Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Jim drumming at Kessler graduation (photo by Jenfu Cheng)

Jim was an excellent multitasker. He simultaneously participated in a number of potentially publishable research projects, trained for the Ironman competition, set up the Ironman as a fundraiser for children, worked on a curriculum to teach electrodiagnostic evaluation to residents, tutored medical students and still made the time to talk on the phone with friends, have a relaxed dinner with my family, and keep his dating life active. He somehow did all of this without spreading himself too thin. His reputation was so ingrained among the people who knew him that it was not uncommon to hear people say "Look, I'm no Jim McLean" when trying to imply that a specific task or number of tasks seemed potentially overwhelming.