A coworker sent me a link to an interesting programming challenge. It's a project from the CDC trying to raise awareness of influenza through innovative technological means.
They supply the datasets and from there pretty much let you run with the idea. I like how this type of challenge inspires real thinking.
This weekend I drew up some design documents and started on the User Interface programming of my application. I'm trying to remember to keep it small and to scale the project up only after I meet my previous goals. I already know that the database portion will be the most challenging aspect.
It's a little difficult working on a project by yourself. I find it really fun to cut sounds, draw graphics, and program the same project. However, I'm pretty terrible at Photoshop now and it is kind of frustrating when you're stuck debugging code that you've been staring at for hours. And for some reason, the worst part is that it always gets lonely doing this.
I'm sure other people have teams, but I can't seem to interest any of my friends. They either seem pretty content working for someone else or they don't have a relevant skill set (and lack the motivation to pick one up).
We'll see how this goes. I gotta remember; think big, but take small steps (and compile frequently).
Once I'm done with this, if anyone has an Android phone, I'll buy you a beer to download and test the program (on anything other than a Nexus One).
Monday, April 18, 2011
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
People need to get mad
I want kids. Not now, but maybe someday. I wanted to put that out there since it might make me a little biased for what I'm going to write.
I'm mad. I'm frustrated. I'm most of all sad.
The last couple of days I've been working on a report that compares hospital data across California. I'll limit this post to four factors.
Cost - Cost for the hospital (staff, equipment, etc.)
Charge - How much someone is charged for services rendered (whether it's billing the insurance company and/or the person)
ALOS - Average Length of Stay (for the person staying in the hospital)
Discharge - Number of cases seen
In California (2009), rough figures put the average case for a children's hospital charges $8000 a day, with an average of 5 days stayed, which comes out to a whopping $40,000 a year. (I don't want to mention how much it costs actual hospitals)
We need to keep in mind that:
1.) A children's hospital isn't just for normal newborns. These are specialized children's hospitals that treat the most severe cases. Costs and charges are expected to be higher.
2.) We're also looking at the average cost/charge/length of stay when the median is probably a better indicator.
3.) Insurance may cover some/most of the costs.
Most likely insurance will only cover a partial amount and if they do, I'm sure they'll fight tooth and nail for every penny. Even if they don't, how do normal people afford the rest?
You take out a loan and setup a payment plan while some guy is gaming the healthcare and insurance system? If it's not the financial market, its the healthcare market or some other market. It just seems like the poor get poorer and the rich get richer.
The people representing us in Congress have net worths starting in the millions. They don't have my interests at heart. When will people get mad and say enough is enough?
I'm mad. I'm frustrated. I'm most of all sad.
The last couple of days I've been working on a report that compares hospital data across California. I'll limit this post to four factors.
Cost - Cost for the hospital (staff, equipment, etc.)
Charge - How much someone is charged for services rendered (whether it's billing the insurance company and/or the person)
ALOS - Average Length of Stay (for the person staying in the hospital)
Discharge - Number of cases seen
In California (2009), rough figures put the average case for a children's hospital charges $8000 a day, with an average of 5 days stayed, which comes out to a whopping $40,000 a year. (I don't want to mention how much it costs actual hospitals)
We need to keep in mind that:
1.) A children's hospital isn't just for normal newborns. These are specialized children's hospitals that treat the most severe cases. Costs and charges are expected to be higher.
2.) We're also looking at the average cost/charge/length of stay when the median is probably a better indicator.
3.) Insurance may cover some/most of the costs.
Most likely insurance will only cover a partial amount and if they do, I'm sure they'll fight tooth and nail for every penny. Even if they don't, how do normal people afford the rest?
You take out a loan and setup a payment plan while some guy is gaming the healthcare and insurance system? If it's not the financial market, its the healthcare market or some other market. It just seems like the poor get poorer and the rich get richer.
The people representing us in Congress have net worths starting in the millions. They don't have my interests at heart. When will people get mad and say enough is enough?
Friday, April 8, 2011
Coffee and Code
We got a cat! Her name's Reddit; she's a stray that my roommate's friend (a vet) found out on the streets. She's about 2 years old, has an odd fascination with paper, frequently jumps on keyboards, and loves to wake us up at precisely 6 am on weekends. She's so cute though!!
I've been hanging out with friends a lot more lately. We've been playing frisbee golf and softball, hiking, climbing, watching movies, and some social drinking. The interesting part is that the different groups of friends I know are 'mixing together' and it's creating a surprisingly fun dynamic. Usually I'm with one group or another since their interests seem so different.
Last week I did a 12 hour workday because of a new system implementation. I've been feeling a little burnt out so I asked for today off. Today's a coffee and code (for fun) day!
Can't wait for Spring Break! I'm hoping for better weather so I can start surfing again.
 |
| From Drop Box |
 |
| From Drop Box |
I've been hanging out with friends a lot more lately. We've been playing frisbee golf and softball, hiking, climbing, watching movies, and some social drinking. The interesting part is that the different groups of friends I know are 'mixing together' and it's creating a surprisingly fun dynamic. Usually I'm with one group or another since their interests seem so different.
Last week I did a 12 hour workday because of a new system implementation. I've been feeling a little burnt out so I asked for today off. Today's a coffee and code (for fun) day!
Can't wait for Spring Break! I'm hoping for better weather so I can start surfing again.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Blessing in Disguise
I haven't logged into my RSS feed in a while. I forgot to take someone off the list (that I've been debating whether I should talk to) and curiosity got the best of me; I read a post of theirs and matched it up with the time. Yep, I'm never talking to that person again.
It's like in Ecuador; if you meet someone that borrows $20 and never returns it, be happy that it only took you $20 to realize they're a waste of time. Sometimes bad luck is really good luck in disguise.
