A Virtual Lifetime

beardoc — Mon, 22 Aug 2016 08:56:33 GMT

*tap, tap* - "Hello, is this thing on?"

TRIP PLANNING - I need your input! USA 13TH-22ND MARCH

beardoc — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 12:07:42 GMT

OK, here's the current plan.

SYD-LAX
13 MAR: QF11 Dep SYD 2:10 PM Arr LAX 9:45 AM (on the A380!)

TIME IN LOS ANGELES (AND MAYBE SAN DIEGO?) (13TH-15TH MARCH)
I'll spend from 13th-15th in LA, with possible side journeys to SD (if I have time). Lots of people in LA I really want to see! Not sure what I should do whilst here - go to Disneyland again, or Universal Studios? Last time I was here Dave (e_ticket ) took me to a Fox Studios Backlot Tour and to Disneyland. Maybe I should go see a taping of a show?

THE STATUS CREDIT/MILEAGE RUN
Here's where the holiday gets ugly:
15 MAR: WN1255 Dep LAX 07:45 PM Arr LAS 08:50 PM

16 MAR: AA2538 Dep LAS 12:35 AM Arr ORD 06:00 AM
16 MAR: AA1200 Dep ORD 07:45 AM Arr MIA 11:45 AM
16 MAR: AA1845 Dep MIA 12:25 PM Arr SJU (San Juan) 02:50 PM

17 MAR: AA841 Dep SJU 12:15 PM Arr MIA 03:10 PM
17 MAR: AA295 Dep MIA 04:10 PM Arr ORD 06:35 PM
17 MAR: AA2013 Dep ORD 07:10 PM Arr LAS 09:05 PM

And immediately back to SJU again:
18 MAR: AA2538 Dep LAS 12:35 AM Arr ORD 06:00 AM
18 MAR: AA1200 Dep ORD 07:45 AM Arr MIA 11:45 AM
18 MAR: AA1845 Dep MIA 12:25 PM Arr SJU (San Juan) 02:50 PM

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO (16TH & 18TH MARCH)
I'm going to be here twice on 16th March and 18th March, for about 20 hours each time - I'm figuring I should hire a car each time. Not sure where I'll stay, but I'd prefer it to be something on the cheaper side. I might end up splurging and going for the Sheraton or something though. Will make sure to drink bottled water here.

Any advice on San Juan from anyone that's been there? The days in San Juan are going to have to allow me to recover. I also know no-one there. Going to be interesting. Probably going to be downtime days in between all the travel

SJU-SFO
19 MAR: AA1812 Dep SJU 06:10 AM Arr MIA 08:55 AM
19 MAR: AA635 Dep MIA 09:40 AM Arr DFW 12:00 PM
19 MAR: AA721 Dep DFW 02:00 PM Arr LAS 03:00 PM
19 MAR: WN1800 Dep LAS 06:15 PM Arr SFO 07:50 PM

SAN FRANCISCO (19TH-22ND MARCH)
Three days in San Francisco - Going to a beer bust, hanging out at Starbucks on 18th Street, and I'll have to organise a group dinner on probably the Monday night - is Firewood still good?

SFO-SYD
22 MAR: QF3152 Dep SFO 07:00 PM Arr LAX 08:25 PM
22 MAR: QF12 Dep LAX 10:25 PM Arr SYD 07:25AM (+2)

And the very next day, I go straight back on the plane up to Cairns!

Very excited about this trip - at the end of it, I'll have hit QANTAS Frequent Flyer Platinum, which is OneWorld Emerald, and means trips to First Class Lounges and AA Flagship Lounges when I travel as well as a pile of other benefits.

So, anyone think this is a good idea? Anyone think I should change the order of SFO and LAX? I'd be interested to see how this works for everyone. If it does work, I'm going to book everything within the next 24 hours.

Almost done with training!

beardoc — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 10:11:28 GMT

It's hard to believe that it's only a few more weeks until I finish my training. It's getting so close that I can feel it I'm not sure exactly what it's going to feel like, but I know that things are going to get better from here on in.

The one thing that will hold me back though is that once I have finished, there are several committees that will have to review my submission that I am eligible to receive my specialist qualifications and be made an Anaesthetist.

Anyway, in that time between me finishing work as a trainee and being approved as an Anaesthetist, I'm going to travel, so here's my plans for March:

4TH MARCH: Finish work!
5TH MARCH: Mardi Gras Parade
6TH-12TH MARCH: Fly to Townsville, QLD to work for a week for Careflight, NSW. They have a major teaching contract with the Australian Defence Forces there and I'm going to teach with them for that week. Back to Sydney.
13TH-22ND MARCH: California, Las Vegas (only in transit) and San Juan, Puerto Rico (twice!) - this is part holiday, part mileage/status credit run - more on this in the next journal entry.
25TH-28TH MARCH: Port Douglas, QLD - it's Russel's birthday, and after all those years of him having to have his birthday shadowed by my work and exams, he's going to have this one in style - at the Sheraton Mirage, Port Douglas, surrounded by friends who will be joining us up there!

Originally I planned things like a trip to Norfolk VA and Aruba, but it just became unworkable (particularly trying to get from LAX to SNA/John Wayne Airport in Orange County in just three hours, so I've had to ditch that idea).

And then hopefully I'll be able to start work as an anaesthetist!

On realising sometimes how good you have it (healthcare)

beardoc — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 09:47:46 GMT

I attended a session today which was designed for Anaesthetic Fellows like myself who were about to finish their training, giving advice on all the sorts of things that you need to get organised when you qualify, going into practice.

Along with all the stuff about the billing, insurance, practice arrangements, paperwork, government regulation and the multitude of other things you have to do as a consultant anaesthetist, there was an interesting session on decisions in your career: public work vs private work, urban vs rural work, and there was a section on choosing to donate your time to do overseas aid.

