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November 17th, 2008
daemonv
 | 12:32 pm - Tweets for Today
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November 16th, 2008
daemonv
| 12:36 pm - Tweets for Today
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stepleton
 | 09:58 am - Challenge
This post recognizes the accomplishments of my officemates Ryan K., Jason S., and Matt S., who, along with Jessica N., J. Patrick M., and Nate H., completed the Great Allegheny Passage and the C&O Canal Towpath trails between Boston, PA and Washington, DC, a distance of 314 miles over challenging terrain, in 4, 3, 2 (towpath only), 4, 3, and 4 days respectively. They arrived together in Washington on the 15th1, well after dark.
The strenuousness of this schedule is difficult to overstate. Even in the finest riding conditions2, I'd suppose that the physical demand of briskly pedaling eight or nine hours a day for several days surpasses the effort a marathon requires. It certainly takes longer. None of these individuals are marathoners, for what it's worth, or bike nuts (well, Jason is) or particularly fervent exercisers, either. They look like graduate students and postdocs in their late 20s and early 30s do.
The exception must lie in the willpower: the group endured months of skepticism from people who had done the journey before in good weather, on dry trails, over five, six, or seven days and wished they had taken longer. There were also doubts from people who had never done anything like it, like me. Then there was the weather: light showers at first, then a reprieve, then a strong cold front on the final day bringing steady rain, temperatures falling below 40° F, gusty winds, and, absurdly, threat of tornadoes. The last portion of the trip happened in darkness, on the canal towpath (apparently the least improved part of the trail, and the part with the greatest risk of falling into a canal).
They could have quit whenever they wanted: all it would have taken was pedaling to the first spot with cell reception and coordinating an extraction with Erika T., who was driving the support car. This never happened. Jessica fell off her bike on the last day and got scraped up, I've heard. She got up and did sixty more miles.
(Names initialized to leave Googleability at the riders' discretion.)
[1] Of November, ffs!
[2] I.e. not November.
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November 15th, 2008
mdrnprometheus
 | 10:32 pm - [Pgh] Beware the Magee-Womens Valet
One of the things that's helped me with my residency travel is borrowing my sister's Very Expensive GPS Unit. I hide this in the center armrest of my car. I just went to pack it in my bag for my next trip, and lo and behold, it's gone. Cannot be found anywhere in the apartment or car, and Jennifer hasn't seen it.
We last saw it right before she used the valet parking at Magee-Womens Hospital, the same day I left for my meeting in Florida. The GPS was hidden, but its charger cord wasn't. I have a strong suspicion that some "entrepreneurial" valet decided to help himself to it. So, for our female Pittsburgh friends, if you're parking at Magee, check your glove box and other storage compartments afterwards!
(Yes, I'm going to call on Monday and gripe at them, but with a week and a half since the theft, and since we're not sure which valet parked the car, chances of getting it back are nil.)
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/charitycam/aliens/angry.gif) angry
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lululand
 | 03:35 pm
Since when did eating lots of ice cream become synonymous with being lonely and/or depressed? Man, I just think it tastes good.
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daemonv
| 12:13 pm - Tweets for Today
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November 12th, 2008
mdrnprometheus
| 04:51 pm - I can has your miles?
Some of you may recall that around mid-January, I'm taking off for three months to India, specifically to Rajasthan and its Churu District. I will not bore you with long details (there's a Word document I can send along by request), but the short version is that a Pittsburgh-based NGO is trying to work with local charitable entities to improve prenatal care, child nutrition, and immunization in the dirt-poor villages throughout that district. The local folks need some extra administrative and general labor support, and hence, I'm getting shipped over to be sort of a field agent. Mildly terrifying, since I don't speak Hindi, let alone Rajasthani, but also potentially very high-impact work.
This post is a request for a bit of help. I've got funding arranged for everything except the plane ticket over (which would be about $1500). I have almost, but not quite, enough frequent flyer miles to get said ticket. US Airways lets people transfer miles, and hence I'm asking: anyone got a couple thousand miles to spare? (They'll let you transfer in increments of 5,000; I need 40,000 still.)
I can't lie -- there's a fee of 1 cent per mile, so you're going to be effectively donating me a bit of cash, although once everything's done I intend to try to get US Airways to refund the fees. (They won't do it up front.) Nevertheless, anything that anyone could spare would be greatly appreciated.
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/charitycam/aliens/working.gif) busy
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daemonv
| 12:37 pm - Tweets for Today
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November 11th, 2008
flurious
 | 05:08 pm
RIP
Fred, Ethel, and Lucy
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November 10th, 2008
robogock
 | 01:12 pm - I laughed so hard I nearly cried.
I had a dentist appointment in Squirrel Hill today. On my way there, I was stopped at a street corner by a man who, after asking whether I had voted in the election, told me how he was opposed to Biden because he didn't think that Biden is who he says he is, and furthermore this man had written an article about it in order to "raise awareness." He handed me his six-page printout, and we proceeded on our ways.
The basic gist of the article is this: Biden claims to be Irish Catholic, but actually his father may have been an English Jew (gasp!). Furthermore, Biden willingly associates with people who have Jewish-sounding names (gasp again!). He even LOOKS Jewish! Clearly, he is not telling us his whole background, and thus... something. The actual point of the article seems to be lost in the wave of anti-Semitism.
