Only slightly bent

I just realized that around these days I have been only in Finland for one year (trips to Estonia don’t count). That is to say that I haven’t traveled anywhere abroad for one whole year. This is the first time such an atrocity has happened in … let’s see … 10 years! No wonder it feels weird.

When I started at my current job about a year ago, I knew it would virtually eliminate all business travel. It did, and I was quite happy about it. I had grown tired of being away about 50% of my working days; at worst times, I was in Finland for two days total in about two months (weekends away too), which was too little time home. Anyway, with a new job came a fact of no summer holidays during the first year, so no great personal travel opportunities either.

Now, however, I’m again sick of this country. And not just sick of the country but more like sick of this macro-scale immobility. My job still doesn’t require travelling, and I still like that. But only sort of. So I have to shape up and make my own travel plans. The major obvious downside with that is that instead of earning money, that way you end up spending money. Sure, it’s a matter of prioritization, but what if everything – or suffcient number of things – is prioritized “highest of the high”?

To add some motivation, as if any more would be needed, it’s not just myself who wants me to travel either. Just today my doctor recommended to me that I should travel to someplace warm and sunny every winter for a couple of weeks, if at all possible. I’m not kidding either. And who am I to argue a doctor’s recommendation?

It’s been said that medical science has become sufficiently advanced so that there are no more healthy people. While that may be a slight exaggeration, it’s not far from the truth. I’m sure if anyone went to get as thorough a medical exam as is possible, everyone would have more than a few things “wrong” with him or her. I’m not talking about the traditional physical illnesses here in the sense of blocked arteries or broken arms or depression etc, which are obviously serious conditions that should be treated. Instead, let’s look at the latest craze – drugs for people who cannot (or, rather, will not) handle normal life. Over-diagnosis at it’s worst.

Many of the medical companies aren’t making things any better with their way of marketing some of these products. In fact, it probably isn’t too much to say that it’s partly (mostly?) thanks to them that this you – need – drugs – to – get – through – life – attitude has taken hold in the first place. Let’s take Phizer’s Zoloft, for example. Here’s a page on using Zoloft to treat Social Anxiety Disorder. First of all, WTF is a social anxiety disorder? Well, let’s take a look at the site. It says, among other things, that “social anxiety disorder can make you fear speaking in front of groups.” And if you absolutely have to do this thing, you might have such serious symptoms as blushing and a fast heart beat! Oh give me a break! Who doesn’t sometimes feel like that? One thing I’ve also wondered is how many kids particularly in the US really have AD/HD or similar disorders, and how many just get drugs for it because their parents can’t handle an active child?

Sure the Zoloft page says that only a doctor can tell if you have this disorder. But doctors are humans, too – they can be (and are) influenced by drug companies in exactly the same way the rest of us. And nowadays you get more and more patients who have self-diagnosed themselves on the Internet and are demanding a drug A or B, by name and all. And basically refuse to leave without this particular pill. What is a doctor to do? Only too often the doctor gives in and prescribes this drug. Who knows, it may even help – if only because of the placebo-effect.

This topic actually intertwines with this movie I just saw, Garden State, which is about a guy who’s been medicated (basically sedated) for all of his childhood and adult life, only to realize the drugs are just blocking out everything that makes humans human – emotions. More about the movie sometime later, though.

I bumped into a Reuters article on card skimming & fraud in Japan. I would never have imagined this can happen in so-called civilized countries, but it appears Japanese banks are not obliged to compensate their customers for fraud. How stupid is that? But it gets better: this applies to skimming also – not only are you personally responsible for any losses if your card gets physically stolen, but apparently you’re also responsible for skimming fraud where you don’t necessarily even know your card data has been copied! How exactly is the general public supposed to be able to protect themselves from this? Here’s hoping they change this policy and do it quick.

So now I’ve also read the Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. And how did it compare to Angels & Demons, the sort-of predecessor?

Well, to start with, it was a very good book. Certainly a page-turner, one that didn’t get boring at any stage. While there were some quite familiar elements (plot twists, similar characters etc) from Angels & Demons, it was not a repetition to the point of being predictable or annoying. The same themes (Catholic church, secret societies, conspiracies, action etc) are there as the previous book, but they are dealt with in a very clever manner – one that doesn’t condemn any of the parties (well, okay, most of the parties) and leaves a lot of room for the reader to draw her or his own conclusions. I can, however, imagine that one can’t make too many books with the same kind of general plot and characters. But no, I definately could not predict all the plot twists.

The ending wasn’t quite what I expected. However, the more time passes since I finished the book, the more the disappointment is turning into satisfaction. The ending, as it turns out, was quite appropriate. Highly recommended.

I give this 4 / 5