Ramblings of an Emergency Physician in Texas

Coffee buzz: Java drinkers live longer, big study finds; regular and decaf are equally good – The Washington Post

Posted by GruntDoc on May 17th, 2012

I knew I wasn’t drinking it for the taste:

Coffee buzz: Java drinkers live longer, big study finds; regular and decaf are equally goodBy Associated Press, Published: May 16MILWAUKEE — One of life’s simple pleasures just got a little sweeter. After years of waffling research on coffee and health, even some fear that java might raise the risk of heart disease, a big study finds the opposite: Coffee drinkers are a little more likely to live longer. Regular or decaf doesn’t matter.The study of 400,000 people is the largest ever done on the issue, and the results should reassure any coffee lovers who think it’s a guilty pleasure that may do harm.“Our study suggests that’s really not the case,” said lead researcher Neal Freedman of the National Cancer Institute. “There may actually be a modest benefit of coffee drinking.”

via Coffee buzz: Java drinkers live longer, big study finds; regular and decaf are equally good – The Washington Post.

Now, how long until I can take it off on my taxes…

Posted in Amusements | No Comments »


Fort Worth man arrested in theft of DPS patrol car | Crime and Safety | News from Fort W…

Posted by GruntDoc on May 11th, 2012

Frankly, I’d wee on Superman’s Cape before I stole a Troopers’ car:

CISCO — A 40-year-old Fort Worth man was in the Eastland County jail Thursday, accused of briefly stealing a state troopers patrol car. The car was wrecked after officers shot the tires, authorities reported.

via Fort Worth man arrested in theft of DPS patrol car | Crime and Safety | News from Fort W….

This won’t end well.

Posted in Amusements | 1 Comment »


Zdogg MD’s Le Mis parody

Posted by GruntDoc on May 10th, 2012

It’s been out for a while, and I just realized I hadn’t linked it here.

The increasingly entertaining ZDoggMD.com!

Enjoy!

 

 



Posted in Amusements | No Comments »


This Weekend: The Perfect Storm

Posted by GruntDoc on May 4th, 2012

Keep us in the ED here in your thoughts this weekend, as our area, along with Mother Nature and some unfortunate timing are conspiring to build the Perfect Storm for ED saturation.

Here in Fort Worth we will have the following:

So, if we’re not seen for a while you’ll know where to find us. Under the people tsunami in the ED.

 

Posted in Amusements | 3 Comments »


It’s my Tenth Blogging Anniversary

Posted by GruntDoc on May 2nd, 2012

Every year marks an Anniversary of blogging, mostly to remind others I’m still here.

I started this inauspicious blog in 2002, not knowing really why. I still don’t know why. In people years that’s Ten Years, in the Social Media world it’s a lifetime.

Friends are the biggest thing I’ve gotten out of it, and I thank all of you who’ve taking the time to comment and occasionally critique. I’ve been to BlogWorld and met some terrific med bloggers, and have had fun conversations with others who are only internet buddies. This has continued in the SoMe world, and I continue to enjoy the blog but also Twitter, where rapid-action snark is appreciated/derided in equal measure.

It’s always odd to me that anyone even mentions I’m a blogger and that I have a blog; it’s like people pointing out you have good penmanship or have perfect attendance: it’s just something I do. I enjoy this, I’ve enjoyed the time spent here, and plan to continue.

I’d be lying if I told you I’m the blogger I used to be: clearly not. Re-reading some of my posts makes me realize I used to be a lot angrier, and that’s a big motivator for a blogger. I’m older, more established and frankly happier, which is a nice realization but is kryptonite for the rant blogger.

Professionally I’m doing well, plenty of patients and challenges, and yet: there could be more. I’ve recently been named (surprising mostly me) Director of Medical Informatics (chief tech geek and data dude) for the consulting company to which 130+ of us Independently Contract for the ED’s of the Gigantic Hospital Corporation, which we all like and respect. It’s a terrific opportunity, and a challenge I’m not sure I’m up to. Here’s hoping.

At any rate, as I’ve said before I’m too lazy to quit, so I’ll keep blogging.

Thanks for coming!

Posted in Announcements | 12 Comments »


I was in a Texas kind of mood

Posted by GruntDoc on April 28th, 2012

when I designed my MacBook Air decorations:

 

 

 

Yeah, my name and email are on the bottom, but they’re a touch hard to make out... A little too easy to see, it turns out. Was a field of bluebonnets (my own photo). Cropped that bit out.

Upside: I will NOT have yet another clone of an Apple computer at the next meeting.

FYI, I got these (quickly and well made) from UniqueSkins.com

Posted in Announcements | 4 Comments »


Epic Spring Council

Posted by GruntDoc on April 24th, 2012

I’m off to Epic’s Spring Council in Madison, WI. It’s my first trip to Madison, and my first trip to an Epic meeting.

Looking forward to both.

If there’s anything worth mentioning, I’ll be tweeting those tidbits (over on Twitter, @gruntdoc ).

Just so you know I’m not dead. Merely resting. Pining for the Fjords.