It's like in Ecuador; if you meet someone that borrows $20 and never returns it, be happy that it only took you $20 to realize they're a waste of time. Sometimes bad luck is really good luck in disguise.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Love is a verb
Love is a verb, an action occurring in the present. Without working on it constantly, it just becomes the past.
New Hardware
Last weekend I splurged and upgraded my Macbook Pro from the 2009 version to the latest 2011 version. Although there's no real differences aesthetically, the internal switch from the old Core 2 Duo processors to the new Sandy Bridge i5 processor has made a huge difference in compile/run times.
The only other bottleneck was the 5400 RPM hard drive, which I promptly switched to a 256 GB Sata III solid state drive. Even though OSX doesn't have TRIM support yet, I'm hoping the hard drive performance won't degrade too much before Lion is released in June (which should have built in third party TRIM support).
In terms of what I'm using the hardware for, I've been documenting what I've learned about Android programming over at code.google.com/p/wliu/ under the 'Wiki' section. I'm still not sure how to use collaborative software like github, but it doesn't really matter yet since I'm still a one man team.
Right now I'm working on the framework for a flashcard program; I figure I can study for my Medical Terminology class and learn how to program at the same time. There's a lot of possible neat twists on how people learn, but for now my goal is a simple working application. Basics first I guess.
The only other bottleneck was the 5400 RPM hard drive, which I promptly switched to a 256 GB Sata III solid state drive. Even though OSX doesn't have TRIM support yet, I'm hoping the hard drive performance won't degrade too much before Lion is released in June (which should have built in third party TRIM support).
In terms of what I'm using the hardware for, I've been documenting what I've learned about Android programming over at code.google.com/p/wliu/ under the 'Wiki' section. I'm still not sure how to use collaborative software like github, but it doesn't really matter yet since I'm still a one man team.
Right now I'm working on the framework for a flashcard program; I figure I can study for my Medical Terminology class and learn how to program at the same time. There's a lot of possible neat twists on how people learn, but for now my goal is a simple working application. Basics first I guess.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
What do you do?
Yesterday I met up with some Peace Corps friends for dinner. It's interesting seeing what everyone's done since then, it's kind of what I imagine a college or high school reunion would be (except with more awesome people). Anyways, it seemed so long ago since Peace Corps and I distinctly remember how I thought then compared to how I think now.
When I graduated college, I remember that the last thing I wanted to do was work in a cubicle slaving away on some type of Office Space "TPS report". Thus I joined the Peace Corps and went out to 'do good'! I was 20 years old and although I wasn't sure how or where, I had an intense passion to do something, anything. I wanted to change the world for the better, even if it was only a small footprint in the remotest corners.
Now I'm here, a few years older, and doing reports. I'm a 'Business Analyst' and I have trouble explaining my job sometimes; I bounce around projects implementing software systems, pulling statistics, and creating reports. And I'm content with what I do because I think differently; reports aren't a waste. If done correctly, I think reports supplement 'doing good' by making it as efficient as possible. In fact, I think 'doing good' is almost wasted if it's not correctly implemented.
Here's an example:
As I'm about to leave on Friday, I'm asked to help on another quick project; our Business Development department needs to know the types of hospital operations and its frequency for the Tijuana and San Diego area. Ok, I'll look it up.
Here's some context behind the report. The children's hospital that I work for helps every child, even if they can't pay for the operations. Because of it's reputation as a top notch hospital, people will cross the border to receive the best care possible. Usually, a lot of these across the border operations fall under the 'parents can't pay for it' section.
Tijuana's hospitals are planning to upgrade their facilities, but don't have the analysis capabilities that we do. This research helps them make an informed decision on what types of operations are likely to be needed and thus what types of facilities to build.
By helping them out, the result is that parents don't have to drive all the way up to San Diego for good care, Tijuana hospitals can offer better immediate care, and we have less 'no pays'. Win for everyone.
I get to play a very small part of this and I think it's neat. I like being part of an efficient system in 'doing good', even if it is doing the reports.
When I graduated college, I remember that the last thing I wanted to do was work in a cubicle slaving away on some type of Office Space "TPS report". Thus I joined the Peace Corps and went out to 'do good'! I was 20 years old and although I wasn't sure how or where, I had an intense passion to do something, anything. I wanted to change the world for the better, even if it was only a small footprint in the remotest corners.
Now I'm here, a few years older, and doing reports. I'm a 'Business Analyst' and I have trouble explaining my job sometimes; I bounce around projects implementing software systems, pulling statistics, and creating reports. And I'm content with what I do because I think differently; reports aren't a waste. If done correctly, I think reports supplement 'doing good' by making it as efficient as possible. In fact, I think 'doing good' is almost wasted if it's not correctly implemented.
Here's an example:
As I'm about to leave on Friday, I'm asked to help on another quick project; our Business Development department needs to know the types of hospital operations and its frequency for the Tijuana and San Diego area. Ok, I'll look it up.
Here's some context behind the report. The children's hospital that I work for helps every child, even if they can't pay for the operations. Because of it's reputation as a top notch hospital, people will cross the border to receive the best care possible. Usually, a lot of these across the border operations fall under the 'parents can't pay for it' section.
Tijuana's hospitals are planning to upgrade their facilities, but don't have the analysis capabilities that we do. This research helps them make an informed decision on what types of operations are likely to be needed and thus what types of facilities to build.
By helping them out, the result is that parents don't have to drive all the way up to San Diego for good care, Tijuana hospitals can offer better immediate care, and we have less 'no pays'. Win for everyone.
I get to play a very small part of this and I think it's neat. I like being part of an efficient system in 'doing good', even if it is doing the reports.
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