Grandmaster Gata Kamsky clinched his second consecutive U.S. Chess Championship title yesterday with a 1.5-0.5 victory over Yury Shulman in the finals. Kamsky is now a three-time winner, with his first title coming in 1991. The last player to win back-to-back titles was Lev Alburt in 1984-1985. The women's championship has gone to tiebreaks and will be decided today; by this time tomorrow either Tatev Abrahamyan or Anna Zatonskih will be newly coronated. Last year's champion, Irina Krush, finished in third place.
Two of my former colleagues were recently highlighted for unveiling their culminating engineering project, a combination blood pressure / atrial fibrillation monitoring system. Adam Strom '10 and Jeff Spielberg '10, good friends with whom I served for multiple years on the Dartmouth EMS officer board, completed this project while finishing their BE degrees this winter. The first patient for the device was none other than Dartmouth College President Jim Yong Kim. This is an exciting achievement that has great potential. Way to go, guys!
Speaking of Dartmouth EMS, they organized the second annual Northern New England Collegiate EMS Conference this past Saturday at Dartmouth College. Comprised of a series of training sessions and two mass-casualty incident drills, the event was attended by squads from Tufts, Mt. Holyoke, the University of Vermont, the University of Massachusetts--Lowell, Amherst, Colby and Worcester Polytechnic Institute, along with host Dartmouth. I had the privilege to participate in the event, first as a drill evaluator and later as an actor in one of the simulations. It was an impressive undertaking, and I take my hat off to them for pulling it off in fine style.
About Me
- Robert
- I'm a 2009 graduate of Dartmouth College who loves Jesus, my wife and all things Northeast.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Pain (not Thomas)
The government announced yesterday that it will seek to strengthen oversight of the prescription of certain narcotic painkillers. There is concern that patients are illegitimately obtaining and then abusing such medications as OxyContin, fentanyl and Dilaudid. Under the new proposal, physicians would be required to undergo training before being permitted to prescribe these medications. The hope would be that doctors could better identify "drug seekers" and reserve narcotics for patients that actually need them.
Whether or not this proposal will be implemented is unclear, as it would likely require Congressional action before taking effect. Also uncertain is whether or not this would even be a good idea. Drug seekers (people who fake or exaggerate pain to receive strong analgesics that they then use recreationally or sell) have been around as long as pain medication itself, and while it's certainly a dangerous practice that should be curtailed, there are risks inherent in doing so.
Not the least of these is the potential for "false negatives," patients who are in legitimate pain but are denied pain medicine for fear they're faking it. I read an interesting article a little while ago (which I'm unfortunately unable to locate at the moment) in which a physician discussed the relative merit of combating drug seeking versus the elevated risk of denying patients the medicine they need. That particular physician believed that nothing justified withholding needed treatment from a patient, and if the cost of avoiding that was rules lax enough to avoid false negatives but which also allow more drug seekers to achieve their ends, then so be it.
That's not to say that the new proposal would necessarily have this effect. Indeed, if the training were effective, physicians might be better able to identify those patients who are truly in pain (reducing false negatives) while also better weeding out those patients who are simply looking for narcotics (thereby also reducing false positives). Certainly it's a complex issue, and one I'll be interested to watch as it progresses along the often-glacial path to implementation.
Whether or not this proposal will be implemented is unclear, as it would likely require Congressional action before taking effect. Also uncertain is whether or not this would even be a good idea. Drug seekers (people who fake or exaggerate pain to receive strong analgesics that they then use recreationally or sell) have been around as long as pain medication itself, and while it's certainly a dangerous practice that should be curtailed, there are risks inherent in doing so.
Not the least of these is the potential for "false negatives," patients who are in legitimate pain but are denied pain medicine for fear they're faking it. I read an interesting article a little while ago (which I'm unfortunately unable to locate at the moment) in which a physician discussed the relative merit of combating drug seeking versus the elevated risk of denying patients the medicine they need. That particular physician believed that nothing justified withholding needed treatment from a patient, and if the cost of avoiding that was rules lax enough to avoid false negatives but which also allow more drug seekers to achieve their ends, then so be it.
That's not to say that the new proposal would necessarily have this effect. Indeed, if the training were effective, physicians might be better able to identify those patients who are truly in pain (reducing false negatives) while also better weeding out those patients who are simply looking for narcotics (thereby also reducing false positives). Certainly it's a complex issue, and one I'll be interested to watch as it progresses along the often-glacial path to implementation.
