Not my favourite meal

While I was in Brisbane last weekend getting warm and moist, Mum shared with me a recipe for a dish I was never really fond of.

Not my favourite meal

I blogged on Yummy Lummy about my indifference to Mum’s pork and peas (see below). It sort of reflects on childhood experiences with racism.

I’ve written about racism elsewhere.

Some Twitter Humour

There seems to be a meme going around on social media at the moment of people laying naked in the sun exposing their anuses and perinea to ultra-violet radiation. Seems like a great way to increase your risk of skin carcinoma including melanoma.

Bear in mind anything with lower frequency waves than violet light is relatively harmless in terms of malignant potential. It’s ultra-violet light and higher wave frequency radiation that tends to be ionising and these wavelengths have malignant potential, especially X-ray and γ-ray radiation.

Anyway, a Canberra tweep mistakenly thought that blokes don’t have a perineum. I replied.

Weight chart

Last week’s trip to Brisbane and the subsequent weight gain hasn’t helped 😳

What have I watched this week?

Stargate SG-1

I’m really getting into Stargate SG-1. It’s now up there with Farscape and Firefly and approaching Star Trek in terms of how much I like it. I probably also need to get back into some Babylon 5 too.

What I like are home some actors are shared between shows and some storylines too. It’s fascinating to see how different writers, producers, and directors interpret a story from one franchise into another.

I’m well into season 4 so far.

Star Trek: Deep Space 9

Inquisition

This episode was directed by Michael Dorn who plays Worf. It focusses on Dr Julian Bashir (the Federation’s chief medical officer on DS9) and the introduction of Section 31. The section in Starfleet’s Charter which was written to permit extraordinary action to protect against extreme threats.

What have I listened to this week?

Behind the Bastards

The bastard who invented homeopathy

A friend at work put me on to this podcast. Amongst other topics, quackery gets a good go. I’ve just listened to the history of homeopathy.

The show hosts deal with the subject sympathetically and go into how a misguided idea has become one of the greatest scams in modern society. I’m constantly amazed at how people can be influenced by misguided celebrities into believing rubbish. Sadly, it longer surprises me that members of the British royal family support homeopathy and the partners of elite sports persons advocate against immunisation. It’s more remarkable when you consider the current outbreak of measles in Samoa which has caused considerable morbidity as well as the death of several children. Given the tropism Measles virus has for T-cells, I expect a lot more problems for Samoa before this is over.

The lack of science teaching in schools in lamentable. I don’t mean technology, I mean science, like biological science.

I look forward to listening to shows on Andrew Wakefield who made claims that MMR immunisation causes autism.

Trust me I’m an expert

Antimicrobial resistant bacteria and fungi are killing hundred of people every week

This show makes a claim that every week, the equivalent of the passenger load of 32 Boeing 747 jumbo jets, die from causes associated with infections caused by microorganisms resistant to antimicrobials. (I note depending on the configuration, a Boeing 747 can range between 400 and 660 passengers).

The point being, that if 32 airliners fell from the sky every week killing all on board, the public would not accept it, they would refuse to fly, and they would demand action from governments and manufacturers. The hosts make the point that knowing this number of people die each week from causes associated with infections caused by microorganisms resistant to antimicrobials, why haven’t members of the general public revolted and demanded change in the practice of medicine?

Going Under

Going Under is the Australian answer to “House of God”.

I can understand why nurses may not like this book. The author writes some disparaging comments about hospital nurses, especially emergency department nurses. This is grossly unfair. Nurses hold the ED together and if nurses and doctors didn’t complement one another along with other essential people from various areas of the hospital, the emergency department would fall apart and patients would suffer.

Going under reminds me of a modern Australian version of Samuel Shem’s House of God. House of God is now very out of date and very politically incorrect, but when I was a medical student and a junior hospital doctor it was compulsory reading. Shem has recently written the sequel which he’s titled, Man’s 4th Best Hospital.

I could identify with some of the stories of the protagonist, albeit the protagonist is a woman, however, the stories of the death van, the bullying, the absurd hierarchy in medicine, and many other stories of hospital life ring true.

More sobering were the stories about patient deaths, coronial inquests, junior doctor bullying, and suicide amongst healthcare professionals.

Some readers (or listeners if you listen to the audio book like I did) will resent the author being critical of parts of the health profession, but I think many others will identify with Katerina “Kitty” Holliday’s intern year.

The author’s epilogue from 2019 is worth reading (or listening to). The author shares some of her experience and thoughts on the tragedy of suicide of health professionals.

I’d put Going Under alongside House of God as worth reading. I laughed, I cried, and I thought carefully while reading it/listening to it.

Mouthy Broadcast

NSFW The broads are back. My friends Jennie, Lauren, and Peter are back after a seven month hiatus.

Just to reiterate NSFW.

The Medical Republic Podcast

What people with obesity want

This was an insightful show on the formation of obesity advocacy groups in Australia.

What have I eaten and photographed this week?

Photographs

This is a gallery of photographs. Click on one image and scroll through the rest of them.

Yummy Lummy this week

Mum’s pork and peas with Chinese sausage.

The cookbook

I don’t think it’s going to happen.

Final thoughts

• Do you have a meal from your past that engender bad feelings?
• Have you ever wanted to sun your perineum?
• Do you like audio books?

I like using @SkylumSoftware Luminar 3 for photo editing
Check out the product https://t.co/HnxMkLpw1J
Yes, if people buy from this link I get a reward.

— Gaz 🖖 (@garydlum) August 15, 2019