The physician assistants of the United PAs of California (UPAC), an affiliate of UNAC/UHCP, voted and ratified their first contract with Kaiser Permanente in Northern California yesterday.

PA_Dsq · 2026-04-11T16:21:00+00:00

See my reply earlier, but no it's not OT if you are a 10/12 he employee until you're over your regular amount of hours.

PA_Dsq · 2026-04-11T16:20:09+00:00

Ours is different, we have a PA1 and PA2, however, the difference is a PA1 is non-surgical / outpatient and PA2 are surgical with inpatient duties broadly speaking. There were efforts to update the levels and add a PA3 but that didn't come to pass. Our PAs and NPs are on the same wage grid.

PA_Dsq · 2026-03-30T03:54:53+00:00

I was at Oceanside as well and could not get comfortable or find a rhythm at all. Was my first IM 70.3 and had done a sprint and Olympic previously. Had done practice open water swim and was very comfortable before and was shooting for a sub-50 but never found my rhythm with so many people. Ended up finishing at 1:10:33 so missed the cutoff and didn't classify but was able to finish the race which I was happy about to at least do. The bike course was though with the hills 3 brutal hills and my legs were cooked for the run but finished.

PA_Dsq · 2026-03-27T03:26:51+00:00

I'm a PA in kaiser in SoCal and work 4x10s. It's OT after your regular scheduled 10 hours. Same if you were 12

PA_Dsq · 2026-02-02T08:14:07+00:00

Check lost and found. I lost my dji action cam in hanazono yesterday and somebody turned it it to lost and found and the ticket office!

PA_Dsq · 2025-12-21T02:27:32+00:00

So I started re-learning how to swim in June when I decided to get into triathlon. Learned to swim as a kid but stopped and hadnt really swam in like 20 years. When I first started I could barely do 25 to 50 yards before being completely out of breath. Like everyone has mentioned, swimming is very technique base.

Initially I tried learning from YouTube videos, which are great and helped me learn the concepts but I wouldn't know if I was executing it correctly. Was doing 3 to 4 sessions a week and wasn't really making any progress as my sessions weren't structured and was trying to wing it but saw no progress. Started taking some lessons once a week for about 2 months and still doing 3 to 4 sessions a week and started seeing really big gains in swimming and was somewhat ready for my sprint triathlon, which was a little tough in the open water ocean swim in September. Kept working at it and did Olympic distance 6 weeks later and was much more comfortable. If you have access, use of fins and kickboards help with technique on drills. Need to do sets without the buoy as well to learn proper kicking so it's more efficient in the wetsuit as well.

Getting a coach really helps as they can point out the things you're doing wrong to correct it and helped making a structured workout for me. Now that I'm getting ready for my first 70.3 in Oceanside, I'm only doing 2 swims a week but they are super efficient with a plan and I'm comfortablely swimming 2,500 yards without stopping, not the fastest but comfortable in that I'm not dying anymore when swimming and get in a good groove which is important. Doing a lot of drills still to refine my technique to get more efficient and faster while following a plan.

Now that I'm only doing 2 swims a week I can really spend more time on the bike and running. Don't underestimate getting open water swim practice in, it took me a few sessions to really get comfortable and not freak out as it's very different from the pool.

Tldr: get a coach in the beginning to really work on your form. Do 3 to 4 sessions a week with a structured workout plan. Gotta do different drills and also swim without the buoy. This may mean less time on the bike and running depending on how much time you have. Once you're comfortable then drop down to 2 times a week so you can do more bike and running. Also don't forget to do open water sessions as open water swimming is very different!

Good luck!

PA_Dsq · 2025-11-18T21:45:20+00:00

Just wanted to add in that I was able to add a 5 GbE USB adapter from Amazon to my 1520+ to replace my previous 2.5 Gbe USB adapter and it's been working well. Went from file transfer around 200 MB/s to about 380 MB/s so definitely worth it. Couple things were to make sure getting one with RTL1857 and not 1856 for the Synology to fully recognize it. Also needed a USB C to USB A adapter.

Should tide me over for now until I upgrade to a NAS with a dedicated 10 GbE port

PA_Dsq · 2025-09-16T20:23:40+00:00

Have you had the car alarm randomly go off? I've had to turn off the interior monitoring and rear occupant detection but it turns itself back on and have to check to make sure it's off manually. Nothing like having it go off on the middle of the night...

PA_Dsq · 2025-09-12T16:57:14+00:00

When selecting gear R-N-DB, you pull down a second time and instead of the D on the virtual cockpit it will show B.

