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Showing posts from April 3, 2011

Electroconvulsive Therapy

First developed in 1938, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) for years had a poor reputation with many negative depictions in popular culture. However, the procedure has improved significantly since its initial use and is safe and effective. People who undergo ECT do not feel any pain or discomfort during the procedure. ECT is usually considered only after a patient's illness has not improved after other treatment options, such as antidepressant medication or psychotherapy, are tried. It is most often used to treat severe, treatment-resistant depression, but occasionally it is used to treat other mental disorders, such as bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. Before ECT is administered, a person is sedated with general anesthesia and given a medication called a muscle relaxant to prevent movement during the procedure. An anesthesiologist monitors breathing, heart rate and blood pressure during the entire procedure, which is conducted by a trained physician. Electrodes are

Rigs I Have Worked On #8 - Scott Platform

The Scott installation comprises two separate platforms each supported by steel jackets interconnected by two separate bridges. The two platforms are the drilling and process platform DP, and the utilities and quarters platform UQ. The DP platform comprises an eight-leg jacket supporting an integrated deck housing process train, gas treatment, flare boom, drilling facilities and derrick. The UQ platform comprises a four-leg jacket supporting an integrated deck housing utilities, living quarters, lifeboats, helideck, power generation and exhaust structure.

Sensory Homunculus

The sensory homunculus is the familiar textbook caricature of a human being spread out improbably over the surface of the brain. It depicts how much space the brain allocates to our different body parts when it comes to feeling out the world around us. Its wildly uneven proportions are generally thought to arise in response to the activity of sensory neurons feeding information to the brain

Poem

Orpheus, look back into The crawling darkness at the DVD Player I trail on its power cable And the cable parts, gnawed by rats, and it Falls behind into the dark, It's a DVD player, it's been there For at least a year, in the open shed Rain, heat, bugs, rats have had their way with it And now it has been taken back from the Underworld. Redemption has been made And I, as the place I Will not go, the place I stored all the stuff From before, from that which is Underworld

Rigs I Have Worked On #7 - Piper Bravo

The Piper Bravo is a North Sea oil production platform originally operated by Occidental Petroleum (Caledonia) Ltd . It was built to replace the Piper Alpha platform, which was destroyed by a fire and subsequent series of explosions in 1988. It is located approximately 120 metres from the wreck buoy marking the remains of its precursor (at 58°27′35″N 0°15′04″E ). The field is now owned by Talisman Energy and has recently undergone an upgrade to accept gas from the Tweedsmuir North & South discoveries 52 km to the south.