Jim M. posted an article on MacDoctor - Nov 30, 2009, 4:12 am
Apparently that nice Mr. Key is less than enthusiastic about the economic recommendations for his former rival Don Brash. Gasp! Shock. Horror. Not. Without even looking at Brash’s recommendat...
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Jim M. posted an article on MacDoctor - Nov 29, 2009, 5:05 am
I see the thrill of Phil is fading fast. The latest Colmar Brunton poll sees him sliding down four points to 5%. That’s barely above the margin of error. I don’t think I recall even Bill E...
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Jim M. posted an article on MacDoctor - Nov 29, 2009, 3:52 am
If ever there was a good illustration of the parochial nature of New Zealand’s media, it is the furor over Bill English’s government limo parking on a dotted yellow line. In the grand sche...
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Jim M. posted an article on MacDoctor - Nov 28, 2009, 3:53 am
Force Quit is what you do on a Mac when a program freezes to remove the offending program from memory. Force quit also appears to be what the DHBs have in mind to achieve their goal of 80 per cent of ...
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Jim M. posted an article on MacDoctor - Nov 28, 2009, 3:16 am
Dame Margaret Bazley has released her damning report on the legal aid system and it is everything we feared – and more. Not only does it appear that some lawyers are ripping off bith the taxpaye...
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Jim M. posted an article on MacDoctor - Nov 27, 2009, 6:37 am
Over at SciBlogs, Gareth Renowden and Ken Perrott are commenting on my post Global Warping. As the comments are interesting and should not be missed, I have pasted them here. You are welcome to go ove...
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Jim M. posted an article on MacDoctor - Nov 26, 2009, 5:18 am
I discovered this very interesting poll on Medscape today: What is interesting is that 17% of physicians who answered this survey think it is ethical to refuse to see a child whose parents have chose...
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Jim M. posted an article on MacDoctor - Nov 26, 2009, 3:51 am
Ahhh, only the Japanese… Man marries virtual girlfriend In a bizarre story reminiscent of the film Lars and the Real Girl, the man, known by his nickname SAL9000, fell in love with a fictional...
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Jim M. posted an article on MacDoctor - Nov 25, 2009, 4:08 am
Now that our illustrious government has finally managed to pass, at great cost to itself and the Maori party, a badly designed Emissions Trading Scheme – that absolutely everyone else hates R...
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Jim M. posted an article on MacDoctor - Nov 25, 2009, 2:39 am
I see they’ve finally got the Large Hadron Collider to work at last. And the universe did not disappear into a giant black hole. Kind of a pity, really. I was looking forward to the shorter driv...
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Jim M. posted an article on MacDoctor - Nov 24, 2009, 4:25 am
Apparently today is the 150th Anniversary of the publication of Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species. At the time, it was considered probably the most controversial book of all time, although, tod...
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Jim M. posted an article on MacDoctor - Nov 23, 2009, 5:20 am
There is an article that is worthwhile reading on stuff about the hounding of the runner Caster Semenya on the question of her gender. I confess, I was revolted by the reaction of the press and the ol...
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Jim M. posted an article on MacDoctor - Nov 23, 2009, 4:11 am
One of the hallmarks of emergency departments is the unpredictable nature of the throughput. Accidents, in particular, are relatively unforeseeable although certain types do tend to cluster. Cuts wit...
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Jim M. posted an article on MacDoctor - Nov 22, 2009, 4:58 am
When you think about it, democracy is really the tyranny of the majority. It is where the majority gets to impose it’s will on the minority, regardless of what is right or proper. This was made ...
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Jim M. posted an article on MacDoctor - Nov 22, 2009, 1:48 am
Stillbirths are traumatic. I am a seasoned provider of terminal care, so the dying process does not phase me, like it phases many of my colleagues. Even so, the death of a baby is horribly unpleasant ...
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Jim M. posted an article on MacDoctor - Nov 21, 2009, 4:13 am
BBC News reports on a fascinating study that demonstrates that victims of child abuse may have accelerated aging. Telomeres are relatively short sections of specialised DNA that sit at the ends of al...
