Jerry Fahrni

Tag: Random thought

  • Amazon Cloud Player [Music] – Initial Impression

    I’ve been using Google Music to listen to and store all my music for a while now. The reason I’ve been using it is obvious, i.e. it’s well integrated with all my Android devices; of which I have four. It’s fairly easy to use. I dump music on any of my computers and Google kindly syncs it to my other devices in addition to the cloud. It offers all the essentials including offline listening, which I use while traveling.

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  • Quick Hit: Thoughts on the Sony Tablet P

    While I was in Texas I had an opportunity to spend about half an hour with a Sony Tablet P. It’s an interesting tablet in that it uses a clamshell form factor. I’m a big fan of the clamshell design. Not exactly sure why, but I am. Perhaps it has something to do with the compact design and the fact that the unit’s screen is protected when it’s closed. Who knows.

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  • A trip to IHOP and more thoughts on color

    A trip to the local IHOP (@IHOP) this morning for breakfast with my family reminded me of something I saw a couple a weeks ago and this post about the use of color in pharmacy labels. It’s a big of a stretch, I know, but the things that pop into one’s mind aren’t necessarily controlled by logic.
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  • Saturday morning coffee [July 21 2012]

    So much happens each and every week that it’s hard to keep up sometimes. Here are some of the taps that are open in my browser this morning along with some random thoughts….

    The coffee mug to the right is in honor of the new Batman movie, The Dark Knight Rises. I am a Batman fan from way back. Don’t believe me, ask my brother. I was reading the comic books, a.k.a. “graphic novels” long before Michael Keaton invented the movie role back in the late 80’s. The mug itself comes from Six Flags Magic Mountain down in Valencia, CA. Six Flags is a DC Comic themed park, so of course they have a lot of Batman paraphernalia. The park is only about three hours from my home so my family and I have season passes and head down there 2-3 times a year. I don’t do roller coasters anymore, but my kids enjoy them. Me? I eat my way around the park; freshly make sugar-cinnamon donuts, ice cream, popcorn, churros, and of course funnel cake. Don’t forget about the funnel cake. I get mine with whipped cream, strawberries and chocolate sauce. Been thinking about piling ice cream on top, but haven’t gone that far yet.
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  • Don’t get between people and their weed. Just sayin’

    I spent the better part of a half hour tonight getting beat up over on Google plus because I’m not a big fan of medical marijuana. As a pharmacist I see the arguments for its use as rather weak, at best. But as long as it’s legal feel free to use it to your heart’s content. However, please don’t make a federal case out of it when you can’t get your buzz on anymore.

    The post I’m referring to is here, which references an article about the “World’s Biggest Marijuana Dispensary Targeted By The Feds”. I made the mistake of saying that there are alternatives and that the need for medical marijuana was baloney.

    People got pissed and started attacking me. All kinds of things were said to me like “nature is better”, Big Pharma owns me, I’m corrupt, an ass, out to make money, not open to alternatives, don’t know what I’m talking about, I’m using bogus pharmacology arguments, need job security, I’m ignorant, been brain washed, etc. My favorite is the dude that kept screaming about natural remedies. He cracked me up. Actually, most of them cracked me up. It was like talking with a six year old. No, that’s not true. It’s probably more like talking to a 13 year old, know it all.

    I tried to have a conversation, but I eventually had to take my leave because the conversation was going nowhere. And I was taking a beating. The ignorance inside the post was not only startling, but a little scary. Meh, what are you going to do? This is what the general public thinks.

    If you really want to know why healthcare is in trouble look no further than the underpinnings of the comments below, i.e. people have no idea what they’re talking about, but think they are absolute experts about healthcare.

    Something else comes to mind. I actually think some of those commenting admitted to toking up, which is interesting because these sites are open to the public. What would their employers think about that. I know one has something to do with the OMG!Droid website. I’ll never drop by that site again. Won’t recommend it to anyone else for that matter.

    Anyway, below are some of the comments for your entertainment.
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  • Saturday morning coffee [July 7 2012]

    So much happens each and every week that it’s hard to keep up sometimes. Here are some of the taps that are open in my browser this morning along with some random thoughts….

