End of March 2011 Random Thoughts

Facebook and other social networking sites are not accessible through our company’s Wi-Fi or LAN connections (well, maybe Friendster is not banned, but who uses that nowadays anymore?). However, while messing around with MSN Live Messenger, I discovered that you can see updates, make comments, and otherwise do everything else you do at the Facebook website. Psst, don’t tell our IT department or they might block that too. Incidentally, I just discovered that by responding to email notifications from Facebook, you can post comments that way too. I guess this is especially helpful when certain websites are blocked by your workplace network. . Well, excuse me, but I’m a late learner.

                After doing long walks the past couple of weeks, I mounted the treadmill to do a jog a few days ago and when I woke up the next day, my hips and lower back were very, very sore. It was the kind of soreness I used to ignore because I tolerated it better, and knowing that it would pass in a couple of days. This time I was more aware of it. How about this: when I stay immobile for long periods of time, I have to grunt or groan when I finally move. Do you think the post run soreness and the groaning has something to do with age? No doubt about it!

                I was watching a Korean soccer movie based in East Timor (A Barefoot Dream). Halfway through, I had to Google the country because I didn’t know anything about it at all. One of the websites was the CIA website which enlightened me on East Timor’s violent recent past. Surprisingly, a lot of the words in their language is strikingly very similar to my native dialect of Tausug in the Philippines. After all they are both Malay- based languages. The country also has a lot of Hispanic sounding names due to being a past colony of Portugal. Let me tell you this though, that was a very well made movie: funny, emotional, and uplifting, plus this – based on a true story.

The electronic medical records countdown has began and by April 4^th we will be transitioning from the traditional chart binders to computer documentation. What does that mean to us mental health workers? Well, less paper of course. The chart packs we make on the night shift will significantly diminish. Pretty soon they may not be needing us because we may become redundant. If they can only get the licensed nurses to check the patients every 15 minutes and take them out for smoke breaks, it will make my position unnecessary.

                Are you using GPS based running apps for the IPhone or Android? How well do they work compared to GPS watches?  Will they make GPS watches unnecessary?

A co-worker ask me to look at his neighbor’s computer to find out why it wouldn’t connect to the internet. After the computer booted, I connected to our work wi-fi and instantly connected to the internet without any problems. I asked my co-worker if his neighbor had an internet connection at home. He said he didn’t know. I’m guessing that the neighbor never had an internet connection but assumed that after buying the computer, the internet automatically came with it. How many people do you think have that problem?

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The Cameras That Follow Us

There has been a rash of firings at my place of work in recent weeks for different reasons which leave the rest of us who remain quaking in our boots except we don’t wear boots. Nobody seems to be immune to the terminations regardless of how long you have been with the company. Not that the fired people are blameless because they themselves have to answer for their mistakes. So what were these mistakes you ask? One of the first who got fired had been transferred from one shift to another, and one unit to another because she just couldn’t get along with her co-workers, so when she suddenly took several days off without permission because her mother passed away, they found reason to can her. I know, I know, the timing was terrible, however she had a responsibility to at least tell her supervisor what was going on before attending to pressing family affairs. The next two who were fired were people I worked with. This is apparently what happened: one night one of them redirected a patient who wandered into another patients’ room. A week after  the patient got discharged, she reported to the staff at another facility that she was molested by my co-worker who redirected her. That started the ball rolling with a police report and the suspension of two of my co-workers. Why two? We are supposed to check all patients every 15 minutes. Apparently, at the time that one of the workers was redirecting the patient, the other staff member wrote on his check sheet that the patient was asleep. In that case he wasn’t keeping an accurate record of what the patient was doing. That may have been the primary reason for his suspension. So why were the two fired a couple of weeks later? This is where the cameras come in. All the hallways of our hospital are monitored by cameras connected to DVR’s which can record activities for a whole month before restarting at the beginning of the disk. Well, these two co-workers have a tendency to sit at their respective corners for extended periods of time without getting up to do their frequent checks. When the camera is zoomed, they can be seen snoozing in their chairs. By the way, the cameras are high definition so it’s hard to deny that you are indeed that person sitting in that corner. So what led to their downfall in the end was not the accusation of molestation, but rather the sleeping on the job. How did their firings affect me? Those were the two people I relied on working for me if I wanted to take an extra day off. Now I have to find someone else to cover for me and it’s been difficult so far. The reason why I have to take an extra day off every two weeks is because my vacation time has reached its limit and I couldn’t earn any more.

On another unit, a registered nurse and two mental health workers were also fired because a patient complained about being beaten up by them. Apparently the patient had facial bruises. In this line of work, we often have to deal with violent patients and from time to time place them in a locked room or in restraints. Some staff members though can become too rough when “taking down” a patient which could lead to serious injuries. Of course not only the patient can get injured in these “take downs”, the staff can too. I don’t know exactly what happened in this instance but the cameras probably also played a major role in contributing to the evidence against these three staff members.

