Clintons "BIG" Win

The aftermath of last nights primary in PA is still being discussed obviously. Joe Scar, on Morning Joe this morning, was still acting like a drunken frat boy at a lingerie show. He just obviously can't contain his Pat Buchanan-like joy at the thought of the Dem race continuing for a few more months. Hey, I understand, I would be grinning too if the Rethugs were ripping each other apart. But lets discuss this victory in the proper context.

Hillary won by 10 percentage points, perhaps less, gaining somewhere between 6-10 delegates, depending on who's math you look at. Now, after last night, Obama as 1484 pledged delegates to Clinton's 1330, which still has Obama ahead by 154 pledged delegates, which does not take into account the slow bleed of supers who have been joining Barack, and in some cases, leaving Hillary. An 154 delegate lead is pretty substantial, especially when you consider that there are only 242 delegates left to be won from Indiana, North Carolina, and Puerto Rico. So while Clinton did win PA, and should be congratulated for the victory, I feel like I need to tell some of the talking heads that a 10 delegate pickup is a pretty small battle in this war for the nomination. Clinton did not deliver a crushing blow last night, she narrowly dodged the blow that would have ended her campaign.

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LiveBlog of the PA Primary

So its already been called for Hillary, but that really not a surprise. The question has always really been the margin. How much will Clinton win BY? If its a nail biter, down to the last few hours, the argument for her to stay in the race becomes more of a stretch. Lets see where this goes.

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Pre LiveBlog Numbers

Olbermann on MSNBC just mentioned that the early reports of voter turnout in Pennsylvania are pretty encouraging. In 2004, 26% of registered Dems voted in the primary, and it looks like that number may have doubled this year. This number will probably change, but the early count is 52% of registered Dems showed up today.

Stay tuned for the Dean & Tye Show, LiveBlogging the primary.

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CSI Helps Hospitals Solve Infection Mystery

Hospital acquired infections are becoming an abundant problem in hospitals across the US (the whole globe to be fair). It is estimated that the health care industry takes on an added expenditure in excess of $4.5B due to these infections of a nosocomial origin.

But researchers at Deventer Hospital (The Netherlands) came up with the brilliantly simple plan of using Luminol, a chemical used by crime scene investigators, to detect traces of blood in their hemodialysis unit. Luminol is the stuff you see the CSI guys spray on a crime scene that reacts with microscopic amounts of blood to produce bright blue luminescence, which allows investigators to track invisible blood splashes in the environment.

This is a great idea but it kind of is a big mystery how a lot of these patients (and staff) end up with infections. With as much care that goes into creating a sterile environment there is still a relatively high incidence rate of infection picked up in the hospital. Specialists in sterile technique are brought in to review protocols and procedures to determine points of weakness in the chain of operation. But using Luminol is an easy and immensely effective tool in evaluating where blood exposures could occur. So what did the researchers find on the hemodyalisis unit?

The apparently clean unit had blood on many surfaces including cupboard handles, telephones, computer keyboards, side tables and the floor, even though some of these surfaces had been cleaned. The results can be reproduced in any hospital or doctor's office around the world and should probably become part of the infection prevention plans of most urban area hospitals.

Don't forget we're liveblogging the Pennsylvania Primary tonight so be sure to join us around 7pm Central

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Video Games and Crack...

I thought this was pretty interesting. From someone who has been, ahem, interested in video games for years now, I do believe that a game, in much the same fashion as a substance, can be "Addictive." Yet my evidence is purely anecdotal, I will easily admit. I know I've stayed up too late before playing some damn game, maybe more than once. But I do know that stories have emerged of people playing games "to death," some myths, some backed by evidence. I'm surprised it took this long for an affliction such as this to generate any media coverage.

Remember, tune in for the LiveBlog of the Penn Primary tonight. There. Plug accomplished.

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StifledMind's First LiveBlog

Dean and Tye will be hosting a liveblog of the Pennsylvania Primary tomorrow, from about 7-8 until we decide its over, or until we are too drunk to type. Should be fun and uninformative. So come cheer our man Barack on to victory!

Hopefully we'll find some space for a dash of that "objectivity" I've heard of as well.

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