Overseas medical aid takes the role of many different forms - in some cases it's covering anaesthetists on certain islands so that they can go and get some inservices - sometimes it's teaching the locals how to do surgery and anaesthetics, and sometimes it's doing work in self-sufficient teams coming over from Australia. It'd all be very interesting and really valuable work. The main reason is that the patients are usually sicker, usually more likely to die, and so you can have a greater impacts (by preventing a child dying by fixing their congenital heart disease).

As I looked through the pictures of what they were doing, I felt a tremendous sense that we don't deserve the incredible healthcare that we have in Australia. It's a priviledge to have a system that cares for everyone. Particularly when you see these people that manage with so little care, and often die from inadequate healthcare.

It's amazing how many people complain about their healthcare in Australia. Not that people don't have legitimate complaints, but sometimes it's good to put them in perspective. There was a story today about how when these medical teams go over to perform surgery for a week or two and patients that can get operated on in that time miss out. People line up there for lifesaving surgery in the same way that we line up for concert tickets or consumer electronics.

There was a woman that was mentioned this morning who had come from an outlying island via boat to the small hospital in Papua New Guinea. A month before the team had arrived in town, she was camping outside the clinic door with her child, so that the child could be first in line for the heart surgery that was going to make sure that her child would not miss out on closing the hole the child had in their heart (ventricular septal defect). The reality is that children with these sorts of problems usually get to about age 10 and then at that time the disease is so irreversibly advanced that they die before age 15.

Particularly when I think that the amount of money that has been spent on me and my back injury could fund 4 or 5 cardiac operations on kids which would be lifesaving. Yes, my back injury was devastating to me, and I still have issues, which are improving slowly. But every step of the way, I got the care I needed, from the specialist I wanted, and I didn't pay a cent. But when the money they spent on helping me get over my back injury could save 4 or 5 lives of kids, you start to wonder where the equity is that I get the healthcare that I need, and others in the world probably do not. There is just no fairness in that at all. What did I do to deserve such good care? It's only that I was lucky enough to be born in a country with a good healthcare system and to be lucky enough to have massive resources and good, uncorrupt government that provides welfare, healthcare, and education to all its citizens.

It reinforced in my mind that I'm going to join one of the AusAID trips and do this annually in the future. It's only fair. To give back in honour of the system that has been so good to me.

Why did I leave LJ for Facebook?

beardoc — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 11:40:19 GMT

Just came back to visit LiveJournal for a moment, and got stuck reading. I miss it here.

I never thought that poetry would ever mirror my life so closely.

beardoc — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 13:40:29 GMT

I've borrowed some of the words of Christiaan Van Vuuren, as it explains my life perfectly at the moment.

"Some days I'm proud of the man in my reflection
I see a man who is full of life and full of passion
A man that makes light of this heavy situation
And one who lights the darkness to search for inspiration

His head held high, not being a slave to this condition
And not allowing it to affect him, he's occupied by distraction
He'll never be a victim of a microscopic faction
Whose microscopic actions cause these global repercussions

And every action in our lives will result in a reaction
And sometimes an addition will result in a substraction
The addition of strength right now is a protection mechanism
To substract from his fear and turn it into optimism.

And the tiniest of ripples can become a tidal wave
And the softest of whispers can take him away
But when the flights of fantasy finally wear off
He finds himself in this room where he left off.

Today in this mirror there's a man I don't recognise
He's a boy wearing the body of man for a disguise
And this is a boy for whom I can't help but sympathise
For it's the apparent strength of mind on which this poor boy relies

And these eyes in the mirror that stare back at me
No longer offer the strength and the comfort I long to see
Just a patient, a broken spirit, longing for sympathy
Someone to save me from sinking in self-pity

But too proud to accept pity and not wanting weakness to be seen
I'll wrap myself up in an artificial well-being
Because it's better than seeing myself as a weak human being
So I'll just keep on smiling and I'll keep on agreeing

That's everything's okay and that I'm feeling fine
Because I know there are hundreds of thousands that are left to die
Who won't even get themselves a right to a medical file
Or see a doctor, or a nurse or see anyone, and meanwhile

I can choose to be a victim, cursed from the beginning
Or can face up to fear and do all my own forgiving
For the risks I have taken, and the mistakes that I've made
And for the errors of our brothers and sisters of yesterday

Because the earth will still continue in its destined revolutions
And us quick little humans pursue the fastest solutions
And mark tiny ticks on paper next to massive global problems
Creating new illusions instead of solving them

And that's the train of thought that might keep me up tonight
But I refuse to lose sight of the battle I have to fight
And in my own little victory I will win myself the right
To see a man in the mirror, not a boy that hides inside."

- Christiaan Van Vuuren

Why would anyone want to be in the public eye?

beardoc — Thu, 20 May 2010 23:34:55 GMT

In the last 24 hours, the New South Wales Minister for Roads, David Campbell, resigned ahead of footage which showed him exiting a well known gay sauna. Apparently the Seven Television network was able to film him exiting KKK aka "Ken's Karate Klub" on Anzac Parade, Kensington.

The Sydney Morning Herald has the story. Essentially David Campbell has been outed by the media as a married man who has sex with men.

First of all, my thoughts are with his family - they may have come to accept this arrangement privately, but they may not have, and understably could be hard on them. If they were unaware, the family's feeling of betrayal would be awful, and I would hope that they would get the support that they need.

