Category Archives: OrgBio

Guts, Gory and the Organization

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Giulia Enders has written a delightful book on our Guts.  If the title was not sufficient the sub-title describes it all: Gut: The Inside Story of Our Bodys Most Underrated Organ.

Gut is a good read for anyone who digests food (which pretty much covers everyone living) and is a potential lesson for organizations that there is more complexity in a system then we can ever imagine.

Have Some Guts, Read Gut

Gut is a pretty easy read.  Enders presents the physiology of the Gut in a very accessible manner and explains the key functions of the major organs (e.g. stomach, small/large intestines, liver, etc.).  Originally published in German, the English translation has great cheek and humour.  In fact, Gut would make an excellent text-book for junior or senior high school biology given its easy accessibility.

As a microbiologist, Enders delves into the other organ of our body, the microbiota of the gut.  Based on current research, Enders makes the case that the dividing line between where our cells start and bacteria and other germs end is not as clear cut as we may think. For example:

  • Children born via Caesarean section are not endowed with the bugs found within their mothers’ birth canal.  As a result they must source their bugs from the environment and these may not be the most beneficial.  These children take months or years to develop a healthy gut microbiota.  They are also at a risk of developing asthma or allergies.
  • Breast feeding has a similar impact on allergies and the like.  Mothers milk not only feeds the baby but also contains nutrients galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS) to feed the child’s gut.
  • The gut’s bacteria helps to train our immune system to not only recognize threats but to also not over-react to them.  As a result, this reduces allergies, asthma and potentially juvenile diabetes.
  • We periodically wipe out all or portions of our microbiota through the use of antibiotics, poor diet and stress.  When the good bugs depart their spots can be replaced by the less than desirable who then can be difficult to displace.
  • The appendix is not a slacker who does not realize its time has passed.  Current research indicates that the appendix is a store house of good bacteria that can repopulate the gut if the intestines have been flushed due to diarrhea.

Organization’s Need Guts

Ender has not only written a very accessible book that discusses such delicate matters as what our poop should look like, she has reminded us that perceptions of systems are based on best available information at a point in time.  For the gut, bacteria are necessary to not only break down food but to also stress the immune system so it does not over or under react.  Structures such as appendices may appear useless but turn out to be vital to our long term health.

The gut can be used as an analog for organizations.  Poop jokes aside, a healthy organization is more complex and mysterious then it first appears.  While we may be inclined to oversimplify them, organizations have interactions and systems that may not be immediately apparent.

Elevators are Like Guts – They Mix and Separate

Here is one small example: riding elevators.  In my building a new system has replaced the traditional ‘up’ button with destination buttons.  Rather then jumping on the first elevator going up, you select your floor and proceed to that lift going exactly to that floor plus perhaps a few floors above and below yours.

This system has dramatically improved the speed by which people are carried to their floors – and it has cut the accidental and random interactions of people.  Previously who you got on with was chance.  As a result, there was an opportunity to interact with a variety of people who you may only see intermittently.  Now the elevator ride is much more homogenous – you ride with people from one floor above or below.

More efficient, yes – beneficial to the organization – not necessarily.  In as much as good bacteria trains our immune system and a diverse flora is better for us, random interactions and non-sterile organizational mixing is also of value.  Good organizations need slight agitation, a diverse culture and some randomness to be effective and healthy – just like a good gut.  In addition, organizations should recognize that individuals who may not seem to be part of a main structures may in fact have a disproportionate impact on the health of the culture.  Introducing the occasional disruptive employees/contractors, the mail room clerk who is a clearing house of information across many floors or a cafeteria that promotes chance encounters vertically and horizontally across the organization.

Embrace your Internal and Organizational Micro-biota

The gut is more complex than we ever imagined and has a stronger influence well beyond converting food to energy and nutrition.  In the same way, organizations are more complex then we can imagine and elements we may think of being without use can turn out to be instrumental to its health.  Enjoy Enders’ gut and good luck with your biotas – both the micro and organizational varieties.

Innovation Bingo

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On September 21, 2016, the Edmonton FMI Chapter hosted the following session (detailed description found below in the ‘blog-annex’: Fostering Innovation in the Public Service When Money is Tight.  Part of the conference was a game entitled ‘Innovation Bingo’.  The objectives of the game were as follows:

  1. Help participants assimilate knowledge about innovation.
  2. Assist in networking with other participants, particularly those outside of ones normal circle of associates.
  3. Win some prizes.

