Deception, Lies, False Witness

What is lying?
What is deception?
Is there such a thing as deception that is not lying?
Are they ever acceptable for Christians to engage in?
Can we deceive people while loving truth?
Can we apply situational ethics to this topic?
Does the good ever outweigh the bad in God's eyes?
How does this apply to acting?
Where should we draw the line?

Stay tuned for an overview of the topic... be thinking of your opinions so you can comment... I will not have all the answers.

Communication, Please!

A solvent-style smell wafts into the room as I type before leaving work. They are installing some new doors into this old edifice — new grey doors that do not fit with the rest of the building.

Meadowsweet... The "good" characters engaged in way too much deception, and most of the fibs never came to light entirely. The older sister (the bad guy) was absolutely abominable — the sort of person who in real life would be extremely difficult to love. Sadly, she did not receive the justice due her. Even at the very last, after she helped to ruin her little sister's romance for a year and after she had been untrue to her husband, the little sister was the only one who knew the entire truth of the matter. The romance was "healed" with no discussion of why it had originally been broken, the little sister said something about it being unexplainable and would the guy accept her anyway? Goodness, a little communication would have been in order! Not to get even with the sister, but to build a better relationship without such facts withheld.

Literary Comments

From the very exciting, page-turner "The Scarlet Pimpernel" I turned to "Agnes Grey." It was a very different sort of book, not nearly as exciting, but fulfilling in its own way. The reader is drawn to feel for the heroine, desire that her life turn out well -- and the end was oh, so delightful. The book also contained very positive Christian messages, such as I might tell myself or hear at church.

From the fulfilling and heart-warming "Agnes Grey" I turned to "Meadowsweet" by Baroness Orczy (author of "The Scarlet Pimpernel"). There does not seem to be any historical significance to the book, nor any Christian message. Which could engender the question of its worth...
However, the author has a definite sense of morality and the book is artfully written. It is a comedy, in some ways, and doesn't take itself entirely seriously. There are some marvelously humorous character descriptions and scenes... It remains to be seen where it will land.

A Few More

I started "The Scarlet Pimpernel" last night. Written by a Hungarian lady, the book is set in the late 18th century at the time of the French Revolution. It is good so far -- we'll see where it goes.

My agenda for last night was: foal watch, maybe with my friend LO. What did my night turn out to be? Watching two colic work-ups, working in the library until 10 pm, and checking on the mares periodically. It is fun to be busy in a stress-free way.

More Short Words

I seem to be running low on words these days... might have something to do with stacks of notes and 2-4 hour long tests.

I finished the finals stint with a ruminant nutrition ration balance take-home.

Hopefully the break will recharge me. I need to find something good to read... maybe I should stop by the campus library tomorrow morning on my way home. Dickens would be good, but one week is not long enough to finish an 800 pager (might start one anyway). Any other suggestions?

I am planning to enjoy the latter part of spring break with my Christian vet friends -- a night at the coast and a day of talks/discussions (Real Life/Real Impact through CVM). It should be grand!

Short Verbage

One more test to go. Small animal medicine, gastrointestinal and liver disease. Spirocerca lupi or Physaloptera, anyone?

Last night's long hours of sleep resulted in strange dreams as usual -- anything from a sheep in my bedroom to asking God to thwart some guy who was trespassing into my car (apparently I didn't have much faith and ended up trying to kick him) to being in church.

Happy Things

"These are a few of my favorite things..."

The shooting meteorite I saw Monday night. Thank you, God.

The muskrat (it might have been a nutria -- too dark and too quickly passed to tell) I almost hit last night on Peoria Road. (I still haven't bought into (and never will) the concept: "Only swerve to hit an animal, not to miss it.")

Dr. Huber recently gave a presentation at a highschool career day. A mortician friend of his was also there, representing his profession. Dr. Huber asked him if he got very many interested students, and the guy said they were all the gothics. Struck me funny somehow (and sad, at the same time).

Thursday night after the vet school Bible study we were talking about kiwis. One girl stated that we should say "kiwi fruit" instead of just "kiwi", to be sure it is clear that we like to eat kiwi fruit and not the kiwi bird. Thereafter, she said "It is "_____." I interpreted the ____ as "not a turtle," though clearly that was an unlikely thing for her to say. So, says I, "It's not a turtle?" and we ended up laughing because she had actually said "It is noctural."
"Nocturnal", "not a turtle"... I guess they're similar. Now she plans to make a T-shirt with a picture of a kiwi bird and the words "This is not a turtle." Of course, it is completely an inside joke and people will wonder what it's all about.