However, I can't help but think that as a member of the general public, we don't need to know about this aspect of Mr Campbell's personal life. Mr Campbell has been a Roads Minister that doesn't have a strong political record, and he's been disastrously ineffectual at times, but that's the record we should be judging him on, not his private life. His private life does not have any role in his duties as Minister for Roads. The public doesn't need to know this. The public's eternal fascination and horror that anyone might be gay is the reason this story exists - it's the gossip angle that is driving this story, not any public interest. Mr Campbell did not have a staunch anti-gay stance, and he was not being hypocritical politically (like say, Senator Larry Craig). We should have left this one to rest.

I've spoken to journalists about this. If you go back 20 years, stuff like this was known by journalists, and it was understood that a politician or a public figure's private life was off-limits provided it was not affecting their public duties or actions. But since the increasing tabloidisation of media in that time, gossip now seems to masquerade as news. It makes me wonder - why would anyone want to be a public figure? If you're at the mercy of journalists who will sell out anything about your personal life, then you start to live in a state of fear. That's something that I certainly wouldn't want for myself, and I'm sure others wouldn't. It means that we lose good people that would otherwise be fantastic in public life.

The only trouble is that the horse already seems to have bolted, and even major broadsheets seem to get in on the act. I know what's happened, but I don't see how things are going to change. Gossip equals ratings, and that's going to drive more of this sort of prying into the private lives of public figures. Sadly, it's a loss for all of us.

On the 20 year anniversary of my mother's death.

beardoc — Sun, 02 May 2010 22:50:42 GMT

Today marks 20 years since my mother passed away from a near 10 year battle with breast and then bowel cancer. I was there when she died, and that experience has deeply affected me over the years. She died two days before my 15th birthday, and whilst I've since come to a much better understanding of everything since then, it did have a major impact on my life.

My mother was one of those people that seemed to do everything. It just seemed like nothing was too hard for her. She would raise a brood of nine kids, drive them all to school and pick them up, and still find time for each of them. And then she would be involved with helping out with charity work, the local school canteens and the local church activities. Even when she was battling cancer.

But I still feel like I have a relationship with my mother even though she was sick for much of my childhood. And even though I've had no direct contact with my mother since I was a teenager, my mother has been a constant influence in my life. I still often think about what my mother would do. She had a strength about her and of her convictions that I think has carried on in her children - we're all very much people that get up and go, and don't sit and wait for life to happen to us. That's the influence of our mother showing through. We have many of her mannerisms, and many of us still hold her belief system. I know that my own personal belief that every person is valued by virtue of being a human being, and from that, deserves a basic level of respect. That's something that has carried through everything I do, and that's my mother's influence there.

I guess that's how she lives on - by how much you could see of her in all of her kids.

Testing Facebook Connect

beardoc — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 19:39:59 GMT

Testing the "Facebook Connect" function to see if LiveJournal updates Facebook properly.

Ridiculous periods to boot up

beardoc — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 10:34:29 GMT

It seems my primary laptop is taking ridiculous amounts of time to boot up. Almost 20 minutes until everything is fully loaded. Interestingly, it seems to take 5 minutes alone to boot through the BIOS (which the original BIOS loadup screen where it says "press F10 to enter setup". Previously it would take about 15 minutes to load everything, but recently the BIOS started loading slowly as well.

I'm thinking it might be a good idea to wipe it fresh and reinstall Windows from scratch, and repopulate the hard drive with my regular programs, but all the issues you have with product licenses (for Windows, Office, Norton, etc.) is a pain.

I almost feel like I should ditch it and go and buy a new computer.

But can people tell me - why would the BIOS take so long to load? Is there a sign of a deeper problem that might need attention?

I'd be grateful for any advice that anyone's got.

New Digital Channels

beardoc — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 11:21:12 GMT

If you haven't programmed your digital set top box in Australian capital cities, it might be time to give it all a rescan. There's been some new channels launch, including Go!, which the Nine Network launched today.

On first look, it seems to be a bit of an American content channel, with non-stop US dramas/sitcoms/reality shows. Russel's enjoying The Big Bang Theory right now.

Willpower needed

beardoc — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 09:54:10 GMT

Having to use all my willpower not to confirm all those friend requests on Facebook and start using it.

One of the problems is that I'm travelling again soon, to Perth for a break immediately after the exams. There are several people I'm trying to co-ordinate things with, but some are only on Facebook.

But I know it will kill my spare time, so going to persist a little longer.

City2Surf - and I'm not running it.

beardoc — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 01:31:27 GMT

The annual City2Surf 14km timed run is on right now - they're running it as I type this.

I am disappointed that I haven't been able to run this year, but I need the time to study.

Still, I have my time of 84 minutes and 1 second to chase when I do go back to it next year. I can't see any reason that I won't be running next year - and I'll have to work to beat that time.

Still, I'm a little wistful as I think about how I could be out there, iPod loaded with music at 120bpm to keep my rhythm going, and making a commitment not to stop moving until I reach the finish line at Bondi Beach.

Next year, Seumas, next year.

Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O'Neil are on "indefinite recess"

beardoc — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 13:23:35 GMT

Well, mark me as surprised. When I wrote my last entry, I didn't think that Austereo would have the guts to do this.

Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O'Neil (of "The Kyle and Jackie O Show") on 2DAY-FM's breakfast radio segment will not be going to air in the morning.

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2009/08/02/1249152504446.html

This statement was released by Austereo:

"Kyle Sandilands' management has advised Austereo that he is unable to perform his duties on-air at this time.

Further, following a great deal of consideration and having consulted Jackie O and all stakeholders, Austereo has formed the view that it is in the interest of all parties, for the Kyle and Jackie O Show to go into recess until we have completed an across-the-networks review of the principals (sic) and protocols of our interaction with our audience. This review commenced last Wednesday, July 29."

