5 Travel Tips for Your Next Flight

airline, Arkansas, technology, travel, US Airways, , ,

l’ll admit I don’t fly much. However, I just returned from a trip to Northwest Arkansas, where my nephew got married. Because of this excursion, I picked up a few travel tips that I thought I would pass along.

  1. Download the app of the airline you’re flying on

Because US Airways and American Airlines are going through a merger, I wound up downloading both of their apps. The US Airways app has a Boarding Pass Wallet that, after I entered my contact information, I was able to load my coordinates into.

Fortunately, I wasn’t checking luggage, so I didn’t need to use it to track our bags. But a bag-tracking feature is available and I understand it comes in handy. For instance, since airlines scan your bag a) when you check it, b) when it goes onto the plane, and c) when it comes, off, you should know with the app whether your bag made the connection or not.

Another benefit is you can actually use the app for free while flying. This is very helpful to see if your next flight is on time or not as well as to see what gate to make it over to.

  1. Use mobile boarding passes, if possible

I may be one of the last holdouts to do away with paper, but I thought I would take the plunge and go paperless this time. It all worked out fine.

When I checked in the night before our flight, I found out that I had a new frequent flyer number and that I didn’t have a mobile boarding pass. I chalked this up to the merger. Interestingly enough, I did have mobile boarding passes on the return flights and they worked pretty well.

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  1. Don’t just jump at the first opportunity to go a different route

When we found out that we were waiting for a flight attendant to arrive at the airport and that our boarding time and flight would be delayed, they called me up to the counter. They offered to reroute us through another city (Charlotte, instead of Dallas), I was tempted to leap at the opportunity. The proposed flight was already boarding and, I was told, we could get on it. But we had to hurry because it was leaving from a different gate. Well, I stayed and asked a few questions and, sure enough, a few minutes later, they had released the seats to other passengers, so they were no longer available. Had I leapt at the offer, we probably would have had to run to catch it – and it got in an hour after we eventually arrived. So my takeaway was “Don’t panic, ask questions.”

  1. Put your luggage in the overhead bin across the aisle and in front of you

As long as I’ve been flying, I’ve subscribed to this method. Most people put their bags directly above their seat and sometimes behind it. If you do that, you don’t know who is rummaging around in your suitcase right over top of you. And if you put it behind your seat, you have to “fight oncoming traffic” after the flight, which isn’t fun. If you wind up putting the suitcase behind you and insist on getting it while people are filing out, I guarantee you won’t make many friends. I retrieved a bag for someone a few rows in front of me who had moved closer to the cockpit after she had stored her luggage in the overhead bin. While I was happy to pass it up to her, don’t expect others to be so willing to pass your bag over the heads of others.

  1. Consider using Uber

The hotel where we were staying did not have an airport shuttle. I was told that a taxi to the airport would cost between $30 and $40. I’d never tried Uber before and thought I’d check it out. The Uber fare turned out to be $7.03 (that low apparently because it was the first time I used it). The driver was on time. And he even spoke English and shared with us a lot of local knowledge.

Seasoned travelers may scoff at these tips as being rudimentary. Nevertheless, I thought to myself that “If I help one person, then it’s worth it.”

How I Listened Myself onto My College Baseball Team

baseball, listening, Professional Development, ,

I played baseball when I was younger but didn’t make the high school team. I tried out for second base then but wasn’t very good. I couldn’t hit all that well and my second base proficiency was, well, second rate.

I tried all the positions growing up – pitcher, catcher, infielder and outfielder. Quite frankly, I may have decided on second base because it was the least dangerous. But I remembered that when I was a catcher in little league and elementary school, I’d won some accolades. I had a decent arm and good hands, and I felt less inhibited with all that gear (aka, the “tools of ignorance”) on.

Baseball-Field-at-Home1

When I decided to go to college, I had three goals: I wanted to (1) go away to school, (2) get my bachelor’s degree, and (3) play baseball (and not necessarily in that order). I was intent on accomplishing all three.