Posted in Announcements | 3 Comments »


Find The Sign

Posted by GruntDoc on April 19th, 2012

Sent in by my eldest (not her accident, just a witness to the aftermath):

Only one maroon bluebonnet was harmed

Find the Sign

No prizes. Void where prohibited.

Posted in Amusements, Racing | 2 Comments »


Know Your Enemy

Posted by GruntDoc on April 17th, 2012

I think that was a WWII title for a series of propaganda trailers. (Maybe not).

Mohammad Ashan, a mid-level Taliban commander in Paktika province, strolled toward a police checkpoint in the district of Sar Howza with a wanted poster bearing his own face. He demanded the finder’s fee referenced on the poster: $100.

via Taliban commander turns self in… for reward on ‘Wanted’ poster – BlogPost – The Washington Post.

Yep. Saw his own visage, turned himself in for the reward.

As usual, the Government stiffed him.

Posted in Amusements | 1 Comment »


Rick Perry | Painkillers | Inside the Circus | The Daily Caller

Posted by GruntDoc on April 2nd, 2012

I watched those debates. Wish ‘d thought to take a pain killer, too.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry was under the influence of painkillers during televised presidential debates over the last year to help relieve severe back pain, according to a soon-to-be released eBook on the 2012 Republican race for president obtained by The Daily Caller.“It became an open secret that he was using painkillers in sufficient dosages to keep him standing through the two-hour debates,” write the authors of “Inside the Circus.”

via Rick Perry | Painkillers | Inside the Circus | The Daily Caller.

Posted in Amusements | No Comments »


Bluebonnet City

Posted by GruntDoc on April 1st, 2012

We got about 4 inches of rain a few weeks ago, which must have been perfect timing for the bluebonnets (State Flower of Texas, by the way). They exploded, and they’re beautiful.

Here’s a pic from today (and this is just a convenience photo, there are much more dense collections around, but I was cycling and trying not to croak during the ride):

 

The red flowers, by the way, are still bluebonnets, but they’re called maroon bluebonnets. There, you learned something today.

Posted in Amusements, Cycling | 1 Comment »


Wind Map

Posted by GruntDoc on April 1st, 2012

Wind Map.

Go there, and refresh it from time to time. It’s a very nicely done and immediately intuitive measure of winds on the Continental US.

 

Posted in Amusements | No Comments »


It’s Time For Double Daylight Saving Time – Raw Fisher

Posted by GruntDoc on March 11th, 2012

Do the Double, then leave it there.

It’s Time For Double Daylight Saving Time

Tonight, the clock shifts forward. Tomorrow, sunset moves from 6:07 p.m. to 7:08 p.m. But our work here is not done. If we really wanted to fill our lives with joy and save energy and money, if we really wanted to move beyond the fiction of our agrarian conception of time and into the modern world, we’d shift to year-round Daylight Saving Time–or, if we really wanted to embrace reality and maximize life, go to Double DST, a big, two-hour push forward of the clocks that would turn our summers into a marathon of gorgeous, endless evenings.

Here, adapted from my piece from this moment two years ago, is the argument for Double DST:

President Warren G. Harding didn’t like daylight saving time. If people want more daylight, he said, they should just wake up earlier.

via It’s Time For Double Daylight Saving Time – Raw Fisher.

Just think about the weirdness twice a year in payroll departments trying to keep track of this oddness. (Also, my EMR locks up on the fall-back, and that’s a problem).

Posted in Announcements | 2 Comments »


In a triumph of marketing, AT&T upgrades Apple’s iPhone to ’4G’ | The Verge

Posted by GruntDoc on March 8th, 2012

That’s just sad…

On Tuesday, Apple issued the iOS 5.1 software update, and with it came a small but hugely symbolic change: the AT&T iPhone 4S data indicator now reads “4G.” Owners of the iPhone will notice no difference in performance or data transfer speeds; the device will not magically connect to AT&T’s shiny new 4G LTE network. It will simply receive a deceptive labeling change that allows AT&T to market the iPhone as a 4G device against competitive phones from Verizon — including, perhaps most importantly, Verizon’s own 3G iPhone 4S. It is a triumph of marketing for AT&T, and a rare acquiescence to a poor and confusing user experience for Apple.

via In a triumph of marketing, AT&T upgrades Apple’s iPhone to ’4G’ | The Verge.

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Five Leadership Mistakes Of The Galactic Empire – Forbes

Posted by GruntDoc on March 6th, 2012

Amusing, and true:

But mistakes are learning opportunities. And in thinking about Star Wars, let’s leave the prequels behind and focus on the original trilogy. It occurs to me that the Star Wars films have a lot to teach us about leadership styles.

In particular, the Galactic Empire strikes me as a quintessential example of how not to effectively run an organization. Let’s take a look at five of the Empire’s biggest mistakes and see how you can avoid them in your own organization.

Mistake #1: Building an organization around particular people, rather than institutions.

via Five Leadership Mistakes Of The Galactic Empire – Forbes.

Really good point about tolerance for failure.

Posted in Announcements | 1 Comment »