I would read into this that Austereo (the parent company that owns 2DAY-FM and are therefore Sandilands and O'Neil's employers) went to Sandilands with a set of conditions, possibly including the ACMA guideline for a seven-second delay on live radio, which apparently Sandilands refuses to use, instead insisting on pure live radio. I suspect that Sandilands refused to work under such conditions, and ergo, he's not turning up to work in the morning. To suggest that he's "suspended" is not really true - it's Sandilands that is refusing to go to work.

It seems Austereo was taking things seriously after all.

It seems that to come back to work, Sandilands might have to bow to certain conditions, which means that he can't operate as a media cowboy anymore. I really do hope this is the case. The sophistry that went on with their argument that had they known about the rape, they wouldn't have put the segment to air, but never actually discussing the issue of whether putting a 14 year old woman on the air with the aim of disempowering and publicly humiliating/shaming her about sex and drug use was a bad idea or not.

On Tuesday, we'll also find out whether Sandilands will lose his Australian Idol judging position as well. It's likely to go, as the parent company in the UK, Nineteen, is said to be putting pressure on the Ten Network to dump him to maintain their "family" brand with Idol.

Whilst I'm not strictly pleased that he is going down partially for this, I think he does need to realise that he's a radio star, but not invincible. What he does has consequences, and he has the power to hurt people, and hurt them badly. As I've said previously, his style of comedy is usually about getting laughs out of denigrating others, and he's made his career on that. Maybe, just maybe, he might learn that you don't trample on those that are worse off than you on your way to the top.

Kyle Sandilands, Jackie O and the on-air lie detector rape incident.

beardoc — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 14:21:21 GMT

As I posted this post a week ago about Kyle Sandilands and 2DAY-FM's idea of "comedy", I didn't know that Kyle Sandilands was going to become the story of the day.

Here's all the links you need:

AUDIO OF THE INCIDENT: News Limited and Fairfax Limited.
2DAY-FM Statement
Kyle Sandilands Statement

Essentially, the Sydney FM Breafast Show, The Kyle and Jackie O Show, has a segment in which they put people on lie detectors to ask them awkward and difficult questions for people's tittilation. A good example of this is over at Media Watch, in which Kyle asks women about masturbation, anal sex and "have you ever gone down on a[nother] girl?" all whilst connected to a "lie detector". This segment is, like much of the rest of the show, about making comedy out of degrading people. Their comedy is about making people feel good simply because another person is feeling awkward, uncomfortable, and getting them to tell personal things about themselves that they don't want aired.

Of course, this was already going too far, but Kyle was unrepentant:

Kyle Sandilands: Apparently Media Watch has got all their little knickers in a twist, their big granny undies in a twist because they can't believe over at the ABC where they're all wearing the fawn cardigans that we're over here having fun flashing around some boobs and willies.

— 2Day FM, The Kyle and Jackie O Show, 4th July, 2008

This morning, they decided that they were going to have a 14 year old girl called Rachel on the air, with her mother, who was going to ask questions of her daughter. This went horribly wrong. It's easier to listen to it in the link above than read it, but I want to make sure there is a record of the story here.

KYLE: "2Day FM - morning everyone."

(VOICE OVER ANNOUNCER:) "Kyle and Jackie O's...Lie Detector"

KYLE: "Lie Detector on the air. 8:31, outside, err, chilly, 19 degrees, fine and sunny, though, but still a bit of sting in the air. Aw, the air in here is thick, Jackie."

JACKIE O: "I know, we're all a bit nervous actually, because Mum Michelle has brought her daughter in to go on the lie detector. If you...we just had a chat to Michelle actually, about her concerns with her 14 year old daughter and why she wanted to bring her in. If you missed it, here's a little quick recap before we do the lie detector:"

(FLASHBACK STING)

MICHELLE (the mother): "Um, last Thursday night she went to bed at 9 o'clock - I gave her a kiss goodnight, and two-thirty in the morning, I got a knock on the door from two undercover police bringing her home."

JACKIE O: "What's your worst fear? Is it the sex, is it the lying, is it possibly doing drugs, smoking? What do you think?"

MICHELLE: "Um, drugs and sex...and older boys."

JACKIE O: "Yeah. Do you think...has he told you she's had sex before or do you think she's a virgin?"

MICHELLE: "I think she...might have had sex before."

JACKIE O: "Right, but she hasn't said anything?"

MICHELLE: "No."

KYLE: "Have you asked about the drugs and things like that?"

MICHELLE: "Yes, I know for a fact she's been smoking marijhuana."

KYLE: "Right, so she's admitted that, has she?"

JACKIE O: "Okay, so you want to know if she's been doing anything harder than marijhuana, then."

MICHELLE: "Yes. Yes."

JACKIE O: "Okay."

(FLASH-FORWARD STING)

JACKIE O: (laughing) "All right, we have her hooked up to the (laughs) lie detector..."

KYLE: "Aww..."

JACKIE O: "She's not happy (laughs). I just saw her listening to that replay...(laughs again)"

KYLE: "How are you Rachel?"

RACHEL: "I'm scared. It's not fair."

JACKIE O: "Ugh, it wouldn't be fair on any kid, I tell you, no...they're sympathising with you...

KYLE: "Is that true, Charles? Is that true?"

CHARLES (lie detector expert): "That, that is true, yes."

KYLE: "She is scared, everyone, yeah."

JACKIE O: "Yeah. Mum, you have a series of questions that you're going to ask your daughter, and Rachel, you reply either yes or no, and it will be picked up on the lie detector whether you are telling the truth (laughs) or lying. Mum, what do you want to start with?"

MICHELLE: "Okay, about school. Rachel's just recently started at a new school and I want to know, have you wagged at your new school?"

RACHEL: "I have not wagged at my new school."

JACKIE O: "So the answer would be no?

