This is a quick test of my new laptop. I am writing this post using the pen based interface that is part of the tablet. So far, so good!
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Thursday, November 05, 2009
Internal Rumblings
I sit and think about my insides. Today, they are well behaved but six days ago they rebelled.
Friday was the last Eskimos game of the season at their home in the Commonwealth Stadium, and to celebrate, I took my team of awesome volunteer medics out for a drink and snack at a local eatery. We told stories, shared experiences, and generally cleared the surrounding tables of patrons – as we often do. I had some potato skins with barbeque chicken. They were yummy.
The next morning I woke feeling funny. I couldn’t settle back to sleep, and I couldn’t work out why. I played some WoW and tried to work out what was going on. Then it hit me – toads upset tummage, dude. I remember laying in bed, feeling so weak I could not move. No, really. I was laying there, dehydrated, wiling my body to get up so I could have some water – but I couldn’t. I simply was too weak. Such an odd sensation.
I had protested to a friend that I didn’t need anything, but they came by later in the day to drop off some supplies and check up on me, and I was mighty glad they did. The sheer mental boost I received really helped turn this around. Work was informed, and told that this probably wasn’t H1N1. Sunday and Monday was still the same situation, but by Tuesday everything had stopped. Literally everything, as my body appeared to have gone into shock. No appetite, nothing.
Of course, that’s when my phone beeped at 8am to remind me that I was supposed to be at Canada Place to sign documents in front of witnesses that prescribed me as a fresh-faced Permanent Resident of this fine country, so I had to haul myself off there. I managed to sign the forms, request a new SIN (that starts with a 6 not a 9!) and then renew my Alberta Health Care details in the space of about two hours – so much faster than I would ever have been able to do the similar bureaucratic activities in the UK.
Now I am seemingly back to normal, with a still-suppressed appetite for food – but an increased appetite for blogging, it seems.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Missing
I met a really good friend last year, and he went back to Vancouver once his time here was done. I miss him.
My room mate went to Ottawa to study. I really miss her.
Her boyfriend got made redundant. He’s going to Ottawa to be with her. I’m going to miss him, too. More than I think I know, now.
I found some photos of my ex-wife on the web, pictures of her and her new husband and their new baby. Funnily enough, the thing I focused on was how my ex-mother-in-law just looks disapproving in all the shots.
All of these things might make me sad, but they just made me reflective. I need to hold on to the experiences I have, and make sure I stay close to my friends, near and far.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Jazz Hands
Last night at my St. John Ambulance Volunteer First Aid Response Services meeting we had some good training on Scene Survey and Primary Survey protocols.
One of the general questions was “What are the names given to certain types of abnormal posturing you may see as a result of a serious head injury?”. I replied “Decorticate and decerebrate!”.
“Good!” said our instructor, “But which is which?”. “Decorticate is flexing inwards, decerebrate is extending outwards!” I said.
“Wow”, asked another member, “How do you you remember all of these things?”. “Oh, he’s a medical geek for that kind of stuff” said another.
“No no, that’s not it at all! It took me a long time to get a mnemonic for this! Decorticate is inwards to the core, decerebrate is outwards in celebration!” I explained.
Our instructor continued, “You will rarely see these types of posturing, and usually because of a really bad head injury”.
I chimed in, “Of course, the way you can tell if it’s a serious neurological insult is if they’re doing jazz hands. Anyone who does that has a definite brain injury”.
I swear if they had bread rolls they’d have pelted me with them.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
The Difference
Working downtown you get used to seeing two main types of people - the homeless, and office workers. So far the office workers outnumber the other kind, but it seems to be shifting as time goes on... Generally you can tell which type someone is by the building pass they had strapped to their waist or worn around their neck.
Recently though a few post-secondary institutions, such as the University of Alberta, have opened locations downtown. Now we've got a load of younger scruffy types with no building passes. However are we going to tell them apart from the homeless?
I noticed something else - you can subtly tell the difference between types of people by what they have on themselves. If they are using or carrying a mobile phone they are probably not homeless. If they have headphones on, they are probably not homeless. A lot of student-types have mp3 players! Not many homeless people have them!
Finally, a way to tell the great unwashed apart from the homeless. Welcome back to school. :)
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
How Ducks Must Feel
I got soaked last night.
We were watching Richard III at Shakespeare In The Park, sitting on a park bench at the back with all our gear in front of us. Radios, Oxygen Bag, Trauma Bag, Defibrillator, our bags, the usual gear. I didn't bring an ambulance this time to save on all the hassle of picking one up.
Then the thunder and lightning started. No rain. Each flash was bright, each crack was loud. We eventually turned around and watched it rather than the play.
Next we saw two freaky cloud formations swirl towards us, from the South and South West. They seemed to be UNDER the thunderheads. Then the wind picked up. Then the wind REALLY picked up. It was blowing the mesh curtains at the back of the stage around. Finally it knocked an actors hat off. They announced a break and told all the actors to head under the stage.
Then the rain started. Wow. So much rain. We ran to cover, grabbing as much of our stuff as we could. We threw the gear under an overhang but the wind was blowing the rain into the amphitheater so we moved deeper in. The rain then turned to hail. I put my partner into my car and turned back to deal with the situation. This way, at least only one of us would be wet.