    The coffee mug to the right comes straight from Philadelphia. I picked it up at a Starbucks near my hotel during a “Siemens Innovations” conference in 2009. The city is certainly full of history, but not my kind of town. It didn’t help that I was there in August. Yeah, it was hot and humid. On the bright side I had my first authentic “Philly Cheesesteak”, although there was some argument at the hotel when I asked where to get it.
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  • Happy 4th of July 2012

    Ah, the 4th of July. Independence Day. The day in 1776 when the Continental Congress gave Great Britain the finger and declared that the thirteen American colonies were no longer a part of the British Empire. America was born.

    “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”

    Well said.

    In addition, the 4th of July is a time for celebration with family and friends. Swimming, talking, playing and lots and lots of BBQ, ice cream, other junk food and so on. This years grub includes a Swiss Meat Roll, BBQ hot dogs, two types of homemade ice cream – vanilla and strawberry, my daughters famous Red, White, and Blue cake, and all the sides that make it fun.

    It’s also a time to enjoy the beauty of fireworks lighting up the night. And believe me, when the Fahrni brothers get together on the 4th there’s sure to be plenty of that.

    Have fun everyone and try not to get carried away. On second thought, don’t worry about getting carried away. Just have fun and be safe.

  • Clearinghouse for pharmacy automation and technology ideas

    My post from last week along with a conversation I had with my brother got me thinking about all the good pharmacy ideas that never see the light of day. I know there are some great ideas out there because I’ve been fortunate enough to see many of them in my travels. My job gives me the opportunity to visit a lot of hospital pharmacies and speak to a lot of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. Trust me when I say there are a lot of smart people out there that could improve the practice of pharmacy with their ideas.

    So why is it that so many good ideas don’t get the attention they deserve? There are lots of reasons.
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  • Pharmacy needs a new method for sharing non-clinical information

    Last week I found myself in Florida for work. I had a little extra time on my hands so I stopped by NOVA Southeastern University to visit with a friend and colleague, Kevin Clausen (@kevinclausen). Kevin is not only a pharmacist, but professor and researcher at the Center for Consumer Health Informatics Research at NOVA Southeastern. He’s one of a select few pharmacists that are dedicated to pharmacy informatics in academia.

    Kevin and I talked about a lot of topics, but one topic that was of particular interest was getting information published in journals. As an active researcher Kevin has a laundry list of published articles to his credit, giving him keen knowledge of the process for publishing research in peer-reviewed journals. One thing that struck a chord with me was the effort and time required to get an article published. Apparently it can take multiple article revisions and upwards of a year to get an article accepted by a certain journals.

    No one that’s been involved in the process would be shocked by this; not even me. I’ve heard this before from other people in my profession. The problem is that the model doesn’t work for informatics, automation and technology (IAT). The speed at which the field is evolving means that information is often obsolete by the time it hits the peer-reviewed journals.

    The basic question is whether or not information about pharmacy IAT requires the same rigors as research aimed at the clinical side of pharmacy. Does a study of turnaround time during pharmacy distribution with carousel technology vs. robotics require the same intense scrutiny that a study looking at the use of an ACEI vs. an ARB in PWD and HTN would?  Not likely. While one could argue that the method of distribution may impact patient care it is unlikely that the impact would be worth little more than a friendly debatable among colleagues.
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  • Ideas, Vision, Innovation: Fantasy vs. Reality

    Simply put, I think you need an idea and a vision to be innovative. Sounds simple enough.

    I’ve read that good ideas are hard to come by, vision even harder and innovation rare. I don’t buy it. I believe innovation is difficult, but probably not for the reasons you might expect. On the other hand I don’t believe that ideas are hard to come by or that vision is rare.

    I think ideas are like change in your pocket and you tend to collect more than you think. If you’re like me, and I believe most people are, you probably have several ideas every day about changing how something is done, how to make something better or what the next big thing should be. You know what I mean. All those moments throughout the day when you say something like “what if they…” or “why didn’t they…” or even “wouldn’t it be cool if …”. You know what I’m talking about, like “wouldn’t it be cool if they filled marshmallows with hot fudge”. Yes, yes it would.
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