I got my teeth cleaned today, and thanks to my dentist Cheryl Tomasulo (who I’ve just Googled and discovered is a well-known sexpot dentist), I was able to see a Dr Gary Ruth, an oral and maxillofacial surgeon, just a few hours later. That certainly beats waiting another 2 weeks for the previous appointment I’d made.

Apparently part of my upper jaw has dropped down a millimetre or two as a result of the maxillary fractures (see below), and has now started to set in a position where I have a “maloccluded bite.” According to Dr Ruth, this condition is “not compatible with life,” and needs to be sorted. I couldn’t agree more.

So, now I have to go back and have “bite correction,” which, in addition to sounding a bit like an S&M activity, also sounds like it might be both painful, time-consuming and expensive.

I finally got the results of the CT (Computerized Tomography, a true marvel of modern science) scan of my facial bones on Monday, after getting banged up in a snowboarding collision about a month ago (see St Valentine’s Day Massacre, blog passim).

It turns out my maxilla, which is part of my skull and which my top row of teeth are attached to, has multiple internal fractures. although fortunately they are not LeFort Fractures (LeFort was a French physician who studied facial injuries by dropping heavy objects on cadaver skulls!).

Also, my right sinus is full of some very unpleasant-sounding gunk. Here are some excerpts from the CT scan report:

“There is depression of the right malar eminence in association with evidence for remote comminuted fracture of the posterolateral wall of the right maxillary sinus. There is slight overriding of the fracture fragments. A significantly less striking depressed fracture of the anterior wall of the right maxillary sinus is also evident without overriding of the fracture fragments.”

“Extensive abnormal mucosal thickening is present in the right maxillary sinus in association with extensive mucosal disease in maxillary sinus ostium and ethmoid infundibulum. Soft tissue window settings demonstrate marked hyperdensity within the central portion of the sinus suggesting inspissated secretions and/or saprophytic fungus.”

Both the fractures and the clogged-up sinus can be clearly seen in these CT scans. I’ve highlighted the fractures in yellow (click on the thumbnail for a bigger version; about 160kb):

Amazingly, Dr Zimbler (I found out today that he’s a plastic surgeon!) said that there’s no need for surgery or any further action; the bones and the damaged nerves will eventually heal, my sinus will eventually drain (gross!) and there are no cosmetic requirements since I look completely normal.

The only remaining problem I have is a “maloccluded bite” — my teeth don’t close together properly — so I have to see an oral and maxillofacial surgeon.

And buy a snowboarding helmet.

I flew straight from Chicago to Miami Beach last friday, to spend a very entertaining weekend with Stuart and Andrew, two old friends that I’ve known since we were at High Storrs school together in Sheffield in 1982. Stuart now lives in Miami Beach, and was a perfect host for the weekend. Miami Beach itself was extremely busy, since it was not only the beginning of the spring break weekend but also coincided with the 2004 Winter Music Conference, which meant that the whole area was full of people and parties.

Right now I’m in the very damp city of Chicago, for the annual IMLS-sponsored Web Wise conference. IMLS (or more correctly the Institute for Museum and Library Services) is a U.S. government funding agency that makes grants to museums and libraries, and Web Wise is the annual get-together for several hundred grant awardees to share their experiences. Fortunately it’s not limited to recipients of IMLS funding, though, or else I wouldn’t be here!

The theme of this year’s conference is Sharing Resources, and so far it’s been a very good event. Tomorrow morning at some ungodly hour I am speaking as part of a panel entitled Museum & Library Partnerships for Power: New Developments in the Museum Field and Implications for Libraries. The title of my talk is “The CIDOC Conceptual Reference Model: Building Semantic Bridges Between Museums, Libraries & Archives.”

I use computers extensively pretty much every day, but I’m not a touch-typist, so I generally look at the keyboard while I’m typing rather than the screen.

At least once each day, I accidentally hit the “Insert/Overwrite” toggle key on my keyboard and start inadvertently overwriting text instead of inserting.

