I'm Watching You

Google Analytics lets me know how many people come to my blog, and from where. It's pretty handy. It also lets me know what keywords people used in Google to search for my blog. Here are yesterday's search terms:

Look at the last one. WTF? O.K., people, I *hope* you are looking for nude pictures of another Julia Evans. If not, stop it. You won't find any of me on the intertoobs. Holy mackerel. [Shivers and goes to get the bad taste out of her mouth.]

My Experience with the Argentine Medical System

As you may know, I was diagnosed as hypothyroid, which means I have to consult with an endocrinologist, take meds every day, and go get my blood checked once every few months. I have done all this here in Buenos Aires, so I thought I would give a little summary of what the experience has been like.

Argentina has a national health system, which is free for its citizens. I have heard two things about this: 1) It's free for everybody and isn't that great, and 2) Don't use it if you can avoid it, especially the hospitals. They also have a private health system, which can be paid for with insurance, or by cash.

Since the cost is low enough for me, I pay cash. It's simple. No forms, no hassles, and you know how much everything costs. No one turns you down for anything. I get the tests I want. (Libertarian rant: Does anyone who is in favor of national health care consider that if health care is nationalized it will go the way of eduction--crappy? That seems to be the case here. The private system is superior.)

I got diagnosed with Hashimoto's when I went to an OB/GYN for a regular yearly exam. He asked me how I was feeling generally, and when I said fatigued, he sent me for some blood tests. He has a small office in a high-rise building run by just him and his secretary. I never wait more than two minutes past my appointment time. He never has more than one patient at a time in the waiting room. It's quiet, comfortable, and I pay around $200 pesos per consultation (about $55 bucks). This is pricey. He is very exclusive. His office is five blocks from my apartment. But he is wonderful, and he practiced for years in Chicago.

I go for the blood tests at a lab 1 1/2 blocks from my apartment, taken by a little old man who has been doing it for years. There is no one else in the lab. I am in and out in ten minutes. I pick up the blood tests MYSELF a couple days later. I bring them to the doctor. I think my thyroid tests cost me $50 pesos ($14 dollars).

This is a major difference here. With a few exceptions, I have picked up my lab results for a mammogram, thyroid ultrasound, and blood tests myself. I keep them myself. They are owned by me. It is a little more work on my part to get them and keep track of them, but I can take them to a different doctor if I want, or research the numbers myself online. My thyroid biopsy was done at a hospital, and they kept the results because it is the hospital where the endocrinologist practices.

My endocrinologist is a $20 peso taxi ride out to another neighborhood. She is excellent. Like the OB/GYN, she spends time talking to me, writing all my information down by hand on an index card. She speaks English (just got back from a conference in the U.S.) She charges $70 pesos per consultation (about $20 dollars). She gives me the change out of her pocket. She writes me a prescription for some medicine, and I go to the pharmacy down the block for it. I don't even have to show them the scrip. I just tell them what I want and they give me a box of bubble-wrapped capsules. $14 pesos (about $4 dollars-- granted, this medicine is cheap in the States, too.)

I need to go through the blood test/endo appointment thing about every three or four months, and go back to the OB/GYN each year.

So this is my experience-- good health care, low cost (at least for me. I know my financial situation here makes me very lucky), extremely efficient. I feel more in control of my health here than I did in the States.

New Blog

I always get questions from non-technical types about what Twitter is, how does one follow more than a few blogs, how to search beyond Google, etc.

I have new blog that will be specifically about managing a digital life: from navigating social networks, to online tutoring, to simple life hacks. It's sort of an everyman's guide to managing a digital life.

The Digital Guidebook

Comments welcome.

At Least You Have Your Health

I haven't been posting as much as I wanted to over the last few months, mostly due to health issues: I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, which means that my thyroid isn't producing the hormone it should. The result is that I get wicked bouts of mood swings and days that I am so fatigued I can't get out of bed for more than a few hours at a time. I thought I was just extremely lazy, or getting bouts of the flu.

The good news is, I've been taking meds for it, and feel my energy coming back. The mood swings are fewer and farther between, so I am not insane or driving Rob insane. I have had very positive experiences with the medical care here, which I might expand on in another post. The other good news, had a biopsy on the nodules on my thyroid, and there is no cancer. So. I've dived into a few new projects, so I will probably have more to blog about:

1) I'm getting paid to blog about expat issues for a site that wants to build a community around it, so I will definitely be blogging on a regular basis there, and here.

