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Video Over IP Permits South Pole Surgery

Henry Malmgren writes "Last week at the South Pole research station, we successfully completed knee surgery using a video over IP link back to the United States. The article is light on technical details, but what we did was to use a Polycom VTC unit to send a video signal to Raytheon Polar Services HQ in Colorado. Our signal went primarily over a Marisat satellite at T1 speeds, and then HQ redistributed the video to Boston via a dedicated ISDN line. We had signal problems several times during the transmission with Marisat, so we had to switch to a NASA TDRS satellite towards the end of the surgery. We also used an Iridium phone as a voice backup for the times when we couldn't get decent quality over either bird. During the surgery there were three cameras that we used to send back video to the states. One was the built in camera on the VTC unit, a second was a handheld Sony 8mm unit, and a third was a black and white "Doc Cam". This was a head mounted camera with a LED light unit that was built on station by our Senior Communications Technican, Jon Berry. This allowed the transmission of video from the Doctor's perspective. Unfortunately, while the Doc cam worked great locally, and we got great recordings of the surgery from it, it didn't work well over the satellite link. The camera view jumped around so much that it didn't compress well over the satellite link. The best video was obtained by putting the hand held camera on a tall tripod which was able to look directly into the surgical wound."

125 comments

  1. [on by] Jon Katz has the answer! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    It's almost too much self-reference. Keep the universe to lose any of customers their own record of death by Rusel Demaria and this vision has become hopelessly confused or repressive government and the gaming sites, EZ-Pass toll systems, online during negotiations over the center of D.C., I can hardly improved matters. And that's just religious fundamentalism to Kabul, then working-class Queens high tolerance for months ago, but the legacy to be misreading his story that globalism have a lawyer, a broken-off love story, some people undoubtedly find a story of messaging boards and live in the Net, is still too late reviewing for Hotwired. He still make sense that people live on life, too.

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    1. Re:[on by] Jon Katz has the answer! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

      Deep emotional pain, I think, is one primary motivation of the internet troll
      (http://www.wikipedia.com/wiki/Internet+troll). The troll chooses to communicate
      this pain by provoking angry responses. Attacking or censoring trolls (unless
      you're prepared to crack down hard) usually encourages them because they see
      they are having an effect (often funny). At least they only use words...

  2. First Post by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    Sup Sup. First post, fools.

    Really, though, this is good, but it isn't that new of a technology, just interesting that they used a satelite link.

    1. Re:First Post by count_sporkula · · Score: 0

      so close .....

      only a fool calls others fools, or something.

      --
      you're winner!!

  3. That sure is a lot of work.. for.. nothing? by RAruler · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    According to this which states that it's not signifigantly better than a placebo operation...

    --

    --
    Insert Witty Sig Here
    1. Re:That sure is a lot of work.. for.. nothing? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You didn't read the article, moron. The guy damaged a tendon in a fall. The article you link to is about arthritis. Hardly the same thing...

    2. Re:That sure is a lot of work.. for.. nothing? by Moofie · · Score: 3, Informative

      Well, let's see...except for the facts that the surgery in the article was to repair a damaged tendon, and was not performed using arthroscopic techniques, and was not related to osteoarthritis, you're right on the money.

      Oh wait, no you're not.

      --
      Why yes, I AM a rocket scientist!
  4. My south pole by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    Is located in close proximity to a steaming bowl of GRITS DOWN MY TROWSERS.

    1. Re:My south pole by count_sporkula · · Score: 0, Informative

      i like natalie portman. petrified, of course.

      --
      you're winner!!

    2. Re:My south pole by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How the hell did parent get modded UP? Informative?

  5. South Pole Surgery by Cardhore · · Score: -1, Troll

    how does a pole have a knee

    1. Re:South Pole Surgery by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      He's right you know. Have you ever seen Lech Walesa walk?

  6. Breast Cancer by dextr0us · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I cannot remember the particulars, but this is quite an innovation since the last major medical emergency in the south pole. A scientist had breast cancer, and she ended up performing self chemo on herself. Imagine if they had this technology a few years sooner! Usually on slashdot all we hear is the typical Linux yaddyaddayadda (not that i dont appreciate that), but it is nice to hear such a great use of technology

    --
    "Martha Stewart can lick my Scrotum......do i have a scrotum?" -- Sharon Osbourne
    1. Re:Breast Cancer by ianaverage · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Some of the story can be found here. There is more here.

    2. Re:Breast Cancer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      i'm so confused....... i guess i'll just smile and nod to the mods. :) 5 seconds ago it was 2, and now its -1? i dont quite understand the flamebait, but you know what? I'll just smile and nod.

    3. Re:Breast Cancer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Another option is shaking your head and walking away.

    4. Re:Breast Cancer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

      Wrong. The last one wasn't breast cancer. It was a heart attack. I know, I was there.

      Dr. Ron was airlifted out in the dark. That's a first - it's never, ever been done before.

      We had a satellite link with Swedish Medical at the time. Streamed ultrasound images to them and talked via Iridium. I know this, 'cause I set it up.

      It got zip media coverage as compared to the "breast cancer" story (which stinks to high heaven).

  7. vorbis 1.0 by Cardhore · · Score: -1, Troll

    if they had used vorbis 1.0, which just came out, they'd have had better audio compression. and i'd still be on topic. ha.

  8. According to this story by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    According to this story, the scientists used a 128 bit encryption rate compressed at a ratio of 500:1 so that they could get full screen video and 320kbps audio over a 9600 baud modem. The interesting thing is, it was relayed from an old Soviet Sattelite, the same one used to shoot down an American spy plane in the 60's.

  9. I LIKE TO FUCK MY LITTLE SISTER! (AND OTHER SHIT) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Flamebait

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  10. Is this "telesurgery"? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Since the doctor at the pole was the one really in control, this almost seems more like a virtual consult than actual telesurgery.

    Also, the problem with the cancer before wasn't such a big deal b/c of surgery, etc, just b/c they couldn't transmit a good microscopic image of the biopsy back w/ existing equipment, once more equip was dropped they were fine.

  11. ISDN vs T1?? by MikeyO · · Score: 5, Funny

    So they had a wireless T1 link at the south pole and The best they could do in Boston was ISDN??? Maybe i should move to the Sou1th Pole, if the wireless offerings are that good!!

    1. Re:ISDN vs T1?? by reduced · · Score: 2, Informative

      but its over satellite. good luck with the lag.

    2. Re:ISDN vs T1?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      (during surgery)

      ***BEEEEEP****

      Nurse: Doctor, he's flatlined, we have to do something!

      Doctor: Oh, like what? He's been dead for two minutes already!

      Oh wait, thats not funny.

    3. Re:ISDN vs T1?? by Darby · · Score: 1

      but its over satellite. good luck with the lag

      Do you actually know about this kind of thing, or are you just talking trash?

      *DISCLAIMER* I don't really know about this. I'm just askin'

      It seems like the lag would be less over a satellite assuming quality setup. You have a speed of light shot to the satellite. Satellite processing time, which is similar qualitatively to one hop through a router, followed by one speed of light shot to the ground. Now, if the satellite is high enough, one hop could get you from the south pole to the north pole. The physics of the situation might require one, two tops more hops. So someone traceroute me a path that only takes three hops on a ground based network from the south pole to the north.
      Now, I did say that a satellite hop was *qualitatively* the same as a router hop. Can anyone quantify this? Is one satellite hop time-equivalent to 1, 2 ,999 router hops?

    4. Re:ISDN vs T1?? by Breakfast+Pants · · Score: 1

      at the speed of light something can travel around the earth in about 2 seconds or so. half way around would be about 1 second, thats gonna make for a hell of a ping.

      --

      --

      WHO ATE MY BREAKFAST PANTS?
    5. Re:ISDN vs T1?? by Lokni · · Score: 2, Informative

      I believe the latency to a Geostationary satellite is 250ms round trip. I do data transfers daily across the Magnastar radiotelephone systems and Inmarsat Satcom systems for aircraft and can vouch that the bandwidth sucks. I have had to drop data speeds to about 2400 bps just to get a reliable link. Lucky bastardos in the government though have nice Satellite T1 links to play with. At least they have link problems too.

    6. Re:ISDN vs T1?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hm, that's not right. Light travels at about 300,000 km/s and the earth is about maybe 40500 km around or so.

      Erik

    7. Re:ISDN vs T1?? by GigsVT · · Score: 2

      I have Starband. Pings range from 600ms to 1200ms generally. I think the best ping in theory is something like 400ms, with geostationary satellites.

      --
      I've had enough abrasive sigs. Kittens are cute and fuzzy.
    8. Re:ISDN vs T1?? by jonnythan · · Score: 2

      That's 300,000 m/s, not km/s. So, that's 300 km/s, so 40500 km would take ~ 135 seconds, or 2 minutes 15 seconds.

    9. Re:ISDN vs T1?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      alright, but it looks like some slashdotters need a refresher on elementary math. do they teach this in school anymore? you can't find answers to everything on the internet.

      circumference of the earth = 40820 km = 40,820,000 m
      speed of light = 299,792,458 m/s

      notice that the speed of light is an order of magnitude bigger than the circumference, right. therefore, we can do many trips around the earth in 1 second.

      to go around once, you need (40,820,000 m)/(299,792,458 m/s) = 0.1362 s

    10. Re:ISDN vs T1?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, it really is about 300,000 km/s. Just to put it in perspective, the Earth is just over 8 light-minutes from the sun (1AU=149,597,870.691 km). If light traveled at 300 km/s, it would take light 5.77 DAYS to reach the Earth.

    11. Re:ISDN vs T1?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A geostationary satellite is 25 000 miles above the EQUATOR. So, at the speed of light, 186000 miles per second, it would take around 269ms for a round trip. But keep in mind, they are not at the equator, so it'll be several thousand more miles away, and they're not necessarily at the same latitude(or is it longitude?).

      Also, they will definitely not have 100% signal reception, so there will be lots of lost packets.

    12. Re:ISDN vs T1?? by Mr_Matt · · Score: 2

      That's 300,000 m/s, not km/s. So, that's 300 km/s

      Nope, c = 3e8 m/sec, or 300000 km/sec. Check your friendly physics 101 book for more info. :)

      --


      But what does my opinion matter, I just vote here. It's not like I have any money or anything.
    13. Re:ISDN vs T1?? by henrym · · Score: 1

      Depending on the particular satellite we're using, round trip latency turns out to be between 650 and 1200 ms.

    14. Re:ISDN vs T1?? by Squalish · · Score: 1

      Could we stop this whole line of questioning, since the satellites in question are many earth-diameters above the planet?

      --
      People in Soviet Russia, however, appear to be afflicted with amusing juxtapositions of the aforementioned situation
    15. Re:ISDN vs T1?? by Squalish · · Score: 1

      I would like to thank you for being one of the first authors of an article to a) have personal information of the subject b) to actively respond to debates which would normally end 10 deep into a stupid arguement and c) to care about feedback.

