I'm usually pretty selective about when I become a bonehead -- rabidly rooting for the Yankees, for example.

But I felt reasonable intelligent the other day on a visit to my orthopod -- sorry, orthopedic surgeon -- to get an MRI interpreted on my banged-up knee (see my August 21 posting, "Of golf, kneecaps and a trip to the Clovis ED").  I figured he'd find something and suggest I get 'scoped -- sorry, have arthroscopic, outpatient surgery.

So, when his diagnosis was exactly that, I did what any hospital wonk -- sorry, public affairs director -- would do. I became a brain-frozen bonehead. The only intelligent question I asked -- sorry, the only thing I remember saying -- was, will this mean I can play golf again?

All of which is a reminder that when you have a fairly important huddle with your doc, have a non-bonehead advocate with you -- someone who can take notes, ask questions and remember stuff.  (By the way, there are my friends -- sorry, low-life's who guffawed that I'd converted golf into a contact sport -- who'll also say I never REALLY played golf to begin with, so whatever the outcome, it'll be an improvement.)

Speaking of stinkers, researchers in Europe have confirmed that even periodic exposure to common cleaning sprays and air fresheners can heighten adults' risk of developing asthma. They studied 3,500 patients over nine years in 10 countries. All it took was exposure to sprays at least once a week to spike asthma risk by 30% to 50%. Thankfully, there are a number of unscented, non-corrosive cleansers available to help avoid the gag reflex, the Advair and the Proventil emergency inhaler.