2) I'm taking singing classes. Fun, fun, fun. The teacher is Viviana Scarlassa, a tango singer. I recommend her highly. Enjoying myself. I like a singing teacher that starts classes with a medical diagram of the respiratory system.

3) I have a couple of book ideas. One is about my experience teaching for the B. Family for seven years as their private teacher, and the other is a book on managing digital information for the non-technical person.

Of course, I still have my regular work and Rob has a business project in the works. So I am glad to get the whole hormone thing sorted out.

It's so true that if you don't have your health, you don't have anything.

Unnoticed

The phone rings. Husband picks it up.

"Hola?"

"Hi Rob, it's S-. May I speak with Julia?"

"Julia left a while ago, I think."

"No I didn't! I'm here!" I yell from downstairs.

"Julia was there but you didn't know it?" Laughs S-.

"Wow. I guess not."

How can you not be aware of someone else's presence in a 1,000 sq. ft. loft where every snore, gulp, or hiccup bounces off the walls? I guess I need to start wearing a bell around my neck. ;)

One batata, two batata

This is a picture of the package of french-fried sweet potatoes I am making.

I'm going to translate, to the best of my ability the directions on the back of the package:

1. Preheat the oven.

2. Place the potatoes on a pan in one layer.

3. Turn them to have even browning.

4. Take them out when they have reached the desired state.

It's funny- a couple of items of information seem to be missing:

Preheat the oven to what temperature? Cook them how long, approximately? I guess it doesn't matter. My oven only has "high" and "low" anyway- no temperatures.

Update on the Porn Preso

I got an email back from the creator of the preso below, explaining himself, but not understanding my point of view at all. I won't publish his email, because I respect his privacy, but I will post my response:

Hi XXXX,

Thank you for your response. You are right about the aggressiveness of my last email; I apologize for the strong words. I wrote while I was angry, and frankly, I didn’t expect a response. Since you took the time to reply, I will attempt to explain myself in kind. In fact, I feel I must, since you do not seem to understand my position.

Let me be clear: I am not offended at any particular image or even the theme of your presentation as such. I am shocked at its use in the conference. Let me explain by analogy. It is common to wear a bikini on the beach; nothing wrong with that. There is nothing wrong even in going topless (in my opinion), or even nude in some circumstances. However, if one were to attempt go directly from the beach into a restaurant and sit at a table with a tablecloth and wine glasses, one would be summarily removed from the restaurant. This is not because bikinis are morally reprehensible, but because they do not belong in the restaurant.

In the same vein, I would not be surprised to see a porn-themed presentation at a John Waters festival, for example. I could imagine several places where one would not bat an eyelash. The conference at which you presented, however, was sponsored by IT businesses and was meant for the professional software developer. If this presentation were given at one of these businesses, the employee who presented it would be FIRED, or at least severely reprimanded. Companies prevent these kinds of presentations for a reason. They can be sued, or they can build a bad reputation. I would expect that a conference geared toward professionals would adhere to professional standards; if not the strict standards of the workplace, then slightly “edgier” standards with a little leeway. This presentation went way beyond a little leeway. You considered a porn-themed presentation that would get one fired in a professional environment appropriate for a corporate-sponsored conference.

I don’t accept your defense that pornography is everywhere that the internet exists and is therefore acceptable. By this logic, since we have to relieve ourselves each day, I should be able to relieve my bowels on the sidewalk. (Is the importance of context becoming clear?) Nor do I accept your defense that this must be a cultural issue. I live in a country where the standards of what is acceptable on television and advertising is far more liberal than what is accepted in the United States, and yet, I would not expect to find these things presented to me in a professional context. There is a divide made where I live, between what is acceptable in private life and what is appropriate with work colleagues. It is not any more difficult to understand that divide than it is to understand where to wear one’s bathing suit or where to go to the bathroom.

It is not solely the sexual nature of the presentation that makes it in appropriate. There are several other topics that would be out of line. I would have sent you a similar email had you used Christianity as a metaphor for Couch DB development, or the situation in the Middle East. These would be inappropriate as well, and perhaps provoked angry responses from others.

