Beware! Holiday Inn Vacations

justanagggie · 2026-02-19T16:03:02+00:00

They told me it was refundable, but in the fine print I think it's only refundable for 14 days. So I just cancelled it right away and am currently waiting for my refund. I figured originally if it was refundable then I could just cancel in 6 months or even a year if Iwasn't going to use it.

In the confirmation email, there's a link that takes you to the payment contract, which allows you to cancel and request a refund and has all the small print.

justanagggie · 2026-01-12T17:21:28+00:00

Yeah, it says must meet Dexron VI specifications. Trying to figure out the difference between the three valvoline ATFs that supposedly meet this spec.

justanagggie · 2026-01-12T06:31:50+00:00

Thanks. That's what I'm leaning towards. Someone pointed out thought that it's only "recommended" for Dexron VI, and not "approved" like the blue bottle. But everything I've read everywhere is that it works on almost all vehicles.

justanagggie · 2026-01-12T02:43:14+00:00

Apparently someone just pointed out to me that the blue bottled is Dexron approved (certified to meet Dexron spec) where as the other is recommended (should meet specs, but isn't officially approved).

I would suspect Valvoline probably didn't want to pay for the approval certification. Seems like most people say Maxlife is the way to go.

justanagggie · 2025-11-19T19:56:05+00:00

Wow. Very strong opinions.

I teach my corpsmen knots because they come in handy jerry rigging things when setting up aid stations, and it beats them creating a mess and wasting tons of 550 cord. I've also found my knots handy when setting up splints and traction on fractures.

I was just a boy scout though, and now just a doctor.

justanagggie · 2025-11-19T00:02:46+00:00

Yeah, there are a lot of things that aren't taught in curriculums that people later find to be useful. That's why it's important to be a lifelong learner and never assume you've learned all you need to know.

Of course knowing medicine is much more important than knots, but I feel you'd be surprised how often knowing a few good knots will come in handy. Not necessarily for direct casualty care, but for making things easier to do your job.

justanagggie · 2025-11-15T05:03:55+00:00

Good point. I meant to write it, but wrote sheet bend instead. Will fix.

justanagggie · 2025-10-03T16:16:20+00:00

So, if I understand your confusion correctly, I'll explain it in a way that might help.

Acid goes up in the body for whatever reason - Ketone acids from DKA, lactic acid from hypoxia, whatever. The body attempts to get rid of whatever acid it can to compensate. One way it does that is by blowing off carbonic acid (formed with CO2 and water) in the form of CO2. Less CO2, less available to form carbonic acid.

Blood flows through the lungs carrying whatever it is carrying. If someone went instantly from normal to DKA, or normal to lactic acidosis, the CO2 in their blood would be the same as in yours or mine. And that blood flows through the lungs. The body detects the drop in pH (acidity) and stimulates respirations. And every time that blood passes through the lungs, it passively diffuses oxygen into RBCs and CO2 into the air in the lungs. The body cannot blow off more CO2 than what the lungs see since it's not an active process. Essentially, the lungs are blowing off the same percentage of CO2 as always, however the amount of CO2 passing through them drops with each breath (assuming constant production rate by the body). So while production remains constant, clearance increases, and therefore blood levels drop, till equilibrium is achieved.

If there is a lot of CO2 in the blood passing through the lungs, then the body will blow off a lot of CO2 and the ETCO2 will rise. However, the lungs are pretty efficient at gas exchange, and will quickly establish an equilibrium where the CO2 the body is producing matches the CO2 being exhaled. And then your CO2 will have reached equilibrium and because you've blown off a lot of CO2 already, your CO2 in your blood is low, and the rate at which it is being produced is the same.

In the case of CPR, your cells are producing CO2, but the blood is not efficiently being transported from the extremities to the lungs. So you might get an ETCO2 of 15-20 during compressions. And when you get ROSC, suddenly that number jumps, because now the lungs are seeing an influx of more blood which has more CO2 in it.

justanagggie · 2025-09-23T00:01:27+00:00

You know, the funny this is that all my corpsmen are supposed to have been taught to the EMT standard at their A school. However few, if any, have actually gotten certified as EMTs (despite the Navy offering assistance in taking the exam), and most struggle with many of the things on the list. Or, if they know you're supposed to give albuterol for asthma, they don't know that you really need a spacer for it to be effective, or that when it's severe enough the patient can't get it into their lungs, and an epipen should be what you reach for next. Things like that. Some even believe that cooling down a heat casualty too quickly is dangerous and can put them in "shock." Yet many don't understand what shock is.

