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2007-11-16 Munich My visit to the Deutsches Museum - a German museum devoted to technology Fantastic! 
2007-11-27 Straubing Museum Museum of local history, going back to the stone age (literally!) 

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What all the fuss was about - my MRI. Notice that the spinal cord (the grey thing surrounded by white fluid) is pinched in two locations. Furthermore, there are white streaks in the spinal cord itself - that's it's way of going "ouch!", and those areas are damaged (myleopathy - literally, "death of nerves"). This is very bad, and if it continued, could have left me paralyzed.

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A conventional X-ray taken before surgery. Note the rather sinister "hook" on the front of the affected joints, where the bone is growing over the extruded discs (not visible in this X-ray). This is happening on the back side, which has to be removed. Getting rid of all that crunchy bone without harming the spinal cord is why neurosurgeons get paid a lot. Contrast this X-ray with the next ones, where you can see the new artificial joints.

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The end result - artifical discs. The old discs have been removed, the offending bits of bone removed, and the new joints inserted.

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Don't ask me why my neck's tilted like that - it's exactly the way the radiologist positioned my head for the shot.

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My room in Munich - small, but comfortable.

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Fish-eye view of the Asam room

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The bathroom, looking out

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A Quicktime VR of our room at the Asam. That's my mother in the reading chair.

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Our room at the Hotel Asam - very nice, but a "suite" here is a large room. This was a very expensive hotel

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Note the glass door (and another on the entrance to the john) - no soundproofing at all.

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Automatic faucets, soap dispensers

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The men's room at the Hotel Asam.

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Something to aim at...

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and the doors open automatically, too

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Cigarette machines were everywhere...

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even outside the hospital!