Really, what’s the point of this ridiculous anachronism, “overwrite” mode? Has anyone actually used it intentionally since Wordperfect 5.1 for DOS went out of common usage? I wish there was a way to disable it at least, so I wouldn’t keep erasing stuff accidentally.

I recently finished reading Eric Schlosser’s excellent book, Fast Food Nation (Penguin, 2002). Rather than try to write yet another review of this extremely popular and widely-reviewed book, I’ll just cite a few of the passages that I found especially noteworthy:

• “EVERY DAY in the United States, roughly 200,000 people are sickened by a foodbourne disease, 900 are hospitalized, and fourteen die.”
• “The medical literature on the causes of food poisoning is full of euphemisms and dry scientific terms: coliform levels, aerobic plate counts, sorbitol, MacConkey agar, and so on. Behind them lies a simple explanation for why eating a hamburger can now make you seriously ill: There is shit in the meat.”
• “Today nations with BSE must not only confront the prospect of slaughtering millions of potentially infected cattle, but must also figure out what to do with their remains. In Great Britain, about a billion pounds of rendered cattle sit at waste sites, vast mounds of fine brown powder, awaiting incineration. In Japan, plans are being made to blend rendered cattle with concrete — and use the mixture as a building material. In Denmark, a company is now erecting the world’s first power plant that generates electricity by burning cattle.”
• “Whatever replaces the fast food industry should be regional, diverse, authentic, unpredictable, sustainable, profitable — and humble. It should know its limits. People can be fed without being fattened or deceived. This new century may bring an impatience with conformity, a refusal to be kept in the dark, less greed, more compassion, less spend, more common sense, a sense of humor about brand essences and loyalties, a view of food as more than just fuel. Things don’t have to be the way they are. Despite all evidence to the contrary, I remain optimistic.”

You can read a short article by Eric Schlosser, Bad Meat, in the online edition of The Nation.

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According to Reuters, the U.S. Department of Defence has vigorously denied a report by the official Iranian news agency IRNA that Osama Bin Laden has already been captured. Hmmm… Call me a cynic, but it’ll be interesting to see if OBL is magically produced by U.S. forces a few weeks before this year’s U.S. presidential election.

I watched the movie Underworld at home on DVD last night, and I have to confess, I LOVED it! This movie was pretty much panned by critics, and admittedly the premise of the story is somewhat absurd, and the dialog isn’t that good, but visually and aurally, it’s great. Although there’s little food for thought, there’s plenty of candy for both the eyes and ears, with attractive stylish characters doing impressive “wire-work” stunts in dark gothic sets, plus excellent use of Dolby Digital surround sound.

It was also really nice to see an action/fantasy movie that didn’t rely too heavily on computer graphics for a change; most of the effects were done the old-fashioned way using prosthetics — basically guys in animatronic rubber monster suits. And finally of course, Kate Beckinsale is amazing as Selene, the beautiful leather-and-latex clad femme fatale, instantly joining the ranks of other movie-femme-fatales-I-really-liked, such as Anne Parrilaud in Nikita and Carrie Anne Moss in the Matrix trilogy (Matrices?).

According to an interesting global poll conducted by the BBC as part of their What the World Thinks of God series, “People in the UK are less likely to believe in God than those in any other country.”

As a devout atheist, I have to say I think that’s a good thing.

My friend Chris (a.k.a. CK) left New York today to begin a new life back in San Francisco (via ski resorts in Colorado and Wyoming, and a two-week trip to Australia!). We caught up briefly in the Botanic Bar on Houston for a farewell drink or two last night.

I was sad to see him leave, since we both moved here from San Francisco in 2002 and he’s been a solidly reliable buddy for drinking, dining and other fun NYC activities etc. ever since, but he missed the SF social scene and the great outdoors too much, and I’m sure will be much more content back in the Golden State.

So, farewell CK, and the very best of luck with your second chapter of life in San Francisco!