On the 8 Spot

Based on the sound bites heard on the local media the Philippine Government’s plan on the energy crisis includes

• getting guarantees from governments with a considerable oil production
• lower taxes
• begging oil companies to not raise price
• considering 4 day work week
• promotion of natural gas
• promotion of bio fuels

bio fuels and natural gas are plainly bad policy. It’s surprising that no tax is being proposed or at least considered. We have 1980 circa cars and engines plying the country’s streets and highway’s.  I cant seem to relate with the fact that buses and more noticeably jeepney’s are simply never retired. I could go on and on but I am getting worked up.

I pray the leaders of my country read the nytimes at least the good parts;

from this article:

Unlike America, Denmark, which was so badly hammered by the 1973 Arab oil embargo that it banned all Sunday driving for a while, responded to that crisis in such a sustained, focused and systematic way that today it is energy independent. (And it didn’t happen by Danish politicians making their people stupid by telling them the solution was simply more offshore drilling.)

PS:

Many people are amazed that the US didn’t really do anything after the first oil shocks of the 1970’s

Hmm ask the republicans??? No that’s unfair, ask the congress of those times.

My parents are doctors, my mom is an ob-gyne and my dad’s a urologist, add to this my aunt and uncles who are either doctors, nurses , medical technologist; going into engineering field meant somewhat alienating myself to a lot of people. But the strange circumstance of my environment also gave me somewhat of an advantage during medical emergencies, I usually keep my head because when I was a child my mom and dad always seem to be the most level headed people around whenever a medical emergency is occurring; this also meant I usually self medicate and during the few times I go to a doctor who I do not personally know, I can usually second guess what he/she is going to do and to prescribe for my symptoms ( the truth is the only reason I go to doctors is to get medical certificates whenever I am absent for classes ).

But most people don’t have the same background and when someone you care about is in trauma or shock or in conditions like asthma and/or allergy attack people need and it is right for us to expect that the web has something of a resource for us to consult with.

Another benefit of this is that we make it easy for medical professionals from poor countries such as the Philippines to be exposed to new medical treatments, clinical techniques etc. Two weeks ago we were having dinner after my mom attended a post-graduate seminar on her specialization, my dad asked her what the topics were and my mom told here new studies, and I asked her what kind of studies were presented , she said mostly they discuss studies done in other countries mostly from US UK Germany France Canada (Industrialized Nations), I just went 3 days in 6 hours of sleep so I was a little slow that night and had to ask why are there no studies made here? My dad said something to the effect of some but effectively none.

Harvard Medical School To Help Build Wikipedia for Medicine
Brainchild of Silicon Valley entrepreneur, Medpedia will feature content written by experts and scholars

Published On Friday, August 08, 2008 1:45 PM

By JUNE Q. WU
Crimson Staff Writer

ARTICLE TOOLS: E-mail this Article Printer Friendly Version NEW Listen to this article NEW Download MP3 Write a Letter to the Editor

It started with late nights, four crying kids, and a worried father.

James P. Currier, founder and chairman of Medpedia—what aims to become the world’s largest collaborative online encyclopedia of medicine and health—recalls scouring the Web for medical information while comforting a sick child or two. Even for a tech-savvy entrepreneur in Silicon Valley, readily-accessible, credible information was not easy to find online.

“I felt as if medical information on the Web was more underdeveloped than other areas I was used to spending time on the Web with,” Currier said. “I’ve been building Web sites for years, and I felt that there needed to be an upgrade on what was available.”

The Medpedia Project, which Currier aims to launch by the end of the year, is a global effort modeled after Wikipedia, to build a comprehensive medical resource that will be readily accessible and understandable to both health professionals and patients.

In addition to the encyclopedic “wiki” component of Medpedia—which will be edited by approved contributors selected through an internal review process—the online Web site will serve as a professional network for the medical community and a platform for patient groups.

“In the big picture, it’s an attempt to engage the health and medical communities with Web technology, something that is only beginning today,” said Currier, who graduated from Harvard Business School in 1999 and has partnered with scholars at Harvard to launch Medpedia.
Though the free public site will be launched by year end, a preview site is already available.

read whole thing here:

Is down 2-1 in the best of seven series for the smart pba fiesta conference.

Why is this feeling like Boston’s Massacre in the Garden.

No Please No! I Knew I should have watched it live (as if my being there would have swung the tides of fate!)