***
This morning I spoke about goats to some Linn County 4-Hers. The beauty of such situations is that they ask questions I don't know the answers to. "We bought some goats with large abdomens -- what sort of parasite is involved?" Dunno, some sort of Cyathostome? "What can you do to decrease urinary stones when feeding molasses? What about feeding ammonium chloride?" Um, I've read something about molasses and urinary stones and know that ammonium chloride is sometimes used to decrease stone incidence. I certainly didn't have any clearcut answer.
My friends Jake and Casey did large animals and small market critters, respectively.

Fun with Surgery Tools

Yesterday was a crazy day. I arrived shortly after 8 am at school, only to discover that class didn't start until 10 am. We had Dr. Salzseider, JD, DVM to speak in our practice management class -- he instructed us on veterinary practice law, etc.

Class let out at 5. I went briefly to J&J, where I have now been succeeded by another (that is very exciting because it will give me more time to study and exercise (e.g. vet school tennis club)). I then trekked up to Hubbard, worked on a gift for my Aussie friend and went to her final going away party. That was great, aside from the fact that it means she's leaving. Then I stopped at my parents' for a couple CD's and drove back to vet school to help one of the seniors do foal watch. We took turns getting up every hour to check on the mares.
Crazy day, but if I had it to do over again I'd probably do similarly.

***
In large animal surgery lab they fed us root beer floats and then we got to play with cryosurgery, laser, arthroscope and laparoscope tools. We did "cryosurgery" on a dead horse limb, lasering on tongue depressors and a dead horse limb, arthroscopy on a dead horse limb, and laparoscopy on a cake carrier. As for the latter, they had the inside of the carrier covered with pink like the inside of an abdomen, and there were three portals into the hollow space: two for instruments and one for a light source. We were supposed to place the light source and have an assistant man it from there. Then we were to use laparoscope tools to grab a water-filled balloon by the tie and snip the tie off without rupturing the actual balloon. It was fun, but now my right hand is shaking (could be some hypoglycemia going on there).

Girls' Night

Last night... oh, dear -- shall I say I was still up at midnight but went to bed very early?
My friend BD is leaving Tuesday so MS hosted a slumber party in her honor. There were eight of us crazy ladies gathered in her rather small abode. We laughed, cracked jokes, and ate pavlova (which thankfully had nothing to do with salivating dogs). We collaborated on a short and stupid story (suffice to say that it was intended to be nonsense and it was).
It went something like this:
"It was a dusty, windy day in central Azerbaijan. The ladies of the Takasz Women's Auxiliary were narrowly dismissed from their biweekly gossip guild when a chisel-faced man on a foaming, white steed slid to a stop in front of the village artesian well. The ladies stopped mid-sentence and scurried to the square..." and proceeded to speak of a lady with kiwis and an umbrella, etc.

We went to bed by perhaps 2 am, I don't remember, and I drifted in and out to the sound of a couple of my friends' voices. Then I came fully to around perhaps 3 am and engaged in a conversation before finally procuring a few precious hours of shut-eye. I left before the others stirred, and was therefore devoid of an opportunity to eat that Australian delicacy, Vegemite. I hear it's good, but have never tasted it and therefore the concept of a brewer's yeast-based substance does not appeal to me.

This morning I attended a farrier short-course sponsored by the American Farrier's Association and American Association for Equine Practitioners. I saw a really good presentation of foot anatomy and mechanics. Hopefully I will get in on a bit of the lab after work.

Weather Continued

We had hail on Thursday and hail on Friday, snow on Friday and freezing rain Friday night. And now it looks like spring. Maybe it really is this time. Goodness, it's March in western Oregon.