I'm not going to re-type the whole article, and sadly it doesn't appear to be online, but here are a few ( key quotes )
Oh, and did I mention how this article was handed to me in the most Jewish neighborhood of the city?
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November 9th, 2008
daemonv
| 12:17 pm - Tweets for Today
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mdrnprometheus
| 09:32 am - Ron Davis, MD, MPH, RIP
2008.06.17 Alik and Ron Davis at AMA Annual
Originally uploaded by mdrnprometheus.
![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) turnberryknkn mentioned it briefly a day or so ago: on Thursday, just as most of us were convening for the AMA meeting in Orlando, we were told that Dr. Ron Davis, our President last year, died at home after battling pancreatic cancer throughout his presidential year. That photo was taken this June; at the time, he was headed into possible remission. I didn't really think it'd be the last time I saw him.
Ron started in the Medical Student Section and worked his way up over decades. He was everything you could want from the leader of America's physicians -- funny, friendly, and completely devoted to always doing the right thing for patients. He was almost universally respected and beloved, and right as he took the job that he'd wanted for over a decade, he received the news that he was probably in his last year on this Earth.
Some people might get a bit depressed by that. Ron took the news as a sign to double his efforts and cram as much as possible into that single year. He barnstormed across the country promoting our plans for universal health coverage, even when chemo side effects left him barely unable to eat. He spent time with his family, but spent just as much time at meetings and in Washington. He used his internal political capital to push us forward, including a historic public apology to black physicians for our prior institutional racism. Above all, he reminded us to follow his example and never stop working. I can't read his "Circle of Life" speech without tearing up. (The video's even worse, and I'm trying to find a link.)
Before our moment of silence yesterday, Ron was mentioned as a loving husband and father, a caring physician, and a passionate advocate for his patients. That's pretty much everything any of us could hope would be said when we pass on.
You are deeply missed, Ron, and we will carry on in your name.
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/charitycam/aliens/sad.gif) sad
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November 8th, 2008
daemonv
| 12:44 pm - Tweets for Today
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November 7th, 2008
daemonv
| 12:21 pm - Tweets for Today
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November 6th, 2008
daemonv
| 12:13 pm - Tweets for Today
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stepleton
| 12:19 am - 11/4/2008
( Read more... )
My doorknocking knuckle is still sore.
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November 5th, 2008
daemonv
| 12:45 pm - Tweets for Today
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November 4th, 2008
lululand
 | 10:40 pm - A Moment In History
I can't believe Barack won!! An amazing event happened tonight, and I was one of millions who helped make it happen. Haha, my roommate and I took pictures with Barack on TV to record the momentous occasion. Back in middle school, my history teacher noted that America would elect a black president before they elected a female president, and I guess that prediction came true. Well, I can only hope that the future continues to bring progress and open minds.
I'm really excited to see where Obama takes us, but am scared that he will screw up, especially since he will be under extremely close scrutiny (in part, no doubt, to his race), and has to work with the mess that Bush has created. I'm also scared about crazy racists out there who might get it in their heads to try and harm him or his family. But it's nice to see an intelligent, well-educated, and culturally competent man stand at the helm of our county. I admit, he's a politician, and like McCain, he's often said things that voters want to hear, but I really, really hope he is able to do good things for our country. People who believe in discussion and don't charge bullishly ahead insisting "might is right" tend to be better facilitators, and it's always useful to have a skilled facilitator around.
In other news, I've been sorely disappointed in how our state is voting on Prop. 8. It's easy to argue with those who are simply homophobic and are obviously being discriminatory in voting yes on Prop. 8, but it's trickier to reason with minority groups (ahem, Asian parents) who believe that, traditionally, marriage is only between a man and a woman. Well, tradition also made Chinese women bind their feet, denied American women the right to vote, and treated African-Americans like animals of labor. To in turn discriminate against a minority group simply because they are different is completely senseless. But I guess it does carry on the great American tradition of formerly discriminated-against groups becoming the new discriminators.
Honestly, I don't like being told what to do more than the next person. This past weekend, a friend and I were seated next to a gay couple at a restaurant, and we chatted about voting. At the end of our chat, one of the men commented, "Just please vote no on 8 - it's extremely important." I completely agree, but surprisingly felt a bit put upon because how did he know I wasn't homophobic or a conservative Christian who really thought being gay is "wrong?" So I get it when people are annoyed by the in-your-face "Vote No on 8" advocates, but another aspect to consider is that how strongly you feel about it also relates to how many gay people you actually know. If you've never met a gay person or don't have any friends who are gay, you might feel indifferent and not invested in the outcome. But to me, it's personal. I have friends, colleagues, friends of friends, and teachers who are gay. Just because they chose a partner of the same sex, who am I to refuse them a right all straight people take for granted, and to make sure I thoroughly rub salt into the wound, write it into our constitution? It's completely ridiculous. The whole financial backing of the campaign in support of 8 also proves that religion has had an extremely difficult time separating itself from politics.
Progress has been made tonight, but there's still a long, long way to go.
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daemonv
| 12:13 pm - Tweets for Today
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avocado_tom
 | 12:06 pm - Neat Article...
I like this article for it's early-the-piece description of Pennsylvania, which I find to be spot on...
The rest of the article waxes philosophical (and liberal) about a path forward for the nation, which hits my heartstrings on a couple of different levels, mainly from the Hope for the future inherent in the words.
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