The fact that this presentation was voted on to be included does not forgive its content. If anything, it makes it even more mortifying. How is it that the values of a community of developers can be so far removed from the values of professionals at large? When did being a software developer require shocking people into listening instead of inspiring? When did proving how cool *you* are become more important than how cool the technology is? My father was an assembly-language programmer who helped to build the industry upon which you base your livelihood. He would be deeply saddened if he saw the shift from technical culture to pop culture that the industry is undergoing.

Perhaps the most disturbing thing of all is not the selection of material for your presentation, or even that it was voted to be used by colleagues, but that you fail to understand WHY I am upset. That you can only imagine I am an uptight American puritan shows a shocking lack of imagination and proves a limited experience of others. You misunderstood my comment about the Ruby community being mostly young and male. I am not blaming you for that. What am saying is that it provides a positive feedback loop that reinforces certain behaviors that work to provide an atmosphere that is unwelcoming to outsiders. Your presentation simply reinforces that. It wasn’t done intentionally, of course, but that is the point. We often do the most damage when passing on memes by not being aware of them.

I hope this helps you to understand my reaction to your presentation. I didn’t mean to insult you; but when one feels insulted, it is easier to strike back than to explain. At the very least, I hope I have given you food for thought.

Sincerely,

Julia Evans

Nasty Email

Here is my latest nasty email:

Mr. Aimonetti:

I just saw the slide deck of the presentation you created for the Golden Gate Ruby conference, entitled “Perform like a Pr0n Star.” I saw that your name and the title was on the schedule for the conference, and so I can only assume that it was given.

I wanted to express my extreme displeasure at the fact that 1) this presentation was approved for the conference, and 2) that you thought it appropriate.

In what world is pornography an appropriate metaphor for a public professional presentation? Are you out of your mind? Are you completely oblivious to the context in which you work and live? Did you come into the workforce straight from the fraternity house?

I have nothing against pornography. I actually like pornography, in my PERSONAL life. I don’t assume other people like it, however, and I wouldn’t put a poster of a woman’s ass on my front door, or read Penthouse on the subway. I doubt you would either. But somehow, you thought it acceptable to give a presentation with allusions to porn, group sex, acid-taking, pole-dancing, etc. in a public conference. This astounds me on so many levels.

You obviously thought it would go over well, because your audience was probably a bunch of privileged, infantile male programmers who don’t have teenaged daughters that want to enter the world of science and engineering. And thanks to scumbags like you, they won’t WANT to go into science and engineering, because they are forced to deal with overly macho reptilian-brained imbeciles who think it’s appropriate to mix porn and their professional life.

Please grow up. Please think about the larger context of what you do, and how it affects the world. If you think software a respectable profession, then treat it like one.

Sincerely,

Julia Evans


(Here is the preso: http://www.slideshare.net/mattetti/couchdb-perform-like-a-pr0n-star)

You can email hi yourself if you want. His email is in the preso.

New Blog

I started a new blog of poems that have been rejected for publication. I am trying to write and submit a poem a week, so after they get rejected, I will post them here: 

Rejected Poems

Runaround

I'm trying to get a copy of my birth certificate. In order to prove that I am authorized to get it, I have to sign an authorization saying I am me. And have it notarized, which I did, at the U.S. Embassy. Then, I have to send it to this clearing-house that the U.S. Gov't (or maybe the CA Gov't) has outsourced record keeping to. Here is some of what I have been dealing with:

Customer (Julia Evans)Response (Stupid Person1) - 01/27/2009 10:46 AM
Dear Ms Evans,

We have received your scan. However, the notary seal is not coming through clear enough to use.

Sincerely,
VitalChek Online Support

I took a close-up of the seal with my computer camera and sent them the image.

Customer (Julia Evans)Response (Stupid Person1) - 01/27/2009 11:47 AM
Ms Evans,

Thank you for your response.

What you will need to do is to take a pencil and shade in the bumps on the seal. Then make a copy and see if you can read the seal. If you can then scan the copy.

Sincerely,
VitalChek Online Support

Did that.

Customer (Julia Evans)Response (Stupid Person #2) - 01/29/2009 01:41 PM
Hello Julia,

The scanned images attached to this e-mail do not show the seal any better. Once we receive your scan, we have to fax the form to the agency. the seal in these images does not appear to be shaded over with a pencil. Sorry for the inconvenience. have a nice afternoon.

