JohnPlaxco.com

Emergency Medicine? Sure, why not?

john@johnplaxco.com — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 09:02:01 EST

I'm not participating in national novel-writing month this year, but I do enjoy writing, so I figured I'd settle for writing a little about why I chose to switch from a career in computer programing to emergency medical service.

When I was little, as my mother can attest, I fell down. A lot. It seemed like we would have to go clothes shopping once a month because I would wear out the knees of my jeans, and she had a huge stock of square bandages for when the pants didn't provide enough protection against scrapes. Learning about how to patch myself up took away some of the sting of the injuries. I also got the usual childhood illnesses and spent many a late night in a waiting room, so I was pretty used to dealing with doctors and nurses.

As I got older, I loved to read. I began reading through my father's old Boy Scout manuals and found the first aid chapters fascinating. I would read through them, digesting the words and diagrams, imagining scenarios when I might need to perform some of the skills while on a hike or camping trip. From there I began reading field medicine guides for the Army and books from the Red Cross. I took a CPR class and learned a little about being a lifeguard.

I continued to study field medicine informally on my own off and on as a hobby, but chose mostly to focus on my computer studies. In my last year of college getting my CS degree at Georgia Tech, I decided that I wanted to join the Marine Corps, and as part of my preparation for Office Candidate School I once again dove into that subject. The Corps didn't work out, but I continued my firearms training and figured I knew enough to control bleeding if someone got shot until the ambulance arrived.

I moved to California and back, and after a year or so the company I was working for went under, and I found myself with some time on my hands. I had written code to make international phone calls cheaper for people. Some of my code runs in car fuel injectors, some in microwave ovens, some in medical equipment. Some of it runs on Google's web servers. Thousands of my programs have been downloaded and used on iPhones by people around the world. I've built websites and servers and all kinds of computery things, touching millions of people in a tiny way. I thought, hey, I've done a lot of stuff with computers, I wonder if I'd be as good at something else?

I went on a mission trip to the Dominican Republic, and while we were there two of the kids sustained injuries, and I was on the front lines treating them with the knowledge I'd built up over the years. I loved the adrenaline, the feeling of helping someone in particular in a big way, rather than many people in a small one. I loved the connection.

When I got back, I found an EMT program and signed up. Since then, I've learned a huge amount about myself, the human body and how to fix people when they break. I'm certified in CPR by the American Heart Association, I'm making the highest grades in my class, and I'm loving every minute of it. I've been to class 28 days, covered 22 of the 45 chapters in our text book, and lead several study groups.

I don't know what I'm going to do with my certification when I get it in March, but until then, I'm going to try to make the most of this opportunity to learn and practice.

Hello, 2010!

john@johnplaxco.com — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 10:35:01 EST

Hello there! The year is 2010, so be sure to update your calendars. In a move sure to shock many of you, I have purchased an Xbox360. Yes, that's right, a Microsoft gaming console. Why this major departure from discounting all things Microsoft? Two reason. First, our Nintendo Wii is broken to the extent that it is unable to play Rock Band 2, and with an Xbox360 we can play again (albeit we need to get new instruments etc, but that's roughly the cost of what we can sell our existing Wii equipment for). And the second is the soon-to-be-released Final Fantasy XIII. Though only the main title theme of 13 is being composed by Nobuo Uematsu, I still think the game will be pretty ok. 12 wasn't a total letdown and it's in the same musical situation. Thankfully, Uematsu has been signed to do the entire soundtrack for 14, so I'm looking forward to that, now that I've finally finished playing 12.

I'm thinking about taking some Japanese courses at the local community college this Summer. Could be fun.

Winding Down

john@johnplaxco.com — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 16:45:59 EST

I have a pretty big deadline at work this week, but hopefully after that it will be smooth sailing until new years. I can't wait for my mini-vacation and to see my family. Living so spread out makes that a more special occasion than it would be otherwise. Downside: 7 dogs. Hopefully it won't be too bad. Still have shopping to do! More to come soon.