How the Game was Played

  • As part of the pre-conference notes and as a physical hand out, each participant was given a bingo card (see the last two pages of the pre-conference notes: FMI-2016-09-21-Innovation-PreNotes or download Innovation Bingo.
  • Instructions were provided on the card, informally at each table by event leader and then en masse at the start of the session.
  • The card was alluded to a few times by the moderator and during the conference.
  • The card had two sides:
    • Personal Information: name, birth month, interests, and needs.
    • Bingo card proper.
  • At the end, prizes were distributed but only if the individual was willing to share the results of their card.

Assessment of the Game

The following conclusions were drawn from the results of the game:

  1. The game itself provided a reasonable ice breaker at table.
  2. Individuals did not actively use the card outside of their table and there was limited interaction or discussion with the card.
  3. The room itself however appeared to be well engaged and networked suggesting that the card and game provide some social license that eased initial conversations.

Conclusions and Future Use of Innovation Bingo

  • An en masse ice breaker game can work at the table level.
  • Room level coordination requires greater coordination which would detract from the program.
  • Conclusion: ‘Bingo’ games of varying forms can be used in other FMI events but should be downplayed and use for fun things such as prize distribution.

Blog Annex – FMI Event Description:

Fostering Innovation in the Public Service When Money is Tight. 

Public servants are expected to be innovative while working in a risk averse environment. This inherent conundrum is compounded during times of fiscal restraint when ideas are solicited but resources to execute few. This session will investigate innovation in the public services from a number of facets.

What is innovation, how do you get it, how do you keep it and when should you ignore it? Next, how to propose, implement and sustain an innovative idea or culture in an environment that is less than ideal. Finally, thoughts and strategies of making the case for innovation during times of fiscal restraint; after all, never let a good crisis go to waste. 

Six PoC Questions for Success

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Proofs of Concept (PoC) are great.  They allow one to test a small component and then apply success (or failure) to future endeavours.  Certainly the all time champion of the PoC are the Myth busters.  Adam and Jamie would start each myth with a small-scale test before going big (and with the obligatory BIG explosion).

To Hack or to Formalize a PoC

PoCs come in many sizes.  At one end is the developer who experiments and comes up with a workaround or a more elegant way to achieve a result (aka a good ‘hack’).  On the other end is an organization that incrementally works toward a final objective.  For example sending a series of Apollo missions into space with each one adding on to the knowledge and experience of its successor.  This blog considers more than a midnight pizza fueled hack-a-thon but much less than sending humans into the unknown.

Buzz Aldrin Apollo 11 - the beneficiary of a series of Proof of Concepts.

Buzz Aldrin Apollo 11 – the beneficiary of a series of Proof of Concepts.

The Scientific Process (sort of) to the Rescue

One of human’s greatest achievements was the development of the Scientific Method which involves (courtesy of dictionary.com):

noun; 1. a method of research in which a problem is identified, relevant data are gathered, a hypothesis is formulated from these data, and the hypothesis is empirically tested.

The following Six PoC Questions for Success is loosely based on the above method.  The intent is to help an organization understand why a PoC is a good idea and the result.  At the same time, this is ‘just-enough’ formalization.  After all, it is important to let the brilliant folks develop ‘elegant-hacks‘ without too much paper work.

1. What was the Business problem being addressed?

Why was a PoC identified?  Generally this is to address a specific business problem.  Pure research is okay as an objective for a PoC.  That is developing technologies or techniques with no immediate application but future potential value for an organization.

2. How is the problem currently being solved?

The answer to this question is that it is often not solved, done through intuition or completed via a manual/semi-automated process. This question helps the organization understand what to do the with the results of a PoC.  If the manual process is only slightly more costly then a fully automated variety, why bother with the complexities of automation?

3. The Question

In effect this is the hypothesis portion of the scientific method.  Ideally this question should be a simple Yes/No.  If the nature of the question changes through the PoC process, that is okay – but the evolution of the question should be included as part of the final report.  Thus we may have started asking question X but we ended up answering question Y.  The reason is that X was too big/small/wrong and Y was answerable.

Defining the question is important so your PoC team does lose its way and they have a touchstone to come back to. A bit of formalization around how they can change, extend, shrink or otherwise amend the question is important.