Weather variations are fun, as long as they don't send people careening into ditches. Yesterday I cut over from Halsey to Peoria Rd on American Drive. Roads were clear in Halsey, but by the paper mill they became mildly treacherous -- the mix of sweeping curves (banked though they are, I'm not sure that helps a whole lot when it's slick) and slush/snow. I personally traversed the territory without episode, but I noted tire tracks coming up from (going down into?) the deep roadside ditch near one curve (the tracks were in the field). There was a van driving SLOWLY along toward me, and there were tracks in the slush/snow as if it had done a U-ey in the road. Looking for something they lost, or a vehicle in a ditch? I went a little farther and beheld a red emergency vehicle coming my way. Now, the funny thing is that all three peculiarities may be completely unrelated. The emergency vehicle could have been for a stove-top fire, the slow vehicle may have been looking for a lost shoe, the tracks by the ditch... it's hard to think of a favorable reason for them. Maybe some dude having fun.

The flipped SUV north of the town of Peoria explained itself. And my friend LD informed me of three accidents that occurred Thursday along Peoria Rd -- a PT Cruiser (unintentionally) in someone's yard, a 4WD truck in the ditch, a vehicle into a power pole. Western Oregonians don't know how to drive in a measling inch of snow.

Fluffy

This morning I was talking to my friend CS about the snow on the way to Redmond (where she was then residing). We were talking about driving on snow, and what sort of snow is best to drive on, and all that. As we were talking I headed out of my room and down the hallway. My gaze naturally took in the view presented by the hall windows... and what do you know? there was snow.

Snow in March in the Willamette Valley of western Oregon! It is something to talk about, I'll write.

It hailed this afternoon as I ran from Magruder to Dryden — one time when I was thankful to be wearing glasses.
And then it snowed some more.
And who knows what awaits me this evening.

The Days and Times

Saturday continued to be abnormal even after the conference. I worked at the library then sped up to Woodburn and stopped at the local Walmart (that sorry establishment!) to see if my friend BD (Aussie girl) was working that day.
I peered into the portrait studio, and beheld — not just BD — but also my friends the Goertzens! Hence, I got to observe and critique their poses (after being so invited) and then secured BD's okay for going out for ice cream that eve.

It was to be a wait of 45 minutes, putting us at maybe 9:15 or 9:30. I perused the store, found cards for my parents' birthdays, some socks. And then I waited for my friend. And I waited. And then I helped her close the studio (it was her last day working there, which means she will be leaving Oregon soon (boo hoo!) and will be in Australia in about a month). Finally we were done and it was 10:30 +.
We had a grand time at Shari's, talking about the day, etc. The waiters were jolly and the food edible.

***
Sunday I made a cake for my mother's birthday -- experimenting as is desirable to me. It ended up a two layered cake instead of a three because the middle layer was peaked in the middle and resulted in the top layer sliding off. The middle layer was relegated to a separate container.

***
So that was then. And back to school I received thank you cards from the children at Siletz Valley School. The dog skull was apparently popular, and one child even drew a picture with a half shell view of a horse hoof -- they actually payed attention to what I was showing them! If the actual career fair had not been worth it (which it was) this made it definitely so. It sounds like I get to go back next year if I am able.

NAIS

The Food Animal Practitioner's breakfast was interesting. State veterinarian Don Hansen spoke to us about the National Animal Identification System. If you haven't heard about it... a lot of people are up in arms about this system that could eventually require basically all livestock to be microchipped.

Some form of this system is a good idea for an ideal world (aside from "mark of the beast" arguments). It would provide better tracking for mad cow disease, avian flu, scrapie, and West Nile virus. This would help monitor epidemics.
Practically speaking, some potential implications of the system are bad. Who is going to stick identification chips into their flock of 10 chickens?*
People are saying this system will do under the small producers. It could have that potential.
The whole agenda of the NAIS... I am inclined to call it overkill -- a lot of effort for little benefit -- paranoia -- a pain to enforce.
Will it be a major benefit to track horses with West Nile? I sorta doubt it.
Scrapie... it's not a proven zoonosis, and perhaps it would be better to focus where the needs are -- sort of like ring vaccinating (see this page under "Eradication") for small pox eradication?
This program, in my mind, should only be implemented for species where the need outweighs the cost and hassle of the program. If producers want to eradicate a disease from their animals, they can focus on it for their own economic benefit. If they don't want to, don't make them.

Anyway, all that said it is sounding very sketchy as to whether the NAIS will require all livestock producers to comply. Don is encouraging people to register their farms, and nothing else at this point.