Everyone was fully under the huge amphitheater awning now. Many were standing on the stage. The staff had pulled open all the drains and were sweeping as much of the torrents of water into them as possible. The noise was insane, and the hail was falling directly on all of our stuff. As I looked up I also realised the downpour was hitting the roof and sliding to the edge until it built up critical mass, then it would fall down in sheets. I had to go under this to get the gear, and each time I did it was like stepping into a shower of ice pellets. Mainly because it was a shower of ice pellets.
I managed to grab everything, including our hi-vis vests. It took about five trips, the last one to grab my partners cell phone which was covered with hail and rain - and still works! After that, I shook myself off and made sure everyone was okay by patrolling around the edges of the auditorium.
A little while later it stopped and the skies were blue. Everything started steaming slightly, including me. The staff swished out the last of the hail and water, and started wiping down the stage. Everyone moved back to their seats - but some went home as they were so wet.
I made sure my partner was okay and sat in the car to warm up for a bit. Soon the windows were steamed up. When I got out to look around, there was steam everywhere - a fog had risen from the ground across the lake, and all the open grass areas. The twilight was shrouded in mist, but the sky was as clear as can be.
We eventually left at around 11. I had started to shiver by then and needed a warm shower. Every part of me was soaked. We drove once around the park to look at the mist swirling around then drove up out of the river valley and into clear night-scented air.
This morning I checked my wallet and all my cash is soggy. What an awesome night!
We were watching Richard III at Shakespeare In The Park, sitting on a park bench at the back with all our gear in front of us. Radios, Oxygen Bag, Trauma Bag, Defibrillator, our bags, the usual gear. I didn't bring an ambulance this time to save on all the hassle of picking one up.
Then the thunder and lightning started. No rain. Each flash was bright, each crack was loud. We eventually turned around and watched it rather than the play.
Next we saw two freaky cloud formations swirl towards us, from the South and South West. They seemed to be UNDER the thunderheads. Then the wind picked up. Then the wind REALLY picked up. It was blowing the mesh curtains at the back of the stage around. Finally it knocked an actors hat off. They announced a break and told all the actors to head under the stage.
Then the rain started. Wow. So much rain. We ran to cover, grabbing as much of our stuff as we could. We threw the gear under an overhang but the wind was blowing the rain into the amphitheater so we moved deeper in. The rain then turned to hail. I put my partner into my car and turned back to deal with the situation. This way, at least only one of us would be wet.
Everyone was fully under the huge amphitheater awning now. Many were standing on the stage. The staff had pulled open all the drains and were sweeping as much of the torrents of water into them as possible. The noise was insane, and the hail was falling directly on all of our stuff. As I looked up I also realised the downpour was hitting the roof and sliding to the edge until it built up critical mass, then it would fall down in sheets. I had to go under this to get the gear, and each time I did it was like stepping into a shower of ice pellets. Mainly because it was a shower of ice pellets.
I managed to grab everything, including our hi-vis vests. It took about five trips, the last one to grab my partners cell phone which was covered with hail and rain - and still works! After that, I shook myself off and made sure everyone was okay by patrolling around the edges of the auditorium.
A little while later it stopped and the skies were blue. Everything started steaming slightly, including me. The staff swished out the last of the hail and water, and started wiping down the stage. Everyone moved back to their seats - but some went home as they were so wet.
I made sure my partner was okay and sat in the car to warm up for a bit. Soon the windows were steamed up. When I got out to look around, there was steam everywhere - a fog had risen from the ground across the lake, and all the open grass areas. The twilight was shrouded in mist, but the sky was as clear as can be.
We eventually left at around 11. I had started to shiver by then and needed a warm shower. Every part of me was soaked. We drove once around the park to look at the mist swirling around then drove up out of the river valley and into clear night-scented air.
This morning I checked my wallet and all my cash is soggy. What an awesome night!
Thursday, March 06, 2008
Poking Sticks
I was at an Oilers game the other day and we were talking about how many ambulance calls are for people in the street, not moving, possibly dead. No one ever tries to wake them up, and they generally end up as intoxicated itinerant individuals who are asked to move on by the crew. This seems to happen a lot in big cities, less so in smaller towns - but it still happens. Even in Canada, in winter.
What I suggested was a special Poking Stick. Much like the concept of 'Heart Safe', where AEDs are available to members of the public in case someone collapses, these special "Poke Safe" sticks would be available behind plastic fronted cabinets in high occurrence areas. That way, members of the public could safely poke collapsed drunks without fear of being attacked, or more importantly, of getting ickiness on them. Eww.
I'm sure it'll catch on. I'll write to the regional director of health services. The budget should be a lot cheaper than those $5,000 AED units!
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Jonathan Coulton performing Still Alive in RockBand!
I so can't wait for this to be released! It's going to be awesome!
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Filler Bunny
Work
I am dealing with two, maybe three projects at work. My main one is a spin off from one of the others, and involved me creating a high level architecture for a near-shore development team based in Ottawa. I am providing ongoing architectural support for them, and resolving some of the issues because of my ties with the existing project.I recently completed my third demonstration of the original project to a large number of stakeholders via a 'webinar' - a web broadcast - which went well. As with the previous two, the experience was rather last minute but it ended well. We had to split the demo into two parts because portions of the system were not quite ready.
I am also working on the integration of these new projects at the client sites, providing support for XSLT development and implementation along with a delivery manager. I think that will kick into high gear when these other two things are done.
As well as all of that good stuff, I'm involved with a few other clients, and promoting the Microsoft Users Group at work. It's enough to keep me out of trouble.
