February 14 is National Donor Day

I just learned that February 14 will be the 10th National Donor Day.

Being on the organ donor registry means a lot to me--the chance to help dramatically improve or even save a life is a gift I am honored to be able to give. And the need is so great: over 100,000 people are on waiting lists for organs.

Please consider joining the donor registry in your state this Valentine's Day.

(Post has been updated thanks to the good editorial eye of a reader -- not a skill I possess, particulary with my own work.)

Cool site: Medical History of British India

I was doing a search on the history of cholera when I came across a fascinating web site: Medical History of British India -- Disease Prevention and Public Health.

Sponsored by the National Library of Scotland, this site has over 50 reports on diseases studied in 19th- and 20th-century India. You can browse by disease (cholera, leprosy, plague, malaria, yellow fever), publication type (maps, diagrams), year, region, and author.

The site is quite well-designed and has some beautiful maps and diagrams. The map in the upper left corner shows the progress of epidemic cholera in 1818 and 1819. This is a chart from 1896 showing plague mortality at Cutch Mandvi.


And this is an 1896 map of India, showing railway plague inspection stations.

Jargon generators

There are a number of jargon generators out there, many of them creating a humorous three-word phrase of gobbledygook.

There's business jargon (pro-active, team-based synergy), management-ese (scale out-of-the-box functionalities), and web/tech-speak (integrate dynamic network effects).

But this is the first time I've come across a jargon-generator that creates entire sentences.

Moreover, a focus on core competencies means that management must concentrate on the operational imperative of strategic decision-making oriented to market growth vectors.

May come in handy for that next quarterly report...

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Long hiatus -- to blog or not to blog?

Happy New Year and hello to 2009. I've enjoyed blogging, but haven't done so in the past 3 months. There are several reasons for this:

• Time: I usually blog on nights and weekends, but when I get home, I rarely want to sit in front of my computer. I've also used my blog for a more lengthy, reflective look at a topic, which often prevents me from starting.
  

• Other interests: cooking, reading, exercising, and discussing current events with B.
  

• Other outlets: primarily through Facebook and sharing feeds.

So, I'm thinking I may start blogging again, but keeping it short like many of the blogs I enjoy reading.