Live With Me

It is coming up on almost a year since my last blog. I have a sneaking suspicion that no one ever read anything I ever wrote. Then I ended up putting stuff on Facebook. Then not so much. Since my last posting, I am with yet another company. This one is more customer focused and innovative.

I like the people here, they are a dynamite bunch so far. Listening to a lot of Lissy and Adele. In the time between then and now, I have had to count my blessings. AGI was struggling and maybe still is in this economy. Nova hired me none too soon.

Kelly has made a major career change and I hope she is enormously successful. Her writing is really good (scripts). She worked the Film festival with MN Film Arts and it was a success, biggest year ever for them. She played a big role in the high turn-outs. Well done my angel.

I have listened to sporadically, an older Massive Attack song. "Live with Me." I believe the meaning is very different than the video of the young girl who is drinking herself out of some misery (and onto a different one).

Kelly got resourceful and found some excellent bikes for the boys. They are slightly used, but very nice for kid bikes. I hope Brando and Krishnan have something they will love doing together.

I wish anyone who takes the time to read my ramblings a great week... maybe a great year too.

Massive Attack and Doves

Frankly since the last blog that I doubt anyone is actually reading, I have listened to dozens of superb CDs. The most recent have been a bit latent. Heligoland from Massive Attack and Kingdom of Rust from Doves. Both incredibly good.

Now, Massive Attack is like one of my all time favorite bands and yes I have virtually all their CDs and some vinyl too. I am in a word biased. But my 9 year old son told me today he loved this music too. He appreciated how each song felt like a different band than the one before. The guest singers list was quite good.

The other side is Kingdom of Rust. A very familiar same vocalist from one to the next song. Still exceptional. Get them or youtube this stuff. So dang good.

In health.... well the Nurses Strike is on in MN. I cannot wait to share the story with you as it unfolds. I have lab workers who will not be able to move forward on anything until this subsides. Of course the nurses have their own focus as well. Here is hoping we get "there" soon.

Son Brandon (Brando) had unscheduled surgery. As a follow up to a recent surgery that did not all go as well as we all hoped. He had 2 plates and 4 pins put in back the end of April. We realized that there was some discomfort and we went in to have it looked at (there was a n area that just was not healing).

A pin came loose on one of the plates and had to be taken out. He is doing much better now. He should be up and about with his new leg. He used it a bit today at festivities in Minnetonka.

Excitement At ASCO 2010

I am in Chicago for one of the larger medical shows in the country. It is called ASCO. Short for American Society of Oncology Physicians. Upon entering I had to walk amongst the sea of attendees that reminded me of being in the ocean more than Disney. It was a wall of people as far as the eye could see. The Rolling Stomes would have been proud.

There are several thousand attendees and vendors here. Your favorite drug companies are pushing major chemo meds from booths that cost more than mansions on the lake. Merck has a 3 D tv the size of a movie theater screen that shows a graphical presentation of how certain types of cancer cells can be halted with their drug. Quite cool. Genentech, Amgen, and many others were in a similar vein displaying some very high tech and ultra cool stuff.

But does that help your dying relative? Does spending this much money to get specialty Docs to take a look the only way to do these shows? I think maybe it is. My company had a small booth with few frills and we got maybe 5% of the traffic they did.

I will try to snap a few pics and post here. On a musical note... there is even more great tunes from more obscure bands that I have enjoyed courtesy of Pandora and the Current. Will post some recommendations soon.

Grinning for no Reason

I was walking from one meeting to another when I was in training at my corporate office over a year back. I make a habit of smiling at people when I see them. I find it is easier to look at a smiling face than one with a dour expression.

A senior manager after seen me with a grin on my face after every break inquired what was making me be in such a good mood. Was the training funny? Now keep in mind he is a native Brooklyn guy.

Always polite to me but doesn't really know me. After two weeks of a smiling face he is worried I'm cracking jokes with the trainers and playing my usual Jedi mind tricks (that's probably how I got the job).