WoW
I've rediscovered WoW recently.After the guild I was with on Boulderfist decided, once again, that progress wasn't being made, a previous guild member turned up after some considerable months off and started a guild of their own. Many people bleed off into this guild and eventually we all joined it. Then said charismatic leader disappeared into the night once again, and things just collapsed like a flan in a cupboard.
When I got the Burning Crusade, I met an RL friend of mine and her husband in the queue. She suggested I join them on their server, Sentinels, and play with them. I've been leveling a Tauren Druid and having fun with their RP guild. Lots of interesting drama, but totally different from the hardcore raiding guild stuff.
TV Shows
Because of my extended break from volunteering, I've also been taking advantage of my new free time to watch a variety of TV shows that were lent to me by a friend of mine. I've just finished the first and second seasons of Battlestar Galactica, and wow. It's totally amazing, really good SF and great characterisation.The writers strike - which I think was just resolved - was a great time to catch up with all the TV shows I missed whilst I didn't have a TV for ages. I'm also using my Windows Media Center to record all the shows, and I'm enjoying the run of Scrubs and South Park to get me up to speed on what I missed for the past few years. Technology. So wonderful.
XBOX
Speaking of wonderful technology, I finished Portal and am tracking through HL2:Episode One on my XBOX at the moment. I also participated in a purchase plan to get Rock Band, and I've been thundering on the skins, jagging with my axe, and yelling up a storm to the various songs available. On Easy mode. Of course.It's a fantastic game, and I can't wait to play with others on it (this weekend is when we'll test it, and then in a few weekends time I take it to my friends house for a Rock Star party!). I even added some "Microsoft Points" so I could download the Police, David Bowie, and Oasis song packs. Hehe.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Here Comes Another Bubble
This is such a cool song. I was there for the housing market bubble in the early 1990s and the dot com bubble in the early 2000s, and this totally nailed the whole concept.
"Now that ain't workin' that's the way you do it
You play the guitar on the MTV
That ain't workin' that's the way you do it
Money for nothin' and your chicks for free"
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
New Year, New Start?
It's a new year. Hope you are having a happy one so far.
I'm unsettled, because my work permit runs out on the 28th of January and if it expires I must return to the United Kingdom. This isn't a particular issue, as I have managed to get a set of immigration lawyers on the case - I didn't even know my company had immigration lawyers, very nifty. Still doesn't change the fact that every day when I get home from work I check my mailbox to see if there is a letter from Immigrations Canada, and get just a little more tweaked every time it's not there...
Makes me want to curl up in a cave somewhere and hibernate.
Apart from that, I've taken a slight break from volunteering. I think I will start again, and I've requested to attend a concert that is coming up in a few days. My focus is going to be on the first aid, rather than the supervising. I hope it goes well. During December, I missed attending duties, especially the people and the treatment. I did get way more XBOX action though, finished Gears of War. Got The Orange Box for Christmas, which is totally awesome even though I played Half-Life 2 on the PC a few years ago.
I visited the Muttart Conservatory over the weekend, as it keeps me sane in winter when I'm here. My favorite oak tree had gone! I tried to find out why but the front desk girl had only been working there since September, and had no idea there was even an oak tree in the temperate pavilion. Serves me right for not going more often...
I'm unsettled, because my work permit runs out on the 28th of January and if it expires I must return to the United Kingdom. This isn't a particular issue, as I have managed to get a set of immigration lawyers on the case - I didn't even know my company had immigration lawyers, very nifty. Still doesn't change the fact that every day when I get home from work I check my mailbox to see if there is a letter from Immigrations Canada, and get just a little more tweaked every time it's not there...
Makes me want to curl up in a cave somewhere and hibernate.
Apart from that, I've taken a slight break from volunteering. I think I will start again, and I've requested to attend a concert that is coming up in a few days. My focus is going to be on the first aid, rather than the supervising. I hope it goes well. During December, I missed attending duties, especially the people and the treatment. I did get way more XBOX action though, finished Gears of War. Got The Orange Box for Christmas, which is totally awesome even though I played Half-Life 2 on the PC a few years ago.
I visited the Muttart Conservatory over the weekend, as it keeps me sane in winter when I'm here. My favorite oak tree had gone! I tried to find out why but the front desk girl had only been working there since September, and had no idea there was even an oak tree in the temperate pavilion. Serves me right for not going more often...
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Ride 'Em, Cowboy
Rodeo stories are usually the same each year. Someone looking rather red faced and/or wheezy appears at the first aid post, "I forgot I was allergic to [horses|dust|hay|air|people]! I didn't bring my puffer!" We give out so much benadryl and ventolin it's unreal. Silly people.
Thursday night was the "Tough Enough To Wear Pink" night. All the cowboys had pink shirts on, to raise awareness for breast cancer. They all looked really good. I noted once again, though, that some cowboys just look better with their hats on. It's not that they are hiding a bald spot or something, they just look better with the hat on. Female friends of mine have confirmed this to be true.
The start up of the evening was really impressive. The house lights go down, and a little girl comes into the arena leading a horse by its bridle. No saddle, no harness. She leads it into the centre of the arena and tries to get on, but can't. She's much too small.
She sits down cross legged in the dirt and looks forlorn.
The other side gates open and ten women walk out and fan out around the girl and her horse. As they do so, fifty cowboys walk out and fan out around the edge of the arena. They are all carrying flaming torches. The flickering of the fire lights up the area.