4. What were the results at the end of the project?

This question should have two parts, a) and b).  Part a) is the predicted result.  By including a prediction, the PoC can stay focused on the intended result.  This is not to discount secondary benefits or chance discoveries but it does help to ensure that a PoC does not become its own self-sustaining cottage industry. Consider keeping part a) secret from the PoC team if you want the benefits of the double blind effect.

Part b) is what happened, what were the results?  This should support the response to the question answered above.  Ideally the result is Yes or No but it might be Maybe.  Of course everyone wants a momentous discovery every time.  However failure should be seen as a positive result – such a result may have saved an organizations considerable time, talent and treasure.

5. What are the next steps?

This should be a very practical listing of how to use these results.  Examples of next steps may include refining a subsequent PoC, engaging in a larger scale test or moving the resulting solution to production.

6. What is the Future Vision, What is Possible?

Question five focuses on the practical and immediate application of the PoC results.  Question six let’s the team blue sky a bit and extrapolate findings to larger contexts.  This is part of the fun and value of the PoC – the larger application of something new.

No Explosion – Using the Six Questions

Sorry, unlike the Mythbusters, there is no end of blog explosion.  Instead, these questions are a handy reminder of the things to consider when a PoC is being suggested.   Let me know your thoughts on the six questions.  Would you add a question or take away one or more of them?

Don’t Shrink from Mental Illness

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That reminds me of the time I spent 18 months in a psychiatric hospital… … pause … … as the director of Finance.

I have used the above line and it is interesting watching people’s reaction as they anticipate the end of the sentence  For that millisecond they are evaluating me and potentially re-assessing me in their own mental model.  Of course it is also a reflection on me in that I belatedly made clear that I was not a patient.

In other words, mental illness is something that society is still trying to figure out.  While we applaud Celebrities who come out of the closet, we also cross the street to avoid the disheveled and pungent homeless man screaming at his own personal demons.

The Shrink

Jeffrey A. Lieberman, has written a good book about the history of mental illness (Shrinks: The Untold Story Of Psychiatry).  While not without its own flaws (more on this later), it does give a good overview of the evolution of the professions aligned to treat mental disorders.

As a past-President of the American Psychiatric Association and a physician practicing since the mid-1970’s, he is well placed to provide observations on the evolution of the practice.  Two common themes struck me in this book.  Firstly the quiet desperation for both those afflicted and those trying to help the mentally ill and secondly the earnest-quackery involved in those attempting to alleviate this desperation. A few examples of theories/quackery are worth pointing out:

  • Animal Magnetism: invisible energy coursing through thousands of magnetic channels in the body.
  • Orgone Theory: a hidden form of energy uniting all of nature’s elements.  Treatment include sitting in orgone accumulators.
  • Psychoanalytic theory: A therapeutic method, originated by Sigmund Freud, for treating mental disorders by investigating the interaction of conscious and unconscious elements in the patient’s mind and bringing repressed fears and conflicts into the conscious mind, using techniques such as dream interpretation and free association.

The Greatest Quack

The last also had the greatest credibility for longest time.  Psychoanalysis is part of our understanding of the human mind (e.g. the concepts of unconsciousness or the ego).  It was also the first theory that provided some hope to alleviate the quiet desperation.  As a result, Lieberman spends a good portion of the book discussing the rise and eventual fall of psychiatric theory as the preeminent treatment modality in American psychiatry.  This includes the fight for and significant changes to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; DSM-5 being the most current version.

Much of the criticism for psychoanalysis was its disinterest in empirical evidence.  Because adherent saw Freud as a modern prophet and psychoanalysis as perfect gospel, testing or even questioning the precepts of the theory were vigorously fought against, at least in the United States.  In time, some brave souls (and an anti-psychiatry movement) dethroned psychoanalysis.  As an aside, like other treatments, psychoanalysis and talk therapy does have its place – for example in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder.

The American Experience is Too Narrow

Unfortunately this is also where Lieberman could have made a ‘good book’ a great book had he spent less time on the American based politics of mental illness and more time on a global perspective.  While the DSMs were being created, other great psychiatric stories were being played out.  For example, the use of psychiatry in the former Soviet Union to muzzle dissidents, the role of mental illness in non-Anglo/euro cultures or even a larger history of mental illness and whether it is a relatively new phenomenon or not.

A more complete discussion on the alternatives to psychiatry would have been interesting as viewed from an insider’s point of view.  Although Lieberman spends sometime discussing the concerns of anti-psychiatry, in the end he primarily dismisses them in the context of current treatments.

