Update on DocGurley's Trip To Haiti

Day 14 and counting: I woke up to these two emails from our lead organizers, mailed to all of us who are going as medical volunteers to Haiti on February 15 (you may notice some key developments buried within):

First up, from Randy Roberson, the brilliant person behind the Container Clinics, and a Jedi-level master of the understatement:

Randy Roberson

Greetings,

I am up and operational at the Hotel Montana in Port-au-Prince via solar
powered satellite uplink. Sorry for the lack of communication. It was a very interesting trip in from DR. We did however bring a few tons of rice, water and blankets along with all the supplies I brought from the states. To say there are huge medical opportunities here to help would be a gross understatement. We know of approximately 40 neighborhood groups who are crying out for aid. My feeling is that placing the container clinic on the back of a flatbed truck and moving to various locations would best serve profound needs in the short term, then place it permanently when the medical surge is reduced.

More to come

Randy

Closely on it's inbox heels came the second, a message from our local Bay Area organizer, Dr. Enoch Choi. So who's Dr. Choi? He's what I think of as a sleeper - the kind of person you may be tempted to think you know on the basis of some superficial characteristics, then,

Dr. Enoch Choi. He's on Twitter too!

bam, he blows you away with the unexpected or flat-out-remarkable. Sure, he's an Asian doc who works hard, full-time, in urgent care (probably the highest burn-out position imaginable). In groups, he seems kind of quiet. Not uncomfortable - in fact, the opposite - comfortable and content to watch others posture. And then, dropped nonchalantly into the conversation as people discuss iPhone apps, you find out he's a wild karaoke fiend. We're talking belting it out while sitting in an open convertible at public intersections. "Sure, why not?" he says. And, oh yeah, that full-time burnout job? He's also a cranking writer on the web, after his paying job lets him loose. I've only had a few phone conversations with him, but they tend to go like this, [imagine a quiet, calm male voice] "...so I think we have the planning in place to adequately--" [bellows like a fishwife to someone in background without pausing for breath: she's supposed to be admitted! don't wheel her away! we're waiting for ultrasound!] "--cover all our bases as far as the steps we can control now. Do you have any questions?"

I am often left stunned - by the volume, by the unexpected sides to his character, by the Olympic-level multi-tasking skills, by the passion for what he does, and by his effortless-seeming attention to detail. Here's his email message to us all today. Check out the detail, the itemized list of what you should bring to work in this disaster zone, how effortlessly it includes both those who already know the score, and those who've never done anything like this before (and keep in mind he's got an 80-hour a week brutal job breathing down his neck while he's typing):

Just want to verify that we all agree with the mission: safe & secure outpatient medical care to Haitians, in very austere conditions, sacrificing personal comforts and preferences for a week to support the group's success in providing the best care given a disintegrating environment that will cause
multiple changes in our best laid plans. To be a pioneering team that establishes an opportunity for future MD & RNs to come for 1 week missions in contrast to the existing inpatient-only 2+ week commitments.

Scope: cellulitis, post-op complications, lacerations, fracture
management, wound care, IV & PO medications, IV & PO analgesics

1) Valid passport

2) Copy of your health-related license (if you're in healthcare)

3) Immunizations: MMR, varicella, hep A & B, Tdap, seasonal & H1N1 flu, typhoid, rabies, weekly chloroquine 2 weeks prior to departure

4) Carry with you meds: HIV prophilaxis (2 sets for the whole team), cipro

5) Personal supplies of DEET bug repellent, hiking-style head lamp, your favorite snack to serve as lunch for 6 days (see more detailed list below)

6) Try to raise funds for the cost of your personal travel. Estimated $900 if we have to fly to Santo Domingo but hope to get private charter to increase luggage capacity

7) get personal medical emergency evacuation insurance, one that covers a disaster area, I'm researching this

Tentative details:

2/15 travel to Haiti (today, United canceled my reservations for 10 to PAP. Backup: fly to dominican republic, but looking for private plane)

2/21 return

Things are very fluid, and tonight's news reports from CNN highlight a
deteriorating security situation. We may need to operate closer to Dominican Republic where we can more readily secure our clinic. I'm very sensitive to maximizing safety over the needs of providing care, and will have multiple contingency plans for armed evacuation if necessary. Randy Roberson arrived in Haiti today to ensure we can locate a safe & securable location for the shipping container clinic.

Arrival:

From PAP airport, US marine armed transport by 3pm bus to US Embassy. Must make that bus since later one is 6pm which is after curfew, and less safe. Four Square Gospel armed transport to church headquarters 2 minutes down from the US Embassy on 'Eglise Quadrangulaire'. President Pastor Guy Thomas facilitates this.

Daily armed transport 1 hour from/to rented apartment just across the border in Dominican Republic. Both of these are facilitated by Jesse Mendoza of Jordan International Aid of San Jose, CA.

Departure:

From PAP airport if possible. This has not been secured yet. If flights canceled, will have backup plans to leave from DR. Green card holders expect a 2 h delay at PAP to leave.

In disaster medical relief things are very fluid. In past disasters such as Katrina, we had to resort to a 3rd unplanned backup lodging plan, and ditched potential clinic locations until we found where the most need was. In Katrina, this location dovetailed with the safest place (national guard surrounded us), but this will not be the case in Haiti so we'll be very vigilant of ensuring that our clinic is safe.

FAQ:

Who is your contact person? Randy, who's there now. Also http://www.jordaninternationalaid.org/ has been there since day 5 Jesse Mendoza, president, who will arrange for apartment on DR side of the border and armed transport

Will we be meeting other medical staff there from other places? Yes, will have the Cuban hospital as our staging ground, and place to send too sick folks.

Will we be replacing an already working team in the container or the first? The first

Haiti, January 22

Is there a source of more medical supplies once we run out? MedShare is bringing supplies in, donated from Sutter Health & PAMF, & I hope to access those there.

What kind of equipment and amount of supplies are on the shipping
container clinic? $100,000 worth, I'm unclear if that's just telemedicine devices or consumables we need. It has not been shipped yet, is in transit.

Is the Jordan relief group on the ground giving medical assistance at the same/close location? Unclear. They're mobile.

Where are they operating out of? Jordan operates out of DR

Can we get PAMF to let us take a bunch of supplies with us to supplement? Likely, if Katrina is an appropriate example. We took whatever we wanted. Will have to ask when we figure out how much luggage we have. For now, one 50lb bag, so we would need to get supplies over there.

Individual Traveler Packing List:

light weight, compressible sleeping bag (WalMart: Micro Tek Ultra-Compact 30-degree sleep bag; $34) & small emergency space blankets (small metallic pack, costs about a dollar at most camping stores, will provide insulation and additional waterproofing)

mosquito net

insect repellent

sunscreen

hat/sunglasses

hand sanitizer and hygiene wipes

Food items: protein bars, packaged nuts, jerky, ration packs (pack your favorite snack of 1000 calories per day) since we should have food in Dominican Republic apartment for breakfast/dinner

chlorine tablets (better than iodine at treating heavily contaminated water) and linen squares for filtering water before treatment (to remove sediment) OR bottled water (depending on resources where we are stationed)

heavy duty work gloves

Group supplies:

toilet paper

duct tape

tarps

oral re-hydration packets

post cards, pens or pencils (this is optional--we thought we might be able to have our translator take information from people trying to contact family in the US or other countries, and mail them when we got home--not sure how practical that is, I understand over half the population of Haiti is illiterate)

Consider 2 large sleeping tents, depending on space and location where you are stationed

Yikes. I had a United plane flight (5:30 am, Chicago). Now I don't. Apparently, this is all just normal for disaster relief work. Besides, I don't have time to worry about it. The bottom line is we're going, no matter what. My friend, Pam, the world's most incredible organizer, without even asking, called to say she's setting up a trust fund account at Wells Fargo tomorrow. "It seemed obvious that you would be able to use one - I've already heard from people who want to donate for your expenses - don't squawk, I know you'll need it." I try to pretend that my voice is not shaking, that I don't sound like I'm trying to not cry as I thank her. It's really a tangled ball of misery, gratitude and joy, knowing that I want to go help people in Haiti, but I couldn't do it without accepting what sometimes feels like uncomfortable help from people around me. Besides, the urge to weep is probably just because my arms are still achy, and I've got a low-grade fever from the vaccinations. But who has time to think about all that - I called in my prescriptions for my chloroquine pills and ciprofloxacin (even the Target pharmacist was lovely "you're going to Haiti? when do you need them?"). I had to hurry and get it done because, afterward, I called in to the Walnut Creek number and found out I have to report early tomorrow morning for (brace yourself) jury duty.

I draw a shaky breath and remind myself - hey, it's just another step. There's two weeks before departure. Fourteen days and counting. Jury duty is like everything else in life, you show up and hope for the best. We're going to Haiti, one way or another. Right?

So do you have a plane? Know someone who does? Cause, I'm telling you - Dr. Choi is the guy to contact. He'll soothingly talk you through the logistics of how it could be a life-saver (literally) for hundreds, if not thousands of people. But don't be surprised if, while discussing it, he discreetly bellows once or twice. It's all for a good cause.

Share in the comments section - and tune in for the next in the series to get details about the Haiti trip - what will I panic about next? Will I get sequestered? Hey, it's not like I have a plane ticket to prove I'm going... Keep up on the Haiti trip and the latest health issues in the news by signing up for a Doc Gurley RSS feed by clicking here. Look for future pics and other articles at Doc Gurley - discover the weird, the wacky and the everyday symptoms you want to know about, as well as practical expert tips on staying well. Want to express your inner fan-girl/boy? Become a Doc Gurley fan on Facebook! Want to be on the inside, fast track of health news and tips, as well as Haiti tweets? Get on the Twitter bandwagon and follow Doc Gurley! Also check out Doc Gurley's joyhabit and iwellth twitter feeds - so you can get topic-specific fun, effective, affordable tips on how to nurture your joy and grow your wellth this coming year.

SF Proposition H Gets Assm Mark Leno's Support - "Yes on H"

Assemblyman Mark Leno lays out the case for supporting both state Proposition 8 and San Francisco Proposition H, the SF clean energy initiative on the ballot.  Leno, a former SF supervisor explains refutes many of the fears that PG&E will be "taken over." 

SF Proposition H Rally In San Francisco - "Yes on H"

 
I went over to cover what turned out to be a lively rally for San Francisco's Proposition H, an initiative which if passed will set a goal of 100 percent clean energy use in San Francisco by 2040.

Prop H in SF Gets Van Jones Support - Yes on H

As part of our effort to promote clean energy for San Francisco, I am very proud to report that Van Jones, the author of "The Green Collar Economy" has endorsed Prop H for clean energy.

SF Proposition H Rally In San Francisco - "Yes on H"

I went over to cover what turned out to be a lively rally for San Francisco's Proposition H, an initiative which if passed will set a goal of 100 percent clean energy use in San Francisco by 2040.

Stabbing at Comic Con 2010 - Man stabbed in face with pen at Resident Evil panel

Comic Con 2010 had a criminal act that closed a big show on Saturday, July 24th. The Marvel Comics presentation of Thor and Captain America motion picture cast and production teams and set for 6 PM PDT was cancelled because a man was stabbed in the face with a pen and during the Resident Evil movie panel just before it.

Just as this blogger was waiting to get into Hall H for the Marvel Comics presentation, and texting with friend and social media expert Krystyl Baldwin, there was a rumor going around, but not confirmed that Hall H was closed. Krystyl told me that it was closed, but to me "closed" meant it was already shut and people were in it, and then it would reopen.

But then, as she and I were texting, it became clear that Hall H was closed, but no one knew why, or at least we didn't.

Photo by Krystal Baldwin 

Then, as we walked out of the line, a group of police officers walked by us with a man in a "Harry Potter" shirt in handcuffs, but Krystyl and I did not know why.  The people standing in the line knew something because they were booing him.  Since we were further into the line, the news of what happened had not trickled to us at that time.  Krystyl said the Hall H was being closed for "health reasons."

A woman, walking in the other direction, explained to us what happened: that a man was stabbed during the Resident Evil panel, and by the person in the photo here that was handcuffed.

According to the blog Techland.com, the issue was described as "a seating squabble."

UPDATE from YouTube commenter:

SoCalCCGs
55 minutes ago
I was in Hall H when it happened. They didn't let anyone in and there was only an hour delay. Police were they and they questioned witnesses, thats all. Problem was all 6,500 people were standing on their chairs to find out what happened, lol. It was kinda a side show.

All we know is as of this writing, the events set for Comic Con, at least for Hall H, have been cancelled for Saturday.

Comic Con is not known for crime problems. Indeed, the Comic Con environment is described as "chill." For this to happen is an indication as much of Comic Con's rapid growth.   While 125,000 badges were issued, there have been estimates of as many as 200,000 people in San Diego, many looking for badges to get into the San Diego Convention Center.

Comic Con is coming back to San Diego for 2011, but the future of the event in San Diego rests with what the city does to fit an event that's growing faster than it can keep up with.

Yes, fighting over a seat is childish, but it's also a byproduct of a very crowded event, the size growth potential of which is not known.

Stay tuned.

Aaron Peskin - SF Supervisor Says "Yes On H"; Explains Why

Pretty Wild is Pretty Ridiculous By Nikky Raney

E!'s controversial reality show Pretty Wild has always been one of my guilty pleasures, but after last night's episode I have started to look past the sensational entertainment and realize I am guilty of being sucked into the questionable content of this show.

I was initially drawn to this show due to my interest in the "bling ring" burglary scandal that involved a group of young adults who were accused and then put on trial for participating in the burglaries of various celebrities. Alexis Neiers was one of the girls involved and I had a soft spot for her.

These girls are very articulate and seem to be well poised in the way they present themselves in front of the cameras during interviews. Even when they are doing outrageous things, they still remain articulate and speak in an adult manner. These girls have a mature vocabulary and seem to be reasonably intelligent.

Last night's episode drew the line. I could accept the Adderall dispensed by Andrea Arlington, the mother of Alexis and Gabrielle and "adoptive" mother of Tess Taylor, I could accept the outrageous behavior, and I could even accept Alexis' reaction to the Vanity Fair article published about her.

The Vanity Fair article especially made me feel for her because I watched the interview happen. The journalist comforted and consoled Alexis as she cried and eloquently explained herself. Alexis had been so excited and expecting the article to be all about her and improve her public image. From the looks of the interview I also expected that. When the article ended up showing an entirely different side of the story I actually felt resentment toward Vanity Fair. Under no circumstance should a journalist tell the source that the article is going to be one way and then have it turn out the next. I was also appalled at the lack of fact-checking.

The part that bothered me the most was that most of the people who read the article probably never watched an episode of Pretty Wild, and never watched the interview take place. Although Alexis is shown in the show complaining and crying over the fact that the article listed she was wearing one outfit when she was really wearing another, that was something that when watching the interview take place Alexis really emphasized. It may have seemed like a minor slip up, but with something so minor it was probably overlooked during the fact checking. No matter how insignificant a statement may seem that is no excuse to get it incorrect. Even though most rolled their eyes and thought, "Wow, she's complaining because the article got what kind of shoes she wore wrong," when the article says someone wore 6 inch heels to court when she really wore a smaller heel, that actually alters the perception of the way the person presents herself in a professional setting.

I had defended the show against those who harshly criticized it, but last night I can't think of a way to justify what I saw.

Tess Taylor has previously been a Playboy cyber girl and is reportedly going to be on the cover of an upcoming issue of Playboy.

Last night's episode had close ups of the naked Tess Taylor, blurred of course, posing nude in her shower as her "adoptive" mother took photos. The reason was to prep her for her Playboy shoot, but taking naked photos of your own daughter (even if she isn't your biological daughter) doesn't seem like something that can be justified.

The episode goes on to show Alexis and Tess taking their 15 year old sister lingerie shopping and ooh-ing and ahh-ing about Gabby's development into a woman.

