Hey there! I'm officially on VACATION so watch this be the second shortest blog ever.

http://www.ohsu.edu/ohsuedu/newspub/releases/092707prostate.cfm

Do note the last few paragraphs about the potential conflict of interest that has been identified and addressed. This research is facinating!!

And do you have notes taped to your fridge at work.. like, "Who stole my leftovers?" or "Clean up after yourself".

Well, this is what happens when you let brainy scientists get a hold of fridges/freezers.

Notes like this are always all over the place in labs.. I've seen some funny ones over the years about not putting your lunch in the fridge that supposed to hold blood samples, etc.

LATER!

Posted by Stephanie Stricklen at 1:44 PM | Permalink

The Nike Native American shoe is pretty cool. I like the aesthetics.. the subtle design cues that Nike includes in a lot of its shoes that make them unique and worth taking a second look at.

Here's a link that will give you more detail on how the program works, and more on the shoe: http://www.nike.com/nikebiz/news/pressrelease.jhtml?year=2007&month=09&letter=d

If you're Native American then I definitely want to share this with you. It has more Oregon resources than you'll ever know what to do with, which is a good thing: http://www.leg.state.or.us/cis/directory2003.pdf

Also, here is a health link: http://americanindianhealth.nlm.nih.gov/intro.html

Hey-- check out a few of our Race For The Cure particpants!!

On the left is Barbara.. in the middle is Cary, one of our directors.. and on the right is DJ (our new general manager). I was up on the platform covering for Laural Porter while she raced. Her team raised a boatload of money!!! And just seeing all that pink... it's really a pretty incredible event.

Wow... I'm almost on hour 12. Gotta scoot!! See you tomorrow. email Stephanie Stricklen

Posted by Stephanie Stricklen at 2:01 PM | Permalink

Well, it's Monday.

Moving on.. here is that yoga primer I mentioned in my health wrap.
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/yoga/CM00004

The Mayo clinic has a web page for just about everything health related.. it's really quite amazing. And Google loads 'em right up at the top when you query something so more often than not I'm peeking at a Mayo Clinic page while I'm doing background research on something.

Let me say one thing about yoga.. if you take a class and just aren't that fired up about it, do keep in mind that like ANY class-- so much depends on the quality of who's teaching it. So, don't quit without trying out a few classes to see how they feel.

Oh yeah, yoga is H-A-R-D hard. At least it is for me. I'm jelly by the time I'm done.

GB dropped me an email about eHuman: In short, WOW. That program is amazing. Everybody should take the time to go see it once. Yeah there is a lot of downloading and yes you have to accept an executable program to make it all run, and yeah it takes a few minutes, but then it's better than anyone could imagine that you can learn so much from a freebie demo. I can only imagine what the paid program would offer up.

Hey, yet another reason PDX lives up to the bumper sticker "Keep Portland Wierd". Anyone know the backstory on this?

sstricklen@kgw.com is Stephanie Stricklen's email address, in case you were wondering, or even if you weren't.

Posted by Stephanie Stricklen at 11:21 AM | Permalink

On our feeds when a story comes down we have a name for them-- called a slug. The slug of the eHuman story was "CADAVER MAPPER", which is entirely to the point, but still made me raise an eyebrow.

Here's the link to the eHuman project I promised:
http://brownandherbranson.com/

And in case you wanted a little more sciency stuff on the restricted calories story-- check here: http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=242CBE56-E7F2-99DF-37DEAE209E877BFB&chanID=sa011

Shari writes about the guy who put the rattlesnake in his mouth:My father was bitten by a Cottenmouth. The Doctors in Oklahoma City gave him the anti-venom. He was OK through all of it but one of the side effects of the venom is memory loss. He was in the early stages of Alzheimers when the venom was administered;the side effect of the venom accelerated the Alzheimer symptoms. He got worse really fast; the Doctors told us it was probably from the venom.

I published Barbie's full comment about McGorge Scott's racoon photos, but here's a snippet in case you don't check comments: I was a Texas cattle rancher, and we had plenty of those little thieves! Not only did they steal the vegetables out of our garden, they stole all the apricots off our tree in just one night! I had been out there looking at my tree around dusk the night before, and went inside to tell my husband they were ripe for the pickin' the next day. I went out the next morning, and all I found was a huge pile of apricot pits on the ground!

Sean writes about the Emergency Registry and Network of Care story: Network of Care looks like a great program but through my experience with the elderly, I'm not sure how well it will work. Many senior citizens and disabled people don't want to bother others and/or don't feel that they need help. So I'm not sure how many people will use it.

He also mentioned my recent summit of Council Crest:

Congratulations. You made your goal more than a month early and showed everybody that you are human by putting yourself in the picture. :)

Mind like a steel trap, Sean.. I forgot that I even mentioned wanting to get to it by November!! :-)

And to close things off, here are a few more pics from McGorge Scott. The kitty is checking out a moth, but look who's behind him!!

Have a great weekend!! Email me here!!

Posted by Stephanie Stricklen at 2:43 PM | Permalink

Want to learn more about that emergency registry here in Portland and Multnomah county? Click on this link: www.oregon.networkofcare.org or call:

Multnomah County’s Aging and Disability Services Helpline at 503-988-3646 or the City of Portland’s Disability Program at 503-823-2036.

Here is the full press release (in .pdf format) for you to check out:
http://www.co.multnomah.or.us/news/newsreleases/09-18-07%20City%20&%20County%20launch%20emergency%20registry.pdf

Tell-it-like-he-sees-it Rick writes about the OHSU CPR study: Testing people without their consent is another example of " Creeping Socialism ". It's too bad that the majority of Americans do not know what I am talking about.

Mark writes about the guy who had a couple of beers and showed his friends how cool his rattlesnake was by putting it in his mouth where it bit him on the back of the throat and almost killed him: Geez, do kids just grow up stupid nowadays!!! When I was young, living in ND, I learned to respect rattle snakes... You don't put them in your mouth, after having a couple of beers, unless you have a death wish!!!

That is the funniest story so far this week!!!

Rob writes about us teasing that buck with the small rack.. Now, if that was a female, we would get slapped ... HOW DO YOU THINK HE FEELS!

Um, inadequate?

Way to take a photo of a happy little deer and turn it into something that could get me in trouble with human resources. ((Rob and I jokingly give each other a hard time about the stuff on my blog))

Sherrie sent a gaggle of geese:

Yet another example of an animal that some say is a nuisance. They don't bother me, but, hey, I'm not a grass farmer trying to keep them outta my crops.

AND I DID IT!!! I MADE IT TO THE TOP. AND I HAVE THE SWEATY, SO NOT CUTE STEPH PHOTO TO PROVE IT!

This is, of course, Council Crest which I have successfully jogged to the top of. Without dying.

The highest point in PDX!! http://www.portlandonline.com/parks/finder/index.cfm?action=ViewPark&PropertyID=24

I feel like a rockstar. A sore, aging rockstar. Who is tone deaf. Anyway.
Click here to email Stephanie Stricklen who sings karioke like it's nobody's business.

Posted by Stephanie Stricklen at 12:11 PM | Permalink

Hey ladies and gents..

Here is that full press release on the OHSU CPR study that involves testing people who collapse from cardiac arrest without their consent.

http://www.ohsu.edu/ohsuedu/newspub/releases/091709roc.cfm

And on a lighter note.. here's more on the handwashing story. If you're a gal who went to either the Beavers or Ducks game this weekend then odds are you washed your hands in the restroom.. http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070917/handwashing_070917/20070917?hub=Health

And, more on the plastic blue aprons for doctors: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/health/article2470379.ece

So, often McGorge Scott sends photos like this one (although we both had a good laugh at this poor buck's expense. His rack is so little!)

But look who stops by when the sun goes down!!

I love love love racoons! I know, I know.. a nuisance for many. But they are so resourceful and clever, I just can't help but being interested in an animal that so readily adapts. I feel the same way about crows, too. SUPER smart. Ever watch a flock of crows interact in a group?

Alright! Happy Monday. Happy in that it's almost over for moi! :-)

Click here to email Stephanie Stricklen

Posted by Stephanie Stricklen at 12:11 PM | Permalink

So the Locks of Love story was pretty interesting, eh? Here is a list of the guidelines so your thoughtful donation doesn't go straight into the circular file.

http://www.locksoflove.org/donate.html

And the main page:
http://www.locksoflove.org/

And-- more on that Chronic Fatigue Syndrome stuff!!
http://www.webmd.com/Chronic-Fatigue-Syndrome/news/20070913/Trstomach-virus-could-trigger-cfs

McGorge Scott recently did a marathon fun run thing-- super small, but super fun. The John Day area has a Painted Hills festival too and he sent these along!

And Chuck sent me a boatload of photos after HUNDREDS of these guys moved into his yard!!

sstricklen@kgw.com is the place to send Stephanie Stricklen your insect photos!

Posted by Stephanie Stricklen at 12:01 PM | Permalink

I hopped online and dug through a bunch of resources on this type of surgery-- facinating how they use a device like a little icepick. Also interesting that this used to be 'controversial', according to one source I checked on wikipedia.

I also just got off the phone with an amazing doctor-- Dave Northfield is interviewing her for tonite's 5pm news (as I will be home). It's been a long time since I've heard a doctor give such a great, easy-to-understand explainer about this kind of stuff.

She's not Oden's doctor but we chatted about the details in the Blazer's press release, and she knows all about the surgery so we were good to go.

The Blazer's said the damage is to Oden's articular cartilage in his right knee. That type of cartilage is the smooth coating on the ends of our bones. Think of it as the smooth end of a drumstick. The injury is sort of like a pothole on a road. And, she says, it's also tough to treat. Here's why. The microfracture surgery involves using an ice pick looking device to create small holes in the bone around the injury site. That stimulates new cartilage-- but, it stimulates a different type that more closely resembles scar tissue. That said-- the doctor told me the treatment is a perfect first-attempt to heal him. If it takes, great! If not, then there are other options-- bigger, more complicated surgeries that may or may not work. Look for Dave's interview at 5.

Here are some interesting links with more details on the procedure Greg Oden had:

Microfracture surgery NYT article-- GREAT explainer:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/05/health/nutrition/05knee.html?ex=1189828800&en=e63c001add5e3fa2&ei=5070

Officially-gov't. website:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/007255.htm

Click to email Stephanie Stricklen

Posted by Stephanie Stricklen at 11:33 AM | Permalink

Yup.

It's kind of just like that. Well, it's for your prostate, specifically.

I have a blog already written, but we lost our external internet connectivity at work-- and apparently since I can't log into my work account.. we're still not 'back up'.

So, you get the cliff notes because I'm at home now and don't feel like rewriting.

:-)

Here goes..

For more:
http://www.ohsu.edu/ohsuedu/newspub/releases/091207prostate.cfm

Notes: Not for cancer that has spread. Makes sense because it is really designed to treat one tumor... not lots of little tumors in various places.

Only for prostate cancer-- for now.

Can't be a really heavy man and use it. Your girth will make picking up the GPS's signal too difficult.

That is all. Wow, that took like 3 minutes. See ya tomorrow!

Posted by Stephanie Stricklen at 3:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I have no idea why I capitalized MORE, except that I haven't used my CAPS lock in a while and I was MISSING it.

REALLY.

Okay, first let me give you the cell phone diet story you saw Friday at 5pm... about that study that also used a computer program and helped that gal lose like 30 pounds:

http://www.paceproject.org/Home.html

Feel free to poke around on that one.. there's lots to see.

And for the additives and ADHD story.. here is a great writeup from one of my favorite sites for medical stuff ((WebMD))... http://children.webmd.com/news/20070906/food-additives-may-make-kids-hyper

I leave you with this photo I snapped this morning at one of my very favorite downtown PDX coffee shops.

I haven't tried one yet, but I think I should.
Click here to email Stephanie Stricklen if magic pickles are on your list of things to try.

Posted by Stephanie Stricklen at 12:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

We talked about this in the morning show. I saw stuff beginning to move on our wires yesterday, but when I saw the Today Show landed the interview with the man who got this "popcorn lung".. it made perfect sense to do more with the story.

I mean, pretty much everyone eats microwave popcorn, right??

So-- here is the skinny on the story.

First, for those of us who don't have a medical degree. This is a great Associated Press writeup that details how the doctor made the connection..
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hg2_RfPPdec6l9xS67hL8JkX9UKQ

And this has more on the techical side:
http://www.medpagetoday.com/Pulmonary/Pneumonia/dh/6589

Okay.. have you heard of the Seattle treesweater gal? ((http://erika.fisherking.org/?page_id=271))
WE NOW HAVE ONE OF OUR OWN!!

Angie in Albany knitted this treesweater and frankly, I think this is one of the cutest, most fun ideas I've heard of since those little plastic horses that get hitched to the old horse rings in downtown ((http://www.horseproject.net/)).

I love it here. I really do.

Click here to email Stephanie Stricklen who one time tried to knit an afghan, which quickly turned into a scarf, and then into a half-finished scarf that sat in a basket collecting dust.

Posted by Stephanie Stricklen at 5:41 AM | Permalink

Here's a little bit more from my Wednesday health wrap.. man oh man: 1 in 4 didn't know this!?!

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070904.wlovarian04/BNStory/specialScienceandHealth/home

Here are some additional resources if you like.

I use Medline stuff a lot because it kind of shuffles a lof of things together in a neat and tidy package.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ovariancancer.html

Also: http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/ovarian/

And locally: http://ovariancancerosw.org/

Let me leave you with a picture I snapped the other morning on one of my hilly runs.

You know, I start in downtown off in the distance there and can still only get halfway up Council Crest. When I'm actively training for something (and not coming off an injury like I am now) I can get to the top, although slooooowly. My goal is to get you a scenic shot from the very tippy top. Let's see if I can do that by, say, November.

:-)

C U manana! Stephanie Stricklen can be found via email by clicking here.

Posted by Stephanie Stricklen at 12:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

It's days like this that I LOVE having this blog because I would never ever get the time to go through all of the skinny fly, skinny model story. It's "moving on the wires" as we say, but I really like how this MSNBC contributor wrote it up:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20535978/

As I like to tell my skinny friends... any day now when we get that unexpected ice age... I'll be a survivor!!

And I want you to see this on smoking and dementia.. it's not the study I covered in Tuesday's health wrap, but rather how the same type of research has been covered before. And poorly, according to this editorial which is from 2000.

http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/320/7242/1087

Check out this dahlia.. it's not trick photogrpahy. It really IS as big as our noon show producer Karen's head.

My word. They're from that festival the Swan Island Dahlia Company (located in Canby) help this past weekend. WOW.

And Tell-It-Like-It-Is-Rick writes about the squicky spiders: Speaking of spiders in the shower. The first year we lived at this address. I stepped into the shower, turned on the water, turned around and hanging down on a single web thread was a medium size black spider staring me in the face. I don't like spiders. When I was a 10 year old I was bitten by a spider. So, given the choice between fighting a spider or tiger, give me the tiger all the time.

To which I wrote him: Bet you wouldn't say that if you stepped on a tiger in the shower.

To which HE wrote: It all depends on if there was a spider in there, too.

And now I can promise you I will have this messed up visual running through my head the next time I peel back that shower curtain.

Blog buddy Joe says: Come on Steph! Those spiders are probably just there just to take a shower! Personal hygiene is important to them too! :)

LOL. Yup, they're there because they like my fancy shampoo. I'm onto them!!

Click here to email Stephanie Stricklen who figures spiders would be a better bet than a tiger in the shower.

Posted by Stephanie Stricklen at 11:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)