Retired Pharmacists Get No Respect

Did you ever notice that no one ever speaks on behalf of the retired pharmacists?

Just like old soldiers, old pharmacists don't die - they just fade away. Decades of helping people live healthier lives, and no one remembers their efforts. It's almost like they never existed.

But these pharmacists aren't dead. Although they're retired, and may view younger pharmacists as their kryptonite, they still have what it takes to contribute back to their community.

So, at this year's national AARPh convention, a group of young and confident pharmacists decided to recognize those older pharmacists' contributions, and show a little appreciation to their mentors.

Mesa, Arizona Police Use Cutting-edge Technology

Although I often think that the increasing use of technology empowers corporations and Big Brother to abuse their powers, here's one instance that it may accomplish just the opposite.

Fifty Mesa police officers are piloting a year-long program that has them wearing camera headsets made by Scottsdale-based company Taser International. Cronkite News reporter John Genovese shows how the cameras document the officers' every move and keep their supervisors in the loop.


Mesa Police Cameras from Cronkite News on Vimeo.

Eliminating Human Beings From The Hiring Process

There's a reason why corporations have worked so hard to put themselves in the driver's seat over the past decade. With a tough economy and nearly everyone on the internet, one job opening promoted online can receive thousands of applications. Now they can make people jump through all kinds of unnecessary hoops in order to find a job.

So with competition fierce and many firms now using software rather than human beings to hire, Paul Solman explores whether it is worth it to apply online or if there are better strategies to get employed.


Source: PBS Newshour: Making Sen$e

The Sound Healer

Whatever happened to those wacky hippies that we knew from the 1960s? Nothing much. They just grew older, and became a little bit more peculiar particular.


The City Exposed: The Sound Healer from San Francisco Chronicle on Vimeo.

The Dark Side Of Hating Robotics

If you think people are having difficulty dealing with increasing crime due to high unemployment levels with humans, just imagine how they'll react when the robots hit hard times?

But, I'm sure someone will probably devise a technological advancement to fix that problem too.


No Robots from YungHan Chang on Vimeo.

Secondhand Smoke Courtesy

I always wondered why my father never went outside when he decided to light one up. Perhaps I should have asked him. Now I think I have a better understanding of his behavior.


Coalition for Non-Smoking "Go Together" from AnneKatherine (Kat) Friis on Vimeo.

Don't Let Your Job Defeat You

In pharmacy, it's only as you become older and more experienced when you realize that it's a serious chore dealing with the daily hatred and contempt you encounter in your job.

What makes it difficult to deal with is that this hate and contempt comes from multiple sources - customers, patients, supervisors, peers, and even your own colleagues. You get it from both ends, and it's constant, and it's inescapable. All that hate is destructive, and even worse.. it's contagious.

I cannot tell you how many angry and hateful pharmacists I've worked with throughout the years who continue to work even though they hate their job. And believe me, I've seen this unnecessary hate take it's toll on many older pharmacists approaching retirement age.

If you're a young pharmacist, ask yourself how many pharmacists have you met who were on psyche meds, BP meds, or cardiac meds while only in their forties? I've even worked with one pharmacist who dropped dead from a heart attack at work, on the exact day he was due to retire. So sad.

It seems to me that the quest for more money is the leading cause for all of these problems. Many pharmacists don't realize that they're caught up in the competition to impress each other and other people who really don't care about them. They have to have a bigger house, in a more desirable neighborhood, a more expensive car, better clothing, and a bigger bank account than their peers and colleagues. The more "stuff" they have, the more important they feel.

Believe me, the quest for more "stuff" isn't the answer.

Don't let anybody take your love away from you. Live below your means, pay off any debt as quickly as you can, save as much money as you can, invest it wisely, and become empowered to make your own decisions, and to live life on your own terms.

But, just don't take my word for it. Listen to the voice of experience.

The Conservative's Guide To Safe Sex

Do you suffer from Sexually Liberated Uterine Tendencies? Now there's a treatment that can help.

How The Cartel Brews Coffee

A Chemex coffee brewing guide for the discerning pharmacist coffee drinkers.


A CHEMEX BREW GUIDE from Cartel Coffee Lab on Vimeo | Hat tip: Phoenix Taco.

Just Watching The Wheels

It seems as though other pharmacists just can't understand how I could quit the profession and enjoy sitting at home watching the wheels go 'round and 'round. Truthfully, I'm happy not working, not being rushed all of the time, not getting it from both ends, and being able to view things independently.

Who Is An Honest Man?

David Byrne of course, the modern day Diogenes. Only an honest man would drive a Matador.