First thunderstorm
To paraphrase Gabriel Garcia Marquez, "Spring ... limps along, but it gets here all the same." With the first thunderstorm of the season this morning, I'm beginning to think winter might actually end this year. Saturday's snow flurries were a big of a downer, but the appearance of the first buds on the trees yesterday more than made up for that. It's not that I don't like winter, but ... enough already!
The U.S. Chess Championships are in full swing; youth is carrying the day so far. Surprise leaders include college students Robert Hess and Sam Shankland (technically speaking, Hess has not yet started at Yale, where he will be a freshman in the fall). Veteran participants--and past champions--Alexander Onischuk and Gata Kamsky are also at the top of the crosstable. The women's field is starting to clarify as well, with Sabina Foisor finally faltering as pre-tournament favorites Irina Krush and Anna Zatonskih make up ground.
Unfortunately, my fantasy chess team is shaping up to be a basement-dweller this year. Some players are perennially high scorers, but my "dark-horse" picks have had rotten performances so far. I'm hoping for a second-half turnaround, but I have a sinking feeling that my fantasy chess team is going the way of my NCAA March Madness bracket. It's a good thing I don't gamble.
In other news, the 2011 Pulitzer Prize winners were announced this week; recipients included Joseph Rago '05 for his editorial contributions to The Wall Street Journal. Congratulations to all the winners!
The U.S. Chess Championships are in full swing; youth is carrying the day so far. Surprise leaders include college students Robert Hess and Sam Shankland (technically speaking, Hess has not yet started at Yale, where he will be a freshman in the fall). Veteran participants--and past champions--Alexander Onischuk and Gata Kamsky are also at the top of the crosstable. The women's field is starting to clarify as well, with Sabina Foisor finally faltering as pre-tournament favorites Irina Krush and Anna Zatonskih make up ground.
Unfortunately, my fantasy chess team is shaping up to be a basement-dweller this year. Some players are perennially high scorers, but my "dark-horse" picks have had rotten performances so far. I'm hoping for a second-half turnaround, but I have a sinking feeling that my fantasy chess team is going the way of my NCAA March Madness bracket. It's a good thing I don't gamble.
In other news, the 2011 Pulitzer Prize winners were announced this week; recipients included Joseph Rago '05 for his editorial contributions to The Wall Street Journal. Congratulations to all the winners!
Saturday, April 16, 2011
U.S. Championships underway
The U.S. Chess Championships began yesterday in St. Louis. There are sixteen players in the men's tournament and eight in the women's; last year's women's champion Irina Krush declined her automatic invitation to the men's tournament and chose instead to defend her title. Unfortunately for her, she was upset in the first round by Sabina Foisor, but there's a lot of chess still to play and anything can happen. On the men's side, most of the first-round games were drawn, with only Grandmasters Ben Finegold and Alexander Shabalov falling, to GM Alexander Onischuk and GM Larry Christiansen, respectively.
Closer to home, the New Hampshire Quick Chess Championship was contested earlier in the month, but I was unfortunately unable to attend. I would have liked to play, but the tournament just didn't fit into my schedule. I did get to play in the Vermont Resort Open in Fairlee, VT last month, and even though I suffered a last-round defeat at the hands of FIDE Master Nelson Castaneda which dropped me out of the prize money, I still had a great time. Hopefully I'll play in another tournament soon!
The NBA playoffs begin today, although I have a feeling my interest will soon wane once the Knicks are annihilated by the Celtics. I know that Sun Tzu would disapprove of my attitude, and I also know that the Knicks have shown flashes of brilliance this season during which they can beat any team, but I fear their inconsistency will match up poorly against the Celtics' experience. Though that experience (read, age) will catch up to them as they, in turn, fall to a surprisingly talented Bulls team. And despite the preponderance of individual stars in the East, I'm predicting another Western Conference NBA champion this year. There, I said it.
In other news, the Internet has been ablaze with the story of Kevin Na, the PGA golfer who required sixteen strokes to finish a par-4 hole on Thursday. You have to admire the man's persistence, though. I usually call it quits on a mini-golf hole after eight shots.