The women are carrying blankets, saddles, tack and harness. Some lead the girl to one side and speak to her. The others prepare the horse. The blankets go on, the saddle, the tack and harness. The horse is calmed and the girl is helped into the saddle. She rides around the arena, a huge smile on her face.
The announcer states that the five year old girl couldn't have done any of this on her own, and neither could her grandmother, who is a breast cancer survivor. The little girl was able to ride the horse thanks to the help of her sisters who came and supported her.
The women were the barrel racing contestants. The men were all the male contestants.
I've never seen so many cowboys cry.
Thursday night was the "Tough Enough To Wear Pink" night. All the cowboys had pink shirts on, to raise awareness for breast cancer. They all looked really good. I noted once again, though, that some cowboys just look better with their hats on. It's not that they are hiding a bald spot or something, they just look better with the hat on. Female friends of mine have confirmed this to be true.
The start up of the evening was really impressive. The house lights go down, and a little girl comes into the arena leading a horse by its bridle. No saddle, no harness. She leads it into the centre of the arena and tries to get on, but can't. She's much too small.
She sits down cross legged in the dirt and looks forlorn.
The other side gates open and ten women walk out and fan out around the girl and her horse. As they do so, fifty cowboys walk out and fan out around the edge of the arena. They are all carrying flaming torches. The flickering of the fire lights up the area.
The women are carrying blankets, saddles, tack and harness. Some lead the girl to one side and speak to her. The others prepare the horse. The blankets go on, the saddle, the tack and harness. The horse is calmed and the girl is helped into the saddle. She rides around the arena, a huge smile on her face.
The announcer states that the five year old girl couldn't have done any of this on her own, and neither could her grandmother, who is a breast cancer survivor. The little girl was able to ride the horse thanks to the help of her sisters who came and supported her.
The women were the barrel racing contestants. The men were all the male contestants.
I've never seen so many cowboys cry.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
A Wild Ride
When I supervise a duty, everyone is comfortable, safe, and in a learning environment. When we have down time, we go over scenarios. We practice vitals. We try doing speed blood pressures. When a patients comes to us, people quickly either assign themselves to assist or leave the post. it is clear who is dealing with the patient, and it runs like a well oiled machine.
But we also have fun.
Friday was the last Eskimos home game for the season, and I was with a stalwart set of volunteers who have been there for just about every game. I honestly feel they made it more easy and fun for me that I ever could for them.
Thank you all. I laughed so hard on Friday night that my sides hurt when I woke up on Saturday morning.
But we also have fun.
Friday was the last Eskimos home game for the season, and I was with a stalwart set of volunteers who have been there for just about every game. I honestly feel they made it more easy and fun for me that I ever could for them.
Thank you all. I laughed so hard on Friday night that my sides hurt when I woke up on Saturday morning.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Home Network Configuration
I love my new home set up now.
I recently got a new PC. It has a small form factor and is about the same size as the sub woofer in my sound system.
Before I got the new PC, I also got a sweet 32" Samsung HDTV. For a while I had my laptop connected, running it as the biggest monitor I ever had and playing DVDs on it. A little later the XBOX 360 Elite came out, so I got one and took advantage of the HDMI connection. Now I play DVDs using that.
I had a nice PC that I could play WoW on, browse the net, play music, watch movies and downloaded TV. I had an XBOX that I could play games on. I had a nice TV that I could watch basic cable on. Everything seemed pretty sweet. The only downside was that if I wasn't actually home, I couldn't watch shows.
I realised something. I wanted to share files from the PC to the XBOX. I found TVersity which streams any content to any device capable of viewing it.
Then I realised something else. The new PC, with Vista Home Premium, has a Media Center. I did some research into things like personal video recorders and Windows Media Center and wondered what I could do to get all this to work. I realised I needed a TV Tuner.
After opening up my PC, I found that my super stonky graphics card took up both PCI slots available. Whoops. No big deal.
I went out and got a new monitor (just... because!), and a WinTV-PVR-USB2 thingy. I plugged them all in and installed the drivers and software.
I fired up Media Center. It told me it found a new TV Tuner. It asked for my postcode. It downloaded a 14 day TV Program Guide. It let me schedule things to be recorded. It was, frankly, utterly amazing.
Then I connected the XBOX to the PC as a Media Center Extender. I can watch live TV from my front room. I can schedule recordings from the front room. I can even, using the "MSN Remote Record Service", schedule recordings from work.
This is the first time in the years I've been using PCs that everything has just come together smoothly in one seamless package. The on screen interface is awesome. I didn't have a video recorded, or any other gadgets. I believe I can even set my laptop up as a Media Center Extender and watch TV from anywhere in the apartment.
I recently got a new PC. It has a small form factor and is about the same size as the sub woofer in my sound system.
Before I got the new PC, I also got a sweet 32" Samsung HDTV. For a while I had my laptop connected, running it as the biggest monitor I ever had and playing DVDs on it. A little later the XBOX 360 Elite came out, so I got one and took advantage of the HDMI connection. Now I play DVDs using that.
I had a nice PC that I could play WoW on, browse the net, play music, watch movies and downloaded TV. I had an XBOX that I could play games on. I had a nice TV that I could watch basic cable on. Everything seemed pretty sweet. The only downside was that if I wasn't actually home, I couldn't watch shows.
I realised something. I wanted to share files from the PC to the XBOX. I found TVersity which streams any content to any device capable of viewing it.
