No engineer's victory dance now but maybe one of these days.

Dilbert creator and recent addition to the Blogosphere, Scott Adams, has been diagnosed with a permanent speech condition called Spasmodic Dystonia or Dysphonia. No, this is not a joke.

According to WebMD,

Spasmodic dysphonia is a voice disorder characterized by momentary periods of uncontrolled vocal spasms, tightness in the throat, and/or recurrent hoarseness. At certain times, affected individuals must make a conscious effort to speak. The most frequent sign of this disorder is a sudden, momentary lapse or interruption of the voice. Spasmodic dysphonia is a form of dystonia, a group of neurological movement disorders characterized by involuntary muscle spasms.

There are two types of spasmodic dysphonia: Abductor spasmodic dysphonia and the more common adductor spasmodic dysphonia. The cause of spasmodic dysphonia is not known.

Adams describes it this way:

. . . a problem of the vocal cords going nuts on their own. The net effect is that while I can give a speech to a crowd of 5,000 people, I generally can’t utter more than a hoarse whisper to someone one-on-one. It’s like a stutterer who can sing okay but can’t talk normally.

So what is worrying Scott? Why, that no one will believe him if he is really sick or hurt.

Although I have never had the honor of meeting him, his insight into organizational bureaucracy and wicked sense of humor have made him one of my favorite people.

No worries Scott. We're here for you and we promise to stop laughing if we see blood.