Why?

Explaining what I do for a living is always hard, because in essence I am simply a researcher, but most people have no idea what that really means..and I don't blame them. I've been doing social science research since high school, did more in college and now I do it all day. FML. I first realized that research was utterly flawed in high school and in college I accepted that it was a lot of bs. At work, while searching for various articles I came across an article, that like many other publications made me wonder..WHERE DID YOU GET FUNDING?

Shabsigh R. Increased incidence of depressive symptoms in men with erectile dysfunction. Urology, 1998:52(5); 848-852

Objectives. To investigate the hypothesis that men with erectile dysfunction (ED) have a higher incidence of depressive symptoms compared with age-matched control subjects. We also hypothesized that depressive symptoms impact on the level of libido and on the success of treatment of ED.

Methods. One hundred twenty men with ED or benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) were divided into three groups. Group 1 had ED only, group 2 had BPH only, and group 3 had both ED and BPH. Patients were screened for depressive symptoms using the Primary Care Evaluation of Mental Disorders and the Beck Depression Inventory. They were also surveyed for comorbidity, marital status, severity of ED, level of libido, prior ED treatment choice (if any), success of treatment, and others.

Results. One hundred patients completed the questionnaires. Depressive symptoms were reported by 26 (54%) of 48 men with ED alone, 10 (56%) of 18 men with ED and BPH, and 7 (21%) of 34 men with BPH alone. Patients with ED were 2.6 times more likely to report depressive symptoms than men with BPH alone (P < typestyle="it">P < typestyle="it">P <>

Conclusions. ED is associated with high incidence of depressive symptoms, regardless of age, marital status, or comorbidities. Patients with ED have a decreased libido compared with control subjects. In addition, patients with depressive symptoms have a lower libido than patients without depressive symptoms. Patients with ED and depressive symptoms are more likely to discontinue treatment for ED than other patients with ED. These data emphasize the importance of a multidisciplinary approach to the treatment of erectile dysfunction.

Thank you for that groundbreaking information.

Model Citizen Part III

Still on jury duty. WOW.

Model Citizen Part II

The streak of luck that is the story of my life. Today I went to serve my jury duty and I had the honor of being chosen to return and serve as a juror from Wednesday to Friday. It really does not get any better than this.

Model Citizen

This blog was actually intended to be about fashion but I haven't gotten to that yet. The closest I've come to some real fashion was passing by all the tents near Bryant Park today..on my way to lunch. FML.

Anyways, I don't consider myself to be a very patriotic individual..far from it actually. I think my college education has taught me to hate on most American institutions. However, these days I feel like I'm really ODing on my civic duties. 

Wednesday- $65 parking ticket (I parked in an area where only residents with permits could park.)

Sunday- $60 parking ticket because my inspection had JUST expired. (NYPD. GOT TO LOVE THEM. This mofo gave me a ticket at 10am on the Sunday before labor day. I actually want to personally give him the 60 bucks)

Monday morning- $35 charge for inspection

Monday afternoon- $50 to renew my license

Tuesday- I GOT MAIL!!! YIPEEE!! They want me to come in at 8:30 am so I can serve my jury duty.

I am the model citizen.

AC and Zippers

I was on the train today and almost died of hypothermia. New York has been experiencing the weirdest summer this year and it really hasn't been hot at all. Last week it actually started to get ridiculously cold and I could no longer leave the house without a sweatshirt or jacket of some sort. Today it really couldn't have been more than 70 degrees outside and yet the AC was blasting inside the train. It amazes me that America constantly preaches on the wasteful and polluting practices of other countries (mainly third world) and yet the little things we do are absolutely ridiculous. On a day like today, every shopping mall and every train car should not have been running AC. There should be a rule so mass transit users know when to expect AC on the train and when not to. Scenario: Before going to work Jane Doe checks the weather and sees its going to be 70 degrees. She knows the train will not have AC so she does not bring a jacket out with her. YES? RATIONAL? I think so. We stop being ridiculously wasteful and Jane Doe doesn't have to decide whether or not to bring out a jacket. Stop running ac on the train when it's freezing and stop raising train fares. Thank you.

Of course however, I'm also not the type of person who gets hot easily. I looked around and everyone seemed ok. Some people looked cold but the majority were liking the breeze. Why? Because Americans are fat. Solution: Stop eating so much meat and eat more vegetables. Brings me to another point. America points fingers at other countries for contributing to greenhouse gas emission but no other country blasts ac like us and no other country eats meat like we do. And cows don't just grow off trees. Raising livestock is a major contributor to greenhouse gases. So what do we do? Eat less, lose weight, stop using AC and hey other countries might give a bit more when we tell them to quick emitting carbon dioxide. 

Finally, guys if a fellow male is getting on the train in the beginning of the day with his zipper wide open. please. let a brother know. Dude gets on train today and seriously looked like he had not finished dressing. There are different degrees to the fly being open and I would say this was a 10+. I legitimately felt bad and did not want the man walking around nyc looking like this all day, or at least until he got to work (where some coworkers MUST have told him about his zipper atrocity). However, me being a woman I did not want to embarrass the living hell out of this poor man so I let it go. I really pray he was enlightened about his situation soon. I still cant believe that no guy on the train let him know. I feel like if anything, someone secretly took a picture and posted it on FAIL blog. Which brings me to another rant....for later.

Love

"Cuando amor no es locura, no es amor"  -Pedro Calderon

People are generally rational beings who often do things with an ultimate desire to survive and procreate. However, if there is one thing that seems to go against all of our instincts it's love, especially complicated and difficult types of love. Everyone has been in or knows of someone in a messed up relationship that seems to go on forever. People do the most absurd things in the name of love. Love brings out the best and worst in people, but regardless the need to love and be loved is inevitably within every person. Enough rambling about love. It's one of those intense topics that hurts my brain, but there is one woman who always sums it up for me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjNRr9-tgtw

Tabasco Sauce

I searched for the longest time for an appropriate title for this blog. After a ridiculous number of attempts I settled for tabasco daily. I love tabasco sauce, it makes even the nastiest things taste better (yes, I am yellow, but I know all you black people feel me on this). A little flavor and sauce make food and life bearable. I think everyone can use a little spice in their lives. 

Did you know? Tabasco sauce is a brand of hot sauce? Alright you might have known that. BUT. Did you know that since the 80s American soldiers have been receiving tabasco sauce in their MREs (meal ready-to-eat). hell yea. i heart you tabasco (and soldiers).