The Hope for the Desperate

Despite these short comings, this is still a good book which sheds hope to the mentally ill because of treatments developed primarily (but not exclusively) over the past 40 years, including:

  • Pyrotherapy for advance syphilis.  Discovered by Julius Wagner-Jauregg.
  • Lobotomies which did not actually cure the mentally ill but did make them easier patients to house and manage.  Not currently used as a treatment.
  • Electroconvulsive therapy which applied a general electrical shock to the brain.  Still in use and effective for some conditions.
  • Psychopharmacology is the most common treatment currently with a myriad of drugs some developed for uses widely different from treating mental illness.
  • Talk Therapy.  Evolved out of Freudian psychotherapies, it has evolved from the therapist being an unemotional observer to the therapist being an empathetic partner in exploring issues.

The Mind versus the Brain and the Read

Psychiatry has centred around a dichotomy of the mind versus the brain as the source of mental illness.  Lieberman does a good job of merging these two extremes into current thinking that mental illness is both.  As well, Lieberman demonstrates great compassion about the plight of those afflicted and the social stigma it carries.

Overall Lieberman has done a good job of providing an American focused history of mental illness and its current state of affairs.  A book for those with interests in general and medical history as well as a general read about mental illness.

Can We Stop and Define Stop?

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This week I will be going into an operational planning meeting.  Like most of the operational planning meetings I have attended, three questions are being asked:

  1. What do we want/need to start doing
  2. What do we need to continue to do or finish and
  3. What should we STOP doing?

The first two questions are relatively easy to answer and there is a plethora of information on How, Why, When, Where and What to plan.  In this blog, I want to focus on the Stop question, specifically:

What does “Stop” Mean in the Context of Operational Planning?

How Many Stops have been Really Stopped?

In my career, I have been in dozens of planning meetings and I cannot really recall something identified as ‘should be Stopped’ that was actually stopped.  At the same time, over my career, I have stopped doing many things that I used to do with out the ‘thing’ being part of a planning meeting.  Why is it so hard to identify a process to stop and then actually stop it?

Stopping to Define A Process

A quick stop for a definition and in this case the word ‘Process’ which is one of these wonderfully loaded terms.  Fortunately the good folks at the International Standards Organization can help: (source: http://www.iso.org, ISO 9000:2015; Terms and Definitions, 3.4.1, accessed 2016-04-02):

3.4.1 process: set of interrelated or interacting activities that use inputs to deliver an intended result (Note 1 to entry: Whether the “intended result” of a process is called output (3.7.5), product (3.7.6) or service (3.7.7) depends on the context of the reference.).

Assuming that an organization wants to stop a process, the challenge of doing so is built into the definition – when you stop something, you must deal with the inputs, the outputs and the impact on the inter-relation between potentially numerous activities.

Starting to Use a Process Focused Way of Stopping

Fortunately the above definition also gives us a methodology to evaluate what processes we can stop, change or that we are stuck with.  The Process Focused Way of Stopping uses a 2 x 2 matrix which asks two simple questions: will Inputs or Outputs Cease or Continue?  Inside the resulting matrix is a gradient between the extremes of fully stopping or continuing to deploy inputs and outputs. The four themed quadrants can help an organization understand the challenges and execution of stopping a process and interrelated impacts on the organization of doing so.

Process View Model

The Four Quadrants of Stopping

Or how to manage the “Law of Unintended Consequences“.

  • Full Stop!:
    • Inputs Stop, Outputs Stop
    • Business Example: Nokia, formerly a pulp and paper company that evolved into an electronics/cell phone company.
    • Organizational thoughts: abandoning or decamping from a process.
    • Risks/challenges: if a downstream process requires the output, a new and not necessarily better process may spring up to fill the void
  • Automation:
    • Inputs Stop, Outputs Continue
    • Business Example: Automation of airline ticketing and reservation systems over the past 40 years.
    • Organizational thoughts: automation is central to productivity enhancements and cost savings.
    • Risks/challenges: over automation can backfire, for example, being able to talk to a human is now seen as premium support for a product instead of simply directing customers to a website or a phone response system.
  • Costs Without Benefits (Yikes!):
    • Inputs Continue, Outputs Stop
    • Business Example: A mining company paying for site remediation long after the mine has been closed.
    • Organizational thoughts: Generally this is the quadrant to avoid unless there is a plan to manage the risks and downside costs (e.g. a sinking fund).
    • Risks/challenges: Organizations may land here as a result of the Law of Unintended Consequences..
  • Status Quo:
    • Inputs Continue, Outputs Continue
    • Business Example: any company that stays the course in their product line; this includes companies that should have changed such as Kodak.
    • Organizational Thoughts: this is a typical reaction when asked to changed processes.  Lack of organizational capacity and willingness to change supports general inertia.
    • Risks/challenges: As Kodak discovered, a lack of willingness to internally cannibalize and prune an organization may lead to external forces doing it for you.

