A few months ago, I sifted through a stack of junk mail on my desk--"Neurosurgery Opportunity in North Dakota," "Advances in Acromegaly," "Katrina, Join Us in New Orleans!"--and tossed most of it. At the bottom of the pile was a big, floppy, colorful 2008 calendar from medical-device maker Medtronic. This I lingered over for a moment, then saved.

Medtronic's navigation business, which creates technology that helps surgeons explore the human body, is headquartered at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. The calendar promised "stunning imagery from Colorado and stunning innovation from Medtronic." Take September, which features an "autumnal sunset in a thriving aspen forest near Durango, Colorado." This image is paired with a photograph of a piece of surgical technology that gets its own loving description: "Medtronic cranial navigation pointer probes provide an enhanced patient registration experience for a thriving neuronavigation practice." I see the connection: thriving forest, thriving practice. I'll take one of those pointer probes, please.