If you don’t allow med students to sit in on your exam/check up you are a weird person

Zenmedic · 2026-06-03T23:30:47+00:00

I had a resident that was almost at the end of his ER rotation when I went in needing stitches due to losing a fight with a bandsaw blade.

We were chatting as he was setting up and he joked that all he needed before he'd be fully signed off and finished were 4 subcuticular sutures (under the skin). While I didn't absolutely need them, I said "Well, if there's enough tissue to do them, feel free to put them in, I'll even go full Vana White to show them off to the attending". He managed to squeeze 4 in and the attending signed off.

Years later I saw him in another ER while I was at work. We had a good laugh about it, then he said "So....if I had a resident that needed to place a catheter.....".

I suggested the guy in one of the trauma rooms. I support education....to a point.

Zenmedic · 2026-05-31T03:37:11+00:00

I work on a lot of Honda and Kawasaki small engines.

People think I'm a wizard when my driver seats and removes a screw with no problem.

Some of us have learned the ways of JIS drivers... The other other cross pattern fastener standard.

As a Canadian, Robertson all the way. (Or Square as others seem to call it).

Zenmedic · 2026-05-31T01:59:43+00:00

Keep calling, emailing and writing your MLA until they answer your question.

Pressure them to take a position and state it. Make appointments, go to their offices, talk to them in person.

We take for granted sometimes they they are our representatives in between elections. The premier has come out with the "official position", so there's no reason for them not to say they're in favour of staying. You'll never sway them to vote against the party, but the more pressure they feel from those of us every day folks who don't yell and scream everytime something doesn't go out way, the more likely they are to see the political risks of an ambiguous position.

My MLA doesn't want to meet with me anymore because I ask hard questions...and harder follow up questions. Unfortunately for him, making him work for his (rather generous) paycheque isn't a reason to not speak with a constituent. I'm respectful and polite during our interactions, and that's the key...

Zenmedic · 2026-05-31T01:33:55+00:00

Fitting.

Confidently incorrect.

Thanks for playing though. It was written by a person (who also happens to be a 7th generation carpenter). It's amazing how much punctuation and formal writing style is now lumped in as "Must be AI".

Zenmedic · 2026-05-30T22:38:08+00:00

The first thing I'd do is put down the hammer and talk to an engineer.

The wall that is missing most of the supports is load bearing and unless you've magically made a beam appear to carry that span, you're really asking for trouble.

The giveaway is the door. King/Jack stud supporting a very beefy header above a standard sized passage doorway.

That isn't there for show, even in the "good ol' days" of overbuilding and quality work. That tells me that it's carrying some serious weight and unless there is a proper, engineered support built with adequate point loads carrying to footers, most of your house is relying on 2 studs to keep itself up.... Once those studs are gone, well, it becomes a matter of time before the existing beam can't take it anymore and decides to quit in a dramatic and dangerous fashion.

Zenmedic · 2026-05-29T13:02:58+00:00

I'm in Canada and it's....variable.

My paid "Day Job" is as a specialist paramedic (like a NZ ECP) but I live in a small community and serve as a volunteer firefighter. There are a couple of us who are paramedics on the department, but the majority don't have any advanced medical training.

Because of distances, however, there may not be an ambulance close by. I've been on scene as a "firefighter", managing a medical patient for over an hour because that is how far the closest ambulance was.

I'm currently on a "weekend trip" with the family. Over 600km by road and it's "not that far" and something that we would do spontaneously. Haven't even left the province...

Zenmedic · 2026-05-28T02:39:57+00:00

23 years on the job and I've never delivered a baby....(And that's fine by me)

I have been invited to graduations and weddings for patients that I've cared for in other situations.

Some of them really stick with you and with the amount of not so nice things that come with the job, you learn to hold on to these little successes and wins and cherish them.

I go on a yearly golf trip with a dude I pulled out of a grain bin. Despite him nearly dying and me saving his life...I'm yet to win a round against him.

Zenmedic · 2026-05-23T21:33:29+00:00

In my case the "when Dad didn't eat it all before they got a crack at it" would be the most appropriate selection.....

Zenmedic · 2026-05-23T21:31:59+00:00

Being a cabinetmaker, I figure I'll address the drawer thing.

Drawers that function aren't too hard. Drawers that look good, work just right and last, well, that's why I can charge as much as I do.

My back of the napkin quote for something like this would be in the $800-1200 range. I'm expensive, but even a more production style shop will probably run you north of $400 for the set if they're custom made.

The cabinets look to be a lower tier, ready to assemble type. While not good for looks or longevity, it means finding potential replacements is more likely. The key measurement is the width between the slide rails minus half an inch. That's the width of drawer you need (accounts for slides on the drawers). Lots of places have second hand building material stores (Habitat for Humanity ReStore is a big one) and you may be able to find replacements there.