I was not very studious in high school My grades weren’t that good; somewhat miraculously, however, I got accepted at Loyola College in Baltimore. I had barely survived the first fall semester, when, all of a sudden, here came spring, when a young man’s thoughts turn to … well, in my case, baseball.

I tried out for the varsity team as a catcher, taking my lumps along the way. The pitchers were out to impress and they were throwing hard. Because it was February and cold outside, we were indoors. The other catchers handling the pitchers were catching without a mask, but after I’d had my nose bloodied a few times, I swallowed my pride and wore one.

For pills cialis go to storefront a product that does not contain the active ingredient of the medication, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), interacts with proteins known as cannabinoid receptors. Many times anyone can take too much but it’s wrong, you should need best price vardenafil to aware of the side effects of particular drugs especially antidepressant drugs adversely affect sexual functionality. Let your doctor know if you are running any other medication treatment you are running from. levitra on sale http://cute-n-tiny.com/tag/armadillo/ Disappointment to do so may bring about lessened item quality about whether. non prescription viagra On the last day of tryouts, I showed up early to imagine myself on the team. This was the day my fate would be decided.

My hitting had improved the previous summer while playing softball, but I hadn’t witnessed any curve balls in that league. Here I would encounter plenty.

As I stood in the on-deck circle during an intra-squad scrimmage that day, my eyes met those of “Walt,” another prospect whom I knew from the dorm. He’d observed that “John” threw the ball right down the middle. I concurred, having seen his repertoire of pitches in the gym while catching him.

When it was my turn to bat, I dug in, remembering what Walt had told me. It was late in the game and my dream was on the line. Sure enough, one of the first pitches I saw was a fastball right down Broadway. I hammered it out into left field, driving in several runs in the process. It was at a crucial point in the game. Not only did I surprise myself, but I surprised the coach as well, who now had a harder time deciding whom to let go.

After the game, I passed all the defensive drills the coach put me through and made the team. In all honesty, it was the advice Walt gave me, and my putting it to good use, that enabled me to realize my dream of playing college baseball.

Anyway, I’ll be giving a listening workshop at various American Executive Centers in August. Come on out and join us. To register for it, go here: http://www.americanexecutivecenters.com/summer-learning-seminars/

A Good Match

Professional Development, technology, Useful Tips, ,

LinkedIn’s acquisition of Lynda.com is social media’s fourth biggest deal ever (behind Facebook’s purchase of Oculus and WhatsApp and Google’s buying YouTube). They paid $1.5 billion for the eLearning company. The deal tops the one billion dollar acquisition of Instagram by Facebook four year ago.

What does this mean to us? Lynda will become a household name and many of us will have access to the over 6300 courses and more than 265,000 video tutorials they provide. LinkedIn, already a household name, has over 300 million users. The partnership makes sense since they’re both focused on professional development.

LInda

Now, don’t expect to see videos on how to trim bonsai trees or improve your golf game. Lynda.com is primarily good for multimedia skills. The videos focus heavily on business, technology and creative skills. Want to learn more about Photo Shop, Create Space or Final Cut Pro? Lynda can help. Or how about Adobe, Articulate, Google or Microsoft? Ditto.

One way LinkedIn is promoting Lynda.com is by offering a 21-day free trial of it (better hurry, it expires soon, if it hasn’t already). I sent the 21 day free-trial information to my sister, who is a photographer. She responded that she’s  been using Lynda.com for a few years now and that they have great courses.

Lynda Weinman, cofounder of Lynda.com, wrote in a LinkedIn Pulse post some time back that she and LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner “both believe the skills gap is one of the leading social issues of our time – technology changes fast and people need to keep their skills up to date.” No argument here. Lynda.com has been a tremendous resource with tools for designers, coders, video editors, photographers and entrepreneurs.
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Reid Hoffman, Peter Thiel, et. al, offered early juice to LinkedIn. Lynda.com has been the sweetheart of eLearners for years. Having been in the Training & Development space for a number of years, I had certainly heard or it (her?). But I’d never sampled the courses. Now I have and I’m hooked!

They even have German, French and Spanish content under the Video2Brain brand name. So, if you want to learn those languages, you could listen to videos in them. The visual element will certainly help you with the comprehension, especially if you already have some understanding of the content.

