Personal

Schizofrenic bachelor

2012-04-13T09:13:04Z

I've begun the ardues task of writing my bachelor. The subject is schizofrenia and how the psychiatric nurse can help patients cope with the condition.

In the end it has to be a paper of about 60.000 characters (with spaces) or something like 40 pages. Right now I'm on my 8'th page, so there is a long way to go.
Everybody talks about this experience as a having a full time job and raising a kid. Your whole life ends up revolving around what ever you're writing about. My family and friends are in for treat I tell you.

The subject matter is all about emotions and different ways of thinking. So I'm more than a little anxious that I'll experience more than a few of the symptoms before turning this in.
It's very strange to think that the definition of schizofrenia is abnormal thinking. Which means that if you think you're better than others or that something can be done differently, you're actually having mild psychotic thoughts... Hmm most people will have thought something like this in there life time.

So wish me luck in this endeavor and pray for my continued sanity.

Make informed choices.

Movember

2011-11-18T09:27:25Z

I'm dedicating my face to Movember. To put focus on the fact that men take deceases far less serious than women, evident by the number of men getting checked for prostate cancer compared to women for breast cancer.

We need to be just as good at listening to our bodies as women, if we want to be here as long as them.
Women live on average about 4-7 years longer than men, some of that if because we wait to long with medical problems.

100% of all men get prostate cancer (if they get old enough of course). We call it an enlarged prostate, but it is the same. We research heavily on breast cancer, where a only a very small procentage of women are affected, but prostate cancer research is put on a back burner.

So support the fight against mens deceases we need funding and awareness.

Even a few bucks will help and I would be eternally greatful, on behalf of all other men, for that contribution.
If you're a guy, then support the cause and show your mo :)

You can go to HERE to donate and get more information.

Thank you.

Make informed choices.

Steve Jobs - a man that made a difference

2011-10-06T07:59:55Z

It feels weird to reminisce about a man I never actually met. Probably never would meet or even speak to. But somehow Steve had a lasting impact on me. He is the reason I'm a self proclaimed Apple fan boy now.

Sitting here writing in Mail at the breakfast table, makes what Steve did very earthbound. I live on my macbook. Not just because I'm writing my bachelors degree in Pages and use Safari almost on an hourly basis. But also because the ideas and ideals he stood for suffuses my life now.

Every time I've held a new Apple product, that day has been etched in to my memory.
That is Steve's legacy for me. And I will always remember him as just that. A great innovator and a man you strive to be.

...

I do not see my life without Apple, and only regretfully without Steve.

My thoughts go out to his family, including every employee at Apple. You inspire people to treat each other like a close relation, something I strive to do in my nursing job.

I am inspired.

Thank you.

Kristian Mathiesen
Denmark

This is my letter to Apple remembering Steve. I hope you will take the time to remember a great man.

He will be sorely missed.

Please send an email to rememberingsteve@apple.com

Related: Steve Jobs (http://www.apple.com/stevejobs/)

Mentioned...

2011-07-31T19:10:09Z

Recently while watching AppJudgement they asked for advise on how to use your smartphone to monitor and keep on a budget.

I have been using MoneyBook by NoIdentity for about a year. So far it has helped me keep on track and within my chosen budget very well. The budget part of the app is actually a bonus, and not the focus of the app. It is mainly for keeping a record of purchases and earnings, so that you can avoid keeping tons of receipts and have to fill out an extensive spreadsheet just to be on track.
Inputting earnings or expenses take seconds (when you have the app open) because every single page has a button. You add the numbers and choose one of the user defined categories. Done.

In the app preferences you can choose to use the budget mode. Thereby giving you visual feedback of your spending. Every expense subtracts from the bar in overview, showing if you are using your money to fast or have extra to spare. Your "top" three categories are lined up next to the bar and also indicates your spending habits.

I really like using this app and therefore didn't hesitate to answer the call on my twitter page.

So I was pleasantly surprised when watching the latest installment of AppJudgement and seeing my tweet highlighted as a good answer.

Thank you AppJudgement.

(Here's the episode - my bit is in the middle with Annie Gaus)

An important issue

2010-10-12T14:34:01Z

Fortunately I live in a country that accepts, at least publicly, gay unions. We are in the middle of a discussion about what to actually call this. A marriage or a union or whatever.

I personally don't care what it's called as long as I have the same right to visit my partner in the hospital as a straight couple. And as long as health insurance, custody of children and inheritance isn't something I have to make a specific will for, I'm happy.

We're working on it.

The fight for equal rights is raging in the States at the moment and I would like to contribute what I can to that.

Love is a human right, what ever that love is.

So f**k hate.
And get over it.
We're all people, not just the ones that live the "normal" way.