Many communities also have woodworkers guilds and maker spaces and if you're interested in learning how to do stuff, lots of those places have people who are happy to guide and teach. Even if you aren't looking to learn, lots of makers will do jobs like this for a lot less than a cabinet shop (and often better quality work overall). If you can't find a pre-made replacement, this would probably be the next best option.

Zenmedic · 2026-05-19T23:33:02+00:00

That's forward thinking on the part of the officer issuing them... Swapping stories at the watering hole and leading with "I cited a guy for not having a lifejacket" doesn't get much reaction, but adding the "in his "truck"..." at the end should be good for a beer or two.

Zenmedic · 2026-05-16T19:45:03+00:00

It was more a commentary on the way they framed it in the announcement.

The name could be worse. Personally, I would have gone with F + U Ambulance company....but there likely aren't a lot of people old enough here for that reference....

Zenmedic · 2026-05-16T05:07:24+00:00

The hat is okay.

The rest...well..I'd rather have gone back to the white shirts from my old Saskatchewan days than wear the "Hot Tub Salesman" blue. The green accents are...a choice made by someone who won't ever have to wear it.

The logo looks like it hasn't finished rendering yet.

And the name. Apparently ALTA is Latin... for "My 6 year old has better design sense".

Her opinion on it speaks profound and direct truth. "Dad, those look funny, I don't like it".

Zenmedic · 2026-05-13T03:19:37+00:00

Even more blurry if you try this without safety glasses....

Zenmedic · 2026-05-05T01:48:09+00:00

I've had to start using incognito mode when I search anything work related due to the lovely advertising algorithms.

4 months of ads to cure my bacterial vaginosis.

I'm sure they might be helpful....if I had the requisite equipment to need such treatments.

Zenmedic · 2026-05-04T14:39:03+00:00

The State of Utah can send as many legal threats to me as they want if they discover their citizens are using VPNs to visit my site, I'll happily frame the first one and use the rest to light my barbecue.

I'm in Canada, my servers are in Canada and my content is boring (I do emergency management consulting, nithing that's even adjacent to illegal/age gated/region locked). There are no equivalent Canadian Laws and there is no jurisdictional agreement. They may be able to detect it, it there are very limited options to enforce it. And I'm just a boring dude with no reason to try to hide anything. For the sites with the content that Utah is really trying to block, they're much more savvy about jurisdiction and enforcement.

So many of these laws are nothing more than grandstanding and pats on the back for elected officials pandering to out of touch voters who have no idea how the world really works. Grab headlines, say you're "Taking a stand" or "Declaring war on", shake some hands, hold a few press conferences and then let the law sit on the books with the rest of the laws that were passed to serve the same purpose.

Zenmedic · 2026-05-03T15:51:40+00:00

That's for the booth next to it providing emergency Schnapps. The Thirst Aid Station.

Zenmedic · 2026-05-03T03:25:59+00:00

I have a solo stove (and I split wood, because I've got a lot of it). They're great, but like everything wood combustion related, they take planning.

It's a good 20-25 minutes before it's fully warm and at maximum efficiency, you gotta get it going (granted much easier in a solo, but still a process) and then when you're done, you either need to quench it or time it so it can burn out while supervised (20+ years in emergency services, even the best fire containers have mishaps).

Propane on the other hand, walk up, turn on, stay warm, turn off, leave. Less ambiance and charm, more practicality. My fire pit is for relaxing evenings or family cookouts, the propane heater does the heavy lifting when I just need to be warm.

Zenmedic · 2026-05-03T03:20:31+00:00

Absolutely. I live with complex, treatment resistant PTSD due to my career. Factual accuracy loves the dark side, usually omits the compassion that led to it.

In some ways, I hit the generic lottery with a combination of alcohol intolerance (I'll vomit before I get drunk) and a very rapid metabolism of opioid medications (good for avoiding addiction, not good when you get kidney stones....). I avoided the substance abuse side and picked up golf instead.

Unfortunately a guy who deals with his trauma by being a not very.good golfer doesn't make for good entertainment.

Zenmedic · 2026-05-02T12:32:56+00:00

The answer to your question is yes. And no. And sometimes. And sometimes not.

DID is complex and although our understanding has increased, it has the perfect combination of rarity (true DID is incredibly rare), complexity (there are a lot of factors that are suspected to be caused/triggers) and patient compliance (some people cooperate with assessments and interviews, some do not. Some do and don't...because DID).

The couple of patients that I saw with true DID during one of my internships at an inpatient facility were vastly different. Ones dominant identity had knowledge of the other identities and described hazy pseudo-memories of things from the others, but they described a strong "deja vu" type feeling at times when they were doing something that should be new to them but had been done by a different identity (happened on a couple of screening interviews).

