Marilyn's Photos - Mar 12 2026 - Crocks, Gomers and Gorks

 

We know that there are colour codes for various situations in hospitals.  It seems like a Pantone colour wheel - there are too many colours for me to get them all straight.  Code Blue - adult cardiac arrest requiring immediate resuscitation. Code Pink: Medical Emergency - Infant/Child (Pediatric Cardiac/Respiratory Arrest). Code Red: Fire. Code White: Violent/Aggressive Individual. Code Black: Bomb Threat or Suspicious Object. Code Grey: Infrastructure Failure (Power failure, IT system loss, water failure) or External Air Exclusion. Code Green: Evacuation (Internal or External). Code Orange: Disaster (Internal, such as fire, or External, such as mass casualties/train crash). Code Amber: Missing/Abducted Infant or Child. Code Yellow: Missing Patient. Code Silver: Person with a Weapon/Active Attacker. Code Purple: Hostage Taking. Code Brown: Hazardous Material Spill.  And those are the colours. Then there are numeric codes that are regional or specific - like code 77 in BC is stroke. That’s what is considered standard hospital procedure.  Then there are all the slang codes used by staff.  I guess it is like pig-latin, once you start it just keeps going.  These are just for patients: Frequent Flyer / Frequent Fliers: A patient who returns to the ER frequently, often for non-emergency issues. Gork (or Gorked): A patient who is comatose, neurologically devastated, or in a persistent vegetative state. GOMER: Acronym for "Get Out of My Emergency Room." Refers to patients, often elderly, with chronic, incurable, or complex conditions that are frequently admitted and hard to "fix". Crock: A patient who complains of many symptoms but has no organic disease (often implies hypochondria). Walkie-Talkie: A patient who is functional, ambulatory, and able to communicate, requiring minimal assistance. Beemer: A patient with a high body mass index (BMI). Yellow Submarine: An obese patient with jaundice caused by liver failure. FOOBA: "Found on Orthopedics, Barely Alive." A patient who had a joint replacement but developed critical, unrelated, internal complications. Trainwreck: A patient with multiple, severe, and complex, concurrent medical problems. Princess/Prince/Diva: A demanding patient who uses the call bell constantly for minor requests. Sundowner/Sundowning: A patient (usually with dementia) who becomes confused, agitated, and combative, typically in the evening. Swallower: A psychiatric patient who has ingested dangerous objects or substances. FLK: "Funny Looking Kid." Slang used by pediatric staff to refer to a child with dysmorphic features suggesting a syndrome.  There are many more terms - for staff, for procedures, and so on.  And at the end of this extensive list?   Disclaimer:  Many of these terms are considered pejorative or unprofessional and are used behind closed doors to cope with stress rather than in direct patient care.   So I am ahead of myself - it isn’t until next week that Sunshine Express opens and we can luxuriate in the early spring blooms in this gigantic greenhouse.  This is from a few years ago.

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Marilyn's Photos - Mar 11 2026 - The Scary Side of Being in Airplanes

 

I saw a headline that got my attention and thought about what makes headlines get attention.  This one was about never wearing black socks in an airplane.  The answer?  They are a tripping hazard.  I guess so, given there is no room for legs in front of seats, so all the aisle passengers will have their great big, black-socked feet out in the aisle, causing physical injury to attendants.  I think there might be much scarier things inside an airplane.  The black socks idea, though, got one’s attention so I asked about  “Weird problems inside airplanes.” Aren’t there more thnings than I imagined possible. Here’s the summary: increased flatulence due to pressure changes, unhygienic, rarely cleaned coffee/tea pipes, freezing cold windows, severe odour, unruly passengers and insects in the cabin.  Taste alteration caused by low humidity and low cabin pressure can make food taste bland. Physical fatigue and dehydration can cause dizziness or fatigue. Cabin pressure can cause uncontrollable crying or emotional outbursts.  Do you know that scorpions have been found on board airplanes? This must be a life-time achievement - a support turkey was on a flight. There’s a state called “lizard brain” where passengers exhibit the following:  heightened emotions, “irrational territorialism” and “ambien zombies.”  The last one happens when passengers mix sleeping medication (Ambien) with alcohol and then perform bizarre acts while essentially sleepwalking. With so many things possible, here are the code words that flight attendants use for passenger behaviours and these are only some of them: Gate lice for those crowding the boarding area Philip - for passenger I’d like to punch,  Bob /Betty - best on board for someone pleasant Screamers for unruly travelers Mermaids for those hogging seats Gallery queen/king - a passenger who tries to hang out in the galley area Hot coffee - very attractive passenger Coach roach - someone who tries to sneak into a high-class cabin Deadhead - an airline employee travelling for work Crotch watch - checking passengers have seatbelts fastened Blue juice - airline toilet water So today’s game might be to check off the list every time we spot one of these things in our daily activities.  Isn’t this a lovely Magnolia?  It is Sieboldii, a small-flowered variety that blooms throughout the summer.  This was in the corner house garden in Toronto.

