Caveat emptor - do not eat at Tiamo in Lygon St, Carlton!

A word of advice - do not bother to eat at Tiamo (303-307 Lygon St Carlton) if you are going as part of a group. My colleagues and I had lunch there yesterday and were stunned to be told that they "do not split the bill" so we were all left scrambling to try to find enough cash to cover our respective meals. Go somewhere that is more civilised and has moved into the 21st century!

Handy Household Hints No. 9 - How to fix an umbrella as a temporizing measure!

My very favourite large umbrella, which I was given for helping out at the University of Melbourne Medical School, has come to grief over recent months. It is so large and useful that I did not want to throw it out. So, how to fix it? It was easy to sew back the retaining threads where they had come loose, but fixing the struts was a tad more challenging. Lacking the necessary equipment to reattach them, I opted for using good old cable ties to fix them together so that they could still slide up and down with opening and closing of the umbrella. It's not perfect, but it is functional, so the brolly lives to fight another day!

New discussion group for Wilderness and Expedition Medicine

I've just started a new Facebook group called "Wilderness and Expedition Medicine (de terris ad astra) (From the Earth to the stars!) https://www.facebook.com/groups/1617797711879794/. 

This group has been set up to create a community of people who are interested in wilderness and/or expedition medicine and human physiology in extreme environments, whether that be in challenging environments on the Earth, such as the alpine or polar regions, underwater or at high altitude, or in the context of space exploration. 

Its purpose is to share information of interest, including journal articles, updates and courses and conferences, and to engage in relevant discussion.

If this is also an interest of yours, please feel free to join!

Book Review - "Surgery: The Ultimate Placebo" by Professor Ian Harris

This is a "must read" book - it has a great explanation of how evidence-based science works (or doesn't) and challenges us to question whether doing things "because that is the way we have always done it" is in fact the best way to do things or whether it should be done at all, for instance treating appendicitis at first instance with surgery rather than a trial of IV antibiotics.

"Surgery: The Ultimate Placebo" by Professor Ian Harris (New South Books, Australian RRP $24.99).

Establishment of Victorian High Plains VHF radio repeater on Mt McKay - Appeal for donations

Over the past few months, Alpine Search and Rescue Victoria has been working on establishing a VHF radio repeater on Mt McKay. This is a public benefit initiative by alpineSAR and follows the difficulties experienced by first responders in rescuing a skier who had fractured his femur on Mt Bogong last winter.

The repeater has now been installed and commissioned, with the support and assistance of Falls Creek Resort Management and AGL Energy.

Testing over the past week shows it provides coverage to Mt Bogong, across the High Plains, and to Mt Feathertop, which will provide effective radio communications for first responders in the time gap until Police arrive on scene.

Although alpineSAR obtained donations of some equipment and in kind services, there was some, not insignificant, cost incurred to complete the installation. alpineSAR has underwritten that cost.

Via our GiveNow donation appeal, ee are now seeking donations from members of the public who frequent the area, and might benefit in the event they need assistance, to offset some of the cost. Donations are tax deductible: https://www.givenow.com.au/alpinesar

The appeal page explains the need, purpose and outcome for potential donors, and if you frequent the High Plains and might one day benefit from this new service, then we ask you to consider making a donation (however small) towards the cost of establishing the repeater.

Thank you!

PS I've been a member of alpineSAR for many years and this is a genuine appeal (NOT a scam).

The Southern Hemisphere 'Flu Season is underway - get your 'flu shot!

The Southern Hemisphere 'flu season is upon us. I had my 'flu shot a couple of days ago, and would recommend it for all adults (baring contraindications).

Available from your friendly GP or from many chemists. For instance, Chemist Warehouse is offering the trivalent for $8.99 and quadrivalent (what I had) for $11.99. A small investment potentially to prevent an extended period of illness and absence from work/study etc.

Book Review: "The Girl in the Spider's Web" by David Lagercrantz (continuing the Stieg Larsson 'Millenium' series)

As a fan of the original Millenium trilogy, I was sceptical about a new book by a different author to continue the series, which was brought to an abrupt and sad end by the premature death of Stieg Larsson. I had also read about the unpleasantness between Larsson's father and brother, legal heirs to his estate, and his widowed partner, who had an incomplete draft of his next book on a laptop. This book could never see the light of day without the involvement of his family. Reading the acknowledgments at the end of this new book it is clear that only Larsson's father and brother had a hand in its creation, and it is not the untold sequel held by his partner.

The book is long, and slow to get going, and the second half is much more interesting than the first. It has a labyrinthine (and somewhat implausible) plot, largely centered around out-hacking the hackers, and an interesting familial twist for Salander, who is once again an improbable heroine, ably aided and abetted by Mikael Blomkvist. It is clever and complex, and all the things one would expect from a Stieg Larsson novel.

Interestingly, it is also clearly set up for a sequel. On the last page, Blomkvist and Salander appear headed for a rapprochement, and the dastardly villain behind all the trouble is still out there ...

In the end, I didn't regret reading it, but I was glad that I had read a borrowed copy and not shelled out my hard-earned dollars for it. It is going to be hard to replace the Larsson books and the excellent Swedish tele-movies based on these books. Is this going to be another 'pulp fiction' factory churning out new books every year or so - time will tell. Meanwhile, I wonder what story is yet untold on that laptop???

Book Review: "Northern Lights" by Andrew Scott

This compact book by academic Andrew Scott sets out how Australian policy makers could benefit from the examples of the Scandinavian countries. It is a marvellous read, and looks at a number of key areas including education and industrial relations. There is surely a lot that we could learn, and have had many opportunities to learn, but haven't. One can only hope that policy makers take the time and trouble to read Scott's small tome. If they do, Australia could become an even better place ...