Marketing

I spent two hours this morning while at work collecting data on the new patients seen at our clinic this past month.  I am recording their ages and genders, insurance types, home zip codes, and how they heard about our clinic.  I am doing all of this in an effort to figure out where our patients are coming from and how they are getting to our clinic.  All of this information is collected for every patient but shockingly I think it is mostly just recorded in their chart but never looked at again or used in any way.

I also spent time on Facebook, trying to improve our presence there.  I've already spent time beefing up our presence on Google.  Does any of this help?  I have no idea.  I don't think it will hurt.  I should know within a few months or so if it helps based on the data that I'm collecting. 

Grand Theft Auto V Trailer

Just three weeks until Grand Theft Auto V is released.  I have it pre-ordered.  This is one of my most anticipated games in a long, long time.

Also the song on the trailer is new to me but I think it is just an awesome accompaniment to the video.



UPDATE: I've played around 20% of the game so far.  The open-world Los Santos environment is amazing.  The game is classic GTA, although the interaction of 3 playable characters definately brings something new to the table in terms of making the story telling more complex.  IGN gave the game a 10, and I agree with them.  GTA V is pretty fantastic.

Pure Fantasy

This year for the first time in my life I am participating in a fantasy football league.  I like football but generally only watch the Colts and don't pay a whole lot of attention to any of the other teams or players.  Beyond the biggest stars on each team I don't know than many NFL players, making the fantasy draft somewhat challenging.  I am mostly just picking players based on their fantasy rankings.  Wish me luck in my upcoming season.  I am treating this season like an expansion year.  Expectations are low.

Yard Envy

Being a first time home owner means that I have a yard to take care of for the first time in my life.  I used to mow grass a lot when I was younger but otherwise I have no idea how to take care of a lawn properly.  It hasn't rained in about a month and the grass is mostly brown.  Luckily a fair percentage of my neighbors grass looks the same.

The yard I inherited when we bought our house was in pretty decent shape.  The biggest complaint is that there are patches here and there missing grass.  I attempted to place seed in these places but didn't have much luck.  Also, since it hasn't rained here in about a month the grass isn't growing much and thus it doesn't need to be cut.  The weeds still grow, however, and it turns out my yard has more weeds than I thought.

I am not going to lie.  I am a little obsessive with what the neighbors are doing with their lawns.  Mostly the couple of neighbors right across the street as I can easily see them out of my windows.  I don't want my lawn to get too out of control in comparison to theirs...

I haven't done much of anything to the lawn since moving in other than mow it.  I've decided not to fiddle with it much right after moving in.  However, everything that I've been told and have read says that fall is a good time to re-seed the lawn in preparation of getting a great lawn for the following spring and summer.  So probably sometime in late September or early October I am planning on re-seeding the lawn, whatever that means.  I might ask my dad to show me how.  I think I will feel more comfortable doing it once I know what I'm doing.  Otherwise I get concerned that the neighbors will be judging me...

Cincy Tennis Tournament

Sarah and I just returned from the tennis tournament in Cincy.  I think this year it was more of a success than last year, for several reasons.

• The weather was much nicer this year, probably 15-20 degrees cooler than last year.  At times it was even chilly.
• We did a much better job dealing with the sun.  Instead of using spray on block one time in the morning, we used regular lotion with zinc oxide and re-applied a few times throughout the day.  I also wore a hat this year which I think helped.  I avoided the racoon's eyes sunburn too, which I am happy about.  I think Sarah actually got it worse than I did this year.
• I managed to put on pants before leaving the hotel this year...
• Sarah ripped off a street hustler trying to buy/sell tickets...
• We saw some great tennis, with evidence provided with the above and below pictures.

Breaking Bad

As usual I am about 5 years behind the TV popularity curve.  Breaking Bad first debuted in 2008 on AMC and I am just now starting to watch it.  I've heard several people praise it and have read many good things about the show on the internet so decided to give it a try.  Plus the story intrigued me.  It's about a down on his luck high school chemistry teacher who is diagnosed with terminal lung cancer.  Additionally his wife is pregnant.  Because of his tough situation he sporadically begins manufacturing methamphetamine in an attempt to make enough money to support his family after he passes away.  Of course this plan isn't without risks and he and his partner get into all kinds of troubling situations.  So far it has been really good.  I am in season 2.  Sarah doesn't like it because she says it is too violent, though usually there is only one violent scene per episode.  Season 5 part 2 debuts this Sunday night on AMC.

Website ads that take over your whole screen

IGN is a well known site for video game, movie, and TV show reviews.  I go there frequently to read about video game news.

One of my biggest pet peeves, at least as far as the internet is concerned, are pop-up ads (I love pop-up videos, however) that open not in their own window but within the same window as the browser, take up the whole page, shift things around right before you are about to click, and are impossible to close in a timely fashion. 

IGN recently started using these types of ads on their home page.  They annoy me so much I am strongly considering switching my source of video game news.  Try going to their site.  I guarantee that you'll get such an add within 10 seconds of arriving at their home page.

Duck Dynasty

When I first heard of this show I thought it sounded like possibly the dumbest idea for a TV show ever.  For some random reason Sarah started watching it and I would hear bits and pieces of episodes here and there but mostly resisted watching.  After a while I couldn't resist anymore and I too have started watching.  It is pretty entertaining and I must say, for the first time in my life, I kind of want to be a redneck.

Study hard, party harder

DePauw University, my alma mater, once again was ranked in the Princeton Review's list of top party schools.  I find the list to be amusing and a bit confusing.  This year's list is made up of mostly larger and mostly public schools.  Yet right there in the middle of those large universities sits little old DePauw, a small liberal arts school of just a few thousand students.  I'm not completely sure how DePauw frequents this list nearly every year.  Sure people at DePauw like to have a good time (It's where I first heard the phrase "Study hard, party harder."), but when I was there I thought it seemed relatively tame compared to Indiana University, and they aren't even on the list.  I just wonder what the criteria is for making the list.

Patients or patience?

I graduated from residency over a month ago and for various reasons that are both beyond the scope of this entry and boring to discuss, my first official day in my new clinic as a full time doctor was today.  There are a lot of perks to being a full time doc versus being in residency.  To name a few, I have a set schedule, I have my own office within my clinic with two computers and office supplies, a much quieter work environment, and so on and so forth.  In addition, graduating from an accredited residency program says that I have the skills necessary to be a competent doc.  I seem to have everything that I need to succeed, with one big exception: patients.  On my first day at my new clinic I only saw one patient, and technically it was another doctor’s patient who basically just needed a medicine refill.

I really didn’t anticipate being a real doctor would be like this.  I thought that as soon as I opened shop people would come.  Apparently my expectations were wrong.  Everyone I’ve talked to says it is normal to be slow when first starting and that things will pick up.  I hope they’re right.  Otherwise I am going to be a very bored real doctor.

Indy Indians

I thought about driving down to Cincinnati this weekend to watch the Cardinals play the Reds but figured I've cursed them enough this week and should stay away.  Instead we're going down to watch the Indians play.  That is always a good time and costs 30-60% less than an MLB game.  The Indians are the AAA-affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates so I am not sure if I should root for them or against them.