Then I realised something else. The new PC, with Vista Home Premium, has a Media Center. I did some research into things like personal video recorders and Windows Media Center and wondered what I could do to get all this to work. I realised I needed a TV Tuner.
After opening up my PC, I found that my super stonky graphics card took up both PCI slots available. Whoops. No big deal.
I went out and got a new monitor (just... because!), and a WinTV-PVR-USB2 thingy. I plugged them all in and installed the drivers and software.
I fired up Media Center. It told me it found a new TV Tuner. It asked for my postcode. It downloaded a 14 day TV Program Guide. It let me schedule things to be recorded. It was, frankly, utterly amazing.
Then I connected the XBOX to the PC as a Media Center Extender. I can watch live TV from my front room. I can schedule recordings from the front room. I can even, using the "MSN Remote Record Service", schedule recordings from work.
This is the first time in the years I've been using PCs that everything has just come together smoothly in one seamless package. The on screen interface is awesome. I didn't have a video recorded, or any other gadgets. I believe I can even set my laptop up as a Media Center Extender and watch TV from anywhere in the apartment.
Friday, October 05, 2007
Extremes
Tonight was the season opener for the Oilers. We only had three volunteers there, which made it a little hard to provide coverage, but the two extra I had are stalwarts who try to make it for every single Oilers game.
The game was going well, we were 2-1 up. I went over to the Game Day office and managed to get some Oilers bandannas for the other volunteers and we got a call on the radio for someone collapsed. I sent one member over, got the other to watch for pucks in the crowd on both sides, and... kinda sorta ran to the other side of the arena.
When I found my first responder, they were dealing with someone who had actually fallen down some stairs. They were over 90 and had a bump on the knee and a slight bump on the head. I tell yah, they don't make 'em like they used to.
I went to the post to get some ice for the bumps and met them on the other side, as they were heading out to go home. I popped into the Game Day office and thanked them for the bandannas - in all the rush I took them and just ran off.
The game went into overtime, just when we thought we'd have an early night. Power Plays, shots on goal, it all looked so close. Then BOOM, Shoot Outs! Rolly saved the right ones! Stolly scored the rights ones! A season opener win for the Oilers!
Then the phone went, and a medic we work with called in from the City EMS to give us the heads up that someone with an internal defibrillator had called in because it had fired twice. We hadn't been contacted about this, so we notified security and then searched around the area.
An EMS crew turned up and joined the search. We eventually found our patient, who was the shy side of 50. After requesting a specific hospital and being told he couldn't be guaranteed to be taken there, he wanted to go with his friends. We explained to him that if he died on the way there with his friends, he'd stay dead, but if he went with the EMS crew, they'd get him back no problem. He was convinced. Hehe.
So we had someone over 90 who was doing stunt tumbles down stairs, and another who was under 50 with a cardiac history and a fitted defibrillator. Just goes to show that you never know.
The game was going well, we were 2-1 up. I went over to the Game Day office and managed to get some Oilers bandannas for the other volunteers and we got a call on the radio for someone collapsed. I sent one member over, got the other to watch for pucks in the crowd on both sides, and... kinda sorta ran to the other side of the arena.
When I found my first responder, they were dealing with someone who had actually fallen down some stairs. They were over 90 and had a bump on the knee and a slight bump on the head. I tell yah, they don't make 'em like they used to.
I went to the post to get some ice for the bumps and met them on the other side, as they were heading out to go home. I popped into the Game Day office and thanked them for the bandannas - in all the rush I took them and just ran off.
The game went into overtime, just when we thought we'd have an early night. Power Plays, shots on goal, it all looked so close. Then BOOM, Shoot Outs! Rolly saved the right ones! Stolly scored the rights ones! A season opener win for the Oilers!
Then the phone went, and a medic we work with called in from the City EMS to give us the heads up that someone with an internal defibrillator had called in because it had fired twice. We hadn't been contacted about this, so we notified security and then searched around the area.
An EMS crew turned up and joined the search. We eventually found our patient, who was the shy side of 50. After requesting a specific hospital and being told he couldn't be guaranteed to be taken there, he wanted to go with his friends. We explained to him that if he died on the way there with his friends, he'd stay dead, but if he went with the EMS crew, they'd get him back no problem. He was convinced. Hehe.
So we had someone over 90 who was doing stunt tumbles down stairs, and another who was under 50 with a cardiac history and a fitted defibrillator. Just goes to show that you never know.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Dirty
Last night, Oilers pre-season game. Chatting to a fellow St John Ambulance person in the corridor outside the first aid post. I hear a noise, sounds like water running. "Oh no, not again!" I say, as I stand up and turn around and slam open the doors as fast as I can.
I hit someone, the door bounces back, I step over the fresh puddle of pee on the ground and look around the corner. I see a girl standing, talking to someone.
"There's no way she could have got her knickers and pants up that fast", I think. I look further around the corner and see a guy there, animatedly talking with his hands in that fake, 'of-course-I've-been-talking-for-ages' way. I stare at him for a while, and go back inside.
Next time I'll remember to take a photo with my phone camera. Dirty dirty people. Make the corridor smell of pee.
I hit someone, the door bounces back, I step over the fresh puddle of pee on the ground and look around the corner. I see a girl standing, talking to someone.
"There's no way she could have got her knickers and pants up that fast", I think. I look further around the corner and see a guy there, animatedly talking with his hands in that fake, 'of-course-I've-been-talking-for-ages' way. I stare at him for a while, and go back inside.