RACHEL: "No. I haven't."

CHARLES: (pause) ...and that's a fail."

RACHEL: "I haven't wagged! Are you kidding me?"

CHARLES: "I'm just calling the place"

RACHEL: "I haven't bloody wagged!"

JACKIE O: "(laughs) Poor Charles is going to cop it this morning (laughs)"

KYLE: "You're not within arms reach, are you, Charles?"

CHARLES: "No.."

JACKIE O: "(laughs) Yeah he is. (laughs)"

RACHEL: "He is."

JACKIE O: "So the lie detector is saying you have..."

RACHEL: "I haven't wagged!"

JACKIE O: "...what, is there something...how can...what's happening here, Charles?"

CHARLES: "Well, maybe she's skipped a class or something like that."

JACKIE O: "Have you done that, have you skipped classes?"

RACHEL: "No, I haven't!"

MICHELLE: "Have you left there early?'

RACHEL: "No, I haven't! I haven't walked out or wagged..."

KYLE: "Could it come up, could it come up a fail...like have you had a sick day or something, when you've bunged on a bit of a sickie..."

RACHEL: "Oh, yeah, plenty of them."

KYLE: "Oh, right, well...could that be it?"

CHARLES: "Well there you go."

JACKIE O: "Well, that's it, apparently. Okay, what's your next question, Mum?"

MICHELLE: "Okay, have you had sex?"

(pause)

RACHEL: "I've already told you the story of this. And don't look at me and smile because it's not funny..."

(pause)

RACHEL: (shouting) "Oh, okay, I got raped when I was 12 years old."

(pause)

KYLE: "Right...(pause)... and that the only, is that the only experience you've had?"

MICHELLE: "I only found out about that, um, a couple of months ago, yes I knew about that..."

RACHEL: "And yet you still asked me the question. I think the..."

MICHELLE: "The question was, have you had sex other than that."

JACKIE O: "Rachel, I'm really sorry, we didn't actually know that that was the case, and I think we might actually abort this segment. I...I had no idea that you've been through that, so I'm really sorry. And we'll just let you off the hook, I think...I think it's best not to continue. Are you all right? (pause) It's okay, you just take a breather, it's fine.

(faint sobs are heard)

JACKIE O: "We always have counselling services here, Rachel, if you need that. Have you...have you...have you had any counselling over this issue?"

MICHELLE: "No, she hasn't."

JACKIE O: "Okay, well we have all of the right people in place if you need any help or support in regards to that, which it sounds like you might. And I'm really sorry, I had no idea that this had happened to you. I don't think we would have gone with that had we known. Okay, honey, we'll just let you go for a while. I'm sorry, I didn't realise..."

KYLE: (exasperated grunt) "Okay, Mum, sorry...like, we needed to...that's something we should have known before we started this.

JACKIE O: "Yeah, definitely. Definitely."

KYLE: "Ah, so let's do that. Let's get you...if you guys haven't had any counselling or...anyone to talk to about that, we're happy to, er, pick up the bill for that. We've got 'em here. Do you want that, Mum?"

MICHELLE: "Yes, that'd be good. That'd be good.

JACKIE O: "I think so...okay"

KYLE: "Yeah...well, you know, that might, um, going through that might...going through that might answer some of the questions that, you know, you guys are having difficulty communicating with."

MICHELLE: "Okay, yeah."

KYLE: "Okay, Rach, thanks for coming in, darl, sorry about that. Okay, we're out, everyone. Jackie's got some 'O News' coming up."

I personally am appalled.

First of all, let's get the issue of the mother out of the way. There is now a Department of Community Services investigation into this family as a result of the on-air events, as there should be. Coercing a 14 year old child into a lie detector test on a live radio program and planning to ask her questions about sex and drug use was terrible, and will likely harm the young woman immensely. This should never have been allowed to happen.

But by this, 2DAY-FM, Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O have a massive culpability in this. They had agreed to have this mother and her 14 year old daughter on the radio program to coerce the young woman to a lie detector test about these things.

The young woman knew what was she was going to be asked about, because she heard the replay of the previous segment where the mother spelt it all out. She clearly said that she was scared. She obviously felt powerless. And yet Jackie O thought it was amusing, continually laughing. There was an obvious change in tone once the woman admitted that she was raped, but where was the concern for the woman BEFORE the admission? Prior to her shouting "Oh, okay, I got raped when I was 12 years old.", there was absolutely no concern for the woman - she was merely someone that was going to have their personal life derided for Kyle and Jackie O's (and 2DAY-FM's) own means.

2DAY-FM released a statement this afternoon which they said "had [they] known ahead of time, the segment would never have gone to air." They claimed that "in the normal course of preparing the segment all due care and consideration was given to the family and clearly we didn't know anything about this traumatic incident."

Rubbish. Of course you didn't. Kyle in a later article tonight on The Punch admitted that they "check with the mother before hand, and go through the questions they want asked". That means they were putting a breakfast show to air in which they knew that they were questioning a young woman of age 14 about whether she was having sex and doing drugs, all whilst she was attached to a lie detector. If that sort of interrogation is not disempowering, then I don't know what is. Your concern for her after the fact seems odd - you were quite happy to discuss her sex life with her in a disempowered position - why do you suddenly develop concern for her now? This 14 year old woman had no-one on that broadcast that was acting as her advocate. Her mother certainly wasn't acting as her advocate, and you could tell that before the broadcast in the nature of the questions that she was going to ask. So who was the woman's advocate? You? No, no-one. She was left to fend for herself, the victim of your attempt for breakfast radi "entertainment".

Jackie O makes out that she was concerned, and she was. But she was certainly not concerned prior to the revelation. Her incessant laughing and her excitement was evident in the broadcast - it was like she knew she was onto something juicy, and she couldn't wait. So they all bulldozed this woman into a compromised situation and thought that was hilarious.

