Hey - that's my cat sitter on the UC Davis front page

Way to go Amanda Plunkett - featured on the UC Davis front page and in the UC Davis Magazine.

Some pics of the new treefall

More fun at Long's

OK. Just had to post something because this is getting comical. I went in to Long's in E. Davis the other day to pick up some prescription refills. I had requested the refills online through the Long's web site and received an email saying they were reads. When I got in to the store, they told me that the refills were not ready. This is funny because this was about the 15th or so time in a row that my prescriptions were not ready when I was told they would be. One time it was problems with the online system. Another time it was that they needed a new prescription from my Doctor. Sure prescriptions expire and that is not really Long's fault. But apparently, when my prescriptions expire they decide to send faxes to a doctor I used to have in Maryland, even though I moved over two years ago. I came in like four times once over two weeks and every time they person at the counter would say "We faxed a request to Dr. So and So' and I would say "That person has not been my doctor for years. My new doctor is Dr. So and So in Davis." and they would sit there and click away at the keyboard supposedly fixing things and then they would say "OK, we will send it to the new doctor" And then I would come back and the person would say "We faxed your doctor in Maryland but he has not responded". This happened over and over and over. I began to view it as a game. How many times could I come to the pharmacy and could they get something wrong? The good things was, the people at the Long's pharmacy were very very nice. The bad thing was, something always seemed to go wrong. For a while I tried to use their automated prescription refill system, but that always went wrong too. So instead now, since I live near Long's and go to the Nugget all the time, I view my trips to the Long's Pharmacy as kind of an experiment in how many different ways my prescriptions can get screwed up.

New Gardens and Art in the Davis Arboretum

Just a quick posting here. Went for a walk yesterday in the Davis arboretum and saw some nice new artwork and a new garden over near the end of the path. Here are some pictures.

Another Good Kid's (and Adults) Activity in Davis - Take the Train to the Train Museum

I have been meaning to try this out for ages. I take the Capitol Corridor train West all the time from Davis to Berkeley and other parts of the Bay Area. But I had never taken it East to Sacramento. It looked from the schedule that it was just 15 minutes or so to Sac and that the Sac station was right near the train museum, which my daughter (2 yrs old) loves (she loves trains trains trains and trains).

So we did it. We went to the Davis station. And took the train to Sacramento. The train ride was great - only about 20 minutes long and my daughter got to see all sorts of cool things (she specially liked seeing the river and going over the Yolo Basin area). And then we were in Sac. And after not being sure where to go, we walked around a corner and right there was the train museum. Which we went into for an hour or so and then headed back to catch the train back to Davis. It was about a 2-2.5 hour outing (not sure exactly when we got back) and was definitely something different for my daughter to do.

Great kids activity in Davis - the U. C. Davis Raptor Center

We (me, my wife, my 2 yr old and our 4 month old) went for a visit a few weekends ago to the U. C. Davis raptor center. Our 2 yr old daughter went crazy, never wanting to leave and wanting to see all the birds over and over. The 4 month old loved the tranquil setting (he did not like the screeching hawks, but they have a nice little picnic bench area a bit away from the birds). The Center has a bunch of cages outside with all sorts of raptors, including eagles, hawks, harriers and owls. The also have a litte museum with displays. It is in a really nice setting along the flowing part of Putah Creek south of Davis and is definitely worth a visit.

Here are some pictures

U. C. Davis Medical Group - their time is MUCH more important than yours

Well, once again I find myself disappointed with the U. C. Davis Medical Group. We have multiple options for medical groups to join since I am a U. C. Davis employee. Originally, I joined the U. C. Davis group but have since left due to incredibly poor treatment by their system (surprising, given that I am a Professor in the U. C. Davis Medical School, but nevermind that for now).

Now today was the last straw in a long series of annoyances so I am going public with it. My wife had a Dr's appointment with Steve Oliver of the U. C. Davis group here in Davis. Her appointment was at 10 AM. They even called a few nights ago to remind us. So - I stayed at home with our 2 year old and our 4 month old. My wife rushed off, stressed about ditching the 4 month old since he had not eaten at the regular time and she was worried about him getting too hungry while she was gone (we avoid taking kids to Drs offices whenever possible).

So she showed up for her appointment a little early. And then she waited and waited. Finally she went up to the counter and asked what was going on. The receptionist flippantly told her that her appointment was actually at 10:30 but that they tell people it is earlier than it really is because many people are late. In other words, they lie to the patients. I am simply stunned by this. Yes people are late for things. So develop some system to punish the late ones or reward the early ones. But lying to your patients is pathetic. I am once again embarassed to be associated with this system, even if peripherally. So - we are now going to switch to the Sutter group - which I have had great experiences with.