If you want to know more about the NAIS and dispel any rumors you may have heard, look here.

* I doubt this will be required.

In the Dark of the Evening

The OVC continued to be good. But before that, I had some hands on vet activities.

You'd seldom think that a secretary job would lead to searching for the jugular vein on a cow... but such was the case at J&J on Friday night.

"Have you ever given a shot to a cow?" asks the employer that eve.
"No, but I've given them to horses and a sheep," returned I.
"I've got a cow that needs one tonight."
"Good, let me know when you go out."

So come 8:30 or 9 pm and I jump into the Ford pickup with the employer and his daughter and we head northwest toward the cow pen. The cow is laying on the mud, somewhat obtunded perhaps but alert. Employer makes a makeshift halter and ties the end of the rope to the cow's back leg.

And then came the hunt for the vein. My employer has never failed to get the vein on a cow, so it was strange when no blood came forth on his efforts.
I tried my hand at it, held off the vein and observed a definite jugular fill which I aimed for with the needle. Still no blood.
Turns out the needle was plugged and the new one worked, but then the IV line was old and a new one was fetched as I stood in the deserted night with the sons and daughter and beasts. We dreaded the potential arrival of a cougar, but were thankfully not graced with its presence.

The slow bolus of 50% dextrose was administered and we returned to the office/house around 10 pm. And then I worked until 11 pm because I didn't want to return on Saturday.

OVC

Schmoozing with folks at the Oregon Veterinary Conference... what a delight! It was great to see friends CM and CS (not the one I normally write about) from previous graduating classes. I spoke at length with a veterinarian from Bend -- she raises Boer-cross goats, her husband has mules (some are Tennessee walking horse crosses -- would that make them gaited?), and she has a theory about prevention of laminitis in horses. Feed them bluegrass.

I spoke with another vet from Grants Pass who lives a James Herriot-like existence (as she said). She shared her excitement about the profession and gave me insight on being a female farm animal vet.

To top it off...
Before I went to the conference, I was messing around in the trunk of my car and this fellow asked where he should park. I explained the situation, and recognized him as a vet I shadowed a couple times back in 2001. There was no sign that he recognized me.

Later I was meandering through the exhibit hall and came upon him again. I asked him if he found the parking place. He said "yeah" and "haven't I met you before, you went to George Fox...?"
Of course it was true, and we talked a bit and he found out that I might want to practice in the Newberg area. Thereupon, he essentially offered for me to buy his clinic when I graduate. He told me to work a year or two then come talk to him. He thought I could build up the large animal side of the practice if I wanted to. He was definitely serious! Interesting.

Tomorrow is Saturday... but my bedroom will be vacant long before my usual Saturday rising time. I'm going to the Food Animal Practitioner's Breakfast (might be the only student there, but I was talking to Dr. Estill and this guy came up to talk to him and one of them invited me. So hey, why not? It'll be fun.) And then comes the moderating session and more connecting with people...

Vet Topics

Bother! I just went to pick up something from the library printer and noticed my resume laying on the table nearby. I printed it yesterday as a trial run before using special paper, and didn't find it when I looked for it. It's probably been laying there all night with who knows who looking at it, seeing my GPA and whatever else. Not exactly the level of privacy I try to surround that information with.

***
I get to moderate one of the sessions at the Oregon Veterinary Conference on Saturday. That will be fun in and of itself, but it also buys me free admission.

Why?

It dawned on me that I could provide some enlightenment (? maybe more like extra darkness) about the procedures I did yesterday. For instance, why are they done?

Distal check ligament desmotomy - for club foot (hoof turned toward the back of the horse) in foals and adults
Lateral digital extensor tenotomy - for string halt, sudden flexion of the hindlimb(s) on movement
Medial patellar desmotomy - for a locked patella, which would keep the hindleg from flexing easily. Horses that undergo this procedure cannot sleep standing up because their reciprocal apparatus is ruined.
Partial splint bone removal - taking out metacarpal 2 or 4 due to fracture or some other pathology. These bones are the little bumps you feel below the knee of a horse on the cannon bone.
Palmar digital neurectomy - one indication is navicular disease. This procedure removes some/all sensation to that region.
Eye enucleation - for a cancerous or infected eye
CSF tap - if meningitis is suspected.