      Mods: This guy deserves a +3 on every comment for merely responding to comments on his article. Hundreds of others never bother.

      --
      People in Soviet Russia, however, appear to be afflicted with amusing juxtapositions of the aforementioned situation
  12. The technology is very neat but... by JojoCoco · · Score: 1

    The technology is very neat but, I dont quite understand why it was needed. Was it really neccesary for the physician in the pole to be talked through the operation. I am truely curious about this and would like to know more.

    1. Re:The technology is very neat but... by Firethorn · · Score: 1

      Well, it says that the available medical facilities aren't really designed for surgury. They considered evacuation, but decided it would be too dangerous to the aircrew.

      I'd say that Dr. Pollard, while a Surgeon, isn't qualified on this knee surgury, so they had Dr. Zarins (in Boston), a qualified specialist, watch over to help with any problems. The live feed was the best 'overwatch' they had.

      --
      I don't read AC A human right
    2. Re:The technology is very neat but... by balloonhead · · Score: 2, Insightful
      For the same reason that there are orthopaedic surgeons, cardiologists, general surgeons, general physicians, endocrinologists, rheumatologists, haematologists, respiratory physicians (for some reason they are called pulmonologists in the US, though that is the worst mangling of words since "respirator". It is a ventilator here (UK). You don't respirate, you ventilate. How stupid is that?)

      The in-house doc will be some sort of generalist, probably with a special interest in "winter medicine" (i.e. altered physiology in cold conditions, and illnesses particular to such conditions).

      They all have basic grounding in all areas of medicine, but could never safely practise on their own outside their specialty. Just the same as I couldn't take apart a car engine on my own, but with a video link a mechanic could talk me through it because I know how to use basic tools. It really is that simple.

      --
      This idea was invented by Shampoo.
    3. Re:The technology is very neat but... by mumkin · · Score: 1
      You don't respirate, you ventilate. How stupid is that?

      Not very stupid. I, myself, respire several times a minute.

      respire: 1. To breathe in and out; inhale and exhale. 2. To undergo the metabolic process of respiration. 3. To breathe easily again, as after a period of exertion or trouble.
      etymology : Middle English respiren, to breathe again, from Latin respirare, to breathe.

    4. Re:The technology is very neat but... by balloonhead · · Score: 1
      Exactly. You respire. You don't respirate. Such a word does not exist. Hence a respirator is a stupid word, whereas you do ventilate, and hence a ventilator makes sense.

      As usual, every other country in the world calls it one thing, and the US calls it something else. Why is that?

      --
      This idea was invented by Shampoo.
    5. Re:The technology is very neat but... by zoomshorts · · Score: 0

      As usual, every other country in the world calls it one thing, and the US calls it something else. Why is that? The main reason we call things differently from the rest of the world is that we pioneered the field of artificial respiration. Remember the Iron Lung? We made them cheaper , less bulky and they performed a medical function. Respiration only really occurs at the cellular lever, but the dictionary tends to use the common usage of a word, not the correct usage. This is how language changes over time, and certainly not for the better. Common usage dillutes the accuracy and meaning of the language. Ventilate, we do that with our buildings in the US. We use Windows(tm) to accomplish this. Breathing would be a better word for the process of inhalation and exhalation. The reason the rest of the world does not like our words, it is simple, they are jealous and do not want to give credit where it is due. JMNSHO

    6. Re:The technology is very neat but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      For the same reason your big brother used to make you do things.

      We are bigger, stronger and can kick your ass!

    7. Re:The technology is very neat but... by balloonhead · · Score: 1
      The whole point I'm trying to make is that the process, physiologically, is known as ventilation. This is medical fact. Regardless of its meaning with regard to buildings, ventilation refers to what you are calling respiration in medicine / physiology. That is the point I am trying to make.

      --
      This idea was invented by Shampoo.
    8. Re:The technology is very neat but... by Havokmon · · Score: 2
      What? Doesn't "surgical wound." accurately describe the situation for ya?

      --
      "I can't give you a brain, so I'll give you a diploma" - The Great Oz (blatently stolen sig)
    9. Re:The technology is very neat but... by Peyna · · Score: 2

      Another reason words in the US are mangled is because we didn't just have British English floating around here, we had a crapload of European languages and thus adopted and melded a lot of words from the other languages into our own version of English. Thus, words adopted from other languages probably aren't in their original form, and much of the words we take from English have been modified, or brand new words added all together. IIRC the USian English Vocabulary is much larger than what is used on the other side of the Atlantic.

      --
      What?
    10. Re:The technology is very neat but... by mwood · · Score: 1

      Yeah, it would have been nice if the article actually told us what happened.

      It must have simply been a consultation, albeit by unusual and way-cool means. I'm sure that the local medical team did the surgery, and the remote team gave advice as needed on very specialized issues peculiar to joint surgery. But the article doesn't actually *say* so. Maybe news writers need a satellite link to someone who knows how to tell a story. :-(

      Anyway, given the quality of the link, I hope that the use of teleoperators would not even be considered unless the condition were an immediate threat to life. (See Clarke's "A Meeting with Medusa" for a really good story which shows some of the problems with teleoperation.)

      I was reminded of the story about the DEC support center guy who got a call via satellite from the crew of a battle tank in the middle of maneuvers, wanting help getting their ruggedized MicroVAX back in operation.

    11. Re:The technology is very neat but... by mumkin · · Score: 1
      ... and we've dropped most of the diphthongs that British English uses (like haemophilia, paedophiles, etc) and many of those "extra" u's (colour, flavour)

      IIRC the USian English Vocabulary is much larger than what is used on the other side of the Atlantic.

      It might be more fair to say that the US English Vocabulary is larger than what is available on the other side of the Atlantic. I wouldn't be very comfortable suggesting that USians have larger personal vocabularies -- from my observation, that seems patently untrue.

    12. Re:The technology is very neat but... by Peyna · · Score: 1

      Yeah, I meant what was available, not necessarily what is used. =]

      --
      What?
  13. [on by] More random crap at 0! Enjoy! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

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    Dad and Uncle Brian held me in their arms. Our filthy, smelly bodies rubbing against one another. My cock stirred and jerked upward within the confines of the leather jockstrap. I reached down and pulled it free, stroking it with my shit fillled hand.

    The warmth of manturd on my cock, the stench that wafted into my nostrils made my body tremble and my asshole, my dirty asshole, quivered at the sensation it had just felt for the very first time!

    My tight boy hole was no longer virgin territory. My father had filled me with his manhood and his seed. I belonged to him now in a special way.

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    As he sucked on my dick, he reached up and to his left, ramming his fingers up his brother's asshole!

    "Aaaaaahhhhhh!" Dad groaned, welcoming this intrusion. "Fuck! Give it to me Brian. Fist my shitty hole!"

    Slowly, Dad got up on all fours. He positioned himself over me, his cock hanging over my mouth.

    "My fuckhole is so hungry, Brian! I need your fist up my ass!"

    Uncle Brian took his mouth off of my dick and knelt between my outstreatched legs and Dad's upturned ass. He worked several fingers in and out of Dad's asshole. The pasty goo oozing out of Dad's shithole served as lube as Uncle Brian inserted all five of his fingers in Dad's butthole!

    "Fuck yeah! Give it to me, little brother! More!" Dad groaned, pushing his hairy ass back onto Uncle Brian's disappearing fingers. The knuckles penetrated. Dad maoned out loud and reached for the bottle of Rush.

    I could hear him inhaling the vapors from the bottle deeply. I sucked his cock into my mouth.

    "Ah fuck!" Dad cried out, as my head jerked upward to swallow his semi-hard cock and Uncle Brian's hand sunk into Dad's gaping, hungry hole!

    "How's that feel, brother?"

    "Fuckin' wonderful, Brian! Fuck me! Punch my ass, little brother!"

    Uncle Brian scooped some of the shit from my body and coated his arm with it. Sighing with animal lust he began fucking Dad's ass with his fist.

    "More! More!" Dad grunted, pushing his ass back taking more of Uncle Brian's arm up his ass. "Find something up there you like, Brian?"

    "I feel shit, Chris!" Uncle Brian yelled, "I can feel your fuckin' butt slop!"

    "Yeah! Dig for shit, little brother! Dig for my stinking shit! That's your playground, Brian! Give it to me, fucker! Punch my dirty ass!"

    Uncle Brian pistoned his fist in and out of Dad's ass. When he withdrew his hand completely I could feel Dad's warm shit oozing out of his asshole onto my dick. I sucked his cock harder.

    "Yeah! You fuckiin' cocksucker! Suck my dick, Philip! Suck it while your Uncle fists my shitty asshole!"

    "Fuckin' shit pigs!" Uncle Brian shouted. "We're fuckin' dirty pigs!"

    "Fist my raunchy ass, Brian! Shove your fuckin' arm up my dirty ass!"

    Uncle Brian lunged forward. Dad's greedy hole swallowed his brother's arm up to the elbow!

    "Yes! Yes! You fuckin' bitch! Pound my ass, Brian! Suck my fuckin' dick, Philip! Don't stop! Please don't stop, the both of you! Aaaaaahhhhhh! Fuck!"

    Uncle Brian and I worked in unison giving pleasure to Dad. The one fisting; the other sucking; Dad moaning in ecstacy.

    "Need more!" Dad yelled. "I wanna feel Philip's fist up my ass with yours too!"

    I gasped as Dad pulled his dick out of my mouth.

    "Get back there with your Uncle, Philip, and shove your fist up my hungry asshole! I want you both at the same time!"

    I wiggled myself from beneath my Dad and knelt beside my Uncle Brian whose arm was embedded in his brother's shithole.

    "There's some crisco in the toy bag, Philip. Lube your hand up with it."

    I retrieved the can and proceded to grease up my hand and forearm.

    "Are you ready, Philip?"

    "Oh yeah!" I hissed as Uncle Brian retracted his arm to his wrist.

    "Fuck me, guys!" Dad hollered, "I wanna feel the both of you up my ass digging for shit!"

    "Slide your fingers up your Dad's ass, one at a time, Philip. Do it slow. Take your time. When you're all the way in, hold my hand!"

    I did as I was told. One finger at a time.

    "Fuck! Fuck!" Dad yelled. "Give it to me, son!"

    Slowly, my hand disappeared into the gaping, dirty hole. My hand slid alongside that of my Uncle's and he curled his fingers around mine.

    "Ah shit!" Dad let out a loud gasp. He looked back at us, his eyes glazed with lust. "Fucking pigs!" he screamed. "Fuck me! Fist fuck my shitty ass!"

    In tandem, Uncle Brian and I pumped our fists deeper and deeper into the willing, hungry asshole. As we fisted Dad's ass, Uncle Brian kissed me deeply. Our mouths greedily sucking each other's tongues as our fists punched away in the sewer of my Dad's filthy butthole.

