Stew's Clues Blog Followers...

Be sure to add yourself to my "followers" column in the right upper box of my blog page. Makes me look lame to just have Calvin the only follower (btw, thanks Calvin).

Also if your an international follower of my blog, send me a comment regarding topics you'd like to hear about more. I know I have a few following my x-ray adventures as well as "all things guitar" followers.

It's like when my daughter asks me to tell her a story about something that's happened in my life. I don't know where to start so she'll give me an idea and then I can just run with it.

If you're not a Yahoo or Google member, you can always click the bubble for "Anonymous".

Hey, The Hand Is Doing Better!

After about 6 weeks, my left hand is doing a little better. My right hand is a little stiff for some reason, but that doesn't affect my guitar playing. The lighter strings have been helping as far as guitar issues. Still kind of strange using super light strings.

Hopefully I can return to playing at my church by May. Still taking anti-inflammatories though. Whatever works.

Why Would You Ask Your X-ray Tech Something You Should Have Asked Your Doctor?

Have you ever seen the Christmas cult classic movie "A Christmas Story"? There's a scene where the main character 10 year old Ralphie is visiting a mall Santa at their local department store. When he finally gets to Santa, his mind goes blank and he's almost in a hypnotic state, frozen and unable to speak. Santa makes some suggestions to Ralphie about receiving some generic boy specific toy. Ralphie feebly responds in agreement and is prompty sent down the slide away from Santa. But it's at that point at the pennicle of the slide that Ralphie comes to his senses and blurts out what he really wants, the reason why he waited forever in line to request from Santa in the first place.

That scene is played over and over in my mind almost every day at my Radiology Department. I get questions everyday from patients that should have been asked while in the presence of their doctor, the whole reason for their visit in the first place. I imagine patients, like Ralphie, becoming entranced with what the doctor's opinion is in regards to their problem, illness, injury, etc.

But something happens between the doctor's exam room and my x-ray room. I get questions like,
"How long do you think it will be until I feel better?"
"Will I need surgery?"
"Do you think it's broken?"

Patients seem to think that we're on their side and are willing to give the "true story" while doctors are vague and tell them things they don't want to hear.

Truth is, most techs do know what's going on in an x-ray film, CT, MRI, Nuc Med scan, Ultrasound, Mammogram, Dexa scan, Angio, and Stereotactic Biopsy. But legally we our bound by law not to give out any interpretive results regarding a pathology finding. We have to use our best "poker face" and pretend nothing was seen. Evaluating, interpreting, or consulting is outside of our licensed scope of practice. If I give you the upward nod regarding your fractured wrist, even though you're going to hear it from your doctor in about 20 minutes, I loose my job and license to ever work again in my profession. At the pay rate and benefits I'm currently receiving, there's no way I'm sharing my secret with you, no matter how irrate and bugged you get. Tough, I want to keep my job. I'm not going to risk it just to make you happy or to help you win that bet with your wife.

I mean, how is this fracture information going to help you in the small moments before your doctor tells you? Do you not trust the doctor you're seeing in the first place? If that's the case then that's your issue to pursue, don't involve me in your doctor/patient situation. I'm providing a service to your doctor who then is providing a service to you. I'm the chef, your the customer and your doctor is the waiter. You don't bypass the waiter and ask the chef for more water, right?

Because I have some patients traveling to my clinic from long distances, I usually ask if they are supposed to bring the x-rays back to their doctor today. That opens up a whole bag of worms;
"Uh, do you think I should?"
"Why, did you see something? If you think I should then I will".

And then there's the classic, "Do you see anything on the x-ray?" This is the point where the whole patient and tech relationship has a tendency to get ugly. I once had a patient ask me directly;
Patient: "Did you see anything?"
Tech: "No, I can't read the x-rays".
Then the patient picked up a magazine, shoved it in my face and asked, "Well can you read THIS?"

I've even had patients tell me that they have a RIGHT to know what I saw. That's a good one. You want a scientific observation? Here's one; the louder the patient raises their voice to me is inversely proportional to their intellegence. It's all I can do to keep from laughing in their faces. People who don't really know their rights sure seem to KNOW their rights...in their minds anyway.

I have a more calm approach when it comes to these type of questions. Usually when I tell the patient I don't read the films, I get in response, "Ah, come on. You look at these films everyday." My response, "Hey, just because I look up and see clouds everyday doesn't make me a meteorologist". That comment usually puts a stop to the whole "let's see if I can get the tech to tell me" Q&A session.

