My Girl, Savannah

February 26 2010 by admin in Personal |No Comments

Savannah has always been such a close friend, probably one of my best friends that have stood by me through many changes of my life.  When I first met her, her beauty was subtle but commanding that I was afraid to embrace her.  Through my teen years, she confronted me with the traditional walks in the downtown squares through cool breeze swaying the moss on the aged trees that were  that soothing and calming.  Her candor with wanting to change was always a struggle for her because she didn’t want to change too fast that she would lose her historical pride.  Savannah boasts a rich and diverse heritage that is often seen through her prominent character.  Her tropical flavor is quite evident and her beauty can make a man blush.  A cross between a city gal, an exotic tropical beach goer, and a historian of the civil war period, slave trading and civil rights movement only adds to her intellect.  She is also a great artist that teaches the next generation of artists, but holds on to tradition by realizing her past is painful yet glorious and epitomizes change.  She supports St. Patrick’s Day celebration every year.  Savannah has held her own through the years and surprisingly embraced the new waves of cultural shift that is exciting and bold.

Now that I’m much older with a family of my own, Savannah has still remains such an important and dedicated friend.  I recently visited her this past holiday and she looked great.  Her look was contemporary and chic; An upgrade with still the subtle qualities that defines her.  The sign of the times and new energy of the next generation influenced her to open her eyes and heart to the future and prepare herself wisely, beautifully, and confidently.  She’s opened her zone to a variety of customs that has only invited and encouraged her own growth and prosperity.  A new breed has entered her life that has brought innovation and swagger.  Her lifestyle is fresh and full catering to a balance between young and old.  However, she realizes that both need the other to pass along the history while pushing forward with future embellishment and new technology.  Savannah has a new tempo in her step that is catching notice in the social networks and ultimately worldwide.

So, although Savannah is one of my best friends and has been a part of my life for more than 30 years, she never fails to amaze me.  She has taught me how to appreciate the laid back feel of her lifestyle, the beauty of her designs, and the people, old and new, that has expanded her tradition to a thriving new way of life.

She remains ever a part of my life and etched in my soul.  There can be no other that can replace her.

She will forever be My Girl, Savannah … Savannah, Georgia.

- Rose

The Seasons Of My Life

January 19 2010 by admin in Personal |No Comments

As a new year enters and the last year of the first decade (I don’t care what people say, a decade begins with ’1′) of 2010 begins, I’m thinking about the seasons of my life.

 

My teenager years was exciting and scarry. The Spring of my life was fresh and new. I never knew what to expect and I went with the flow. I absolutely had a carefree time. That probably had a lot to do with my parents were taking care of more of the time even through college. I did work a lot and it always seemed as if I was going the school, working and no sleep, but it gave me a sense of responsibility.

 

I got married in my junior year of college and a few months after graduation, I got pregnant. The Summer of my life was a whirlwind.  It was college, husband, graduation, job, mortgage, kids, family activities, grad school, promotions, new jobs…whew! What a whirlwind. I don’t ever think I slept late on a Saturday morning as I used to do in the spring of my life. It was sprint in the Georgia heat that can really wear you down.  I was exhausted all the time. Running the kids around for their activities all over Atlanta, it was not only wear and tear on the car, but on us (hubby too).

 

Well, I’m in the Fall of my life and there are challenges.  At 41, I’ve faced two layoffs, health challenges and emotional ups and downs about my future.  But, my experiences in the spring and summer of my life made me realize how resilient I am and how strong I am. I’m back in school for more certifications and looking for new business/employment opportunities. With everything that is going on in the world, natural disasters, economic standstill and employment challenges, I’m thinking more and more about the winter of my life and preparing for the unexpected.  Smarter and sharper than I’ve ever been, planning for the future is exciting making the changing leaves more colorful than normal.

 

As I plan for the Winter of my life, my dreams put me in very exotic places doing amazing things. I see myself as a very calming but sharp individual. I understand to get to this point, I have to see myself and go after what I want in the fall of my life to be satisfied in the winter of my life. I’m looking forward to really slowing things down, retirement and cuddling with my sould mate (hubby), being financially sound and being engulfed in my faith. I have so much to look forward to.

 

Seasons are ever changing and even though you know what to expect at each season, they are different and at times, sometimes they come early, other times they come late, and some times the temperatures/weather are mild. I’m prepared for any changes no matter how mild or heavy things may be.

 

What’s next for mobility?

