Off to HIMSS in Atlanta

If its spring it must be HIMSS. This annual event gathers the world health IT experts together in one place for the preeminent health information management trade show. This year the host city is Atlanta, the jewel of the south, hot-lanta. I can’t wait to experience this city and all it has to offer.

Sav and Whale Shark in Galapagos

On Saturday, Feb 27th we arrive in Atlanta and begin our trip with a visit to the Georgia Aquarium, the largest in North America. Between 3:30 and 4 pm we experience the aquarium from the inside out. Scuba tanks go on for a swim with the Gentle Giants; Whale Sharks, the largest fish of the oceans. Don’t worry they don’t bite; they are filter feeders eating mainly plankton. This is a wonderful experience, if you can - watch for us on the Georgia Aquarium webcam. Or even better if you are in Atlanta come and see us at the Aquarium.

On Sunday, I’ll be presenting at the Health IT Venture Fair. While not officially part of HIMSS it takes please as a precursor to the show. Sponsored and organized by Blank-Rome of Philadelphia and Howard Burke this event showcases innovative companies that are seeking venture capital, partners and growth opportunities. Over 30 venture capital firms participate to get a jump start on the trade show exhibitors.

Sunday evening the Canadian Trade Commissionaires are hosting a dinner for Canadian companies to meet with US companies. This match making helps Canadian companies doing business or planning to do business in the US to find partnerships.

Come visit Us at HIMSS Booth 1407

The official HIMSS start is Monday, the exhibits open at 12:30 and until 5:30 we will be at Booth 1407, meeting with interested organizations looking for health IT solutions. Another HIMSS tradition is the Canadian reception that brings together all the Canadian exhibitors and Canadian attendees. This is always a rousing event with cross-Canadian representation and Canadian beer, BC and Atlantic salmon, perhaps even Alberta beef.

The Consulate General breakfast on Tuesday is another excellent networking and educational event. With trade commissionaires from across the US doing their best to promote the Canadian companies at HIMSS.

From 10:30 am to 5:30 we can be found on the exhibition floor at Booth 1407.

After the HIMSS reception on Tuesday night, it’s off to the Woodfire Grill an Atlanta hotspot for dinner prepared by award winning Top Chef Kevin Gillespie.

co-Owner and Executive Chef Kevin Gillespie

A relaxing evening is planned with BBQ ribs and friends to raise a glass.

That leaves the last day of HIMSS with the exhibit floor going from 10:30 to 5:30. In the evening a spirited HIMSS reception bringing us full circle as we return to our starting point at the Georgia Aquarium. Unfortunately, this time they wouldn’t let us go for a swim, I asked.

Island Caretaker needs help

Sailing Maxi into arlie

Best Job in the World is Tourist Queensland promotion for Islands of the Great Barrier Reef. This last winter thousands of hopefuls made viral videos and applied to be the “island caretaker” of Hamilton Island. Yours truly included. The winner was a blond brit; Ben Southall, a young enthusiastic beach and surf poster boy. An obvious choice, second only to a female version backpacker adventurer type.

Now only one month after the start of the Island Caretaker job was awarded, Tourism Queensland is looking for 4 mates; Island caretaker helpers for Ben Southall. It seems the job was just too much for this “bloke” from UK. Perhaps experience should have been the choice over blond beach hair? Or its just that after the fanfare of the “best job” competition the PR drive was not able to be sustained and a new way to grab attention and capitalize on those million of internet hits was needed.

Personally I would love to win a 7 week trip to Queensland for me and 3 of my friends. It is just my type of trip. My wife and I have done much of this trek already. In 2004 and 2005 we travelled from Perth to Ayers Rock to Cairns, Australia, doing several weeks in Queensland. Flying down to Rockhampton and then driving up the sunshine coast to Townsville, MacKay, Arlie Beach, Tully, Mission Beach and up to Port Douglas, Cooktown and Kuranda. Along “Bruce” the only highway I know with a proper name (Where else but Queensland?), We experienced the people and places of Queensland and blogged about it on http://Mytripjournal.com/Queensland2005.

Queensland Vacation

Should I enter this competition? Of course. At least this time I wouldn’t have to sit in the snow.

Air, Water and Food (Part 3)

Of all the essentials of life air is one that no-one can do without. It is life’s medium. We breathe it constantly and without it we are dead in minutes.

Our atmosphere is 21% Oxygen and 78% nitrogen the other gases are les the 1%. When we breathe we exhale 16-17 % oxygen. Which means that we only really use 4-5 % of the oxygen mixture. Yet, if the air quality were reduced significantly there would be a tremendous increase in respiratory illness and many fatalities due to only a minor change in the percentage of the air mixture.

For many of us air is free, at least for all the healthy land dwellers. Even whales don’t pay for air. Fish extract the air they need from water, a technique that is being developed for human underwater use also. Generally we have not monetized air. Yet for me I know generally what air costs.