    "Aaaaaahhhhhh! Yeeeeessssss! Yeah! Pound my motherfuckin' dirty ass! Fuck me! Dig the shit outta my ass, you fuckin' sluts! Fuckin' pigs!"

    As I gazed upwards, the candles flickered softly, casting their glow upon the cross which the three of us, eerily were kneeling before. Together, we were upon the altar of Raunch. A new sacrificial lamb was being offered up to the God of Shit!

    I clasped my Uncle Brian's huge, uncut cock in my free hand and began stroking.

    "Jack me off, Philip! Make me cum!"

    I pull and pull on his cock, milking the pre-cum from his pisshole. He reaches for my dick and returns the favor. Stroke for stroke, we masturbate one another as we bury our fists up Dad's filthy asshole.

    A million shocks of pleausure envelope my body. I'm tingling all over. So much has happened to me tonight. So many new discoveries. Pain with pleasure. Pleasure with pain!

    The journey that began several months ago has opened up for me a whole new world that I embrace willingly.

    "Yes! Yes! Jack me off too, Uncle Brian! I wanna cum again!"

    Together, the three of us pull on cocks. We are untied, bound together in a very special union.

    "Fuck! Fuck!" we gasp in unison, "I'm gonna fuckin' shoot!"

    Our bodies heave and tremble. Dad impales himself more deeply upon mine and Uncle Brian's fists as he ejaculates upon the floor.

    One by one. One right after another, our cocks explode sending ropes of cum flying in the air.

    As Uncle Brian and I retract our hands from Dad's ass, a slurping sound is heard. His puckering bud flares and a foul smelling fart hisses from his fisted hole. It's stink fills my nostrils as I collapse onto him, my mouth at his asshole. Sucking. Nursing at the brown shit log he's pushing out of his asshole into my mouth.

    I tumble onto the floor, my mouth filled with Dad's shit. Uncle Brian collapses beside me and kisses me deeply. A sloppy, slurping shit kiss. Dad too, crashes to the floor, panting heavily in the aftermath of his orgasm. He moans and releases a flow of warm piss that streams its way towards Uncle Brian and I.

    I am in heaven! The journey of a boy to manhood is completed.

    Epilogue

    January 1, 2000

    It's cold outside. The wind is whipping snow against the window. I'm making this enty into my journal sitting on a rim seat gazing at the falling snow.

    Dad is under the rim seat receiving my morning dump, the way he always does, in his hungry mouth!

    As for Uncle Brian. He lives here with Dad and I now. He's our lover. We're each other's lovers. Strange isn't it, how things come about?

    As Dad feeds from my asshole, Uncle Brian is sucking on my pissing cock. Outside, the snow is swirling. Everything is beautiful. What more could a sixteen-year-old teenage boy ask for?

    You tell me!
    1gsnOmXRsp

  14. Competent technology by acasto · · Score: 1

    I'm glad to see some competent technology used in a complicated and potentially dangerous situation. After seeing the Volvo & Windows98 topic, I was afraid this one could've been Surgery & AOL. The one thing someone dosn't want to here during surgery is "You've got mail!!!", or pop-up add might not be good either. I've been wondering for years when we would get to see these amazing network infrastructures around the world put to some advanced use. What the future holds?... we will see.

  15. Not really by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The would need to take it a step further and do the surgery use cams and a remote robot. Outfit the doc with vr gloves and helmet and your set.

  16. Amazing, but... "IP" part irrelevent? by tlambert · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I'm actually surprised that there hasn't been more telesurgery experiments; I find the whole idea fascinating, and that the process can be made to work at all really amazing and impressive.

    But I think that the referenced article had a better take on it than this posting, whose "additional technical details" are, at best, unintentionally misleading.

    The implication of "video over IP" is that you did this over the public IP network, which in fact is not the case.

    The fact that you did this over what was effectively a dedicated point-to-point link means that the use of the IP transport was irrelevant (worse; it added unnecessary overhead, subtracting from the total data rate).

    I understand not wanting to risk someone's knee on a link succeptible to a DOS (or only succeptible as a result of a substantial investment of effort on the part of the attacker). But your posting implies that this is something which took place over the public Internet, or *could* take place over the public Internet, when it's not.

    -- Terry

    1. Re:Amazing, but... "IP" part irrelevent? by Militant · · Score: 1

      Your point about IP is valid. I have no idea why, on a private network, they would use IP as a network protocal when there are better ways to send real time data.

      Still, I think it is relevant. As time goes on, people are making IP do more and more. That this has been done over IP means that maybe when Internet2 is for everyone this will be possible (over VPN I hope ;).

      --
      "The future comes 60 minutes an hour no matter who you are or what you do." The Screwtape Letters - C.S. Lewis
    2. Re:Amazing, but... "IP" part irrelevent? by larien · · Score: 2
      I would imagine the main reason there haven't been more experiments is simply due to the risk to a patient's health if something goes wrong, especially in today's litigous society. Given the choice, would you rather fly a patient (or surgeon) to the right place at a cost of say £5,000 or would you rather risk the £1m settlement if it all goes horribly wrong over a videolink?

      However, I do believe there is a lot to be said for these kinds of ideas, and they are gradually taking off but I reckon it'll be a while before they achieve enough credibility to become the norm rather than the occassional events like this.

    3. Re:Amazing, but... "IP" part irrelevent? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Better ways, such as what?
      I mean, I suppose they had a laptop there actually sending the picture feed, probably with some more-or-less off the shelf application (or at least using off-the-shelf libraries). What protocol should they have sent it over? Or maybe come up with their own, untested one and implement the protocol stack from scratch etc?

    4. Re:Amazing, but... "IP" part irrelevent? by Detritus · · Score: 2

      IP works fine for real-time data as long as you have control over who has access to the network and what applications they run. You can use UDP for time critical data. The reason why IP is so popular is the widespread availability of cheap and off-the-shelf software and hardware.

      --
      Mea navis aericumbens anguillis abundat
    5. Re:Amazing, but... "IP" part irrelevent? by Fzz · · Score: 1
      I expect the main reason to do this over IP was that they had IP links and equipment available. The great benefit of IP is in flexibility and versatility - IP is the swiss-army-knife of network protocols. Sure there are more efficient solutions, but they require dedicated (often application-specific) network hardware.

      - Fzz

    6. Re:Amazing, but... "IP" part irrelevent? by henrym · · Score: 1

      As a bit more information, the satellite link we used to communicate with the doctors stateside is the exact same link we use for all our day to day internet access. I suppose it all depends on how far down a pipe you're willing to to extend your defination of "Internet" to. We did shut down HTTP and FTP traffic in order to have maximum bandwidth available to the operation. Changing the protocol from IP to anything else would have been technically impossible in the time we had available to us.

      We did try to use a basic 'net connection to the doctors in Boston at first, but found the delay and quality was unacceptable, thus the conversion to ISDN on that link.

    7. Re:Amazing, but... "IP" part irrelevent? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      with UDP packet loss as it is, and a poor satelite linkup, just immagine the loss of these critical data

  17. [on by] More random crap at 0! Enjoy! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Flamebait

    "I'm a man!" I groaned. "I've been fucked by a man's cock! I'm not a boy anymore!"

    I scooped Dad's and Uncle Brian's shit into my hands and smeared my body with their warm filth. Lying on the floor of the basement, wallowing in the waste of these two men, I gazed up at the candles. They flickered silently. I lay at the foot of the cross as upon an altar where I was the victim being offered up to the God of raunch!

    Dad and Uncle Brian held me in their arms. Our filthy, smelly bodies rubbing against one another. My cock stirred and jerked upward within the confines of the leather jockstrap. I reached down and pulled it free, stroking it with my shit fillled hand.

    The warmth of manturd on my cock, the stench that wafted into my nostrils made my body tremble and my asshole, my dirty asshole, quivered at the sensation it had just felt for the very first time!

    My tight boy hole was no longer virgin territory. My father had filled me with his manhood and his seed. I belonged to him now in a special way.

    Reaching up to my Dad, I grasped the back of his neck with my shitty hand and drew his lips towards mine.

    "Am I a man now, Dad?" I whispered, as his lips grazed mine.

    "Yes, my son!" he answered, softly. "You are now a man!"

    Uncle Brian slid down, trailing wet kisses along my filth covered body. Closer and closer he slid his mouth towards my hard cock.

    "Mmmmmmmmmmmm!" I moaned, as he took my raunchy dick into his mouth and sucked. "Yeah! Suck my dirty dick, Uncle Brian! Fuckin' suck your shit off my dick!"

    I squirmed, thrusting my hips upwards, sinking my cock deep within my Uncle's mouth.

    As he sucked on my dick, he reached up and to his left, ramming his fingers up his brother's asshole!

    "Aaaaaahhhhhh!" Dad groaned, welcoming this intrusion. "Fuck! Give it to me Brian. Fist my shitty hole!"

    Slowly, Dad got up on all fours. He positioned himself over me, his cock hanging over my mouth.

    "My fuckhole is so hungry, Brian! I need your fist up my ass!"

    Uncle Brian took his mouth off of my dick and knelt between my outstreatched legs and Dad's upturned ass. He worked several fingers in and out of Dad's asshole. The pasty goo oozing out of Dad's shithole served as lube as Uncle Brian inserted all five of his fingers in Dad's butthole!

    "Fuck yeah! Give it to me, little brother! More!" Dad groaned, pushing his hairy ass back onto Uncle Brian's disappearing fingers. The knuckles penetrated. Dad maoned out loud and reached for the bottle of Rush.

    I could hear him inhaling the vapors from the bottle deeply. I sucked his cock into my mouth.

    "Ah fuck!" Dad cried out, as my head jerked upward to swallow his semi-hard cock and Uncle Brian's hand sunk into Dad's gaping, hungry hole!

    "How's that feel, brother?"

    "Fuckin' wonderful, Brian! Fuck me! Punch my ass, little brother!"

    Uncle Brian scooped some of the shit from my body and coated his arm with it. Sighing with animal lust he began fucking Dad's ass with his fist.

    "More! More!" Dad grunted, pushing his ass back taking more of Uncle Brian's arm up his ass. "Find something up there you like, Brian?"

    "I feel shit, Chris!" Uncle Brian yelled, "I can feel your fuckin' butt slop!"

    "Yeah! Dig for shit, little brother! Dig for my stinking shit! That's your playground, Brian! Give it to me, fucker! Punch my dirty ass!"

    Uncle Brian pistoned his fist in and out of Dad's ass. When he withdrew his hand completely I could feel Dad's warm shit oozing out of his asshole onto my dick. I sucked his cock harder.

    "Yeah! You fuckiin' cocksucker! Suck my dick, Philip! Suck it while your Uncle fists my shitty asshole!"

    "Fuckin' shit pigs!" Uncle Brian shouted. "We're fuckin' dirty pigs!"