I explained i typically smile for no reason. In fact in the absence of any reason not to, I will just smile, in fact grin. I especially have a happy expression just as I see someone I like.

Before he new it, he was grinning too. When I was leaving, a secretary commented to me she would be missing my smiling face and my funny but inoffensive jokes.

I work on the road and from account to account (I am in medical sales). I love what I do. I guess after doing this for years, a big smile and a bigger grin are the one thing that folks remember.

No matter how bad the world seems. No matter how tough tomorrow may end up being. Keep smiling. Being in America, we have a lot to smile about. Maybe when we roll up our sleeves to fix what corrupt politicians, greedy bankers, opportunistic oil companies CEOs, foul insurance company executives and crooked ____________ (fill in the blank) have done to us and our country, we can do even more with a big smile.

Christmas 2009

It came as fast as any before it and left even faster. It is of course Christmas I speak of and so many folks this year found themselves wondering what more could I ask for. Well except for cash to pay off all the crap we owe money on of course.

I have told my wife and relatives buy me CDs and Vinyl records, books. I still get socks and things I may have asked for 5 years ago.

Kelly did an amazing job on the kids. She always does. I am happy to see them happy. The tunes of this year were Grizzly Bear, Nina Simone, Pearl Jam, Sarah Vaughn and Prince.

I will keep you tuned in. I am not sure anyone reads this, I do more on Facebook. Well, see you soon. Brandon's birthday is coming soon. My wish is to still have a job for the whole of the coming year with the company I am with. I really want them to be enormously successful. Well cross your fingers and let's see what happens.

Peace.

New Genome Technology May Actually be of Value

I was amused and not amused. I read in an article in BusinesWeek how the financial folks were shocked to find that genome research products have value in determining health and predictive value for patients. This from the Voodoo monkeys on Wall Street? Seriously?

I have yet to see them honestly explain what they do. I figured it out, it just is not commensurate with the press releases they post. An example is "Earnings were up, but analysts expected that and stocks take a tumble."

The truth? Yeah, a lot of folks bet on the revenue being up, but that meant the long bet would be on it going down. The options traders came out ahead by betting on it going down and the 70% who think earnings and stock value are related got spanked.

Get it? It's betting, but you need to know the spread, no different than Football, Basketball or any sport where the spread is important. Know the time on your options both covered calls and puts and you may come out ahead.

On genomics, the issue is how does what we determine today relate to health tomorrow? We find these things out as we get more information. The end result is we do not know for sure today but will definitely use this info to move forward. That is a winning bet any time.

H1N1 and Where are we Going?

Epidemiology and Impact

Updated Influenza Data for United States, Based on CDC Surveillance Data

(CDC, Influenza Division. FluView. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/ Accessed September 16, 2009.)

• The week of September 7-12, 2009 showed that outpatient visits for influenza-like illness (ILI) were increased and that 1378 of 7569 (18%) tested specimens were positive for influenza. Of 685 influenza strains that were subtyped, 679 (99.6%) were 2009 influenza A (H1N1) viruses, 4 were type B, and 2 were seasonal H1N1.
• Testing of 562 2009 H1N1 strains showed that all were related to the A/California/07/2009 reference virus used in the vaccine.
• Sensitivity tests done on 1148 2009 H1N1 isolates showed 8 (0.6%) to be resistant to oseltamivir; review of these cases showed that all 8 patients had documented prior exposure to oseltamivir.
• During the week of September 7-12, pneumonia and influenza accounted for 6% of US deaths. This is below the epidemic threshold of 6.3%.

Schools. The CDC reported that about 25,000 students were dismissed from secondary schools on September 2, 2009. (McKay B, Simpson C. Fighting flu without big gun. Wall Street Journal. September 9, 2009. Available at: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125245538175894251.html Accessed September 16, 2009.)

Colleges. During the week of September 12-19, 2009, US colleges and universities reported 6432 cases of influenza at 253 schools enrolled in the American College Health Association. A University of Michigan study indicated a 50% reduction in cases with hand hygiene and facemasks. (Steenhuysen J. Flu on campus: What works, what doesn't. Reuters. September 18, 2009.)