Make informed choices

The Origin of Species

2010-07-18T12:11:27Z

By now you must have figured out that I listen to a lot of podcasts.
One of the more recent ones I’ve been listening to was Dr.Kiki’s science hour. In this episode she was talking to Dr. Karen James about a science collaboration effort. The project was to build a replica of the Beagle (the ship with which Darwin set out to discover the Origin of species) and then retrace his steps while doing modern science.
According to Dr. James the project is still in its infancy. They still need most of the basic funding to start building the actual ship. So far they’ve had a successful trip with a similar vessel of the coast of south America. They brought biologists and took samples of the seawater and the creatures they encountered. In much the same way that the intended trip with the beagle will be. They even had a teleconference with an American astronaut, getting local children to ask questions.

Hearing about all the things that Darwin saw and discovered during his travels with the HMS Beagle got me really interested in learning the actual story.
Armed with iBooks on my iPhone I found “the Origin of the Species” as a free download, being part of Project Gutenberg.
Reading on the iPhone is hardly ideal, but I had loads of commuting time, so I figured I might as well spend it wisely.
In landscape mode the book is 2701 pages long. That is quite a task to get through.
It took me about two weeks reading an hour or so each day.

Having read it, I can certainly see why the book was considered controversial in its day. Here is a man who through logic and explanation turns the very basis of existence on its head. He does refer to it as a not finished thesis. Most of his argumentation lacks concrete evidence and had he submitted it today it would have been met with profound scrutiny.
He always refers to other studies though, forcing the reader to take an active stand and read them before dismissing his claims as invalid. He is very aware of the fact, that his ideas are out there and not the norm. But he always remains almost innocent, forcing you to see things from his perspective, without pulling it over your head.
Much like J.R.R Tolkien he has a very descriptive speaking language. It is certainly scientific but it never feels dull or heavy to the ear. He always gives reasoning for eluding on certain subjects and elaboration on others, so you are never in any doubt of what his intentions are.

I can highly recommend (if you have the time) to read this book. We’ve all (with the exclusion of highly religious groups - and why would they read this?) been introduced to this theory in some parts of our educational system. We hear it explained in common words “every living being on this earth is a descendant of some earlier form, leaving the conclusion that we could all be descendant from one common ancestor”.
Getting the full explanation and therefore understanding the reasoning behind the theory, has in my case certainly broadened my perception.

It was quite a daunting task to undertake, being the first purely scientific book I’ve read for recreational purposes. But it has made me want to do this more often.

If you have any ideas on books I should read, feel free to leave a comment below.

Make informed choices.

So far so good

2010-03-28T19:59:31Z

I've now officially been blogging for six months. So far the amount of content hasn't been that big, mainly because of my life at the moment.

I've finished my 5'th semester of nursing school and am now in my 6'th. The whole semester is dedicated to "practice", in other words I get to use 5 months as a real nurse. The goal being that I master all the elements needed in the daily routines and that I establish some kind of expertise in most of them.

So far it has been great, the ward I've been assigned to is a surgical ward, so the patients aren't usually with us for more than 3-7 days. It is very different from what I'm used to with a medical ward, where patients offen stay more than a month for treatment.
The specific area of surgery treated at this ward is vascular surgery. (treatment of poor blood flow to extremities such as the legs and arms)
They also treat patients suffering from aorta anurisms, and have a special responsibility since they are the only place that treats certain forms of it.

I find this practice really inspiring and motivating, every day of being in the midst of helping people gives me a drive to achieve even more. I'm meant to be a nurse, I can just feel it.

Apart from that life is a bit stressful, mainly since practice takes up so much of my time I can hardly make any plans for my real life. But I manage and hope that after the first half things will slow down and start becoming routine.

Make informed choices.

To start things off

2009-11-03T20:07:48Z

So I've dicided to enter the world of blogging.

But what to write....

(pause)

How about this.

Most every day I listen and watch pod casts, and not just any pod casts, I listen to science and technology ones.
Currently it is

GeekBrief.tv by Cali Lewis
Appjudgement
PixelPerfect
Tekzilla
This Week In Science (TWIS)
This Week In Tech (TWIT)
and a Danish one called Videnskaben Verden (red: science world)

The reason I watch them, or listen is because I've always had to know everything.
In that sense I react like a sponge. I like having loads of knowledge on a subject and really enjoy giving it to others later.

As a nurse I have to explain procedures, deceases and treatments for almost all patients. Having a broad knowledge of the subject is essential to properly explain things even when you get a counter question.
This aspect of nursing is one of my favorites, because you can get in the root of peoples problems and fix them more easily when I have something to give back.

Ok.. this post will get longer soon, I might just continue in another or something.

Make informed choises