Technology ain't it grand?

Today as I headed up to work the usual 1 hr. each way drive was extended in both directions by another ½ an hour due to road construction. It will be nice when it’s done and hopefully all finished before the few tourists we’ve had of late are traveling through. I can’t imagine sitting on a freeway in Los Angeles for hours grid locked. We are so fortunate here.

On the drive I was listening to CBC radio, as is my habit, and there was a technology guru talking about the music industry and how the internet had changed the business. He described the net as a collection of like minded communities where folks hung out where they felt most comfortable ex. gardening, music etc. I was thinking that the internet has changed the way we work and play (entertainment to research) as well as communicate and all of this (locally) within the past 15 years. I wouldn’t be able to say I was a writer or ‘published a blog’ without all the technological advances.

Now I’m not sure that Facebook is one of the techie things I’ve been missing out on. What advantages are there to be registered on Facebook other than being able to know what it is when discussing it in a social situation or being able to say that you’re listed? I checked out all the nurses groups (and there were many) listed and obviously this medium appeals to the under 30 group. Most of the postings were from students, contained lots of vulgar language and drinking stories which I could overhear any evening in the city. I guess it ‘might’ prove that I’m a little less uncool to my kids? What I was hoping was for some connections to overseas work etc. but I guess I’ll just have to surf the net to find those.

The other statement the guru made was about the ‘law of unintended consequences’ and that sure reminded me of healthcare where there are often all kinds of these consequences. For example, in Nova Scotia over the past few weeks there have been 500 healthcare workers exposed to mumps, 134 of these have had no immunity so have been excluded for work (long incubation period) for some time. This all stemming from a decision decades ago to only give babies one MMR shot (measles, mumps, rubella) and now we have an outbreak. Needless to say this is putting a huge strain on staffing health care in already tight situations. So the plan is to immunize (voluntarily) all NS health care workers. Well, from what I can see over the past week or so those who need the vaccine the most are the most reluctant, less likely to follow through and those who likely either have had the disease or are not likely to come in direct contact are the ones waiting on the doorstep for the shots. I took the cooler and ice packs and picked up vaccine today from Public Health so we shall see how the battle goes on home turf tomorrow. Sigh.

It seems that today I had my ideas run into as to what the definition of a senior was. I was listening to the local radio station on my extended commute home from work in the regional site and the DJ was commenting that there was a free senior swim at a local pool for seniors aged 50 yrs and up. It had not occurred to me to seek special discounts/privileges because of my age at this (early) timeline in my life. Hmm. And to think that I was considering myself middle aged. Good thing I had my Laura Secord chocolates to console myself with. The only problem with them being miniatures is that you have to eat twice as many to have the same effect.