Next time I'll remember to take a photo with my phone camera. Dirty dirty people. Make the corridor smell of pee.
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Memories: The Human Beatbox and Entertainer
Picture the scene with me.
It is 1986. In Harlow, Essex, England there is an unusual culture mix at secondary school. Predominant among most kids is 'Casual' rather than 'New Romantic'. There were also a lot of Heavy Metal fans, some Rockers, and a few Mods. Largely, though, people didn't strive to stand out, it was more important to fit in. I was sort of a Casual.
An outsider would have defined Casuals as 'white kids and hip hop'. We were big into hip hop. Music, fashion, culture. The lot. We were also a relatively multi-cultural school, being just outside London. But we were still white kids, which made it all so much funnier looking back on it. We were into Miami Vice mixed with Duran Duran. We would take train trips into London looking for West End Girls.
At my school we had a school uniform. I think this is generally a good thing. You don't have to try to fit in, or impress anyone, because your outfit is already determined for you. Girls would push the envelope and wear makeup. Actually, some boys did as well - the whole 'New Romantic' thing. Boys would untuck their shirts or make their ties huge or tiny. The thing that really stood out in terms of individuality was the footwear. Trainers. The cooler the better. Either Nike or Reebok, sometimes Puma or Adidas. Some of the styles were amazing, and could be upwards of 60 pounds a pair - which by todays money would be 2 gagillion pounds. Rocking out with a new pair of trainers would cause everyone in the playground to come over and check you out. If you were cool, there would be oohs and aaahs. If you weren't cool enough, everyone would try to stomp the fuck out of your new shoes, dirtying them up. Fun times.
Anyway, that's not what this was about. Just setting the scene.
I grew up with music on the radio, but also my parents records. That meant I listened to such things as Elvis and the Beatles (Mum) and Otis Redding and James Brown (Dad). My favourite group at the time was The Police, three white English guys who played reggae punk. This may explain my eclectic music taste now.
My best friend introduced me to Hip Hop music. I can recall hanging out with him and his monster of a ghetto blaster listening to Herbie Hancock, Run DMC, LL Cool J, Grandmaster Flash and Melle Mel, Eric B. & Rakim, and all sorts of other great stuff. Damn, that was a cool boombox.
One of the most popular songs was called "The Show" by Doug E Fresh. As well as being a rapper, he was one of the first beatboxers. His partner was Slick Rick, and together with the Get Fresh Crew they rapped over riffs taken from the theme to Inspector Gadget - which just made it even more awesome. On the b-side was another song called "La Di Da Di" which was a rapped story about the day in the life of Slick Rick, with beatbox accompaniment by Doug E Fresh.
I have many fond memories of being on Prefect duty with my best friend and performing this song. He would rap, I would beatbox. We were good. We weren't great, but we gave the performance our all. It was a bonding moment, a shared experience based on a love of hip hop music. We didn't have an audience (apart from his girlfriend, sometimes, and my girlfriend, sometimes, but they didn't complain). We didn't need an audience. It was for us.
Let's jump forward roughly 10 years.
It is July 1997. I am at a joint stag weekend - my friend Chris is getting married in September, I am getting married in August. We are walking towards Fistral Beach in Newquay. It is the weekend of the Surfing Championships. My best friend is there - which makes me very happy, because for the past two years I haven't seen him due to my failure to resolve a conflict between my fiancee and him. Everything is fixed, but I feel there is still a lingering sense of unease, which is hopefully just residue guilt on my part. All the cider and dancing probably didn't help either.
We stagger along a busy high street, a crowd of around 12 guys spread out depending on how fast we're able to shuffle along. My best friend walks with me, and without prompting starts rapping the opening to "La Di Da Di". I start beatboxing along, sinking into the groove that we have shared for over 10 years, everything rushing back to how it was. Only, 10 years have passed. In those 10 years, music had evolved in the UK. So I beatboxed in the style of Drum and Bass. We really got into it, too. Walking, rapping, beatboxing. Several people commented how cool it sounded as we went past. What they didn't know at the time was that, as we were heading towards the beach, every problem I imagined in my relationship with my best friend was healing.
Now, 10 years later, he is still my best friend. There is a resurgence of things from the 80s - The Police have toured, Miami Vice was rebooted as a movie, styles tend to eat themselves. But it's good to know that the rappers are still keeping it real:
The Show live
Ladi Dadi live
It is 1986. In Harlow, Essex, England there is an unusual culture mix at secondary school. Predominant among most kids is 'Casual' rather than 'New Romantic'. There were also a lot of Heavy Metal fans, some Rockers, and a few Mods. Largely, though, people didn't strive to stand out, it was more important to fit in. I was sort of a Casual.
An outsider would have defined Casuals as 'white kids and hip hop'. We were big into hip hop. Music, fashion, culture. The lot. We were also a relatively multi-cultural school, being just outside London. But we were still white kids, which made it all so much funnier looking back on it. We were into Miami Vice mixed with Duran Duran. We would take train trips into London looking for West End Girls.
At my school we had a school uniform. I think this is generally a good thing. You don't have to try to fit in, or impress anyone, because your outfit is already determined for you. Girls would push the envelope and wear makeup. Actually, some boys did as well - the whole 'New Romantic' thing. Boys would untuck their shirts or make their ties huge or tiny. The thing that really stood out in terms of individuality was the footwear. Trainers. The cooler the better. Either Nike or Reebok, sometimes Puma or Adidas. Some of the styles were amazing, and could be upwards of 60 pounds a pair - which by todays money would be 2 gagillion pounds. Rocking out with a new pair of trainers would cause everyone in the playground to come over and check you out. If you were cool, there would be oohs and aaahs. If you weren't cool enough, everyone would try to stomp the fuck out of your new shoes, dirtying them up. Fun times.