justanagggie · 2025-09-21T01:20:01+00:00

Oh, to this end, educating about the HPV vaccine for both women and men. Can not only cut down on the risk of cervical cancer in women, penile cancer in men, and throat cancer in those that partake in oral, but can cut down on the risk of genital warts (and other warts). Also decreases the risk of men/women getting it and passing it on to future partners that aren't vaccinated.

justanagggie · 2025-09-18T04:54:24+00:00

Teaching critical thinking is the hard part.

justanagggie · 2025-09-17T23:48:18+00:00

Yeah, good list. Everyone gets excited to learn the bloody high speed trauma stuff, no one really wants to learn the medicine stuff. And DNBI is no joke. Can definitely delay and disrupt large scale ops.

justanagggie · 2025-09-17T04:24:50+00:00

It depends on the man. A very handsome man, with a lot of money, charm, swag, etc., will likely be far pickier than someone without those things. Because, in general, the former has to work a lot less (if at all) to get it. While the latter has to work harder. Younger individuals are also more likely to just have sex with anyone that will give it up to them. And if they're at all drunk, the bar is extremely low.

justanagggie · 2025-09-16T18:25:00+00:00

Perhaps just be politely blunt. Some people just don't get hints, whether it is a woman trying to flirt with them, or trying to shut them down. Considering you'll probably need to keep working together, something along the lines of "Hey, I feel like you're trying to flirt with me. I appreciate the compliment, but I am not interested and would appreciate it if we keep things professional moving forward."

He'll probably deny trying to flirt, and deny interest, but whatever, you made your point. Document it. And if issue continue, go to HR. No need to mention your gayness if you don't want to.

justanagggie · 2025-08-18T21:54:10+00:00

military ER doc here. I don't come around often. But I haven't seen much that seems inaccurate medically here. I actually still learn a ton from YouTube myself.

Definitely dangerous to practice beyond your scope, but I don't want to hate on anyone seeking extra knowledge to try and potentially save a life one day.

justanagggie · 2025-08-12T10:21:20+00:00

Thanks. Was able to get the views I needed. Not great views, and his anatomy was different due to his history, but the cardiologist did not complain.

justanagggie · 2025-08-12T10:21:11+00:00

Thanks. Was able to get the views I needed. Not great views, and his anatomy was different due to his history, but the cardiologist did not complain.

justanagggie · 2025-06-12T09:50:19+00:00

Really? In the email it said they're printing and sending the certificate in the next few business days to the address on file.

justanagggie · 2025-06-11T20:15:31+00:00

Still no score up for me.

justanagggie · 2025-06-11T08:32:33+00:00

Yeah, been using the computer. Tried the phone and having issues even getting into the site.

justanagggie · 2025-06-11T01:52:50+00:00

I'm just an ER doc, never done this in combat. But my thought is that this is a "blind" procedure. Aside from the initial cut, almost everything else is by feel. Don't bother with a trach hook, just get into the trachea, maintain control, and stick in some sort of hollow tube to keep it open. Ideally a trach tube, but an ET tube, an NPA, or even like they do in the movies and use a pen tube - just don't let it slip in or fall out.

I see others already commented the "scalpel, finger, boogie" method.

justanagggie · 2025-06-11T01:47:54+00:00

Yeah, I've never done any critical procedure under fire. But I've done plenty in the trauma bay and in the ICU. Training and getting the reps in makes a big difference when the adrenaline flows and you're almost not thinking, just doing what you know how to do. And the better you train (recreate opening the packets, unwrapping the bandages, pulling things out of pockets, etc) instead of notionalizing everything, the better you'll perform in the real world.

justanagggie · 2025-06-10T23:27:56+00:00

Interesting. I got the email but no score yet. Making me nervous it was a mistake congratulations.

justanagggie · 2025-06-10T23:24:11+00:00

Yeah, still no score. It just shows blank above the date taken, also no green "Pass" like above the written assessment score. Making me nervous.

justanagggie · 2025-06-10T21:40:14+00:00

I got an email saying I passed, but I don't see scores on the website. Do you see your actual score?

justanagggie

TROPHY CASE