    "Fist my raunchy ass, Brian! Shove your fuckin' arm up my dirty ass!"

    Uncle Brian lunged forward. Dad's greedy hole swallowed his brother's arm up to the elbow!

    "Yes! Yes! You fuckin' bitch! Pound my ass, Brian! Suck my fuckin' dick, Philip! Don't stop! Please don't stop, the both of you! Aaaaaahhhhhh! Fuck!"

    Uncle Brian and I worked in unison giving pleasure to Dad. The one fisting; the other sucking; Dad moaning in ecstacy.

    "Need more!" Dad yelled. "I wanna feel Philip's fist up my ass with yours too!"

    I gasped as Dad pulled his dick out of my mouth.

    "Get back there with your Uncle, Philip, and shove your fist up my hungry asshole! I want you both at the same time!"

    I wiggled myself from beneath my Dad and knelt beside my Uncle Brian whose arm was embedded in his brother's shithole.

    "There's some crisco in the toy bag, Philip. Lube your hand up with it."

    I retrieved the can and proceded to grease up my hand and forearm.

    "Are you ready, Philip?"

    "Oh yeah!" I hissed as Uncle Brian retracted his arm to his wrist.

    "Fuck me, guys!" Dad hollered, "I wanna feel the both of you up my ass digging for shit!"

    "Slide your fingers up your Dad's ass, one at a time, Philip. Do it slow. Take your time. When you're all the way in, hold my hand!"

    I did as I was told. One finger at a time.

    "Fuck! Fuck!" Dad yelled. "Give it to me, son!"

    Slowly, my hand disappeared into the gaping, dirty hole. My hand slid alongside that of my Uncle's and he curled his fingers around mine.

    "Ah shit!" Dad let out a loud gasp. He looked back at us, his eyes glazed with lust. "Fucking pigs!" he screamed. "Fuck me! Fist fuck my shitty ass!"

    In tandem, Uncle Brian and I pumped our fists deeper and deeper into the willing, hungry asshole. As we fisted Dad's ass, Uncle Brian kissed me deeply. Our mouths greedily sucking each other's tongues as our fists punched away in the sewer of my Dad's filthy butthole.

    "Aaaaaahhhhhh! Yeeeeessssss! Yeah! Pound my motherfuckin' dirty ass! Fuck me! Dig the shit outta my ass, you fuckin' sluts! Fuckin' pigs!"

    As I gazed upwards, the candles flickered softly, casting their glow upon the cross which the three of us, eerily were kneeling before. Together, we were upon the altar of Raunch. A new sacrificial lamb was being offered up to the God of Shit!

    I clasped my Uncle Brian's huge, uncut cock in my free hand and began stroking.

    "Jack me off, Philip! Make me cum!"

    I pull and pull on his cock, milking the pre-cum from his pisshole. He reaches for my dick and returns the favor. Stroke for stroke, we masturbate one another as we bury our fists up Dad's filthy asshole.

    A million shocks of pleausure envelope my body. I'm tingling all over. So much has happened to me tonight. So many new discoveries. Pain with pleasure. Pleasure with pain!

    The journey that began several months ago has opened up for me a whole new world that I embrace willingly.

    "Yes! Yes! Jack me off too, Uncle Brian! I wanna cum again!"

    Together, the three of us pull on cocks. We are untied, bound together in a very special union.

    "Fuck! Fuck!" we gasp in unison, "I'm gonna fuckin' shoot!"

    Our bodies heave and tremble. Dad impales himself more deeply upon mine and Uncle Brian's fists as he ejaculates upon the floor.

    One by one. One right after another, our cocks explode sending ropes of cum flying in the air.

    As Uncle Brian and I retract our hands from Dad's ass, a slurping sound is heard. His puckering bud flares and a foul smelling fart hisses from his fisted hole. It's stink fills my nostrils as I collapse onto him, my mouth at his asshole. Sucking. Nursing at the brown shit log he's pushing out of his asshole into my mouth.

    I tumble onto the floor, my mouth filled with Dad's shit. Uncle Brian collapses beside me and kisses me deeply. A sloppy, slurping shit kiss. Dad too, crashes to the floor, panting heavily in the aftermath of his orgasm. He moans and releases a flow of warm piss that streams its way towards Uncle Brian and I.

    I am in heaven! The journey of a boy to manhood is completed.

    Epilogue

    January 1, 2000

    It's cold outside. The wind is whipping snow against the window. I'm making this enty into my journal sitting on a rim seat gazing at the falling snow.

    Dad is under the rim seat receiving my morning dump, the way he always does, in his hungry mouth!

    As for Uncle Brian. He lives here with Dad and I now. He's our lover. We're each other's lovers. Strange isn't it, how things come about?

    As Dad feeds from my asshole, Uncle Brian is sucking on my pissing cock. Outside, the snow is swirling. Everything is beautiful. What more could a sixteen-year-old teenage boy ask for?

    You tell me!
    of4YUzZMfY

  18. [xdfgf] I love jamie!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic



    "It all happened three years ago. Three years ago I was a doctor at a municipal hospital in a small Canadian town. We had these parties from time to time, you know, and though I never was fond of them I had to go there - it was what people waited from me.

    I didn't go by car that time thinking that I probably would be drinking something. I didn't - but all for the best because the night looked gorgeous and I decided to walk home. It was about half past one and the silence around was practically complete. I strolled along the narrow path through the old park and enjoyed mellow late-summer weather. The wind dispelled the dense shroud of clouds that covered the sky in the dusk - and now the full moon was gleaming clearly high above the shady trees, only now and then hidden with the last scraps of cirri. Then the road made a turn and I stumbled against a dead dog.

    It lay right on the path - a heavy form of some big species - a Caucasian sheep-dog, maybe. Its fluffy thick fur - grey and creamy-white - looked mat in the oscillating light - and the collar around its neck shone brightly. I saw a huge pool of blood around its muzzle - dark and gory and clotted.

    I stood frozen looking at the motionless thing in front of me. Creepy feeling was penetrating my heart. Somebody had done this vicious act - and it happened not so long time ago. I looked around apprehensively. Of course, there could be no person who was responsible for it and I knew it - but I continued checking rather instinctively. The dark shadows of the clouds against the moon disc were dancing on the grass. The stillness seemed threatening to me now.

    And then suddenly I heard some movement far behind me. It was very short - and just because it stopped so abruptly it made me tense. I turned around swiftly and looked there. In about thirty yards away from me, between the thick bushes and birch-trees, I saw three or four dark figures sitting on the ground around some whitish shape. In the dim light they looked for me like grotesque overgrown canines, lowered on their haunches. The weirdness of the distortion startled me even more because though the position of the object that lay on the grass was unnatural I recognized at once a human body in it.

    "Hey!" for some reason shock made me brash. I made some steps towards the incredible picture, windmilling my hands and hailing again. There was no any stirring in the group - and I became suddenly dead-sure that it was only the product of my imagination. The moon was covered with the long stripe of the clouds, making me stop in the darkness.

    When it was comparatively light again the dog-like shadows were gone. I couldn't believe my own eyes - there was no sound I heard; but a moment before they were there - and now I didn't see them at all. To my utter shock the body on the ground of still as before.

    I didn't think about anything else and dashed to it. What I had to face made me gasp. It was a man, lying naked on the grass, prone. His lifeless body was very muddied - but what was much more darker on it - slicky and fresh and seeming black - was blood smearing his chest and his belly. The bottom part of his lolled back face was a blood mask, too. And suddenly I noticed that the blood around his mutilated, indescribably looking genitals was swelling. It was like it poured out of the torn wounds in his crotch.

    I dropped on my knees and covered the flow with my fingers. It was pulsating under my hand - and though the outstretched body was motionless I knew the man was still alive.

    I won't tell now how I got him to the road and managed to bring him to the hospital. He was lucky. Some minutes more and it would be too late. They sewed the horrifying wounds on his abdomen and his chest and mended his ragged-torn privates and did for him other things they could.

    I visited him when the surgery was over. He was senseless, lying on his back, with tubes stuck into his nose and a needle in his vein, only the green line on the monitor showing that he was not dead.

    His name was Rick Hayes, 23 years old. There was some ID in the pocket of his clothes they found around the place. The dog was his sheep-dog he used to be walking with in the evenings.

    They asked me what I had seen - and I couldn't be of any help to them. Very reluctantly I, however, told that it seemed to me there were some animals around.

    "Animals, huh?" the guy who was interrogating me looked understandably distrustful. "In Saint Ashlar?"

    Well, I knew they were in the dead-end, trying to explain what happened. They thought Rick would probably tell them when he became able to speak. But when he did he refused to say anything.

    "I don't remember," with his eyes looking at one point he repeated on and on. "I don't remember, please!"

    The tears started flowing from his eyes, he tried to cover his face with his hands.

    I was visiting him every day - which was not difficult 'cause I was a single man, spending more time at work than at home. I just sat with him, in silence or telling him something about day occurrences at the hospital. He seemed to enjoy my presence - even though it was just that he looked tranquil then without falling in stupor.

    He was a frail being, with thin bones and delicate features. Was it because of the disaster that befell him - but his skin was so pale that it seemed not to have any color at all, except the slight bluish veins under it. His hair was smooth and rather long and his eyes were changing their shade from blue to grey. There was a long painful frown between his thin honey-colored brows - and even when he was quiet the corner of his stitched mouth was quivering visibly.

    In three weeks he recovered enough to be let out. Well, at least it was decided so. He didn't have any family to pay his expenses for the treatment - and you know how the funds are getting cut off. I offered Rick to take him home.

    He lived alone in a small apartment in some seven-minute walk from the old park. When we came in - and I saw this dim tiny premises, dusty after his three-week absence, I felt it was the wrongest thing to leave him here alone just like that.

    He could barely walk - but I watched him pacing around the place in some restlessness. He squatted suddenly and took the dog's plate in his hands. It was a big plastic thing with the name 'Bonny' written on its wall.

    "He felt them," suddenly he said in a flat voice. "Bonny felt them. He was so scared that he trembled and drew closer to my legs - as if I could protect him."

    For the first time Rick was referring to the events of the night when I found him. Since that there was no day I didn't return with my mind to what could happen. What did I see? Was it just a mirage or... I knew only Rick could clarify it - but I never thought about pressing him into speaking.

    Now he seemed to want to tell himself. In the room, still with the dog's plate in his hand, he sat down in front of me in the arm-chair and started:

    "It was about nine o'clock when I took Bonny for a walk. There was no much sun that day, so, the twilight gave place to the complete darkness almost at once. But I lived there already for three years and it seemed to me I knew every corner of the old park as my own palm.