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Jim M. posted an article on MacDoctor - Nov 20, 2009, 3:50 am
Sometimes you just shake you head in wonder at the complete pointlessness of some research… There is a prime example in the Herald today which declares Heavy drinking can cut risk of heart dise...
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Jim M. posted an article on MacDoctor - Nov 20, 2009, 3:03 am
The Herald journalist who produced yesterday’s spam continues his story about nothing today. Now he has a nice long rant from Ian Powell of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (senio...
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Jim M. posted an article on MacDoctor - Nov 19, 2009, 4:34 am
Spam Journalism: The spurious use of sensational headlines to add spice to an otherwise pointless article. Why is it that, every time  Tony Ryall says anything about health funding, the effect of th...
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Jim M. posted an article on MacDoctor - Nov 19, 2009, 3:54 am
Underachievers to fund state sector pay rises State sector bosses who do not perform well will face pay cuts this year to pay for raises for chief executives who do their jobs well. I like it. Ineff...
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Jim M. posted an article on MacDoctor - Nov 19, 2009, 3:47 am
I see that Phil Goff has just revealed the depth of his fiscal ignorance in a speech to federated farmers. I note that he is not actually saying that the Reserve Bank is a waste of time (almost certai...
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Jim M. posted an article on MacDoctor - Nov 19, 2009, 12:14 am
Here is an interesting headline: Thought-capable computers a step closer – scientists Now if only they could make thought-capable humans… Related posts:Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless ...
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Jim M. posted an article on MacDoctor - Nov 18, 2009, 4:50 am
Just occasionally, when the media run a “bad doctor” story, the doctor is actually bad. Such is the story of Sajan Bhatia, the disgraced Southland urologist, who has apparently continued t...
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Jim M. posted an article on MacDoctor - Nov 17, 2009, 4:57 am
The sad story of the death of diabetic Mrs. Maureen Pineki is the subject of an even sadder report released by the Auckland DHB today. The reason it is sad is because it comes to almost the entirely w...
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Jim M. posted an article on MacDoctor - Nov 17, 2009, 3:31 am
Continuing on from yesterday’s post on PHO finances, I see that the Herald is running a follow up article suggesting that the wasted money in health is the “tip of the iceberg”. Mayb...
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Jim M. posted an article on MacDoctor - Nov 16, 2009, 4:26 am
And with the the words of Pink Floyd’s Money echoing in our ears, we comment on the the Herald’s somewhat exaggerated headline GP clinics stash reserves of $115m. While the total is correc...
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Jim M. posted an article on MacDoctor - Nov 14, 2009, 7:16 pm
... own) nor an indigenous culture (where Pakeha take on Maori culture and lose their own) but a synthesis of the two. Note that I am not suggesting that Maori give up their Maoriness or that a cultu...
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Jim M. posted an article on MacDoctor - Nov 14, 2009, 3:24 am
Fancy an emetic? The Herald is running a series of articles on child abuse today. Here is a nauseating recitation from a single article: An average of eight children are killed each year, and many m...
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Jim M. posted an article on MacDoctor - Nov 12, 2009, 4:25 am
Has anybody noticed that the review of changes to section 59 of the Crimes Act has missed the point entirely? The review tries to make out that the police are not using the law to persecute parents wh...
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Jim M. posted an article on MacDoctor - Nov 12, 2009, 3:01 am
It is seldom that I agree with Hone Harawira, but I have to agree with his comment about the suggestion that he becomes an independent MP as the “Silliest idea I’ve heard“. For start...
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Jim M. posted an article on MacDoctor - Nov 11, 2009, 3:35 am
The left’s pointless inquiry into bank rates has now been released and can be accessed here. It says it is the Report of the Parliamentary Inquiry into Banking but it is not, of course, an offic...
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Jim M. posted an article on MacDoctor - Nov 10, 2009, 4:42 am
I have a great deal of misgiving about the attempt of a couple to claim under ACC for the accident of their daughter’s birth. Their daughter’s spina bifida (open spine at birth) was not di...
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Jim M. posted an article on MacDoctor - Nov 10, 2009, 3:28 am
Only in Africa… Related posts:Hands-free, Brain-free Excellent article in the Herald today on the dangers of...Sitting on Our Hands? Roger Kerr yesterday reiterated his disappointment in the di...