Confusing December!

So I guess since the weather is just now getting colder, our maples and liquid amber trees are just starting to turn fall colors. Yet in the distance, there is evidence of large amounts of snow in our mountains. Just seems kind of strange to see this late in December. Usually this time of year, all the leaves have turned color and fallen.

Visited My College Roommate/Bandmember, John, and Walked Away With Some Insight.

John's studio at Magic Box Music, north view

So I drove down to L.A. to visit my college roommate John Sponsler. We have not seen or talked to each other in 21 years. I found John by doing a Google search as well as searching on MySpace. Luckily his sons set up a MySpace for John as a gag.


Same studio, south view

John looks the same as he did back in '87. A little older, a little wiser. We talked about recording, film scores, movie trailer tracks, old bands, family and so on. It was like those 21 years had never passed. We got along just as well as we did back as roommates and band members.

John is the co-owner of a company called Magic Box Music which does movie trailer music, commercials, and movie scores. John has worked with John Williams, Hans Zimmer and Trevor Rabin in addition to many others.

His studio is very streamlined and comfortable while a set of french doors opens up into a spacious area as a getaway from all things brain clouding. He was currently working on tracks that were recorded last week. The recordings were made via cable hookup between his studio and a recording studio in Prague, Czech Republic. Between a live video feed, orchestra translator and mp4 transfer, and some software that syncs the signal to recording real time, it was as if the orchestra and choir were performing in the next room. John never had to leave his studio or even make a flight out of the country. This event took a few weeks to coordinate and although John had to record this event between the hours of 12:00 AM to 8:00 AM (in Prague it was 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM) John seems to be pretty happy with the results.

After catching up, John and I headed off to lunch where we discussed our new common interest, Jesus Christ. When I say new, it's because we were not believers the last time we were together. John's been a believer since the early 90's, I became a believer in 2003.


(My first Cops in Concert gig. L-R; Ricky, John, Diane, Larry, Tim, and me....with a mustache, click on image.)

After talking for a good 45 minutes, I could clearly see how much John has grown in his faith. Out of nowhere in the early 90's while John was a parking lot security guard for the set of "Tales From The Crypt", John took it upon himself to read the Bible from front to back. From start to finish, John read about 6 hours a day without worry of critisism from passing celebrities.

All of John's connection with Christ came while there was no encouragement of other believers. In fact, John was alone in his beginning journey with Christ, no fellowship, nobody to ask questions to difficult passages. I was at the edge of my seat listening to how God started working on John. It would take literally paragraphs to explain what John went through to get where he is today. His story is incredible yet inspiring.

John in addition to recording amazing trailer music and movie scoring, (National Treasure, Pirates of the Caribbean, the Matrix, Memoirs of a Geisha, commercials for Scion, etc) he also is a worship leader in his outreach Saturday services. He had some great insight regarding worship music and those who come to critique rather than worship and celebrate God's love (I'll have to share some great advice for Epic Beat.)

This meeting with John was much needed right now in my life. I have been feeling like such a fraud in my own faith. I've been pushing God away from my life out of frustration and for selfish reasons. I have not been understanding God's plan or timing with the events that have occurred in my life this year.

During the whole ride home from John's studio, my mind kept recalling John's enthusiasm for God's love, God's plan for us, and how I need to allow His love to work into my life. John totally gets it. John was more than happy to express in detail God's patience, awesomeness, and His truth to me. It's a level that I have been scared to reach.

So John and I were about to leave the restaurant when he says, "I had this feeling you were a believer". I don't in any way think that this reunion was about a get together among friends. This was meant to be God's drop-kick to the butt for me. "Wake Up, I Love You, allow me to work in your life again. -perceived lesson quote from The JC."


Stew, October 1987, right after disbanding with John and Voyager.

Fun At The Beach.

The family decided to spend a few days at the beach while I was off this week. 87 degrees was much nicer than 107. The water temp was slightly chilly but fine once you spent some time in the water. Here's some highlights and views.

I Love Flickr!

Flickr has some great premium effects package that really make me look like a professional. Check these out. Makes me want to start designing album covers.


Original image.


Aged with some vignetting.


Heat Map using variable strength percentages.