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Taking the Podcast on the road, I'm just outside of Washington, DC, to attend this year's Conservative Political Action Conference. Loaded with notable speakers, both thinkers and politicians (and, possibly, some thinking politicians), this will be a new experience for me. I intend to share my thoughts each evening on what I heard while here.  I do want to point out that this foray into political discussion should be self-limiting, and is not intended to be a new direction for the Podcast. So if you don't have any time for political talk, I hope you'll forgive the next few posts and return for more interesting topics after this week.  Thanks for your indulgence!

On today's podcast, we discuss how automation has its place, but how it is limited, and how it will always be necessary to have human input in critical processes. One of the stories is about US Airways Flight 1549, the "Miracle on the Hudson." Another story is about Air France Flight 296, an early and poignant example of the limitations of automation. As healthcare has become more technology-dependent, talk has circulated of replacing anesthesiologists with machines. I offer some of my thoughts of why this is not likely to happen. And, finally, I tie it back into general emergency preparedness.

I'm often asked about my advice on education, so for 22 minutes, I opine about a number of subtopics and issues regarding education. I also talk about my own experience and views on becoming an anesthesiologist. Regarding primary and secondary school, I refer you to John Taylor Gatto. This article is a good start: The Six-Lesson School Teacher. Because of his views, I'm more than ever wanting to homeschool my kids. Trades have been artificially de-emphasized in our society. Who is going to tune your piano or plumb your house? A tradesman. And, in some trades, the experts are dying faster than they are being replaced. So don't just push your kids toward College At Any Cost. Debt is another huge issue. Average college debt has more than tripled since 1993. I talk a little about why. And, finally, I talk about why you might want to go down the CRNA road rather than the MD route if you want to work in anesthesia. And yep, I'm having a little fun with the intro and outro. :)

NERD ALERT! Today, we delve into a fairly abstract subject, if you're not associated with NASA, but one that fires my imagination. Given the constraints of time, this is necessarily a superficial treatment of some deeply complex topics, but we discuss how both anesthesia teams and space stations provide life support, and then briefly touch on providing anesthesia IN space. Even if this isn't a near-and-dear topic to you, you might find some interesting food for your own thoughts.

A few thoughts on who is (and who is not) responsible for our personal safety. There are so many topics I'd rather talk about, but since this is in the news and on our minds, I wanted to touch on the topic.  Life. Liberty. Property. Thank you all for listening and sending feedback.

I've been deeply troubled by recent events, specifically those acts by people who feel empowered to verbally attack or even virtually destroy others who differ from them in beliefs and opinions.  No matter who you are, you are not absolved of your responsibility to be a decent human being just because "your team" is celebrating bad behavior against opponents.

A short post after a weekend with dear friends. I touch briefly on several subjects of interest to me, and possibly to my listeners.  I am happy to welcome some new listeners. I intend for this to be listener-driven, but for that to happen, I need listeners to send in questions. Please send your emails to renaissanceonlineradio@gmail.com.

It's funny what surprising comments come from our children. You never know when they're listening, until you realize that they were... Why aren't the Democrat debates as difficult as the GOP debates? No, I didn't hate everything about my visit to NYC. Farming. It's awesome. But it isn't easy. And without friends, what do we have? We added new intro and outro music. The song is Big Moon Rising from Grant Andrew's album Deep Brewed Life.  You can listen to it on Spotify. Thanks to Mark for the voice work. We need more questions from listeners. What would you like to hear about?

Having just returned from my first trip to NYC, I have lots of thoughts for this and future podcasts. I've never felt so out-of-place, so far from home. I felt more at home in Nepal than I did in NYC. At the same time, I had a visceral reaction when I visited the WTC memorial pools. I can't describe it well, but I remembered very clearly that our nation was attacked. While I was there, I read an article about Wendell Berry's book The Unsettling of America that really made some interesting points about part of what was bothering me about being in NYC. There is also the "what if the life support systems fail" questions, when in the City. I want to speak clearly in opposition to attacks on people simply for being Muslim. Fighting words lead to fighting. And killing.

Always a little ahead of myself, I managed to invite the whole world to listen before I knew what I was doing. Well, I still don't know what I'm doing (with the podcast), so here's 23 minutes of my talking about a few topics of interest to myself and maybe to you.  First, I address EMPs, or Electromagnetic Pulses. To learn more, I invite you to read the book "One Second After" by Dr William Forstchen. Also, you can read about EMP tests here.  Several corrections I need to make: First, the majority of EMP testing occurred in the late 1950s and early 1960s, not a decade earlier, as I stated in the podcast. Second, when I talk about the "electronic grid" going down, I meant to say the "electrical grid." The difference may seem minor, but I do wish to be accurate. Then I address a listener's question about drug legalization, not thoroughly, but enough to stimulate thought, I hope. I also briefly touch on how some choices impact the lives of others. I end with a discussion of recent talk on the campaign trail, specifically about Trump's pot-stirring. I hope you enjoy what I'm doing with this, and I welcome your feedback.

A podcast. Sure, why not? I've been blogging in one form or another since before medical school, so putting my ideas out for others to evaluate isn't something new to me. But putting my voice out there is a bit more unsettling. What to call it? Well, for better or for worse, I've been called a "renaissance man" for years. It's the result of not being limited to one particular field of interest. I remember my mother, when I was small, describing my grandfather (who died when I was young), as able to talk about anything with anybody. So, somehow, that idea, the value of having a wide body of knowledge, stuck. I'm not bragging, just stating facts.  So, rather than letting it annoy me, I've decided to put on the mantle, and to incorporate the title into the name of this "station."  Thanks for listening! Recorded 12/6/2015