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Jim M. posted an article on MacDoctor - Nov 10, 2009, 3:25 am
In one of the most cynical moves I’ve seen in politics, the dying UK Labour government is now promoting the idea that people have a “right” to private health care if they can’t...
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Jim M. posted an article on MacDoctor - Nov 10, 2009, 2:31 am
A number of people have not been able to comment using Intense Debates so I have reverted to the old style. Comments are no longer threaded, but at least everyone can participate. Related posts:SciBl...
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Jim M. posted an article on MacDoctor - Nov 9, 2009, 4:24 am
My little amphibian friend over at FrogBlog is having a whine (or would that be a croak?) at ACC proposed increase in motorcycle levies. He dismisses this ACC explanation as “spin”. As usu...
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Jim M. posted an article on MacDoctor - Nov 8, 2009, 4:56 am
The House of Representatives has just approved Obama’s healthcare bill 220 -215. The bill will now go to the Senate where the Democrats may have the numbers to pass the bill – assuming all...
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Jim M. posted an article on MacDoctor - Nov 6, 2009, 11:23 pm
I know I am showing my age a bit here, but I can remember the days when newspapers used to report actual news. This is in direct contrast to this morning’s Herald (it certainly is “the wea...
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Jim M. posted an article on MacDoctor - Nov 6, 2009, 4:30 am
USA Today carries a fascinating article on child-rearing gay couples drawn from a newly published book by Abbie Goldberg, an assistant professor of psychology at Clark University in Worcester, Mass. ...
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Jim M. posted an article on MacDoctor - Nov 5, 2009, 2:21 am
Brian Fallow provides an excellent look at the urgent need for cost containment in health and the problems this involves. He points out that rising health costs is a far bigger potential problem than ...
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Jim M. posted an article on MacDoctor - Nov 4, 2009, 6:18 pm
Sometimes I wonder if we are all missing Helen Clark. Rodney Hide has now joined the legions of people who seem to think that John Key is doing nothing. This list seems to include everyone from the le...
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Jim M. posted an article on MacDoctor - Nov 1, 2009, 2:27 am
Readers will probably have noticed the new comments section which is using the IntenseDebate engine. This should make it easier for people to comment and has a number of nice features such as comment ...
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Jim M. posted an article on MacDoctor - Oct 31, 2009, 8:52 pm
The Sunday Star Times makes the rather obvious connection between the spread of the Superbug ESBL and the lax hand-washing practices of staff, particularly doctors. I will be the first to admit that w...
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Jim M. posted an article on MacDoctor - Oct 31, 2009, 7:55 pm
Brian Fallow writes a succinct summary of the past year in economic terms. Phil Twyford at Red Alert selectively quotes from Fallow’s article to make the point that National is apparently doing ...
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Jim M. posted an article on MacDoctor - Oct 31, 2009, 7:37 pm
I see the Tabloid on Sunday is running true to form. Their front page advertises “The MP, his lover and his angry wife…” which turns out to be an article of Rodney Hide’s use o...
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Jim M. posted an article on MacDoctor - Oct 31, 2009, 5:30 am
Some strange people have asked if they could follow this blog on (shudder) Twitter. I can’t help feeling that’s a little like asking Shakespeare if he has a graphic novel version of Macbet...
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Jim M. posted an article on MacDoctor - Oct 31, 2009, 4:20 am
Spam Journalism: The spurious use of sensational headlines to add spice to an otherwise pointless article. Well, half the headline is ok… DHBs, union clash over plan to axe 20 doctors Plans t...
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Jim M. posted an article on MacDoctor - Oct 31, 2009, 12:39 am
No, I don’t have a cold. And nor does my Mac, despite yet another silly scare article about the evils of malware. This one looks like a slightly fleshed-out press release from Sophos complete wi...
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Jim M. posted an article on MacDoctor - Oct 30, 2009, 11:02 pm
Tracey Watkins bewails the apparent head-in-the-sand attitude of Key and English towards pensions. She and a number of other commentators recently have pointed out, correctly, that the present state o...
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Jim M. posted an article on MacDoctor - Oct 30, 2009, 1:53 am
The MacDoctor is writing an exam tomorrow and will not be blogging today. Back tomorrow.
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