Another termination happened to one of the employees who had been working at her unit for about 14 years. The claim against her? Falsification of records. One of the patients climbed a wall and escaped during a smoke break in the evening, however this staff member continued to write on her check sheet that the patient was still on the unit. It was not until another staff member saw the escapee near a grocery store down the street did the unit become aware of the breakout. A lot of the workers here question why it took three weeks before the unfortunate long term worker was fired. She was even in my electronic medical records class last week.

So lately we have become more aware and vigilant of the presence of the electronic eyes that follow us wherever we go or whatever we do in the hospital. You never know if one slip will be the one which would include you in the ranks of the unemployed. Was that a temblor that just happened, or were those just my knees quaking in fear?

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Yahoo intros Search Direct, takes on Google Instant

New Yahoo intros Search Direct.Remember Google Instant Feature from google? Now, Yahoo is something - called Search Direct - and so instantaneous, that is a quick search box and automatically suggests results as you type. Unlike flash, however,  Yahoo intros Search Direct will not update any page of results to reflect the outcome of its research potential, but rather a simple search box enlarged, as you see above, providing a maximum of ten queries

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Air Force Supercomputer was Made From PS3's

Air Force Supercomputer  Made From PS3's

Air Force Research Lab in Rome, NY. has one of the cheapest supercomputers ever made, and best of all, over 3,000 of your friends can play Tekken on it. The computer consists of 1,716 PlayStation 3 are linked and used to process images from spy planes. From the article: "The Air Force calls the inflated Condor Supercomputer PlayStations and said he is among the 40 fastest computers in the world The Condor is posted late last year and it will probably change the way the Air Force and Air. National Guard to see things on earth. "We approached this story in December when Lufthansa was posted.Air Force Supercomputer  Made From PS3's

Finally, Electronic Medical Records Class Completed!

Well I finally got through electronic medical records training on March 24^th after the original class was cancelled four weeks ago. But first I had to wake up at 5 A.M. even though the class wasn’t until 8 o’clock, so I could fit in a slightly shortened workout on the spinning bike. The class itself, for me, wasn’t too complicated, but maybe I’m only saying that because there were instructors there to guide us. In a couple of days, I may have already forgotten the steps to access those medical records.

 I was wondering why they scheduled a whole day class for it and when we started I found out why. Despite the proliferation of computers and access to the internet in homes and workplaces, would it surprise you to know that there are still a lot of people (probably mostly middle aged and above) who don’t even know what a double click, a right click, or a left click is, much more even opening internet explorer? And that’s not even mentioning what maximize, minimize, or close a window are. So that was the first part of the class which took slightly more than an hour. I’m glad the instructors were very patient in teaching the more computer challenged among us. That didn’t bode too well for the next two sections we had to learn and those were entering data into the computer using a dedicated electronic medical records program, then learning to use a similar technique while using a hand held device similar to the scanners grocery and store workers use to scan products. If one already uses an Iphone or Android device, the interface is pretty similar and you have to use a stylus (although your fingertips would work as well in most cases where the icons are not too tiny). The device also has a numeric and alphabet keyboard a la Kindle, although not in QWERTY layout which makes it slightly more difficult for experienced texters, but maybe easier for non-typists. And just like the store devices, it has a bar code scanner on top to be used to scan patient’s ID bracelets and medications (to make sure the right patient gets the right medication). If I lost you at this point and even bored you, my apologies for the detailed description, but I find devices somewhat fascinating. I just hope that we learn how to use them quickly and I’m sure that by just mere repetition, we would get the hang of it soon, and maybe even find some shortcuts as we learn to navigate the menus that the program has to offer. If not, well then at least the newbies now know how to right click, left click, and double click the mouse. With a little cheese, the mouse just might cooperate.

Well, after all that description, I found a picture of the hand held device. Would you believe how much that thing costs? About $1,600 each! I hope no one drops it.

I thought I finished writing about this, but I remembered asking one of the instructors at the class if the electronic medical records were also accessible from home and she showed me the item to click on the company website. So I was messing around with the website in the evening and was indeed able to access the EMR and thus was able to practice what we learned earlier in the day. High five to me!!!

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Google Chrome Beta 11 Introduce Voice to Text

Google Chrome Beta 11 Introduce Voice to Text,

Talk with your browser: Google Chrome Beta 11 adds support for voice input is a position of: Liliputing Google has announced that the latest version of its browser Chrome beta adds support for HTML5 voice input API.

