In the midst of agony, a song....

Written by David Vogel Tuesday, 31 August 2010 16:30

Several weeks ago I had the opportunity to reflect at great length on a song that many of us know by the simple title “Head and Shoulders.”

That’s because I had come down with a severe mid-summer bout of something that the medical profession has chosen to call West Nile Avian Swine Mad Cow Pox Influenza.

Maybe you think I’m hyperbolizing, but I am in fact simply exaggerating.

Actually, I take that back. I’m being serious.

At some point in early August I picked up a virus that took over my immune system and ordered my body to go into Absolute Discomfort Mode.

I’ve felt miserable before, but this was the equivalent of getting your wisdom teeth removed via ear canal while simultaneously donating two pints of blood with both...

Read more: In the midst of agony, a song....

Coffee maker key for college survival

Written by David Vogel Tuesday, 17 August 2010 18:55

For those of you who haven’t been to chain discount stores lately, it’s “Back-to-School Season.” This means that families across the country will be purchasing brand-new book bags, red felt-tip pens, erasers, folders, three-ring binders, protractors (whatever those are), calculators, markers, scissors, crayons, Elmer’s mid-afternoon snack, rulers, pencil pouches, No.2 pencils, mechanical pencils, colored pencils, pencils with personalized names and eyeliner pencils (just kidding).

And they will do this despite knowing full and well that they already have several perfectly good sets of these items at home from school years past.

But they will buy these things anyway, because it’s the Back-to-School season, and tradition...

Read more: Coffee maker key for college survival

Patient, doctor finally see eye to eye

Written by David Vogel Tuesday, 03 August 2010 17:18

I recently had the opportunity to visit my eye doctor. This particular visit was inspired several weeks ago when one of my contact lenses disintegrated in my eye. This turned out to be the last contact in my supply, which meant it was time to get a new prescription.

I always enjoy my checkups. My doctor—we’ll call him “Dr. B”—is a great guy.

I’ve been seeing Dr. B (albeit with slightly blurred vision) since I was in third grade. Having inherited my dad’s vision genes (classified under “Bat, Blind as a”), I am ensured of at least one checkup a year.

My appointment started with his assistant. We’ll call her “Donita,” because that’s her real name.

I’ve gone to Dr. B for 12 years, and few things about these...

Read more: Patient, doctor finally see eye to eye

Tracking those elusive zebra mussels

Written by David Vogel Tuesday, 20 July 2010 19:20

I think that for the interest of our anxieties, we need to take a moment to stop worrying about the escalating natural disaster taking place in the Gulf Coast, take a deep breath and focus on the escalating natural disaster taking place in the Marion Reservoir.

For those of you tuning in from my July 6 column, this is the second half of my two-part investigation of the outbreak of the zebra mussel, an invasive dime-sized crustacean named after its striped distant African second cousin (twice removed): the striped polecat. (I’m partially kidding. I think.)

Of course, when I say “escalating natural disaster,” I really mean “something that we all read about in the newspaper a couple years back, but never really got around to...

Read more: Tracking those elusive zebra mussels