One fine day in Seattle

I just came across this great time-lapse video of Seattle. It certainly makes me want to go visit. If anyone has been to Seattle and has any picture's they'd like to share, please post them in the comments section.

Telemedicine and the Final Frontier

The annual ATA Networking Dinner is the premier opportunity to connect with the leaders in telemedicine. This year, the event will be held on Tuesday, April 8 at Seattle's Experience Music Project. This amazing facility, deisgned by Frank Gehry, features a diverse collection of band memorabelia and interactive musical activities.

Adjacent to the EMP, and also open to attendees, is the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame. The museum pays homage to the most respected of science fiction practitioners—writers, artists, publishers and filmmakers. As a fan of the genre (AKA: a self-confessed dork) I am excited to see SFM's collection of sci-fi memorabelia. Their holdings include the original mockup of the Death Star and the models for ET and Dr. Zaius (Planet of the Apes). Also featured is Captain Kirk's Enterprise command chair—the fons et origo of any sci-fi enthusiast.

It is fitting that ATA will have an event in the SFM. Indeed, the once-fantastical visions of science-fiction writers have been the inspiration for many of the technological developments which have facilitated telemedicine. Star Trek communicators gave rise to cellular flip-phones. B-9 (Lost in Space) protected Will Robinson just like remote medical robots care for modern patients. The Tricorder was the intellectual antecedent to wireless remote monitoring systems. While many of sci-fi's promises have yet to materialize—I'm still waiting for commerical moon flights and the flying car—telemedicine is truly the realization of healthcare's final frontier.