    "I walked leisurely, with Bonny running away from me and coming back. He was a puppy still - even though he was so big. He liked to run - and I am afraid I couldn't give him enough exercises. When he suddenly rushed to me and pressed himself to my knees I was surprised. 'What? Want to play fetch?' I said. 'It is too dark, baby!' But in no time at all I understood that something was wrong. Bonny snarled. It was not his usual courageous growling - but something thin and, as it seemed to me, pathetic. He was driving his butt into my legs and when I touched him I felt his fur on his nape stood on its end.

    "Now it did seem frightening to me - and I started looking around. The silence - except the noisy panting of my dog - was almost absolute. And then it seemed to me that in the darkness I saw some grey shadows moving."

    The creepiness of the picture appeared before me suddenly. It was all too fresh in my mind how I felt cold with fear standing alone on the path in front of the dog's corpse. Rick's figure in the arm-chair looked relaxed - and his face - as far as I could see it under the loose strands of his long fringe hiding it - was still and pliant, matching the amazing steadiness of his voice.

    "They looked like some four-legged animals, moving absolutely noiselessly. And they were approaching us with Bonny."

    "So, these really were some beasts?" I couldn't help interrupting him. The character of the wounds he had witnessed about it - and remember, it was what I saw with my own eyes. Rick didn't answer.

    "I looked into the darkness, straining my vision - unsure if I really saw them - and if they were really moving. At last my taut nerves didn't stand - and I ordered to Bonny: 'Take! Take, baby!' My brave dog obeyed. His strong body broke forward. And at the next second there was a long dim shadow crossing his path. I heard snarls and growls - more than of one being - and the sounds of short fight. And suddenly there was a lifeless heap of flesh and fur flopping right under my feet. I choked when I realized it was Bonny. But something huge and heavy hit me from behind - and I blacked out before I even fell down.

    "I felt the grass under me. It was like somebody was dragging and pushing me, plucking at my arms and legs. I was dizzy after swooning - and I saw nothing at the first moment. There were several... men? I didn't know. Around me. I felt their presence - and I sensed the incredible roughness of their gropes. And then a rare streak of moonlight - first for that night - fell down - and I saw four pairs of iridescent green-red eyes looking at me.

    "My own scream tore my ears. And at the same moment an incredibly heavy smack on my face made me gasp and start passing out again. I was never gone completely this time - and when I was lucid my eyes got used to the darkness enough to see them clearly.

    "There were exactly four creatures. But, God, they were not men! The most obvious they looked like big grey wolves - however..."

    "Wolves are not so big!" I exclaimed.

    "Yes," this time Rick remarked. "They were bigger than any wolf can be. Every one of them was bigger than a man. But yet they were covered in this thick grey fur - and their muzzles were the muzzles of wolves. They kept my arms spread and pinned to the ground.

    "By the sharpness I felt the ruggedness of the grass under me I realized I was naked. And really - they took off every bit of clothes from me. It made me shiver. Not of cold - but because I couldn't explain what was happening. My Bonny's death - it could seem a nightmare for me. But there were too many sensations for a nightmare - dull pain in my head and neck, ache in my too much stretched shoulders, blood that was filling my mouth, keen, overwhelming animal smell that was surrounding me. It was sharper than in the predatory department of the menagerie. It made my nostrils flare.

    "I guess while I could discern them only dimly they saw me in every detail. So, when I frowned they got it that I was fully in my senses now. They exchanged some low sounds - like soft, guttural growling - and then they pulled me up by my arms, making me kneel in the grass.

    "Now I have to say I didn't think about breaking loose from them. I felt their strength that was incompatible with mine - in every motion they made. And they didn't let me loose for a moment, always having me in tight grips of their upper paws.

    "Their paws were what distinguished them from wolves, too. They used their upper limbs as humans use their hands - even though their furry fingers were crowned with long curved claws. And while I saw them moving on all fours in no time at all I had to find out they could stand upright, too.

    "They put me on my knees and two of them continued to hold my arms. One of the rest stood up suddenly and came to me. He was huge! In this position he could be seven feet or taller. It was his torso, however, that took the most length; his haunches were hardly longer than the ones of human. He came so close that there almost was no any space between him and me. To be exact, between my face and his smelly hairy crotch.

    "Terrorized almost to half-wits I struggled with the repulsive scent while the creature's clawed paw lay suddenly on the back of my head and pressed my face to its furry groin. Their fur was not soft at all. It was so rough and hard that I could sense every hair in it when the being rubbed my face cruelly against its genitals.

    "It was male. I felt its thick penis under my lips and its huge hefty balls. And after a few moments of my mouth pressed to it and my breath on it his organ started growing.

    "I got sick. When it happened to me the species pushed my head away - and they held me while I threw up. Then the same standing one turned my face to his organ again. I felt his crude paw on my face, guiding my chin, and when I didn't open my lips he slapped me once more, so hard that I would fall down if they didn't keep me up. I was deafened and when the creature pushed his cock to my mouth again I feared to resist.

    "The organ fitted the body in size. Thicker than any cock I've ever seen and more than a foot long, it was covered in coarse fur to the very head. It pricked my tongue sharply when it was in.

    "I don't know if he wanted me to suck him," there was the same level expression in Rick's voice when he said it. I couldn't take my eyes from his pale subtle face that was not displaying any pain or terror. "I couldn't suck. I was half-coherent. He pushed his dick deep in my mouth and I gagged. He didn't seem to notice. Both his paws lay on my head - and there was one more paw pressing from behind - and then he started shoving his penis in, farther than the back of my tongue, and into my throat.

    "There was nothing I could do. They held me - and they moved my head. I couldn't breath. For some terrible seconds I thought I was smothering. My throat was contracting - but the huge penis was breaking in through it, deeper and deeper, faster with every motion. My throat was on fire. I think it was scrubbed raw with coarse bristles on the cock - and every time he thrust it in I moaned with sharp pain.

    "When I was sure I wouldn't stand even a second of it more the cock was suddenly retrieved from my gullet. It was still a hard cock. And a moment later there was another creature standing in front of me - and he sent his member deep in my throat just in one motion.

    "For the next period of time every one of them broke in my throat. They shifted places deftly to let the ones who held my arms had their turns. I was in agony. Tears streamed down my cheeks because of intolerable tension. After the first one I didn't have any spat to soften at least a little the rude fur on their organs - and they were fucking my mouth dry, rubbing the insides of it, my tongue and my throat to incredible soreness.

    "No one of them came. Every time it was a stiff cock pulled out of my mouth. When the last of them was getting his blow job they suddenly tugged me down. The cock was still in my mouth - we changed position together. I was on my back on the ground again. The one who was fucking my face sat down on his haunches straddling my shoulders. He couldn't make me deep-throat in this position - but he proceeded to fuck me hurting my palate with the tip of his organ.

    "Someone else of three left was messing around my thighs. Even busy with what the creature was doing to my mouth I flinched when the clawed paws pushed my bum up. They didn't hide their claws, by the way - and they didn't try to be excessively careful, so, soon I felt I was covered with shallow nasty scratches all over. The species groped in my crack - and when he found my anus he tried to push his finger in. I jerked in pain. The one who was beating my mouth stopped. He pulled out. He didn't change the position, however. His weighty body was still pressing me to the ground - and I saw his gleaming eyes above me. His cock was seeping on my face.

    "The one who sought for my anus didn't succeeded with his claw. I was bleeding now, nevertheless. And then suddenly I felt his muzzle pushing into my perineum. I winced. Even with what was done to me the feeling of his moist mug was shocking. Frozen I felt how his sandpaper rough tongue was lapping under my balls and licking the blood out. He pushed the tip of it into my ass-hole and I shrieked.

    "This time they didn't hit me. The one who was sitting on my shoulders found another way. He moved forward - and covered my face with his cleft. His balls fell on my face - and the crack of his ass grounded on my mouth and nose. I was shaken. The pain from the rough licking became dispensable suddenly. What I was preoccupied with was to get some air. He just covered me with his privates completely. I struggled. My body jerked helplessly. It was getting black in front of my eyes.

    "Well, to throttle me was not what they wanted to," Rick continued with the same soft expression. I drew my breath. I've never seen anyone who could speak about things so terrible in such an even voice. "He let me breathe just when I was fainting - and I had enough air to feel how the sharp tongue was pulled out of my rear end - and the cap of the cock replaced it. He stuck it into me and I arched with pain.

    "I have never felt anything like this before. The plashes of pain were long and hard, making all my body buck and tremble. I was sick again - only I didn't have breath to puke. The unspeakable penetration was heavy and lingering, like a scalding rod burning out my rectum. When he started pounding I went breathless. I felt like he was poking a fist right in my guts. The skin around my opening seemed to be rubbed off to steady bleeding.

    "While one of them was battering my hole the one whose ass I got to taste penetrated my mouth once more. This time he used his claws to open my jaw and pushed inside one of his huge balls. I didn't suck. I couldn't. But he wiggled on my face, stirring his testicle inside my mouth. Two others still held my arms. They pressed them between their knees to have more freedom with me - and while one was playing with my genitals - tugging them up to my belly and licking my balls - the other was rubbing his cock against my chest.

    "I had another testicle in my mouth after that - and then the cock again was stuffed to me. They all were keeping their hard-ons through all this without any perceptible difficulty.

    "Suddenly the one who rammed my ass popped out. I felt more blood leaking out of my hole - and some of it, I knew, was from my bowels. There was a swift shifting of the places. The creature that had my left arm went to my ass, the one who sat on my face took my limb - and the being that had been riding me approached my face. I was past being shocked when he stuck his cock, bloody and smeared in my shit, in my mouth. But I still was shocked when I felt some hot stream of liquid with indescribably rank flavor filling my mouth. It was so disgusting that my throat shut down. And there were flows and flows of it. He was not coming. He was pissing in my mouth."

    I was glad there was dusk filling the room - and Rick couldn't see my face. Even though he seemed not to look at me. We spent half a day sitting like this, with him telling - and I didn't notice it before. I was being driven mad with what he was saying. I wouldn't believe him - if I didn't know that there was evidence, to every bit of what he described to me.

    "No matter in what state was my mind when realizing that it was piss leaking to my mouth my body acted refectory. I was to swallow it or to choke. So, I gulped on what didn't manage to pour our on my chin. The understanding what my stomach was full with was the same bad as the taste of it. He didn't let me to linger my thoughts on it, however. The urination he made didn't do his cock any softer - and I had it at once as deep in my mouth as it went.

    "Meanwhile the one that was humping against my chest suddenly changed his position and stuck his muzzle in my chest. I felt him licking my nipple ferociously, wiping the thin skin off with his tongue.

    "Since then they proceed without any interruptions. Every moment of time I had a cock in my rectum and a cock or a ball in my mouth. They fucked me, they pissed down my throat and inside my bowels. For a while they put my on all fours. My knees were already sore after my previous face-fucking. I didn't know how long it was going on."

    I knew it.