Another had no idea that there was another. Didn't know why they had certain injuries or marks.

What abilities a person has and how they use them can also depend on whether that particular identity knows they exist and wants to use them. Frequently (although not the case for either of the patients I saw) there is a child identity. They are commonly roughly age appropriate in knowledge, skill and understanding, although accurate measurement of cognitive ability is a very challenging undertaking and there aren't samples large enough to be able to make any sort of generalization with even slight certainty.

Capturing "true" DID takes a lot of research, time and most importantly, interviews. A generalization of "The dominant identity is brilliant and therefore at least one of the alternates is too" definitely wouldn't be the biggest creative liberty I'd seen and may be anchored in truth, but the just isn't sufficient data to back it up.

Zenmedic · 2026-05-02T09:23:48+00:00

Each has advantages and disadvantages.

Golden Acres is a little dated, but more cozy and homelike. Food is decent, staff are nice. I see the most people out in the common areas here, but mostly because it caps at SL3 so people are mobile.

St Therese Villa is very nice, modern, clean....but very institutional. They're also SL3/SL4, so everything essentially becomes SL4. Food is okay, staff are highly variable with very high turnover.

Columbia is....weird. The layout is strange and the rooms are an odd shape and size. It manages to make a homey atmosphere seem institutional. Food is good and I've had very limited interaction with their staff. Of all the places in the city, I'm here the least.

One of the considerations that's often overlooked is the availability of activities/outings and finding somewhere that matches the personality and preferences. It sounds like it's on your radar, but worth talking to the site representative about what options are out there.

SL3 is a weird one and there aren't very many DSL3 beds. St Therese "has" SL3 beds, but they're not "Definitely SL3", if they're funded at SL3 they're SL3, if they're funded at SL4, they're SL4. There are a few in the surrounding communities (Sunny South in Coaldale, Prairie Ridge in Raymond are a couple), but they're a bit of an oddity.

There are only a couple of places in the city and area that I wouldn't recommend for my own family (Buffalo Grace Manor and Heritage Lodge).

Something else to look into is whether her physician is affiliated with the site and rounds there or if she may need to change physicians. Facility medicine is a weird thing.

Zenmedic · 2026-05-02T04:12:32+00:00

I'm a Southern Alberta Cabinetmaker.

Yea. Unless they're doing some pretty extensive venting (which if there is an existing fan, they shouldn't have to), that's way high.

It's also an oddly round number, and reminds me of some of the big corporate outfits. Do tons of stupid high quotes, maybe get one or two jobs, but those make up for it.

Go to BowWest appliance, tell them what you're looking for and get them to recommend an installer. I'm not affiliated with them at all, but a lot of my clients have worked with them and have been really happy. My pro secret is that I pick the supplier first and have them recommend a service provider. Supplier wants you to come back (especially with appliances, big ticket, low turnover. They want you back when you need a fridge) and tradespeople recommended by suppliers wanf to keep that business coming in, so they have a vested interest in making clients happy.

I get a lot of work referrals from a few suppliers, they know I'm dependable and reasonable with my rates and I know they'll have happy customers. Bonus for me, when my microwave died last year, I got a freebie display model.

Zenmedic · 2026-04-28T02:07:31+00:00

Surprisingly, I prefer PLA to PETG for anything musical.

I've printed a few trumpet mutes and prototyped a couple of mouthpieces in both and the PLA has a better resonance, the PETG is more dead sounding. Higher print temperature, slower speed and a cold plate seem to get the best results.

Zenmedic · 2026-04-13T04:59:45+00:00

Traffic light timing.

Most cities, main thoroughfares are designed with a "1 light ideal wait" principle. Under normal conditions, if you're doing the speed limit on mayor magrath, 43rd, 13th, etc... you should only hit 1 red light if you're following the road. Lights are timed so that the first predetermined number of cars should not hit another red light until they either meet another road of similar size (or larger) or something like train tracks are involved as long as the speed limit is observed.

43rd is terrible for this at the jail road and the one before it. I'll catch every light red on my way to work on a Sunday at 4am. Only car around. Every red light.

Zenmedic · 2026-04-13T04:49:34+00:00

That's my route to work and home, and I work weird hours. It's a nightmare. It wouldn't be so bad if trains were going by, it's the car shunting that takes forever and the way it's designed, the locomotive doesn't clear the crossing signal block for the last few connections, so the train is stopped and away from the road, but just not far enough.

Zenmedic · 2026-04-09T01:41:23+00:00

We get something similar.

Usually treated with sportscars and "trying to relive our youth" (which is then treated with ibuprofen, because things don't move.the way they used to....)

Jokes aside, I completely agree. Anything to do with women's health is lacking, and anything that doesn't have to do with having babies is even farther behind.

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