This means that developers can create Web applications that convert speech to text, allowing you to interact with the web page by speaking into the microphone.Google Chrome Beta 11 Introduce Voice to Text,

The technology could help find a web page, translate from English into French, or perform another action by using your voice.

HTC EVO 3D The 3D Screen smartphone with Android 2.3

This is new HTC EVO 3D The 3D Screen smartphone with Android 2.3.Sprint has officially launched its latest product of the EVO range, the phone is the HTC 3D EVO and is presented as able to offer a 3D experience without glasses when traveling. Beyond that, however, in terms of specifications, 3D EVO will have a 3D QHD 4.3 inch (960 x 540) touchscreen capacitive Snapdragon processor 1.2GHz, 1GB of RAM, 4 GB of internal memory and microSD card slot that is pre-packaged with a 8GB card. Other goodies 4G and 3G and Wi-Fi 802.11 b / g / n, Bluetooth stereo and a battery of 1730 mAh. As for the cameras, 3D EVO has a dual rear-facing from 5 megapixel to record 720p video in 3D or 2D 1080p video and 1.3 megapixel camera face front for video chat. And finally, the price has not been announced yet, but the phone is expected this summer.

HTC EVO 3D The 3D Screen smartphone ,Specification

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HTC HD7S with Windows Phone 7

HTC HD7S with Windows Phone 7 .HTC HD7 it is available on T-Mobile for about $ 199 with a new contract - we gave him an outlet 3.5 of 5 - but looks like AT & T took up his sleeve, the carrier announced HTC HD7S.AT & T announces HD7S as the greatest barred windows 7 Phone to be available on the cradle, as it will become part of the audio HTC, Samsung and LG Quantum Focus. It will be available with the latest version of Windows 7 Phone - Nodo's update that has already used - almost like the HTC arrives at Sprint. As usual with AT & T Windows SmartPhone, it is preloaded with U-verse.HTC HD7S with Windows Phone 7

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T-Mobile, LG G-MS: Tablet Decent 3D, But The Red And Blue Is Terrible

T-Mobile and LG's new G-Slate tablet has some solid features, but its defining one, 3D, is poorly executed and uses 3D technology out of the 1950s. 

T-Mobile LG G-Slate: Decent tablet

LG’s G-Slate has a lot going for it, but 3D ain’t one of them. Though it’s tech specs are decent and its 8.9-inch size is interesting, but after spending some time with the new tablet, I don’t see the value in its most talked about feature: the 3D. Unlike its LG Revolution (LG Thrill 3D on AT&T) handset, which has a glasses-free 3D screen and 3D camera, the G-Slate’s implementation of 3D is bewildering. If a 3D tablet came out in the 1950s, this would be it.T-Mobile LG G-Slate: Decent tablet

Though the G-Slate has two side-by-side cameras capable of recording stereoscopic images, it lacks a screen capable of displaying them back, likely due to the cost of such a display. While I can understand why LG wouldn’t include a glasses-free or passive 3D screen (passive glasses

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All This Walking And Getting Nowhere

I did my longest walk on the treadmill on March 7^th, Monday morning. It lasted  two and a half hours at 4.5 percent hill. What it got me were developing blisters on both big toes (fortunately, they didn’t become full blown blisters). The main reason I walked that long was that I had to get caught up with my reading and finished the day’s newspaper and finally got through the previous month’s Runner’s World magazine which I willed myself to finish because the new issue arrived a few days prior.

                Having said that, I don’t remember exactly the last time I ran unless I look in my exercise log. I did run kinda/sorta on the Sunday of the Los Angeles Marathon except I did it on the treadmill. Most of the workout was walking interspersed with 5 minute bouts of jogging (at a 10 % incline mind you!), until I reached an hour and a half. All the while I was glancing at the TV to see the developments of the marathon, then returning to read the Sunday paper while on the move.  When the male winner crossed the finish line, I immediately noticed that it was a record. That was the fastest L.A. Marathon ever regardless of several course changes through the years. If I remember correctly, I’ve run this marathon four times and one of those had similar rainy conditions as the last one. Please don’t ask me what year it was. I don’t feel like digging into the stacks of logbooks accumulated through the years.

                In the past couple of weeks, I’ve managed to reduce my walking time on the treadmill by raising the incline to its maximum 10 % and even though I have to hold on to the handlebars most of the time to keep from falling off, the breathing pattern starts to feel like running after about half an hour. Meaning, the effort feels almost like a run, which I don’t get from a flat terrain brisk walk. Thus, this has enabled me to decrease walking time to about an hour and 15 minutes. When I finally lower to incline back to 2 % for my cool down, it feels like walking downhill. The rest of my workouts remain on the stationary bike. This is the new me without much running to speak of.

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