Novel Done

john@johnplaxco.com — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 08:51:25 EST

Well, maybe not "done" done. But I did manage to hit my goal of 50,000 words during the month of November. Now I'm sending copies off to my four editors, so there will be lots of rewriting in my future, but for now I'm just glad that it's finished.

About five minutes after I was done and had copied it to several different servers in different states, my main computer crashed. After almost a week of working on it, it's finally to the point where it's usable, but I've had to order replacement parts that aren't here yet. They'll be delivered between today and Wednesday, so I'm looking forward to having this completely fixed.

Christmas is coming up! I haven't done any shopping yet! Onoes!! Presents to come soon?

Atlanta!

john@johnplaxco.com — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 19:07:54 EDT

Ok, so I've been back here since July/August and I haven't bothered to update this thing since then. Too bad. I am back in Atlanta now, working for i2telecom as a system engineer and programmer among other things. I'm working part time to pay the bills, and it's pretty fun. I'm also still doing iPhone games and other side work, and generally slacking off. Being back in Atlanta is great, I get to hang out with family and friends, my roommates are awesome, and there's actual real weather! The novelty of 35 degree nights is starting to wear a little thin, but it was fun at first anyway! And the rain, wow. I'm sure you all saw on the news/experienced the Great Flood of 2k9. Chunks of interstate were under water or mudslide. It was pretty incredible.

I'm spinning up to participate in this year's National Novel Writing Month competition. It's not really so much competing against other people as it is the deadline. Participants have exactly 30 days, starting November 1st, to write a 50,000 word short novel. You can write outlines and notes beforehand, but you're not supposed to start writing your story until the first, and you have to average about 1400 words a day to finish on time. My novel is titled Drexler One and is a Sci-Fi book set in the future, sort of. I'll be posting updates about my progress on that site as I go, hopefully more frequently than I post here. So, if you don't see an update here, head over to the novel blog!

If Horses Had Wings

john@johnplaxco.com — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 12:57:36 EDT

We'd all be eating steak. At least that's how the quote goes. Anyway, my time in sunny Sausalito is coming to an end. Friends from Atlanta are going to be helping me make the drive across country, with a brief stop in Las Vegas on the way, with a possible additional stop at the Hoover Dam, since we'll be nearby.

My time in California has been very educational in many ways. I got to learn about what's involved in making console games with my work on the Sony Home project for the Playstation 3. I've gotten to learn what's involved in writing games and apps for the iPhone, and started a small company with my partner Zack to do just that. I've also gotten to practice making friends and dealing with them moving away, and how to work with people effectively over the Internet. I've made several good friendships (an increadible feat in such a short time, at least for me), and I think they're strong enough to survive this transition. I've also learned that ignorance leads to oppression and exploitation by those with power, at least to some extent. I very much disagree with how this state handles its gun control laws, environmental laws, and its governmental cash flow. It's been very enlightening to watch how a different state handles the issues involved in running their government and policing its citizens. There is a definite big brother atmosphere out here. Either that or I'm paranoid.

So what will I be doing when I get back to Atlanta? In the short term, I'll be trying to find a house to rent with a roommate or three (rent for my 500 square foot apartment here is about as much as my mortgage payment was in Atlanta), and continuing with my iPhone business plus any side work that comes up. At the moment I don't have a definite plan to run out and get a 9-to-5 job doing web programming or anything like that. Being my own boss is a very liberating experience, and I'd like to stick with it if I can convince myself it's economically viable. The company that I came out here to work for has less than 60 days of operating capital left, so I would have been moving home pretty soon regardless of other circumstances that are prompting it now.

And finally, in closing and conclusion, I should be pulling into my parents' house in Roswell on the evening of the 22nd of May, making the following morning (Saturday of Labor Day weekend) a wonderful opportunity to invite you all over to help me unload the truck into my parents' basement and do some grilling! Details coming soon.