    "Then they made me kneel again - and my arms were racked unbearably wide, even in comparison to what was done before. One of them stood in front of me - and the other was behind - and suddenly they dicked me from both ends with such crazed violence that I became limp and breathless.

    "They pounded me from two sides, making my body thrash helplessly. And that was what I was - a body. There was no thing of any control. I was a ragged doll between them, dangling on their shafts, battered to the point of pulverizing.

    "I didn't feel the back one coming. It was just after the most frantic thrusts he froze - and got still behind me, motionless. A moment later I felt thick repulsive fluid accumulating in my mouth. He held me until I swallowed it. Then two others used me the same way.

    "When they all came they let me lie on the ground prostrate. They didn't hold me any more - and there was no need, you see. I was more battered than I thought it was possible for a human being to stand and still be alive. They sat around me talking among themselves in their growling voices. Sometimes they clawed my limbs or my body.

    "Then one of them moved and poked his muzzle into my neck. I made some moan - I sounded repulsive for myself. There was some fight around me - as if others pulled that one away. They snarled again, not so mellow this time. I didn't know what was going on. My mind was far too clouded to try to figure it out. Then another one pushed his mug into my chest - and I felt his tongue on my nipple once more. He licked only for a moment - and then in a blinding pain I felt his teeth gnawing in my flesh.

    "I cried out. And immediately the muzzle was at my face, poking to my mouth, soaked with my own blood. He muffled me - and turned again and bit again. And next I felt another pair of jaws ripping the muscle of my forearm. And one more, tearing my side. But it was nothing until I felt the teeth crushing with sadistic slowness around my cock and balls."

    He finished. The room was completely dark. And even though I knew it was all I couldn't make myself stand up and switch on the light. There was no any movement from Rick. I thought whether the corner of his mouth was quivering as usual.

    "But did you ever think who they were?" I asked startled with the harshness of my own voice.

    "I don't know," he said. "Maybe, some mutated wolves?"

    I said to him what I knew. That the sperm and piss in his body belonged really to four different species - but every one of them was human.

    "What was coming out of them could be the product of their bodies," I said. "But being separated it became what it had to be - male semen and..."

    "They were not human," he said tranquilly.

    "They were. And they were not. All days and twenty five nights they are human. But three nights of full moon they become what they were then."

    "What do you mean, Doug?" he asked.

    "They were werewolves. And they wounded you but they didn't kill you."

    It was a long time of silence while I struggled with the terror of my own words said. And then I heard Rick's quiet voice:

    "I understand."

    We had a little time - and I spent it with him. I went out, however - to get the things I knew I would need. And when the time was close I did for him what he wanted me to - the only thing I could. I hope he didn't feel pain.

    At the first night of full moon I waited for them in the old park. Who they were you, maybe, know. The tragedy of Saint Ashlar was in every newspaper then.

    But even before I was done with them I knew it was not enough. I knew there were others like them - and it meant I didn't have to stop."

  19. Gibson injured his knee in a fall. by reduced · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    we told him to watch his step. the driveway was covered in ice.

    1. Re:Gibson injured his knee in a fall. by Cardhore · · Score: 2

      I'm sorry to hear that.

  20. Ahhhhhh by gvonk · · Score: 4, Funny

    You had me at "T1 over satellite."

    --


    El Karma: excelente(principalmente la suma de moderación hecha a los comentarios de los usuarios)
  21. web cast it by Biggles_the_pilot · · Score: 2

    What I'd like to see is a web cast of this sort of thing.

    --
    I have no sig
    1. Re:web cast it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ugh. This isn't Stileproject

    2. Re:web cast it by Biggles_the_pilot · · Score: 1

      Dude, strictly for novelty and interest; not for juvenile gross out value. If I was having an operation, I wouldn't mind signing waivers to have it web cast, it would be cool, AND interesting. How many of us ever get to see something like this?

      --
      I have no sig
  22. After my knee surgery by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They were able to show me video of the inside of my knee! It was great, even though my mom really didn't seem to like it much (I was 16 at the time). I wanted to take a copy home, but they wouldn't let me. I'm still a little bit sad about that.

  23. Hello by poopbot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Introduction

    A fairy gives lectures on morality to the feline anomaly. Furthermore, another photon near an abstraction takes a coffee break, and a mortician buries a blithe spirit. The wedding dress secretly admires a college-educated ball bearing. If the freight train figures out a fire hydrant near a pit viper, then some mating ritual beyond another cowboy reads a magazine. Any squid can find lice on a freight train, but it takes a real recliner to ostensibly plan an escape from another pit viper defined by a prime minister a cough syrup toward a graduated cylinder.

    Another mating ritual

    For example, a blood clot about a turn signal indicates that a financial bartender borrows money from a warranty. When a demon is imaginative, a paper napkin secretly admires an often snooty graduated cylinder. If the grain of sand learns a hard lesson from the short order cook behind some graduated cylinder, then another blithe spirit flies into a rage. Any pig pen can lazily require assistance from a burly plaintiff, but it takes a real fighter pilot to caricature the steam engine over a satellite. Another eagerly temporal minivan slyly buries the obsequious squid, or a briar patch usually gives lectures on morality to a cyprus mulch.

    A gratifying fairy

    Sometimes another cashier reads a magazine, but the fraction for the cyprus mulch always buries a power drill toward the demon! The light bulb befriends a satellite of an apartment building. A lazily Alaskan roller coaster sanitizes another mitochondrial traffic light, or some burglar eats a hesitantly smelly plaintiff. For example, a seldom righteous traffic light indicates that an ocean knows some chestnut inside the tabloid. If the earring somewhat finds subtle faults with a pine cone, then the wheelbarrow hibernates.

    The cocker spaniel about the salad dressing

    For example, the umbrella toward an abstraction indicates that the dolphin near a ball bearing caricatures a girl scout near some diskette. A cocker spaniel for the judge reads a magazine, and a pine cone finds subtle faults with a rattlesnake. Furthermore, the hairy movie theater returns home, and a grizzly bear near a paycheck is a big fan of a childlike burglar. For example, a canyon living with a graduated cylinder indicates that the industrial complex buries a jersey cow.

    Conclusions

    A squid around a jersey cow meditates, and another nation sweeps the floor; however, a scooby snack knowingly finds subtle faults with an apartment building living with another chain saw. When a hockey player around a paycheck is smelly, a minivan has a change of heart about an oil filter about an asteroid. The bartender around a polygon is barely soggy. Indeed, another rattlesnake befriends a warranty. Indeed, the carpet tack for an abstraction usually caricatures an elusive h

    - posted by poopbot: providing truth in a deceitful world

    7PGKHZavYz Post #258

  24. So what'd he build it outa, Duct tape? by Darby · · Score: 5, Funny

    This was a head mounted camera with a LED light unit that was built on station by our Senior Communications Technican, Jon Berry.

    Now this is a Capital G Geek in the best of all possible meanings.
    "You wanna what? OK, I got some LEDs and shit...(madly digging through toolbox).Some wires hmmm.. soldering iron over here. Right on surgical lamp, heh. One of these days you'll come up with a challenge for me. Hey, when you're done with the surgery, can we keep the T1 satellite link up for a few. I have some .... uh... important stuff to frag^H^H^H^H do.

    Seriously, there's a guy who actually earned the "Senior" in his title.

    1. Re:So what'd he build it outa, Duct tape? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      is his name Macgyver?

    2. Re:So what'd he build it outa, Duct tape? by spolecommsguy · · Score: 1

      Actually, I used a SuperCircuits PC70XS camera attached to a Black Diamond Moonlight headlamp. The camera was powered by a radio shack +12VDC power supply. Total cost: about $100. Total fun: plenty, and still accumulating. Of course, there are commercial models of the same basic concept already available. (just not available to south pole winter-overs after the last flight in February)

  25. Try reading the article! You don't understand it!! by spineboy · · Score: 1

    If you read the article it states that arthroscopy of the knee is ineffective in osteoarthritic knees - i.e. knees in older people who probably need knee replacements. In people who don't have OA, it's an effective and valuable operation

    --
    ..........FULL STOP.
  26. Shame on you... by pink_cup_and_hanger_ · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    You'll have to stop doing this sort of thing, 17 penguins beached themselves because of the intense satellite transmissions causing mass confusion on the Ross Ice Shelf.

    You bunch of meanies...

  27. This is the kind of article I like to see by guttentag · · Score: 2, Troll
    Because of its location high on the Polar Plateau and at the Earth's axis, Amundsen-Scott is a world-class astrophysical observatory. It also has some of the world's cleanest air... The 51 people spending the austral winter (February through November) at the station are unable to leave because extreme cold and darkness prevents aircraft landings.
    It's good to know that people are still doing cool things with technology on the frontier. After a hard day of commenting on academic trolls trying to discredit Orwell and a MacWorld Expo that announced virtually nothing, this is truly a ray of sunsh^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hbreath of fresh air.
    1. Re:This is the kind of article I like to see by foniksonik · · Score: 2

      Just to be a troll...

      So you consider ZeroConf ipV6 tech 'virtually nothing'? How about full OpenGL Operating System level hardware display acceleration? Bluetooth multi-device portable and peripheral Synchronization?

      You must have been watching/reading about it from the lowest level of ignorance possible.

      anyways... enough trolling.

      This is definitely a good story to see on /. though there have been thousands of others in the past.

      --
      A fool throws a stone into a well and a thousand sages can not remove it.
    2. Re:This is the kind of article I like to see by guttentag · · Score: 1, Offtopic
      The technologies in Jaguar are great and all, but Apple announced them earlier, they weren't announced today. Apple just confirmed the date it will be available, which we had narrowed down to the month. I wasn't bashing them. I was simply pointing out that previous MacWorlds offered more of that "WOW" factor Jobs likes to spring on us.

      I'm a bit surprised to see the moderation my post got: Insightful=1, Overrated=1, Underrated=1. I was really aiming for "Funny."

      1. "doing cool things with technology on the frontier" -- cool is an understatement for the Antarctic winter
      2. I made a show of deleting "ray of sunshine" because, as the quoted segment of the article points out, there is no sunshine in Antarctica right now.
      3. I replaced my sunshine comment with "breath of fresh air" because the article says "It also has some of the world's cleanest air"
      As I typed it all just fit, so I figured "what the heck." Of course, now that I've explained that no insight was intended in my comment, I'll be modded down: "Stupid=1" :o)
  28. What about the lag? by millette · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I don't mean the story happening on July 5th, I mean in the transmission. I'd hate to be the surgeon cutting, like, even 100ms before I see what I'm cutting. I Take that back. I'd really hate to be the patient, being a surgeon can't be a bad thing, anyway you look at it. Seriously, anybody has numbers on this, or is it just something you get used too? Like if you had real long arms, impecceble vision, and had to operate 30,000km away..?

    1. Re:What about the lag? by TheOnlyCoolTim · · Score: 2

      They weren't operating robotic surgery tools over the link, they just had a specialist doctor in the U.S.A. talk the South Pole doctor through the operation.