September 15 2009 by admin in Mobile |2 Comments

We have seen a great deal of devices and operating systems in the last couple of years and no doubt the iPhone has made it’s mark on this industry as one of the most innovative devices on the market today.  But with new devices came new mobile applications and most recent new operating systems.  The technology is rapid and extremely complex.  Some of the mobile applications people have developed are so inventive and useful, it is a large contributor to the mobile market.  So what’s next?

The provider wars on device exclusivity has been a topic the last few months and that will slowly change due to user complaints of AT&T quality of network and customer service.  In dealing with small business AT&T account reps was unbelievably insane at times, but I have to admit, they do have a large options of devices to offer every age group and personal and business.

But what will drive mobility in the next immediate years will be mobile applications, smart wallet features and security.  The next generation mobile technology is already upon us, 4G.  As 4G entered the market and now available in the U.S. through Sprint, it is supposed to be the fastest network for multimedia processing, and with now the stiff competition of WiMAX services like Clear coupled with Netbook already outfitted with WiMAX ready chips, the competition is now in full force in mobility, but where does that leave the wireless market?

The next generation mobile technology is location-based services (LBS) application which we’ve already seen a glimpse of with mobile mapping, social networking applications like Brightkite and Loopt, the technology partnered with GPS has engaged mobile applications into real world solutions, no matter how quirky it may be to some.  Sprint was one of the first providers to offer a locator service for family and their children. I myself have used this service even before all the hoopla about LBS. But more advanced features have now integrated traditional GIS into Neogeography that allows a more robust capability with mobile applications. What I see in the next couple of years is LBS mobile applications in more commercial and business use for tracking assets, marketing tools, operations support for local, state, federal and combined law enforcement agencies, and much more.

Now that LBS is more prevalent in the market and its capabilities are increasingly desired in more practical mobile applications, it is sure to even be more beneficial for the Mobile Wallet concepts for payment applications and services.  In a business graduate course, we talked about a company in Finland researching mobile payment technology in particularly with a soda machine.  The concept was to purchase a soda from a soda machine right from your phone.  How many times have you needed change or had to get change to buy a soda from a soda machine.  The soda machine was also fitted with the system, but now with LBS, products can take your location and process it through their system and match it with the soda machine at that location, process your payment and release selected product.  Pretty soon, we won’t need to carry a credit card. Convenience for the customers, increase sales for companies with products or services, providers will get on the ban wagon too with charging some fee for this service as well as more mobile payment applications must be developed, the concept is there, but who will be the first to implement?  We are slowly seeing more and more payment applications with movie tickets, airline tickets, and more.  But with payment applications, security must be included as a given.

With hackers getting customer financial and other personal information, IT security is now at the forefront of every existing and new system concerning proprietary and confidential data. Mobile security is no different.  Now with LBS, and social networking, tracking patterns at restaurants, friends, hangouts and others can be posted to web networking application; a hacker’s haven.  And with mobile banking and payment applications depend mostly on the mobile browser to provide security. But if we are to move into unchartered territories like mobile payment applications, applications should provide security against any threats that may be present in transactions or communication links. Whether it is an open source encryption platform for developers of mobile devices or an implementation of a more standard data encryption for businesses, since the number of new innovative devices, it is particularly hard to keep up with these changes and new features.  Security has always been a challenge, especially in these ever changing times, but nevertheless, mobile security has made it’s way in the market, but I believe as more businesses integrate their networks with mobility, it will be more necessary in the business community as teams are more mobile today than ever before.

These last two years have been the fastest changes I’ve seen.  Devices were driving the wireless market with the touch screen features with LG and Samsung, AT&T’s exclusivitiy with iPhone applications and popular OS as well as the T-Mobile Google Android G1 and most recently with Sprint’s webOS that supports 4G connectivity and communication. Most experts in the industry, the handheld devices and features have maxed out, that there is nothing left at least for the immediate future.  I beg to differ. With the creativity of mobile applications popping up on mobile app stores, the entrance of LBS and the innovation that will come along with LBS applications and the more mobile security to handle mobile wallet for financial transactions.  Along with dissolving the exclusivity of the iPhone, these features are sure to shake up the market within the next 12 to 18 months.

I haven’t even talked about the Netbook, but I’ll save that for my next blog post along with the technology and global carriers.