Tomorrow, we won't hear about it anymore - but those two will continue to be on the airwaves, and they'll be looking for the next person that they can denigrate for laughs. Kyle isn't repentant at all - he's sorry to the 14 year old woman, but only in as much as she talked about the rape - if that hadn't been brought up, he would have been happy for the interrogation to continue on air. He's done this before, and he'll do it again. Please, honestly, Kyle. Go away. Jackie O, please follow him.

EDIT: Under the Broadcasting Act, the Australian Communications and Media Authority can't investigate this until a complaint is lodged with the radio station and the response is unsatisfactory. So I've lodged a complaint with 2DAY-FM (two page letter) detailing where they've breached the Code of Practice in my opinion. Of course these Codes are deliberately vague, and are hard to get anyone on anything, but dammit, I'm going to try. This is really ordinary form on the part of the radio station.

Being a lemming and joining Facebook and Twitter (although not completely)

beardoc — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 04:46:04 GMT

So I signed up to Facebook and Twitter.

As I got in a message from roybear, "Hell has frozen over, it seems. :-)".

No, I am not on it yet and I am not yet using it, and I have no intention of using it at the moment, but when the thing about the facebook usernames came up, I went to stop either Jerry from Indiana or those guys from Italy getting my username first. I did the same with Twitter, for the same reason. I am using neither of them regularly at the moment.

Twitter, fom my point of view, is more problematic. No easy way of sending messages to people without the @username format, and the 140 character thing to me feels constrictive. It seems that it really doesn't want to know what I feel, other than in the most superficial way. There also seems to be no lasting benefit to messaging on Twitter - it's all about what's happening now, and even going back a day or so seems pointless. Unlike reading a journal entry from six or seven years ago and understanding how you felt back then, Twitter doesn't have that longevity to each message.

Twitter does seem to work in the here and now, and for that it does very well. I can imagine that if everyone was microblogging constantly about a current event, it could prove interesting. A bit like how things were back when the Twin Towers had fallen and I was reading about things as they happened, only this time it's even more immediate. Superficial, yes, but even faster to the web than ever before.

I'm a little mixed about whether I'll ever use Twitter. If I do, it would seem that I would have been mistaken on Twitter for some guy who is a furry/plushie - and so getting all these weird messages:

Kolo_Martin @beardoc I hope that the fact that you are around more means your human is feeling abit better paws cross he is on the mend!
7:31 AM Jul 17th from web

Kolo_Martin @beardoc just what Jed said really we are all thinking about your human and sending him positive thoughts so get him well soon!
12:49 AM Jul 16th from web

TipperaryTed @kngferret @kittehboi @MonkeysBrother @tito_da_munky @purplebear @SidTheCatahoula @henryandfriends @KremePuffi @beardoc juz 4 de hellovitt
9:41 AM Jul 14th from web in reply to Wiggy_

KremePuffig'morning anipals. Happy #followfriday to @henryandfriends @beardoc @wilsonbear @zackrabbit @tipperaryted xoxo
8:26 AM Jul 10th from web

MonkeysBrother@Kolo_Martin I think you have to put yourself on it and everyone started with 0 votes @beardoc may not want to have a fun day hugs Arf ;
05:35 AM Jul 8th from web in reply to Kolo_Martin

Kolo_Martin Kolo is confused how come the woodlouse made it onto the wall when he was so far behind @monkeysbrother? Why isn't @beardoc on the wall?
4:51 AM Jul 8th from web

Kolo_Martin @beardoc out on his ow @jedbramwell @tito_da_monkey @snuffynorton @thetweak @petiethecat topping Canada wall but vote @wilsonbear vote vote
4:19 AM Jul 2nd from web

ZackRabbit @beardoc *pitter patter of bunny feet* I'm up! I'm up! and having coffee too!! can't say that about plushateer..oh well..hehe
11:20 AM May 27th from web

I'd write something to clear it up, but I don't want to actually start using Twitter. I worry that I'll get sucked into it.

Facebook, I will have to admit, is an incredible platform. Someone really has thought about it, and it really is the "ultra-personalised" experience that they used to talk about when they invented the term "Web 2.0". Its ability to recognise your preferences and adapt is nothing short of amazing.

I haven't started using it - I've only put up my name and a picture, and instantly I was getting friend requests. I haven't added a single friend (and won't until I have the time to use the site, next year), but amazingly, it seems to constantly make suggestions of people and I'm amazed at how good it is at picking who might be my friend. On the list of suggestions, I personally know 20 of the 27 people that it lists. That's pretty amazing.

What's even more amazing is that they have come not from my core group of friends, but from different obscure parts of my life - people I used to hang around with in Canberra over ten years ago, bears I haven't seen since about 2001 from Melbourne, a fifty-something nurse that I used to work with at Auburn that we used to write to after I left, even bears that are on the other side of the world (it just started suggesting our very own Larry (urbear) this morning).

With very little information, it's able to make decisions about who I know, and bloody hell, it's right. It actually makes me a little uneasy - if they're able to profile my friends based on what little information they have about me, then what are they going to be able to know about me when I do start putting information about myself up there?

So far, I can see the application framework is also very powerful. Equally, whilst it's a powerful platform, I am yet to see anything useful that has actually been done with that platform. I can see I'm going to be blocking a large number of those applications, or they'll drive me crazy. Sex quizzes, card games, and "What Mr Men are you?" personality tests are a big yawn. If anyone is aware of an application on the Facebook platform that is actually useful, I'd be really interested to hear about it.

