October 24, 2017
- Focus:
- Science, Policy, Practice, Need
← Click Here to Register
Hot Off the Press:
What's New in
Plotkin's Vaccines
7th edition
Starring the Authors:
Walter A. Orenstein
Paul A. Offit
Kathryn M. Edwards
- Clubhouse Location:
- WHSCAB Plaza & Auditorium
- Agenda:
- 6:00pm — wine, cheese, networking
6:30pm — meeting convenes
7:45pm — casual buffet dinner, more networking
Dear Vacciners,
If calendars had patron saints, those saints would almost certainly be Loki, Kokopelli, Br'er Rabbit, and Coyote because calendars absolutely REJOICE in playing tricks on people.
Consider these examples:
By decree of Julius Caesar, the year 46 BC was 445 days long. Seriously. Not surprisingly, 46 BC has gone down in history as "the year of confusion." I imagine that each time that year a Roman citizen innocently asked someone what the date was the answer was something along the lines of "I HAVE NO IDEA, STOP ASKING ME THAT!!"
Then, during the 18th century, the Gregorian calendar threw in a few zingers while shoving the old fashioned Julian calendar out of the door. Specifically,
- 1750 started out with a do-over:
December 31, 1750 was followed by January 1, 1750 - Then three months later ...
March 24, 1750 was followed by March 25, 1751 - And then 18 months after that ...
September 2, 1752 was followed by September 14, 1752
Don't you think that there must have been at least ONE set of twins who were born during the 1752 date straddle? I.e. one twin was born close to midnight on September 2nd and the other, arriving only 15 minutes later, went through life with a September 14th birthday? If this didn't happen, it should have.
For the next few hundred years the calendar mostly behaved itself.
Until now.
You know as well as I do that the VDC is held on the first Wednesday of the month but this year, for the first time in history, the first Wednesday in October AND the first Wednesday in November are both falling on the 4th TUESDAY in OCTOBER (10/24).
It's a miracle!
Or the work of Loki, Kokopelli, Br'er Rabbit, and Coyote.
Of course it is possible that there are other reasons* we are having a combined October/November meeting which is occurring in the middle of the month on a Tuesday instead of on a first Wednesday, but I think it's mostly just the calendar acting up.
Just like the chronological version of tectonic plates, every so often temporal strain has to be relieved and a calendarquake happens. This is just one of those times. Try to roll with it.
During the October 24 meeting we will hear a presentation from the authors of the 7th edition of "Plotkin's Vaccines," aka the resource which provides definitive GPS services for anyone needing to navigate their way through a complex 21st century vaccine landscape.
In other words, our presenters will be the "They" you are talking about whenever you say to someone: "You know, they say [insert accurate vaccine statement here]...."
Cool beans, eh?
Hope to see you and your guests for dinner at the Club on Tuesday, October 24th,
-Kimbi Hagen
VDC Director/Goddess
*There are other theoretically possible reasons for the reschedule:
- I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY want to attend this VDC meeting (as, no doubt, you do too) but, on the day that the October meeting would normally have been held (10/4) I'm scheduled for surgery to remove any bits of cancer the chemo may have left behind, and
- Our speakers for the November 1st meeting are only available the week before hand, but
- It's really mostly the calendar acting up.
Hope to see you and your guests for dinner and a movie at the Club on Tuesday, October 24th,
-Kimbi Hagen
VDC Director/Goddess