I suppose that I can justify my interest in the show by the scandalous actions, or the fact that I am a 19-year-old girl who, despite my love for serious news and journalism, is still interested in the celebrity gossip.

Am I still going to watch the season finale next week? Yes. Do I still feel bad for the outcome of Alexis' trial? Yes. Will I continue to tune into this show if there are more seasons? Yes.

I guess that the biggest part of having a guilty pleasure is that after the fact you feel guilty that you take pleasure in it.

Written by Nikky Raney

Check out my personal blog The History of Journalism

Have anything you want me to write about? Let me know!

(photo above taken from Worldcorrespondents.com)

Comic Con 2010: Hallmark Cards plans big roll-out at Comic Con San Diego

Hallmark Cards (yes the same company that made the birthday card you just bought) is planning a big presence at Comic Con 2010 and to celebrate its 100th anniversary. While not on the order of Futurama, Hallmark's Comic Con events are big in their own way.

According to their message, Hallmark Cards' "9ft. Hallmark hoops & yoyo walkabout characters" with the voice and animation talents of Mike Adair and Bob Holt were a massive hit at Comic Con 2009 in San Diego. So, Hallmark Cards is bringing them back for Comic Con 2010.

Hallmark will have two booths: #3850 and #2913

#3850 Hallmark Properties Booth
#2913 H in Lucas Pavilion Hallmark Keepsakes Booth

Wednesday, July 21
6 - 9pm hoops&yoyo character appearing and artist signing (#3850)

Thursday, July 22
10am - 11:30am hoops&yoyo character appearing and artist signing (#3850)
2 - 3pm hoops&yoyo character appearing and artist signing (#2913 H in Lucas Pavilion)
3 - 5pm Maxine character appearance (#3850)
5 - 7pm Revilo artist signing (#3850)

Friday, July 23
9 - 11am Maxine character appearance (#3850)
11am - 1pm Revilo artist signing (#3850)
2 - 3pm hoops&yoyo character appearing and artist signing (#2913 H in Lucas Pavilion)
5 - 6:30pm hoops&yoyo character appearing and artist signing (#3850)

Saturday, July 24
10 - 11:30am hoops&yoyo character appearing and artist signing (#3850)
2 - 3pm hoops&yoyo character appearing and artist signing (#2913 H in Lucas Pavilion)
4- 6pm Asteroid Andy artist signing (#3850)

Sunday, July 25
10am - Noon Asteroid Andy artist signing (#3850)
ALL DAY FREE Rainbow Brite poster for anyone in Rainbow Brite costume(#3850)

Stay tuned for more information from Hallmark at Comic Con.

Florida's Urban Meyer says NFL coaches are retreads; Spread would work in NFL

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I love Coach Chris Brown's blog called Smart Football because it's the best place to learn what the the most effective and cutting-edge schemes are and how they work: Urban Meyer's spread, Mike Leach's Airraid offense at Texas Tech, and the "Jet" concept, to name some of them.

 

The Airraid Offense of Texas Tech

Most of the new plays and formations are at the college level and there's a buzz about "who's doing what" that I've never seen before. But now, college coaches are looking at the NFL as the lesser level of football, at least from a strategy perspective.

Today, I ran across a discussion about Florida Head Coach Urban Meyer's comments in the Sunday New York Times. This is what he said:

“I think it (the spread) would have worked years ago,” Meyer said. “No one has had enough — I don’t want to say courage — no one has wanted to step across that line. Everyone runs the same offense in the N.F.L. A lot of those coaches are retreads. They get fired in Minnesota, they go to St. Louis. They get fired in St. Louis and go to San Diego. I guess what gets lost in the shuffle is your objective is to go win the game. If it’s going to help you win the game, then you should run the spread.”

Florida Coach Urban Meyer

While Meyer's comment may be seen as arrogant, he's correct. Where college teams have become known for a wide variety of offensive variation - Navy has the Speed Option, Hawaii has the Run and Shoot, Stanford uses an older two-back pro style offense with two backs, Cal employs a hybrid H-back system, Florida's known for the Spread - the NFL offenses have a boring sameness.

The Wildcat was born in Arkansas

It's hard to tell one offense from the other. Every team uses the "I" formation. Or if it's not that, then it's the "Offset I" formation. Four wide receiver sets have receivers all lined up the same way, and one back behind the quarterback. The Wildcast's new? Yes.

Most teams have it but no team, except the Miami Dolphins who brought it into the league, have created variations of it. And the Wildcat was created at Arkansas by then offensive coordinator David Lee, who holds the same title with The Dolphins and brought the system to the NFL. Point here is that the NFL's newest innovation is a college-born scheme.



The Wildcat works even in Madden NFL 2010:



And while you may observe that the Wildcat's just a variation of the old single wing set, remember the passing game was not well known at the time; the passes out of the Wildcat are brand new, not a reinvention of an age old approach.

NFL Owners must encourage innovation

Given the fact that NFL players and coaches are paid to spend time on football, one would think the league would be the leader in the creation of new approaches to the game. It's not. I think Meyer's right that the reason is the "retread" coach with the "proven" approach, but in a recession that way can lead to a boring offense that doesn't sell tickets or win games.

Using the Spread, in all of its forms, is an answer but I don't think one should stop there.  Developing something new should be the objective just to keep NFL defenses on their toes.  

Defenses are made to quickly adjust and as I've written before the Baltimore Ravens have set the tone for the kind of flexible, aggressive styles that have a schematic answer for any offense. Offensive variation is important to counter these defenses.

Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums makes history in avoiding reelection run

Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums brought a sad and historic end to his four years as Mayor of Oakland yesterday. Not just because he elected to avoid running for reelection as Mayor, but the way he did it.  This blogger predicted he would run and this blogger was way wrong.

Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums became the first mayor in Oakland's history to not seek a second four-year term. And word of this travelled fast, as this blogger received several text messages and emails on Wednesday (my birthday), including a really nasty one from a person who was told to avoid contact with this blogger. (And if he persists, you will read about him in this space.)

But yes, you read that correctly: Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums became the first mayor in Oakland's history to not seek a second four-year term.

Since 1953, when Oakland's Mayor began serving a four-year term, every Oakland mayor has held the office longer than four years, except Ron Dellums:

John C. Houlihan - 1961-1966 (Resigned over a salary issue, then was arrested for embezzlement of funds from the estate of an elderly widow.)

John H. Reading - 1966 - 1977 (Served three terms)

Lionel J. Wilson - 1977 - 1991 (Served three terms)

Elihu M. Harris - 1991 - 1999 (My boss served two terms, then resigned to run for the State Assembly, losing to Audie Bock.)

Jerry Brown - 1999 - 2007 - Could have had a third term as Oakland Mayor, but created Measure X, which limited his own term to two.

Ronald V. Dellums - 2007 - 2010 (First one-term mayor in Oakland's four-year mayoral term history)

Mayor Ron Dellums also did not go our in a way this space can defend. I am surprised that Dellums, even with all of the issues he had to deal with in his personal life that would have became a focus of the campaign if he decided to run, failed to fight on. Now, Dellums will be considered a failure as Oakland's Mayor and a person who really didn't care about Oakland.

Is that right? No. But it's the image he's crafted for himself. Dellums should have stuck to his original plan and gave a Friday press conference, standing tall before all, and using that podium as the place to give his time as Mayor of Oakland a new life.

All that is but a dream.

Instead, we have Mayor Ron Dellums going bunker and basically stiff-arming SF Chronicle Staff Writer Matthai Kuruvila, who should learn to use a video camera. Instead, we have Mayor Ron Dellums holding a private function, with just the Oakland Post invited. Good for Oakland Post publisher Paul Cobb, but bad for Ron Dellums.

Bad because when it looked like Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums was about to become LeBron James, with the special media-friendly announcement and all that, he reverses field and sticks his head in the sand, and says "Don't bother me, brother" to the press...un, except Paul Cobb.

To his credit, Dellums has never said that to me. It's too bad and really sad to see a man I've admired over my life go out this way.

One thing's for sure, it's a wide-open Oakland Mayor's race. But I do wish Mayor Dellums would have picked another way to end his term.

Stay tuned.