Really trivial stuff that amuses you...

[Swift]

I was picking up a garment at the dry cleaner yesterday and a Santa suit went by on the conveyor. He doesn't need it until December, the lady said.

[Extravoice]

On Friday, I accidentally took my “office“ reading glasses home from work.

This morning, I got to work and realized that I’d forgotten to bring them back with me.

That’s okay, though. I accidentally took my “home” reading glasses to work.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Solfe]

This morning I made what I thought was a Herculean effort to get my car out of the driveway and get to the store before the next blast of snow and driving ban hit. I was feeling pretty good until I cashed out. The cashier was in a wheelchair and he had been there for hours.

So, right back in my place...

I'm going to go back to hunkering down and waiting this storm out.

[Jim]

I wouldn't feel too bad. He probably had snow tires.

[The Backroad Astronomer]

Maybe even studded.

[grant hutchison]

This morning I made what I thought was a Herculean effort to get my car out of the driveway and get to the store before the next blast of snow and driving ban hit. I was feeling pretty good until I cashed out. The cashier was in a wheelchair and he had been there for hours.

So, right back in my place...

I'm going to go back to hunkering down and waiting this storm out.

There are often issues in my town with a bridge closure in bad weather. Folk who live an easy four-mile drive from work suddenly are faced with a forty-mile detour, half of it on winding country roads.
So during our last bad winter, one of the cardiologists phoned in to say he couldn't make it in to work because both the back-roads and the bridge were closed to traffic that morning. So a colleague covered his clinic - only to be presented with a patient who was the absent cardiologist's neighbour. The patient had walked four miles through the blizzard, across the bridge and then through the town, so as to make it to his appointment at the heart failure clinic. He was discharged from follow-up on the spot.

Grant Hutchison

[Jim]

There are often issues in my town with a bridge closure in bad weather. ...

I lived in Baton Rouge, LA, some years back and worked across the river, along with thousands of others. That meant a commute over the river twice daily. I used the IH10 "new bridge". Further north is the US90 "old bridge" and to the south is the Sunshine Bridge. The state also operated free fairies at several locations.

One year a state politician decided to mount a campaign to end state support of the fairies. We had bridges, why should the state pay for fairies? End them and save the money.

About two weeks after he started his campaign we were hit with a very cold cold front. The weather got bad at mid-morning and steadily got worse. First the new bridge iced over and was closed. Then the old bridge. Then the Sunshine Bridge. Commuters trying to cross the river were left with only the free fairies. Lines were over an hour long. But folks were able to get home.

The politician ended his campaign the following day.

[grant hutchison]

Free the fairies, I say. ;-)

Grant Hutchison

[The Backroad Astronomer]

I bet the fairies could use more money to pay for all their bad backs.

[Solfe]

There are often issues in my town with a bridge closure in bad weather. Folk who live an easy four-mile drive from work suddenly are faced with a forty-mile detour, half of it on winding country roads.
So during our last bad winter, one of the cardiologists phoned in to say he couldn't make it in to work because both the back-roads and the bridge were closed to traffic that morning. So a colleague covered his clinic - only to be presented with a patient who was the absent cardiologist's neighbour. The patient had walked four miles through the blizzard, across the bridge and then through the town, so as to make it to his appointment at the heart failure clinic. He was discharged from follow-up on the spot.

Grant Hutchison

Over the summer, I broke many ribs. The first doctor I saw took an X-ray and told me I broke my 6th rib. I happen to know where that is and pointed the obvious protruding 2nd rib and complained about the pain near my spine. The doctor hemmed and hawed over these details. Ticked off, went to my doctor.

My doctor pulled the X-ray and diagnosed 6 broken ribs, perhaps two more. He then gave me the bad and worse news. There really isn't much to with broken ribs, except stay comfortable. The worse news was that I told the first doctor to shove their pain pills, so my options were go back and apologize to her to get the script she offered, or no pain pills at all because they were unnecessary.

I understand what he was doing but I didn't actually care to engage in further shenanigans, but generally find such shenanigans amusing. I spent a lot of time in the pool rather than taking pills. I'm still a tad concerned about that second rib because it protrudes a bit.

[CJSF]

The worse news was that I told the first doctor to shove their pain pills, so my options were go back and apologize to her to get the script she offered, or no pain pills at all because they were unnecessary.

I understand what he was doing but I didn't actually care to engage in further shenanigans, but generally find such shenanigans amusing.

I'm afraid I don't understand. Why was he unable to prescribe the pain pills to you, himself? Did he do this for his amusement at your discomfort at having to apologize?