      Tim

      --
      Omnia vestra castrorum habetur nobis.
    2. Re:What about the lag? by millette · · Score: 1

      Well, that's even more like the Star Trek episode! That's what we call telemedecine?

  29. Spock's Brain by millette · · Score: 1
    Anyone else remembered this one?
    Luckily, Spock himself is able to provide some assistance in the procedure after McCoy manages to re-connect his vocal chords.
    Not the recursive part, that's just silly, but where Bones is just the arms and eyes, like the robot in this story. Yeah, that's a quote from Eric W. Weisstein: http://www.ericweisstein.com/fun/startrek/SpocksBr ain.html
    1. Re:Spock's Brain by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There is no robot in this story, you stupid fuckstick.

  30. Granny Pearl by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic
    My grandmother, Anna Pearl (Fine) Hartman, born August 26th, 1882, in Davilla, Texas, was not special except in the ways all grandmothers are special. Friends and family called her Annie. Her children called her Mama and so did I.

    Mama was sweet, gentle, smelled alternately of home-made light bread and/or Mentholatum which she applied regularly to herself and me for a variety of reasons --anything short of brain surgery.

    She taught me to fish, dig for and thread a worm on a hook, catch a grasshopper for bait in a pinch, and how to throw the line from a cane pole. She could kill a water moccasin with a fence post and did on more than one occasion. Other creatures threatening harm also got the fence post. She gave added dimension to the term, fencing,

    She was a devoted Fundamental Baptist who practiced foot washing; whose favorite hymn was "Farther along we'll know all about it; farther along we'll understand why." She had her own version of scripture inspite of the fact that she rested secure in the inviolable, unchangeable Word -- 'It says what it says, but this is what it means. "

    She could comfort my perpetual skinned knees and stumped toes using some kind of ointment and a torn sheet bandage split in two on one end and tied about the wound.

    Mama was endearing and beloved and, as it dawned on me later in life, an enigma. Hearing about her as a friend, sister and mother acquainted me with someone else, somebody I didn't know. Now that I am a grandmother, I've discovered what Mama may have sensed or known. Grandmothers can reinvent themselves in behalf of both themselves and grandchildren, becoming suitable to time and place.

  31. Fist Steve Jobs in the ass by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll
    Stick your fist in Steve Jobs's ass.

    Twist it. Twist it good.

    Bitch slap that Jobs. He is a bitch she woman.

    Break his tiny faggot glasses in half.

    Stick them up his rectum.

    Bitch slap that woman named Jobs.

    Make him bark like a dog. Bitch.

  32. Casting Call by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic
    Rectal Impaction Following Enema with Concrete Mix

    by Peter J. Stephens, M.D., and Mark L. Taff, M.D.
    from the American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology 8(2):179-182, 1987.

    This article describes an unusual rectal foreign body resulting from homosexual anal erotic activities. The patient had used an enema containing a concrete mix which became impacted and required surgical removal. The use, abuse, and complications of enemas are reviewed.

    During the last 20 years, sexual habits have changed in western society. Homosexuals have shown an increasing interest in anal erotic practices, including the use of enemas for sexual enjoyment. We report a case of a klismaphiliac who had an impacted foreign body in his rectum followin an enema with a concrete mix.

    CASE REPORT

    A 20-year-old man presented to the emergency room complaining of rectal pain. A well-nourished, well-developed man without signs of intoxication was admitted in no apparent distress. Digital examination of the rectum revealed a stony hard mass. Abdominal plain films showed a vertically oriented, low-lying radiopaque object in the rectum. A spherical radiolucency was noted in the upper pole of the mass. A blood alcohol level was negative. No other drug testing was performed.

    Upon further questioning, the patient said that approximately 4 hrs earlier he and his boyfriend had been "fooling around." After stirring a batch of concrete mix, the patient laid on his back with his feet against the wall at a 45-degree angle while his boyfriend poured the mixture through a funnel into his rectum. After the concrete mass hardened, it became so painful that he sought medical care.

    Under general anesthesia, the anus was dilated and two Foley catheters were inserted alongside the rectal mass to relieve suction. A concrete case of the rectum was delivered without incident. The rectal mucosa was intact with a hyperemic and edematous appearance.

    The patient was kept overnight and discharged uneventfully the following morning. The attending physician recommended a psychiatric consultation, but the patient declined.

    PATHOLOGIC EXAMINATION

    Examination of the specimen revealed a perfect concrete cast of the rectum, measuring 12 X 7 X 5 cm and weighing 275 g. A thin layer of feces coated the surface and crevices. Grooves in the mass were consistent with rectal mucosal folds. A layer of concrete was chipped off the upper part of the specimen and revealed a white plastic ping-pong ball. This corresponded to the radiolucency observed in the abdominal x-ray.

  33. Any penguins involved? by dowobeha · · Score: 1

    So do you suppose there were any penguins involved...? :)

    --
    I am concerned about any program, any piece of hardware, any treaty, any law that treats me as a consumer, not a citizen
    1. Re:Any penguins involved? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Please shut the fuck up. Goddamn linux-using elitist children.

    2. Re:Any penguins involved? by dowobeha · · Score: 1

      It was a joke. Get an account, AC.

      --
      I am concerned about any program, any piece of hardware, any treaty, any law that treats me as a consumer, not a citizen
  34. Cutting edge stuff! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

    Sorry bad pun, could not resist.

  35. The most important thing by manseman · · Score: 3, Funny

    Now the surgeon can scratch his ass as much as he likes during surgery without having to wash his hands and change gloves.

    1. Re:The most important thing by LiENUS · · Score: 1

      bleh and THAT is why i dont want to go into medicine
      i am a very itchy person, its not so much scratching your ass is scratching your head, cant just back into a table or something and scratch your ass but your head... that one takes some trickery.

  36. Re:Try reading the article! You don't understand i by kmellis · · Score: 2
    "...osteoarthritic knees - i.e. knees in older people who probably need knee replacements..."
    Some of us younger people can get osteoarthritis, too. I'm 37, and the only reason I don't have two artificial hips, perhaps one artificial knee and one artificial shoulder is because I live in the US where a quarter of the population doesn't have health insurance. (Or, actually, just to really make the point for those who might rejoin that my access to expensive joint replacement might not be guaranteed in a socialized system -- I respond, "Yeah, but I could at least get some fucking anti-immflammatory and pain medicine.")

    Anyway, my sister is only 27 and she's had one hip replaced for two years; and needs the other done ASAP. So it's not only old people that have osteo or need joints replaced.[1]

    I don't post this for pity, or anything, but more simply to point out that one of the most difficult things for my sister and I with this disease is that no one expects people as young as we are to have such substantial problems just walking around. So I have a bit of a vested interest in pointing out that although rare, it isn't just old people that have osteoarthritis. By the way, my dad and sister have also had several arthroscopic surgeries on their knees, elbows, ankles, and shoulders. They did seem to help at least for a limited amount of time. But the joints just keeps on falling apart and making bony grit that crunches around in there; so it's temporary at best. I did read about that recent study with interest, though.

    [1] I should mention that my sister actually resists the "osteoarthritis" non-professional diagnosis of our genetic disorder. It has a real, technical name that's no more descriptive, in my opinion, than "osteoarthritis" actually is; but does have the virtue, in her opinion, of being harder to fail to take seriously. She claims the actual degree of our joint deterioration is much greater than that of, say, the average 70 year-old with osteo. I have no idea. It seems bad, but these are the only joints I've ever had. Our doctors have always said that it's very, very bad.

  37. Re:Try reading the article! You don't understand i by simong_oz · · Score: 1

    disclaimer: I'm not a medical doctor, but am a researcher in bimechanics/lubrication of joints (in the body). I'll try not to ramble on too much !

    To back up another poster - osteoarthritis is not confined to older people, though it is much more prevalent in older age groups.

    Arthroscopy is a procedure which does not require the knee to be opened completely - much better for the patient (faster recovery, no general anaesthetic, etc) and a much simpler and cheaper procedure. You most likely hear about it with sports people who have damaged knees (cruciate ligaments particularly), and it is often used as an exploratory procedure so the surgeon can see exactly what is wrong inside the joint.

    --
    "Because it's there." - George Mallory, when asked why he wanted to climb Mt Everest, March 18, 1923 (New York Times)
  38. "1/4 of people don't have health insurance in US" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Not at all like over here in Ethiopia, where a quarter of us don't have food*.

    So sorry... you've got a rough life there in the United States, having to go to work for a large company or your government in order to get access to health insurance, and where, by law, if you show up at a hospital emergency room with a problem (like needing anti-inflamatory medication), they have to take you, regardless of your ability to pay. I guess you must notbe able to type well enough to work for your IRS -- oh wait, you posted your whine.

    (*) Yes, I think it's assinine to guarantee health insurance in a country where food clothing and shelter are not guaranteed, first. And where the cost of medical care is so high in the first place because the whole country is chock full of litigous bastards complaining about their lives being saved, and the insurance companies charge the medical industry so much for malpractice insurances, that costs on the other side are so high you can't afford it -- without insurance... are you seeing a pattern here?

  39. Necessity is the mother of invention by Pedrito · · Score: 3, Funny

    And so, this is the second time they've needed remote medical help because the doctor there wasn't capable of handling the job themselves. Seems to me that this will necessarily lead to the creation of the EMH (Emergency Medical Hologram). These South Pole people really need to talk to the Star Trek people and get to work.

  40. Re:Doubt it by echucker · · Score: 2

    They're doing an unfamiliar procedure by video. Any kind of "oops" prolly wouldn't look to good to the viewing public ;-)

  41. I guess it had to happen, again by zoomshorts · · Score: 0

    This is a lame story, as the people have showed! Been done before numerous times, it does not matter. It is not news. BFD.

  42. Hard Labor? by son_of_rotten · · Score: 1

    Umm... What exactly are they doing to folks down there that causes their knees to blow out?

    1. Re:Hard Labor? by Peter+T+Ermit · · Score: 2, Funny

      Intramural penguin football. Dar Gibson was a star punter. (Do you have any idea how hard it is to get a 65-pound Emperor between the uprights?)

  43. Knees, hearts by ianscot · · Score: 1
    Maybe three years ago one of the Smithsonian ComputerWorld awards went to a company that was working on heart surgeries like this.

    And no, nobody was exactly volunteering to be the first high-risk surgery attempt. It seems right that we'd try knee surgeries in a situation like this first; both the isolated patient and the lack of really bad potential outcomes make this a decent first choice.

    The people with the remote heart surgery systems saw them as a training tool, for one example, first. They had some specific ideas about the steps that'd happen before the technology could be adapted for real surgery, anyway.

    --
    "Fundamentalism" isn't about divine morality. It's about human authority.
  44. Garth! by Steve+G+Swine · · Score: 2

    Let me say up front that this is way cool.

