The first observing session of the year, the first full moon of the year, the first coloured moon pic of the year:
Wolf Moon (17/01/2022)
Thursday 20th January, 2022
Monday 17th January, 2022
At Higher Risk* but not entirely stupid
10:20 this morning... another call from a withheld number, another recorded message telling me that a Covid-19 jab appointment at the Hinckley vaccination centre has been cancelled. No name or NHS number stated, no reason given for cancellation, and no advice regarding re-booking. It was the third such call to our land-line.
It's anti-vax bullshit, of course. All four people who have lived here at any time during the last 12 months have been triple-jabbed already. I've been invited to arrange my 4th jab but so far I've not accepted that invitation, pending a discussion with my haematologist on Thursday.
We're not stupid, we recognise anti-vax disinformation when we see it, but others may well be taken in by this dangerous scam and may well die as a consequence of their info-vulnerability to these deplorable calls.
I'm reporting the call, of course, but whether anything gets done about it is anyone's guess.
- - - - - - - -
* Apparently my pigeon-hole has been given a new name. It started off as Vulnerable, then went to Extremely Vulnerable, then to Clinically Extremely Vulnerable. I learned today that it's been called At Higher Risk since 24th December 2021. Seems to be an exercise in re-branding, it hasn't made one jot of difference here, I can still catch the pestilence at the drop of a hat.
Saturday 8th January, 2022
Him-sheet
This gem is on my SystmOnline Patient Record:
"her"? Who the fuck is "her"?
I'm not confident that a "Post-CCT Foot and Ankle Fellow" is the right person for the job, especially as it's as clear as day that ALJABI, Yasser (Mr) did not read/understand either the referral letter or my medical records - if he had done so, he would have noticed the following:
That's the NHS-standard-format label which is stuck onto hundreds of my NHS forms... LRI staff said that the "M" indicates "Male"
Those two info-bits are fairly obvious
Those three info-bits are for those skilled in the ancient art of reading sentences
If that one's not sufficiently gender-diagnostic, I don't know what is!
If ALJABI, Yasser (Mr) can't tell a man from a woman, it's a fair bet that he can't tell an arse from an elbow, let alone a shoulder from an ankle.
I would tell him where he can stick his response, but I'm not sure that he'd be able to work it out.
Wednesday 22nd December, 2021
Freecycle
Freecycle.
I like it because it brings out the best in people - kindness, generosity, environmental awareness etc..
I also like it because some of the drivel that people emit there is simply hilarious.
Here are some howlers from around here:
I'm fairly sure that vellum isn't the same as VELUX.
Have you ever wondered why Snoop Dogg sits strangely in those Just Eat ads?
I can't help thinking that rubbing down with sandpaper might achieve a better finish.
Moseley?
Tuesday 21st December, 2021
Jabberwonky
Back in September one of my haematologists arranged for me to have what she called a "third COVID jab".
For some unfathomable reason, that "third" jab has gone on my GP record as having been a "booster" jab.
Now I'm reading NHS articles about having a "vaccine 3rd dose" (https://www.nhs.uk/
So now we're utterly confused. Have I been double-jabbed and boosted, or triple-jabbed? If I'm called for another shot do I need to be specific about which one (AZ, Pfizer, Moderna, other)? Bearing in mind that my antibody response to my current three shots has been zilch, is it really worth me having another?
Common-sense says "have another jab, it might work". Common-sense also says "don't waste a jab that someone else might need"
Anyway, here's a thing:
"This plan may sound appealing to people who know a little about the immune system, but the drawbacks are clear to people who know a lot about the immune system and also to people who don't know anything about it."
Posted under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.5 License (see here).
Sunday 19th December, 2021
Idle hands
I'd stumbled across this Veritasium* clip about the behaviour of rotating bodies: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VPfZ_XzisU (don't ask why I was stumbling anywhere near there). Interesting stuff. I've lost count of how many times I've thrown objects into the air since watching it.
Then I watched the clip about using a domestic microwave oven to make plasma: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCrtk-pyP0I
Chris was intrigued and we were bored (me with being more-or-less confined to barracks, Chris after far too many months of working from home), so we spent an hour or so nuking grapes.
Like most experiments, it was a mix of success and failure. Yes, we made plasma. No, we didn't contain it. The oven door now has a hole where said plasma tried to escape:
Maybe we should have watched this clip before we rushed headlong towards meltdown: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0u8Vtf2GoQ
Stay safe, have fun, and remember this: if the two conflict, always go for the fun.
🙂
* If you enjoyed those two Veritasium clips, you should have a look at the huge list of other interesting content there - there's something for just about anyone. I recommend the item that deals with the science behind tenpin bowling.
