My Twitter iPad Apps

It’s been quite a while since my last post and I promised myself I would not quit doing this blog so here I am back at it.  I certainly have every reason to be busy but certainly one of the reasons for not posting in a while is that I finally broke down and bought myself an iPad.  There are plenty of reviews on the iPad so I’m not going to go into my own review of it.  All I can tell you is that I carry my iPad wherever I go now and I’m never bored.  One of the things I love doing now is just going to a coffee shop to read my Twitter stream on my iPad.  When I first got it I went through a trial and error as to which Twitter app was the best for the iPad.  I really couldn’t find a good blog or website on Twitter iPad apps so I will run down the ones which I think are worth downloading.

1.  Twitterific – This is the one that I use the most right now. First off its free so it doesn’t get any better than that. It has a great UI and so easy to use.  It also supports multiple accounts and it’s so easy to switch from one account to the next.  One of the best things I like is that the retweet function uses ” /via @username” which in my opinion just looks better than the old RT display.  The only thing I don’t like about this app is that it doesn’t seem notify me when I get a new mention or DM.

2.  Osfoora HD – This is a paid app and the price I think is good for what you get.  The display is much richer than Twitterific IMO and is faster it seems.  It also provides multiple account support and has other features that can make your Twitter experience more pronounced.  For instance you can search nearby tweets and it has the ability to save links to read later by using Instapaper or Read It Later. Unlike Twitterific, it notifies you of new mentions and DMs. It has many other features which I won’t mention but again this is what makes it worth paying for.

3.  HootSuite – This app is great for your mobile phone but doesn’t have an iPad version really. It just is basically the mobile version sized down on your iPad.  Not worth downloading until they get an HD iPad version IMO.

4.  TweetDeck – This is one app I wish the guys at Tweetdeck would really update.  Most everyone loves this desktop app but on the iPad it just is too buggy and takes too long to load.  Everytime I loaded this app and click on a link or tweet it would just automatically close.  Don’t waste your time downloading until they fix it.

5.  Twitepad One – Last but not least, this is an app I just downloaded and really am loving it.  It’s not as fancy as Osfoora HD but what I love is that it’s also a browser.  So when I’m browsing I can quickly post it to my Twitter account and my stream can be easily brought up so I can view my stream and it also supports my lists! The app automatically uses bit.ly as the shortener and also posts the title for me which is very convenient. It’s also a free app but only supports one account but you can upgrade for a price if you want multiple accounts.

Now there are other Twitter iPad apps that I haven’t listed here but I thought these are the ones worth mentioning. So you iPad users, which one do you prefer using?

Medicine: The Lost Art of Listening

I was racking my brain this week to post a new blog but so much is going on with my life, I decided to post an old blog. I wrote this when I started with my current practice of which I am still fairly new. Enjoy:

I recently joined a new practice and get plenty of new patients. Every time I see a new patient, I am always curious as to why they left their previous physician. Some simply say, “My doc retired” or “I just moved to the area” but you would be surprised (or may be not that surprised) to hear that a majority of them say “My doc just didn’t seem to listen to me!” A study done by Beckman and Frankel (1984) concluded that on the average, doctors interrupt their patients 18 seconds after the patient started to verbalize their complaint….a mere 18 seconds!! And only 23% of patients completed their opening statement! As doctors, we are very poor listeners! Now I will say that some of this is not entirely our fault. With our health care system like it is and with our reimbursements declining, we need to see as many patients as we can or else we just won’t make any money. So what does that mean? The more patients we see and the more we get them “out the door”…the more money we make. Now I know that is a harsh reality when you read this but its the cold, hard truth. I try as much as I can to listen and have the patient finish his or her opening statement but let me tell you, it’s hard! Especially when you have an elderly patient who wants to talk about the surgery she had 30 some years ago and is telling you every minute detail about it! If I spent 30min to an hour on each patient, my waiting room would be packed and I would be hours behind! So there has to be some balance. I will tell you though that patients really appreciate when I just sit there and listen to them. Even if I don’t get the diagnosis down or treat them at that visit, it means a lot to them. And really for the most part, if you listen long enough….patients will tell you what is wrong with them. Patients don’t care if a doctor went to Harvard or Johns Hopkins for their training. In my opinion, that is not what makes a good doctor. A good doctor is someone who listens and communicates to his patients because at the end of the visit, that is what a patient will remember the most.