How to Start Using a Process Focused Way of Stopping?

‘So What?’, how can this model be used?  At a minimum I plan to bring it with me to the next planning session and when someone identifies an activity to ‘STOP’ I will point to the quadrant the thing falls into.  This is not to prevent good organizational design, new ideas or planning; but it is to focus on the practicalities of planning and execution.

Limits of the Model

The model has its limits. The first is that is micro-biased. It assumes the organization, processes, outputs, and the like remain relatively constant. If your company is bought and the division shut down, the model is mute. The other limitation is technology. AI is seen as an automation tool but what happens when it becomes a game change at the macro level.

Nevertheless, hopefully you can start using this Stopping Model the next time you begin a planning meeting!

ITM Triangular Conceptual Model

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The following graphic has been kicking around in my head, in various incarnations for a few years. It considers the inter-relationship between Information, Technology and their Management or Governance.

ITM Triangle

ITM Triangle

Definitions: Information, Technology and Management (ITM)

Before looking at the whole model, what are its components?  How do you separate information from technology or from management?  One the one hand you do not; there is a continuum in which very few things are strictly one thing or another and lots of bulging between the triangle points where the business of an IT Department happens.  Nevertheless, there is nothing like a good definition and these are from COBIT.

Triangle Points

  • Information: An asset that, like other important business assets, is essential to an enterprise’s business. It can exist in many forms. It can be printed or written on paper, stored electronically, transmitted by post or by using electronic means, shown on films, or spoken in conversation.
  • (Information) Technology: The hardware, software, communication and other facilities used to input, store, process, transmit and output data in whatever form
  • Management:  Plans, builds, runs and monitors activities in alignment with the direction set by the governance body to achieve the enterprise objectives. and/or
  • Governance: Ensures that stakeholder needs, conditions and options are evaluated to determine balanced, agreed‐on enterprise objectives to be achieved; setting direction through prioritization and decision making; making; and monitoring performance and compliance against agreed‐on direction direction and objectives.

Central Core

There are a lot of things going on inside an IT department but generally they rely on people and the application of knowledge.

  • IT People: individuals either employed by, contracted to or otherwise contribute to the objectives of the organization and its IT goals (note, this is not a COBIT definition).  A central leadership roles found in IT departments is the CIO:
    • Chief Information Officer: The most senior official of the enterprise who is accountable for IT advocacy, aligning IT and business strategies, and planning, resourcing and managing the delivery of IT services, information and the deployment of associated human resources.  For brevity this also includes the potential differentiated functions of a Chief Technology Officer or a Chief Knowledge Officer.
  • Knowledge: The intangible awareness of how to do something (e.g. through user manuals, guides, etc.) or the application of ability and other intangible properties to a problem.  Knowledge is brought to an organization by the people who join it but there is also often a localized set of abilities unique or particular to a well run organization as well. According to Merriam Webster (no COBIT definition), knowledge includes:
    • a (1) : the fact or condition of knowing something with familiarity gained through experience or association (2) : acquaintance with or understanding of a science, art, or technique
    • b (1) : the fact or condition of being aware of something (2) : the range of one’s information or understanding <answered to the best of my knowledge>
    • c : the circumstance or condition of apprehending truth or fact through reasoning : cognition
    • d : the fact or condition of having information or of being learned <a person of unusual knowledge>

Client/Environment Results

Outside of the triangle are the clients and consumers of service who tend to think about ITM in silos.  For example, my computer is not booting (technology), I need a report that will tell me… (information), why is IT so “@Q#!$%*” expensive (management/ governance).  The reality is more subtle and holistic and increasingly all three need to work together to provide quality service to the organization. To this end, how the client interacts with IT can be broken into one of the following four means:

  • Application: what most users think of when they think about IT.  COBIT defines these as: A computer program or set of programs that performs the processing of records for a specific function
  • Information System: what most users manipulate when they are using an application.  COBIT definition: The combination of strategic, managerial and operational activities involved in gathering, processing, storing, distributing and using information and its related technologies.
  • Governance/Management:  How you know how to allocate scarce resources to prioritize business problems.  The actual individuals and committees that perform the management/governance functions described in the above definitions.  For example a corporate IT steering, project or program steering or working committee.
  • Utilities: generally invisible to users, until something goes wrong.  Collectively, the software, hardware and other technologies that perform particular computerized functions and routines that are frequently required during normal processing (adapted from COBIT).

