A large number of you know that I've been experiencing back pain for a few months now. I finally found out why. It's a compression fracture of the superior endplate of one of my vertebra, whee. The good news is that it seems to be healing well, and in theory the bone should be strong enough now not to be preventing any activities (the joints may still cause me pain, but the break itself is doing fine). The "treatment" apparently consists of more pain relieving drugs, and more PT (so pret... read more

xkcd.com/308/

There's a billboard on 101N, somewhere around Millbrae, that proclaims, in giant letters, "Everybody likes plugs." I can't help but giggle every time I see it.

I was recently approached by the San Francisco Department of Public Health AIDS Office, asking me if I wanted to participate in a HIV vaccine trial. So far, the information they have provided has been pretty vague. Does anyone know anything useful about these trials (yes, I've done some basic internet searching, and found some information, but more is always better)?

Also, if you are interested in becoming involved, their vaccine study hotline number is 415-554-9068.

So I thought I was going to stay put for quite a while. And, in fact, I have been around for a little bit... but somehow I find myself headed off to China, for three weeks, leaving in less than a week. Yikes! Not prepared. Not ready. Many things to do before I leave, no more chances to see anyone (unless by some miracle I finish packing early and manage to free up a few hours at some point), and I can't believe how many people I am leaving behind.

To my friends who are on the injured ... read more