As a scuba diver my 80 or 100 cu.ft. tanks of compressed air cost about $5 to $10 per to refill. This amount of air would last approximately 45 minutes to an hour, as long the diver didn’t go too deep or do much strenuous work. So if you are to breathe “store bought” air for 24 hours, 7 days a week, 365 days a year it would cost approximately $61,320 for one year. Lucky for us we don’t need to buy air for everyday use, at least not yet.

Scuba divers have also developed and used different air mixtures. Nitrox also known as enriched air; it contains a greater percentage of oxygen than normal air. By adding oxygen and removing nitrogen the diver reduce fatigue and also lowers the chance of nitrogen narcosis, which is a build up of nitrogen in the body; commonly called the “bends” because it can lead to sever pain in the joints of the body. Nitrox can range from 22% up to 40% oxygen. But because oxygen is toxic and can lead to blackouts at high levels in your body, it is not used deep dives (general 110 ft max). This is all due to physical properties of dissolved gases in our blood steam, size of air bubbles and partial pressures. If you are interested in this see this posting regarding dive tables and decompression needs for divers. http://www.sdm.scot.nhs.uk/dive_tables/

So increased oxygen helps with respiratory issues and overcome fatigue. There are patients with respiratory conditions that are prescribed medical grade gases such as nitrox for home use to keep them alive. This air costs a bit more then what I factored before.

Back to my scuba example, when divers want to do deep exploration even the 21% oxygen found in normal air can be dangerous. More importantly the high nitrogen creates a euphoric experience that has been compared to being intoxicated. Scuba divers refer to this as “martini’s law” each atmosphere below 90 ft can be equal to having one martini, straight up, no rocks, no olive. You really don’t want to be drunk down at 180 or 200 ft.. It could very well kill you. To offset this effect deep underwater divers have experimented with different mixtures. Trimix or heliox are commonly used. What these gas mixures do is reduce the Oxygen levels down to 15-17 % lowering the amount of oxygen, thus reducing the oxygen toxicity to prevent deep water blackouts, which are fatal. Then they replace 40-50% of the nitrogen with helium or another inert gas that we don’t process or retain in our system. By lowering the nitrogen the effect of narcosis is reduced. Of course your voice has a distinct Donald Duck sound, if you are using two-way radios to communicate. The cost of such mixtures can be very high at least compared to “free air”.

Without air we die, so if a comet were to brush by earth and strip away our atmosphere there is little we as humans could do. While this is unlikely, we are now altering our atmosphere gradually and eventually changing the air mixture.

Many of us could survive with 16 – 17% oxygen mixture, with higher CO2 in our air we would see a increase in respiratory issues and heart attacks; I know I hadn’t mentioned this before as we exert ourselves there is increased heart problems due to lack of oxygen in our blood. These individuals would likely then need to buy enriched air just to survive. Still many will die sooner then they normally would have. The rest of us would adjust, until the next decline in oxygen, then we would all would be supplementing our free air with canisters of enriched air the same way we use bottled water instead of free rainwater or tap water (yes, I know we pay for tap water too).

The environment is seen by some people as being “out there”; somehow disconnected or disjointed from ourselves. This is not the case, the environment is the air we breathe, the water we drink and the food we eat. It is all connected. When we look to save the environment we aren’t saving the planet we are attempting to save ourselves.

Scuba Swap

Scuba Swap

This weekend is the 18th annual Scuba Swap held at Etobicoke Olympium Pool, 590 Rathburn Rd. There will be 11 stores represented. Individual can bring private gear to be sold. Sellers are asked to put an expected price and a minium price for gear not sold in the morning.

Check in for private gear is Friday April 24th at 6 pm. Sales start Saturday at 9 pm.

Much of the private gear will get reduced after 12 noon. But come early to get the best deals.

Best Job in the World

Queensland Vacation

Tourism Queensland is offering the Best Job in the World. An island caretaker position on Hamilton Island one of the Whitsunday Islands. The Islands of the Great Barrier Reef are mountains thrust out of the coast ocean of Queensland. It is a tropical paradise and I want to be the one chosen person for the Best Job in The World. Go to view my video and vote for me.

http://www.islandreefjob.com/applicants/watch/__gsW3mFp4M

I have travelled from Brisbane to Cairns along the Bruce Highway. From Fraser Island to Cod Hole, the outer ribbon reef to Eugella National Park, Mila Mila Falls, Townsend, MacKay, and points in between, Queensland offers the traveller the best of all possible worlds. I have two secret spots that I will share with travellers where I have viewed platypus in the wild! You can 4-wheel drive on the sand dunes of Fraser Island, kiss a cane toad in Airlie Beach, go swimming in Lake Mackenzie, go scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef or skipper a sailboat among the islands. Why would you go anywhere else?

Best Job in the World

Blogging in Queensland

Skipper in the Whitsunday Islands

Kissing a Cane Toad