Keeping Happiness in My Life

The other day one of the front office staff looked at me and said, “Smile doc.” I tried, but it was hard….It’s hard to feel any sort of happiness right now but I still try to keep some joy in my life. What is the difference between happiness and joy? Happiness is something you feel right here and right now. A great example is a child who gets a new toy for Christmas.  Once he opens up his present, he is happy for that one instant in time and then he moves on to the next present. In contrast, joy is something you feel that lasts much longer. It’s a feeling you get when you know that your life is full and complete and nothing can take that away from you. Right now even though my heart is breaking, I still have joy in my life. The battle right now is the here and now…being happy. So what can I do to help me be happy and stay happy? I have broken it down into 4 aspects:

Physical:  I have started exercising again. There is no doubt that exercising boosts your mood and energy. Exercising increases the happy chemicals in your body and multiple studies have shown this. Eating a well balanced diet and eating certain foods have been shown to boost mood. Specifically, foods such as oatmeal, avocados, foods that have folic acid (spinach, whole grain cereal and nuts), turkey and fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids all have been shown to increase certain chemicals such as serotonin (the happy chemical!) and dopamine. Getting enough sun which increases Vitamin D (deficiency in this important vitamin has been linked to depression) and getting enough sleep will also help with my physical well being.

Mental:  I have to keep my mind busy. When my mind wanders, I start thinking of the past and what could have been done and that’s when my mood starts to decline. A great way to keep my mind busy is this…starting up this blog. I also have kept my mind busy by reading a lot of other blogs and twitter has certainly helped me find the best blogs to read.

Social:  ”Misery loves company.” That is certainly true! If you find yourself in a depressed state, the last thing you want to do is surround yourself with other depressed people. I am trying to surround myself with people that will support me and will try to lift me up. This not only includes my family and real life friends but also my twitter friends. Only people on twitter would understand me, but there is certainly a bond between friends on twitter and social media. A special thanks and hugs go out to @onlinefantastic and @gastromom who have given me words of encouragement and lots of hugs!

Spiritual:  And last but not least, I need to keep my faith strong. It is not a coincidence that as I am going through this tough time in my life, I happen to be reading the book of Job. Job was a strong believer in God but he was put to the test to see if his faith would falter. I believe I am going through a similar test. Luke 8:11-15 talks about seeds being scattered by a farmer. The seeds are the Word of God. Some of the seeds landed on rocks and Luke 8:13 says “Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away.” I pray that I don’t fall away……

Hello world!

Today I started a new blog. I had started one at Blogger and kept up with it for a short while and then something happened…..life. You see that’s the thing about life…you can’t escape it. You can’t hide from it…you can’t run from it and even if you could, would you? One thing that is absolute in life is that there will always be change and that’s what happened to me. The picture above symbolizes my life right now. I’m on a journey. A road like the one above and the road leads to a place that neither you nor I can see. You’ll see on the road that there are areas of shadow and sunshine. My life has certainly had it’s share of shadows but it’s also had its times of sunshine which to me represents hope and happiness. The last thing you will notice is that there is only one person on the road. That’s another blog for me to go into detail about….but for right now will you join me on my journey? The following are life quotes that will end the first of my new beginning. Enjoy:

Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood. Marie Curie

Just living is not enough. One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower. Hans Christian Andersen

In the book of life, the answers aren’t in the back. Charlie Brown

Life is what happens to you. While you’re busy making other plans. John Lennon

Every man dies. Not every man really lives. Braveheart

Where there is love there is life. Ghandi

Life is like a coin. You can spend it any way you wish, but you only spend it once. Lillian Dickson

And finally my favorite:

There is only one happiness in this life, to love and be loved. George Sand