USA Today reports that 73% of US colleges and universities are declaring ILIs. Highest rates are in the Southeast and Midwest. Most cases are mild, but Tom Skinner of the CDC noted that some people "may feel like a train hit them." The most common symptoms are fever to 101-102° F, headache, aches, chills, sore throat, and cough. Students are told to rest in their rooms, take fluids, and not to go out. (Weise E. Most US campuses already reporting flu-like sicknesses. USA Today. September 9, 2009. Available at: http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-09-09-swine-flu-college_N.htm Accessed September 16, 2009.)

Washington State University reported the largest outbreak of ILI, with an estimated 5400-9000 cases among 18,000 students, as well as several thousand staff. The illness is reported to be mild and last 3-5 days. Approximately 2600 students have contacted the University Health Service and about 500 have seen physicians. No tests for 2009 H1N1 are being done. One reason given for the early epidemic at this university may be the early start of classes -- August 24.(Geranios NK. Swine flu hits Washington State Univ. The Associated Press, Washington Post, September 8, 2009. Available at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/08/AR2009090802899.html Accessed September 16, 2009.)

Businesses. A national survey of 1057 randomly selected businesses in 6 categories (small, medium, large; critical or noncritical) was conducted by the Department of Homeland Security and the Harvard School of Public Health The study was funded by the CDC and took place between July 16 and August 12, 2009. Key findings from the survey of businesses (Harvard Opinion Research Program, Harvard School of Public Health. Business Preparedness: Novel Influenza A (H1N1). July 16-August 12, 2009. Available at: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/press-releases/2009-releases/businesses-problems-maintaining-operations-significant-h1n1-flu-outbreak.html Accessed September 16, 2009.):

• 74% provide paid sick leave; 34% offer leave to care for others; 21% provide sick leave to care for children;
• 67% would note operational problems if 50% of workforce was off more than 2 weeks;
• Paid sick leave is offered by 74% and 35% allow paid sick leave to care for family members;
• A doctor's note is required for sick leave by 43%, and 69% that offer sick leave require a doctor's note to return after a contagious illness (relevance is concern about physician access in a pandemic);
• Strategies to decrease person-person contact (like staggered shifts) could be implemented by 50% for 1-2 weeks.

Click here for information about business planning for influenza.

Nursing homes. No outbreaks of the 2009 H1N1 virus have been reported to the CDC. This is attributed to the advanced ages of most persons in chronic care facilities, which is a reduced risk for this virus.

Hospitals. Many anticipate a surge of H1N1 influenza cases in the coming influenza season based on the experience in the Southern hemisphere. The President's Advisors estimate that there will be a 30%-50% attack rate this winter with 1.8 million hospitalizations, which will pose extreme challenges for hospitals. A 2006 Institute of Medicine report indicated that emergency medicine nationwide was "at the breaking point" in both finances and capacity. (Committee on the Future of Emergency Care in the United States Health System, Institute of Medicine. Emergency Medical Services: At the Crossroads. Washington, DC: National Academies Press; 2007.)

An analysis by the Center for Biosecurity at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center estimated that a severe pandemic would require 4.6-fold more ICU beds and 2-fold more hospital beds. (Bartlett JG, Borio L. Healthcare epidemiology: the current status of planning for pandemic influenza and implications for health care planning in the United States. Clin Infect Dis. 2008;46:919-925.)

These concerns are compounded by the lack of a vaccine for the 2009 H1N1 virus before mid-October and the fact that there may be only enough vaccine for 25% of the target population (assuming that a single dose is required).

Social conventions in France. French companies and schools are discouraging the common greeting of a cheek kiss or hug. Others are also discouraging the handshake and the "high five." (Schipoliansky C, Cox L. Swine flu cuts the kiss in Europe. ABC News, September 9, 2009. Available at: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/SwineFluNews/swine-flu-cuts-kiss-europe/story?id=8520227 Accessed September 16, 2009.)