MRI blog.

Had a meeting this morning with Lilly's kindergarten teacher. "Academically, she's where she should be." That is, she's reasonably bright. Knows a lot of letters, etc. In terms of cooperating with the teacher and the teacher’s assistants, to paraphrase Orwell, she’s good, but not too good, and not quite all the time. I wouldn't have expected anything else.

Orwell didn't come up during the conversation, however.

Do I want her to aspire for Noble Prizes? High office? Vast wealth? Those are all fine things, and she may pursue them. But to push those lofty aspirations on your kids is, I think, the mark of parents insecure about their own lives.

Today's new experience: MRI. Fortunately, I didn't have to have one done myself. Unfortunately, Gail, who works in my office, did have one recently. She has back problems. I've seen X-rays, naturally, a number of them of my own parts, but never an actual MRI. One of those things you hear about, but have no occasion to see, if you're lucky. Gail brought hers in, and we all had a look.

Somehow I'd imagined that it would be in color, but it was more like a very detailed -- a very detailed X-ray, with more depth. The vertebrae of Gail's spine were quite clear, even to someone like me. A doctor shows me an X-ray, and points to a place and says, "See that? That’s so-and-so, which means such-and-such." I nod, but all I see are shadows. Blobs. Blotches. The ultrasounds during Yuriko's pregnancies were even worse. That's the head? A leg? Fingers and toes? Looks like a snowy TV to me. An electronic see-the-pattern in the fuzz, and I never see it.