I served in the Army, where our drill sergeants spoke with a 'normal' voice; loud, abrasive, and authoritarian, but 'normal'.

In the past, I've seen bits from those military reality shows, including the ones featuring Marine boot camp. The drill instructors all talk in fake, cartoonishly gravelly, snarling voices that made me want to laugh my ass off.

Now, in the movie Full Metal Jacket, R. Lee Ermey (a real Marine) spoke in a voluable, highly-profane manner, but it was still more or less a 'normal' voice.

So, do Marine D.I.'s really speak in that idiotic, raspy, tough-guy voice from the TV shows? Or was that more un-reality from a 'reality' program?

I love you all...

How's everyone feeling tonight?

I love you all...

Oh, and: shhhhhhh! Punmped up a little on about 15mg of THC...

And he was wearing a t-shirt with a similar moustache depicted on it, along with the phrase: "FREE RIDES".

Tell me, are there any women out there who would take a guy up on such an offer?

I'm thinking no...

He took a sip of his coffee before it was cool.

In a country that aspires to mediocrity, and for which excellence is a dying memory, we have adopted 'perfect' as the standard polite-nothing in service interactions.

"I'd like a twenty ounce mocha, please."

"Perfect".

"With three shots of espresso, please."

"Perfect."

And no foam."

"Perfect."



And all you young kids get off my lawn...

I love you all...

A few weeks ago, I treated a patient for a persistent cough. She's a heavy smoker, but like a lot of smokers, she denies that there was any connection between the two. She did have a mild upper respiratory infection, so I treated her for that and gave her something for the cough.

She's been back in day after day since demanding codeine for her cough, instead of the perfectly appropriate, effective anti-tussive I prescribed for her. As with many other patients, her explanation is "It's the only thing that works!"

Yesterday, I had two of them. One guy said he woke up yesterday morning with the 'worst pain ever' in his left lower back. I examined him, and sure enough, he was spasming pretty badly in the lower lumbar region. I prescribed him a muscle relaxer and a non-steroidal, and advised ice-pack treatment until the symptoms resolved. He got very angry and demanded "Something stronger! Something that works!" When I told him that this was the appropriate treatment, and conformed to standard-of-care, he pulled out a not-uncommon trick of the trade: "Well, I guess I'll just have to go out on the street to get it!" He wasn't happy when he left.

The second guy was less up-front about his desired analgesic treatment, but I had to let him down gently, and prescribed the appropriate treatment.

Thank you for listening. I love you all.

If I posted this in GD, I would be descended on and devoured like a swarm of locusts by a mob of screamers calling me a torturer, a sadist, and a bad medical provider for not giving my patients what they wanted...