I remember when I went to Germany on vacation, although I had listened to audio of the language prior to arriving, I still had trouble carrying on a conversation of any length with another individual. Yet, when I watched German language television, it really helped. TV wasn’t nearly as intimidating, probably because I didn’t feel put on the spot. No response was needed from me.

With Lynda.com, you can also create playlists based on your interests or skills you want to acquire immediately. Additional resources such as worksheets and templates are often included.

The self-paced, subscription-based service costs as little as $25 per month or $250/year. Online learning is hitting its stride. Neglect it at your peril. Learning is literally right at our fingertips now. All we have to do is take action.

Why Helping Others Drives Our Success

communication, Professional Development, Useful Tips

Are you a giver or a taker? Wharton professor Adam Grant, who wrote a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling book called Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success, says there are basically three kinds of people: givers, takers and matchers. While it seems like takers always wind up at the top, Grant says it’s quite the contrary. Givers, he says, come out ahead, provided that they take care of themselves.

give-take1

Takers believe in a zero sum world where you have to win at all costs. Givers, on the other hand, go the extra mile to do favors for people without expecting anything in return. Matchers believe in a just, quid pro quo world.

There are two kinds of givers: Selfless givers and Otherish givers. Selfless givers give without regard for their own welfare and therefore wind up at the bottom. They deplete all their resources and, as a result, can’t take care of themselves. They don’t have the ability to keep giving. They don’t know how to manage their lives effectively.

Otherish givers, on the other hand, wind up at the top. They know how to negotiate the giving boundaries, so they can continue to give.

Givers need to block out time for themselves. As long as givers have not depleted their own resources taking care of others, they’ll do well for themselves and society.

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Unfortunately, Grant says, the negative impact of a taker is double or triple that of a giver in a culture.

This week I attended a workshop by Patience Lehrman. Patience is a recipient of the Presidential Citizen’s Medal, the second highest civilian award in the United States. She was talking about transforming your life through an attitude of service.

Patience had us do an exercise where we were to come up with two things we wanted help with that somebody in the room could help them with. The two questions I got were as follows: 1) I’d like to know what Jamaican food trucks at Temple (University) are good, and 2) I want to learn how to create and market an interactive e-book with a cognitive tutor.

Well, I asked one of the videographers at their TED Talks Live! program at the Pyramid Club in Philadelphia if he knew the answer to question #1. He did. For those of you in Philly and attend (or live near) Temple he told me there is a good one on Montgomery right next to a Middle Eastern truck.

As for the second one, I didn’t get a chance to ask the person who penned the question what she meant by “with a cognitive tutor” but I thought I’d put the first part of the question out there to see how many givers there are.  How do YOU create and market an interactive e-book? Thanks in advance for answering.

Clean Comedy

humor, laughter, Professional Development, ,

I’m reading Jim Gaffigan’s book Dad is Fat. Gaffigan, for those of you who don’t know him, is a stand-up comedian. He’s known as being a clean comedian – one who doesn’t use profanity as a crutch.

I call it a crutch because I honestly believe that’s what it is. I think many comedians think “We’ll at least if it’s not funny, the shock and awe will make them laugh.” I could be wrong (it wouldn’t be the first time).

I bought Dad is Fat at the airport on the way to my nephew’s college graduation last year but never got around to reading it until now. What prompted me to start reading was I gave a talk last month and someone said that I reminded them of him. She said I had “a droll sense of humor – kind of like Jim Gaffigan.” Right before I bought Dad is Fat at the airport a friend had recommended Gaffigan to me.  Hence the purchase.

In reading it I realized he’s the guy who talks about Hot Pockets. Then it dawned on me that I have seen him on comedy channels. I watch very little comedy. Just hearing politicians talk is funny enough. Actually it’s sad, but you have to laugh because if you don’t, you’ll cry.

What surprised me about Gaffigan’s book is how well written it is. I’m not sure if he wrote it or had someone write in for him. He did mention working for his high school newspaper so maybe he does write. And, obviously, someone has to prepare his stage material. Yet, another part of the book talks about his writer. So perhaps it’s ghostwritten.

