At last night’s lecture, apart from the law students who attended, the average age of the audience was about 79. Did I mention it was a free event? Also, as I entered the building, the security guard asked to see a photo ID. I didn’t have to sign in, and she didn’t record my name anywhere, but I did have to show ID. WHY? Just to prove that I have ID?

Physicians tend not to be very concerned about or sensitive to the various minor side effects of medications, unless they’re life threatening or interfere with the treatment itself. These minor annoyances can, however, have an extremely detrimental effect on your quality of life. Perhaps there should be a medical specialty devoted to just treating the side effects. Considering that we now have three different erectile dysfunction treatments (in addition to all the herbal remedies I get exuberant emails about every day), it would seem that a “quality of life” area of expertise could be highly profitable.

News:
There was a study published last week that claimed that 20 year olds who talk on a cell phone while they drive have the reflexes of a 70 year old. So, hypothetically, if I were to talk on a cell phone while I was driving, by extrapolation, I would have the reflexes of, uh, well of someone a good deal older than I am now.

American Airlines is removing the pillows from most of their domestic flights, but is leaving the blankets. Which, they claim, can be used for lumbar support since this is the function most often served by pillows. I don’t suppose anyone ever thought of actually improving the seats.

Stem cell researchers hope to grow new teeth (not too far from Frank Zappa's dental floss farming) – I don’t need new teeth – why aren’t they working on growing gum tissue instead! Right now, if I want to have receding gums repaired, I am forced to endure a hunk of skin from the roof of my mouth being ripped out and replanted along my gums. I wonder whether there’s a PAC for synthetic gum tissue manufacturers.