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Jrsy Devil's Advocate®
02:56 AM

In reply to Brain Scan Finds Man Was Not in a Coma—23 Years Later
He wasn't in a coma. He was just extremely sleepy..
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Poop Cooper
11/23/09

In reply to Brain Scan Finds Man Was Not in a Coma—23 Years Later
Is it difficult for most modern hospitals to use modern scanning techniques these days? Twenty-three years ago, maybe it was different, but I've never understood - especially if you have a machine onsite just a floor down - why so many doctors are like, "Meh, I shined a light right in his eye. That's pretty much science right there," and decline to cart him 100 feet over.

If doctors had a procedure available that could treat an extra 40% of cancer patients a year and save 3,000-5,000 lives at a time, but declined to do so because "we've always done it this way," I'm pretty certain we'd be racing for pitchforks and torches.

We all flame-on over AT&T's 3G coverage, or whether Windows 7 will outperform Vista, but if there's ever been something we should be passionate about when it comes to technology, getting doctors to use it should be it.
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Edited by Poop Cooper at 11/23/09 10:37 PM Poop Cooper was starred Poop Cooper was unstarred

Paul Beardfacé
11/23/09

@Poop Cooper: If scrubs has taught me anything it depends on whether the patient has insurance or not
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ninjikiran
11/23/09

@Poop Cooper: Or making it more efficient. Everything these days revolves around money, even if they wanted to greed gets in the way of many medical decisions. Very inept decision based on the short term rather than the long term.

The United States more than any other rich nation can serve as testimony to this. We spend more on health care a year that would be saved if we spent more on preventative measures.

In Puerto Rico which is a common wealth of the US if your in a serious car accident they usually just leave you on the side of the road to die. ICU is expensive for them, where many could be saved they choose to save money.(My brother lived there for a while, just one of the stories he told me)
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Poop Cooper promoted this comment Edited by ninjikiran at 11/23/09 11:24 PM ninjikiran was starred ninjikiran was unstarred

theubersmurf
11/23/09

@Poop Cooper: A lot of hospitals aren't equipped to perform expensive tests. The hospitals themselves don't make enough money to buy things like that. Most people's insurance (in the U.S.) precludes elaborate testing procedures, without the funds to undertake an expensive procedure, people are often S.O.L. Even when they have an assailable condition.
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Poop Cooper promoted this comment theubersmurf was starred theubersmurf was unstarred

Poop Cooper
01:02 AM

Well, it's starting to look like my populist rage might have been unheeded. Luckily (maybe?) it's looking like these statistics and this story could all be a farce of some kind, and to be honest, I hope so. I'd take much greater comfort knowing I got duped, this guy didn't have suffer for 23 years, and that doctors aren't nearly as incompetent as I have them pegged, than to think the pessimism of @theubersmurf is reality.

Unfortunately, I don't think that the credibility of this article and such a harsh reality are mutually exclusive.
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Poop Cooper
01:03 AM

@Paul Beardfacé: You truly are a reflection of your namesake, sir.
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Poop Cooper
01:06 AM

@ninjikiran: I'm confused. You're saying that the US inefficiently spends too much money that would be better spent on preventative services, but then give an example of how not enough money is spent on ICUs. If possible, can you clarify your point a little more?
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Frisky Unicorns
01:24 AM

@Poop Cooper: So, like you said below, it looks like this is all a fake. But as in the case of so much bad science reporting, we will be left with the repercussions--in this case, diminished trust in the science behind gross examinations.

The light in the eye isn't "pretty much science." It's just science.

Just like the Glasgow Coma Scale is just science. Even the Coma Science Group, of which Dr. Laureys is the head, does not dispute its use--which is certainly not the impression one gets from this bad story.

This is a terribly reported story. It is unprofessional.

Arrgh.
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Poop Cooper promoted this comment Frisky Unicorns was starred Frisky Unicorns was unstarred

Poop Cooper
01:39 AM

@Frisky Unicorns: Yeah, I certainly made an ass out of myself with that crack about using the Glasgow Coma Scale. I can see how the author fell for this though - it definitely re-affirms our fears when it comes to our doctors' competence and preys on the fear that comes with how little control we actually have when any malady comes along.

Hopefully the article will be amended with an update if this is indeed proven wrong.
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Shamoononon: I shave my legs.
11/23/09

In reply to Brain Scan Finds Man Was Not in a Coma—23 Years Later
"I shall never forget the day when they discovered what was truly wrong with me - it was my second birth."

Wow.
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AqueousBeef
11/23/09

In reply to Brain Scan Finds Man Was Not in a Coma—23 Years Later
There was a House episode about this!
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Shamoononon: I shave my legs.
11/23/09

In reply to Brain Scan Finds Man Was Not in a Coma—23 Years Later
I read this earlier, how terrifying. I'm glad somebody was able to get through to him, I only wonder if he sometimes misses some of the nurse's stories.
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blash
11/23/09

In reply to Brain Scan Finds Man Was Not in a Coma—23 Years Later
How has he not gone insane after 23 years? It's better than no interaction at all (i.e. solitary confinement), but 23 years of quasi-solitary confinement I would've thought would lead to some kind of permanent psychological damage.
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Gary_7vn
11/23/09

In reply to Brain Scan Finds Man Was Not in a Coma—23 Years Later
I wonder if this poor guy could benefit from any of the new neural interfaces they have out there? Even the ability to move a cursor with his thoughts would be a huge step for him.
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phunnyballs
11/23/09

In reply to Brain Scan Finds Man Was Not in a Coma—23 Years Later
what would be bad is if they used needles did dentist work, or like did minor surgery w/o pain killers because they thought you were unconscious
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Rusty Shackleford
11/23/09

@phunnyballs: I thought he was still paralyzed? But they just thought he was unconscious as well.
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phunnyballs promoted this comment Rusty Shackleford was starred

phunnyballs
11/23/09

@Rusty Shackleford: There are types of paralysis where you still feel pain.

