Patch Adams Medical Humor

Film poster for Patch Adams (film) - Copyright 1998,Universal Pictures (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

One of my favorite Robin Williams movies from the 90s is the 1998 comedy "Patch Adams". Based on a true story, Robin Williams portrays a first year medical student who understands from his own history that one of the most powerful and effective medicines that any patient can receive is laughter and humor, however his nontraditional means and methods do not go over well with his teachers and instructors. They believe that doctors should never make emotional bonds with their patients as it can damage their emotions and motivation over the course of time.
Although received poorly by critics, the film was a huge success and grossed over twice the budget they used to make the movie. Unfortunately, the real Patch Adams did not think highly of the film, and criticized Williams for not portraying an accurate picture of the person he was. He argued that many parts of the film were cut out just to make more money, and many of the props and scenery of the hospital were not in the least bit accurate. Maybe if they had used real real equipment like surgical screws and other real medical equipment instead of balloons and fake noses Mr. Adams would not have been so upset.

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Top Comedians, my opinion only

I hope I'm not opening a can of worms when I list my favorite stand up comedians of all time. I know people can be very picky about comedians, and not everyone's humor is the same. But here we go, here's my top 7 list. Why 7? Because everyone does a top 10.

1. Richard Pryor
2. Bill Hicks
3. Eddie Murphy
4. Steve Martin
5. Robin Williams
6. Denis Leary
7. Louis C.K.

I actually have a  very open sense of humor, and I like most comedians. As long as they are not annoying. By the way, I don't like Dane Cook. No one should.

Stainless Steel

Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

I was sitting around and wondering today what makes stainless steel stainless. So I thought I would look up the topic and write a quick article on it. Turns out, the big part of stainless steel is adding chromium to the outside of it. When you look at stainless stell, what you are really looking at is a coat of chromium with steel behind it. Because chromium is more precious and valuable than steel, the coating of chromium is only hundredths of an inch thick.
Many products today use stainless steel, including grills on the front of semi trucks, surgical instruments, handguns and valves, like this NBT stainless steel ball valve. Other famous things that have stainless steel on/in them are the Chrysler Building and the Gateway Arch in St. Louis.
To learn more about stainless steel and all their great physical properties, take a look at the Stainless Steel wikipedia page.

Trench Shoring Accidents - Nothing Funny About it

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I’m quite amazed that I made it out of childhood all in one piece. Climbing trees, digging holes, and playing in underground tunnels were some of my favorite things to do outside. As a kid, you think everything in your environment is stable, unmovable and cannot hurt you in any way. Unfortunately, that holds true for adults. Deaths in the construction industry are higher than any other industry besides the fishing industry. A big part of that is because of trench cave ins, where workers build a trench for construction work, do not put up proper trench shoring equipment, and the walls of the trench cave in on them.

I became interested in the topic after reading a story in the New York Times about the staggering injuries and accidents, which really are accidents that can be easily avoided with proper equipment, training and knowledge about trenches. Unfortunately, since trench cave ins rarely ever occur, workers never take proper safety precaution when working in them. When a cave in does occur, it can bury any workers inside in over 10 feet of soil or gravel, and crush or suffocate them. 

If you ever work in a construction zone with trenches around, be sure they are reinforced with proper hydraulic shoring methods, and any road surrounding the area won't damage the trenches. There are many companies that offer trench shoring rentals that can help construction companies save a lot of money if they only need shoring equipment for one occurrence.

Dumming Doun Tennissea

By now, I know that my readers recognize that I am a man who supports tradition. Yes Sir. (Or Ma'am.) The old ways are the best ways. (Except for no medical care, unstoppable epidemics, racism and sexism of course...unless they are rooted in tradition. Then I'm all for them.)

That's why I'm giving a tip of my Resistol cowboy hat to the great State of Tennessee (Motto: It's easier to spell than Mississippi.) for holding the line and not bowing to the pressures of certain - let us say - undesirables who might consider applying for state employment.

Tennessee, a State who's high school graduates consistently average in the bottom third of all States on the ACT College entrance examinations, has wisely decided not to allow home school graduates to take any State jobs that require a high school diploma.

Well Done Tennessee!

The reason for this is perfectly understandable. Since the State doesn't set the educational criteria for home schoolers, then obviously the State doesn't know if the home schoolers meet the same rigorous standards that apply to the State run schools! Case closed! Home schoolers won't be pulling the wool over the eyes of Tennessean officials. Any wool-pulling will be self-inflicted.

Of course, the usual piss and moaners will be certain to point out that since The State of Tennessee doesn't require a minimum grade point average for graduation, they really don't have any idea how proficient any given State high school graduate is.

Other whining nay-sayers will say nay by pointing out that home schooled kids in Tennessee kick the s**t (a nod to Cathouse Teri) out of the government school kids when it comes to everything but joint rolling and banana-condom installation.

But let's face it. Those 'D' average Tennessean graduates will need jobs too and private industry selfishly requires it's employees to be able to chew gum and make saliva at the same time. Fortunately, it appears that Tennessee State government jobs do not require actual electro-chemical nerve transmissions.

I mean, who says that a fire-fighter has to be smart, educated, or even sane? But, the thing he MUST have is a diploma from the State.

"It's almost as much fun as starting 'em Dude!"

And how important is being able to spell your name without a cheat card? A solid values system and a work ethic may be common to home schoolers, but of what use are attributes like these to police officers or day care workers?

"I'm on a nail break."

So congratulations Tennessee.

Even if you won't accept the best qualified applicants, at least you'll have the satisfaction of knowing your new hires won't be siphoned off by the private sector. And you'll be less likely to have employees concerned about corruption or malfeasance. They probably won't be able to spell, or define, either of those words.






Have a sweet weekend O my faithful readers! But if you run into any Tennessee government employees, speak slowly and use little words. Oh, and if you are feeling generous, you might give a click here at humor-blogs.com to help me get back up the ladder. Thanks!

This post originally appeared here