March 28th, 2006

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Photography
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Four Things That Amused Me Slightly

I was just going through my phone, checking out photos I’d taken with my crappy little phone camera. These are four such photos. The subject of each amused me slightly. Only slightly, but there you go.

In Chapters (ostensibly a bookstore), I spotted this clever packaging. They’re Slurpee cups filled with yarn, with knitting needles stuck in them like straws. Being a Slurpee addict, I had to stop and look.

Next we’ve got another curiosity from Chapters. It’s Tic Tac Toe from Front Porch Classics. Yes, I said Tic Tac Toe. Apparently a piece of paper and two pencils won’t cut it on the front porch, we’ve got to have little die-cast metal planes and cars.

We had a client who did some work with the big American ice cream chain Cold Stone Creamery. The shtick is that they take the ice cream, add (totally gross) ‘mix-ins’ on a big slab, and then slap it into an ice cream cone. I laughed when I saw Marble Slab Creamery in Victoria, because it seemed like such a blatant rip-off.

When I had flu-like symptoms earlier this month, I visited a medical clinic. There was a computer in the exam room, and the doctor entered all of his notes on the fly. He then printed out an entirely-legible prescription for me. We chatted briefly about the system, and he said that about 20% of doctor’s offices in BC were using something similar. It’s about time, methinks.

Comments: 9 Responses so far

Lisa
March 28th, 2006
9:55 am

There’s a slabby ice cream shop in Seattle’s U-district too…cant remember the name. But it was really good.

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Eh... not so much
March 28th, 2006
10:36 am

Here in the US, the office where my husband went for his physical last year was very teched up too. Same thing, they could type up their prescriptions on their tablet PC’s and print them out. All their records are computerized too. Really sweet. I’m moving my records there as soon as I can.

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Matt
March 28th, 2006
10:47 am

Marble Slab a rip-off? No. At least in my experience, Marble Slab locations are far more numerous than Cold Stone. Also, Marble Slab was founded in Houston in 1983, but Cold Stone didn’t come along until 1988.

That’s not to say I begrudge Cold Stone anything. I consider them roughly synonyms of each other in the ice cream world.

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Darren
March 28th, 2006
10:51 am

I stand corrected–I had my knock-offs reversed. That’s funny, because I think Cold Stone Creamery is a much better name. Both franchises are pretty new, I think, to Western Canada.

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Chris
March 28th, 2006
11:00 am

Looks like ColdStone (founded 1988) is a ripoff of MarbleSlab (founded 1983).

http://www.marbleslab.com/story.htm
http://www.coldstonecreamery.com/secondary/history1.asp

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donna
March 28th, 2006
11:26 am

Hey, that’s my doctors office. :)

You may remember, I used to live in the same tower their office is in. So I was pleased to find that in the same month I moved in, their offices opened. Handy. I no longer live in Yaletown (hell, I don’t even live downtown anymore *sob*) but I still go back for Dr Linda, because she rocks my socks.

And prescriptions that I can read? A bonus. I’m also quite fond of the fact that each prescription lists medications I’m already on, plus any I’ve had a bad interaction with previously.

Granted, I’m not sure why the pharmacist refilling my T3’s needs to know I also have an IUD, but better to be safe than sorry. :)

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Devon
March 28th, 2006
4:31 pm

Hey, that’s my doctor’s office, too. In fact, I think you may have actually seen my doctor himself, since that’s the office I always use.

I third everything that you and Donna said about how wonderful the prescriptions/lab reqs/etc. are at that office. Computers are good. :)

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Andy
March 28th, 2006
7:03 pm

I’m glad I’m not the only one who thinks that those “creamery” places sell oversweetened ice cream with unnatural add-ins and no flavor. Plus their portions are way too big and way too expensive. My recommendation for ice cream: Lappert’s, if you can get it (http://lapperts.com/locations.shtml and all over Kauai).

PS I like the photo on the comment preview page, how appropriate.
The French national health insurance (they have nationalized hospitals but private doctors/practitioners) was putting in place computerized everything 5 years ago, I don’t know how far they are now. They started by issuing a smart card to every insuree, first to hold eligibility data, then patient history. All the doctors were being persuaded to computerize with the promise of immediate insurance payments. I’m not sure about the software and if it covered writing prescriptions, but it must’ve because they were also notoriously illegible. Anyways, that has to be the best application of a smart card.

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Lush
June 19th, 2007
12:58 pm

Cold Stone ripped off Marble Slab. I love Marble Slab. I will admit it melts pretty quick and the portions are ridiculous. But man when you need a cookies and cream fixing. That is the place. I think one just opened up in Vancouver too!

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