Gaffigan’s book thus far has been about being a husband and the father of five kids. An excerpt: How do you answer, “Daddy why are you a stand-up chameleon?” or “Why don’t dogs get chicken pops?” He has some other interesting observations that I find amusing, despite my not having any children, let alone five.

I realize in writing this that I want to check out the local comedy scene. Now Philadelphia is not exactly L.A., Chicago or New York. But there are millions of people here, so there must be a few places that have open mikes or decent acts.

According to my friend Theresa Hummel-Krallinger, a Philly-area comedienne, there is a pretty vibrant comedy scene in the city of Brotherly Love. “The local A-club is Helium, on Sansom Street.  Other local clubs with a long history are the Comedy Cabarets (with multiple locations) as well as Comedy Works in Bristol.  I’m delighted that there are also some fun monthly venues with great local talent, like the Broad Axe Tavern in Ambler or Cardinal Hollow Winery in West Point (near Lansdale.)  There’s also an abundance of open mics in the City and suburbs.”

For those in the Philly area, here are a few venues for comedy:
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http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/top-lists/top-comedy-clubs-in-philadelphia/

http://www.uwishunu.com/2012/07/roundup-our-guide-to-the-best-live-comedy-in-philadelphia/

http://phillyhotlist.cityvoter.com/best/comedy-club/arts-and-entertainment/philadelphia

Gene Perret, who has written for some of the all-time great comedians, says to keep it clean. He said in an article for The Toastmaster magazine, “the profane is easier, surely; the romantic, lyrical, philosophical language is more effective – and more appreciated by the listeners.” I agree.

Attached is a link to a video of someone I consider clean, Scott Wood (you may need Flash to run the clip, which, I understand, Apple products do not have).

http://www.cleancomedyclinic.com/scottwood.php

To sum up my philosophy about comedy, I love what writer William Zinsser said. “What I want to do is make people laugh so they see things seriously.”

Scott Wood

5 Body Language Tips to Keep in Mind

body language, communication, dress, folded arms, movement, ,

How important is body language when presenting? Well, unless you’re using a nonvisual mode of communicating, such as e-mail or the telephone, it’s extremely important.

Body Language

For example, body language experts can tell how well couples get along by watching them from across a crowded, noisy restaurant. In the Nixon-Kennedy debate, those who listened on the radio thought Nixon won. But those who watched it on television felt Kennedy won. Kennedy was fit and tan and wore makeup while Nixon refused makeup and shifted his eyes back and forth.

Attorneys often read the body language of the jury to see how well they’re presenting their case and which jurors among them need further convincing. Likewise, juries (consciously or subconsciously) consider the body language of the attorneys as they present their case. The jury may also watch the defendant for signs of innocence or guilt.

With so much riding on the impressions people receive visually, let’s look at what body language includes:

  1. Eye Contact: The eyes are said to be the mirror of the soul. I recommend smiling with your eyes. Have Irish eyes. I find I’m skeptical of people who blink or flutter their eyes when speaking. I question their honesty.
  2. Facial Expressions: I used to be told I didn’t smile enough when speaking to a group. I didn’t realize the truth of that statement until I saw myself on video. Smiling helps you connect with your audience. Besides, everybody smiles in the same language. I even recommend smiling over the phone. It comes across.
  3. Arms: As a general rule, talking without using gestures can make it harder for your audience to comprehend what you’re saying, especially if you’re discussing something complicated. The most effective gestures are spontaneous ones. And yes, I also recommend using your hands when you’re communicating over the phone, as the movement can help your words come out more naturally.
  4. Movement and posture: Before your talk, visualize yourself moving smoothly and swiftly. Believe it or not, footwork is important. Interestingly, footwork is even important in a relatively stationary sport like golf. Likewise, presenters should be light on their feet, as opposed to being frozen in one place. You should move purposefully, too, because it gives you more authority.
  5. Dress: While clothes aren’t really body language, they’re part of the visual component of presenting. I’ve heard a number of suggestions regarding attire, not the least of which is “Always dress as well as or better than the best dressed person in the audience.” My all-time favorite thought on what to wear while presenting is “Dress as if you have somewhere more important to go.”