Sincerely,
VitalChek Online Support

Me:

Hello again,

There must be some sort of confusion. Please check the attached image,
named "Image_Jan29.jpg" I can see the image of the seal so clearly, I
can read EMBASSY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and see the Eagle in
the middle. This must not have been the image you were referring to in
your past email.

There might be some confusion since I emailed these documents twice
before I heard back from anyone.

-Julia Evans

Keep scrolling down. It gets better. Here is the image in question. You can even click on it and get a close-up of what she is seeing:


Response (Stupid Person2) - 01/29/2009 02:06 PM
Hello Julia,

I can see the seal in the picture, but it is not going to show up when I send the fax and the fax will be rejected again. I apologize. I also so not see that it has been shaded over by a pencil.

Sincerely,
VitalChek Online Support

She is going to FAX it? FAX it? What year is this?

Me:

OK.

1. I shaded the image darker and re-scanned it. This is as dark as it
is going to get. It is shaded with a pencil. The notary seal is
embossed on white paper. White on white. That is why it did not show
up at ALL when I sent it the first time. It should show up now when
you fax it.

2. If this does not show up when you fax it, then it is a problem with
YOUR equipment, and maybe you need to talk to a supervisor about how
you can get the document to the agency by using the same 21st-Century
technology that I am using. I am in a third-world country and I am
capable of finding a way to get this document to YOU digitally so that
YOU can read it with high resolution. Perhaps, being in the United
States, a country on the cutting-edge of technology, you can find a
way of doing the same.

3. I am halfway around the world, or I would go to the San Diego
County Recorder's office myself. Since this is not feasible, I am
willing to consider any alternatives you can offer. I can send a
scanned copy of my passport. You can even call the U.S. Embassy and
verify that the paper was notarized, since they keep a record. I
can't believe this is so difficult.

4 Please take some initiative and think out of the box. If you are
unable, maybe you can forward the problem to someone who can.

-Julia Evans

Update on the letter below

Got a response today:

Hola Julia-

Wanted to give you an update. I spoke w/ my partners and we made a few changes that bring the ad a little closer to US norms. Just wanted to let you know that your opinion was valued and considered.

Un beso-

XXXXX

Hey, I made a difference! :)

Something to Look At

Sometimes, living in Argentina brings out my inner Germaine Greer. This is a letter I recently wrote to the owner of a local business:

Hi XXXXX,

Congratulations on your XXXXXX -project: it seems like it is moving along well and will be very successful. I wanted to email you because of something in your most recent job ad that I couldn't let go by without a comment.

I know in Argentina it is a common practice to explicitly state the age, gender, "attractiveness" of the person you want to hire, and ask for a picture. But in the States and in Europe, this has become socially and professionally unacceptable.

I would have assumed that as XXXXXX caters to U.S. and European clientele, and as the ad is going to be seen by many (hundreds?) of expat women, you would hold yourselves to more modern hiring practices.

You have every right to hire whomever you want, and post whatever ad you want- but as a potential professional female U.S. client, it makes me uncomfortable doing business with a company that almost openly states it will hire based on looks, gender, and age. (And a little ironic given the open political support for a "progressive" presidential candidate).

I don't want to go on some feminist rant- I just thought I should share my point of view that you might not have gotten elsewhere. If the ad irked me, I might not be the only one.

Sincerely,


Julia



****Update ****
In fairness to the American involved in the project, he responded to my letter saying that he will bring the issue to his Argentine partners. Kudos.

Knives

I asked on an expat email forum not too long ago where I can go to get my knives sharpened. It turns out they don't have professional knife sharpeners here. There are peddlers that go around and play a special sound on a flute to let you know they are in the neighborhood. I heard this the other day while I was on my way back from doing some errands. How do people take advantage of this service?

1. I live in the back apartment of a posada and don't hear noises on the street. I wouldn't hear one of these guys even if he were in my neighborhood.

2. Am I supposed to carry my knifes around in my purse when I go out, in the event I happen to hear the knife sharpener?

Puzzling. There must be another option, I just have to search a little more.

Communication

Went to get an ultrasound for my thyroid today. The technician asked what the problem was, why I was there- in Spanish.

"Uh..... para mi tyroid.... el numero en mi sangre es bajo."
(Uh... for my thyroid... the number in my blood is low.)

"De donde sos?"
(Where are you from?)