Closer to home, the New Hampshire Quick Chess Championship was contested earlier in the month, but I was unfortunately unable to attend. I would have liked to play, but the tournament just didn't fit into my schedule. I did get to play in the Vermont Resort Open in Fairlee, VT last month, and even though I suffered a last-round defeat at the hands of FIDE Master Nelson Castaneda which dropped me out of the prize money, I still had a great time. Hopefully I'll play in another tournament soon!
The NBA playoffs begin today, although I have a feeling my interest will soon wane once the Knicks are annihilated by the Celtics. I know that Sun Tzu would disapprove of my attitude, and I also know that the Knicks have shown flashes of brilliance this season during which they can beat any team, but I fear their inconsistency will match up poorly against the Celtics' experience. Though that experience (read, age) will catch up to them as they, in turn, fall to a surprisingly talented Bulls team. And despite the preponderance of individual stars in the East, I'm predicting another Western Conference NBA champion this year. There, I said it.
In other news, the Internet has been ablaze with the story of Kevin Na, the PGA golfer who required sixteen strokes to finish a par-4 hole on Thursday. You have to admire the man's persistence, though. I usually call it quits on a mini-golf hole after eight shots.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Opening day
Opening Day is one of my favorite days of the year. At long last, baseball is back. And even though it was cold and snowy across the Northeast this year, nothing can diminish my enthusiasm for the return of the national pastime. One week into the season, I'm generally pleased with the way things are going. Other than Monday night's irregularity, the Yankees' bullpen has performed as advertised, and their lineup seems to be largely avoiding the prolonged start-of-season thaw they've endured the past few years. It comes as a pleasant surprise, too, that perennial foes Tampa Bay and Boston have started the season a combined 0-11. 162 games is a long time, and anything is possible, but I'll take what I can get. (I am less pleased by Texas's red-hot start ... they don't seem to be missing a beat despite losing Cliff Lee to free agency.)
I was reading the story of the pilot who made an emergency landing on a beach in Queens earlier this week. Fortunately, no one was injured and it doesn't seem like there was any significant property damage. Still, it was a bizarre episode. One of the many questions running through my mind after reading the account of the pilot's conversation with the air traffic controller: How does enrolling in medical school make you a paramedic?
As best I can tell, the looming government shutdown (with the deluge of media coverage this possibility has received recently, I'm beginning to think it should be all one word) is not going to directly affect ambulance operations in New Hampshire. Medicare will continue making payments, at least for a time, drawn on money set aside previously. Should a prolonged shutdown occur, who knows how that might affect ambulance services? Not I.
In other news, the University of Connecticut and Texas A&M won the NCAA men's and women's basketball championship, respectively, this past week. Congratulations to them both.
I was reading the story of the pilot who made an emergency landing on a beach in Queens earlier this week. Fortunately, no one was injured and it doesn't seem like there was any significant property damage. Still, it was a bizarre episode. One of the many questions running through my mind after reading the account of the pilot's conversation with the air traffic controller: How does enrolling in medical school make you a paramedic?
As best I can tell, the looming government shutdown (with the deluge of media coverage this possibility has received recently, I'm beginning to think it should be all one word) is not going to directly affect ambulance operations in New Hampshire. Medicare will continue making payments, at least for a time, drawn on money set aside previously. Should a prolonged shutdown occur, who knows how that might affect ambulance services? Not I.
In other news, the University of Connecticut and Texas A&M won the NCAA men's and women's basketball championship, respectively, this past week. Congratulations to them both.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Mutiny on the Bounty
I just finished Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall's Mutiny on the Bounty. What a terrific book. I've yet to see its Best Picture-winning film adaptation (though you can expect a comparison when I do), but I'm certainly looking forward to it. Ellen saw the film long ago and said she enjoyed it. One of the things that struck me most about Mutiny on the Bounty is how gripping the prose was. Not just the story grabbed me but the words themselves did too. I could practically feel the sun beating down on me and the sea spray splashing against my face. I'm not exactly the seafaring type, but I enjoyed opening the book and feeling as though I were.
