Actual provincial program spending is much less than “planned” Provincial Spending was $6.4 billion less than planned over the first 9 months of the fiscal year 2022/3 according to the Financial Accountability Office (FAO). That is 5.0% less than budgeted. After the first half of the year, the FAO had
Continue readingTag: Health
Defend Public Healthcare: Revenue is flowing in — but harder times are ahead for public sector services
As expected, Ontario government revenue is way up — $16.6 billion higher than the forecast in the Budget just six months ago. That’s an average increase of $2.7 billion per month — or up another 1.5% every month. The quarterly increases reported are also growing from $1.2 billion in the first quarter
Continue readingThings Are Good: Diagnosis by Dreams
What you do while dreaming might be a sign of things to come. This isn’t non-scientific phooey, rather this is real science that can help doctors and patients address neurological issues. There’s been an increase in scientists looking at what people do while dreaming to see if they have Parkinson’s
Continue readingThings Are Good: More Trees Means Less Death
In the cold of winter you might not be thinking of the nice hot summer days as a negative thing. In the winter when temperatures get really low people suffer from hypothermia or worse, whereas in heat they can suffer from heat stroke or worse. When it comes to the
Continue readingThings Are Good: Judo Falls for the Elderly
When old people fall the results are likely to be far worse than when younger people hit the floor. There’s a long history of technology assistance for elderly individuals who fall from the infamous “I’ve fallen and can’t get up” device to the modern smartwatch with fall detection. As always,
Continue readingThings Are Good: Pigeons Outperform Radiologists
Radiology is very complex and even doctors with years of training and experience can make misdiagnoses. So far AI systems haven’t been competitive with humans; however, pigeons are. Researchers trained pigeons to identify cancers in radiology images and concluded that the birds are just as good, if not better, than
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: Plague Update: Logic Fails
There’s a cartoon showing how many people still think that COVID-19 is just like chicken pox, and you aren’t likely to get a symptomatic infection another time while healthy, so they magically think a COVID infection will build herd immunity and eventually end the disease. It’s going to be just
Continue readingThings Are Good: SHART Machines Can Detect Your Defecation
The next time you go to the doctor they may want to know the sounds you make while using the toilet. You may even get a S.H.A.R.T. detector in your home. This AI powered device monitors the sounds people make on the toilet to determine if their toilet time is
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: Plague Update: Can’t Handle The Truth
One of the best doctors in the country, not only for the health services he provides, but for his outreach regarding the climate crisis, is Dr. Joe Vipond. Here he is explaining the current health crisis and what can be done about it, while many others in his field shirk
Continue readingIN-SIGHTS: Decision-based-evidence-making
David Fisman is a tenured professor in the University of Toronto’s Division of Epidemiology. On Twitter a day ago, Dr. Fisman accused British Columbia health officials of employing “decision-based-evidence-making.”he
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: Plague Update: Not Much Better, Possibly Worse
My blog lately doesn’t have enough good content, and I can’t claim this is either, but it’s how I feel and apparently someone else does too: “Nobody who is trying to convince you to take off your mask will be there for you when you get sick. When you lose
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: Plague Update: Sask Health Suffers Long Term Care Outbreak
COVID in wastewater has never been higher in Regina, and the people have never been less mandated to care about the health of their fellow Saskatchewanians. Even a random person from 2019 would be more likely to put on a mask when told that they could save lives with one
Continue readingThings Are Good: Woman’s Nose Evolved Into Skin Swab Test for Parkinson’s
When Joy Milne‘s husband started to smell bad, she thought something was wrong. Her concern was met with a diagnosis of Parkinson’s, which is a neurological condition impacting hundreds of thousands around the world. The causes of Parkinson’s are still being investigated and diagnosing it is also a challenge; this
Continue readingIN-SIGHTS: COVID-19 — panic, then neglect and harm
BC Government’s COVID panic began in March 2020, but was turning to neglect in the following year. It can be argued that neglect shifted to overtly harmful management of the pandemic…
Continue readingThings Are Good: Move Up Stream To Lose Weight
Only one theory can account for all of the available evidence: the obesity epidemic is caused by one or more environmental contaminants, compounds in our water, food, air, at our jobs and in our homes, that change how our bodies regulate weight.https://t.co/o7lhK2QkOL — SLIME MOLD TIME MOLD (@mold_time) July 13,
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: Row Row Row Your Boat
Gently off a cliff,Throw the women overboard,Republicans want a tiff. The Trump Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, which for half a century put an end to most low-quality abortions in the United States. The Handmaid’s Tale gets ever closer to looking like a documentary, instead of a horror novel/movie
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: Plague Update: PM Trudeau Has COVID-19 Again
The PM got COVID by going to the Americas summit in the USA recently. I’ve tested positive for COVID-19. I’ll be following public health guidelines and isolating. I feel okay, but that’s because I got my shots. So, if you haven’t, get vaccinated – and if you can, get boosted.
Continue readingThings Are Good: BC Decriminalizes Hard Drugs
British Columbia has learned that punishing drug users doesn’t stop drug use or the negative impact drugs have on our society. The province decided to shift from a punishment approach to drug control to a health focussed approach, as in they will help people get off of drugs instead of
Continue readingThings Are Good: Canada Implements Handgun Ban
Mass shootings in the USA have tripled in the last few decades with mass shootings becoming an almost daily occurrence. Canadians are no strangers to mass shoutings either, with too many happening within the country. Obviously, that’s not good. The Canadian government has responded to this dangerous increase in firearm
Continue readingThings Are Good: Greenhouse Gas Emissions of American Diet Almost Halved
A simple diet change reduced diet-related greenhouse gas emissions of American adults between 2003 and 2018. The carobon footprint of their diets fell from 4 kilograms of CO2 equivalent to 2.45 kg CO2e over the 15 year study period. All it took was a slight reduction in meat consumption. As
Continue reading