Triangle and Real Life

The benefit of using a triangular model is that each point interacts with the other two.  That is there are gradients rather than a set of discrete locations. Thus an application is an example of technology but generally it consumes, transforms or outputs information. Information in isolation is generally not usable without technology or governance (e.g. It needs a report to deliver it and standards to understand it).
The model can also help IT folks view their craft holistically. ‎ Working in one area or another may create blind spots for the other two. Thus someone working in the app development space may forget the information imperatives or lose sight of the business needs for the application. A business user may over-simplify the role of information management or the challenges of building technology to deliver quality and timely information. Finally, while things such as data science are gaining traction the need a suitable container to produce it and the oversight to apply or use it is not diminished.

The So-What Factor?

Nice triangle, but will it get me funding for a data center upgrade, a new ERP system or better business intelligence (BI) tools?  Yes, in a way.  The Triangle can be used to demystify why expenditures and efforts in all areas are necessary.  As well, the triangle may be used as the basis for things like a heat map of where to invest the next dollar. If past years have seen good efforts in BI tools, have the transactional systems kept pace in feeding these systems?  Is there good oversight on master data records or big data to know who owns what and what do you do with the data when you find it?
What are your thoughts on the ITM Triangle?  Does it cover sufficiently what your IT area does, are their gaps or is too high level?

A Roach Gut

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In my ongoing effort to remember what I have read, an excellent read from one of my favorite authors, Mary Roach.  She has previously graced the pages of my blog with two books: Stiff and Packing for Mars.

Roach and the Perfected Non-Fiction Format

Roach has perfected the non-fiction story format.  She tackles a subject familiar to all of us and answers the questions we either are too timid to ask or would never have thought of.  Like most good non-fiction writers she provides additional details on the subject and is not afraid to take us down an interesting rabbit hole.  In this book, she does not disappoint as she explores the digestive system from top to bottom.

Meals start with sight, taste and smell. They end up with something you don't want to see, taste nor smell.

Meals start with sight, taste and smell. They end up with something you don’t want to see, taste nor smell.

Gulp: Adventures On The Alimentary Canal.

The book is the historical, pathological and physical aspects of the human gut from the mouth through to the other end.  Along the way, Roach pokes at and identifies taboos about the digestive system.  For example why I used the euphemism ‘other end’ rather than ‘anus’ – an enduring human taboo against feces and the need to defecate.

And that is the book in a nutshell, a tour from when food starts (primarily the nose), through where the bolus is prepared and the nutrition is extracted (stomach and intestines) and finally where the finished product is produced (colon, rectum, anus, plop!).  This structure is easily our oldest.  One could argue that the digestive system is the center of the body with other organs and functions there to serve it (brains to find the food, arms to reach it, legs to carry it, etc. with lots of intestinal bugs along for the ride and helping in the process) [p. 321]].

Human Digestive System

Human Digestive System: Courtesy of http://www.drawitneat.blogspot.com

The Far North: the Nose and Mouth

Roach starts the journey along the alimentary canal at the nose, the most important sensing device for taste.  She proceeds to the mouth where taste continues and the receptors can be fooled.  For example, experiments suggest that cheap wine can be as good as expensive wine  – unless you know which one is which will then bias this opinion p.30.  Or that palatants are used to coat food (human, pet and otherwise) to make otherwise bland or non-tasting food – well taste like something p.42.

A side trip into the eating preferences of our pets is made where we learned that cats are monguesic, meaning they like to stick to one food p. 43.  In contrast dogs will eat almost anything that smells good, wolfing it down in great gulps.  The wolfing part leads to the highest compliment a dog can pay for your cooking, to vomit it up after gulping excessively p.50.

