Eight and a half hours to lift off

Why do I do this to myself?

The darn flight leaves (hopefully) promptly at 0600h … a mere eight and a half hours from time of writing. Which means awakening around 0400h to allow for airport arrival/parking/check in/coffee getting at 0500h. Then a joyous five hours of air travel before arriving in my destination. And where might that be, you ask? Simply shift your gaze to the weather listings on your right. See the third one? The capital of a certain country? The one forecasting rain for an entire weekend? (Nothing compared to the glorious 30+ degrees I’ll be leaving.) Yes, that it where I will be for several days.

So, while I have been posting less frequently than usual, do expect an absence for the next few days. That is, unless I am able to find a sunny internet cafe … or even a rainy internet cafe for that matter.

I may even post some photos upon my return. Until then have a most excellent Canada Day!

Gravitational lensing

Tom posted a great Hubble photo demonstrating gravitational lensing. (To help translate the photo, imagine an invisible sphere slightly offset to the right from the big glowing star in the middle. Invisible sphere = gravity pulling on light = gravitational lensing.)

National healthcare stats

The OECD Health Data 2006 report just came out today. The jist? Fewer physicians, but more nurses, per capita than compared to other OECD countries. (By the way, that is 2.1 physicians per 1000 population.) Life expectancy is 79.9 years. Obesity is at 22.4%. Although based on actual height/weight, the summary failed to define obese. I’m assuming they use the WHO criteria of a BMI>30 (a BMI>25 is overweight … BMI = weight (kg) divided by the square of height (m)).

What about me and my sort? Well, spending on pharmaceuticals increased by 4% (of total health expenditures) since 10 years ago. Saskatchewan boasts the largest number of pharmacists per capita of all provinces/territories in Canada (per CIHI). We (pharmacists in Canada on average) fall behind physician specialists, family physicians, dentists and optometrists for income. A whole bunch of nifty facts about Canadian pharmacists can also be found in this CIHI report.

Icky steak

Seeing as this thing is great for writing about meals, I’ll continue on in that vein. Tonight I went to my first ever steak night. It took me a while to find the place, but after a little walk, there it was. Fortunately there were a few folks from work. Ever notice how folks end up talking about work when they’re at events outside of work?
Nonetheless, after weeks of monotonous rain, I’m feeling a little antisocial. But I went anyways. And I visited. And I played a few rounds of pool. And I ate a crappy steak and an ok baked potato. And I visited some more. And I drove home — in the rain.
Now, since I’ve returned home, I must begin work once again. It never does end, does it?

so humid it hurts

I admit it. The last few blog posts have rather sucked. Likely it’s due to the fact that I’ve kept myself far too busy to think. And, not being able to the deep thoughts, or shallow ones for that matter, has lead to some rather painful posts. I apologize if you actually read them.

So what do you want to know? I had some cherries and homemade hummus with hint-o-lime chips for dinner. Work is busy per usual … been up on the wards a bit. The consistency of being in the same place Friday and Monday was useful. Last week was a clinic and there is another one tomorrow. Clinic weeks are crazy … having them on back to back weeks is crazier. I’m going to a steak night tomorrow. Better find my ticket and figure out where it is I’m going. Friday is a work presentation and dinner for this year’s resident. Saturday is a young adult BBQ and run around in the park evening. Sunday is the church BBQ. Then there is Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday. And then there are a few days off to visit cousins and friends and Parliament. Then right back to work again. My how the cycle never ends.

It’s been raining a lot lately. The weather dude says it’s supposed to be nice by Friday. Which would be good for the BBQ’s I am to be attending. Then again, weather changes so frequently on the prairies.

We finished up Haggai last week at Bible study and this week began Joel. I even made a “locust cake” … it was only carrot cake with plastic bugs on it. I do believe the effort was appreciated. Unfortunately I had to take nearly half the cake home. Fortunately I took that nearly a half to work and it was all gone by the end of the day.

I think that’s it for now. That was another painful post, I know. Will make larger effort to please at the next go around. :)