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Marilyn's Photos - Mar 10 2026 - How Old is Superman?

 

Arnold Schwarzenegger is looking to make action movies again.  He’s 78.  The news stories say he’s in talks to reprise roles in sequels for Conan the Barbarian, Commando, and Predator.  He emphasizes thta the new roles are “age-appropriate.” Superman, in contrast, has an age that varies significantly depending on the version of the character and the particular movie. He has been portrayed as being between 25 and early 40s.  While he was “created” in 1938 so is 88 years old, he is often portrayed as immortal or aging very slowly - part of his creation story. So it isn’t unusual that the age of an action character has its own life.  It sused to be that an actor would be in their 30s and then moved up to just under 40 by 2015. After 2015, the age has increased to an average age of just over 48. The article says the industry has shifted to favour maturity.  Or maybe we are able to manipulate our appearance to resemble younger people.  Would Schwarzenegger be performing any stunts and fast running?  It made me think of Harrison Ford who was still making Indiana Jones movies in 2023 at over 80 years of age. Compare that to Sean Connery being 69 when he played Ford’s father, and Ford was actually 57 in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.  I don’t know of any 100 year-old actor who might be around to play his father now. So doesn’t this point to there being a gerontocracy in action films? AI responds with “yes” and backs that up with the “60 is the New 40” chant.  Think George Clooney. in his 60s looking much younger. Ahh… realize that with sophisticated plastic surgery techniques, 60 does look like 40.  And articles indicate he’s had plenty.  There are many stories of George Clooney pranks.  Here’s one of his lines that goes with today’s topic:  Regarding a potential reunion of the Ocean’s cast, he joked it would “like The Golden Girls.” The Snow Drops are blooming throughout my gardens, along with a few early Crocuses.

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Marilyn's Photos - Mar 9 2026 - The Body Optimist

 

Here’s something - a website that comes up and is in French and doesn’t translate to English.  The Body Optimist.  The website is ma-grande-taille.com.  We’ve just had International Women’s Day, so there are many articles on various topics with this website reference.   Scrolling through the articles on the site, they are about curvy bodies, muscled bodies, freckles, birthmarks, fashion models with various defects, and of course that compelling topic of being at some age and defying age-related norms (for women).   Let’s see, here’s one skiing in a bathing suit. Why am I not surprised that she’s skiing in Europe down the Matterhorn?  She’s “defying the norm” that after 58, one wears frumpy things.  So a swimsuit down a ski slope is now being translated into a triumph over norms. Too bad as the rest of the website looks to me like the regular slop that is now available.  Secrets to organizing your closet, iconic bag from the 90s makes a comeback, smart dress solves fashion problem, spring trend - colour will be a must-have, layering your clothes makes a comeback, and then the unending onslaught of celebrity news.   Too bad, so sad.  I was looking for a new cultural movement. Definitely more work to do. Here’s a take on the popularity of Daylight Savings Time.  What about this wall of mirrors?  It was in an Ottawa hotel.  Seems to go with the fixation over physical appearance.

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