Two Year Anniversary

Having found myself short on sleep and time over the last few weeks, I forgot to write a note here about the two year anniversary of my blog. Basically, I started this whole thing in July 2007 as a travel blog and somehow continued with it through my prospectus and dissertation writing. I'm really happy with how the blog has turned out and am grateful for your thoughtful comments.

I should point out that I fully intend to continue blogging at my usual pace once I achieve an optimal work-sleep-eat equilibrium here in med school! In the meantime, please bear with me and continue to check this space from time to time for new content.

Thank you again for your readership and support. It's been a fun two years and I look forward to more.

Back to the Clinic

I will be starting my third year clinical rotations tomorrow. I'm definitely excited for this: I've been away from medical school for a long time and I look forward to getting back into things and, this time, actually interacting with patients and providers.

Starting third year has a few implications for my blog. First, on difficult rotations I would expect my frequency of posting and length per post to decline. I will try my best not to let this happen, using the blog as my econ outlet especially during months where any substantial research is not realistic to undertake. Second, I will probably include more observations about American health care, especially as it relates to my hospital experiences, than I have in the past. This is a change I welcome: part of what will make my third year more interesting than it would have been pre-PhD is that I now see things with a different set of eyes. I also would like to learn more about American health care, and blogging more about these issues is one step towards that end.

In any case, I look forward to updating this space in the coming months and offering new perspectives and comments. I also look forward to your continued readerships and comments.

Hiatus

Hi everyone,

I will be taking a break from blogging for at least a month. I'm really grateful to those of you who visit this space regularly: I've learned a great deal from your comments.

I hope to resume blogging by the end of the year. If for some reason you miss my writing, you can check out my working academic papers here.

Thanks for reading, and see you soon.

Atheen

Contest Winners

Hi all. This summer's 'Dar he Blogs winners are Christi H and James Hudspeth, for the professional eating and p-value contests, respectively. I thought Christi's answer really hit it on all cylinders as far as pointing out the physical and mental strength required to succeed in competitive eating. James ran unopposed in his contest. While I didn't quite get the answer I wanted, he did alert me to "The Lady Tasting Tea," which is turning out to be a great book (anyone interested in a breezy account of how statistics has contributed to the practice of science in the 20th century must absolutely read this book!).

Christi and James: Congrats, and get in touch with me about your prize, which will be a popular economics book of your choice.

Contest Reminder!

You have until Saturday (the 19th) morning to submit your entries for the "Competitive Eating" and "P-value" contests. The prizes are excellent and are outlined in the second link (and see here for proof that I actually deliver on the prizes).

Bring it.

The One Year Mark

Today marks the 1 year anniversary of 'Dar he blogs. I just wanted to thank everyone for reading and for posting such thoughtful comments. This whole outfit started as a travel blog, but now has taken on a life of its' own. I definitely plan on continuing the blog for at least another year.

Anyhow, I've had a lot of fun doing this, and I hope you've enjoyed the blog, too. Thanks again for reading.

The 'Dar he Blogs! Guide to Blogging

According to my sister, the typical 'Dar he Blogs post follows this formula:

1. Tell some personal story, usually from childhood.
2. Link (1) with an economics paper or theory (can be a stretch).
3. Talk about a few more papers.
4. Conclude abruptly or return to the original story.

Now you, too, can write for 'Dar he Blogs. To quote our middle school band conductor, Mr. Rinaldi: "It's just that easy."

More seriously, I appreciate the comments and support you've provided for this space. I ran out of blogging steam around the turn of the year, but after a solid end to January I'm back and ready to share my thoughts whether you like it or not. Also, I'm trying to make some improvements in the blog. If you have any thoughts on what you'd like to see, please let me know.