Monthly Archives: September 2009
The Neutered 23 Psalm
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 28th September 2009The King James version of the 23 Psalm: The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the…
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A Nap at the Opera
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 25th September 2009We are the stuff as dreams are made on; and our little life is rounded with a sleep. Guilt and shame – those daggers of self destruction. Once you’re over them you’ll find that nothing is as restful and conducive to revitalization as a sleep in the opera house. A proper operatic snooze is better…
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Hepatorenal Syndrome
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 22nd September 2009The September 24th issue of the New England Journal of Medicine has an excellent review article by Ginès and Schrier on Renal Failure in Cirrhosis. It reviews the pathogenesis of the circulatory events by which severe liver disease compromises renal function. Surprisingly, the authors omit a key step in the pathophysiology of compensated cirrhosis. Look…
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New Doctors Poll
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 16th September 2009There’s been some back and forth in the comments section of Medicare’s Overhead about what doctors think of the healthcare reforms bills now before congress. It started when I said that I didn’t think many practicing physicians favored any of these proposals. A new poll commissioned by Investors Business Daily says that two thirds of…
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Health Insurance Industry Profits
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 15th September 2009This post was suggested by an article by Mark J. Perry professor of economics at the University of Michigan. In it he lists the profit margins of the top 86 industries in the US. He stops at 86 because that’s the spot occupies by health insurance. If you want to see the complete list you…
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Recording of the Week – Carmen Suite
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 8th September 2009Arrangements of Bizet’s masterpiece are so common that I expect one soon in American Sign Language. In 1967 the Russian composer Rodion Shchedrin (born 1932) arranged a suite from Carmen as a one act ballet for his wife the incomparable Maya Plisetskaya. The instrumentation is very unusual – strings and percussion. When the first recording of…
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Investing For the Long Term
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 3rd September 2009Just think about this for a while. In 1969 the Dow-Jones Industrial average was a little shy of 1000. The price of an ounce of gold was about $41 an ounce. Today the Dow is a little more than 9300. Gold closed today at a little more than $990 an ounce. In 40 years the…
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