Evidently there are two sequels that deal with the lives of the other men on the ship. Whereas the latter part of Mutiny on the Bounty deals primarily with the men who stayed behind on Tahiti after the mutiny, the other two books follow the cast-off, non-mutinous crew and the mutineers who stayed with the ship. I'll have to look them up when I get a chance. For now, my next book looks like it will be Robert Bolt's 1960 play A Man for all Seasons, another offering on my Best-Picture-winning-movie-that-was-adapted-from-a-book list. Of the twenty entries on the list, A Man for all Seasons is one of only four plays. The others are Amadeus by Peter Shaffer, You Can't Take it With You by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart and Hamlet by William Shakespeare.
The director of the Harvard University Library, Robert Darnton, wrote an intriguing op-ed in yesterday's New York Times. He remarked on Google's attempt to digitize every book ever written and the recent setback this endeavor was dealt when a judge rejected a settlement between the company and two groups that were suing it over the project. Darnton goes on to propose a digital public library that he feels would be a superior, more accessible clearinghouse than what Google had proposed. With the digitization of books becoming more widespread, it's an idea that will come to fruition sooner or later, in one form or another. The only questions are when, how and how well will it be done. The article is definitely worth a read.
In other news, I heard recently that Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco has begun his tryout with Major League Soccer team Sporting Kansas City. I guess everybody passes the time differently during a lockout ...
Evidently there are two sequels that deal with the lives of the other men on the ship. Whereas the latter part of Mutiny on the Bounty deals primarily with the men who stayed behind on Tahiti after the mutiny, the other two books follow the cast-off, non-mutinous crew and the mutineers who stayed with the ship. I'll have to look them up when I get a chance. For now, my next book looks like it will be Robert Bolt's 1960 play A Man for all Seasons, another offering on my Best-Picture-winning-movie-that-was-adapted-from-a-book list. Of the twenty entries on the list, A Man for all Seasons is one of only four plays. The others are Amadeus by Peter Shaffer, You Can't Take it With You by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart and Hamlet by William Shakespeare.
The director of the Harvard University Library, Robert Darnton, wrote an intriguing op-ed in yesterday's New York Times. He remarked on Google's attempt to digitize every book ever written and the recent setback this endeavor was dealt when a judge rejected a settlement between the company and two groups that were suing it over the project. Darnton goes on to propose a digital public library that he feels would be a superior, more accessible clearinghouse than what Google had proposed. With the digitization of books becoming more widespread, it's an idea that will come to fruition sooner or later, in one form or another. The only questions are when, how and how well will it be done. The article is definitely worth a read.
In other news, I heard recently that Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco has begun his tryout with Major League Soccer team Sporting Kansas City. I guess everybody passes the time differently during a lockout ...
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Shamrock Shuffle
Yesterday was the tenth annual Shamrock Shuffle, a 5K race put on by the Lebanon, New Hampshire Parks and Rec department as a fundraiser of some sort. Ellen participated for the first time this year, and she turned in a fantastic time, finishing in the top ten in her age group (there were six hundred sixteen runners overall). I was duly impressed, all the more so because she hadn't done any dedicated training for this race. Way to go, Ellen!
The NCAA March Madness tournament is in full swing, and I must admit I've had better years (at least I think so; I don't track my results from year to year). I don't pay a ton of attention to non-Ivy League college basketball--although I have a geographic soft spot in my heart for the Big East, too--but it's fun to fill out a bracket and hope I picked the right upsets. So far so good, although I certainly didn't see the Louisville and Pitt results coming.
Also, today is the first official day of spring. Between this and the advent of daylight savings time last weekend, I'm starting to believe that winter might actually end this year. Throw in sunshine, receding snow banks and a tentative return of the birds and things are starting to look up indeed. Now all we need is Opening Day and we'll be all set.
In other news, tomorrow is World Poetry Day. Enjoy it!
The NCAA March Madness tournament is in full swing, and I must admit I've had better years (at least I think so; I don't track my results from year to year). I don't pay a ton of attention to non-Ivy League college basketball--although I have a geographic soft spot in my heart for the Big East, too--but it's fun to fill out a bracket and hope I picked the right upsets. So far so good, although I certainly didn't see the Louisville and Pitt results coming.
Also, today is the first official day of spring. Between this and the advent of daylight savings time last weekend, I'm starting to believe that winter might actually end this year. Throw in sunshine, receding snow banks and a tentative return of the birds and things are starting to look up indeed. Now all we need is Opening Day and we'll be all set.
In other news, tomorrow is World Poetry Day. Enjoy it!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)