Tom Morris

A past of pain

When I think of past centuries, the one thing that I am extremely thankful for is how painless modern life is. I may seem to be stating the obvious or engaging in Whiggish optimism, but think about this for a second.

I’ve had searing tooth pain for the last few days. This morning I sat down with Google and decided to find out what it was and how to cure it. After typing in my symptoms, I’ve found that it could possibly be dentis hypersensitivity, which is caused by either brushing your teeth too hard or not brushing them enough in certain areas (among other things). The symptoms seemed to match my own - searing pain on the back of a particular tooth when exposed to cold fluids.

This is why I love living in a Western, capitalist democracy. I found out that switching toothpaste would cure my problem. A trip to the pharmacy and a fiver later, I not only have some strong painkillers but also some new toothpaste.

So, big deal, I found out I had sensitive teeth and so I bought some new toothpaste. But what I find interesting is how science and technology combined with a free market helped me figure out my problems and (hopefully) solve them so quickly. And how many generations must have suffered from similarly annoying pains throughout the centuries. I’m not talking about major diseases or disfigurements. I’m just talking about constant, everyday pain like headaches, toothaches, strains and so on. It must have been an accompaniment for many, many people throughout the centuries.

What I’m looking forward to is how the web of data, the Semantic revolution, the users-own-their-data deal will affect healthcare. I have a feeling that it’ll do what it’s done in entertainment - piss off a lot of the existing powers that be and make things better in the process.

My health records are stored on pieces of paper in a whole bunch of different people’s offices - my doctor, my dentist, the hospital I went to a few years ago. This is silly. My health data should be in an encrypted XML file that sits on my digital devices. What I want is a service where I can type in my problems, and it’ll then consult my health records and advise me what the best course of action is. And it’ll hook up to external databases and tell me where to go to solve the problems.

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I bet you didn’t know of the existence of Windows Vista Jet Ski edition. I’m holding out for the edition of Vista with Steve Jobs’ head served on a silver platter with an iPod shuffle clipped on to his tongue. Then I’ll admit defeat and move away from the Mac platform.

Jim Moore’s video has been removed from YouTube. It’s a completely non-infringing video featuring James, Mike and Adam talking about OPML and Grazr while eating ribs in a restaurant in Somerville, Mass. Quite what this has to do with Viacom’s intellectual property, I do not know. I’ve posted it on digg.

Wow, this is a great collection of British girls comics. It’s just been BoingBoinged, but it’s well worth reading later once it’s available again.

Ophelia points to some good Madeline Bunting blow-your-brains-out-with-a-shotgun fodder. She seems to think that canon law and sharia are on the same kind of level. Dude. I’ve met people who’ve got Master’s degrees in canon law. And, no, stoning gays and raped women is not part of canon law. It is part of sharia. Bunting is disingenous. 71% of young Muslims in Britain believe that homosexuality should be illegal. That is what you are defending, Ms. Bunting. And that is horrible.