Unmarked taximen line the curb outside of the main hospital hawking their services. Most of them speak only a handful of English words that are most pertinent to obtaining a sale. Whenever I cross the street to enter the hospital, they yell out “Taxi!” to me in a brusque voice, in hopes of securing a sale with me.
I often cross the street several times on a call night to see floor consults between my emergency calls. With no shame, they yell out “Taxi!” and march my direction every single time I approach the cabs. Sometimes I retort in my broken Spanish, “Estoy trabajando todo al noche!”
Then I start to wonder, how come there aren’t any female cab drivers? It’s not like that it’s any different. I see female MTA bus drivers all the time? If you know the answer to that, let me know…
My friend Jon sent me an invite for Google Wave a few weeks ago. The hype behind this online collaboration tool is that it serves as an alternative to email. In a way, this platform serves almost like a wiki, in which multiple participants can embed content to be distributed to any or all of the members of a ‘wave’.
The confusing aspect of this framework is that most users are accustomed to a linear conversation. We chat via instant messenger in a linear approach, as in emails. With a tree framework, certain topics can branch out into subtopics. The root topics/discussions can also be revised on a later date. This translates into an evolving topic, which potentially keeps old topics accessible.
This idea is not novel to the programming crowd. Version systems a la CVS have been around for decades to maintain proper updates on software. The problem with applying this to laypeople collaboration is that it’s a new system to learn. Given that Wave is still in an invite-only interfact with limited functionality, I don’t see myself collaborating much with my coworkers/peers anytime soon, unless I can muster up some more invites.
In the meantime, you can read “The Complete Guide to Wave” online to get up to speed, written by one of the Lifehacker editors.
Most laypersons and medical personnel have no idea what an indirect ophthalmoscope is. I always get suspicious glances when I’m carrying around my indirect scope in the hospital. It’s black, and looks like a weapon. Ophthalmologists use it to examine the fundus. It provides a light source parallel to our sight, and gives us a stereoscopic view. Last night I got about 5 double-takes when I was walking to the emergency room around 2am. One security guard actually stopped in his tracks and grabbed his gun from his holster.
Bastard. What do people think I’m doing? I’m sure that everyone tries to be particularly alert, but there’s no reason to be paranoid.
We had a grand rounds topic on the evolution of eyebrow perception. While the topic didn’t stimulate too much discussion from the non-plastics folks, the presenter showed an interesting video on the evolution of reality to public appeal. I remember seeing this video years ago:
Those of you who have scoured the web for ophthalmology educational resources have probably come across Tim Root’s website. I went to medical school with Tim, and he is a tireless and selfless educator. Aside from being able to explain science in a direct, humorous manner, he is also an outstanding cartoonist.
Tim finally published his book and has made it available on Amazon. (Support my link on the image!) I used this book while as a medical student, and it was very informative.
Those of you who have scoured the web for ophthalmology educational resources have probably come across Tim Root’s