Taste is the doorman to the digestive tract allowing our ancestors to evaluate and eat more of desirable foods or spit out those not meeting muster (and sometimes tasting like mustard)  p.46.  In turn, culture influences to a large extent what we eat and what we accept as substitutions.  Once a child is ten years old, they are relatively fixed in what they eat and it is difficult to change the preferences p.67.  Nevertheless there seems to be a global disinclination to consume organs of the reproductive tract (ovaries, penis, testicles, etc.) no matter the animal p. 72.

As for the claim that the human mouth is a cesspool of bugs, well that is true but the comparison may be off.  Saliva is also good for wound care as it contains various factors which encourage healing  p. 121.  It also contains enzymes which start the digestive process.  For example, the main digestive enzyme in stimulated saliva is amylase.  This enzyme breaks starches down into simple sugars prior to the food heading to the stomach p.110.

Stomach, Intestines and a Mint Wafer

The stomach has two functions, disinfection and storage.  The hydrochloric acid in the stomach kills most bacteria that we would pick up while scavenging on the savanna.  Because food was uncertain there, the stomach was also a handy storage device holding a meal for a few hours.

Don’t eat too much of a meal though as the typical human stomach will rupture with the addition of 3-7 litres of fill (water and otherwise).  Most of the time our stomachs do not rupture due to protective feed back mechanisms including up-chucking that last mint wafer.  For those with failed mechanisms the usual cause for a rupture is the ingestion of sodium bicarbonate after a large meal which can cause the stomach to swell and compress the diaphragm.  As a result, the ‘ruputurees’ were unable to burp or vomit away the building pressure p. 186-188.

Almost there, the Colon and Points South

A bi-product of digestion are the flammable gases such as methane or hydrogen. The gases produced are the result of anaerobic metabolism but they are particularly generated through the digestion of meat, lactose intolerance, legumes or simply the fact that as we get older, we get flabbier inside and out including the colon p. 235.  The existence of gas can lead to dutch ovening your bed partner or to lethal results.

When conducting a colonoscopy usually the gases are removed by protracted bowel-cleansing and the application of carbon dioxide.  Despite these precautions, one sixty-nine year old French man was killed by an exploding pocket of gas (the result of a laxative) while undergoing a colonoscopy.  The spark from the cauterizing loop in the scope ignited a pocket and killed not only the man but also expelled the scope out per Newton’s laws of momentum  p. 225.

In the early 1900’s autointoxication, self-poisoning from your own feces, was considered to be a health risk and lead to a surge in enemas and other methods to clean the bottom pipes.  The younger sister was the 1970’s focus on high fiber diet.  Now science is leaning toward the importance of a bit of transit time (normal duration through the digestive tract is about 30 hours. p.87).  For example, hydrogen sulfide in the bowel may actually thwart some forms of cancers and act as an antiinflammatory p. 262.

The colon primarily focuses on absorbing moisture from the food in transit.  Nevertheless, it is also the place where a number of vitamins and nutrients are created such as B and K.  Because of the poor absorption abilities in the colon, sometimes a return-trip is necessary.  This is the reason that dogs, rabbits and rodents eat their own feces, they are running a meal through the small intestine twice and absorb the nutrients they missed the first time p. 273.

Elvis and Close Encounters of a Fecal Kind

A diseased colon may lack the ability to move material through itself and will begin to swell and stretch.  One such example, a mega-colon of J.W. was 28 inches in diameter at its widest girth p. 289.  Without surgery, the colon that keeps on growing may either push into the other organs or potentially kill its owner through ‘defecation associated sudden death’.  This latter condition, may have killed Elvis.  He suffered from chronic constipation and died pushing in the act of defecation which potentially caused his heart attack.

For some surgery is not needed but a small donation is appreciated.  Fecal transplants moves the flora from a healthy gut to one in need.  Some individuals on potent antibiotics may lose their flora and as a result are at the mercy of whatever bugs happen to come along.  Through a donation and a retrofitted colonscope, a high percentage of patients find relief for a variety of digestive maladies p. ~320.

The People and Things You Will Meet in the Alimentary Canal!

The canal is full of interesting people (err, speaking metaphorically about the book).  A Harley driving sniffer who is effectively a human forensic gas chromatograph.  She can tell you why your wine/beer/olive oil is skunky [p. 24]

Horace Fletcher who promoted thorough chewing of food – to an excess, up to 700 times for a single bite p. ~70.

A convicted murder who ‘hoops’ in contra-band through a stretch rectum.  With practice, good hoopers can smuggle in smart phones, tobacco and even four metal blades, twelve inches long and two inches in diameter p. 203.