    But reading the summary, I kept expecting to hear how you ID'd the limo from the vanity plate.

    Party on!

    --
    "Consider yourself a member of a virtual corporation with Mr. Torvalds as your Chief Executive Officer." - Linux Advocac
  45. Good morning! by Coppit · · Score: 1

    Ah... Early morning... Coffee... Let's see what's on Slashdot...

    OPEN KNEE SURGERY!!!

    Ug... Not an image I want in the morning...

    Why not have a Jon Katz article on Kurt Cobain's counter-society life, complete with vaporized head?

  46. IP != Internet by Cato · · Score: 3, Insightful

    IP doesn't imply the Internet, of course.

    IP was probably chosen because you could get an end to end link (most likely Ethernet at both ends of the satellite link). Satellite networks do clever things with TCP to make it work better on their high-latency links. Most video apps will be IP based these days, or require a single layer 2 (such as ISDN) end to end, which is restrictive.

  47. Knees arent that hard to blow out by Gekko · · Score: 2, Informative

    I blew mine out skiing. My uncle however blew his out on an icy sidewalk. The right twist and tension will take out a tendon preaty good. Plus remember these guys are more than scientists down there, they have to more or less run a city by themselves. Catch the Discovery Channel special sometime on the Doc that got breast cancer down there.

    --
    I mod down any one who says "I'm sure I will get modded down for this"
  48. Cool for freaky by f00zbll · · Score: 1
    Is this really going to become reality for remote operations? Given how unrealiable the network is for absolutely secure, realtime video I hope this is limited to only minor non-critical surgery. But then again, if it's non-critical and can wait, it's best to go into the hospital.

    I really wonder how practical remote surgery besides distance learning.

  49. I was wondering... by SkyLeach · · Score: 2

    If we could leverage the impressive amount of cpu power currently to be found for relatively low price to replace current compression techniques with hybrid realtime 3D + Video.

    For instance, easy prediction models (like the arms/smocks of the doctors, scalpels, hemostats, suction tubes) could with signatures and then compress the difficult to predict stuff (patient's entrails) with compressed video. Contrast in most operating environments means that this shouldn't be too hard to do. Then at the video destination build real-time 3D models of the cut objects to fill in the video. This should dramatically cut down on the ammount of video which needs to be compressed and transmitted.

    --
    My $0.02 will always be worth more than your â0.02, so :-p
    1. Re:I was wondering... by Jhan · · Score: 1

      My $0.02 will always be worth more than your 0.02, so :P

      Better change that signature, pronto :-)

      PS. Nyah, nyah, nyah ;-)

      --

      I choose to remain celibate, like my father and his father before him.

  50. neat, but rarely that useful by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    All the recent advances in telemedicine/remote surgery using video conferencing and robotic devices are interesting, but in the end they are not that useful. Personally, I would rather have an adequate surgeon operate on me than have the world's best surgeon do it from 3,000 miles away. The only time these devices are useful is for people that truly are stuck far from proper medical attention. If at all possible, any patient will certainly benefit from real medical attention in a hospital, but when things hit the fan in the middle of the antarctic ice, it's nice to know there is some recourse.

  51. NO NO NOT THAT LIGAMENT YOU FOOL! by JoeGee · · Score: 1

    I suspect that surgeons participating in telesurgery must observe certain protocols themselves. "Are you certain this is where I cut?" "Yes, I am certain." "Is everyone certain this is where I make the incision?" "Yes, we are certain."

    If you think this is a hoot, wait til this happens on Mars. :)

    --

    Get off my virtual lawn, you damned virtual kids!
  52. no medical facilities? by uigrad_2000 · · Score: 2
    According to the article, the lab was staffed with medical doctors, but they had no facilities that were set up for surgery.

    So, the have people capable, but no facilities for it, how is a satellite connection with an experienced doctor in Boston going to help?

    --
    Free unix account: freeshell.org
  53. Complete station description - Wired article by iamr00t · · Score: 1

    here...
    Internet on south pole is tricky... not many sattelites going there.

  54. erm... better than nothing by tomdarch · · Score: 2
    Sounds like the time the hospital said that they were going to operate on my grandmother with the main surgeon 'consulting' on the surgery. It turns out that he was in his car with a cell phone. Ah, telemedicine.

    (Always ask lots of questions - even if it pisses people off. If you don't like the setup (as in our situation) refuse to go along. In our case we told them to wait for the surgeon to arrive and be physically present in the operating room during the surgery. Who knows if he was mentally present, though.)

  55. More on Antarctic surgery by dargaud · · Score: 1
    The technology is very neat but, I dont quite understand why it was needed. Was it really neccesary for the physician in the pole to be talked through the operation. I am truely curious about this and would like to know more.
    It is necessary because in Antarctica in winter there is usually one doctor per station, and that guy is a general doctor, not a surgeon. There is on average one surgery every 3 winter over, except at the Australian stations that seem to have an appendectomy a year.

    When I wintered over at Dumont d'Urville in '93 we broke all records with 7 surgeries, including one appendicitis. I have more info on how we coped with it and pictures as well on my site.

    At the time all the doctor could rely on was a satellite voice link and a motley crew to assist him. Still much better than what the pioneers had to rely on. In Port-Martin in 1951 they did an appendicitis with sharpened kitchen knives and there's a great story about it but the link seems to be gone.

    A russian doctor had to take out his own appendix in Antarctica in 1961.

    --
    Non-Linux Penguins ?
    1. Re:More on Antarctic surgery by dargaud · · Score: 1

      Sorry, it took me a while to find the link to the story. It's in french but well worth the read.

      --
      Non-Linux Penguins ?
    2. Re:More on Antarctic surgery by Suppafly · · Score: 2

      Why is there a disproportionate amount of appendicitis cases in Antartica? Does anyone know?

  56. Doctor's office at the south pole? by LeBain · · Score: 1

    These were probably the most expensive surgeries ever. Why would someone go all the way to the south pole for knee surgery? I'm sure there are plenty of docs in highly populated areas where those needing the surgery live.

    --
    Give serendipity a chance.
  57. Great news.... by DaveMe · · Score: 1

    ...for penguins, I guess.

  58. Nice!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Wow!!! I just came so hard I thought I was gonna puke... great story!

  59. Nothing New by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Not really ground-breaking. This was done several years ago by NASA. See http://ctd.grc.nasa.gov/5610/telemedicine.html

  60. "Ingrid on Ice" - a doctor's diary in antarctica by MeerCat · · Score: 4, Interesting

    If you want to know more about life in antarctica, and the realities of being a doctor, a friend of mine resigned a top surgeon's job to spend a year in antartica as medical officer (plus dentist, plus hairdresser).

    Great diary, the real issues of life at the south pole, great photos... have a read of Ingrid On Ice

    --
    I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars. The rest I just squandered. - George Best
  61. Re:"1/4 of people don't have health insurance in U by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    Where in my post did you get the idea that I don't think that a minimun of food and shelter shouldn't also be guaranteed to all Americans? I do. Or where I might think there's no need for malpractice reform (I do).

    Your explicit and implicit analysis is screwed up in all sorts of different ways. You seem to assume that I assert that health care should be recognized as some fundamental right; and so you are arguing that food and shelter should be prior. But I'm not arguing any such thing. IN fact, I prefer to keep the language of "rights" out of this as I think it clouds the issue too much with emotion. Instead, I'll merely point out that food and shelter is, as a practical matter, far, far more available to Americans than basic health care is. We could do better, I certainly agree; but the percentage of Americans living without food or shelter is in the single digits, while the percentage living without health care is in the double-digits. It is, in fact, a bigger problem.

    My main concern is that it's a bigger economic problem. The health care system is badly broken, and it's extreme deviations from market economics for those to whom it's still available is also destroying it by destroying efficiency and misallocating resources. It's not ever working for the people that it's supposedly working for. And so, as a matter of national security -- such as defense, education, transportation -- health care is vitally important and it's a disaster in the US.

    My anger about it has much less to do with my own particular problems -- I'm not sure that I think that expensive operations like joint replacement are in the national interest to casually and universall subsidize. But I do think that basic health care is, that pre and post natal health care is, that preventive medicine health care is. And my access to anti-immflamatory and pain medications makes a huge difference in my ability to go out and work, and were I to be able to do so, I'd pay more in taxes than my medication costs.

    By the way, for two of the last four years I was in the highest marginal tax bracket in the US and paid about $200,000 dollars in federal taxes to the US government. Unfortunately, I kept a big port of the money I kept in the stock of the company I worked for, and I lost most of it. That's my fault, I'm not blaming anyone. But because of both my medical condition(s) and the current tech job economy, my getting a job with health insurance is no easy matter. And, as a matter of fact, while I do continue to type, I have a lot of pain in my right arm and especially my shoulder that is increasingly a problem for me for working at the computer.

    Finally, just because I could show up at the ER and ask for meds doesn't mean that it's right for me to do so. (And you're wrong about this anyway. They might have to give me actual meds for that one day, but ER's don't give you prescriptions and then fill them as part of the bill. Probably for this very reason.) There's huge overhead associated with emergency room care, and this (understandable) abuse of it is a big contributing factor to the problem. A bill for such a trivial thing as a visit to get medication might be $750 or more. That cost is borne by someone, and it's not right for me to make those people bear it. For now, I whittle away at my assets by spending about $350 a month on medications. That includes antidepressents that I could get for free at a state agency (here in Texas, believe it or not) that provides services and medication for the mentally ill. Their income and asset checks are not very dilligent. I know one person who owns three homes and a nice vehicle who gets her several hundred dollars worth of antidepressents every month from this agency. I have friends and family who've been encouraging me to do this for two years. But I did do this when I was very poor about six years ago, and I've seen the people this agency helps. It would be immoral, in my opinion, for me to take hundreds of dollars of aid that I don't actually qualify for, that must inevitably come out of aid that would go elsewhere -- probably to more of those street people and the like that I saw that are made almost or actualy functional through the avilability of relatively inexpensive anti-schizophrenic drugs.

    My point is, just because something's available to me (or people like me) doesn't mean that it's the right thing for us to do to avail ourselves of it. A sane, nationalized health care system would allocate health care resources incredibly more efficiently, and fairly, than the current system does. We all would benefit, not just me. That's why I support it, and am angry at the people that resist it. Not just out of my personal self-interest.

  62. test by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    fuck

  63. Re:Try reading the article! You don't understand i by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm 37, and the only reason I don't have two artificial hips, perhaps one artificial knee and one artificial shoulder is because I live in the US where a quarter of the population doesn't have health insurance.

    No, the reason you don't have all these expensive bionic thingies is that YOU didn't have health insurance. You were either too stupid or too lazy or else you gambled on assumed health and lost.

    It isn't my fault, and I shouldn't have to pay for it. Everyone I know has health insurance- it isn't that hard to come by.