Covid-19 Australian Governments Missing the Message on Hand-Washing?

While we hear about social-distancing and hand washing, broadcast information on hand washing is nearly always a bland, general message that’s been around for years and NOT about the very specific and possibly life-saving significance of soap hand-wash-rubbing  in killing/ disabling the coronavirus. It’s all about how SURFACES can receive and transmit ….

Have a look at the messages from ABC TV’s Dr Norman Swan (and other medical Professors online): He says –

[1] Rubbing hands while washing them crushes the protective external “corona” of the virus, and

[2] Soap (or similar) has the effect of destroying the fatty surrounds of the virus and also removes the fat on hands which adheres to the virus.

Think about it. Your hands touch other people way, way less than you touch surfaces where your hand fat can pick up Covid-19 and also pass it on – and you may never notice!  See Dr Swan at:   https://www.mydr.com.au/covid-19/why-is-washing-hands-so-important

Really good explanation for kids at:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LKVUarhtvE

 

Why do I think this message is not getting across?

During “The Drum” ABC TV on Thursday 26^th March the following (regrettable) exchange took place while discussing coronavirus mixed messages from government:

Ellen Fanning (program host):

“Is it clear to people what to do?  I mean the clarity?”

Amanda Rose (guest from Western Sydney Women):       (she’s on LinkedIn)

“Of course it is. I mean how could you miss it.  I mean, it’s so…  It’s everywhere. The 1.5 metres as well and the cleaning your hands – I don’t even know why we need to tell people to do that.”

I’m not picking on Amanda deliberately as no other guest or ABC staff took up the issue of why handwashing is so very important in the very specific context of Covid-19 (see above).  Don’t ABC staff see Dr Norman Swans guiding videos that they broadcast? Could this be why there is so much unidentified community transmission??   How can the ABC aid in transmitting Covid-19 ignorance? ABC TV has not responded to me – maybe they are understandably a bit too stressed to join the dots.   They mention it a bit at (15^th March): https://www.abc.net.au/news/health/2020-03-15/coronavirus-covid-19-handwashing-soap-sanitizer-advice/12051206   but ask yourself, how often have you seen this information?  Not easy to find.

I think this could be a missing link in our response and I am trying the get the NSW Minister for Health (who happens to be my local member) to change the hand washing message to the better detailed, relevant explanation given above, and promote it with gusto!

Maybe you could promote it too?   (I carry anti-germ wipes with me all the time now).

 

 

Do Sharp Corporation People Need a Holiday?

Recently my TV I has been showing me one of the most nonsensical advertisements I have seen in years. The idea is straight-forward enough – Sharp now have a new 4 colour projection system instead of the old ‘3’ – which apparently the rest of the world still watches(!).  See it at http://quattrontv.com.au/live/

They drive this message home with host George Takei (Mr Sulu from the original Star Trek TV series) who pulls up great video of moving yellow things, tells us how great the extra yellow is and then gleefully waxes “you can just see it ……..oh, but of course YOU can’t see it on YOUR TV”.  Well George,  it looks just excellent on my three year old screen: so good in fact that I can’t think of one reason why I’d run out and buy a new Sharp TV. 

What were those people thinking when they put this add together?…”if we convince them they don’t need it, then maybe they’ll think they MUST need it out of novelty, surprise, the need to pursue trivia, a pre-occupation with the colour yellow,  etc etc”  

And just to make sure you have really absorbed their non-message, Sharp end with a slogan:  “You have to see it, to see it”.  (Actually the correct English grammar would be ‘You have to see it, to have seen it’ so maybe the bad grammar is meant to add to the scary effect).  Overall, it looks like there has been an outbreak of terminally redundant rhetoric at Sharp.

Social Media for Psychiatrists?

This week I was invited to join a “think tank” at Sydney University.  At our first meeting the idea was to start developing ethical guidelines for mental health clinicians so that they can use all those neat new web 2.0 tools, like Twitter and Facebook, in ways safe to themselves and to better enhance their healing methods.  After four hours of spirited discussion, it was concluded that we all know less about these things than we thought we did, and that there are many traps for new players.  The most controversial question turned out to be “Should psychiatrists Google their patients?”.  This question was posited in the context of knowing a bit more about new patients before they start and so better inform the therapy process.   But would a patient see it that way or would they regard it as an intrusion? (Even though Googling them takes place anonymously and the information concerned is already in the public domain).

Seems we all thought the important thing is to value the real people connection and not get mesmerised by the apparent benefits of online technology as a replacement for actual contact, eg, phone conversations and face-to-face meetings.  Maybe this leads to the question “Should psychiatrists be sent to conversation classes first?”

I’ll report more as new ground breaks…..

Insect Spray is the Best Thing to Kill Insects, Right?

When I’m at my sink, often late of an evening, insect creatures sometimes sneak out to ravage the landscape.  If I have an insect spray at hand, I can usually nab the little beasties.  However, often I do not.  Instead, what is nearby is a Spray-n-Wipe squirter or similar.  Not wanting said kitchen criminals to elude my imagined dominance I often grab one of these, almost as a reflex, yet with astounding results!

After much unintended testing I can say the most effective spray for killing cockroaches is my much-used can of Glen-20 (the disinfectant), closely followed by the Pine-O-Clean squirter. Large and jazzy cans labelled Mortein or Pea Beau are just feeble by comparison. Try it yourself!  Even boiling water is pretty good and environmentally neutral.