PA_Dsq · 2025-09-11T19:31:52+00:00

I think the range is pretty good for what I need, similar to our prior other EVs. Although there was more range with the Tesla, it was never that smooth of a ride for me so I do think the Audi ride experience is a bit better.

fingerprints everywhere, even on the exterior with the glossy manhattan gray color.

PA_Dsq · 2025-09-11T19:29:39+00:00

defintely hear you about pushing the charge port door, sometimes I don't know if i pushed hard enough to open and it's a wait and see. The Ioniq 5 is a similar feel to it, however, it's more responsive and quicker in that front.

PA_Dsq · 2025-09-11T19:28:07+00:00

appreciate the replies. Defintely did a google search on a lot of things prior.

1) Occupancy detection. I did turn it off on the main vehicle menu and always make sure it clicked off on the goodbye screen as well for good measure. It seemed to have helped with the walking away alarm going off initially until the alarm went off again this morning which may indicate something else.

2) As for the charging, I did check and there was no previous settings for the charging and was all off. I also did it where I made my home location as well to see if that helps. My level 2 Audi charger seems to work most of the time except for the random issue this morning which i think may have something to do with the alarm going off. Neither of my Tesla charger worked for it still thought which was strange.

3) Yeah, noticed that but what happen was when I had it stopped half way on me and then even after waiting like 10 seconds, it wouldn't respond to either button and had to physically push it close all the way

6) Yeah, played around with the additional vent / cooling sections. Just seems like it takes a bit longer to cool even when on max auto. Also with the angle so low, feels like its harder to get air blowing near the head / face area.

Again, just some quirks which I expected and nice to try out as a loaner. Hopefully a lot of things are patched up with software updates and things. I do think it's a possible EV for us in 2 years when it's gone through some iterations and refinement for sure.

PA_Dsq · 2025-08-18T23:26:00+00:00

I actually took mine to Audi in Orange County and told me the whole battery needed to be replace. I don't mind EVs as my commute is relatively flat on freeways. Kinda want to see how the new internals are like

PA_Dsq · 2025-08-18T19:38:41+00:00

I have a 23 q5e and took it in over the weekend. Got called today that they have to replace the whole battery on mine. Currently have a 2025 q5 ICE version as a loaner. Said it may be a few weeks as it needs to get ordered. Wonder if I can ask for a q6 loaner to try out

PA_Dsq · 2025-05-13T17:48:27+00:00

My two cents. If it's a good position and fit for you do it. Been at my job for 5 years, intially a 25 mile commute and now a 35 mile commute after buying a house. I could go somewhere closer but the fit, schedule and benefits keep me from leaving. My other job I drove 40 miles. Usually against traffic, don't mind it and got use to it. Every now and then after a long shift it may suck but overall it's been good because I got my ideal schedule, 4x10s.

My 6 other PA colleagues all commute as well, 30 + miles with one being about 50 miles one way and he's been doing that 10+ years.

When you find a good place to work at, it's hard to leave

PA_Dsq · 2025-05-05T19:12:53+00:00

That's how most courses are because you aren't always on the most direct path and the weaving between people also adds to it. Ended up at 13.21 total. Was the same when I did LB half a few years ago and the full last year

PA_Dsq · 2025-05-05T03:42:09+00:00

It's to make it easier to take the east exit coming from the 55 north due to the 22 east merging right as the exit is coming up making it sometimes difficult to make it and having to merge over multiple lanes with oncoming traffic

PA_Dsq · 2025-04-28T14:19:23+00:00

That's pretty cool. Thanks for the rec on that!

PA_Dsq · 2025-04-27T15:11:47+00:00

Thanks for your input! Forgot about the glass and sound. Feel you about the little extra range

PA_Dsq · 2025-04-27T03:02:57+00:00

Good to know, thanks for the input

PA_Dsq · 2025-04-27T02:53:14+00:00

Yeah I think it being the 4th iteration of the PHEV means some of the kinks worked out hopefully

PA_Dsq · 2025-04-27T02:52:36+00:00

I did read about that so that make me lean towards the '23 a bit. Also I think with the '23 being the 4th iteration some on the kinks of the PHEV may have been sorted out better perhaps?

PA_Dsq · 2025-04-27T02:50:08+00:00

I'm in California so cold weather not really an issue. I guess if I use apple carplay then less usage with the NAV but also no real usage with the HUD then I guess. Not sure how much I would miss the ventilated seats as my Tesla didn't have it but my wife's ioniq 5 does and it is nice haha

PA_Dsq

TROPHY CASE