References:

Mobile application stores

Mobile LBS applications

Mobile Security

Other

The Cost Of Life For The Uninsured

August 31 2009 by admin in Healthcare |No Comments

So, it’s been awhile since I’ve posted last, but lots going on.  I want to share my family experience that has really been frustrating.  So my sister-in-law was diagnosed a few months ago with uterine cancer.  For a woman, it is one of the worst cancers that is so hard to fight because it spreads so quickly to other vital organs.  But hers was what the doctors call unique because it spread into her blood stream and is very aggressive.  The doctor really was nonchalant about the prognosis and was not willing to discuss options for treatment because of the late stage the cancer is in.  She hit the lowest point and began depression.  She said it out loud to the doctor, “Tell me what options I have because I don’t want to die.”

I’m going to digress a bit and ask why some people choose to become a doctor.  I would like to think that students in medical school today choose that area of study because they want to save lives and help sick people get better.  But in today’s society, this profession is one of the highest paid profession and the highest risk as well.  There is prestige that is also associated in the medical field.  With the much advancement in medicine, treatments and health care, I believe research is the most valuable area in the medical profession because there are so many unexplained diseases.  Not to mention, the global pharmaceutical market depends on new research for new medication to treat diseases and other illnesses.  It is said that the global pharmaceutical market will reach $929 billion in 2012 (2008 Piribo).

But, back to my sister-in-law, she was admitted back to the hospital twice because early in the diagnosis they did start her on chemotherapy, but she had complications.  Chemotherapy is just as dangerous as the cancer itself.  A strong immune system is a must to fight cancer.  However, that is not the issue.  The real story behind this entire experience is that a few days ago she was admitted back into the hospital a third time and the entire family were preparing for the worst, until a Monday morning.  The research doctor from Cancer Center & Research Institute, met with the family and discussed her cancer, the prognosis the doctors gave her and told her not to give up just yet because hospitals don’t have access to research medicine as they do and they are going to try a particular chemo medicine to attack the cancer in the bloodstream.  What a change of attitude!  Now everyone had some hope.  But, just as quickly as the research doctor gave hope to everyone, the doctors at the hospital she was in shot it down.  They said there was nothing more they can do and that she may want to “get her house in order” if you will.  Now, my sister-in-law, sat up in that bed, it took her about 30 seconds to do so, but as week as she is, she told that doctor, that she was entitled to her opinion, but she had another doctor tell her something different just earlier that morning and she was prepared to fight.  We were all so moved that there was not a dry eye in that room. So what is the moral of this story?

Earlier I discussed why people chose to become doctors and the prestige and money that is often associated with this profession.  But the real story here is that my sister-in-law does not have insurance so she is on Medicaid.  With this in mind, because she is not able to pay for the medical treatment that she so deserves, an administrative decision was made to cease all chemotherapy treatment at the hospital she is on and to make her as “comfortable as possible.”  Her life and the willingness of the hospital to be involved in treating her is based on whether she could pay the large hospital bill.  My uncle was in the same situation a few years ago and he was in a V.A. hospital.  He was uninsured as well so their prognosis was very similar.  That there was nothing else they could and they didn’t even try to refer him to a cancer research center.  The average cost of a cancer patient at a hospital (includes 24 hour nurses, medication, lab tests, doctors, etc.) is quite high.  There are many current studies comparing American healthcare systems versus other rich countries such as Japan, Germany and France (2009 Arnquist).  There are many critics on both sides and the debate continues rigorously today, but the bottom line is what your life worth is if you are not insured?

There are not enough cancer research centers in every major city let alone accessible.  The cancer research center that will treat my sister-in-law really wanted her case because of its “uniqueness” so what if it wasn’t “unique”?  Would she have been accepted?  I would imagine there is a long waiting list.  Is there a Dr. House that thinks outside the box and analyzes, analyzes and analyzes?  How is it so easy to put a price on a life based on whether you can pay or not?  We are a human race that is driven by financial markets and economy.  What price do we put on human lives? How can we put a price on human lives?  We are playing God when we make decisions based on whether you can pay.

I am using my faith to get my sister-in-law through this.  Researchers are aggressive and have made much advancement.  We are an intelligence race that is capable of finding a cure for many diseases including cancer.  But, as the healthcare debate will continue and there will be thousands of administrative decisions that decide who gets treatment or not.  Unbelievable!

“If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?” –Albert Einstein

References:

  1. Piribo. Global Pharmaceutical Market will reach $929 billion in 2012, says new Report. Retrieved August 31, 2009 from http://www.prlog.org/10151247-global-pharmaceutical-market-will-reach-929-billion-in-2012-says-new-report.html
  2. Arnquist, Sarah (2009). Healthcare abroad: Japan.  Retrieved August 31, 2009 from http://prescriptions.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/25/health-care-abroad-japan/?scp=1&sq=cost%20of%20average%20hospital%20stay&st=cse

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