbo, my only preference for one over the other is personal taste.

It's not the best analogy. And in some sense, String Theory would be like a recipe that you can't actually cook. String Theory predicts a number of things which apparently can't be tested (currently? or maybe ever?). So, I guess the question is, do you like okra in your gumbo?

In reply to this comment by snoozedoctor:
Jonny,
I'm not a physicist and don't pretend to be one. I worked my ass off to get through introduction to calculus. Conceptually, as I interpreted what I've read about the strings, it seems like trying to squeeze a square peg thru a round hole. If we mathematically cut off the corners we can make it fit. Though, no doubt, theorists scored big last century. But, I'm just skeptical on this one. Are you in physics as well?

Mind if I jump in here? I'm curious what it is that you don't buy. I mean, General Relativity is a mathematical model as well, right? To me, they are both like a recipe for gumbo, but they are not gumbo, if you get my meaning.

[edit] Just noticed mycroft's response. A specific testable prediction would be nice in the mathematical model, and I think it's being worked on, but afaik, it can't be tested with current tech? possibly with any tech? That would make it a bit of mental masturbation ultimately, unless it can be used to predict something.

In reply to this comment by snoozedoctor:
Hey, this has little to do with the sift, but, as a physicist, what do you think of all this string theory business. Is it just mathematic manipulation? I recently read another book about it. So far, I'm not buying it.

A healthy bit of skepticism is my current position. They don't predict anything new and they need to add dimensions to get what we already have. So, I am agnostic at best and a atheist at worst.

In reply to this comment by snoozedoctor:
Hey, this has little to do with the sift, but, as a physicist, what do you think of all this string theory business. Is it just mathematic manipulation? I recently read another book about it. So far, I'm not buying it.

I know you did not volunteer for this, but I'm posting to you anyway:

Our own Monster of Ceremonies, gorgonheap, will lead us in a dissection of Doc_M on Friday, April 25th @ 5:00pm MST. All participants are invited to bring their scalpels and other appropriate tools for this siftious endeavor. Medical records and other pertinent information will be made available here.

THE JESTER

Well, of course you had to post Hamster Love. But I'm afraid it only enhanced Muskrat Love...

In reply to this comment by snoozedoctor:
I had to post "Hamster Love" to counteract "Muskrat Love." It was necessary. Critttter, your queue is pivotal. Keep it that way.

Once you declare a video * dead you have to wait 48 hours before someone beside the original poster can fix it. If the original poster does not fix it in that time frame then it goes to the Dead Pool. Once it's there there's a link you can click that says "fix video embed code". That is where you can replace the bad one with the good one. Because you had just declared it * dead you wouldn't be able to fix it immediately.

Don't worry; I just fixed it. Thanks anyway!

In reply to this comment by snoozedoctor:
I wanted to fix this one, but I still can't figure out how to bring them back from the dead. How do you do it?

In reply to this comment by kronosposeidon:
From Wikipedia:

"Playing on stage with him in LA was one of the biggest thrills for me ever." Slash (Guns N' Roses)

"A beautiful man and an amazing guitar player. He was a very sensitive man and a great musician." The Edge (U2)

"Rory is probably the single guitarist who meant the most to me." Tom Guerra, guitarist of Mambo Sons

"It was all about him playing the guitar, it got into your soul." Cameron Crowe (Writer/Film Director)

"In the 70s he built himself a reputation as a live performer of tremendous vitality." "He was even headhunted to join The Rolling Stones." Niall Stokes (Editor, Hot Press)

"One of the things that was crucial for me I got from Rory Gallagher, which was the idea of, like, being a guitar player for life and living it." Johnny Marr (The Smiths/ The The/ Electronic/ Johnny Marr and the Healers/Modest Mouse)

"Rory's death really upset me. I heard about it just before we went on stage, and it put a damper on the evening. I can't say I knew him that well, but I remember meeting him in our offices once, and we spent an hour talking. He was such a nice guy and a great player." Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin

"So these couple of kids come up, who's me and my mate, and say 'How do you get your sound Mr. Gallagher?' and he sits and tells us. So I owe Rory Gallagher my sound." Brian May (Queen)

"Rory's death is a tragic loss of a great musician and a very good friend." Van Morrison

"The man who got me back into the blues." Eric Clapton

"An uncompromisingly serious musician" The Times, 16 June 1995.

Comment hidden because you are ignoring dag. (show it anyway)

Hurry up and get your diamond on.

In reply to this comment by snoozedoctor:
I saw this the other day. Fascinating. Medical channel? Hmmmmmmmmmm. Intrigue.

In reply to this comment by dag:
We could use a medical channel. Doc Snooze?

Well then, here you go.

In reply to this comment by snoozedoctor:
I'm going Dolores too. My older brother came home with that album. It's a darn good album too. I listened to it quite a bit.
In reply to this comment by kronosposeidon:
^You mean this album cover? Yeah, that was pretty hot alright. However I'm still partial to Dolor
es Erickson. My parents had that album, and I was fond of staring at that sleeve a LOT.

In reply to this comment by snoozedoctor:
The best Bond song. Maybe because; music by Marvin Hamlisch, (cheesy looking guy but quite talented), with lyrics by Carole Bayer Sager.
Who remembers that Carly album cover from "Playing Possum" with her on her knees in that teddy? Without a doubt the hottest album cover of the early 70s. My prior favorite, the whipped cream girl, Dolores Erickson, on the Tijuana Brass LP.