Stupid Questions

["Case, Diane (OD)" <DCase@exchange.nih.gov>]

Alright!  I made someone's "kill" file.  Wow.  Glad to know that I am in such
fine company with Jerry. 

But, according to Mr. Mercado, " I think it is wise to know what our lose
cannons are doing so that we know what kinds of fires we may have to fight."
...........Huh? I don't get it.  How did you make the leap from a simple
statement to loOse cannons?  What is a loose cannon, anyway?  Would that be one
that is rolling uncontrolably down a hill?  Or would that be someone who has an
opinion other than your own. 

Sandy Pearle, (who I consider to be intelligent) says,  "There are some that are
new to the HP field and have limited knowledge in certain areas.  How are they
to learn what to do and what not to do if they are afraid of asking because they
will get slammed on RAD SAFE by someone else."  Mr. Pearle, with all due
respect, limited knowledge means not knowing which meter to use to detect I-125,
or how to find specific NRC regulations.  Knowin the most fundamental units of
radiation is not limited knowledge.  It is having not a clue.  Would you hire
someone who didn't know how many Bq is in a Ci?  You can't get any lower than
that.  Asking what the acronym "NRC" means isn't even as bad.

Dr. Weiner, I applaud you.   "It is not a reflection on the person or persons
who made the request so much as on the level of education that we seem to accept
as adequate for a professional (or even an amateur) in this field.  I am not a
heating engineer, but if I needed to convert fromcalories to BTU (for example),
I would either find a reference or work itout from fundamental units myself.  I
fault the teachers of the requesters and the schools they attended for not
insisting that learning how to make such a conversion themselves or knowing
where to look it up is what they should do." May I add, that I also fault the
companies, hospitals, etc. who hire these people to save a buck.  

I think it is time for the HPS to seriously begin to address the health physics
arena's standards of performance and required credentials.    

So c'mon guys, don't be so uptight and "politically correct." The question as to
how to convert Ci to Bq is utterly shocking.  Yes, there ARE stupid
questions....  And I have asked my fair share (right Jerry?).  At least I
admitted that they were stupid.  But I'm not so crazy as to get on
"Cardiology-safe" and ask the difference between an atrium and a ventricle.  I
would go to a book, or I would ask Jerry. and I am   I hope the guy who asked
that question isn't giving you a 1.1 GBq I-131 dose. 

By the way, does anyone know how to  



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