Vaccine Against A Hoax

I recently discovered that one can get vaccinated against a hoax.

Too bad that one cannot get vaccinated against stupidity.

It is amusing, isn't it?

Gay Conversion Therapist Outted For Soliciting Sex On Gay-Dating App

You can't make this up!

You'd think that the Larry Craigs of the world would have learned from his debacle, but noooooo.

This time, a rabid gay conversion therapist and advocate has been outted by two different sources as being someone who solicits gay sex on those dating apps/website.

Norman Goldwasser, by day, is an Orthodox Jewish therapist at Horizon Psychological Services who compares homosexuality to Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and misleads clients by claiming that their sexual orientation can be changed with his special brand of quack therapy, which is rejected by every respected medical and mental health association. By night, an undercover investigation by Truth Wins Out has found, he solicits sexual partners on Manhunt, a gay dating App, using the profile “Hotnhairy72.” During our operation, Goldwasser, going by the pseudonym “Dave”, offered to meet for sex with our operative, “Brandon,” at a Fort Lauderdale motel room. Goldwasser also had a profile on Bear Nation by the same name.

It didn't say whether "Brandon" sacrificed himself and did the dirty deed with "Dave". :)

This would have been hysterically funny if it weren't so downright repugnant and serious. And if this destroys this type of quack organization, then it can't come any sooner. Gay conversion therapy should be outlawed already!

Zz.

Conversion Therapy Does Not Work!

And now we have the most extensive review of all the evidence that shows this.

The report, released by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, reviewed the scientific evidence on conversion therapy and concluded that the practice is not effective and is often harmful.

An expert panel convened by the American Psychological Association also published in the report a consensus statement warning of the dangers of conversion therapy and confirming that variations in sexual orientation are normal.

The SAMHSA report can be obtained here.

Will this stop all these conversion therapy? Of course not. After all, there are still people  who believe the universe is only 6000 years old, despite all the physical evidence. So why would something like this change their minds? The only way to stop  this is to make it illegal in each state or country. Do you think politicians, or your politician, care about scientific evidence?

Zz.

How Big Is The Average Penis?

For me, or people everywhere, who have wondered about this, a new and extensive survey of all the studies so far has the result.

Published today in the British Journal of Urology International, their new study synthesizes data from 17 previous academic papers that included measurements from a total of 15,521 men from around the world. The data enabled the researchers to calculate averages and model the estimated distribution of penile dimensions across humanity. “It still just strikes me how many men have questions and insecurities and concerns about their own penis size. We actually do need good data on it,” says Debra Herbenick, a behavioral scientist at Indiana University, Bloomington, who was not involved in the study.

According to the team’s analysis, the average flaccid, pendulous penis is 9.16 cm (3.61 inches) in length; the average erect penis is 13.12 cm (5.16 inches) long. The corresponding girth measurements are 9.31 cm (3.66 inches) for a flaccid penis and 11.66 cm (4.59 inches) for an erect one.

So there ya go! Get out your ruler, measure, and compare!

Zz.

What It's REALLY Like To Have A Colonoscopy

I just read this account of the process leading up to and the procedure of having a colonoscopy. If you are over 50, especially if you are still in your 50s, you should have this done soon.

My account isn't as "dramatic" as this one. In fact, it was actually quite easy. Certainly the day-before-procedure cleansing of one's bowels isn't pretty, but it actually wasn't horrible either. I forgot what I had to drink, but it wasn't the awful liquid that I heard about from others. In fact, I get to mix it with sodas such as 7-up or gingerale. I also get to eat jello, lots of jelly, till 6:00 pm that day. It is only after that that I can't consume anything else. I think the cut-off point for all liquid was midnight.

The procedure the next day was early in the morning. After the prep, I was given the option of being put out for the entire procedure, or being fully awake. The gastro-int specialist told me that most of his patients opted for the latter, and described to me the kind of discomfort that I will encounter. I decided to bite the bullet and stayed awake for the entire thing. The advantage of not being put out is that there was almost no recovery time. You can get dressed and drive away afterwards, whereas if you decide to be put out, they will have to put you in the recovery room and made sure you are fine before they let you go, and even then, you can't drive yourself out for the rest of the day.

Just as a precaution, they put an IV drip in just in case I changed my mind. I didn't.

I got to see the entire procedure on a large-screen monitor. The surgeon described to me in detail what we were seeing. They found a total of 5 polyps, which they snipped and removed. The discomfort that I felt happened whenever they had to pump air into my colon. When they do this, it felt like you're having a tummy cramp. While it is a bit painful and uncomfortable, it wasn't anything I couldn't handle. The surgeon and the nurse kept telling me to pass gas whenever I was having such cramps, but it wasn't that easy when your instinct has been trained not to do that in public, and when you have something stuck up your butt!

Because they found polyps for this first procedure ever, I will have to go back and do another one in 3 years. But after having done this for the first time, I won't say that I am looking forward to the next one, but at least I now know it isn't going to be as bad as most people expected.

Zz.

Another Reason To Eat Curry

Not wanting to jump onto the bandwagon here since medical research tends to require a bit of time to "digest" {pun intended} and be verified, but new research suggest that the tumeric in curries may fight against esophageal cancer cells.

Researchers at the Cork Cancer Research Center in Ireland treated esophageal cancer cells with curcumin -- a chemical found in the spice turmeric, which gives curries a distinctive yellow color -- and found it started to kill cancer cells within 24 hours.

The cells also began to digest themselves, they said in a study published in the British Journal of Cancer.

Previous scientific studies have suggested curcumin can suppress tumors and that people who eat lots of curry may be less prone to the disease, although curcumin loses its anti-cancer attributes quickly when ingested.

They don't have to sell it to me, since I love curries and indian food anyway. I just wish that the curries that I like don't have that much salt and that much calories and fat. So yeah, they fight cancer, but they make you obese! So not sure if this is fair trade-off!

But all this blogging about curries makes me crave for indian food....

Zz.

Teen Outsmarts Doctors In Science Class

I am so impressed by this teen, who managed to find what's wrong with her, no thanks to her doctors.

"Not knowing much about a disease you're growing up with is not only nerve-wracking, but it's confusing," Terry told the Sammamish Reporter.

So when local pathologists stopped in to teach students in her Biomedical Problems class how to analyze slides, the high school senior decided to give her own intestines a look.

What she found? A large dark area showing inflammation, otherwise known as a granuloma--a sure sign of the intestinal disease.

It's too bad they didn't go back to her previous and asked them how could the lab missed something like this, even if it is difficult to spot. I mean, if she could find it herself using a class microscope.....

Zz.