Now, I’d like to dispel one of the biggest body language myths. Just because someone crosses their arms, doesn’t mean they’re unreceptive to your message. They may be cold or even just more comfortable folding their arms. Therefore, you shouldn’t read too much into it.
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Also, keep in mind that not everyone is demonstrative. Some people communicate with their voice, their confidence, their content, and their sense of humor more effectively than someone who is very physical. Body language isn’t everything in presenting. Yes, it’s a huge part (some say over 50% of your message is conveyed visually), but it’s just one part.

For an excellent book on presenting, which addresses body language effectively, check out Bert Decker’s You’ve Gotta Be Believed to Be Heard.

 

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It’s Driving Me Crazy

Driving, Professional Development, Useful Tips, ,

This post might sound like a “When I was your age” rant. Because it is.

People need to know how to park. Many people can’t even pull in straight in, let alone parallel park. And now we find out that the state of Maryland has removed parallel parking from their drivers test.

Why? Is it too hard? Is it politically incorrect to ask people to know how to parallel park? What if they pass the test and then have to park the car somewhere that’s not “convenient”? Are people who take their drivers exams allowed to use self-driving cars?

Full disclosure: When I took the driver’s test, they didn’t ask me to parallel park. I was asked to do a three point turn, however. And I agree with those who say going two miles an hour is not all that dangerous. But all those people that say that must admit that you need to be able to parallel park to get along in the world.

They say the reason they removed it is because kids were flunking the tests and then having to wait to take the test again. Well, don’t flunk that part. Learn how to do it. Kids are on YouTube every day! When I was a teenager, we didn’t have YouTube. We had to ask people things! So now that you know that I’m older than the game of hacky sack, will you be able to navigate your next parallel parking situation?

Shame on us for making it challenging to pass a driver’s test! Why not just give everyone who is big enough to see over the steering wheel a set a car keys? And when people complain that it’s not fair to those that CAN’T see over the steering wheel, we’ll cave on that, too. In the meantime, I’m sure they can use baby seats to prop themselves up a little. Or a few telephone books (now I’m really showing my age).

Maybe we should be teaching people how to drive with a hamburger in one hand while they’re steering with their knees wearing noise cancelling headphones. Perhaps that’s what should be on the drivers test. That’s probably more realistic.
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I live near a pretty busy intersection. I can’t tell you how many people I see driving erratically and then when they get up close to you, you see they’re on a cell phone.

But last night (and I kid you not), I saw something I don’t think I had ever seen before. I heard music coming from a car outside the house. I went out with the dogs and saw a woman parked at the stop sign who had stepped out of her car, left the car door open and was dancing to the music blaring from her sound system. Maybe she was celebrating having passed the Pennsylvania drivers’ test.

I’ll never forget the drivers’ education teacher I had in high school. He told us a story that will live in my memory forever. He said his father was driving down the road and a bee flew into his car and, rather than pull the car over to the side of the road and get the bee out of the vehicle, he tried to swat it while driving. He was killed in a collision. That was powerful.

Folks, if you don’t know how to parallel park, please learn how. There are YouTube videos out there on it. I’ve even attached one to this post. I got a kick out of one of them I previewed that said “Point the passenger side mirror to the ground so you can see the curb.” (Here comes the recurring theme again) When I was learning to drive, we didn’t even have passenger side mirrors, let alone be able to control them from the driver’s seat!

I think people in Maryland should move to New York for a weekend. I’m sure you learn pretty quickly how to fit into a parking spot there.

Grace

ghostwriting cost, , , ,

I’ve been thinking about my mother a lot this past month. First of all, because it was Mother’s Day a few weeks ago. Secondly because she was a veteran and this week was Memorial Day. And finally because the 22nd of this month was the anniversary of when she passed away in 1983.

My mother grew up Irish-Catholic near the Philadelphia Art Museum and was one of 12 children. One thing that amazes me is that, not only did my grandparents have 12 children, but they also took in boarders! She was close with her siblings and she had a twin brother.

