This woman went blind after a night out in Bali. She's warning other tourists about methanol in their drinks

Calgary woman Ashley King on vacation in Bali in 2011. On a night out, her drinks were tainted with methanol, which left her blind. (Submitted by Ashley King)

Ashley King went to a bar on a Bali vacation in 2011, and woke up blind just a few days later — a result of drinks spiked with methanol.

"I woke up in my hostel and I wasn't able to breathe. And shortly after I wasn't able to see," said King, a 32-year-old Calgary woman who is sharing her story in a new podcast called Static: A Party Girl's Memoir.

King was 19 at the time, on her last night in Bali before flying to New Zealand the next day. She was travelling solo but went out with friends she made on the trip. They visited a popular tourist bar listed in a Lonely Planet guide.

Nothing out of the ordinary happened that night, she thought, but a couple of days later she was rushed to hospital in New Zealand.

"My doctors did some tests and realized that there's a large amount of methanol in my system, and … I didn't even know what methanol was," she said.

Methanol is a normal byproduct of the distillation process, routinely removed in regulated alcohol manufacturing. But illegal distillers may not pour off that methanol correctly, or even realize it needs to be removed. 

Need a simple way to destress? Stop and notice nature, experts say

An Edmonton researcher says simply noticing nature can boost your mood and help beat the winter blues. (Adobe Stock)

Many find themselves struggling with the cold, grey days with the shorter daylight hours of winter. But even within this gloomier setting, there's an easy way to boost your mood, according to psychology professor Holli-Anne Passmore. 

"When people notice nature, and not necessarily even just spend extra time, but just [notice] it, we know it enhances our positive emotions," she said.

Passmore says if you simply take a moment to notice every bit of nature around you — whether it's a tree at the bus stop, a bird in the backyard, or the plants on your desk — you can feel a spark of joy, connectedness, hope and gratitude. 

In January, she launched a study with about 150 students at Concordia University of Edmonton to see how paying attention to nature in the winter affects their mood.

The anesthesiologist shortage is now a 'full-blown crisis.' Should Canada use nurse anesthetists?

Joe Toma, a certified registered nurse anesthetist (CNRA), lives in Windsor but crosses the border every day to work at a hospital called Henry Ford Health in Detroit. CNRAs are not allowed to work anywhere in Canada. (Submitted by Joe Toma)

The effects of a shortage of anesthesiologists could be improved if specially trained nurses were allowed to provide anesthesia care — something they do in the United States, nursing advocates say. 

But physicians' groups have pushed back against the idea in at least two provinces since it was raised more than 25 years ago, even as surgical wait times have grown since the pandemic.

In the U.S., there are 65,000 certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) working. In Canada, nurses haven't been able to provide anesthesia since the Second World War ended, says Valerie Grdisa, the CEO of the Canadian Nurses Association.

Now nurse associations, and some Canadian nurses working in the U.S. as nurse anesthetists, are calling attention to how effectively they could solve the dearth of anesthesia care providers in this country. 

While Grdisa notes that the U.S. health-care system has considerable problems with access and cost, one thing it does well is making efficient use of its employees.

"They're optimizing their very talented workforce in ways we're not [in order] to get better value for money at same or equal outcomes," said Grdisa.

Is your car spying on you? Here's how vehicles gather your data

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department credited Tesla co-founder and CEO Elon Musk with being able to send them information about a Cybertruck that exploded on New Year's Day. (AFP/Getty Images)

When a Tesla Cybertruck exploded outside Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on New Year's Day, authorities were quickly able to gather information, crediting Elon Musk and Tesla for sending them info about the car and its driver. 

But for some, it's alarming to discover that kind of information is so readily available.

"Most carmakers are selling drivers' personal information. That's something that we know based on their privacy policies," said Zoë MacDonald, a writer and researcher focussing on online privacy and digital rights.

To privacy experts, the Cybertruck case is another example of how your personal information can be used in ways you may not be aware of. And while this kind of data can be useful in an investigation, it's by no means the only way companies use the information.  

"When you see it all together and know that a company has that information and continues at any point in time to hand it over to law enforcement, then you start to be a little uncomfortable, even if — in this case — it was a good thing for society," said cybersecurity expert David Choffnes.