What's interesting though is that there are people I've never heard of asking for friend requests. Are they adding me because I've forgotten who they are? Do they know me through the Bears in the City Podcast and have found me on Facebook? Or have they just seen my photo and added me without thinking? I've decided that I'm not going to add people as friends just because they're handsome - I have to have some concrete connection with them outside of Facebook. Equally, I think I'll avoid adding work colleagues, or if I do, they won't have access to much in my profile (I plan to make heavy use of the privacy settings to make sure that work people can't see much at all other than I'm on Facebook and they can message me).

I can see that the quality of discourse on Facebook is far less than here. It's going to be something that I'll have to moderate - I like the "in-depth" nature of LiveJournal, and I can't see anything replacing it for me.

Anyway, I've wasted much too much time on critiquing the finer aspects of Twitter and Facebook. And since it's not being used yet (I'm just queueing up the friend requests and will confirm them only when I start to use the site).

Just stunned though that in the matter of weeks, so many people have found me, without me actually having done anything on the site.

For anyone else that wants to send a friend request, please do - I won't forget you, and I'll confirm with you when I actually get on board the site.

http://www.facebook.com/beardoc
http://www.twitter.com/beardoc

Why 2DAY-FM and Kyle Sandlilands disturbs me

beardoc — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 10:43:42 GMT

This has been doing the rounds of the commercial television networks recently. Ratings of 2DAY FM's "Kyle and Jackie O Show" must be dipping, because this is almost reaching saturation:

For me it sort of really simply sums up Kyle Sandilands in a nutshell - he's a guy whose humour is generated purely out of making fun out of others, whether or not they deserve it. His show is full of stuff that is "I'm okay, they're the a***holes."

No, Kyle, it's you that is the problem. Making fun of people that really don't deserve it isn't funny. Being nasty for cheap laughs is still essentially just being nasty. There's no intelligence to your comedy. It's just demeaning.

It's a pity, because Hamish Blake, one of my favourite Australian presenters, is on the same network. His comedy is far smarter, and he's a joy to listen to.

Please go away, Kyle.

I could not care less about Australian MasterChef

beardoc — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 05:10:45 GMT

All I seem to hear about is bloody Masterchef. On the radio, in the newspapers, and in employee tea rooms everywhere, it seems I can't get away from it at all.

I couldn't care less whether Po wins or whatever. I don't even know who Po is!

Hopefully this will be over soon.

In Brisbane for Deirdre's 50th Birthday

beardoc — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 12:33:43 GMT

A quick rush up to Brisbane on QANTAS after the EMAC Course to make sure I was at Deirdre's 50th birthday party. Deirdre is my second eldest sibling, and the one that continuing the run of 50th birthdays that we're having in the family this decade. We managed to get eight of the nine siblings together at Mary-Anne's place (Catriona couldn't make it), and had a take-away dinner and a bit of socialising with several of the kids from the next generation (the nephews and nieces) as well.

It was wonderful.

What I love about my family is that despite our very different paths (from the ultraleft to the ultraright, from the very rich all the way down to the not so rich, city folk that never leave the capital cities to people that live on massive remote properties and run cattle, climate change skeptics all the way through to some of us who are almost theological over the issue), we all still seem to believe in the family, and get-togethers are a magic affair. We argue, we bicker, and we love each other very much.

One of the best things of the night (and which is now a tradition for these birthdays is that we all share our own memories of the person having the birthday. In our case, there were several strong themes - Deirdre was stubborn as all hell (and tough as nails!) but she's by far the most generous person of anyone in the family. Countless stories of how she'd been there for all the family members. It was just wonderful, and made me glad to be a part of this family.

And I found out something interesting that I didn't know - Deirdre is famous! She is a regular presenter on ABC Radio Western Queensland as "The Country Kitchen Chef" and does a weekly segment presenting recipes for everyone. I'm going to make a point of listening into her when I can (ABC Local Radio streams all their local radio streams online). You can catch some of her recipes on the ABC Radio Western Queensland site.

I love that our family gets together like this. And we have a pile more 50th birthdays in the next 9 years (as well as my 40th wedged in there!).

EMAC - how to have critical incidents without killing patients

beardoc — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 09:10:21 GMT

Over the last few days, I've been at a medical simulation course called EMAC (Effective Management of Anaesthesia Crises). Whilst I can't talk specifically about the content of the course (a confidentiality agreement prohibits me from talking about my performance, anyone else's performance, or the specific scenarios), I can't tell you how amazing it was.

The premise of the course is a "high-fidelity" simulator, which is a mannikin that has been developed to be able to do a whole series of things - it can open its eyes, change pupil size, have pulses all over the body that feel real, develop bronchospasm, wheezes in the chest, change the breath sounds, and be connected up to the monitor and you can cannulate, stick needles into the chest to decompress pneumothoraces, and they can make it easy or hard to intubate. Essentially, there are a series of events in anaesthetics that are very uncommon, but when they do happen people get really sick really quickly, and they see how you go managing the crisis situation. Monitors operate just like real monitors, and you run anaesthetics and drugs just like you would a real patient.

In short, you can see how you go in a crisis without having to put a real patient at risk. Everything is centred around teamwork and organisation and being able to manage multiple people - it's about getting help when you need it, and being able to effectively manage about 4-5 people in that critical situation.

To top it all off, there are filming this from every angle, and others would be watching, and we would debrief and review every performance.

What I discovered is that I already have a lot of the skills that they were trying to tease out - persons that take control when necessary, and organise everyone, trying to remain in looking at the big picture rather than dealing with the nitty gritty. Truth is, this is how I've been running things in arrests since I was involved in arrest teams since 2004.

What it demonstrated to me was that I'm operating on the level that they're hoping to achieve. I'm not saying I was perfect, and I learnt a lot from the experience, but it also reaffirmed with me that I can do this job, and that my temporary setbacks with failing the exam are not representative of my abilities.