I was more so making reference to Arrested Development when Buster was faking his coma.
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Rusty Shackleford
11/23/09

@phunnyballs: Oh, sorry. I never saw that show before.

#tips
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Fractal the Meek
12:56 AM

@phunnyballs: Wow. Way to bring my heart wrenching sympathy for him and utter fear of this ever happening again to the next level. Ought to sleep great now.
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Kaiser-Machead
11/23/09

In reply to Brain Scan Finds Man Was Not in a Coma—23 Years Later
I imagine a Gizmodian's first impulse upon reading a headline like this is to make some kind of cartoon coma comment for a joke....but after reading this it escapes me. How horrible this must be for anyone to experience.
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Segador
11/23/09

@Kaiser-Machead: I thought the exact same thing. 23 years.
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iansilv
11/23/09

@Segador: I, uhmmm...

I am that guy that left the first joke comment. And now shame is sinking in...
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Segador promoted this comment Edited by iansilv at 11/23/09 9:54 PM iansilv was starred iansilv was unstarred

Segador
11/23/09

@iansilv:Don't feel too bad. I think there's an impulse to make light of a situation like this in order to avoid actually considering the reality.
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iansilv
11/23/09

@Segador: Yup. To be honest, the thing that really amazes me is the ineptness of the medical community at large to not jump on this RIGHT NOW and start treating people in comas appropriately.

#tips
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Calzo
11/23/09

In reply to Brain Scan Finds Man Was Not in a Coma—23 Years Later
What a great attitude to have after 23 years of bullshit. Waking up: sometimes it's worth it.
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TheWerewolf - Sotto voce
07/25/09

In reply to The Most Important Buyers Guide You'll Read Today
Let's see - iPhone... Pre... Android... Blackberry..... the regular suspects...

But wait!

Symbian AND *gasp* Windows Mobile 6.1

But... But... I thought those weren't smartphone OSes....

Well, whattaya know.

[/sarcasm]
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bosskev
02/26/09

In reply to TV.com iPhone App Streams Free Full-Length CBS and Showtime Shows

I did not notice any advertising during playback.

Um, Wilson...did you perhaps notice any fees being charged to your account? The reason there is no advertising might be because there could be charges to your credit card for using this service. Let me quote you from the Terms and Conditions you agree to when you download this app (emphasis added):

"For certain Products and Services, CBSI may charge an automatically recurring subscription fee (e.g., a monthly fee...) in exchange for providing access to certain Wireless Content. Until you affirmatively request to stop receiving recurring Products and Services...Recurring Fees will be automatically charged. For other Products and Services, you may have the option to incur a one-time premium charge... Fees charged by CBSI...will appear on your Wireless Device bill or be deducted from your pre-paid balance. In addition to a Recurring Fee or other premium charge payable to CBSI...your wireless provider may charge you fees for access..."

You did read all that...right?
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Wilson Rothman
02/27/09

@bosskev: Honestly, it sounds like lawyers pulling a CYA maneuver. You don't honestly think CBS would run up your wireless bill without giving you so much as a confirmation screen, do you? They'd never hear the end of it. That said, I'll certainly look into this. Thanks for the fine-print reading, Kev.
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bosskev
02/27/09

@Wilson Rothman: Somewhere in that same fine print they do claim that there will be some kind of confirmation screen prior to you being charged for something. Since the manner in which the T&C appeared on the screen did not allow for a copy/paste of the text (must have been developed by iPhone programmers), I had to manually type up that crap, so I did edit the terms for brevity.

That said, until we see what this confirmation screen looks like, we won't know how obvious it is or is not. And, since AT&T already has your account ready to charge you invisibly, it could be SO easy to mistakenly run up recurring charges.

In any case, even if this first round of offerings are free, it clearly shows the direction CBS wants to take this service, i.e., a fee-based arrangement. Get you using the service with the freebies, then reel you in once you're hooked...
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DeepFriar
02/26/09

In reply to TV.com iPhone App Streams Free Full-Length CBS and Showtime Shows
Terrific. Can they now focus on making Safari please stop crashing everytime I load a page with more than three pictures on it?
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EBone
02/26/09

In reply to TV.com iPhone App Streams Free Full-Length CBS and Showtime Shows
Speaking as someone who has been lying in bed sick with the flu the past 48 hours, this gives me a mental hard-on.
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speck2001
02/26/09

In reply to TV.com iPhone App Streams Free Full-Length CBS and Showtime Shows
Compression/picture quality on CSI: Vegas is terrible.
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Wilson Rothman
02/27/09

@speck2001: Seems like it's based on your connection speed. I noticed Trek was smooth over Wi-Fi, but crunchy as hell over EDGE.
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Wilson Rothman was starred Wilson Rothman was unstarred

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