What I think, watch, listen to, and eat each week
The thoughts and words that I want to share
Hello, Autumn in Canberra is horrendous (in my opinion). The evenings become colder and the air which is already too dry for my liking gets even drier. This means my skin cracks more, it hurts every day, and my expenditure on moisturiser goes up.
There may be some confusion about the words quarantine and isolation. Last week, I wrote about the confusion some people have about the name of an infectious disease and the name of the microorganism that causes it.
What’s in a name (or two)? The virus formerly known as 2019-nCoV and the disease formerly known as 2019-nCoV infection.
Changes in names of microorganisms can be frustrating for non-health people as well as healthcare practitioners. Not least for ageing pathologists and medical laboratory scientists (me) who also struggle to keep up to date. The names of organisms and the diseases caused are important. It’s important we get the names correct and we use the names correctly so we have clarity when communicating about microorganisms and infectious diseases.
The virus formerly known as 2019-nCoV has been named by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV). The ICTV designated the virus as Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-COV-2) and it sits in the species Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus alongside SARS-COV. The species sits within the Genus: Betacoronavirus.
The World Health Organization has designated the disease caused by SARS-COV-2 as Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Getting the distinction correct between the cause or ætiological agent and the disease or syndrome or manifestation or condition is important. It’s frustrating to read experts refer to diseases by using microorganism names and vice versa. I find it odd when looking at a list titled something like “Important agents of concern” and see anthrax listed rather than Bacillus anthracis or in a list titled something like “Important diseases of concern” to see Listeria rather than listeriosis.
As you can tell I am a pedantic old fart.
Last year my aim was to break the 77 kilogram barrier. A week in Norfolk Island and then a delicious Christmas and New Year period thwarted my dreams.
I got close a few times last year but didn’t really dip below the goal weight.
Yes, I’ve become philosophical this week. I spent my spare time this week listening to the audiobook version of Man’s 4th Best Hospital by Samuel Shem who authored the classic hit, viz., The House of God. I mentioned these books in last week’s post.
The we and not the I is something I struggle with. Living alone and basically having anti-social tendencies means I tend to think of the I rather than the we more often than not. I feel awkward in we situations and because of my deafness and tinnitus I’m forever asking people to repeat what they say. I also feel awkward because I’m at a loss when it comes to making small talk. Furthermore, I’m also not familiar with a lot of contemporary language and culture. People today seem to speak in a different language. Mumbling also seems to be the norm amongst many people.
I’ve found out the hard way in some situations that my dark cynical view of life is not welcome. My open blunt and direct sense of humour often smattered with words associated with bodily functions and colourfully accurate descriptions seems to make people shy away.
Continue reading “Focus on the we and not the I”
Jemima the duck is apparently a thing. I’d never heard of Jemima the duck until this week.
This week saw the death of a star. Most readers know that I’m a keen fan of Star Trek in all its forms, even to some extent the Jar Jar movies in the Kelvin timeline. This week saw the death of a star in Barbara March who played the character Lursa (one of the Duras sisters along with B’Etor [played by Gwynyth Walsh]) who appeared in Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space 9, and the movie Star Trek: Generations.
Do you have Good Friday traditions? I started one a couple of years ago when I cooked beef ribs and broke a tooth. I did it last year too sans broken tooth though. Each time I cooked the beef ribs in the oven, this year I went with the slow cooker.
Check out this year’s cook towards the end of this post.
Continue reading “Good Friday traditions and my weight goes up”
Goodbye daylight saving, I really don’t like daylight saving. I’m an early morning person and I don’t care about having light at the end of the day. I don’t exercise outside after work, I don’t socialise with anyone after work, all I need is light and heat so I can cook and eat.
Continue reading “Goodbye Daylight Saving (DLS), How I hate you”
Round one of the National Rugby League (NRL) season for 2019 began on Thursday evening. The Brisbane Broncos (the team I support) played the Melbourne Storm (my number three team in the competition). Unfortunately, the Storm defeated the Broncos convincingly.
Continue reading “The footy season has started”