Dear Nurse Dave,
Is it ever okay to be a jerk? Are there situations where being a jerk is not only called for but important?
Ed, Sims, AL
I was actually recently pondering this due to a situation where a local grocery store tried to charge me more for hotdogs than I should have been charged. When the clerk would not believe that I'd been overcharged I switched into jerk mode. I think this befuddled the man and he ended up giving some of the hotdogs to me for free. I felt a satisfaction but also a guilt. Should I have been mean to this poorly educated man and should I really have been buying 5 packages of hot dogs?
I think there are situations where being a jerk can be an advantage to you. Cutting in line. Complaining at a restaurant thereby getting a free meal or at least a free desert. Badgering the poor uneducated guy at the grocery store regarding hotdogs. Moving in on the girl that your roommate was interested in. Ignoring the phone call from someone that is going to want you to do something. These are all areas where being a jerk can be an advantage but I'd argue that none of them are really okay. Is a piece of pie really worth demeaning a waiter? I guess it depends on the pie.
Really I don't think you're going to find a situation where its okay. In the end after you act like a jerk you're just going to wish you'd handled the situation in a more mature manner. I mean the girl was pretty and she wasn't even interested in my roommate but I probably could have talked to him first.
Monday, December 12, 2011
Friday, December 9, 2011
Rollerblading?
Dear Nurse Dave,
I'm thinking about bringing back rollerblading. What are your thoughts?
Grayson 'Set It & Forget It' Weeks
Logan, UT
Honestly Grayson, I'm not sure I'm ready for it. The pure awesomeness that was and is rollerblading may be too much for me. I got my first pair of blades when I was 12 or so and naturally that led to street hockey which naturally led to the kind of gang activity portrayed in the film Rollerboys. I'm not sure I'm ready for that kind of dystopian future. Sure we can of course thank rollerblading for the development of the knuckle puck, a hockey shot so raw and powerful that it only could have been developed on the streets. But we also have to thank rollerblading for the 2002 remake of Rollerball. I'm just not sure we can trust humanity with something as powerful as rollerblades. I think that the government should have outlawed rollerblades much like they outlawed the production of hoverboards. Haven't we learned that some things just need to be kept out of the reach of the common man?
So yes I think it would be awesome for rollerblading to come back but am I ready for it? No, I'm not and I'm not sure the world is either.
I'm thinking about bringing back rollerblading. What are your thoughts?
Grayson 'Set It & Forget It' Weeks
Logan, UT
Honestly Grayson, I'm not sure I'm ready for it. The pure awesomeness that was and is rollerblading may be too much for me. I got my first pair of blades when I was 12 or so and naturally that led to street hockey which naturally led to the kind of gang activity portrayed in the film Rollerboys. I'm not sure I'm ready for that kind of dystopian future. Sure we can of course thank rollerblading for the development of the knuckle puck, a hockey shot so raw and powerful that it only could have been developed on the streets. But we also have to thank rollerblading for the 2002 remake of Rollerball. I'm just not sure we can trust humanity with something as powerful as rollerblades. I think that the government should have outlawed rollerblades much like they outlawed the production of hoverboards. Haven't we learned that some things just need to be kept out of the reach of the common man?
So yes I think it would be awesome for rollerblading to come back but am I ready for it? No, I'm not and I'm not sure the world is either.
Circadian Rhythms
Dear Nurse Dave,
I hear that you are going to start working night shifts. Do you think that staying up all night will drive you slowly insane? If not do you think that could be a good plot for a Nicholas Cage movie?
Theo, New York, NY
Theo the body has a natural rhythm of sleep and wake cycles known as the circadian rhythm. It is commonly accepted that to disrupt this natural rhythm can have negative outcomes. I, of course, fear this disruption but I've got something else even more disturbing to fear. ICU psychosis. That's right I now work in an ICU and it is known to cause psychosis. Yesterday I went outside for a run and realized that was the first time I'd seen the sun in over 3 days. Causes of ICU psychosis include:
-sensory deprivation (I can't really use the internet at work)
-sleep disturbance (night shift is 7pm to 7am)
-continuous light levels (the light is always the same level of dull light that you might associate with the bathroom of a cheap movie theatre)
-stress (in the ICU nurses titrate medication drips that if improperly or poorly managed could kill somebody)
-lack of orientation (not seeing the sun ever).
The psychosis can manifest itself as extreme excitement, anxiety, restlessness, hearing voices, clouding of consciousness, hallucinations, nightmares, paranoia, disorientation,agitation, delusions, abnormal behavior,fluctuating level of consciousness which include aggressive or passive behavior. If that doesn't sound like an awesome Nicholas Cage movie than I don't know what does.
For further information on the disruption of circadian rhythms and the slow growing melancholy that will eventually destroy you, listen to this.
I hear that you are going to start working night shifts. Do you think that staying up all night will drive you slowly insane? If not do you think that could be a good plot for a Nicholas Cage movie?
Theo, New York, NY
Theo the body has a natural rhythm of sleep and wake cycles known as the circadian rhythm. It is commonly accepted that to disrupt this natural rhythm can have negative outcomes. I, of course, fear this disruption but I've got something else even more disturbing to fear. ICU psychosis. That's right I now work in an ICU and it is known to cause psychosis. Yesterday I went outside for a run and realized that was the first time I'd seen the sun in over 3 days. Causes of ICU psychosis include:
-sensory deprivation (I can't really use the internet at work)
-sleep disturbance (night shift is 7pm to 7am)
-continuous light levels (the light is always the same level of dull light that you might associate with the bathroom of a cheap movie theatre)
-stress (in the ICU nurses titrate medication drips that if improperly or poorly managed could kill somebody)
-lack of orientation (not seeing the sun ever).
The psychosis can manifest itself as extreme excitement, anxiety, restlessness, hearing voices, clouding of consciousness, hallucinations, nightmares, paranoia, disorientation,agitation, delusions, abnormal behavior,fluctuating level of consciousness which include aggressive or passive behavior. If that doesn't sound like an awesome Nicholas Cage movie than I don't know what does.
For further information on the disruption of circadian rhythms and the slow growing melancholy that will eventually destroy you, listen to this.
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