Alex St. Martin was a Canadian trapper who was accidentally shot in the side with the wound healing as an open fistulated passage.  Thus it was possible to examine the workings of his stomach in action.  The original surgeon who treated St. Martin and who (un)intentionally created the fistula was William Beaumont. p.89.  The two had a long-standing professional relationship of both master/servant (St. Martin working for Beaumont) and doctor/patient.  Roach discusses in details the suspected intimacy of these two individuals separated by culture and class but joined by a common fistula.  After all, how much better can you know a person after they have stuck their tongue in your fistula?  p. 96

Finally human hair can be found in the digestive tract either inadvertently, through eating or via your steamed rice at the local take out place.  Because hair is 14-percent L-cystein, an amino acid commonly used in meat flavorings, a Chinese food operation was caught using it instead of soy to make cheap soy sauce p. 73.

The After Taste

Although I enjoy Roach’s writing I was left feeling a bit peckish after this read.  I think that she could have explored the physiology in a bit more detail (e.g. some more details how the organs work and interact) and she could have done a deeper dive into common diseases.  For example, I was hoping to read more on irritable bowel syndrome, gluten intolerance, burst appendices or diverticulosis.  Nevertheless, I left the book satisfied, not stomach bursting but satisfied

 

 

EBTC – 2016-03-01: 6:00pm – Just for the Hill of It!

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This is the third snowshoe event which has had a bit of a spotty record what with the warm weather.  The weather forecast is great -2C with light  winds.

The Objective

  • Practice ascending and descending slopes with snowshoes and poles.  Links and references:
  • Practice will include
    • Assessing the fall line of a hill.
    • Side stepping
    • V-Step/herringbone climb
    • Slope Traverse
    • Toe-Kick
    • Descent with and without poles

Where are We Going and How to Get Back

Government House Park - parking lot. NW Corner of Grout and River.

Government House Park – parking lot. NW Corner of Grout and River.

  • Meet at Government House Park parking lot.  This park is in the NW Corner of Grout Road and the North Saskatchewan River.  Exit off the western terminus of River Valley Road.
  • We will shoe west along MacKinnon Ravine taking advantage of the small slopes and valleys.
  • As time permits, we will try to get as far west as 142nd Street.
  • Advanced snowshoers can optionally attempt to summit 149th Street and return to the parking lot prior to the main group finishing its route.

What to Take

  • Snowshoes (duh!) and poles (optional).
  • Clothing appropriate to the weather.  Noting that I tend to run hot, I am plan to wear/bring:
    • Hiking boots
    • Lightly insulated shell pants
    • Long sleeve cycling jersey and a cycling shell (shell is shelved fairly quickly)
    • Fleece neck warmer
    • Cycling beanie and/or a baseball cap
    • Full fingered cycling gloves
  • Headlamp (generally these will be off but just in case we need them).
  • Backpack to carry/stow clothing
  • 0.5 – 1.0 litre of water

Books, Where to Buy and Other Resources:

EBTC – January 12 Snowshoe – Golfing with Big Feet

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This is the first of about twelve snowshoe events I will be running for EBTC.  Being the first, this one will ease the group (and more importantly me!) in the evening program. The weather forecast is great -3C with moderate WSW winds.

Off the snow track

Off the snow track – St. Albert, December, 2012

The Objective

Where are We Going and How to Get Back

  • Meet at the Victoria Park Oval parking lot (off River Valley Road, first right west of the Glenora Club) and be ready to go by 6:15pm on January 12, 2016.
  • Plan is to head west of the Skate Shack and pick up the X-Ski trails.  From there we will loop through Victoria Park Golf Course on the skate portion of the trail.  Go east as far as the Glenora club and then take the North trail back.  Based on the time, retrace our steps or short cut back to the skate shack.

What to Take

  • Snowshoes (duh!) and fixed length poles
  • Clothing appropriate to the weather.  Noting that I tend to run hot, I am plan to wear/bring:
    • Hiking boots
    • Lightly insulated shell pants
    • Long sleeve cycling jersey and a cycling shell (shell is shelved fairly quickly)
    • Fleece neck warmer
    • Cycling beanie and/or a baseball cap
    • Full fingered cycling gloves
  • Headlamp (generally these will be off but just in case we need them).
  • Backpack to carry/stow clothing
  • 600ml’ish of water

The Result Was…

  • Completed after the event for future learnings.