CJSF

[grant hutchison]

Odd story.
Six (never mind eight!) broken ribs and no analgesia is a recipe for pneumonia, frankly. Even with good oral analgesia I've seen many people struggle, to the extent of requiring a thoracic epidural and chest physio.

Grant Hutchison

[Jim]

Free the fairies, I say. ;-)

I bet the fairies could use more money to pay for all their bad backs.

[The Backroad Astronomer]

I was wondering how long it would take.

[Gillianren]

I'm afraid I don't understand. Why was he unable to prescribe the pain pills to you, himself? Did he do this for his amusement at your discomfort at having to apologize?

Generally because insurance companies and so forth frown at multiple scripts for serious medication in rapid succession. It suggests you are not using the pills for legitimate medical reasons.

[The Backroad Astronomer]

That it took me 14 years to get to 10.000 posts here.

[grant hutchison]

Generally because insurance companies and so forth frown at multiple scripts for serious medication in rapid succession. It suggests you are not using the pills for legitimate medical reasons.

I think what's puzzling us is that Solfe reports that he turned down the prescription offered by the first doctor. So there was no question of that being filled by a pharmacy, or of Solfe seeking to double-dose. Certainly in these parts, a simple phone call could establish that no prescription had been issued. And if the second doctor then refused to prescribe analgesia for a condition that could be lethal without analgesia, that would be not unadjacent to unethical.

Grant Hutchison

[Jim]

Living and commuting in Houston I check traffic conditions regularly. To do that I use the TranStar website. For the years I have been using it they have had a black background; it also displayed the time the map was updated (it updates automatically every 3-4 minutes, or on request). Last week they started using Google Maps, which has a light background as default and a dark one as an option, but no "time stamp." The first day those were your choices. I didn't really like it.

The second day they added a somewhat hard to find text link to the old page.

The third day the link was in an easy to see colored box.

The fourth day they were back to their old layout with a text link to the Google version.

Somehow I think I won. I didn't know I was playing.

https://traffic.houstontranstar.org/layers/ if you're curious.

[Trebuchet]

Somebody moved your cheese, and you got it moved back!

[Swift]

Living and commuting in Houston I check traffic conditions regularly. To do that I use the TranStar website. For the years I have been using it they have had a black background; it also displayed the time the map was updated (it updates automatically every 3-4 minutes, or on request). Last week they started using Google Maps, which has a light background as default and a dark one as an option, but no "time stamp." The first day those were your choices. I didn't really like it.

The second day they added a somewhat hard to find text link to the old page.

The third day the link was in an easy to see colored box.

The fourth day they were back to their old layout with a text link to the Google version.

Somehow I think I won. I didn't know I was playing.

https://traffic.houstontranstar.org/layers/ if you're curious.

When it comes to IT and software, I am often annoyed by updates to software and apps and websites. I'm happy for changes that are fixes or improvements, but I think more than half of the changes are just to change things and there was nothing wrong with it the way it was.

I'm reminded of the scene in the first Star Trek movie when McCoy beams aboard and is complaining about what sick bay will now look like: "Engineers, they love to change things!".

[Solfe]

Odd story.
Six (never mind eight!) broken ribs and no analgesia is a recipe for pneumonia, frankly. Even with good oral analgesia I've seen many people struggle, to the extent of requiring a thoracic epidural and chest physio.

Grant Hutchison

Generally because insurance companies and so forth frown at multiple scripts for serious medication in rapid succession. It suggests you are not using the pills for legitimate medical reasons.

I think what's puzzling us is that Solfe reports that he turned down the prescription offered by the first doctor. So there was no question of that being filled by a pharmacy, or of Solfe seeking to double-dose. Certainly in these parts, a simple phone call could establish that no prescription had been issued. And if the second doctor then refused to prescribe analgesia for a condition that could be lethal without analgesia, that would be not unadjacent to unethical.

Grant Hutchison

My doctor does a lot of "soft handling" of me. When I don't know what is happening or don't understand under what conditions I am operating, I tend to get unreasonably angry and that becomes my overriding drive and motivation.

My doctor's primary concern was that the first doctor would be authorizing me to go back to work and I just insulted her because I didn't understand the situation or the seriousness of the injury. He could offer all the medical advice in the world, but that first doctor (or a proxy of her) would be signing my return to work papers. If I didn't work with her, I would lose my livelihood. So he made me go apologize and I did. His skill at navigating me through my own illogical issues is the amusing part because for whatever reason, I often do not see the bigger picture.

I wanted to make an issue of not being able to count (easy and understood) vs what actually needs to be done (complex and not understood). The actual issue of care is complex and I cannot navigate it on my own. Personally, my first thought was "how long until I can go swimming", immediately followed by "how long until I can do yoga?" and "how long until I can go camping?". That is also amusing, if not slightly loony.

