comments encouraged..: October 2010

this week i

respect nate silver's ability to explain important statistical concepts about polling to the public.

want to be bill gates' foot soldier. 'polio could be the first disease of the 21st century to be eradicated.'

attended a mckinsey presentation at lse about a new management metric. they presented one (arguably) significant correlation with one health outcome (heart attack within thirty days) in one country studied (of seven) for one brief slide, then dove into the intricacies of this hospital management score before convincing us it had any real bearing on patient care or hospital quality. suffering from an acute case of being economists with no healthcare background. a reminder to focus health research on outcomes and cost and nothing else.

explored london.

stood where you're supposed to stand.

went where you're supposed to go.

sightsaw what you're supposed to see..

..it's beautiful, but not for me.

love this city for the children chasing pigeons..

..not the ornamented bridges.

for another language always within earshot..

for constant reminders that they drive on the other side

for rare scenes, unsuitable for postcards

for british assholes, faking disabilities with a smile

for world cuisine and save-the-world conversation..

..not stone cold earles.

understand that the history books might already be full..

..but also that the whole story hasn't been written.

offer token reverence to the public health equivalent of the liberty bell..

..but treasure today's terrible translation.

demand to discover.

spent the weekend in geneva..

..home to the who.

bought a pound of vegetables - yes still eating a pound of vegetables every morning - for $7.50. unlike american vegetable medleys, however, found a naturally-occurring fractal among the cauliflower and broccoli stumps.

don't mind the high prices, so long as your host will home-cook for you.

enjoyed the icrc museum..

..housing the first nobel peace prize..

..and a wall of opportunity to do tremendous good with facial recognition software (conflict-displaced children).

stereotyped the swiss..

expert clockmakers

socialized railways

low competition for the primo domain names

swiss chocolate overdose alternatives

bicycle parity

and everyone looks the same.

10/28/10

this week i

released our review of what privatized medicare plans will be available to seniors in 2011.

removed excel's gridlines from appearing by default in a brand new spreadsheet. instructions:
(1) open a blank excel file;
(2) click 'view' on the ribbon along the top;
(3) uncheck the gridlines box;
(4) save that file as a template - "book.xlst" - file in the folder c:\program files (x86)\microsoft office\office12\xlstart;
(5) close and then re-open the program.

got my tourist on..

..with my good friends kirsten and huseyin.

listened to jazz..

..on the seine.

would vote the louvre pyramid builders out of office.

saw skyline soccer.

ate snails.

visited hilltop churches.

was held up by lovable drunks on the late-night parisian metro.

admired gardens..

..and arcs.

spent more on crepes than hotels.

found the magic of paris everywhere..

in easy paths to citizenship

awesome ancient gargoyles

lousy hunchback impersonators

silly rabbits

..what happens when the french try to do smokey the bear

clean streets

marilyn monroes..

..and other little touches of home

regal lawns

ping pong prehistory

had enough. rode through the chunnel.

began working remotely in canary wharf.

10/21/10

this week i

released our examination of the current state of medicare spending among nursing home residents - opportunities for cost savings, decreased hospitalizations, & better workforce coordination. opening remarks by don berwick - the head of the hhs agency with a larger budget than the department of defense.

wined and dined at the phillips collection.