She became a nurse and served in the Navy on the USS Repose (AH-16). The Repose was commissioned 70 years ago yesterday and was active from May 1945 to January 1950, from October 1950 to December 1954 and from October 1965 to May 1970. My mother served on that second stint, when it went to Korea.

Mom was working for a good bit of the time that I knew her. She worked the night shift (11 PM – 7 AM) at one hospital and then got regular daytime hours when she moved to another neighborhood hospital. When she was working the night shift, she would sleep during the day. So, you might say my sister and I were latchkey kids.

Grace CroppedBecause I was a baseball fan, she would follow the home team’s players. She liked the feisty ones. Her favorite was Cookie Rojas – who always seemed to be getting into some sort of rhubarb. I once told her I was going to take her to Ireland. Unfortunately, that never happened.
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Later in life, my mother contracted systemic lupus erythematosus or SLE. It was very debilitating and profoundly affected her fair complexion. Being of Irish ancestry, she had always had challenges with her skin, but lupus, an autoimmune disorder where the body attacks healthy tissue by mistake, particularly took its toll. It wreaked havoc with her skin and, as a result, she became very self-conscious about her appearance. She was always going to the dermatologist and was very sensitive to sunlight.

I think by the time I got to really know her, she had had more than her share of medical challenges. I wondered about her life growing up and while in the navy. It was all a mystery to me.

What I mostly remember about my mother was she loved to socialize. She would often have people over to the house – or we would go to a friend or relative’s home, and my mother would sit at their kitchen table and have a cup of tea or coffee. That’s what she loved to do. And she deserved it. She provided for us financially with her income as a nurse so she was entitled to enjoy herself a little. She didn’t cook much as she was so busy working outside the home.

Mothers provide unconditional love for their children. I know I didn’t always deserve it. Yet she was always there for me, whether it was backing me up when I was getting into trouble or while I was graduating from school, she always supported me. She lived up to her name – Grace.

He’s Only Having His Teeth Cleaned

ghostwriting cost

FazioWe have two Italian Greyhounds. I took one in yesterday to have his teeth cleaned at the animal hospital. I don’t know who was more traumatized – the dog or me.

Fazio is not used to riding in the car loose. We usually put him in his crate while in motion so this time he was rubbernecking at everything outside of the car. “Where are we going?” “Are we going for a joy ride?” “Am I going to like where we’re going?” he seemed to be saying.

I was afraid he would step on the gear selector lever (aka the PRiNDeL) so I wanted him to sit down. ”Is it possible to put a dog in a seat belt?” I thought. I would inch toward the traffic light, applying the brakes – and he would lunge forward almost to the floor of the passenger side seat. He would lie down for a second or two, then stand up and look around again. I wound up driving the rest of the way petting him with one hand and driving with the other. I’m sure my father was rolling over in his grave. He would barely allow you to talk and drive simultaneously, let alone take one hand off the wheel.

While I thought applying the brakes and assuring Faz that everything was all right would get him to settle in for the 10 minute ride to the vet, it didn’t. I think it stressed him out more than anything else. So now he’s all wound up when we park the car. This can’t be good.

Landscapers are swarming all over the place outside the hospital. There are weed whackers whirring and mowers murmuring and we’re trying to dodge them as we head toward the building. Fazio is now serpentining all over the place, wrapping his leash around my legs. And when we get to the door he doesn’t want to go inside.

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I leave the animal hospital wondering why I care so much about animals these days. I never used to.

I stopped to vote on the way back home. Then, upon arriving at home, I now see our other dog with a real long face. He looks so lonely. “Why did you take my brother away? What did you do with him?” My wife insists that I keep an eye on him.

How am I going to get anything done, I wonder, with one dog on my conscience and having to hold the other one’s paw all day long? I decide the second one will be fine. He’ll sniff him when he returns and know where he’s been. Then he’ll kind of smirk as if to say “Better you than me. I’m never going back to that place. They prod you and poke you and tell you everything is fine, but it’s ridiculous.”