To be really honest about the couse, I loved it. I loved being thrown in the deep end and seeing my way out of it. It's that adrenaline rush as you try to work your way through an arrest or a critical situation that I get such a kick out of.

I'm in the right job, I'm good at it, and I love what I do. Now to convince the College of Anaesthetists of that.

At the end of the course, I was even so bold that I enquired about whether they needed people to train as instructors to run the course in the future. It's a fantastic course, and I would love to be involved in teaching it. We'll have to wait and see how that goes.

"Laser by Cee" and how fear sells stuff.

beardoc — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 13:11:12 GMT

I was in Fitness First Darlinghurst this morning, as it's the only place that seems to do BodyAttack on a Sunday morning, and was about to leave when I heard an ad on the Fitness First Lifestyle Network about some laser hair removal place called "Laser by Cee" or something similar. "Blah, blah, blah, need to start now for summer, etc." - all the usual things that these sorts of ads have. Didn't care too much.

And then it said something that I won't forget:

"At Laser by Cee, we understand that unslightly body hair can contribute to low self-esteem..."

...and then went on to use that as justification for people needing to "call today".

I want to say this to "Laser by Cee" or whatever they were calling themselves:

FUCK YOU.

Fuck you and your fucking laser hair removal service. While you can run your commercial service and provide services to those that want to remove body hair, where do you fucking get off? There's one thing to advertise your services, but another to play to people's fears. That whole bit about "we understand that unslightly body hair can contribute to low self-esteem"? You fucking understand all right - you understand how you can manipulate people into giving you money. In the guise of supposedly "understanding" your clients, what you're actually doing is telling people that body hair is unsightly and a reason for low self esteem. You're not understanding people's fears - you're fucking well telling people that they should have low self-esteem if they have body hair.

Body hair isn't a cause of low self-esteem. It's people fucking telling people that body hair is unsightly that is the cause of low self-esteem. For that, you're the fucking lowest of the low. You're using fear as a motivator for your fucking business model. You don't care about your clients at all. You just want them to fucking give you money and you'll dispense some electrolysis or something else that doesn't have anything to do with their self-esteem at all. You feed the fear, and then under the guise of supposedly treating the fear, you laugh all the way to the bank.

You're not the fucking solution, you're the fucking problem.

How fucking dare you.

Back out of hospital isolation but now into home isolation

beardoc — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 02:18:19 GMT

Home again now. In the standard isolation for Influenza and will not be going out of the house for much of the rest of the week.

Two things I have to do this week:

Survive without going out of the house and contacting anyone else

Try not to give any of this to Russel.

I've been sleeping in the guest bedroom the last couple of days and I'll be continuing that. No contact with Russel even for meals, and of course, no sharing of utensils/equipment/etc.

I'm going to have to allow him to keep the remote! Fortunately we have different computers etc., so we don't generally need to make contact for most things. He'll have to start unloading the dishwasher though, to prevent me from handling clean dishes that he might use.

Expect me on LiveJournal a lot in the next few days - I might be bored at home!

In isolation (hopefully not H1:N1 but you never know)

beardoc — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 23:59:20 GMT

I'm currently sitting in Isolation Room 2 at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital Emergency. Been here since 8am.

Why am I here? Over the weekend I developed "flu-like symptoms" - fever, cough, a mildly runny nose, muscle aches and pains, and fatigue. As I'm a healthcare provider and am exposed to mulitiple people with similar symptoms, my GP felt it was better that I go to Emergency rather than seeing him.

So I'm in here. It was all very quick - the triage nurse saw me within a couple of minutes of arriving, and within 5 minutes I was whisked away to this isolation room. Of course, it might be several more hours (or more!) before I am actually seen by anyone, but I'm here with a computer (and wireless internet, albeit flaky inside the building), and a couple of books to study.

Fingers crossed I don't have H1:N1. Time will tell, I guess. Hopefully not, anyway. I think I would be bored having to maintain home isolation for a week.

Writer's Block: First Aid

beardoc — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 11:19:06 GMT

I've never done one of these Writer's Block things, but couldn't help this one.

The answer? Of course. All the time. By the way, you don't ever do the Heimleich maneuver anymore - if they are conscious and coughing, it's 5 short sharp hits with the heel of your hand to the upper back. It's to attempt to jiggle the obstructing object around so that it can be coughed up. If they're unconscious, then you call for help and administer CPR.

I actually love CPR. I get a kick out of it. I know that sounds macabre, but when the chips are down and there's no output, jumping on someone's chest and keeping the brain and the coronary arteries perfused is something that I treat as a challenge. My aim is to keep on beating the chest to keep a mean arterial pressure of at 70-90mmHg, which is a challenge. However, although the recommendations are that at least two people take turns at chest compressions, I try to keep going - I usually throw people off it and try to stay on it as long as possible. I get all red in the face, but I enjoy it. It becomes an endurance challenge for me.

My longest stint was 25 minutes of chest compressions, keeping a mean arterial pressure of greater than 70mmHg, until we discontinued CPR at the 30 minute mark.

The only problem with this is that being an anaesthetic registrar, I'm usually required to take the airway, and that means I'm usually ruled out of chest compressions. Damn.

I can still remember the first time I ever did CPR - I even wrote about it (sorry, you have to be on the friends list to read it), back as an intern.

It was that experience, though, that made me want to do an Anaesthetics term, and then I discovered I wanted to be an Anaesthetist. So you can say that my first CPR experience affected the course of my life.

Back at work

beardoc — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 02:06:56 GMT

Back at work today. Still not feeling absolutely fantastic but am better.

They are being really nice here at work though and not pushing me too hard.