Anyway, that's not what this was about. Just setting the scene.
I grew up with music on the radio, but also my parents records. That meant I listened to such things as Elvis and the Beatles (Mum) and Otis Redding and James Brown (Dad). My favourite group at the time was The Police, three white English guys who played reggae punk. This may explain my eclectic music taste now.
My best friend introduced me to Hip Hop music. I can recall hanging out with him and his monster of a ghetto blaster listening to Herbie Hancock, Run DMC, LL Cool J, Grandmaster Flash and Melle Mel, Eric B. & Rakim, and all sorts of other great stuff. Damn, that was a cool boombox.
One of the most popular songs was called "The Show" by Doug E Fresh. As well as being a rapper, he was one of the first beatboxers. His partner was Slick Rick, and together with the Get Fresh Crew they rapped over riffs taken from the theme to Inspector Gadget - which just made it even more awesome. On the b-side was another song called "La Di Da Di" which was a rapped story about the day in the life of Slick Rick, with beatbox accompaniment by Doug E Fresh.
I have many fond memories of being on Prefect duty with my best friend and performing this song. He would rap, I would beatbox. We were good. We weren't great, but we gave the performance our all. It was a bonding moment, a shared experience based on a love of hip hop music. We didn't have an audience (apart from his girlfriend, sometimes, and my girlfriend, sometimes, but they didn't complain). We didn't need an audience. It was for us.
Let's jump forward roughly 10 years.
It is July 1997. I am at a joint stag weekend - my friend Chris is getting married in September, I am getting married in August. We are walking towards Fistral Beach in Newquay. It is the weekend of the Surfing Championships. My best friend is there - which makes me very happy, because for the past two years I haven't seen him due to my failure to resolve a conflict between my fiancee and him. Everything is fixed, but I feel there is still a lingering sense of unease, which is hopefully just residue guilt on my part. All the cider and dancing probably didn't help either.
We stagger along a busy high street, a crowd of around 12 guys spread out depending on how fast we're able to shuffle along. My best friend walks with me, and without prompting starts rapping the opening to "La Di Da Di". I start beatboxing along, sinking into the groove that we have shared for over 10 years, everything rushing back to how it was. Only, 10 years have passed. In those 10 years, music had evolved in the UK. So I beatboxed in the style of Drum and Bass. We really got into it, too. Walking, rapping, beatboxing. Several people commented how cool it sounded as we went past. What they didn't know at the time was that, as we were heading towards the beach, every problem I imagined in my relationship with my best friend was healing.
Now, 10 years later, he is still my best friend. There is a resurgence of things from the 80s - The Police have toured, Miami Vice was rebooted as a movie, styles tend to eat themselves. But it's good to know that the rappers are still keeping it real:
The Show live
Ladi Dadi live
Friday, August 24, 2007
BarStucks
I'm writing this on some poached WiFi at a Starbucks on the corner of Richmond Street and Central Avenue in London, Ontario.
On a crazy whim (or because of a crazy room mate) I decided to fly to Chicago, and then from there drive east to various places, meeting various people. I'm waiting here to meet Kim, who used to be related to me.
She's my ex-cousin-in-law, and is the partner of Sinclair. They have two kids who I am dying to meet. I'll get to hang with them today and then on Sunday - so I have Saturday night to cruise around southern Ontario and surrounding parts. I'm looking forward to it - might have to see Niagara again.
I'm also hoping to see a few friends I know from World of Warcraft, and perhaps another friend who moved to Lafayette in Indiana.
During all of this, the room mate is part of a pit crew for a drag racing team. This is just typical of the kind of thing we get up to.
On a crazy whim (or because of a crazy room mate) I decided to fly to Chicago, and then from there drive east to various places, meeting various people. I'm waiting here to meet Kim, who used to be related to me.
She's my ex-cousin-in-law, and is the partner of Sinclair. They have two kids who I am dying to meet. I'll get to hang with them today and then on Sunday - so I have Saturday night to cruise around southern Ontario and surrounding parts. I'm looking forward to it - might have to see Niagara again.
I'm also hoping to see a few friends I know from World of Warcraft, and perhaps another friend who moved to Lafayette in Indiana.
During all of this, the room mate is part of a pit crew for a drag racing team. This is just typical of the kind of thing we get up to.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Busier than a one winged bee in a field of sunflowers
It's been crazy busy for me these past few weeks. Work has been interesting and fun, lots of client presentations and analysis work and architecting. There have been a lot of first aid events to volunteer at, too - summer is definately here in E-town. Plus I've been trying to socialise a little bit more, which has been working well.
From the 19th I am going to be at Capital Ex. I've taken time off work and I will be doing double shifts at Northlands, being placed wherever they need me. I did the same last year and gained so much experience. It was great fun.
This year I hope to keep a written diary and I'll post up what I've written afterwards!
From the 19th I am going to be at Capital Ex. I've taken time off work and I will be doing double shifts at Northlands, being placed wherever they need me. I did the same last year and gained so much experience. It was great fun.
This year I hope to keep a written diary and I'll post up what I've written afterwards!
Friday, June 15, 2007
Lucky
Apparently it was just chance that you were there that morning. The family had tickets, and you decided to go along with them.
