Does what it says on the tin

This morning the dermatologist swapped me a little dermis for two tiny stitches and a warning not to lift heavy objects or twist around too much for the next few days. Hoisting weighty things in a torque-wise manner is probably out, putting paid to the idea of tacking up a horse tonight or tomorrow. I could always ask someone else to do the pregame work, but then there's mounting up and the near-certainty that something would go wrong in a way that called for twisting, so after a little inner struggle I gave up and canceled my lessons for the week. I am grumpy but lack the nerve to face down the RN if I were to bust a suture by, say, wrestling with Okie's right-turn issues. So, apologies: no horse gossip this week. To make up for it, here are a few objects of coveting. Secret Santa presentations cheerfully considered.

Last night's mini-med presentation on NSAIDs was a general disappointment. The presenter was new to the program and hadn't planned the lecture very well, so we spent a lot of time flipping back and forth in the enormous packet of slides and being given tantalizing glimpses of information there wasn't time to address. Some of the presentation was borderline insulting, including the reading aloud of a printed list of NSAIDs on the market, and some was overly technical given the audience. Not quite nul points, because she included some interesting material on why the COX-2 inhibitors were put on the market (and why they're being pulled) and some fascinating data showing that the pain relief from opiate-NSAID combos is inferior to that of some prescription NSAIDs alone, but overall it was a little scattershot and not the best use of two hours. My favorite Q&A moment involved someone demanding to know why the pain-relieving effect of leech bites had not been discussed. Was it because the FDA hasn't approved them for use and the medical institution is biased against alternative therapies? The presenter just looked at her blankly for a second and said, "No, it's because they're not NSAIDs." Hee! (Pedantic NB: Leeches are, in fact, approved for use in U.S. medical facilities, although not specifically as analgesics, and were the first live-critter medical devices approved by the FDA. Maggots were the second. Disgusting medical knowledge, heyah, GETcher disgusting medical knowledge.)