Ultimately, I ended up with over the counter pain killers (Advil, Ibuprofen, etc.) and the initial script cut to half of what the original doctor offered. I am not really all about pain management by pill, I ended up returning more than half of them to the doctor. (They can destroy them properly, I can't. I hate that, someone else might need them and I just wasted them. That ugly big picture thing, again...) My doctor did give me one of those breath devices and ordered me to get a note pad, which the first doctor seconded. It's a gauge with a little ball in it. If I could blow hard enough to hit a certain number over a certain number of days, we could talk about removing restrictions on my activities at home.

I had been injured on Thursday and returned to work 15 minutes after the incident not realizing that I was in trouble. The next day I also went to work. On Saturday, I went to an amusement park and suddenly had the though that perhaps I shouldn't ride a roller coaster. Sunday, I was having trouble sitting up, couldn't swim and breathing was labored. By Monday morning, it occurred to me that perhaps a doctor was necessary. Pain doesn't really register as an alarm bell, it is more the lack of ability that makes me think.

Two years ago, I had surgery the day before a planned camping trip. I was asking the surgeon if I could go. He said: "Ah... no. Nobody has ever asked me that before." My wife called my doctor and had a conversation with him which resulted in him yelling "NO CAMPING - 8 Weeks. WEEKS!" at me. My doctor does an awfully lot of tough love with me.

[grant hutchison]

My doctor's primary concern was that the first doctor would be authorizing me to go back to work and I just insulted her because I didn't understand the situation or the seriousness of the injury. He could offer all the medical advice in the world, but that first doctor (or a proxy of her) would be signing my return to work papers. If I didn't work with her, I would lose my livelihood.

Gad, if I refused to engage with every patient who insulted me, I'd have been struck off the medical register long ago. Professional ethics, again. Medical doctors wade through tantrums and insults every day, and death threats intermittently. Doesn't stop you signing a bit of paper that you're legally obliged to sign.
And in my part of the world, if patients feel that relationships have irrevocably broken down, then they can transfer their care - in your case, someone else would have looked at your history, assessed you, and signed off, and it would have been the easiest bit of their day. Is that not a thing in the USA? (I guess when you're in the hands of insurance companies, you're not the only player in that game.)

Grant Hutchison

[Trebuchet]

What about patients you've insulted?

(We've been watching Doc Martin.)

[Solfe]

Gad, if I refused to engage with every patient who insulted me, I'd have been struck off the medical register long ago. Professional ethics, again. Medical doctors wade through tantrums and insults every day, and death threats intermittently. Doesn't stop you signing a bit of paper that you're legally obliged to sign.
And in my part of the world, if patients feel that relationships have irrevocably broken down, then they can transfer their care - in your case, someone else would have looked at your history, assessed you, and signed off, and it would have been the easiest bit of their day. Is that not a thing in the USA? (I guess when you're in the hands of insurance companies, you're not the only player in that game.)

Grant Hutchison

I was rude and owned up to it. After 4 weeks of care, I did "switch" doctors. It was more a practical thing as there was an office of the same ownership closer to my house. It just opened.

[The Backroad Astronomer]

Have you stacked up some bools and realized that you might need the book on the bottom.

[Roger E. Moore]

Have you stacked up some bools and realized that you might need the book on the bottom.

always

[grant hutchison]

What about patients you've insulted?

(We've been watching Doc Martin.)

I don't really watch medical drama or comedy - got enough of that at work to last a lifetime. But to judge from the cumulative half-episode I've seen over the years, Doc Martin would have been struck off the Medical Register long ago.

Grant Hutchison

[Trebuchet]

I don't really watch medical drama or comedy - got enough of that at work to last a lifetime. But to judge from the cumulative half-episode I've seen over the years, Doc Martin would have been struck off the Medical Register long ago.

Grant Hutchison

At the end of the last episode that's out, he was about to be, until he had to perform emergency surgery on a hotel table in front of the governing board. They've used that gimmick repeatedly in final episodes.

[grant hutchison]

At the end of the last episode that's out, he was about to be, until he had to perform emergency surgery on a hotel table in front of the governing board. They've used that gimmick repeatedly in final episodes.

Yeah, if only that worked. Just being good at technical tasks doesn't cut much ice with the General Medical Council, if your interpersonal skills are catastrophic.

Grant Hutchison

[Solfe]

Dark energy is driven by the tunneling of storage bowls away from lids in the cupboard. It is proportional to the amount dark matter in the universe, which is made of socks lost in the dryer. USB plugs are macro-scale 1/2 spin object.