Forms

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Photo Credit : Wesley Tingey

I could cue the song - but that’s not what I am talking about.

One of the big recurring complaints about large enterprises like Comcast, Amazon, Wells Fargo (and all banks are guilty) is how they engage with their customers. The process is designed totally around what’s good for the business - not the customer. Dont take my word for it - next time you dial in to one of those call centers, count how many times you are transferred to someone else much less how long it takes to prove to them who you are.

Hospitals are no different. Except that when you are dealing with large corporations at least you start healthy. (I say start - I often come off call center calls feeling nautious).

But when you are sick …. well the pressure doubles down. Right?

For one reason or another I have 6 different depts that I need to engage with. So I have 6 different coordinators. It is my job to balance calendars, paperwork, bills … but even a single department asks for the same form to be completed and submitted over each and every time you have an appointment.

When this moves to daily visits - I wounder if that will change.

See my other Commentary here.

Break A Leg

Photo Credit : Mehmet Turgut Kirkgoz

What’s the equivalent here of “Break a leg,” I wonder?

See all the ‘backacha’ posts.

Technology

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Photo Credit : https://unsplash.com/@umanoide

Life is moving along. I am now fully bionic with the ability to bypass my mouth when eating. Science is wonderful.

Separately, I have now had a series of scans that captures my head in 3 dimensional space that is then analysed by physicists so that they can calculate the precise xyz coordinates of the tumor (both in itself and where it sits in my throat). Beyond that, looking to understand growth trajectory - historical and potential future. With that knowledge they can then tune the radio beams that they are going to shoot at my head with a range of factors in consideration.

• Knowing the position of the tumor in my head. - Knowing its size and growth rate.

They can then …

Position the gun at a specific coordinate … to shoot a beam at a specific angle, with a specific power over a specific period of time.

And then repeat that at any number of points as the gun rotates around my head, to maximise efficacy and accuracy of the radiation whilst minimising the amount of radiation to do the job safely.

Thinking about that, my mind boggles.

Even more boggling is that every time I visit … up to around 10 visits so far and I’ve not yet even started my treatment, I complete the same paper forms with the same information each and every time. And each and every time somebody then transcribes that form into a computer so my patient record is up to date.

It’s as if they have never heard of smart phones and iPads let alone digital wallets, databases et al.

See my other commentary and observations here.

Pegs

Photo Credit : Nong Vang A ‘PEG’ is an acronym for ‘Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy’

“Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) is an endoscopic medical procedure in which a tube (PEG tube) is passed into a patient’s stomach through the abdominal wall, most commonly to provide a means of feeding when oral intake is not adequate (for example, because of dysphagia or sedation).”

Read More At Wikipedia

Just had one installed.

See all the posts where I highlight things I am learning on this journey.

Future

Photo Credit : United Nations

”You can’t make a better past, only a better future.”

Nathan Gardels

See all the quotes.

Tangerine Dream

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Photo Credit : Unknown

Wikipedia Entry

See the full list of music posts here.

Cancel Culture

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Matt Taibbi on the Topic

The media business keeps trying to ruin Jesse Singal and Katie Herzog, and they keep prospering. On the loony Substack controversy, and the paradox of moral panic in media.

Matt Taibbi

More Music

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Photo Credit : Photo by ‘Blocks’ Using this space to remind me of albums and bands that I need to write a separate post about.

• Bass Communion

• DJ Tjiesto

• John Digweed

• Moroccan Spirit

See all the posts that call out great Music you can use that isn’t ‘new age’.

Substack Has A Problem

I’m a fan of Substack - but it looks like they might be hitting some issues as they rush to attract famous writers to the platform - and paying them. On the outside it looks good that famous writers use you - but if you are paying them - and not discllosing that - we have an issue.

Beyond that, to pay someone means that you are choosing not to pay someone else - at which point you are becoming a publisher - not a platform and thus arguably support/agree with those writers words and opinions. What then distinguished you from any other publishing vehicle.

Vox has a view.

Then again there is this (spolier alert - an opposite pov : Adding My Data Point To The Discussion Of Substack Advances.

Meditation

Photo by Fabian Møller Elsewhere I have referenced an app called Headspace. This ‘Ted Talk’ precedes that app, but it is given by the ‘English Buddhist Mon’ who was one of the founders of Headspace … Andy Puddicombe. Lovely, plain, simple explanation of how to think about ‘doing nothing’.

When is the last time you did absolutely nothing for 10 whole minutes? Not texting, talking or even thinking? Mindfulness expert Andy Puddicombe describes the transformative power of doing just that: Refreshing your mind for 10 minutes a day, simply by being mindful and experiencing the present moment. (No need for incense or sitting in strange positions.)

See all the posts connecting to people who seem to know what they are talking about when it comes to all of this.