Thanks, NHS...

...for the compression ankle bandage I got for free the time I went to the Countess of Chester Hospital the time I twisted my ankle on the stairs outside one of the two visitor information centers in Chester and the ankle swelled up and so after a quite uncomfortable night, I got into a big black cab and rode to the hospital where the ankle was examined, x-rayed to be absolutely sure nothing had broken, and I was then given the aforementioned bandage and a crudely hand-drawn xeroxed information sheet on what exercises to do to bring the healing ankle up to full flexibility as soon as possible, no crutches or ruining of trip neccessary.

I used that very same bandage today, 18 years later, to treat the ankle I twisted this morning due to mis-stepping while descending the stairway from what used to be the original front entrance in what is now the current atrium of the Mass College of Pharmacy's new addition, where I had joined my fellow Simmons College Medical Librarianship students for a field trip to their Health Sciences Library. After an ibuprofin, RICE-ing, application of said compression bandage, and a nice nap....I'm happy to say that my ankle while tender has not puffed up hideously nor become acutely uncomfortable as it always did the other several times it's gotten twisted.

So...thanks again, NHS.

(no subject)

ChoicePoint describes itself on its Web site as, "A trusted source and leading provider of decision-making information that helps reduce fraud and mitigate risk. . . Through the identification, retrieval, storage, analysis and delivery of data, ChoicePoint serves the informational needs of businesses of all sizes, as well as federal, state and local government agencies."


Basically, the company collects data on millions of Americans and sells it. We all know that our electronic files are probably stored in a couple of thousand places. We do have a reasonable expectation that our information is secure. That's not always the case. Thursday, the Federal Trade Commission levied a record $10 million fine against ChoicePoint, with an additional $5 million to be used to pay back those who may have lost money due to ChoicePoint's lack of security.


In an alarmingly easy scam, scofflaws stole information stored by ChoicePoint on at least 163,000 people, 2,805 of them in Georgia. And if you're thinking this was simply name, address and phone number stuff, think again. Robert O' Harrow Jr., wrote a book on data piracy, "No Place to Hide." O'Harrow explains in great depth the type of information ChoicePoint and similar companies keep on individuals. Do you have bouts of depression? These data companies know about it. They know whether your tastes lean to whole or 2 percent milk, not to mention your credit score, bankruptcies and bank balances. It's estimated that ChoicePoint has the data of 220 million people. If you're an adult in America, ChoicePoint probably has your data.

(no subject)

IN ADDITION TO SELLING YOUR information to insurance companies, prospective employers and, uh, identity thieves, the true business of ChoicePoint is circumventing the Federal Privacy Act of 1974. That law banned the government from becoming Big Brother and compiling digital dossiers on citizens. But when the law was written, people assumed only the government would have the computer wherewithal to amass databases. The law didn't ban -- the authors couldn't envision -- private companies from collecting data on virtually each and every American citizen, and then selling it to the government. ChoicePoint does business with at least 30 federal agencies.

Worried? You should be.

(no subject)

"Researchers discover 'depression gene'"

Needless to say, it's not that simple. But this is still an interesting finding. Even more interesting to see how this ends up being spun by the media.