Wednesday, June 25, 2008

At the Hospital

My father has been admitted to the Sunnybrook Hospital due to a blood infection or Sepsis. Sepsis is a
condition in which your body is fighting a severe infection. If you become "septic," you will likely be in a state of low blood pressure termed "shock." This condition can develop either as a result of your body's own defense system or from toxic substances made by the infecting agent (such as a bacteria, virus, or fungus).

My father has sepsis due to a bacterial infection. Exactly what kind of bacteria is yet to be determined. Thus the use of an all around anti-biotic: Amoxicillin.

Being at the hospital:

1. The nurses all equally avoid eye contact or any sign of personality. It is probably a professional hazard to show you care as one needy patient can be difficult enough, but a floor full of needy people, in the long term, would, I'm sure, lead to burnout.
Thus, all the nurses avoid eye contact, refuse to smile with patients and family members, appear very matter of fact and blase about most everything.
Approach the nurse's station and you will find the 'he who smelt it, dealt it' rule in effect. That is, the first nurse to be foolish/kind enough to look up gets nailed with a patient's request for this or that.
The nurses are, after all, only here to look after the patients, but not to only look after the patients.

2. They allow family members to remain in the patient's room but have a single non-reclining chair. You would think that having a family member around to take care of the little things makes life easier for the nurses, so why not make people reasonably comfortable while they're present acting like hired hands?

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Flickr Group


This pic is from Amelia PS' Flickr website. I love the easy companionability in the photo. The photo is part of a "Stolen Moments" set.

Friday, June 20, 2008

Mahna Mahna

Facelift

Hi Kids and other lurkers,

I am changing the look of my blog a little bit and updating some links and stuff like that. Let me know if you really don't like anything and I may do something about it.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

My Watch List

Here's a list of people I wish I had the time to read and sometimes do. The list is cribbed from foreignpolicy.com's Top 100 Public Intellectuals list:

Mahmood Mamdani, Uganda
Cultural anthropologist

Mamdani is the Herbert Lehman professor of government in the anthropology, political science, and international affairs departments at Columbia University and was director of the Institute of African Studies there until 2004. He is the author most recently of Good Muslim, Bad Muslim: America, the Cold War and the Roots of Terror.

Olivier Roy, France
Political scientist

One of the world’s top scholars of political Islam and terrorist movements, Roy is research director at the French National Center for Scientific Research. His 1992 book The Failure of Political Islam remains essential reading for anyone who wishes to understand contemporary Islamism.


Fareed Zakaria, United States
Journalist, author

Zakaria is the editor of Newsweek International, overseeing all Newsweek's editions abroad. Zakaria has written for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, The New Republic, and the webzine Slate.

Ramachandra Guha, India
Historian

An Indian historian, columnist and MacArthur fellow, Guha has taught in the United States, Norway, and now in Bangalore. He is author of India After Gandhi.


Alex de Waal, Britain
Writer, Africa activist

A program director at the Social Science Research Council, de Waal is a frequently cited expert on the Darfur crisis and on African health issues.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Currently Reading...

Jack McDevitt's, Cauldron. "One of Library Journal's Five Best Science Fiction/Fantasy novels of 2007." This is my third book by this writer of hard science fiction.

The Reign of Thuggery on the New York Review of Books' website. The article is an account of Mugabe's extraordinary reign in Zimbabwe and the short sighted response of African leaders to the despot.

Zap Was There

I had the good fortune to see and hear Salman Rushdie speak in the flesh last night. No, he wasn't naked! He was pushing his new book, The Enchantress of Florence. Here's a negative review of the book.


In answer to the question, 'What are your favourite novels?' Rushdie told the story of how on being asked the same question, V.S. Naipaul said while looking up at the sky, "I am not a reader. I am a writer." Which only goes to solidify my views on Naipaul.

It was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see the droppy-eyed wordsmith and I'm glad I took it. For my efforts, I have a signed copy of this latest book and I'm thinking it's time I began to read his works in chronological order again.

Friday, June 06, 2008

Coldplay - Yellow


Look at the stars,
Look how they shine for you,
And everything you do,
Yeah they were all yellow,

I came along
I wrote a song for you
And all the things you do
And it was called yellow

So then I took my turn
Oh all the things I've done
And it was all yellow

Your skin
Oh yeah your skin and bones
Turn into something beautiful
D'you know you know I love you so
You know I love you so

I swam across
I jumped across for you
Oh all the things you do
Cause you were all yellow

I drew a line
I drew a line for you
Oh what a thing to do
And it was all yellow

Your skin
Oh yeah your skin and bones
Turn into something beautiful
D'you know for you i bleed myself dry
For you i bleed myself dry

Its true look how they shine for you
look how they shine for you
look how they shine for you
look how they shine for you
look how they shine for you
look how they shine
look at the stars look how they shine for you

Thursday, June 05, 2008

Quit Smoking Again

As a matter of record: Had my last smoke (again) on June 4, 2008.