This leads me to ask: are insect sprays a con?  and what do they do at Mortein all day anyway?

….and you thought you had a mobile phone?

To keep up the income I often do market research work on the ‘phone. Nothing very threatening – usually calls to people to get feedback about services and gadgets they already have, so they tend to appreciate this opportunity to have a joyful whinge.  

With advances in telecomms these days many folk give mobiles as their main number – nothing radical so far – yet a most extraodinary practice has spun-off as a result.  Yes, despite the fact that mobile phones are registered to individuals in their personal names, I have been utterly blown away by how many people answer OTHER peoples’ mobile phones!  What’s more, when I query Mrs Jolene-May Smith about her very deep voice and constant use of the word ‘Maaaaaate’ the bloke on the other end often responds as if I’m intruding!!  No shame shown that they are purloining someone else’s sacred object of truly personal telecommunication……  Are we really a nation of busybodies?

When is an American not an American?

I got such a good response from two sophisticated Aussie gents at the pub last night that I just had to commit this story to writing.

I used to think Amercans were bigger and tougher than Aussies.  Back in the ’90’s I consulted to a large financial services organisation whose parent office was in New York.  Whenever an issue was too “big” to sortout locally an American would be sent out. At least that’s how it looked.

The last time I encountered one of these people, she was not having a good day so she decided to confide in me. She said “Straight Up, I need to give you some background. Since you are the trouble-shooter around here you’re kinda separate to the staff generally, so I can tell you this. I’m just a bit sick of New York coming down and bothering my people in Dallas office everytime they need to send someone to Australia.  They keep saying:  ‘these are Auzzies, big ‘n’ tough, we just can’t send any old American, we’ve gotta send ….a Texan!’ ”

That explained a lot to me, and it rang true years later when I spent months travelling around the USA.  Yes, Bruce, the average Amercan is far more diminutive, uncomplaining and less-loud than the average Aussie.  So, it does seem that Washington DC really governs via the image makers of  TV/movies in Hollywood;  not the other way around!

Uploading Files

Yes documents can be uploaded into this blog so readers can download them.     Here’s a sample document in MS Word for downloading:

Just double-click on this link —>  Blog vs Twitter

Pussycats -n- Playdates

When I’m delivering training in technology I’m always trying to get people to like their computers. So, to convince folk that they can really do this I often tell stories – about things non-tech, like b.b.q.’s, cooking ‘taters or …. my cat.

Well, I thought my cat was a harmless topic, but when I prattled about her playdates one day, that just brought the house down.  A 68 y.o. grandmother laughed for 10 minutes! I do think that anyone who has’nt realised cats are just small people in fur coats has much to learn ………….. about people.                         

“Missy” my cross Birman-Burmese (choc.point) just loves visits from “Ruska” the Russian Blue.  As soon as he arrives, she lovingly cuffs him around the ears, chases him up and down the unit and always wins the arguments (he’s twice her size!).  Then they snuggle up and snooze for the next 3 hours.  Is this sounding like a relationship you know?

Mythology and Non-Stick Frypans

Remember that list of standard fibs? Like “the cheque’s in the mail”, “I gave at the office”, etc.  How about “Yes! This is a non-stick frypan”…………

I have a collection of these alleged devices: some very expensive – too good to simply throw away.  The trouble is the people who design and make these seem to have something very different in mind than us real people with real stoves.  As a human being I do not use a f-r-y–pan for making ice cubes, I use it for fry–ing, and fry–ing requires enough heat to get my culinary morsel to sear or even sizzle if there is some oil or liquid present!

So what do the makers of “non-sticks” want me to do?  Instructions say “start on low heat and warm to medium, do not stay on high temperatures as this will shorten the life of the non-stick coating”  Huh?  Sound cheap? Recently, I visited a DJ’s sale where those serenely robust Danish ScanPans were on half price – you know, $230 reduced to $110 etc – and outlined my concerns to that doyen of details, the DJ’s senior staffer.  She said “they’re all like that”.

I couldn’t believe it!  They’re made from Titanium – they could stop a large bullet  yet are threatened by anythinghotter than warm tofu?  Is this a conspiracy for culture change: to make KFC into KCC – Kentucky Coddled Chicken, stir-fry into stir-blanch and instead of a fried egg we could have one that was lovingly, warmly-congealed …… blughhh!

Truth in advertising?  I can’t think of a more mis-named product. Wonder what the Office of Fair Trading would think?

You can probably guess that one of my pet hates is scrubbing out sticky-stuff from frypans. Note to self:-  add this to “Can’t Stand” list on my RSVP profile site.

God’s Bum at the Sistine Chapel

I used to think the painting series on the ceiling of the Sistine was the apex of piety. There’s God in all his thundrous’ glory pointing that omnipotent finger to create Adam on the Seventh Day. 

 But let’s go back a few days. Earlier on an energetic God raised his arms on high and with much flexing of muscle rent the light from the darkness.

 

 

Yet in the very next frame, usually entiltled “Creation of the Moon, Stars and Planets” God starts off with his back to us, boldly exhibiting a muscular arse. Was Michelangelo having a little pun with the public, or seeing if the Pope would notice, or just showing the fearless essence of art ?  I don’t know: I can’t think in 16th century.