That was lucky.
You were seated very close to a first aid post, where a paramedic and a number of medical volunteers were stationed.
That was lucky.
During the event, your family saw you have difficulty, and quickly called for help.
That was lucky.
The event staff went to the first aid room. One of the medical volunteers quickly went to check, meeting a member of the family on the way, and was swiftly directed to where you lay.
That was lucky.
The medical volunteer found you laying on the concrete floor between the seats and noted your agonal breathing, cyanotic lips, pale and diaphoretic complexion. Your carotid pulse was checked, and found to be absent. The volunteer used their radio to call for the paramedic on duty, who confirmed that they were already on their way with their equipment.
That was lucky.
At the same time, a bystander identified themselves as a nurse and asked if they should start chest compressions. The medical volunteer checked for a pulse one more time and told the nurse to start. Almost straight away, the paramedic arrived and started setting up a defibrillator. The medical volunteer made sure an ambulance had been called.
That was lucky.
You had defibrillator pads stuck to your chest. The nurse was beating your heart for you by compressing your chest. The medical volunteer was breathing for you by 'bagging' you between compressions, delivering oxygen into your lungs. The paramedic periodically called for a pause in CPR to analyse your heart rhythm. You were shocked a number of times. During all of this, the medical volunteer removed your glasses and placed them into the top pocket of their shirt, in order to get a better seal on your mouth and nose with the mask. After a short while, the nurse stated that she was tired and needed someone to take over. A member of staff who had previous experience with CPR took over seamlessly.
That was lucky.
An EMS team arrived, along with a Fire Crew. The on duty paramedic shocked you once more, then arranged for you to be carried up out of the stairs to the waiting stretcher. More CPR was done on you as you lay there, then you were transported to the waiting ambulance. Just before you left the venue, the paramedic called for everyone to stop. The defibrillator showed that you had a heart beat, and you were breathing on your own. Before you left the venue, you were back.
That was lucky.
The stretcher was loaded into the ambulance, and the EMS crew and the paramedic went into the back and got to work. Your son was placed into the passenger seat whilst in the back, people worked to stabilise you. Soon after, the ambulance left to take you to a nearby hospital.
That was lucky.
Later on, the hospital called the first aid post and told everyone that you were sitting up in the intensive care unit, talking. Everyone who was involved was thanked for working together as a team. The ultimate reward was knowing you were okay.
All of this was because you happened to fall ill whilst being close to good cardio-pulmonary resuscitation, good defibrillation, and good access to advanced care. Perhaps luck had some part in this, but ultimately you were in the right place at the right time.
I still remember the look on your sons face and I handed your glasses to him whilst he sat in the ambulance, a tear running down his cheek as the full weight of what happened hit him.
That was lucky.
You were seated very close to a first aid post, where a paramedic and a number of medical volunteers were stationed.
That was lucky.
During the event, your family saw you have difficulty, and quickly called for help.
That was lucky.
The event staff went to the first aid room. One of the medical volunteers quickly went to check, meeting a member of the family on the way, and was swiftly directed to where you lay.
That was lucky.
The medical volunteer found you laying on the concrete floor between the seats and noted your agonal breathing, cyanotic lips, pale and diaphoretic complexion. Your carotid pulse was checked, and found to be absent. The volunteer used their radio to call for the paramedic on duty, who confirmed that they were already on their way with their equipment.
That was lucky.
At the same time, a bystander identified themselves as a nurse and asked if they should start chest compressions. The medical volunteer checked for a pulse one more time and told the nurse to start. Almost straight away, the paramedic arrived and started setting up a defibrillator. The medical volunteer made sure an ambulance had been called.
That was lucky.
You had defibrillator pads stuck to your chest. The nurse was beating your heart for you by compressing your chest. The medical volunteer was breathing for you by 'bagging' you between compressions, delivering oxygen into your lungs. The paramedic periodically called for a pause in CPR to analyse your heart rhythm. You were shocked a number of times. During all of this, the medical volunteer removed your glasses and placed them into the top pocket of their shirt, in order to get a better seal on your mouth and nose with the mask. After a short while, the nurse stated that she was tired and needed someone to take over. A member of staff who had previous experience with CPR took over seamlessly.
That was lucky.
An EMS team arrived, along with a Fire Crew. The on duty paramedic shocked you once more, then arranged for you to be carried up out of the stairs to the waiting stretcher. More CPR was done on you as you lay there, then you were transported to the waiting ambulance. Just before you left the venue, the paramedic called for everyone to stop. The defibrillator showed that you had a heart beat, and you were breathing on your own. Before you left the venue, you were back.
That was lucky.
The stretcher was loaded into the ambulance, and the EMS crew and the paramedic went into the back and got to work. Your son was placed into the passenger seat whilst in the back, people worked to stabilise you. Soon after, the ambulance left to take you to a nearby hospital.
That was lucky.
Later on, the hospital called the first aid post and told everyone that you were sitting up in the intensive care unit, talking. Everyone who was involved was thanked for working together as a team. The ultimate reward was knowing you were okay.
All of this was because you happened to fall ill whilst being close to good cardio-pulmonary resuscitation, good defibrillation, and good access to advanced care. Perhaps luck had some part in this, but ultimately you were in the right place at the right time.
I still remember the look on your sons face and I handed your glasses to him whilst he sat in the ambulance, a tear running down his cheek as the full weight of what happened hit him.
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