"California."

"Ah!" She starts singing. "....California swimming..... You know? That song?"

"Um... California Dreaming?"

"Yes! California Dreaming. Sixties."


Dreaming, swimming, whatever.

Chávez, allies manipulating anti-Israel views

Quote:

Newspapers in this corner of the world are splashing headlines about
the conflict across their front pages, much more prominently than the
global financial crisis or local stories. On television, the Israeli
attack on the Hamas terrorist group in Gaza after the group's constant
rocket attacks is the focus of debates, with most voices criticizing
Israel.

Hamas, which the United States and the European Union
officially consider a sponsor of terrorism , is often not identified as
such in the South American media.

Link

Bills and Shoes

Yesterday I went to Rapipago to pay the city bill for the trash pick up & etc. This bill gives you two choices: pay the whole year at once, or pay in six smaller installments. I figured it would be easier to take care of the whole year at once, but- lo and behold, I was one day past the due date and cannot pay for the year. According to the Rapipago guy, I could go to the gvernment office and get a new bill printed out and come back and pay it for the year. Fine.

Walked about 12 blocks to the government office today. According to the government herlper boy, if I miss the date for the yearly payment, there is no way to pay it for the year. You MUST make six payents. Whatever. Walked all the way back and paid the first two payments at Pharmacity- which I could hve done yesterday in about 10 minutes. (which cost about $25- for two + hours of my time)

On the plus side, I found some hand-made leather shoes on the way back that I liked. So it was not all wasted:

Some Paintings at the Borges Cultural Center

More info on the Borges Cultural Center:

Wealth and Income Inequality

I was quite surprised to find that after my last post, there was a comment (or rant rather) 8,000 words long about income inequality. It has nothing to do with my post, but obviously came up in someone's search on blog posts about Oprah.

Despite the fact that the commenter has some emotional problems, he or she ranted on about one of my pet peeves which many people take for granted: income or wealth inequality. There are so many myths that surround this that disappear given a little thought:

1. Wealth is not based on a bell-curve. There is no limit to the amount of money one can make, so it is not surprising that there are people who become wildly rich,while others do not.

2. Wealth-creation is not a zero-sum game. Just because someone writes a book and sells a million copies does not take wealth away from anyone else. It may increase the "gap" in a statistical sense, but so what? I don't have any goods in my house magically disappearing every time a Harry Potter book is sold.

3. Even though the income or wealth gap may be large, the standard of living gap is not. The difference between Oprah's day to day life and my day to day life is not at the same scale as the difference in our wealth. Her day might be filled with more assistants and luxury products, but we both sleep in a bed, eat three meals, take a shower, etc. If the standard of living scale matched the wealth scale, I would not have running water or electricity. Despite the constant publicity regarding statistical "gaps," the standard of living is increasing for everyone on the globe overall.

4. What is the answer to materail "inequality"? Material Equality? Based on what? Everyone should have the same amount of money coming in? Who is supposed to decide who has what? Greed is laying a claim to something you haven't earned. Oprah is not greedy. She has earned her wealth fair and square. Good for her. Childish people who claim it is unfair somehow need to look at their own greed.

Dear Women: You and Oprah Have Thyroid Problems Because You're Unable to Vocalize Your Shame and Pain

Oprah has to win some kind of prize for spreading pseudoscience to the most people:

Last year, when Oprah talked about her thyroid problems
on her show, with guest and close advisor, Christiane Northrup, MD, a
holistic physician. During that show, Northrup suggested that thyroid
problems were a result of an energy blockage in the throat region, and
result when women "swallow" words they are aching to say. Oprah and
Northrup never discussed thyroid testing, diagnosis or treatment, but
Northrup did counsel relaxation, stress-reduction, self-love techniques
like blowing kisses to yourself in the mirror, and a diet heavy in soy
foods.

LINK

Give me a break, people. This is scary.

No Mullets, Please

From Lingus.tv, the blog that goes with the Spanish video learning program:

How do I say, “Please Don’t Give Me a Mullet” in Spanish?

If you’re like me, you are already panicked before you even walk
in to the front door of a salon.  On that dreadful day, I have
visions of walking out of the hairdresser in Spain looking as if
I’ve played on a Canadian hockey team for years. Yeah, the mullet after four years is still going strong, and is still unattractive as ever!