RWL #171 - live time
Greetings from the University of New Hampshire - Forward Operating Base Last Homely House (FOB LHH)! I hope you are doing well out there. I’ve been feeling the isolation a bit this week, myself. The governor announced that NH schools will stay closed for the rest of the school year and kids will continue in online education. I am so glad my kids are all young adults. I can only imagine how hard it is for those of you with school-aged kids. I know I'm blessed to have a job I can do from home, that I can easily take a walk and get some air, and that my family is safe so far. I'm still really over this whole quarantining thing. But it is what we have to do right now.
I was listening to Tim Ferriss (Tim Ferriss Show) talk with Ryan Holiday (The Daily Stoic) about the crisis this morning and something they talked about struck me: when this is over, will you look back on this time as dead time or live time? Will you look back on this time as time when you put your life on hold? Or will you look at this as time you took to be creative, to do things you wouldn’t normally take the time to do and make it live time? We have to make that choice, because life doesn’t go on hold.
That conversation reminded me of this passage from the Lord of the Rings:
“I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.
"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”
Two bright-side points for this week - the daffodils are blooming at the Last Homely House, which always makes me happy. They are the first splash of color after the long grey of winter. The other bright side was I stumbled upon a fun band - the Lake Street Dive - they have a bunch of covers of classic pop songs that they arrange for swing. Check out their swing version of “I Want You Back”.
Still continuing with more links. I hope you find them useful - as usual, feedback is welcome. This will end and we will get back to life. Hang tight, cook some good food, read, watch, and listen, and take care of each other.
Read
What: The New Yorker, Pandemics and the Shape of Human History
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/04/06/pandemics-and-the-shape-of-human-history
Why: The April 6 issue of the New Yorker was all healthcare themed, so there were a bunch of timely and relevant pieces. The one tells about the historical incidences of the bubonic plague, smallpox, and cholera, and some of the differences. For example, cholera tended to hurt lower SES populations more, and the result was class-based riots. This article does not emphasize this point, but for me reading it drove home the point that our current predicament is more the norm than an outlier. The fact that we don’t have more infectious disease is actually striking. There were several other articles in this issue worth reading.
What: American Institute for Economic Research, Starbucks Too Has Surge Pricing
https://www.aier.org/article/starbucks-too-has-surge-pricing/
Why: Remember when we could wait in lines and not worry about dying? Yeah, that was so February. But I’m teaching a health econ course right now and we just talked about price controls and the time cost associated with them, so this clever little article stood out to me. It’s a quick read and makes the point well.
What: Current, Building the perfect home studio with NPR’s Don Gonyea
https://current.org/2020/04/building-the-perfect-home-studio-with-nprs-don-gonyea/
Why: This article gives tips from the pros on how to record high quality sound from home. Probably most of us are fine for what we are doing - taking meetings, teaching classes. But in case you are wondering what the pros do, here’s a quick peek. (The site requires a password, but it’s free.)
Watch
What: Golden balls. The weirdest split or steal ever! (6 minutes)
Why: I don’t remember how I found this video, but I’ve been using it for years to introduce game theory to my econ classes. This game show, “Golden Balls”, sets up contestants in a prisoner’s dilemma. They even allow the participants to engage in cheap talk - it’s perfect. The best part is how the contestants solve the problem. It will actually make you feel good.
Listen
What: Health Leader Forge, Brian Hall, President, Physicians Resources LTD
https://healthleaderforge.blogspot.com/2020/04/brian-hall-president-physicians.html
Why: My latest interview for the Health Leader Forge is with Brian Hall, the president (and owner) of Physicians Resources LTD, a revenue cycle services company. Brian’s team provides revenue cycle support to small and medium sized healthcare providers. Brian started out as employee #1 (when his future in-laws were the owners), married the boss’s daughter, and became part of the family business. We talk about his journey and growing the business over the course of three decades. It was neat to hear someone talking first hand about living through the Greiner curve.
What: National Review Editors Podcast, Special Episode: Scott Gottlieb, MD
https://www.nationalreview.com/podcasts/the-editors/special-episode-scott-gottlieb-md-206/
Why: Thoughtful interview on the US and global response to the coronavirus pandemic, and what it will take to bring the economy back on line. Gottlieb served as the previous commissioner of the FDA.
Thanks for reading and see you next week! If you come across any interesting stories, won't you send them my way? I'd love to hear what you think of these suggestions, and I'd love to get suggestions from you. Feel free to drop me a line at mark.bonica@unh.edu , or you can tweet to me at @mbonica .
Also, if you find these links interesting, won’t you tell a friend? They can subscribe here: https://tinyletter.com/markbonica
See you next Friday!
Mark
Mark J. Bonica, Ph.D., MBA, MS
Assistant Professor
Department of Health Management and Policy
University of New Hampshire
(603) 862-0598
mark.bonica@unh.edu
Health Leader Forge Podcast: http://healthleaderforge.org
'It is the small things, everyday deeds of ordinary folk, that keep the darkness at bay. Simple acts of kindness and love.' - Gandalf (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey)