Grad Student Struggling. . .

Hey all,
After a multi-month hiatus, I'm back to blogging again (yeah!).
As many of you know, I've started to work on a thesis again. Right now, I'm in the graduate studies section of the CSUS library, working on my literature review. I thought I'd post about my topic and what I've been doing the past two weeks, and hopefully get a little support from my dedicated readers out there :)

I'm researching the effects of direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription pharmaceuticals, something which started (on tv, at least) in 1997 after the FDA relaxed the "brief summary" guidelines for tv drug ads. This allowed pharma companies to give a brief summary of the drug advertised, outline the major risks only, and then provide a reference for more information- typically a telephone number or a website. Since then tv advertising of pharmaceuticals has exploded into a multi billion dollar business.

While I'm researching advertising of pharmaceuticals in magazines and on tv, I've been finding more interesting information on tv advertising, since the change in requirements since 1997. Magazine ads have been allowed in the US for longer periods of time, and are considered less controversial. Speaking of controversy, there's quite a bit out there. Right now, New Zealand and the US are the only countries that allow direct ads to consumers on tv, as many countries' health organizations have found that tv ads for drugs increases health care costs for both the consumer and the society at large. The connection between drug advertising and rising health care costs is especially worrisome for countries with socialized medicine.

That's all for now, but will be blogging more on my thesis in the near future. I have committed to sending my primary advisor a rough draft of the literature review on Sunday, so I suspect I'll post something before then.

Amelia is a stone-faced Killer.

So last night during a bout of insomnia, I awoke and wandered out to the front room for a movie lullaby. I noticed the front porch light was on, which Sean and I decided we'd use as a tool to make sure all kitties are in for the night. We'll leave the porch light on if we know one or both kitties are outside, and we'll turn off the light only when all kitties are inside again.

I opened the door to invite Amelia back in the house, only to find a huge (HUGE!) rat, dead on the porch about a foot from the door. Completely disgusting. Of course, the ruthless killer didn't want to come back inside- she had fled the scene of the crime. A similar murder occurred with the prior body killed in the same fashion and left in the exact same place on the front porch, about 2 months ago. Only the victim in crime #1 was a small mouse, not a one-pound-plus rat. I think I've been watching too many Dexter episodes on Netflix, but nevertheless, I think I've solved the rodent killer mystery.

Please note that while I normally like to include pictures in my posts, I have spared my viewers the horror of viewing evidence from the crime scene.

Friday Catblogging- June 12

Last night as I was making up the futon for Barry's overnight visit, Ameilia thought she'd make herself at home and "help out mommy" by laying all over the bed. Yeah, well, it wasn't exactly helping me out, but it did pile on the cuteness and mama couldn't resist snapping a few pics. I guess her bahavior is fair, since the front room was originally the kitteh sequestering room, and she had it all to herself for her first three weeks after adoption. In that way, she's just re-asserting herself, and who could blame her for that?

UGH!
Sadly, the 2007 version of MicroSoft piece-of-shit software installed on my work computer isn't letting me save pics from my phone, so please check again later tonight- I'll add cute Ameilia pics to this posting from my home computer!

Updated. . .yea!

oh noes! food poisoning strikes again!

yesterday I went to work, but was feeling pretty bad- upset stomach, chills etc. In fact, I even drove in stead of taking the bus, thinking I might need to go home early if my symptoms got any worse. Then at 8:30 or so I got a text from Morgan- "are you feeling okay?"

My thought was, "how did you know?". Apparently Morgan got it, too and knew it was food poisoning because he was worshipping the porcelain bowl all morning. I think it may have been that burrito we shared? Anyway, the moral of the story is: Food poisoning sucks, but its better when you have someone to commiserate with, as long as you don't have to share the same bathroom.

I'm feeling a little better today, so I'm trying to tough it out at work. wish me luck!

The original catblogger

I forgot to take pictures of the kittehs last night to post today, so I thought instead, I'd show you the original catblogger, Kevin Drum from Mother Jones's catblogging page! imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, so I've heard!

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2009/05/friday-cat-blogging-29-may-2009

Disneyland Churros and Diet Coke

Nom Nom Nom!

This weekend I made the annual pilgrimage to Disneyland to see Mickey and Friends. This trip was especially memeorable in that I went with a few new friends, one of which, despite his 30 years of experience on Planet Earth, had never been to Disneyland before- amazing! His inaugural visit was a success, I'm sure he'd agree. And he has the ear hat to prove he's been there, done that!

Camie and Moshy- you'll be pleased to know we made not one, but TWO visits to our favorite crack dealer, the churro man and his cart located just east of Sleeping Beauty's Castle. And man, those churros were so tasty! I missed you both- you too, Aunt Kelly, Dad and Mom. How about Disneyland for our next family reunion?

Friday Catblogging, part three

This morning Nermal was munching on a custom blend of Whiskas from the packet, combined with a mushed-up chicken-flavored cat treat with incorporated thyroid-gland medication. 3 days ago when I tried to give Nerms the treat straight-up, she ate it and immediately puked twice- once on her mama's precious dining table and once on the floor, so you can see why I'm trying to mix it in with the wet food! Sadly, Nermal needs to eat more and yesterday while at the vet for Amelia's leukemia booster, I was told that apparently Amelia needs to eat less or maintain her weight, so I guess we'll experiment with wet and dry food for a while until we can get the right amount of food for each kitteh.

While this was happening, Amelia was laying claim to precious bed real estate. Anytime Sean or I wander into the bedroom, she follows us (or sometimes runs ahead of us) and jumps on the bed for loves. I love that!