I get Fazio back late in the day. I’m not sure who is more relieved, him or me. He doesn’t even flash his now pearly white teeth. But the wag of the tail is enough.

A Takeaway from the Philly Amtrak Crash

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One of the things that this week’s Amtrak derailment got me thinking about was health related matters. Watching the scene – with all the flashlights and train parts disconnected – was harrowing enough, and I was at home in our family room. Being there at the scene was undoubtedly much more challenging.

In watching the news coverage, it was evident to me that we live in a technologically different world than we lived in even a few short years ago. Moments after the wreck, a torrent of tweets were flying and video footage taken with passenger cell phones was showing clips of the carnage.

My thoughts and prayers go out to all involved.

First Responders

The State of Technology

Coincidentally, that same day I upgraded my phone with a new operating system. After the two hour update, I noticed an app on the desktop with a heart on it that I’d never seen before. So I checked it out. Lo and behold, it’s an app, which is included on phones running ios 8, and it stores your medical information. I was thinking how valuable that would be to first responders. They are learning that an unconscious patient’s phone can be a vital source of health information. Even if your screen is locked, it can be accessed from the Emergency button below the keypad where you enter your PIN.

It was actually, in a very simple way, what I had been personally looking for to record my own health information. Now, if you’re out of town and there’s a medical emergency, you don’t necessarily have to go through giving the same information each and every time to all the hospital personnel. It’s right there. Of course, it would be nice to do an air drop of the information right into the medical institution’s hospital database, but that may be asking too much at this point.

Therefore, with the purpose of cheap viagra price making the prostate recover to a healthy condition, patients may as well cure the disease depending on the chinese herbal medicine, for example: Diuretic Anti-inflammatory Pill, is developed by Doc.Lixiaoping with its own patent provided by China’s State Intellectual Property, it is a major indications for Prostatitis, Epididymitis, Orchitis and male infertility are prostate gland infections, inflammation of. Regardless of size of renal cell carcinoma, about 20% of patients may have no symptoms early, but in the census and for other reasons, or B-ultrasound for medical examination it can only be found occupying renal abdominal mass lesion or touch. discount cialis pill Slush Dispensers also work as a means of advertising because they always look alike – no matter online viagra india who has produced them. The pill was made with a mindset that Ayurvedic remedies are the cialis purchase online first line of defense for Indians. Frankly, the Apple Health App needs work, but it’s a start. A reviewer named Jill Duffy reviewed it in PC Magazine. I liked what she said at the end of the review. She wrote “What I like about the Health app is that it’s putting the idea of mobile health tracking in front of millions of people. It may not be the easiest app to use, or the most nuanced, but it’s something. And when it comes to being fit, eating right, and monitoring your health, something is better than nothing.” I would think the first responders and the families of those in emergency situations would agree.

Where do we go from here?

It is amazing to me that if we go to two separate hospitals or clinics, the second one often doesn’t have the records from the first one. I know someone who was in the military that said when she got back into civilian life, she was appalled at how little cooperation there was among medical institutions. In the service, you would carry your records with you from one location to the next. I always thought it would be nice if there was some sort of central repository that kept all of our health records.

I’m sure privacy concerns abound and hacking may be an issue here. And I’ve finally come to the realization that record synchronization among hospitals, clinics and doctors’ offices probably won’t happen in my lifetime. It’s up to us to compile our medical history, our vital signs, allergy information, medications and blood type in a safe place. No one else is going to do it for us.

A relative of mine once had an EKG in his home state. Then, when he was on vacation, he had similar symptoms and went to an ER. The doctor had nothing to go on until he pulled out a copy of the EKG, which he had on his ipad, stored in Evernote. The doctor was ecstatic! He was now able to use that information to diagnose and treat him more effectively.

Years ago, I read a book by Ruthann Russo, Ph.D, entitled 7 Steps to Your Best Possible Healthcare: The Essential Guide for Crafting Your Personal Healthcare Plan. It gave me some ideas about taking more control of my medical records. Since then, I’ve thought about it, but I must admit I haven’t done much toward harnessing the information.

In light of what happened this week, I think it’s time.