Not a real blogger?

When I first started this blog up, I was flattered that Shel Israel picked up on it. He was excited to find a real Pharma blogger. He actually wanted to interview me for some project or other he was working on, but his interest fizzled as he saw how my blog developed. It wasn’t the content (at least I hope it wasn’t), rather it seemed that he had hoped that it would be a real-time interaction, that I would post often and with reckless abandon, that I would name names, and put it all out there.

Shel (if you’re reading this and I’m sure you are since I linked to you), let me remind you:  I work in PHARMA….And to add to that, I work in one of the most sensative areas of any Pharma company, Quality Assurance – I handle our dirty laundry. Maybe that’s why you found my blog so intriguing at first, you thought I was going to put it out there anyway. Maybe I’m overstating your disappointment. You’re a busy guy (I know, I follow you on Twitter), but I think I’m at least 80% right on this.

Enough picking on Shel. He’s not alone in his disappointment. Pharma, being subject to what is arguably the most demanding body of regulation of any industry, will continue to frustrate the Web 2.0/interactive social media evangelism/technologist/Twitterite set. Pharma is conservative. Pharma is a late adopter of new technologies and paradigms.

Pharma is very, very gun-shy about being served by a regulatory body, fined, demonized, sued, condemned by congress, or otherwise censured. I have former colleagues who have had to testify before congress about questionable clinical data…not a fun time and I’d like to avoid the experience (at least in that context)

So in conclusion, maybe I’m not a real blogger. Maybe I’m a self-edited, self-published, web columnist who publishes on a very sporadic schedule…that’s a mouth full. I guess I’ll just call myself a pseudo-blogger. And I’m ok with that…at least for now.

~TJK

NYC Half-Marathon

I was asked to post this advert for the NYC Half-Marathon to benefit the Freshair Children’s Charity. This seems like a worthwhile thing to do.

The Fresh Air Fund is still looking for runners and sponsors to join our Fresh Air Fund-Racers team for the NYC Half-Marathon on August 16th. It would be a huge help if you could post a mention of this exciting news on T.J. Kuhn’s GxP Zone. This is a great way to participate in NYC’s premier summer road race while helping Fresh Air Fund children. Please feel free to use anything from our site here:

http://freshair.org/racers

Last summer’s NYC Half-Marathon was a huge success and the Fresh Air Fund-Racers raised more than $125,000. We are also still in need of Friendly Town hosts for next month. Host families open their hearts and home to a NYC child who would not otherwise have the opportunity to escape the hot, crowded city streets. Please let me know if you are able to post or have any questions, and if you could send me the link that would be fantastic.

Thank you so much,

Sara

–
Sara Wilson,
The Fresh Air Fund
www.freshair.org

~TJK

Inadequate testing?

And this dear readers, is why we test our software….

Crash-alert system for Metro trains continues to fail
By: KYTJA WEIR
Examiner Staff Writer
July 15, 2009

From left: D.C. Councilman Jim Graham, Metro General Manager John Catoe, NTSB board member Deborah Hersman, Tri-State Oversight Committee Chairman Eric Madison and Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff are sworn in before a House panel. (Examiner)
Metro’s alert system continues to fail periodically in the area of track where one Metro train crashed into another last month, killing nine and injuring more than 70 people.
A component of the automatic train alerting system that may have failed to prevent one train from knowing another was stopped ahead on the track continues to flicker intermittently in that same spot even when new equipment is used, National Transportation Safety Board member Debbie Hersman testified Tuesday. The device removed just five days before the crash as part of routine maintenance doesn’t fix the problem, either.
The revelations were part of a three-and-half hour congressional oversight hearing in which officials testified about the deadly June 22 crash and the transit system’s overall funding shortages and lack of regulation.
The continuing problem at the crash site is why Red Line riders are still experiencing delays along the line more than three weeks after the crash.
[snip]
kweir@washingtonexaminer.com

Inexplicable failures of software happen.

~TJK